The Mid-Tier Elves didn't just look larger than the tiny sprites; the power coursing through their veins belonged to an entirely different dimension.
As they knelt before him, Su Han raised a hand and smiled. "Rise, everyone. Tell me—what are your talents? I'd love to see what you can do."
"Hehe... I'm an archer!"
"Father God! Father God, look at me! I specialize in Fire Magic! Witness the Blazing Dragon!"
A red-haired elven mage raised her staff. Suddenly, a hundred-meter-long dragon of molten rock erupted into the sky. It wasn't a mere mindless spell; the dragon moved with a terrifying fluid intelligence, its scales dripping with actual lava.
Before the heat could even settle, a blue-haired elf stepped forward with a smirk. "A fire dragon? Child's play. Try my Azure Shackles!"
Rings of crystalline water materialized from the air, snapping around the fire dragon's neck and limbs like liquid iron. The temperature of the canopy dropped instantly as steam hissed into the sky.
"Windsor! Let go!"
"Hmph... you shouldn't be showing off such destructive magic on the Mother Tree's body, Biya!"
Fire and Water were naturally at odds, and these two elves seemed to embody that rivalry. But at the mention of the "Mother Tree," Biya's aggressive aura deflated immediately.
"Enough, sisters," a green-haired elf interrupted, waving her staff. "We are here to demonstrate our strength to Father God, not to bicker. Verdant Gale!"
With a gentle pulse of emerald energy, both the fire dragon and the water shackles shattered into harmless motes of light.
Yae Miko watched with genuine intrigue. "Even without Haki, their raw elemental output is staggering. They're already stronger than most veteran vision-holders."
"And they are a long-lived race," Lisa added. "If they master our cultivation methods, they'll become the ultimate standing army."
[The Kings of the Short-Blade]
Just as the magic display ended, a series of silver flashes blurred across the terrace. A group of elves with short, silver hair and no wings began to spar. They moved like ghosts—flickering in and out of existence.
They didn't just run; they seemed to fold space itself. A distance of a hundred meters was crossed in a single step.
"That isn't just speed," Hanachirusato frowned. "It's spatial manipulation. Their movements are... eerie."
"They are born assassins," Rosalyne observed. "The masters of the short-blade."
Suddenly, the lead assassin whispered: "Nightfall Descends."
A dome of absolute darkness, hundreds of meters wide, engulfed the area. Inside, the elven assassins vanished completely. No breath, no heartbeat, no scent. The only thing one could sense was the slight ripple in the air as they moved for the kill.
"Natural-born killers," Rosalyne murmured. "They can even manufacture their own environment. Inside that darkness, their power is clearly amplified."
When the dome lifted, the sixteen silver-haired assassins knelt before Su Han. "The Silver Moon Assassin Corps reports for duty, Father God. Command us, and we shall erase any shadow."
"For now, focus on learning about this world," Su Han instructed. "Don't be in a hurry to kill. Go to the library and study."
"Yes, Father God!" They vanished into the air, their presence fading into nothingness.
[The Cycle of the World Tree]
Su Han turned to the water elf, Windsor. "When will the High-Tier Elves and the Elven Kings emerge?"
"They will likely awaken together... but I don't know the exact time. Forgive me, Father God," Windsor said apologetically.
The Raiden Shogun stepped forward. "Can your race produce numbers indefinitely?"
Windsor shook her head. "No... the Mother Tree told us upon our awakening that every elf is unique. There is a limit to our population—except for the lower-tier sprites, who are the 'breath' of the tree."
"And if you die?" Rosalyne asked.
"We return to the Mother Tree's embrace to be gestated again," Windsor replied. "If the soul is intact, we keep our memories. If the soul is shattered, we are reborn as a blank slate."
The group was silent. This meant the Elven race was practically immortal so long as the World Tree stood.
"Do you age?" Hu Tao asked, her business instincts twitching.
"We have a lifespan of two thousand years," Windsor explained. "After that, our bodies tire. We then choose to 'Turn to Seed,' returning to a juvenile state to start our lives over."
Hu Tao sighed. Great. No funerals for two thousand years. There goes my expansion plan for the spirit world.
[The 30th Mission]
Despite the excitement, Su Han and the core members didn't leave the canopy. The 30th Mission was about to refresh—and it was a Promotion Mission.
The previous promotion missions had been world-shaking events.
"I wonder what the difficulty will be this time..."
"Definitely a Five-Star mission," Ningguang predicted. "It's either a new world or one of the high-tier known worlds like Bleach or Naruto. One Piece is already nearing its end, so it won't be that."
Ningguang looked at Su Han, her expression serious. "Su Han, to be safe, you should summon the Xuanyuan Sword now. If the mission is as dangerous as I suspect, we might need to hand the Saintly Blade to Mr. Zhongli immediately."
Su Han agreed. With a thought, he summoned the golden sword, its radiant aura of "Humanity's Order" washing over the World Tree as they waited for the system to ping.
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