The Elven Cultivator

Chapter 164: Chapter 159: The Butterfly Effect

In that instant, Isaac felt no pain.

Only a far more terrifying sense of emptiness surged from deep within his body.

It was as if something was being forcibly ripped away from him, his entire draconic body rapidly withering and decaying from the inside out.

He looked down and saw the Scale Armor over his heart lose its luster at a visible rate. It then cracked and peeled away, revealing the shriveling, desiccated flesh beneath.

"What... is this..."

For the first time, a tremor entered Isaac’s voice.

He could feel his heartbeat weakening, each throb as arduous and heavy as an old ox pulling a cart.

The immense Life Force the Dragon Race prided itself on was receding like a swift tide under the corrosion of that bizarre power.

But the nightmare was not over.

In the same instant the Cyan Emperor’s avatar struck, Anton also made his move.

The sixteen streams of Profound Gold Sword Light suspended around him froze abruptly. They collapsed inward toward the center like stars returning to their places, silently merging into a single beam of sword light about three feet and three inches long.

For a moment, all the light between heaven and earth seemed to dim, as if it had been devoured by that beam of light.

The true form of the Sword Pill!

The next instant, the sword light shot through the sky like a meteor, streaking toward Isaac’s head.

Isaac only had time to turn his head before the sword light pierced his right eye, penetrated his skull, and burst out from the back of his head, carrying with it a spray of scorching Dragon Blood and shattered bone fragments.

A blood-curdling dragon’s roar echoed across the sky.

Isaac’s massive draconic body convulsed violently. His wings flapped uncontrollably, shredding the surrounding cyan vines to pieces.

Dark red Dragon Blood gushed from his eye socket, as hot as magma. It splattered onto the cyan light barrier below, emitting a sizzling, burning sound.

But in the next moment, a strange power surged from deep within Isaac’s body.

It was the Law of Embers.

However, it was no longer the destructive will that turned everything to ash. It was the other side of the Law—the continuation that follows the "burning" phase in the natural cycle.

Beneath the embers, unextinguished sparks still lingered.

When dead wood is burned to ash, new shoots will break through the scorched earth.

The layer of grayish-red light on Isaac’s body suddenly brightened and converged inward, flowing like a hundred rivers returning to the sea toward the ghastly, bloody hole in his right eye.

Wherever the Power of Law passed, the charred flesh trembled slightly. Severed blood vessels were stitched together by invisible threads, and shattered bone fragments slowly returned to their places within the light.

However, the restorative power of the Law of Embers was ultimately only enough to keep death at bay.

The fatal wound that had pierced his skull barely managed to close and heal to the point of sustaining life under the effect of the Power of Law before all its remaining strength was exhausted.

The bloody hole in his right eye slowly sealed, and the fractured skull barely mended, but deep within the socket, only a turbid, grayish-white void remained. The light of a pupil could no longer form.

As for the spot on his chest struck by the Cyan Emperor’s avatar, the power had only just managed to halt the spread of the withering.

The dark red Scale Armor remained dull and lusterless, its edges cracked like dry bark, forming a shocking contrast with the intact scales around it.

Isaac flapped his wings hard, gaining altitude and breaking free from the entanglement of the cyan vines.

He did not attack again. He didn’t even spare Anton another glance.

For the first time since the battle began, fear—an emotion he had not yet shown—surfaced in his vertical pupils, one bright and one dark.

In his long life, he had never felt the approach of death as clearly as he did at this moment.

The unfamiliar emotion of fear completely stripped him of his former arrogance.

Without hesitation, Isaac gave a mighty beat of his wings, and his massive draconic body shot northward like an arrow released from a bowstring.

He fled!

Anton was slightly taken aback.

But after a moment’s hesitation, he ultimately chose not to pursue.

The intense battle just now, culminating in the manifestation of the Sword Pill’s true form, had nearly depleted his True Essence.

The twenty-some drops of Dark Heavy Water he had accumulated over the past few months had also been completely used up in the fight.

If he gave chase now, even if he could finish Isaac off, the dragon’s final, desperate counterattack would be enough to take him down as well.

A more likely outcome was that he would be the one killed instead.

"It’s a shame. The Green Emperor Demon Suppression Array still hadn’t accumulated enough energy. If it had been gathering power for another decade or so, it would have been stronger. That last strike should have been able to kill Isaac."

Even so, Anton understood the reality of the situation.

’A Legendary Giant Dragon wasn’t so easy to kill.’

’It was, after all, an existence equivalent to the Golden Core Stage.’

’Using an Array to severely wound it and force a retreat was already an excellent result.’

While Anton was feeling regretful, the spectating Elves were completely stunned.

They stared blankly at the distant, dark red figure, and for a moment, no one made a sound.

’The Radiant Ash Dragon... fled?’

A magnificent Giant Dragon, actually beaten into a hasty retreat by Anton!

Before today, if someone had told them that a Giant Dragon would flee, they would not have believed it for a second.

In the minds of everyone on the Dawn Continent, the Dragon Race was a supreme existence, a golden-blooded race born to stand above the Ten Thousand Races.

The word ’retreat’ had never been in their vocabulary; only destruction and conquest.

Yet now, such an incredible scene was unfolding right before their eyes.

For a moment, all the Elves felt an absurd sense of dreaming.

Only when Isaac’s figure vanished over the horizon did someone finally snap out of it as if waking from a dream, letting out the first cry of shock.

"The Giant Dragon fled!"

"We won!"

Cheers erupted one after another, exploding from all corners of the forest.

Romance broke into a wide grin.

Eleanor stood beside her, and even the usually calm girl couldn’t suppress the corners of her lips from turning up.

The three elders let out a long sigh of relief in unison. They glanced at each other, seeing both relief and disbelief in one another’s eyes.

The moment the Radiant Ash Dragon had appeared and attacked, they had nearly fallen into despair.

They never expected that in the end, it would be Anton who drove the Radiant Ash Dragon away.

It was truly unexpected.

Anton recalled his Sword Pill and turned to fly down toward the forest below.

When his figure passed through the cyan light barrier and landed before the Great Elder and the others, the way they looked at him was completely different.

It was not the gaze one gives a genius, or the hope of the Clan.

It was the gaze reserved for a Legend.

After today, having heavily wounded and repelled a Legendary Giant Dragon head-on, Anton’s name would surely resound throughout the entire Eldron Plain.

Anton naturally noticed this subtle change, but he had no time to dwell on it. Instead, he looked at the three elders and said gravely, "Isaac may have been driven back, but this isn’t over. Kresol Dragon City’s retaliation will likely come soon. We must prepare."

His words sent a chill through everyone’s hearts, immediately snapping them out of their joyful state.

The Great Elder frowned. "Kresol Dragon City is a secondary concern. I’m more worried about the Dragon Court..."

Anton understood his meaning but his expression remained unchanged. Instead, he said meaningfully, "Great Elder, why do you think I was able to repel Isaac?"

Before the Great Elder could speak, Romance, who was standing to the side, subconsciously replied, "That’s obviously because you’re so powerful, Anton..."

But halfway through her sentence, Romance also realized something and frowned.

The others also fell into thought.

The reason the Dragon Race had always dominated the Dawn Continent, feared and unchallenged, was not just because of their own immense power, but more importantly, because they had the protection of the Dragon God.

Any Giant Dragon could use the power of the Dragon God to kill existences far stronger than themselves.

But during the entire battle just now, Isaac never once used the power of the Dragon God.

Not even when he was grievously wounded and forced to flee for his life.

It was completely illogical!

The Great Elder was the first to react, an expression of disbelief on his face. "You mean... the Dragon God?"

Out of reverence for this sole god, the Great Elder didn’t speak plainly, but the Elves present understood his meaning. Their eyes widened in shock.

An astonishing yet logical speculation quickly spread through everyone’s minds.

Anton nodded. "Besides that, I can’t think of any other reasonable explanation."

After a pause, he added, "And it’s very likely this didn’t happen recently."

The Elves were all stunned for a moment, then quickly recalled how, over sixty years ago, the garrison Giant Dragons in various Dragon Cities had all suddenly left and returned to the Dragon Court.

At the time, everyone guessed that something major had happened at the Dragon Court, but there was no way to learn the truth.

Thinking back now...

"So that’s how it is."

"No wonder..."

"This is a monumental event..."

Everyone looked at each other, unsure how to react for a moment.

If this speculation was true, the implications were staggering!

The entire Dawn Continent would be thrown into violent turmoil because of it!

"What we can guess, other powers can naturally guess as well."

Anton’s words pulled everyone’s attention back.

"The Dragon Court’s next headache will be how to deal with the probing of other powers. I doubt they’ll have the mind to bother with matters on the Eldron Plain."

"What if Kresol Dragon City suppresses the news of what happened today?" Elena asked subconsciously.

But as soon as the words left her mouth, she realized she had asked a foolish question.

Whether it was the garrison Giant Dragons leaving the Dragon Cities back then, or Anton severely wounding and repelling Isaac today, both events happened in plain sight. Kresol Dragon City had no way of completely suppressing the news.

Not to mention, there was still the Fallen Dragon Association.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the Fallen Dragon Association would definitely publicize today’s events far and wide. Kresol Dragon City couldn’t stop them even if they wanted to.

Elena gave an embarrassed smile and said no more.

The other Elves, however, breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as the Dragon Court didn’t intervene, they might not be incapable of dealing with just Kresol Dragon City.

Times were different now.

The Silver Moon Race was no longer the weak power it once was.

Today’s battle, where they repelled a Radiant Ash Dragon, was the best proof of that.

Even if they went to war with Kresol Dragon City, they would not feel fear.

The Great Elder made a swift decision, declaring in a deep voice, "From this day forward, the Clan will prepare for all-out war with Kresol Dragon City!"

The Elves responded with a resounding cry of affirmation, then departed without delay to attend to their duties.

Anton turned his head to look into the distance, a glint in his eyes.

’Just in case, I should find Sieg next. I’ll have the Fallen Dragon Association help spread the news of the Dragon God’s fall to ensure the Dragon Court is too preoccupied to pay attention to the Eldron Plain.’

’As long as I can buy some time, once I refine the Condensing Essence Pill and successfully form my Golden Core, plus with the Great Derivation Cyan Profound Array, I’ll have the confidence to be invincible.’

’Even if several Legendary Giant Dragons were to attack at once, I could ensure they never return.’

In fact, according to the original history, it wasn’t until the year 9946 of the Chenxi Calendar that Grant Hayes, one of the Five-Star Pillars of the Fallen Dragon Association and a Legendary Powerhouse later known as the Fallen Dragon Sword Saint, single-handedly killed a Giant Dragon. This caused a massive sensation, finally exposing the Dragon Race’s weakness and leading to the subsequent Dragon Slaying War.

But now, due to his butterfly effect, the Dragon Race’s true state might be discovered much sooner than in the original history.

The Dragon Slaying War might arrive several centuries early.

Once the turmoil begins, the Dragon Court will be completely unable to concern itself with him and the Silver Moon Race.

But with history changed, he would also lose some of his prophetic advantage.

For a moment, Anton couldn’t tell if this was a good or bad thing for him.

...

As Anton was lost in thought, the many spies surrounding the Silver Moon Forest finally snapped out of their shock.

They all took the same action in unison.

They immediately turned and fled, sprinting toward the headquarters of their respective powers to report the news at once.

Everyone knew that the news of today’s battle would absolutely shake the entire Eldron Plain.