The Elven Cultivator

Chapter 205: Chapter 194: Future Expectations

The moment Anton’s meeting concluded, news that the clan would be holding a second aptitude test spread like wildfire.

As expected, it caused a massive stir.

The excitement reached a fever pitch, especially when the Elves heard the age limit had been relaxed—any minor could now participate.

As the Clan had grown stronger over the years, Anton’s prestige had risen with it.

In the entire long history of the Silver Moon Clan, one couldn’t find a second Clan Leader so revered and adored by his people.

The chance to be taught by the Clan Leader himself was enough to make every Elf eagerly anticipate the test.

More importantly, the growth of the twelve children recruited during the last test was plain for all to see. For years, they had been a hot topic of conversation among the clan members.

Laine Silver Moon, once a frail and unremarkable boy, was now rumored to have power rivaling the upper Black Iron Tier, making him stronger than many of the legion’s elite soldiers.

Then there were Furlo, Lucius, and Mia... Every single one of those children had broken through to the Black Iron Tier.

Keep in mind, many adult Elves trained painstakingly for decades, even centuries, only to barely touch the threshold of the Black Iron Tier.

Yet these children were already in the middle to upper ranks of the Black Iron Tier before they were even twenty.

Compared to them, many adult Elves in the clan felt ashamed of their own inferiority.

With such shining examples right in front of them, how could the other Elves not scramble for the chance?

For a time, the entire Silver Moon Forest was enveloped in an eager, restless atmosphere.

「Three days slipped by in a flurry of anticipation.」

The day of the aptitude test had come.

Before the sky had fully brightened, the training ground was already the center of a massive crowd.

The scale this time was far greater than the last.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but a dense, dark sea of heads.

The eligible young Elves were arranged in long lines that stretched from the entrance of the training grounds deep into the field. Snaking like serpents, the queues occupied nearly the entire open space.

In the queues were children as young as seven or eight, teenagers of fifteen or sixteen, and even a few tall, young Elves who looked to be on the cusp of adulthood.

Most wore brand-new robes, their hair combed meticulously. Their faces showed a mixture of nerves, anticipation, and feigned composure, and their eyes were all fixed on the treehouse at the end of the line.

The long table was still set up in front of the treehouse.

Only this time, there were many more people seated behind it.

In addition to Eleanor and Romance, a dozen young Elves from the Document Hall were present, each responsible for guiding participants, handling registration, and maintaining order.

Laine, Furlo, Mia, and Lucius were there as well.

They stood on either side of the long table, dressed in matching pale-cyan robes. With their calm expressions and graceful bearing, they were like different people from the green youths of a few years prior.

Whenever an Elf passed the test, they would step forward with a smile and lead them into the adjacent treehouse to get settled.

Their calm confidence earned them envious glances from many of the Elves still waiting to be tested.

"Those must be the Clan Leader’s students, right?"

"I heard they’ve only been training for a few years and they’re already at the Black Iron Tier."

"If only I could be chosen, too..."

Whispers buzzed through the crowd like a swarm of bees, but no one dared to make a ruckus.

Around the training ground, fully armed soldiers of the Silver Moon Legion stood ramrod straight.

Their eagle-sharp gazes swept slowly over the crowd, maintaining order.

The sun gradually climbed higher.

The queue inched forward like a sluggish river.

Elves who were found to have a Spirit Root walked toward the treehouse, their faces beaming with irrepressible smiles.

Even more Elves, however, left the line with hanging heads and heavy footsteps.

The sun sank in the west, and twilight began to fall.

As the last sliver of crimson gold was swallowed by the indigo horizon, the test finally came to a close.

The tail end of the last queue vanished from the entrance, the crowd in the waiting area gradually dispersed, and the training ground returned to its usual emptiness.

After a few words of encouragement, the Elves in the treehouse who had passed the test departed in high spirits.

Starting today, a new Chapter in their lives would begin.

...

「Eternal Hall – Side Hall」

The soft glow of Light Source Stones brightly illuminated the room, a stark contrast to the deepening twilight outside.

Eleanor leaned back in her chair and let out a long sigh, placing the thick stack of names on the table.

"Eighty-two in total."

Romance, sitting across from her, looked surprised. "That many? That’s nearly seven times as many as last time."

"It’s mainly because we relaxed the age limit. With a wider age range, it’s natural that more people would pass."

Eleanor’s voice held a trace of fatigue, but it was tinged with unconcealable joy.

"And this is just the beginning. The number of Taichu City disciples will only increase from now on."

The Elves who embarked on the path of the Dao would see their power grow far faster than an ordinary Elf’s.

Even the Elves who converted to the Seed Pill Technique and the legacies of the Path of Strength couldn’t compare to these disciples of Taichu City.

With the long lifespan of an Elf, coupled with the abundant Cultivation Resources the Clan provided, it was almost a certainty that they would break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage in their lifetime.

This meant that once this batch of Taichu City disciples matured, they would represent, at minimum, a force of Golden Tier combatants.

To put that in perspective, after several hundred years of history, the Silver Moon Clan only had a handful of Golden Tier members.

Yet now, this batch of Taichu City disciples alone was expected to provide the Clan with dozens of Golden Tier combatants in a few decades.

And this was only the first batch.

Afterward, there would be a second, a third, a fourth...

As time went on, the Clan’s number of Golden Tier members would grow to a staggering figure.

At that point, the Silver Moon Clan’s power would experience a true quantum leap.

Composing herself, Eleanor looked at Romance and asked with a smile, "Speaking of which, you just got back to the forest this morning, didn’t you? What have you been busy with?"

Romance shrugged. "A few days ago, a shipment bound for Bishui Port was robbed. I led a team to wipe out the lair of those clueless fools and recovered the cargo."

Eleanor raised an eyebrow. "On the Eldron Plain, someone still dares to rob us?"

She wasn’t bragging, but with the Silver Moon Clan’s current power and status, any faction or group on the Eldron Plain with an ounce of sense wouldn’t dare touch their things.

How was that any different from suicide?

Romance shook her head. "They weren’t locals. It was a Mercenary Corps that drifted over from the Green Highlands. I guess they didn’t know who they were messing with."

"No wonder."

A look of realization dawned on Eleanor’s face, mixed with contemplation.

’Greed is a powerful motivator,’ she thought. ’Some people will do anything for profit.’

As the Clan continued to grow and control more resources, the number of factions coveting their wealth from the shadows would surely grow as well.

Moreover, the continent was currently plagued by frequent wars and endless turmoil; the situation everywhere was in constant flux.

In the future, some powers would inevitably give in to temptation and take desperate measures.

’The Clan needs to prepare for this sooner rather than later.’

On the Eldron Plain, the Clan was the undisputed hegemon.

But across the entire Dawn Continent, the Clan’s power was far from being untouchable.

Setting aside the Dragon Court and the five great powers, even many first-rate factions with deep-seated foundations could crush the Clan.

After all, which of these powers hadn’t been established for thousands, or even tens of thousands, of years?

The Silver Moon Clan’s rise had simply been too recent. Its foundations were not yet deep enough, and it needed more time to grow and develop its strength.

Fortunately, the Clan had now forged its own path. Given enough time, it would surely become a power on par with the five great factions.

Eleanor was completely confident in this.

Or rather, she was completely confident in Anton.

"So, what happened to that Mercenary Corps that stole our cargo?" Eleanor asked, snapping out of her reverie.

Romance said, "I took care of the leaders. The rest were captured and thrown into the Dark Nether Realm to work the mines."

Eleanor nodded slightly, fully approving of this solution.

The Clan was short-handed at the moment, so an extra batch of slaves was certainly a welcome addition.

’Thinking about it, I almost hope a few more Mercenary Corps are foolish enough to provoke us,’ she thought. ’It’d be a good way to get more slaves.’

’Unfortunately, there probably aren’t too many fools like that out there.’

"By the way, what about Anton? I haven’t seen him lately,"

Romance’s question broke Eleanor from her thoughts.

She answered casually, "The construction of Taichu City has entered its final phase. Anton’s been there this whole time."

"Taichu City is almost finished?" Romance’s eyes lit up. "That’s great! I have to go see it when it’s done."

She had long yearned to see the cultivator’s abode Anton had described and couldn’t wait to witness it for herself.

Eleanor smiled and nodded.

She, too, was eagerly awaiting the completion of Taichu City.

After chatting a little longer, Romance stood up to leave.

"I need to go check on Mine Vein No. 1. I’ll be going now."

Mine Vein No. 1 was the very Magic Stone Vein where Anton had set up the Qiankun Spirit Transformation Array, preparing to convert it into a Spirit Stone Vein.

Considering the great significance of the Spirit Stone Vein to the Clan’s future, as well as the allure the Magic Stone Vein held for outsiders, the Clan had stationed a full-strength banner at Mine Vein No. 1.

Fifteen hundred fully armed Elf Warriors, equipped with Scale Rock Lizard cavalry and Five Camp Divine Soldiers, guarded it in shifts, day and night.

The two vice-commanders of the legion also took turns personally overseeing the site and inspecting its defenses.

With Romance’s departure, the side hall quickly fell silent again.

Eleanor was just about to head to a quiet room to refine her True Essence when she heard approaching footsteps. A young Elf girl hurried in.

"Lady Eleanor, a message has come from the Thundering River Basin. It’s about the Earth Elemental Giant."

Eleanor froze, her expression instantly turning serious.

Gathering intelligence on the Earth Elemental Giant was a task Anton had assigned personally.

She had kept the matter at the forefront of her mind, instructing the Document Hall to treat it with the utmost importance and deliver any related news to her immediately.

"Give it to me."

Eleanor took the letter and unfolded it, her eyes scanning the contents.

A moment later, she folded the paper and strode briskly out of the side hall.