Elven cultivators

Time flies, and more than three months have passed in the blink of an eye.

In the tranquil treehouse, Anton sat cross-legged, his eyes gently closed, his breathing long and soft.

Deep within the dantian, five streams of spiritual energy swirled and rotated like dragons, with the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water chasing each other, constantly colliding and merging.

The cycle of the five elements was teetering on the brink of collapse, as if it would disintegrate at any moment, yet it maintained a delicate balance under his control.

After an unknown period of time, a subtle connection finally arose between the five elements.

Wood generates fire, fire generates earth, earth generates metal, metal generates water, and water generates wood. The power of mutual generation gradually rises, while the power of mutual restraint gradually diminishes. The circulation of the five elements becomes more and more harmonious, like five spiritual snakes with their heads and tails connected, weaving a picture of endless life in the dantian.

Suddenly, a tiny flame quietly appeared at the core of the Five Elements cycle.

It was no bigger than a candle flame, yet it changed colors, sometimes blue, sometimes red, sometimes yellow, sometimes white, sometimes black, its brightness flickering, just like a living thing.

The Five Elements True Fire, in its initial stages!

Anton slowly opened his eyes, a five-colored light flashing briefly in his pupils.

He looked down at his palm, and with a slight thought, a wisp of flame appeared out of thin air. As he continued to change shape and color with his will, the flame blazed and leaped, yet his palm did not feel the slightest bit hot.

"Finally, we've successfully condensed it."

Anton's face lit up with a genuine smile of joy.

The Five Elements True Fire is not only the foundation of alchemy, but also a deadly weapon of unpredictable power.

Now he has another powerful trump card.

"With my current strength, dealing with opponents in the lower ranks of the Silver tier should not be a problem."

"If the opponent still has attribute weaknesses, even a top-tier Silver player can be defeated."

As a long-lived race, the average strength of the Elf race far surpasses that of most other races.

Their long lifespans give them ample time to mature, and even those with mediocre talent can steadily reach the Black Iron rank after hundreds of years of cultivation.

For those with slightly better qualifications, advancing to Silver rank within their lifetime is a natural progression.

Therefore, although the Elf race has a small population, the number of strong individuals is quite considerable, allowing them to rank among the top five races on the Dawn Continent, excluding the Dragon race.

In stark contrast, there is the human race.

The average lifespan of humans is only a few decades. Compared to elves, dwarves, orcs, and sea creatures, they are among the least common races.

Most humans would spend their entire lives trying to reach the threshold of the Iron rank.

However, the sheer size of the human population meant that even if only one in a thousand people possessed exceptional talent, the sheer number of geniuses was still considerable in the face of such a massive population base.

Thanks to their exceptional talents, they achieved just as much as the immortals in a lifespan far shorter than that of the long-lived species.

Therefore, the number of strong individuals among the human race is no less than that of other races, thus enabling them to become one of the five major races.

However, the human race has a vast territory, and its powerful individuals are scattered throughout various places, making it difficult to encounter them under normal circumstances.

Anton's current strength is only considered average among the elves.

He could be considered a top-tier expert even in a town inhabited by humans.

"The spirit fire has been successfully refined; now we can try alchemy."

"But before that, we still need to go to Bishui Port to purchase materials."

Remembering the materials, Anton took out the Life Source Crystal from his pocket.

Since acquiring the Life Source Crystal, his efficiency in refining spiritual energy has increased significantly.

Even more remarkably, the Life Source Crystal can quickly heal injuries and transform into Life Spring Water.

Especially the latter.

Rare treasures like the Spring of Life, which contain pure life energy, can serve as a substitute for most wood-attribute spiritual materials, saving him countless hours of searching for alternatives.

It's like a pillow being delivered just when you're feeling sleepy.

As for rare treasures like Life Source Crystals, there are many more on the Dawn Continent, and Anton knows of quite a few places where such treasures exist.

However, those places are either hidden in dangerous areas or occupied by powerful beings, and he doesn't dare to covet them with his current strength.

We can only wait until our cultivation improves before making any plans.

Looking at the clock on the wall, and seeing that it was still early, Anton simply jumped out of bed, packed his things, and prepared to leave.

Before leaving, he found Roman as always and asked her to cover for him.

With the halo of being a "genius who excels in both magic and martial arts," Anton was essentially a semi-free agent within the clan.

The unique nature of magic combat techniques meant that no one could teach him; he had to study and improve on his own.

Aside from needing to consult Darian or the combat skills instructor when encountering difficulties, you can arrange your time as you see fit.

Even so, the necessary cover still needed to be taken; Anton didn't want to be discovered secretly leaving the forest.

"Just bear with it for now. Once you become a Wind Whisperer, you won't have to sneak around anymore."

He affixed his Concealment Talisman, Invisibility Talisman, and Lightness Talisman, and his figure moved like a wisp of smoke as he effortlessly passed through the security net and left the Silvermoon Forest.

The only thing separating Bluewater Harbor from Silvermoon Forest is the Thousand Rock Hills. It only takes a few hours to reach them by passing through the outer area of ​​the Thousand Rock Hills.

For safety reasons, one can bypass the Thousand Rocks Hills to reach Bishui Port directly, but it will take several times longer.

Thanks to his previous conversation with Harvey and the others, Anton learned a lot of information related to Bluewater Harbor.

Bishui Port is a large port city with a diverse population, predominantly inhabited by the human race. Its trade and fishing industries are highly developed, making it one of the commercial hubs along the entire eastern coast.

Spices, silks, and gems brought from overseas were gathered here and then transported inland by land.

The city is not directly ruled by a dragonborn lord, but is managed by an autonomous organization called the Azurewater Council.

They pay a huge sum of gold coins to Cresso Dragon City every year and allow the city to be garrisoned in exchange for "autonomy".

Dragon City, on the other hand, allows merchant ships from Bishui Port to conduct coastal trade under strict supervision, but all trade proceeds must be subject to heavy taxes in Dragon City.

The two sides thus maintained a delicate balance, allowing Bishui Port to remain relatively prosperous and open.

"The Silvermoon Clan is closed off but relatively free, while Azurewater Harbor is open but shackled with layers of restrictions. Which is better...?"

The thought flashed through Anton's mind, and he immediately shook his head and chuckled.

There's no question of which is better or worse; whether it's closed or open, it's essentially a choice of survival strategy.

The Silvermoon Clan does not have to directly face the cruelty of the dragons' rule, but they have to defend against the invasions of lizardmen and dragon beasts every year.

Although Bishui Port is economically prosperous and has few external threats, it is constantly constrained by Longcheng.

Regardless of the choice, one fundamental fact remains unchanged—in the face of dragons, they are not free subjects, but rather vassals who are imprisoned, exploited, and ready to be harvested at any time.

Only by tearing down the iron curtain of dragon rule can true freedom be achieved.

However, to achieve this, we would have to wait until six hundred years later when the Dragon God Aio falls and the power of the dragon race weakens.