Elven cultivators

Time flies by unnoticed, and more than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Summer of the year 9545 in the Dawn Calendar.

Black Mountain City, on the northern border of the mainland.

The town is named after the dense black mines that surround it within a radius of 100 miles.

In a time when the northern part of the mainland has been reduced to scorched earth, it is one of the few remaining pristine places.

The reason they were able to remain unscathed was simple—this was Silvermoon Clan territory.

The city wall, which is over ten zhang high, is entirely built from black mountain rocks sourced locally, and looks extremely majestic.

On the city wall, soldiers of the vassal race, fully armed, stood guard faithfully, but their eyes would occasionally glance unconsciously at the watchtower on the left that was a bit higher than the city wall, their eyes filled with undisguised awe.

They knew that there were two disciples of the Primordial City there.

The top floor of the watchtower.

Kilan sat cross-legged on the east-facing windowsill, his eyes lowered, his ten fingers slowly and steadily forming hand seals in front of him, practicing a spell he had only recently mastered.

Hayes lay on his back on the wooden floor, listlessly staring at the wooden beams of the dome. "I finally got to take on some missions, but instead I'm stuck here in this remote place. I was hoping to get a mission to collect death energy."

Hayes sighed wistfully.

Kieran continued practicing his spells, saying, "Don't even think about it. Our clan hardly fights the undead anymore. If we want to collect death energy, we have to go to other regions. The north is out of the question. Even the south, where the intensity of the war is the lowest, is still a war zone and very dangerous. Only inner disciples are qualified to take on such missions. Outer disciples shouldn't even think about it."

"Besides, this mission is not bad. Although it's a bit tedious, it's not dangerous. As long as you stay for a month, you can get a lot of contribution points. Isn't that great?"

"If you're really bored, go practice some magic."

Hayes frowned immediately: "I was cultivating in Taichu City, thinking that I could take on missions and get some fresh air. If I have to cultivate here, I might as well stay in Taichu City."

Kieran said quietly, "Don't blame me for not reminding you, next year is the outer sect competition. You don't want to be eliminated in the first round like last time, do you?"

Hayes opened his mouth, but ultimately couldn't refute it. He slumped his shoulders and sighed, "Fine, you have a point."

After saying that, he sat up and, imitating Kieran, began to practice his spells.

After successfully hosting the Inner Sect Competition, Taichu City also incorporated the Outer Sect Competition into its fixed format, holding it once every ten years.

This event has been held three times so far, and next year will be the fourth.

Disciples who excel in this competition not only receive enviable rewards but also gain more attention from higher-ups, and may even be chosen by an elder to become a disciple. Beyond this, there is an even more enticing benefit.

That is reputation.

Since the Dark Dragon King perished under Anton's sword, the Silver Moon Clan has become the undisputed sixth most powerful force.

Even though they are still on par with the other five major powers on the surface, many people privately look up to the Silvermoon Clan more favorably.

In terms of status, the Silvermoon Clan has already subtly surpassed the other five major powers.

After all, among the six major powers, only the Silvermoon Clan has ever truly defeated a necromancer lord-level being head-on.

As the core of the Silver Moon Clan, the Primordial City is the center of attention, and its every move is watched by countless forces.

Even though it was just an internal competition between disciples of the outer sect level, which, according to the standards of the Dawn Continent, was merely a contest between disciples of the Black Iron and Silver ranks, it still attracted a lot of attention.

As long as they can stand out on the field, the disciples can gain great fame in an instant.

Therefore, the disciples flocked to the outer sect competition, all wanting to achieve a good ranking.

In the previous two outer sect competitions, Hayes' cultivation level was low, and he was just a runner-up throughout. Watching others enjoy their glory, it would be a lie to say that he wasn't envious.

Now that he has finally broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining, he is naturally putting in all his effort to achieve a good ranking in next year's outer sect competition. Kieran is no exception; his goal is to be in the top thirty-six.

Only by joining this group can one truly be considered qualified to enter the upper echelons' field of vision.

After a moment, Kieran lowered his hands to rest and recover his spiritual energy.

He leaned against the window frame, his gaze sweeping across the city wall below, but his thoughts drifted far away.

Although the clan has not been greatly affected by the war in recent years, many major events have still occurred.

First, Lady Eleanor successfully broke through her cultivation barrier and condensed her Nascent Soul, becoming the second Nascent Soul cultivator after the City Lord.

Subsequently, Lord Roman also broke through to the fourth level of power.

Later, the Second Elder and Lord Cedric also crossed that threshold one after another.

In just over a decade, the clan produced four more saints.

If we include the Saint-level puppets possessed by the clans, the Saint-level combat power currently possessed by the Primordial City has already exceeded double digits.

The level of top-tier combat power has been greatly improved.

Of course, regardless of how the clan's high-level combat power changes, the true Optimus Prime will always be only the city lord. Kieran's gaze unconsciously drifted south.

I heard that the city lord has recently gone into seclusion again, and he's probably about to break through again.

The Dark Dragon King was incredibly fierce back then, one of the six great undead lords, a demigod-level being, yet he still died at the hands of the city lord.

Now that the city lord has gone into seclusion again, what will it be like when he emerges?

Kieran couldn't imagine it, and a longing involuntarily welled up in his heart.

He didn't aspire to reach the same level as the city lord in this lifetime.

But even if it's only a third, no, a fifth, he would be content.

Kieran was lost in thought when he suddenly heard a commotion below.

He raised an eyebrow, got up, walked to the window, and peered down.

Inside the city wall, a group of soldiers were running quickly down the stone steps.

Kieran looked out along the city wall and saw a group of figures slowly approaching from the distant wilderness.

He narrowed his eyes, gathering a wisp of spiritual energy within them.

The field of vision zoomed in instantly, and the faces of those figures became clear.

She had pointed ears, a pretty face, and a slender but slightly tired figure, and her clothes were old and tattered.

They were a group of half-elves.

Kilan withdrew his spiritual energy, his expression remaining largely unchanged.

In recent years, wars have frequently broken out on the mainland, and the undead have ravaged everywhere. Only the eastern part of the mainland has become a paradise because of the existence of the Silver Moon Clan.

All races lived in peace and prosperity, completely unaffected by the war.

Many war-torn races migrated to the east, regarding this land as their last refuge.

The number of elves and half-elves who joined the Silvermoon Clan reached an all-time high.

Last year alone, more than 30,000 half-elves came to seek refuge.

The direct consequence was that the Silvermoon Clan's population grew rapidly over the past ten years.

Kieran remembered hearing someone from the document office mention earlier this year that the local population had already surpassed 350,000. At the current rate of growth, that number would climb to 400,000 in two years at most.

The expansion of the population directly led to a rapid increase in the number of disciples in Taichu City.

The current population of Taichu City, including all disciples from vassal races, has exceeded 1,500.

Most of them were outer disciples.

This gives you an idea of ​​how intense next year's outer sect competition will be.

The commotion below the city wall lasted for a while before gradually subsiding.

The guards did not immediately let the refugees into the city.

According to the rules, these refugees must first stay in a temporary camp outside the city for a period of time.

They will undergo an examination during this period, and only after it is confirmed that there are no problems can they be allowed into the city.

This is done to prevent spies or enemies from infiltrating.

In previous years, several heavily fortified towns in Bloodhowl Fortress fell because a few disguised undead infiltrated the city, secretly transformed into undead, and then launched a surprise attack when the undead army attacked, causing chaos and leading to the fall of the towns.

Since then, all powers across the continent have become extremely strict in their scrutiny of people entering and leaving towns. The Silvermoon Clan is no exception.

Kieran looked away, no longer paying attention.

He sat back down and continued practicing his magic.

The next morning, the sky was bright.

Kieran had just finished his morning spiritual breathing exercise and was preparing to continue practicing his spells when the guard commander suddenly approached, his expression solemn.

"My lords, there is something I need to report to you."

Kieran paused slightly, exchanged a glance with Hayes, and asked, "What is it?"

The guard commander replied in a deep voice, "We discovered someone preaching among the refugees at the camp, and we have detained him on the spot according to regulations."

Missionary work?

Kieran and Hayes' expressions immediately turned solemn.

In recent years, as the situation on the mainland has become increasingly chaotic, many monsters and demons have emerged.

Among them are some churches of mysterious origin. Under the guise of providing asylum to refugees, they infiltrate towns and refugee camps in various places, secretly spreading various doctrines, guiding refugees to believe in the so-called "Lord," and recruiting people to expand their influence.

Some churches even disguised themselves as refugees and brazenly infiltrated the East to preach.

In recent years, the clan has taken strong measures to destroy two churches that had fled into the territory, and followed the clues to find the church leaders.

It is said that even the city lord was alarmed and personally took action to eliminate its high-ranking officials.

After that, the clan issued an explicit order that any missionary activities discovered by local garrisons and guards should be investigated strictly and without leniency.

Moreover, it's not just in the eastern region; the clan's intelligence network is reportedly searching for and tracking these churches in other areas as well.

Kieran never expected that, after two churches had already been ruthlessly wiped out by the clan, there would still be a church that dared to stubbornly approach the Silvermoon Clan's territory.

Where did this hothead come from?

He frowned and asked, "Where is he now?"

The guard commander replied respectfully, "He is kept in solitary confinement in the temporary cell on the east side of the camp, not mixed with anyone else."

Kieran nodded, exchanged a quick glance with Hayes, and then they walked down the watchtower together.

This matter is beyond the capabilities of the two outer disciples; it must be reported to their superiors.