"Humans?" one of them said.
There were four of them, two males and two females, looking at Aldrian and Eleine cautiously. What Aldrian saw were human-like figures with golden hair, pointy ears, and beautiful faces, even the males were beautiful. The elves stood alert, ready to respond to the slightest hint of malice with their bows, which seemed to be artifacts capable of shooting powerful arrows. Aldrian could sense the energy flowing from them, he was sure that with a little push, they would instantly unleash their techniques.
Looking at them, Eleine raised her hands to show a peaceful gesture, hoping to prevent any misunderstanding.
"We have no malice, we are just passing by on our way to the Ivory Empire." Eleine said.
Aldrian looked at them with curious eyes. Besides their elf characteristics, they wore the same kind of knight armor with a giant tree symbol in the middle. He then looked at who seemed to be their leader.
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Maelis Sylvaris
Age : 3000 years
Race : Elf
Cultivation : Peak Viscount
Cultivation Technique : The World Tree Encompassing the World
Attack Techniques : The Wrath of the Spirit, Wooden Dragon, Earth Spike, Silent Arrow, Homing Arrow
Defence techniques : Earth Wall.
Supporting technique : Blessing of the Forest
-----------------------------------
He also glanced at the others information, which was not much different except for their age and lower cultivation levels.
"To the Ivory Empire? What is your purpose? Why did you come from the Everlasting Silent Forest? State your identity!" demanded Maelis.
"My name is Eleine Aster, This is my younger brother, Aldrian Aster. We have no affiliation, we are merely adventurers looking for opportunities. As for why we came from the Everlasting Silent Forest, we lost our way from the Vindas Empire and accidentally entered part of the forest." she answered. She thought it would be safe to use Aster as their surname, as she knew there were no Asters as surname on this continent. After hearing her answer, Maelis contemplated for a moment before he spoke.
"Please follow us to our post not far from here. We will confirm your identity first, if we find no problems, you may continue on your way."
Aldrian and Eleine had no objections to his order, so they followed him for a kilometer to a post with a large white tent surrounded by a two-meter-high wooden fence. There were a few guards in the vicinity, all at least at the Viscount stage, guarding the tent. Upon arrival, Maelis immediately directed them into the tent, where they were greeted by two elves in the same armor. Aldrian could sense they were much stronger.
"Marquess stage cultivators." he thought as he examined their information.
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Eldrin Sylvaris
Age : 13530 years
Race : Elf
Cultivation : High marquess
Cultivation technique : The world tree encompassing the world
Attack techniques : The forest of doom, Root of death, The wrath of the spirit, Wooden dragon, Earth spike, Silent arrow, Homing arrow.
Defense technique : Earth Wall, Roots wall
Supporting technique : Blessing of the forest
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Elowen Sylvaris
Age : 12853 years
Race : Elf
Cultivation : Middle marquess
Cultivation technique : The world tree encompassing the world
Attack Techniques : The forest of doom, Root of death, The wrath of the spirit, Wooden dragon, Earth spike, Silent arrow, Homing arrow.
Defense technique : Earth Wall, Roots wall
Supporting technique : Blessing of the forest
-----------------------------------------
Aldrian also felt their aura as a Marquess stage cultivator and realized that with their age and cultivation level, they could be considered old by human standards. However, they still possessed a youthful and beautiful appearance along with dense vitality. For humans, a Viscount stage cultivator can live up to 5.000 years, an Earl stage cultivator can live up to 10.000 years, and a Marquess stage cultivator can live up to 15.000 years. But for elves, with their abundant vitality from birth, they can live up to 10.000, 20.000, and 25.000 years respectively for the same stages.
"I wonder how I would fare if I fought against this elf Marquess stage." Aldrian thought. People would find his thoughts absurd and call him crazy, the Marquess cultivator can kill Viscount cultivator with a slap, but he was truly curious to fight all out against a stronger opponent. Even Eleine didn't push him to use his full power. His way of thinking and personality were also influenced by the incomprehensible visions he had experienced over the years, making him much calmer even when faced with a much higher-level cultivator.
"Sir, they are adventurers who lost their way in the forest. They said they have no affiliation and want to go to the Ivory Empire."
The elf called Eldrin sat on his chair with a white ball artifact on the table in front of him. Aldrian thought it must be some kind of artifact for checking their identity. When he stood before the ball, he could feel the unique concept of it; it was like something that could peek into your true self or, more precisely, into your soul.
"Welcome, we are sorry to disturb your journey, but we only want to check your identity. If we find no problem regarding your identity, you can continue your journey," Eldrin said. "Please touch the ball in front of you and insert your energy to confirm your identity."
Aldrian and Eleine looked at each other before Eleine stepped forward. She touched the ball and inserted her energy into it. The ball suddenly shone with white light before turning blue.
"Orthodox cultivator with Water element," Eldrin said, and another elf noted it down. Aldrian, intrigued by the ball's ability as he watched closely. When it was finally his turn, he looked at the ball for a moment before touching it. When he inserted his energy into the ball and waited for a few seconds, the ball's reaction was—
Nothing.
The ball did not give any reaction whatsoever, the others who saw this were confused by the situation as well. They look at the man and felt that this man's aura was at the High Viscount stage, yet he looked only 12 years old, which seemed unbelievable. A 12-year-old at the Viscount stage? He must be in disguise, and the Marquess elves were thinking the same. It wasn't unusual for cultivators to hide their identities for various reasons, but they still had to pass this kind of procedure if they had a doubtful origin.
Aldrian, in the middle of the process, was actually thinking about something else.
"It has a formation that functions as a detection device, it penetrates into the dantian and even scans the entire meridian. It even touches my inner self or soul." he thought. Perhaps he could create something similar for his technique. He kept inserting his energy to feel how the ball worked and to comprehend it.
"The elves have someone who comprehended karma and helped to create this artifact." His soul also felt a tingling sensation when he inserted his energy into it.
The others kept waiting, but the ball still showed no reaction. Eldrin started to doubt the ball. "It's not broken, is it?" he thought. But suddenly—
Tck
The sound of glass cracking could be heard.
Tck Crack
The ball cracked, and the crack widened with each moment. Eldrin, who saw this, was shocked.
"Wait, sto—" before he finished, the ball emitted a golden light that dazzled everyone in the tent. The light even reached outside the tent and could be seen from a distance of 1 kilometer. And then—
Track
The ball broke into pieces. The elves who watched it happen widened their eyes in shock. Even the ones guarding outside, stunned by the golden light, now rushed into the tent to prevent any accidents. Eleine positioned herself in front of Aldrian, ready to protect him and fight to the death. She knew their chances were almost zero against a Marquess stage cultivator, but she was prepared to sacrifice herself to give her young master time to escape.
"How is that possible! The Orb of Origin is a low heaven artifact made with the help of dwarves, using the stone of the World Tree as material. Even an Emperor stage cultivator can't break it with just their energy!" Eldrin thought.
Eldrin and Elowen looked at Aldrian in astonishment.
"Uhm, young master, miss, please wait here. Due to this unprecedented accident, we need to consult our superiors first." Eldrin said, speaking more respectfully and cautiously. The man who could break the Orb of Origin with his energy was not someone he could afford to offend. Without delay, he rushed outside to bring out an artifact used for long-distance communication and sent a message to his superior somewhere, while Elowen dismissed the anxious guardian elves.
Eleine also released the tension in her body and looked at Aldrian, equally shocked. She knew about the Orb of Origin used by the elves. The Rivas family also had artifacts with similar functions, and Eleine had never heard of anyone breaking a device of that caliber with just their energy. This was yet another surprise regarding her young master's extraordinary abilities.
After a few moments, Eldrin returned to the tent.
"Young master, miss, my superior asked me to bring you to the city of Balin. He wants to meet you."
Eleine was surprised by what Eldrin said because Balin city is the destination they want to reach. The city is quite close to the border of the Ivory Empire and the Everlasting Silent Forest. It is a prosperous city with many commercial activities because it is traversed by the road that surrounds the Everlasting Silent Forest, called the Great Belt Road. This road connects all the territories bordering the forest, allowing them to stay connected with each other.
Aldrian and Eleine found no problems, and since Aldrian felt responsible for the destroyed artifact, he simply followed the elf's arrangements. They exited the tent and walked towards the flat terrain not far from their campsite. There, they encountered a creature Aldrian had never seen before. It was a massive creature, 7 meters tall with a 15-meter wingspan.
"Wyvern," said Eleine as she looked at the creature, which had some kind of seat on its back.
"Yes, miss, we will ride the wyvern to Balin. Please bear with us for the journey ahead, as it will be faster than using a carriage." Eldrin said.
With that, Eldrin and two other elves joined Aldrian and Eleine as their riders and took off towards Balin.