Elven cultivators

The battle on the Azure Plains attracted the attention of the entire Dawn Continent.

On that plain repeatedly ravaged by war, tens of thousands of lives were lost every day, and the shifting and tug-of-war of the battle lines affected the nerves of every force.

Spies from all over the mainland, like sharks that have smelled blood, lingered around the battlefield day and night, turning every change in the battle line and every troop movement into intelligence, which was then sent to all directions by airships, carrier eagles and secret messengers.

But all this noise and turmoil had nothing to do with Anton, who was far away in the Primordial Spirit Realm.

He immersed himself entirely in his cultivation and research, turning a deaf ear to the disturbances of the outside world.

After successfully mastering the One Thought Sword, Anton did not stop.

He turned his attention to another sword technique with the same core, "One Sword Transforms into Myriad Laws," attempting to integrate the Tai Xuan One Qi Five Elements Great Hand, Tai Xuan Yuan Han True Qi, Hao Yi Three Yang Qi, and Zi Xiao Divine Thunder into the sword light.

The ability to transform one sword into myriad techniques is far more than simply "attaching" a few supernatural abilities to the sword light.

That was just the most basic application.

True mastery is making the sword light itself a vessel for supernatural power.

Each of the differentiated sword lights contains a completely different supernatural power.

Only by achieving this can one be said to have truly mastered the essence of "one sword can transform into all techniques".

At the same time, he did not relax his comprehension of the Dharma Gate of Dividing Light and Separating Elements.

This method is the foundation of "one sword transforms into myriad techniques." Without a sufficient number of sword lights, even if each sword light can carry supernatural power, it is difficult to form an overwhelming suppressive force.

Once he achieves a breakthrough in both of these, his combat power will increase by at least 50% to 60%.

In a contest between those at the pinnacle of sainthood or even the level of divinity, this improvement is enough to tip the scales of the battle.

Besides swordsmanship and supernatural powers, Ando has another matter that requires his focus.

That is the research on the core of the ancient golem.

The ancient golems newly discovered in the Underdark, which coexist with Blood Soul Crystals, do indeed have core structures and energy conduction and output methods that are more similar to the mainstream puppet cores of the Dawn Continent.

They are no longer completely unfamiliar energy loops that need to be analyzed from scratch.

Thanks to this, the research on alternatives has become much less difficult than before, and progress has been much smoother than expected.

Anton only needs to extract the optimized part of energy conduction and output, combine it with the existing spirit stone core technology of the Primordial City, and then adapt and adjust it according to the size and power requirements of the guardian deities, to obtain a brand-new core that retains the essence of ancient techniques and fits the current craft system.

……

Nine Heavens Tower, Daoist Armory.

The heavy stone door completely shut out the sounds from the outside world, leaving only the deep and steady hum of the magic crystal alchemy furnace.

The air was filled with a faint smell of metal and spirit stone powder.

Eleanor stood in the center of the workshop, her eyes fixed on Anton's every move.

On the stone platform in the very center of the workshop, a guardian deity lay quietly. Its body was sleek and its armor magnificent, but it lacked the aura that emanated from its active form, like a sleeping, empty shell.

Anton stood before the stone platform, his expression calm and serene.

He raised his hand, a brand new core between his fingers.

It is slightly larger than a regular magic core. The extra part is an outer shell made of spirit stones, which looks quite similar to the core of the ancient golem that is symbiotic with the blood soul crystal, except that the surface is engraved with fine and complex runes.

Anton gently pressed the core into the groove in the center of the guardian deity's chest cavity.

The moment the core sank in, it was like a stone sinking into water; the surface of the carapace miraculously healed itself, restoring it to its original state without leaving even a crack.

The next instant, the guardian deity's body trembled violently.

Pale golden patterns rapidly spread outwards from the core in the center of the chest cavity, along the veins of the armor, like water being re-injected into a dried-up riverbed, illuminating every joint and rune.

A heavy, oppressive aura emanated from the god's body, pressing down heavily on the air in the workshop.

Eleanor subconsciously channeled her magic, and a layer of pale blue spiritual light flowed across her body, finally dispelling the overwhelming sense of oppression.

An expectant look unconsciously appeared on her face, her gaze fixed on the resurrected divine general on the stone platform.

On the other side, Anton's divine sense had already probed into the body of the divine general like fine silk threads, carefully examining the energy circuits connected by the new core.

A moment later, he withdrew his divine sense, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

"Good, all functions meet the standard."

Eleanor's expectant look instantly turned into joy: "So, does that mean we can use the new cores to refine guardian generals from now on?"

"Yes, the research on the alternative can be considered a success." Anton nodded, but then shook his head. "However, this only solved the core problem. The material cost has not been reduced. The rare materials required to refine a Guardian General are still a considerable amount."

"That's pretty good too."

Eleanor's smile deepened, her tone devoid of any disappointment.

Before this, the number of guardian deities a clan could forge depended entirely on how many ancient golem cores they could find.

But once the core problem is solved, they will be able to independently refine the guardian deities.

Even if the materials are hard to find and the cost is high, it doesn't matter. We can collect them slowly and accumulate them year by year.

Even if only one can be forged per year, a hundred can be accumulated over a hundred years.

That's the combat power of a peak legendary level.

A single guardian deity can easily suppress most peak legendary powerhouses.

The twelve guardian deities formed an array, enough to briefly contend with a Saint of the Saint Transformation Realm.

If they can truly accumulate a hundred or so guardian deities, the clan's top combat strength will reach a new level.

"I'll leave this to you." Anton pushed the list he had just finished writing in front of Eleanor. "It's all listed here. Just do it in batches according to priority."

"Okay," Eleanor replied swiftly and decisively.

The two left the Dao Bing Gong Fang side by side and arrived at the Tian Yuan Palace.

After sitting down behind the desk, Anton casually inquired about the recent situation in Taichu City.

Eleanor knew what he wanted to ask, and without beating around the bush, she recounted the data she had compiled over the past few years.

"In recent years, the birth rate has steadily increased, and more and more elven groups and clans have come to join us. The number of disciples has also increased accordingly. Now there are more than 2,800 disciples of our own race and more than 300 disciples of vassal races. Together, they are about to exceed 3,200."

Anton was somewhat moved upon hearing this.

He remembered that when the Primordial City was first built, there were fewer than one hundred disciples.

But now it has already exceeded three thousand.

This is still due to the limitations of spiritual roots, and because he strictly controlled the recruitment standards; otherwise, the number would have been even greater.

"How is your cultivation level?" Anton asked again.

"Currently, only Ryan and Lucius among my disciples have successfully condensed their cores," Eleanor replied. "Besides them, there are Flora, Mia, and Ivy, who have all reached the peak of Foundation Establishment and are just a few years away from breaking through."

Anton nodded secretly.

Among the first batch of disciples he recruited, Ryan and his three companions were the most outstanding in terms of both talent and temperament, so it is not surprising that they made the fastest progress in their cultivation.

Needless to say, Evie was an even bigger fish in the sea.

The Taiyin body is practically born for cultivating the Tao.

For ordinary students, her abilities were practically superhuman.

It's only natural that they caught up with Flora and Mia's progress.

In a few hundred years, she might very well surpass Ryan and Lucius and become the strongest among her disciples.

Qualifications are sometimes truly unreasonable.

At this point, Eleanor paused suddenly, looking hesitant.

Anton noticed her unusual expression and laughed, "Just say what you want to say. Why are we behaving so mysteriously?"

Eleanor smiled and, without further hesitation, recounted the recent problems one by one.

As the number of disciples increased, the old management system gradually became inadequate.

When there were only a hundred or so disciples, she and Anton could take care of each one as if they were managing a small class.

But when this number exceeded three thousand and continued to grow, the Primordial City evolved from an academy into a small society of considerable size.

Relying solely on one or two people for direct management has led to a sharp decline in efficiency.

The delivery of orders began to be delayed, and some institutional frictions and conflicts were not addressed or resolved in a timely manner.

The difficulties at the teaching level are equally significant.

Currently, disciples can only receive unified guidance when they first enter the sect. After that, most people can only exchange contribution points for guidance from higher-level cultivators.

However, with a current population of three thousand, the time allotted for high-level cultivators is extremely limited, and many disciples often have to wait a long time before it's their turn to receive guidance.

The inability to get timely answers to the questions encountered during cultivation slows down the growth of the entire group.

"I'm thinking about whether we should change the management system," Eleanor added at the end.

After listening, Anton's smile slowly faded, replaced by a calm expression of serious contemplation.

What Eleanor said is indeed a problem that deserves attention.

The management system must keep pace with the growth in scale. Otherwise, inefficiency will gradually erode the foundation of the entire system, like an anthill.

An "academy" with three thousand disciples can no longer manage a "class" of one hundred students in the same way.

It needs a more refined and hierarchical structure to match it.

Anton's thoughts raced, and after a moment, he made a plan.

Anton pulled a blank sheet of paper from his desk, picked up a pen, paused slightly on the paper, and then began to write.

The pen strokes moved across the paper without hesitation, and lines of strong characters flowed down from the tip of the pen like water.

Eleanor sat opposite her, her gaze fixed on the rapidly filling sheet of paper, watching the words with a hint of curiosity.

Gradually, a look of surprise appeared on her face.