Elven cultivators

The inner city of the Primordial City.

The warm sunlight streamed in from both sides of the corridor, making the bluestone pavement shine like a mirror.

Two disciples from Taichu City walked side by side through the east corridor, chatting and laughing about the several new missions recently released by Chengshi Hall.

One of the tall, thin disciples glanced casually ahead, then suddenly stopped and nudged his companion with his elbow.

"Look over there."

The other person followed his gaze and saw a slender figure walking past the end of the corridor.

She was a half-elf girl.

She wore a light blue robe, the hem of which was slightly fluttered by the breeze and gently swept across the edge of the stone bricks.

Her long, silver-gray hair hung down to her waist, the ends swaying gently with her steps, like a thin layer of moonlight.

She was exceptionally beautiful, with delicate features that looked as if they had been drawn with an extremely fine brush. She exuded an ethereal and aloof aura that made it difficult to look away once you saw her.

Another disciple's eyes lit up, and he whispered, "Is she Ivy? The one with the Yin Physique?"

"Who else could it be?" the tall, thin disciple exclaimed. "I heard that she refined her first breath of spiritual energy in just one year and three months, a few months faster than Senior Brother Ryan."

"Really?" His companion asked, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Why would I lie to you?" The tall, thin disciple shook his head, his tone filled with undisguised envy. "Spiritual bodies are just that exaggerated. The Haoyang True Body is already rare enough, but the Taiyin Body is said to be even rarer than the Haoyang True Body. Their cultivation speed is naturally on a completely different level compared to ours."

Upon hearing this, another disciple also showed envy, remained silent for a moment, and then sighed with regret: "What a pity, why didn't this kind of spiritual body appear in our own race?"

Upon hearing this, the tall, thin disciple frowned almost imperceptibly and lowered his voice: "Don't talk nonsense like that. The clan leader has said before that anyone, regardless of race, is a fellow disciple of Taichu City once they become a disciple. Saying things like 'family' or 'outsider' is just asking for trouble."

"If this were to overhear by someone with ulterior motives and reach Lady Eleanor's ears, I'm afraid I'd be in for a scolding."

The other disciple, after being told that, showed a hint of embarrassment on his face and mumbled vaguely, "I was just saying, don't take it seriously..."

The two glanced again at the figure disappearing at the end of the corridor, then stopped talking about it and quickened their pace toward the Chengshi Hall.

……

Ivy ignored the gazes, both overt and covert, around her.

Ever since the day her spirit body was detected and she was personally summoned by the clan leader and taught cultivation techniques, she has attracted attention wherever she goes.

Whether out of curiosity, scrutiny, or whispered discussion, she had long been accustomed to these occasional glances.

As long as it doesn't disturb her cultivation, she doesn't care.

She has been in Taichu City for almost two years and has gradually adapted to everything here.

He would refine spiritual energy in the morning, practice magic and martial arts in the afternoon, and read ancient texts in the evening.

The days were filled with one thing after another.

She gradually grew to like this rhythm.

No longer need to live in fear, worrying that one day they will be discovered by a slave hunting team, hunted down, captured, or sold to some unknown place.

She finally has a place where she can live in peace, no longer having to wander around and hide like before.

At the same time, she also set new goals.

That means working hard to cultivate oneself and reach a higher level.

Ivy subconsciously looked towards the center of the Primordial City, her gaze passing over the layers of eaves and tree canopies, landing on the towering and majestic Nine Heavens Tower.

She set this goal not to prove anything, but simply because she didn't want to let down the person who pulled her out of the abyss in the firelight of the slave-hunting camp.

She hopes that one day in the future, she will be qualified enough to stand beside that person and have enough power to repay that kindness.

She never slacked off in pursuit of this goal.

Therefore, she found joy even in the most tedious training.

The only regret was that she hadn't seen that person since that day at the Tianyuan Hall.

I heard that he spends most of his time in seclusion in the Nine Heavens Tower and rarely goes out.

Therefore, whenever she passed by that tower, she would subconsciously look up, as if she could sense the person's presence through layers of bricks and barriers.

Just as her thoughts were drifting, a muffled roar came from ahead, followed by cheers.

When Evie came to her senses, she realized that she had already walked to the vicinity of the training ground.

The training ground is where disciples of Taichu City practice and spar.

Every day, many disciples spar here, or test newly crafted magical artifacts and talismans. Occasionally, disciples also practice their spells here.

However, usually by this time the training grounds would be mostly empty, but today it was unusually lively.

Ivy slowed her pace and looked into the arena through a few low bushes. She saw more than a dozen disciples gathered around a Five-Stage Divine Weapon, excitedly discussing something.

One of the figures was particularly eye-catching.

He was noticeably shorter than the elves around him, his skin was grayish, and his skin from his fingertips to his wrists was covered with dark blue lines, like veins spreading out along blood vessels.

Evie recognized it as an intelligent race called the Marked Race, which was said to be very good at invention and creation.

At the same time, she also learned the other party's identity.

Nordwin, the only Marked Clan disciple in the City of the Beginning.

She is said to have an exceptional talent for weapon crafting and is highly regarded by Lady Eleanor.

On the training ground, the disciples surrounding the five battalions of divine soldiers were still chattering excitedly.

One of the disciples tapped the breastplate of the divine weapon, producing a clear metallic echo, then turned to Nordwin and smiled, "This fifth-tier divine weapon is no weaker than the previous versions forged with magic cores. The new spirit stone core has no problems whatsoever; it's a complete success!"

"With this spirit stone core, the difficulty of forging the Five Battalions of Divine Weapons has been greatly reduced. I've been eyeing the reward for that mission for a long time, and now I can finally give it a try."

"Not only the five battalions of divine soldiers, but the spirit stone core can be applied to other magic crystal technology products to replace the old energy cores and greatly improve product quality. Anything driven by an energy core can benefit from this."

"That's good. I think we should rename Magic Crystal Technology to Spirit Stone Technology. Once the production of spirit stones increases, the entire system will need to be overhauled."

"Nordwin, you have done a great service this time. When Lady Eleanor finds out, she will definitely reward you with a large sum of contribution points."

The other disciples also echoed this with smiles on their faces.

Nordwin stood beside the five battalions of divine soldiers, trying his best to control his expression, but the slight upturn of his lips and the barely suppressed light in his eyes still betrayed the joy in his heart at this moment.

Having invested so much time and effort in the spirit stone core, experiencing countless failures and restarts, he was finally overjoyed to see results.

Even so, he remained calm and pondered, "It's too early to talk about this now. The clan's supply of spirit stones is already tight. The new core is useful, but unless the production of spirit stones can be increased, it will be difficult to promote and popularize spirit stone technology. This is an unavoidable problem."

Upon hearing this, the disciple beside him smiled and said, "This problem is not difficult to solve. The clan is already cultivating spirit stone veins, and there is more than one. As far as I know, the spirit stone veins in the Eldron Plains will be fully formed in another fifty or sixty years at most."

"By then, the conditions for promoting and popularizing spirit stone technology will be ripe."

"This is a good time for you to research the applications of spirit stone technology."

"That's right, it's only been fifty or sixty years, it'll be over in the blink of an eye." Another person chimed in, "Besides, even if we can't expand for the time being, the spirit stone cores alone are enough to make a big contribution."

Laughter and praise erupted from all around, their voices filled with genuine admiration.

The disciples present were well aware of the immense significance of the birth of the spirit stone core.

It can not only reduce the difficulty of forging high-level Dao soldiers, but also enhance the combat power of mid- and low-level Dao soldiers.

It had a significant impact on the clan's military system.

And this is only one aspect.

In a broader context, the emergence of the Spirit Stone Core also signifies a significant upgrade to the entire clan's industrial and military systems.

When the spirit stone mine is fully formed and spirit stone technology is fully implemented, the Silver Moon Clan will likely undergo a dramatic transformation.

Thinking about this, they all felt like they were witnessing history.

Several of the younger disciples looked at Nordwin with blatant admiration.

Ivy stood outside the bushes, listening quietly for a while, her eyes sparkling.

Although she hadn't been a beginner for long, she had already come into contact with some basic knowledge of Dao weapon crafting and magic crystal technology, and naturally understood the significance of the appearance of spirit stone cores for both.

She glanced at Nordwin again.

This disciple of the Marked Race stood in the center of the crowd. The disciples surrounding him looked at him with no sense of alienation or distance from other races, only genuine admiration.

During her time in Primordial City, Ivy had come to fully appreciate that this place was far more tolerant of outsiders than anywhere else.

But seeing this scene before her, she couldn't help but be moved.

Under that great man's influence, the Primordial City truly puts strength and contribution into account, regardless of background or origin.

As a half-elf, the fact that she can stand here, be addressed as a fellow disciple, and have a safe place to cultivate is all thanks to that great man's declaration and the determination behind it.

"Junior Sister Ivy?"

A voice pulled Evie back to reality from her reverie.

She came to her senses and realized that she had been standing by the bushes for quite a while, and a passing disciple was smiling and greeting her.

Ivy pursed her lips, nodded slightly in response, then looked away and continued walking along the warehouse area.

She needs to work even harder in her cultivation.