The Elven Cultivator

The convoy moved slowly, the sound a dull thud of hooves mixed with the rumbling of wheels over the gravel road.

Seen from afar, a black carriage sat at the center of the procession. The coach was crafted from dark hardwood, its four corners inlaid with bronze decorations. A flag flew from its roof, embroidered with a draconic insignia in dark gold.

It was the mark of Kresol Dragon City.

Over twenty Dragon Race cavalrymen on Firemane Beasts guarded the carriage, moving forward slowly with it, their gazes warily scanning the surroundings.

Bringing up the rear were over a hundred fully-armed Gray Scale-man soldiers.

Anton’s gaze fell upon the carriage, but he only watched from a distance, not probing it with his Divine Sense.

Golden Tier experts generally possessed perception far beyond that of ordinary people. Though Divine Sense was formless and intangible, a rash probe was highly likely to be detected, putting their target on guard prematurely.

The convoy continued slowly along the valley path, completely unaware of the danger ahead, and soon entered Ashen Valley.

When the convoy reached the middle of the gorge, Summers raised his hand and gave a signal.

In the next instant, the five of them erupted from their hiding places almost simultaneously.

Scott raised his sword and swung, unleashing a crescent of pale cyan Sword Qi.

Summers swept his Long Sword, and a beam of silvery-white light shot from the blade as well. Faint, fine arcs of electricity leaped along its edges, emitting a sizzling crackle.

Bazzer and Vorn swung their War Axes in unison, unleashing two menacingly sharp beams of light, each a different color.

All four had chosen to attack by releasing highly condensed Magic Power, and all four had aimed, as if by agreement, at the carriage in the very center of the convoy.

Only Anton remained serene. With a mere thought, a beam of silvery-white light shot forth, tearing through the air like a bolt of lightning.

The beam of light was so fast that, despite being launched last, it reached the carriage at nearly the same instant as the other four attacks.

BOOM!

The carriage instantly exploded!

The two Firemane Beasts pulling the carriage were sent flying by the shockwave. They crashed heavily to the ground with terrified whinnies, twitched a few times, and then fell silent.

The Dragon Race cavalrymen beside the carriage were also blasted from their mounts, tumbling gracelessly across the ground several times before managing to regain their footing.

Dust and smoke billowed and rubble flew. The spot where the carriage had been was now a scene of utter ruin.

”Hahaha! We hit it!”

Vorn’s three heads shouted in unison with glee.

A look of delight also appeared on Bazzer’s face.

But Scott and Summers remained grave, charging toward the wreckage without a word.

Scott irritably threw a line over his shoulder.

”You idiots, it’s too early to celebrate! Hurry and keep up!”

Anton’s expression also remained unchanged.

The moment he attacked, his Divine Sense had already locked onto the person inside the carriage.

He could clearly sense that the person inside was completely unharmed.

Their attack had done no damage whatsoever.

Sure enough, in the next instant, a figure burst from the dust and smoke, swinging a sword at the approaching Scott and Summers.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The crisp sound of clashing metal erupted. In the blink of an eye, the three of them had already exchanged more than ten blows.

Scott and Summers were clearly at a disadvantage.

If Anton’s beam of light hadn’t arrived in time to distract Marcus, the two would have likely been injured.

The combatants broke apart after the brief exchange.

Scott and Summers created distance and stood their ground, staring at Marcus nearby as if facing a formidable enemy, their expressions grim.

Although they knew Marcus was strong, the power he had just displayed in that brief exchange had still exceeded their expectations.

If they hadn’t brought Canglan along for this mission, the success of the ambush would have been highly questionable.

Anton had appeared beside them at some point, his gaze fixed on Marcus.

For some reason, he sensed something familiar about the man.

Bazzer and Vorn had rushed over by now as well.

The latter, Vorn, stared at Marcus with wide eyes and clicked his tongue. ”Are all members of the Pure-blooded Dragon Race this tough? He took a combined attack from all of us and looks like nothing even happened.”

The other three, aside from Bazzer, couldn’t be bothered to answer his question.

They had never expected the initial assault to be effective in the first place.

To expect a mere sneak attack to succeed against an Upper Gold of the Pure-blooded Dragon Race would be to grossly underestimate him.

The purpose of the ambush was simply to eliminate Marcus outside Bishui Port.

”I was wondering which audacious fools would dare to attack me. So, it was you.”

Marcus recognized his assailants. His gaze turned icy, and his face filled with undisguised contempt.

”A pack of rats hiding in the sewers. You’ve finally decided to crawl out.”

”Who are you calling a rat?” Vorn’s middle head shouted.

”You spend all day hiding in your garrison yourself, and you have the nerve to call us rats?” his left head added, making a face at Marcus.

”You half-breed!” The right head clearly knew the most effective insult for a member of the Dragon Race.

Marcus’s face instantly darkened. He shot Vorn an icy glare but chose to ignore the dim-witted-looking creature, turning his attention to Anton instead.

”Canglan. So you really are a member of the Fallen Dragon Association.”

”You know perfectly well that Dragon City has a bounty out for you, yet you still dare to appear before me.”

”All the better. I’ll just take care of you and these rats today. It’ll save me the trouble of hunting you all down one by one later.”

Even though he was the one being ambushed, Marcus showed no sign of panic. Instead, his expression held a condescending arrogance and disdain.

It was as if the members of the Fallen Dragon Association were the true prey who had fallen into a trap.

This strange behavior made Scott and the others feel a rising sense of unease.

But the arrow was already on the string; things had come to a point where they had no other choice.

”Attack!”

Summers gave the others a meaningful look and was the first to charge Marcus.

Scott followed close behind.

Vorn and Bazzer were eager to fight, but as planned, they charged toward the recovering Dragon Race cavalry and Gray Scale-man soldiers to take care of the minions first.

Anton, however, remained motionless. The silvery-white light hovering at his side emitted a clear hum before shooting toward Marcus like a bolt of lightning.

The battle erupted once again.

This time, however, Scott and Summers sensed something was wrong the moment they engaged.

The instant their Long Swords clashed, both men felt a sudden heat surge through their bodies. The blood in their veins began to boil, growing scalding hot as if scorched by a raging fire.

An unbearable, searing pain quickly surged from their chests, spreading through their veins to every corner of their bodies.

Their skin flushed red at a visible rate, and sweat evaporated into white mist rising from their pores. They felt as if they had been thrown into a steamer.

”This is...”

Scott’s face contorted. As if realizing something, his eyes widened in horror and he blurted out:

”The Power of Law!”

Summers quickly realized it as well, and his expression turned grim.

They exchanged a glance, and each saw the shock and terror in the other’s eyes.

They had never imagined that Marcus had secretly awakened the Power of Law.

They understood the gap between a Golden Peak expert and an ordinary Golden Tier better than anyone.

It was not merely a difference in the accumulation of Magic Power, but a fundamental difference in the very nature of their strength.

The Power of Law was the highest echelon of power in this world, a mighty force that transcended all mortal understanding.

Even the lowest-grade Law was enough to crush any Golden Tier expert who hadn’t awakened the Power of Law.

A single Golden Peak expert could easily fend off an assault from three or four Upper Gold opponents without losing ground.

Facing a Marcus who had awakened the Power of Law, the five of them stood no chance at all.

For a moment, their hearts sank.

Seeing the horror on their faces, Marcus roared with laughter.

He no longer held back, completely unleashing his power. A faint red glow instantly bloomed around him.

The red glow wasn’t intense, but it was deeply unsettling, as if it contained the power to incinerate all of existence.

A scorching aura spread outward in waves, distorting the very air for dozens of meters around him.

”Surprised?”

Marcus looked down on the five of them, his reptilian pupils filled with smugness and glee.

He had been stuck at the Upper Gold tier for decades, trying every method imaginable to awaken the Power of Law, but he had never found a single clue.

He never expected that after coming to Bishui Port, the pent-up hatred in his heart—for his rivals, for the Fallen Dragon Association, and even for the Silver Moon Race—would unintentionally align with a certain disposition, allowing him to awaken his own Power of Law not long after.

”Bloodscorch! This is my Law!”

Marcus raised his right hand, loosely closing his fingers. A wisp of crimson light condensed in his palm, like a flame compressed to its absolute limit.

The moment they stared at the crimson light, Scott and Summers felt their blood begin to boil even more intensely, as if it were about to be completely burned away. Horrified, they quickly looked away.

”With rage as the spark and killing intent as the fuel, it incinerates all things and boils the blood of my enemies.”

Marcus’s voice held a tinge of manic excitement, and a blazing battle lust burned in his reptilian pupils.

His gaze swept over the five of them, an undisguised and cruel smile spreading across his face.

”I broke through not long ago, and I was in need of a few worthy opponents to test the might of my Power of Law.”

”You delivering yourselves to my doorstep saves me the trouble of having to hunt you down.”

Scott and Summers turned pale, their palms slick with cold sweat.

The last shred of hope in their hearts was completely shattered.

They had thought that with five of them against Marcus, victory was all but certain. They never expected him to awaken the Power of Law at this crucial moment.

Now, killing Marcus was out of the question; it was doubtful they could even escape with their lives.

’Our luck is just too rotten!’

Just as they were at a loss, a calm voice suddenly reached their ears.

”You’re giving yourself far too much credit.”

Scott and Summers looked toward the source of the voice and saw Anton’s face, still perfectly calm.

Even when facing a terrifying enemy who had awakened the Power of Law, his face showed not a hint of panic or horror. He simply looked at Marcus with a scornful gaze.

”A low-grade Law, and you’re bragging as if it’s a high-grade one. Anyone who didn’t know better might think you’d awakened Fire Elemental Power.”