Elven cultivators

In the year 9266 of the Dawn Calendar, the summer trees were shady.

Training grounds, magic zone.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the foliage, casting dappled shadows on the wooden floor.

Darian's calm and peaceful voice echoed in the quiet treehouse.

"...The key to Lightning Arrow lies in 'polarity lock-on'. Lightning naturally tends to spread, so you must use mental power to forcibly give it directionality, just like digging a channel for water so that it can only flow in one direction."

"At its core, the rune model is a wedge-shaped structure, with the tip pointing towards the target. When magic is injected, the wedge tip is the first to complete charging, and the lightning element will then be ejected in the direction the wedge tip points..."

Below the podium, six young elves listened intently, occasionally glancing down to take notes.

Following Anton, Amon and Braden also constructed magic circuits and began learning magic.

Later, three more new members joined, forming the current small classroom.

After the morning classes ended, Darian, as usual, kept Anton behind to explain a few difficult points before gently asking, "You haven't asked me for scroll materials in a long time. Have you given up on learning to copy scrolls?"

Anton paused for a moment, then nodded somewhat embarrassedly: "I don't think I have much talent in this area, so I'd better not waste my time."

In fact, he didn't spend much time learning how to copy scrolls.

The reason we haven't been harvesting materials from Darian for years is entirely because we now have a stable source of materials.

Furthermore, after more than twenty years of practice, his skills in drawing talismans have improved considerably.

Nowadays, when drawing the most frequently practiced talismans such as the Spirit Gathering Talisman, the Object Storage Talisman, and the Concealment Talisman, the need for spiritual guidance is basically eliminated, and the requirement for materials is greatly reduced.

Perhaps in a few years, he will be able to draw all the talismans without any spiritual guidance.

After hearing Anton's words, Darian nodded slightly: "That's good, this way you can focus more on learning magic..."

Seeing that his mentor was about to repeat the same old clichés, Anton quickly changed the subject: "Teacher, besides copying scrolls, what other magical arts are there?"

Darian wasn't annoyed by the interruption and patiently explained, "There are three main arts of magic: enchanting, alchemy, and potion making."

"Among them, enchanting represents the communication between runes and energy. Various self-activating magic circles and persistent devices are inseparable from the rune effects carefully engraved by enchanters. Strictly speaking, scroll copying is also a branch of enchanting."

"Alchemy represents the transformation of matter and structure, focusing more on solidifying magic in a specific medium to create lasting and stable extraordinary effects. Magical item making and puppet making both fall under the scope of alchemy."

"As for potion making, I don't need to say more, do I?"

Darian looked at Anton. "You're asking this because you want to learn other skills?"

"I'm slightly interested."

Anton had only intended to change the subject, but Darian's explanation piqued his interest instead.

Let's skip potion making and enchanting.

Once he breaks through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining, he can begin to study alchemy.

Based on his current understanding of the potion effects in the Dawn Continent, they are not even worthy of carrying the shoes of alchemists.

Ultimately, the development of potions in the Dawn Continent is still too rudimentary.

Not only is the variety of potions far less than that of alchemy, but their potential is also lower. For experts at the Gold rank and above, they are essentially ineffective.

However, alchemy is different. Even powerful beings in the Tribulation Transcending stage or the Mahayana stage still possess top-tier pills that can be effective.

There are even legendary elixirs that immortals supposedly consume.

From any perspective, the alchemy system within the cultivation system far surpasses the potions of the Dawn Continent.

With the treasure trove of alchemy right in front of him, Anton had no need to go to great lengths to learn potion making.

As for enchanting, it's simply because it's not very useful to him at this stage.

It would be more appropriate to study the formations of the cultivation system when my cultivation level is higher.

Alchemy was the only subject that Anton was somewhat interested in.

Of course, he wasn't interested in the creation of magical items in alchemy, but rather in the crafting of golems.

The puppets on the Dawn Continent vary greatly in size, ranging from small wooden puppets that can only be used for manual labor to move heavy objects to large Vajra golems that can rival Gold-tier powerhouses.

In the "Rise of the Gods" version, even god-like golems made from the bodies of gods appeared, possessing power close to that of gods.

Within the cultivation system, there is also a school of thought that focuses on puppet crafting.

Cultivators use wood, stone, metal, spirit jade, animal bones, and even flesh and corpses to create puppets for guarding mountains and protecting their homes, as well as for fighting and killing.

The most well-known of these is the Corpse Puppet Path, also known as the Corpse Refining Path.

Cultivators refine zombies into puppets, from white zombies, black zombies, jumping zombies, flying zombies, wandering corpses, lying corpses, and uncorrupted bones, to the legendary drought demon, all of which can be controlled to fight enemies.

Secondly, there are the Taoist soldiers.

These are guardian weapons crafted or summoned using secret methods. They exist between living beings and artifacts, obeying the cultivators, fighting fiercely without fear of death, and never betraying them.

Among them, the most famous are the Yellow Turban Warriors, the Six Ding and Six Jia, the Five Camps of Divine Soldiers, and the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals.

Yellow Turban Warriors are one type of talisman soldiers, made from talismans and various other materials. They are also the most popular Dao soldiers to command among Qi Refining cultivators.

"The materials needed to craft talisman soldiers are relatively simple, and substitutes can be easily found in the Dawn Continent. You can refer to the puppet crafting in alchemy to see if there are any aspects you can learn from."

When used properly, Taoist soldiers can play a significant role.

Anton never thought there were too many ways to defend himself.

"Teacher, do you have any books on alchemy here? Especially those on puppet making."

Darian gave Anton a deep look, nodded, turned around, took a few books from the bookshelf, and handed them to Anton.

"Take it one step at a time. These books cover the basics of alchemy. Take a look at them first, and come back to me when you've finished them."

"Thank you, teacher."

Anton thanked him, picked up the books, and took his leave.

Watching Anton's departing figure, Darian sighed almost imperceptibly.

He had long realized that Anton's mind was never truly on magic.

In recent years, he has been busy with something, often disappearing from sight, and the frequency of people seeking his help has also decreased significantly.

If Eleanor were this age, she would have already started learning second-circle spells, but Anton's progress is still stuck at first-circle spells.

Although Anton's learning progress was not considered lagging behind given his magical talent, Darian believed that Anton could have done even better if he had focused more on magic.

And now he's also interested in alchemy...

"Young people are still fickle."

Darian shook his head and rubbed his temples with a worried expression.