Chapter 173 Dark Elf

"I am sorry." Ye Tian packed up everything and gently covered Hermione with the blanket, the latter said softly.

"Hmph, do not let me see you again." With that, Ye Tian turned around, picked up the bundle on the ground, and left without looking back.

Seeing Ye Tian leave, Hermione slowly crawled up. Surprisingly, her technique was quite effective; within just a single hour, she had actually recovered some of her strength. However, none of this was the most important part—what mattered most was that, despite her earlier pale complexion, Hermione's face instantly blushed.

"The palace, the palace!" Ye Tian looked at the sky; it was already very late, all wasted thanks to that damned Hermione taking up so much time. At night, Ye Tian simply could not find the way, and the surrounding elves seemed even more numerous than during the day, making it impossible for him to squeeze through.

"Darn it, this isn't the direction, this isn't the direction!" Ye Tian was swept away tragically by the surging crowd, carrying him further and further from the palace. "Darn it, where is this even taking me?" Laden with large and small bundles, Ye Tian had no idea where the path ahead led.

"Should I just throw some of it away?" Ye Tian shook his head, casting aside that impractical thought; otherwise, Alansa would raise hell by the time he got back. "These people seem to be heading toward that fountain!" After walking for quite a while, Ye Tian finally began to figure things out.

Next to the fountain was originally a very large plaza. When he first arrived, Ye Tian had always wondered why they made this place so huge, but seeing it today, he finally understood. In fact, this space now seemed a bit too small, because virtually all the elves had gathered here for this momentous occasion.

The plaza was packed tightly with people. Ye Tian had a dark, mischievous thought: what would happen if he tossed a thunder pellet in here? The outcome would probably be quite disastrous. Shaking his head, Ye Tian thought with lingering fear about why he would have such an evil idea.

A huge stage had been erected in the center of the plaza. At the very top of the stage sat the Elven Queen, wearing a veil, flanked by several elderly dignitaries of the elven race. Next to them were several reserved seats, though it was unclear who they were prepared for. At that moment, the crowd stirred, parting to clear a path as a group of fully armed elves marched through.

Ye Tian paid no attention and blocked the middle of the path. "Move aside!" one of the elves shouted fiercely.

"Oh, oh, sorry!" Ye Tian turned around and saw a dozen dark-skinned figures standing behind him, glaring at him with unfriendly eyes.

"Sorry!" Ye Tian hugged his parcels and stepped aside, letting this hostile group of elves walk straight past.

"Dark elves?" Only then did Ye Tian realize that the group of elves before him belonged to another branch: the dark elves.

The elven race was divided into wood elves, dark elves, grassland elves, and the evil blood elves. Blood elves were fallen, wicked elves living in the sunless underground, not worth mentioning. The grassland elves had long since migrated to parts unknown, so no one could find them anymore. Thus, the only ones walking the continent now were the wood elves and the dark elves.

The elven race worshipped three goddesses: the first was the supreme Goddess of Life, the second was the Goddess of the Moon, and the third was the Goddess of Nature. Originally, the elven race collectively worshipped all three goddesses, but later, due to ideological differences, they split. The dark elves worshipped the Goddess of Life and the Goddess of the Moon, while the wood elves worshipped the Goddess of Nature and the Goddess of the Moon.

Today was the New Moon Festival, which was also the only gathering where the two branches came together, because today they would discuss the ownership of the Elven Bow. The Elven Bow was a divine artifact of the elven race, passed down from the Goddess of Life during the Age of Gods and revered by all elves.

Relying on this divine bow, the elven race had survived several near-extinction crises, so in the heart of every elf, this artifact was their guardian deity. Because the wood elves occupied the Elven City, they were originally the ones who kept the Elven Bow, leaving the other branches with only the right to look.

As time passed, the dark elves grew dissatisfied. They also hoped to hold the Elven Bow; after all, having a divine artifact to guard them meant everyone could sleep soundly. However, there was only one divine artifact, so after negotiations between the two clans, it was decided that a competition would determine who held the Elven Bow for the coming year.

The New Moon Festival was the joint holiday for both clans to worship the Goddess of the Moon, so this day was designated as the day to decide the ownership of the Elven Bow. Both clans exerted all their strength, eager to keep the bow.

The previous victor had been the dark elves, leaving the wood elves feeling depressed for a long time. For this New Moon Festival, they were determined by all means to bring the Elven Bow back, making the atmosphere exceptionally lively.

By the way, dark elves possessed the same long, pointed ears and handsome facial features as wood elves. The only difference was that because they worshipped the Goddess of the Moon, the dark elves' skin had turned an ash-white, and their pupils were also ash-white, giving them a strangely morbid beauty.

The elven race was a matriarchal society, where female elves held much higher status than males, so most of the elves who came here were female, with very few males. However, this did not mean male elves were weak; it was simply how their social system functioned, leaving no alternative.

"Welcome, Queen Fyla," the Wood Elf Queen rose and said to the leading female elf.

Only then did Ye Tian notice that the female elf in the lead wore a small crown on her head. "A year has passed, and you still look the same!" Queen Fyla smiled warmly at her counterpart, stepping forward to give her a brief embrace.

"There have been many matters lately," Queen Fyla asked. "Have you sensed anything unusual?"

"Yes, a strange power is stirring in the shadows," the Wood Elf Queen replied calmly. "Did you bring the Elven Bow?"

"Of course." Queen Fyla waved her hand, and a female elf carried over a box. The Wood Elf Queen opened it, and a comforting aura drifted outward. "Ah, indeed, it is the Elven Bow."

The dark elves placed the box upon a prepared stand so that all the elves could pay their respects together.

"Then let us begin the worship," said the Elven Queen.

"Very well," Queen Fyla nodded.

The Elven Queen waved her hand, and the offerings prepared by the elves were properly arranged. Then, everyone knelt and began to pray together.

Suddenly, four figures appeared, and Alansa called out happily, "Gel, here, over here!"

Roluola quickly stopped the girl. "What kind of a scene are you causing!"

Because of Alansa's shout, the prayer ritual was interrupted, and all the elves cast dissatisfied glances in this direction. Ye Tian rubbed his nose and simply squeezed his way through.

"Continue," the Elven Queen said, and the surrounding elves resumed chanting their incantations, praying to the Goddess of the Moon.

"You really are completely heartless!" Ye Tian angrily pinched Alansa's nose, immediately drawing an annoyed reaction from the girl.

"I thought you were lost!" Alansa slapped away Ye Tian's mischievous hand and said angrily, "Where on earth did you run off to for so long?"

"You have the nerve to ask? How far can I walk carrying this huge pile of things? Of course I was resting!" Ye Tian whispered. "Alright, just watch quietly and make sure not to cause any trouble."

Turning his head, Ye Tian saw Taya kneeling on the ground nearby and was instantly startled.

"It wasn't our fault! Taya insisted on coming out, and there was no way to stop her!" Alansa quickly distanced herself and expressed concern.

"Fine, be good and don't make trouble; we'll talk after tonight." Ye Tian was deeply depressed. Taya's physical condition was even weaker than his own, and the most troublesome part was that his internal energy was now nearly depleted, making it impossible to take care of everyone from start to finish—who knew how long this gathering would last?

The ritual lasted for half an hour until all the elves finished their prayers and stood up again. Ye Tian hurried forward to pull Taya up, casually resting his fingers on her wrist.

"I'm fine, Gel, really, I'm fine," Taya gently withdrew her hand.

"Shut up! Move again and the internal energy backlash will cause serious trouble!" Ye Tian whispered angrily.

Taya's face flushed, and she lowered her head obediently, letting Ye Tian channel his internal energy into her body to circulate a full cycle before returning to his own.

"Gel, your injuries are severe!" Taya suddenly changed expression, whispering to Ye Tian.

"Hush, I know what I'm doing." Ye Tian glanced at the other girls; fortunately, their attention was focused on the stage, so they hadn't noticed the two of them.

"But I can sense it!" Taya said anxiously. "I can feel that your body has suffered heavy damage, and many areas are completely blackened!"

"It's fine, my cultivation technique recovers internal injuries very quickly. At this rate, it'll be healed in less than half a month," Ye Tian said glumly, regretting that he had ever used the Heart-Linked Bond; it was far too troublesome.

The Nine Dragons Universal Heavenly Art was divided into three sections: Heaven, Earth, and Man. The section Ye Tian currently practiced was the Man Section, which was further subdivided into Body Cultivation, Mind Cultivation, and Soul Cultivation. The state of Body Cultivation strengthened physique; Mind Cultivation healed injuries and restored deficits; Soul Cultivation allowed one to kill with a smile.

What Ye Tian was using right now was Mind Cultivation. The Heart-Linked Bond within it was a technique that could link multiple wounded individuals to recover together. The theory of one generating two, two generating four, and four generating eight meant that theoretically, the more people involved, the faster the true qi circulated, and the better internal injuries healed.

Ye Tian's internal energy entering Taya's body merged with her magic. Although the combined energy wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, it was indeed an excellent choice for repairing damaged internal organs.

Another wonderful function of the Heart-Linked Bond was internal vision. Once the technique was activated, the pathways where true qi traveled could be seen with absolute clarity. Originally, Ye Tian had no intention of using it this way, fearing Taya would notice, but he hadn't expected her to drag her broken body out to attend the New Moon Festival. Left with no choice, Ye Tian had to use this method so that at least both of them could last until the end of the festival.

Taya wanted to say more, but Ye Tian raised a finger to his lips and pointed toward Alansa and the others. Taya sighed and said no more.

After concluding the ritual, the Elven Queen said to Queen Fyla, "Shall we begin the competition now?"

"Very well, the old rules: best two out of three. Whichever clan wins, the Elven Bow belongs to them for safekeeping." Queen Fyla clapped her hands, and several dark elves stepped forward from behind.

"The first match is archery!" A high platform had already been prepared beside the plaza, atop which several apples were placed. The difference, however, was that the apples were balanced on the heads of several elves!

"No way, are they that brave?" Alansa said in astonishment.

The elves with the apples on their heads showed not a shred of fear, standing quietly as if they had long since placed life and death aside.

"Hm, just standing there is boring. Shall we add a bit of difficulty?" Queen Fyla leaned against her chair and asked the Elven Queen.

"What do you propose?" the Elven Queen asked curiously.

"Let them run! Have them run across the platform!"

"This..." The Elven Queen hesitated. Although her subordinates were all crack archers who could pierce a willow leaf at a hundred paces, shooting moving targets wasn't so simple. Moreover, those balancing the apples were her own people; if anything went wrong, the ones grieving would be her own kin.

"What? Are you afraid?" Queen Fyla chuckled lightly.

"Yes, because I am responsible for my people," the Elven Queen replied coolly.

"Aurora is still as indecisive as ever. I've always said such a personality isn't suited to lead the elven race," Queen Fyla said dismissively.

"Cherishing one's people is the mission of our royal family. What use are your methods?" The Elven Queen showed displeasure, then glanced to the side. A maidservant elf immediately hurried over.

"Your Majesty, we agree to Queen Fyla's suggestion," the maid reported proudly a moment later. "They said our wood elves are cowards!"

Deafening applause immediately erupted from the crowd, instantly heating up the surrounding atmosphere.

"Since that is the case, let us begin!" the Elven Queen said calmly.

"Begin!" Immediately, the dark elves stepped forward in a single file line, pulling arrows from the quivers on their backs and aiming with intense concentration.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*

Long arrows whistled through the air. As they sprinted, the elves felt a slight lightness above their heads as the apples balanced there were instantly shot away!

"Good!" the dark elves in the rear shouted in unison.

Having finished shooting, the dark elves returned to their ranks, showing no particular elation over their performance.

"All targets struck without exception!" an elf nearby immediately announced the scores.

"It is our turn!" The wood elves stepped forward in a single line, drawing their bows and nocking arrows, waiting quietly for their targets to place new apples on their heads before running agilely forward.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*

Long arrows whistled. As they sprinted, the elves once again felt the lightness on their heads as the apples disappeared.

"All targets struck without exception!" the neighboring elf announced the scores once more.

"Well!" The elves below cheered together.

"They say every member of the elven race is a master archer; it is truly well deserved," Ye Tian praised.

"Of course. Our elven race produces the finest archers on the continent; even the Centaur tribe among the beastmen is no match for us," Taya said proudly.

"Indeed, indeed. Though you probably couldn't even lift a bow," Ye Tian chuckled.

"Hmph! I am a natural-born mage; I specialize in nature magic!" Taya retorted angrily.

"Hehe!" Seeing Taya's angry, mischievous smile, she secretly kicked him.

"That hurts!" Ye Tian feigned a grimace.

"Stop acting," Taya refused to fall for it.

"What are you two whispering about?" Alansa looked at them curiously.

"Oh, nothing. Just wondering where an arrow would land if Taya tried drawing a bow," Ye Tian grinned.

"Taya is a mage, not a physical combat warrior with a weak constitution, you idiot!" Alansa glanced sideways at Ye Tian.

"Fine, fine. All these prizes will belong to Taya later, you get nothing," Ye Tian said with a smile.

"No way, I was wrong!" Alansa immediately grabbed Ye Tian's arm and shook it.

"Knowing you were wrong, then behave and stay over there." Ye Tian snorted.

"Oh." Alansa obediently ran over to stay beside Roluola, who looked at her in confusion before turning her gaze to Ye Tian.

"Hehe." Ye Tian grinned mischievously, pointing at the bundles nearby. Roluola nodded, took Alansa's hand, and the two of them turned back to watch the stage earnestly.