Chapter 253: Chapter 232: Transforming into a First-Class Faction

After deciding to join the war, Anton began his preparations.

Considering how little time they had, it was nearly impossible for the members of the elite team to achieve a qualitative leap in their personal strength before setting out.

He could only find solutions through external items.

The most crucial of these, naturally, was their equipment.

Since he couldn’t find a primary material on par with the Earth Element Core on short notice, he couldn’t hope to refine a Profound Artifact.

Besides, other than himself, the rest of the elite team either had an insufficient Cultivation Level or practiced an incompatible cultivation system. Even if they were given a Profound Artifact, they wouldn’t be able to unleash its full power.

Anton’s approach was to re-refine each member’s existing Magical Artifacts, infusing them with the insights into Artifact Refining he had accumulated. This would elevate the power of the Magical Artifacts from their original base.

Although it couldn’t achieve a qualitative breakthrough from a Magical Artifact to a Profound Artifact, it was better than nothing.

In addition, he would equip each member with one or two more pieces of gear to enrich their combat methods and life-saving trump cards as much as possible.

For Warriors like the Second Elder and Cedric, who followed the path of strength, he could directly tailor-make Magical Artifacts specifically for strength-based Cultivators.

Magical Artifacts for strength-based Warriors were not fundamentally different from the Magical Treasures of the cultivation system; both were driven by Spiritual Qi or Magical Power.

However, when refining them, Anton would deliberately adjust the structure of the restrictions, making them more sensitive to "qi and blood" rather than "Spiritual Qi," allowing them to be activated by strength-based Cultivators.

As for Casters like the Great Elder and the Third Elder, they had no Spiritual Qi in their bodies, nor could they channel the power of qi and blood. They couldn’t use Magical Artifacts, so he had to settle for the next best thing: refining Extraordinary Level Magic Equipment for them.

The quality, however, would certainly not compare to Magical Artifacts.

After all, the system for crafting Magic Equipment was completely different from the cultivation system, and his attainments in this area were far inferior to his accumulated experience in Artifact Refining.

Even so, by incorporating concepts from Artifact Refining, the final pieces of Magic Equipment would inevitably far surpass ordinary Extraordinary Level magical items.

Besides the team’s equipment, Anton also planned to refine a large flying Magical Treasure.

The Eldron Plain was hundreds of thousands of miles from the Holy Dragon Mountain Range. Traveling by airship would take at least ten to fifteen days.

That was too slow.

Traveling with a large flying Magical Treasure would undoubtedly be faster.

The types of flying Magical Treasures recorded in the Taoist Jade Scroll were as numerous as the stars.

From the Flowing Light Shuttle, small enough for just one person, to the Xiangyun Platform that could carry several, and even the Cloud Shuttle Ship that could accommodate dozens—it had everything.

Further up, there were tower-type flying Magical Treasures that could carry hundreds or even thousands of people, majestic as pagodas, capable of sailing through the clouds.

There was even the Celestial Palace, which could hold tens of thousands of people, like a floating palace in the sky.

However, the difficulty of refining large flying Magical Treasures was generally much higher than other Magical Treasures of the same level.

A tower-type flying Magical Treasure was already at the Profound Artifact level, to say nothing of a Celestial Palace.

With Anton’s current attainments in Artifact Refining, he couldn’t even think about a tower-type flying Magical Treasure for now, but he could still refine an Artifact Level Cloud Shuttle Ship.

A flying Magical Treasure of this level was more than enough to meet the elite team’s travel needs.

It wouldn’t be too late to try refining an even larger flying Magical Treasure later, after he had accumulated more experience and his Artifact Refining skills had reached a higher level.

The Dawn Continent was boundlessly vast. For the Silver Moon Clan to now travel across the continent and absorb other Elf groups, relying solely on land and water migration was too inefficient and time-consuming.

If they had a fast and convenient mode of transportation, this would all drastically improve.

A large flying Magical Treasure was undoubtedly the best choice.

After settling the equipment issue, the next matter was Anton himself.

He definitely wouldn’t be able to finish refining the Jia Shen Divine General before the elite team departed.

He was still far from completion, a gap that couldn’t be closed in a short amount of time.

But Anton wasn’t worried.

Once he reached the Holy Dragon Mountain Range, he planned to find a safe place to build a Teleportation Array connected to the Silver Moon Forest. Then, he could travel back and forth at any time and use the lulls in the war to continue his refining.

Beyond that was the improvement of his own strength.

In terms of the Sword Dao, Anton had never slacked in his cultivation of Light Splitting and Reunification.

He was now just one step away from the realm of splitting one into two hundred fifty-six.

He had a premonition that this trip to the Holy Dragon Mountain Range, facing the Dragon Race in head-on combat and honing his Sword Dao in battles of life and death, might be the opportunity he needed to break through.

While making preparations, Anton also began to handle the Clan’s affairs.

Once the war began, he wouldn’t have much energy to devote to the Clan’s daily management, so he had to arrange everything beforehand.

First and foremost was the research and development of Demon Crystal technology products.

After a full three years, the Silver Moon Clan had finally and completely digested the Demon Crystal technology theories obtained from the Heart of the Mountains. Under the guidance of the application concepts provided by Anton, they worked day and night, finally succeeding in creating the first batch of Demon Crystal products.

The first to be launched was the Magic Crystal Lamp, which had the lowest technical barrier and the widest range of applications.

Compared to traditional magic lamps, the Magic Crystal Lamp’s greatest advantage was its cost.

The core components of a Magic Crystal Lamp were just a few low-grade Demon Crystals and a simple rune circuit. All in all, the cost of one Magic Crystal Lamp was less than one-fifth that of a traditional magic lamp.

And its lifespan was several times longer than the latter.

Following closely behind was the Magic Crystal Furnace.

This smelting equipment, powered by Demon Crystals, could reach temperatures several times higher than traditional charcoal furnaces. Furthermore, the temperature was controllable, and it produced no smoke or waste gas, making its impact on the environment and the operator much smaller.

Currently, all of the Silver Moon Clan’s smelting workshops have been refitted with Magic Crystal Furnaces, increasing smelting efficiency by more than threefold.

In addition, a series of other products, such as Demon Crystal carriages and Magic Crystal Extraction Towers, had also entered the small-scale trial production phase.

As for industrial and military products like Demon Crystal mining machinery and Demon Crystal ballistae, the technical barrier was higher. They were still in the research and development phase and were unlikely to reach mass production anytime soon.

With a wave of his hand, Anton had the Silver Moon Clan begin selling Magic Crystal Lamps and Magic Crystal Furnaces, deciding to capture the market first.

The market for Demon Crystal products was currently a blank slate. As expected, the launch of these products would bring extremely generous profits to the Clan, providing ample financial support for subsequent research and development.

However, what concerned Anton even more was the domestic production of Magic Cores.

After thoroughly mastering the theoretical system of Demon Crystal technology, the Clan’s Alchemists and Enchanters finally managed to develop an effective crafting process for Magic Cores.

Although the output and quality couldn’t yet compare to the finished products purchased from the Heart of the Mountains, they had at least taken the crucial first step from nothing to something.

Currently, the Clan’s Alchemists and Enchanters were researching how to integrate Runes into Magic Cores, attempting to use this as a basis to develop higher-quality Magic Cores.

Eleanor directly posted a mission in the Meeting Hall to recruit Taichu City disciples skilled in the Dao of Talismans to join the R&D and accelerate progress.

Once successful, the Silver Moon Clan would be able to completely break away from external channels for Magic Cores, achieving self-sufficiency and no longer being constrained by others.

Compared to Demon Crystal technology, other affairs were proceeding as expected.

Both the expansion of the trade network and the absorption of Elf groups were advancing steadily.

The two were mutually reinforcing.

Absorbing Elf groups allowed the Clan’s population to maintain a considerable growth rate.

It had now surpassed the fifty-thousand mark.

And the population growth also gave the Clan more manpower to put into production, enabling them to produce more goods, expand the trade network to wider regions, and bring in more income.

With a substantial income, the Clan had the ability to absorb even more Elf groups.

Thus forming a virtuous cycle.

This was an advantage unique to the Silver Moon Clan.

Everyone knew that population was a precious resource, but not everyone had the ability to expand their population.

Even if other Elf Clans wanted to absorb Elf groups, they lacked sufficient resources to support the survival of a larger population.

In the beginning, the Silver Moon Clan had also only taken its first step in absorbing outside groups after its income increased from cooperating with Gray Rock Castle to develop the mineral veins.

Even so, their pace had always been modest.

It was only after their income grew substantially by expanding their trade network with their four pillar products—Talismans, Spiritual Fire metal, potions, and Rune Equipment—that they began to accelerate the absorption of Elf groups.

The trinity stronghold connection plan was also progressing very smoothly.

The area of the Silver Moon Forest had been expanding steadily and now covered more than half of the Thousand Rock Hills.

In three to four months at most, it would be able to connect to the Dark Nether Realm entrance in the mining area.

By then, the Silver Moon Forest and Nine Nether City would be the first to complete their connection.

The Blood Soul Cave had also now been brought into the Nine Nether City Domain’s sphere of influence.

With Blood Soul Crystals, the number of Warriors in the Clan who switched to cultivating the Eight Desolates Prison-Suppression Scripture increased dramatically.

The abundant resources also led to a significant increase in the overall strength of the Clan’s Warriors.

Consequently, the number of recruits for the Silver Moon Legion and the city guard over the past three years also grew rapidly.

The former has now surpassed the nine-thousand mark and is steadily advancing toward the ten-thousand mark.

The latter’s numbers are also approaching the five-thousand mark.

According to Anton’s estimates, until the output of Blood Soul Crystals and the Clan’s demand reached equilibrium, the increase in the number and strength of the Clan’s Warriors, as well as the expansion of the two armies, would all maintain a considerable growth rate.

As for Taichu City, after this year’s Spirit Root screening, the number of disciples had increased to one hundred forty-six.

Compared to the Clan’s population base of over fifty thousand, this number was pitifully small.

There was no helping it; Elves with Spirit Roots were extremely rare.

And this was with Elves being naturally suited for cultivating the Dao.

If it were the Human Race, or other races, Anton estimated the proportion of those with Spirit Roots would be even lower.

Perhaps not even one in a thousand.

Among these hundred-plus disciples of Taichu City, the one with the highest Cultivation Level was currently Laine.

He had already reached the Late Stage of Qi Refining, having refined sixty-one wisps of Spiritual Qi.

Next was Furlo, who had refined fifty-five wisps of Spiritual Qi, just barely breaking through to the Middle Stage of Qi Refining.

After them were Lucius and Mia, who had both refined over fifty wisps of Spiritual Qi and were just a step away from the Middle Stage of Qi Refining.

The cultivation progress of these four was in a league of its own, far ahead of the others.

A clear gap had formed between them and the other disciples.

After reviewing everything, Anton was very satisfied.

Overall, the Clan’s development was both fast and steady; it could be described as flourishing.

The current Silver Moon Clan was in the critical phase of transitioning from a local power confined to a remote corner into a first-rate power on the continent.

This process might take several decades or even a century to complete the final leap, but regardless, the Clan was at least moving steadfastly in a better direction.

’The second phase of the Dragon Slaying War will last for several more decades. This is a precious period for development.’

’If we can successfully join the ranks of the continent’s first-rate powers, the Clan will have the confidence to stand on its own in the upcoming struggle among the Ten Thousand Races.’

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