The Elven Cultivator

Chapter 297: Chapter 270: Lifting the Restrictions

Back in Nine Nether City, Ye Tong immediately took the Dragon Yuan Pills and threw herself into her cultivation.

She was only a little Spiritual Qi away from the Middle Stage of Qi Refining. With the Dragon Yuan Pills bestowed by Lord Anton, she estimated that she should be able to break through soon.

However, things rarely go according to plan. After cultivating for only a few days, she was pulled out of her quiet room by the Clan Leader, Yue Hen.

”What happened?”

”You’ll know when we get there.”

Yue Hen didn’t explain further, simply pulling her along the main road of Nine Nether City, heading straight for the Central Square.

Ye Tong was full of questions, but she didn’t press the matter.

The Clan Leader had always been composed and wasn’t the type to make a fuss over nothing. Since she had come to get her personally, it had to be something important.

But when they arrived at the square, Ye Tong couldn’t help but be stunned.

The square was surrounded by a massive crowd.

A sea of bobbing heads stretched out before her; a quick glance suggested there were at least seven or eight hundred people.

Even more figures were gathered in the distance, craning their necks to get a look inside.

It seemed that more than a third of all the Vassal Races in Nine Nether City had shown up.

When the crowd saw Yue Hen and Ye Tong arrive, they immediately parted to form a path.

Countless gazes converged on her from all directions, their weight so palpable that she couldn’t help but tense up.

”Lady Furlo is here. She specifically asked to see you.”

Yue Hen whispered an explanation in her ear, her tone tinged with a subtle complexity.

At the same time, Ye Tong saw Furlo in the center of the square. A flicker of understanding dawned on her, quickly followed by even greater confusion.

Being summoned twice in just a few days by Furlo, Lady Eleanor’s deputy, was undoubtedly a very eye-catching affair.

No wonder her clan members and the other Vassal Races had all rushed over to watch.

What Ye Tong didn’t understand, however, was why Furlo was looking for her this time.

’Could it be that Lord Anton needs my cooperation for another test?’

Ye Tong’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickened her pace.

”Lady Furlo.”

As she approached, Ye Tong was about to bow in greeting, but Furlo stopped her with a raised hand.

She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but Ye Tong felt that the way Furlo was looking at her was somewhat peculiar.

”From now on, we will be fellow disciples. There’s no need for such formalities.”

Ye Tong froze, her face a mask of confusion. For a moment, she didn’t understand what that meant.

Beside her, Yue Hen, Tide Stone, and the other Clan Leaders of the Vassal Races all arrived at the same astonishing thought, their faces a mixture of shock and disbelief.

And Furlo’s next words confirmed their suspicions.

”Ye Tong, by the Master’s command, as of today, you are a disciple of Taichu City.”

Furlo smiled, and with a flip of her wrist, a token appeared in her palm, which she offered to Ye Tong.

But the Catman girl didn’t take it right away.

She was frozen to the spot, her mouth agape and her eyes wide, her expression a fixed mask of astonishment and disbelief.

After a moment of dead silence, the crowd erupted.

”A disciple of Taichu City?! Did I hear that right?”

”Ye Tong isn’t an Elf! An Alien Race can become a disciple of Taichu City?”

”Ye Tong... she’s ascended to the heavens in a single step!”

Gasps of amazement, murmurs of discussion, and sharp intakes of breath mingled together, roiling through the square like boiling water.

Everyone was utterly shocked by the news Furlo had personally announced.

A disciple of Taichu City!

One of the lofty, high-and-mighty figures!

They had never imagined that a member of a Vassal Race could one day become a disciple of Taichu City.

In an instant, countless gazes focused squarely on Ye Tong.

Shock, envy, jealousy, disbelief... A kaleidoscope of emotions swirled together, making the Catman girl the center of the entire square in an instant.

”I... I...” Ye Tong finally snapped out of her daze, her little face flushed red as she stammered, ”L-Lady Furlo, am I really...”

”What? You don’t want to become a disciple of Taichu City?” Furlo said with a smile.

”No, no!” Ye Tong frantically shook her head, quickly reaching out to take the token and clutching it tightly to her chest.

The token was cool to the touch and had a satisfying weight.

She looked down at the ancient oak crest on the token, her mind dizzy as if she were in a dream.

When she first obtained the *Profound Yin Night Wanderer Chapter*, she had fantasized that she, too, might one day become a disciple of Taichu City.

But now that her dream had actually come true, she felt a sense of unreality, a dazed fear that everything before her was just an illusion.

Furlo paid no mind to the Catman girl’s loss of composure and smiled. ”This token is your pass to enter and exit Taichu City and its various functional buildings. You can use it after dripping your blood on it and refining it with your Spiritual Qi. It will be bound to you alone.”

”Tomorrow at this same time, take this token to the Taichu City warehouse district to receive your Taichu City disciple’s uniform, scriptures, and allocated supplies.”

”The Master has high hopes for you. He hopes that you will continue to cultivate diligently from this day forward and not disappoint his expectations.”

”Yes, Lady Furlo!” Ye Tong replied loudly, almost by reflex.

Furlo shot her a reproving glance.

The Catman girl then realized her mistake and quickly corrected herself, ”Senior Sister Furlo.”

Furlo smiled faintly, offered a few more quiet instructions, and then departed gracefully.

The moment her figure disappeared from the square’s entrance, the crowd, which could barely contain itself any longer, surged forward with a ROAR and completely surrounded Ye Tong.

”Lady Ye Tong, congratulations!”

”The very first disciple of Taichu City from the Vassal Races... Lady Ye Tong, you’re truly incredible.”

”Lady Ye Tong, please look after us in the future.”

Familiar faces crowded around her, their expressions filled with envy and eagerness.

The Catman girl, swarmed in the center, tried her best to suppress her excitement and joy, but it still uncontrollably bubbled up and shone in her eyes.

Yue Hen, Tide Stone, and the other Clan Leaders stood at the edge of the crowd, watching Ye Tong being mobbed by the people, their own expressions showing unconcealable excitement.

They, more than their clan members, understood the significance of what had happened today.

The Silver Moon Race was opening up a higher path for advancement to the Vassal Races.

If Ye Tong could become a disciple of Taichu City, did that mean others had a chance as well?

At this thought, a fire ignited in their hearts that they couldn’t suppress.

...

On the top floor of a distant tower, two wooden windows were half-open.

Eleanor and Elena stood shoulder to shoulder at the window, gazing into the distance, taking in the entire scene in the square.

”Why would the Clan Leader agree to let a Catman become a disciple of Taichu City?”

Elena retracted her gaze, looking at the Elf Maiden beside her in confusion.

Eleanor said calmly, ”After Ye Tong practiced the Cultivation Technique, her bloodline underwent some changes. The Clan Leader saw in her the possibility of mass-producing middle to High Tier combatants, so he decided to lift the restrictions on the Vassal Races for further experimentation.”

Elena’s brow furrowed slightly. ”But won’t our own people have opinions about this? Being a disciple of Taichu City has always been exclusive to us Elves. To suddenly let an Alien Race join... I’m afraid some people will be unhappy.”

In fact, this worry was not unfounded.

Back when Ye Tong first received the Cultivation Technique, some of the Elves in the clan had already voiced quiet complaints.

But it was just a Cultivation Technique, after all, so that bit of dissatisfaction quickly died down.

But this is different.

A disciple of Taichu City is a symbol of our race’s honor.

The goal and dream of countless Elves.

Now it’s being opened up to the Vassal Races. One can only imagine the uproar it will cause.

Eleanor’s expression remained calm as she spoke slowly, ”The Clan Leader has already issued a new decree. Any Elf of our race, even without a Spirit Root, can also become a disciple of Taichu City as long as they practice the Power Cultivation Technique and break through to the Second Transition of Force before they are two hundred years old.”

”As for the Vassal Races, to become a disciple of Taichu City, they must not only have a Spirit Root but also accumulate sufficient merits. The difficulty is far greater than it is for our own Elves.”

”In this regard, our own race still has preferential treatment.”

After a pause, Eleanor narrowed her eyes, her expression turning more serious. ”Furthermore, this is also a wake-up call for our own race. They shouldn’t think they can slack off just because they are one of us. If they don’t want to be caught up to, or even surpassed, by the Vassal Races, then they should cultivate diligently instead of complaining behind everyone’s backs.”

Elena hesitated for a moment before asking, ”Aren’t we just rearing a tiger that will come back to bite us?”

Eleanor smiled and said, ”On the Dawn Continent, besides our Clan, who else can provide them with sufficient Cultivation Resources?”

”If they want to grow stronger, they can only rely on us.”

”As long as we maintain a firm grip on the lifeline of resources, we don’t have to worry about them having any ulterior motives.”

”Besides...” Eleanor’s gaze returned to the window, her voice taking on a profound tone, ”as long as our race remains powerful, the Vassal Races won’t be able to stir up any trouble.”

Elena was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.

Deep down, she also understood.

The population model of the Elf Race meant they couldn’t possibly rely on a massive population base to maintain their rule like the Human Race and the Beastmen.

To maintain their current momentum and hold onto the territory they had conquered, they had to promote and cultivate the Alien Races.

In fact, even the Human Race and the Beastmen were also recruiting and cultivating Vassal Races.

”So, the reason you had Furlo announce this in public today was also to...” Elena suddenly realized.

”Correct.” A slight smile played on Eleanor’s lips. ”The effect is much better this way.”

Elena looked at that young yet composed face, a flash of admiration in her eyes. ”The Clan Leader certainly didn’t choose the wrong person to be his assistant.”

Eleanor beamed, accepting the compliment with grace.

...

And just as Eleanor had predicted, the news of Ye Tong becoming a disciple of Taichu City spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the Silver Moon Race in less than half a day.

Even the vassal clans as far away as the Green Highlands soon heard the news.

It was like a giant boulder dropped into a calm lake, stirring up enormous waves.

For the Vassal Races, the initial shock was quickly replaced by an unprecedented sense of excitement and elation.

Over the years, they had personally witnessed the glory and power of the Taichu City disciples.

They had been envious and jealous, but they had never dreamed that they, too, could one day become one of them.

But now, this extravagant hope had a chance of becoming reality.

How could they not be excited?

And so, all the Vassal Races erupted in excitement.

Everyone was suddenly fired up, brimming with motivation as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

They were no longer working hard just to earn merits and improve their lives, but for a much grander goal they had never dared to imagine before.

To become a disciple of Taichu City!

To change their destiny!