Elven cultivators

Nine Nether City, Hall of Merit.

"They're out! They're out!"

As soon as Ye Tong stepped out of the gate, her three cat-person companions waiting outside eagerly surrounded her, their eyes immediately landing on her feet.

"This is the Flowing Light Step you mentioned."

Ye Tong was wearing a pair of ankle-length soft boots. The uppers were made of some kind of semi-transparent rubber material, which looked very flexible.

The upper of the shoe is engraved with cloud-like patterns, which seem to flow like clouds as you walk.

Ye Tong twirled lightly in place, her face full of joyful smiles.

"How is it? Pretty good, right?"

"I asked the people in the Hall of Merit, and they said this is a new shipment that was just delivered from Taichu City last month. Its quality is even a level higher than the rune equipment produced in Silvermoon Forest."

As Ye Tong spoke, she suddenly bent her knees and lowered her waist, her whole body like a fully drawn bow.

The next second, the cat-girl's figure suddenly blurred.

The other three cat-people only saw a blur before Night's Eye appeared more than ten meters away next to the stone pillar.

"Explosive acceleration." Night's voice was filled with undisguised pride. "This is a special ability that comes with the Flowing Light Step. It can instantly and greatly increase speed, lasting for three breaths, with a cooldown of about two hours. It can also increase normal movement speed by about 30%."

The three cat-human companions marveled, their eyes simultaneously filled with envy.

"That's great." A cat-girl said with envy, "If I had a piece of equipment of this luminous quality, I wouldn't have been chased by those bone-rotting spiders so badly that I almost vomited my lungs out last time."

"I want one too." Another cat-person sighed. "But exchanging for the Radiant Steps requires a whopping 800 merit points. We don't even have enough merit points to exchange for Dragon Essence Potions, let alone extra to exchange for Glimmer-level equipment."

"Unless someone like Ye Tong is lucky enough to discover a rare plant growing site and instantly gain a large amount of merit points, it's not something to expect in the short term."

Hearing this, the other two cat-men couldn't help but feel a little resentful.

The Silvermoon Clan's Dragon Essence Potion is the most miraculous potion they have ever seen.

After using the Dragon Essence Potion, they experienced for the first time in their lives the wonderful feeling of their magic power increasing rapidly, which was simply irresistible.

After that, they used most of their merits to exchange for Dragon Essence Potions.

The remaining merit points were used to improve living conditions or to exchange for resources needed for exploration; there were indeed no extra merit points to exchange for anything else.

"Don't be discouraged."

Seeing that her companion was in low spirits, Ye Tong abandoned her boastful thoughts and quickly said:

"As the exploration continues, there will only be more and more places to earn merit points."

"Besides, we're already living a pretty good life. Could you have imagined this kind of life three years ago?"

"That's true."

"Life is definitely much better now than before."

"Three years ago, I couldn't have imagined that I could advance to the Black Iron rank before I turned thirty."

The three cat-men roused themselves.

Three years ago at this time, their community was struggling to survive and have enough to eat, living hand to mouth.

Although we now have to participate in exploration missions and fight dangerous underground creatures, at least we no longer have to worry about being attacked by other forces one day.

Moreover, their efforts paid off, allowing them to improve their lives and enhance their abilities with their achievements, giving them hope for the future.

It's much better than before.

Seeing that her companion's mood had improved, Ye Tong excitedly brought up another matter.

"Oh, right, I just noticed there are a few more strength-based martial arts techniques on the exchange list!"

"Power cultivation technique?" A cat-girl's ears twitched. "You mean that special breathing method that doesn't require magic circulation and relies purely on tempering the physical body?"

"That's right." Night Eyes nodded vigorously.

The three cat-men's eyes lit up immediately.

As far as they knew, the soldiers of the Silver Moon Legion had increased their strength so rapidly because they had practiced a special breathing technique called the Eight Desolations Suppressing Prison Scripture.

If only they could cultivate too...

Thinking of this, the three cat-people couldn't wait to ask.

"How many merit points are needed to exchange for it?"

"It must be very expensive."

"Seven thousand? Eight thousand? It won't cost tens of thousands, will it?"

Ye Tong scratched his cheek and said, "It's not the Eight Desolate Suppressing Prison Scripture, but several other cultivation techniques. I heard from the people in the Merit Hall that their effects are not as good as the Eight Desolate Suppressing Prison Scripture, but the merit points required to exchange for them are also much less. The least expensive one only requires three thousand merit points to exchange for."

Hearing this, the three cat-people's excitement did not diminish in the slightest; on the contrary, it became even more fervent.

"Even if the effect is slightly worse than the Eight Desolations Suppressing Prison Scripture, it is still better than the breathing technique we are currently practicing."

"The effect is a bit worse, and the resources needed for cultivation may also be less. After all, we don't have the same good treatment as the Silver Moon Legion soldiers, who have fire-mane beast meat supplied at every meal."

"Three thousand merit points... It seems I need to work harder to earn more merit points, otherwise I don't know when I'll be able to afford it."

The three cat-people chattered excitedly, their words filled with anticipation for the future.

Just as Ye Tong was about to speak, she suddenly caught a glimpse of movement on the other side of the street out of the corner of her eye.

Four young elves dressed in blue robes emerged from around the corner.

Night's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the four elves.

She recognized these elves.

They were also part of the exploration team, and were said to be disciples of the Primordial City.

He usually gets along very well with Lord Roman, the captain of the exploration team.

Looking at the four elves' composed and otherworldly demeanor, Ye Tong couldn't help but feel a deep sense of envy.

The disciples of Taichu City are arguably the most prestigious group in the Silver Moon Clan, aside from the higher-ups.

The compensation speaks for itself.

The medicine they usually use to aid their cultivation is called Dragon Essence Pill, which is said to be several times more effective than Dragon Essence Elixir.

When not exploring outside, one can stay in the Spirit Gathering Chamber in the inner city of Nine Nether City to cultivate, where the energy concentration is said to be four or five times that of the outer city.

Any piece of equipment they carry is at least at the luminous level, and some may even have more than one piece of extraordinary equipment.

The technique he cultivated was a top-tier cultivation method that was no weaker than the Eight Desolations Suppressing Prison Scripture.

Compared to these vassal races, they are worlds apart.

"The difference is huge..."

Ye Tong murmured softly, then shook her head sharply, suppressing the unrealistic envy in her heart.

"Let's go." She called to her companions, "Go back and get some rest, recharge your energy, we'll be going back to the team in a few days."

The companions came to their senses and left together.

……

"Ryan, what's wrong?"

Noticing Ryan's gaze, Flora asked in confusion.

"It's nothing."

Ryan withdrew his gaze from the cat-girl's direction, shook his head, and continued with the important matter.

"Everyone has accumulated quite a bit of merit this time, which translates into a considerable amount of contribution points. What do you plan to exchange for when you return to Taichu City?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Mia eagerly said, "Of course it's a magic weapon! I've had my eye on a fire-attribute whip magic item for a long time, and I'm definitely going to get it this time!"

Flora smiled and said, "I want to exchange for a spirit beast."

Spirit beast...

Ryan subconsciously glanced at the Firebird on Mia's shoulder.

During the exploration of the Underdark, Firebird played a significant role, saving Mia from injury on several occasions.

Exchanging for a spirit beast to assist in battle and for self-defense seems like a good option.

Ryan remembered that in the Beast Garden Beast Compendium he had recently looked at, there were several kinds of beasts that were very suitable for fighting in the environment of the Dark Region.

"Lucius, what about you?" Mia looked at the silent Lucius beside her. "What are you planning to exchange for?"

Lucius succinctly stated: "The right to use the quiet room in the Tower of Nine Heavens."

Ryan and Flor both showed expressions of "I knew it" at the same time.

Lucius was obsessed with the way of the sword and did not rely on external objects. Apart from swords, he had never been interested in talismans, spirit beasts, or magical artifacts.

Most of the merit points earned were used to exchange for various pills that aided cultivation, or the right to use the meditation room in the Nine Heavens Tower.

Compared to the quiet rooms where they lived, the quiet rooms in the Nine Heavens Tower had a much higher energy concentration.

One day of cultivation there is equivalent to ten days or half a month of cultivation outside.

On the list of items most frequently exchanged by disciples of Taichu City, the right to use the meditation room in the Nine Heavens Tower consistently ranks among the top ten.

As they spoke, the four of them arrived at the teleportation hall of Nine Nether City.

The teleportation hall was much busier than usual because of the return of the exploration team.

Elves, cat people, ghost scale people... a dense array of figures moved through the hall.

Some had just stepped out of the teleportation array, still carrying the damp smell unique to the underground, and hurriedly walked outwards.

Some lined up in front of the teleportation array, their waists bulging with supplies they had exchanged from Nine Nether City, their faces showing eagerness to return home.

In the center of the hall, a circular magic circle about ten meters in diameter was emitting a soft, silvery-white light.

"With the teleportation array, it's much easier to go back now."

Mia looked at the teleportation array that was operating in front of her and couldn't help but sigh:

"In the past, it would take most of the day just to travel from Jiuyou City back to Taichu City, but now it only takes the blink of an eye."

Both Ryan and Flora agreed wholeheartedly.

Their turn came quickly.

Ryan took the token from his waist and handed it over.

The elf on duty took the token, swiped it across a palm-sized array plate to confirm the permissions, then handed the token back and gestured for the elf to proceed.

The four of them filed into the teleportation array.

The array patterns lit up beneath their feet, and silvery-white light surged from all directions, enveloping their figures.

The next instant, the light suddenly shone brightly.

By the time Ryan came to his senses, the scenery around him had changed.

The gloom and coldness of Jiuyou City disappeared, replaced by bright and warm sunlight streaming in from the windows.

The hall here was even more crowded than in Nine Nether City. Elves and members of vassal races in various costumes moved back and forth between the teleportation arrays, their footsteps and conversations blending together, creating a vibrant and busy atmosphere.

"I'm back."

Mia took a deep breath, stretched, and a contented smile appeared on her face.

"Primordial City is still the most comfortable."

Flora smiled and said, "Go to the Hall of Service first to hand in the mission, then go back and get some rest. We'll be returning to Nine Nether City in a few days."

Roman's return with the team is to gather more manpower and continue exploring further.

They returned to Taichu City to exchange for supplies and make full preparations for their next operation. They will return to Jiuyou City soon.

The four of them didn't linger and quickly left the teleportation hall.