Chapter 324: Chapter 297: Any Hand That Reaches Will Be Cut Off

The Cloud-Surging Flying Ship made a brief landing at a Berth Square in the outer regions of the Taichu Spirit Realm.

The Elf soldiers escorted the Slave Hunting Team, the Dogmen, and the Half-Elves off the Flying Ship.

Elves who had already received the news were waiting outside to receive them.

They led the Dogmen and Half-Elves away, heading for an area designated for Vassal Races.

As for the Slave Hunting Team, they were about to be locked away in prison.

Shortly after, the Cloud-Surging Flying Ship ascended once more and flew toward Taichu City.

Inside the first-floor hall.

Una clumsily brewed a cup of flower tea and respectfully presented it to Romance.

Seeing her Teacher take a sip of the tea, she couldn’t help but voice the question in her heart.

"Teacher, where are we going next?"

"To Taichu City." Romance glanced at her. "You’re my first apprentice. I have to let Anton see you."

"L-Lord Anton?" Una’s voice suddenly grew tense.

Even on the Frost Ridge Plateau, thousands of miles away, she had often heard of the Fallen Dragon Sword Saint’s fearsome reputation.

Nearly everyone who had ever mentioned his name in her presence did so with a voice full of awe and reverence.

The thought of meeting such a great figure made her so nervous her heart clenched.

Romance chuckled. "Don’t be nervous. It’s not like Anton eats people."

Seeing Una’s small face still taut with anxiety, Romance smiled and simply led the Dogman girl toward the deck.

’By my calculations, we should be arriving at Taichu City soon.’

Just as the two of them stepped onto the deck, the silhouette of a majestic city appeared on the horizon.

Una’s attention was instantly captivated.

Even from such a great distance, the silhouette alone conveyed an indescribable sense of weight and history.

As they drew closer, the appearance of the giant city became clearer.

The city walls rose and fell like the spine of a Giant Dragon, encircling the entire city.

Within the walls, buildings of varying heights were arranged in a staggered pattern, their dark tiles overlapping like scales and shimmering with a deep, faint luster in the twilight.

The most striking feature was the majestic tower in the city’s center. Its octagonal, upturned eaves pierced the clouds, and its body was shrouded in a pale golden halo, like a frozen sunset.

Una subconsciously held her breath.

She had seen the splendor of Bilin City and the vast expanse of the Frost Ridge Plateau, but she had never witnessed a city so magnificent.

The Flying Ship landed at a Berth Square outside the city.

After disembarking from the Flying Ship, Romance did not use a Body Technique to rush ahead, instead choosing to walk into the city with Una.

She likely intended for her new apprentice to familiarize herself with Taichu City.

The bluestone path was wide and straight, shaded by green trees on both sides. Occasionally, disciples in azure robes would pass by, stopping to bow and greet Romance upon seeing her.

Una’s gaze fell upon those disciples.

Their robes were spotless, their steps as light as if they were walking on clouds, and they exuded an indescribable, ethereal aura.

Una looked down at her own dusty, old clothes, quietly tucking her hands into her sleeves. She shuffled back a bit, subconsciously falling half a step behind Romance.

They passed through the stone gate and entered the inner city.

The two soon arrived at the Ninefold Celestial Tower.

Una tilted her head back to look at the tower that soared into the clouds and subconsciously swallowed.

"Let’s go in."

Romance took the lead, striding into the tower. She brought Una to the Teleportation Hall, where they used a Teleportation Array to reach the floor where the Celestial Essence Hall was located.

Upon entering the Celestial Essence Hall, they saw that both Anton and Eleanor were present.

Seeing Romance, Anton smiled faintly. "Your trip to Bilin City was quite timely. Not only did you run into a Slave Hunting Team, but you also found an apprentice."

"I’ve always considered myself lucky."

Romance casually sat down in an empty chair and waved Una over, then introduced her to Anton and Eleanor.

"Here, this is my new apprentice. Her name is Una."

Anton and Eleanor both turned their gazes to the small, thin Dogman girl.

Una felt her body stiffen. She bit her tongue hard to regain some composure and hastily bowed in greeting.

"L-Lord Anton... Lord Eleanor..."

It was no wonder she was so nervous.

To her, the two people before her were utterly unattainable, great figures.

Never mind the Fallen Dragon Sword Saint.

The overlord who ruled two great territories: the Eldron Plain and the Green Highlands.

A great figure whose single word could decide the fate of the entire Dogman Race.

Even Lord Eleanor beside him was a Legendary Powerhouse.

Before, she could never have come into contact with such major figures.

Anton sized up the Dogman girl for a moment. His Divine Sense swept over her silently, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Her aptitude isn’t bad."

At fifteen or sixteen, she had already reached the level of a Lower Black Iron. This wasn’t particularly outstanding within the Silver Moon Race, but out in the wider world, it was already quite good.

After cultivating in Taichu City for a while, she would quickly distinguish herself.

Romance grinned. "See? I told you she was good. Her combat style is to my liking, too, which is why I took her as my apprentice."

Anton remained noncommittal and gestured for Eleanor to test Una’s aptitude.

With a flip of her wrist, a palm-sized jade disc materialized in Eleanor’s hand.

As Eleanor waved her hand, the jade disc floated gently toward Una.

Una subconsciously reached out and caught it.

"Place your hand on it," Eleanor reminded her gently.

Una quickly did as she was told, pressing her palm onto the center of the disc.

A moment later, azure and white stones on the disc lit up simultaneously, their light soft and steady.

"Metal and Wood Dual Spirit Roots." A trace of surprise flashed in Eleanor’s eyes.

’I didn’t expect this Dogman girl to not only possess a Spirit Root, but Dual Spirit Roots at that.’

’Among the disciples of Taichu City, this aptitude is considered quite good.’

’After all, the best aptitude among the disciples of Taichu City so far has been Triple Spirit Roots—with the exception of Spirit Bodies like Laine.’

"Not bad." Anton nodded slightly, his gaze shifting to Romance. "Do you plan for her to cultivate the Qi Dao or the Power Dao?"

"The Power Dao." Romance had clearly already decided, answering without a second thought. "Her combat style is a bit like mine. the Power Dao is a better fit."

Anton nodded and said no more.

’Perhaps the Power Dao is more suitable for the Dogman Race anyway.’

’After all, the origins of the Power Dao lineage can be traced back to the Cultivation Techniques of the Demon Race.’

Previously, because the Clan needed a large number of "producers" who could master Spiritual Qi, it was stipulated that only Cultivators of the Qi Dao could become disciples of Taichu City. This led to many Elves with Spirit Roots choosing to cultivate the Qi Dao.

But now, the Clan has lifted that restriction. Power Dao Cultivators can become disciples of Taichu City as well.

Even if one is tested to have a Spirit Root, they are free to choose their path based on their own conditions and goals, no longer forced to stare down a single road.

Una’s Metal and Wood Dual Spirit Roots happened to be perfect for cultivating the Golden Wheel Thunder Body.

"Then that settles it," Romance declared, making the final decision.

Anton looked at Eleanor.

She understood and, raising a hand, tapped lightly on a piece of white paper at the edge of the table.

The paper floated up, automatically folded itself into a small Paper Crane, and flew out of the hall on beating wings.

Before long, the sound of light footsteps came from the hall entrance.

Furlo walked in briskly and bowed slightly to Anton and Eleanor.

"Teacher, Lord Eleanor."

"Take Una down and arrange a place for her to live," Eleanor instructed.

"Yes," Furlo acknowledged. She turned to Una with a gentle smile. "Please come with me."

Una glanced instinctively at Romance. Seeing her Teacher nod slightly, she followed Furlo out of the hall.

The sound of their footsteps gradually faded.

Only Anton, Romance, and Eleanor remained in the hall.

"What about those Half-Elves? What do you plan to do with them?" Romance asked casually, leaning back in her chair.

Anton waved a hand dismissively. "We’ve already accepted Vassal Races. What’s there to hesitate about with Half-Elves? We’ll accept them all the same."

Eleanor nodded in agreement. "Although Half-Elves have an awkward status, they have at least half-Elf blood. More importantly, they aren’t welcomed by any race and their situation is perilous. If someone extends an olive branch to them, they will surely grasp it tightly. Their loyalty might even be higher than that of other Vassal Races."

Romance blinked. "So you mean... from now on, we’ll also be accepting Half-Elves?"

Anton smiled and nodded.

"But how do we recruit the Half-Elves?" Romance frowned slightly. "As far as I know, many Half-Elves don’t have fixed settlements. They migrate constantly to evade Slave Hunting Teams, which makes them very hard to find."

Anton replied unhurriedly, "If they’re hard to find, then we’ll have them come to us."

Romance was momentarily stunned.

Eleanor, however, immediately understood Anton’s meaning. "Clan Leader, you mean... we issue a proclamation?"

"Correct."

Anton nodded.

"Announce to the world, effective immediately, that the Silver Moon Race is willing to accept Half-Elves and offer them sanctuary. All who willingly seek refuge will be treated equally and granted the status of a Vassal Race."

Eleanor pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded. "In that case, we’ll need to set up reception points at the borders to receive the Half-Elves who come to seek refuge."

"Also, a large number of Half-Elves converging on our territory will likely attract many Slave Hunting Teams. They won’t dare enter our domain, but they will very likely attack the migrating Half-Elves on the road."

"To be safe, we should dispatch some elite squads to eliminate these Slave Hunting Teams."

Romance clicked her tongue in admiration. "Anton just made the suggestion, and you’ve already thought of so many details. Eleanor, you’re getting more and more impressive."

Eleanor shot her a reproachful glance. "If you had to deal with these affairs every day like I do, you’d be able to do it too."

Romance shook her head vigorously. "I’ll pass, then."

’The last thing I want is to be buried in paperwork all day. Just thinking about it gives me a headache.’

As if afraid Eleanor would press the issue, Romance quickly stood up.

"I’m going to go check on how Una is settling in, and teach her the Eight Desolates Prison-Suppression Scripture while I’m at it."

As her last word fell, Romance’s figure had already vanished from the hall’s entrance.

Seeing this, Anton and Eleanor both shook their heads with a helpless laugh.

After a moment, Eleanor suddenly remembered something. "According to our intelligence network," she said, "many of the Slave Hunting Teams seem to have powerful factions supporting them from behind the scenes."

Anton was not surprised.

Without backers, given the Slave Hunting Teams’ notorious reputation, they would have been wiped out long ago by some powerhouse who found their actions intolerable.

Besides, while slave trading has a bad name, it is an incredibly lucrative business. It was inevitable that covetous factions would get involved.

Fortunately, the five major powers were careful to protect their reputations and wouldn’t get involved in such matters.

And as long as the five major powers weren’t involved, Anton had far fewer concerns.

He waved his hand grandly, his voice firm and resolute.

"No matter what backers they have, if they dare to reach out a hand, we will chop it off."

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