Chapter 249: Back To That Key Moment ⑨

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Chapter 249: Back To That Key Moment ⑨

After several days of observation, Shang Ke finally confirmed one thing: the mixed-blood elves’ way of life and education was completely unsuitable for the little elves. Mattie and the other mixed-blood elves responsible for them had never mistreated them in food, clothing, housing, or daily necessities. On the contrary, everything they prepared was exquisite. The problem was that they simply did not understand what the little elves truly needed.

That much, Shang Ke could understand. After the Sacred Tree and Fountain of Life disappeared, the elves were hunted relentlessly by the Forge Wraiths. At the time, the various races had not yet formed an alliance. Isolated and without support, the elves were nearly exterminated, leaving only a small number of survivors who escaped into the territories of other races. To preserve their bloodline, they had no choice but to intermarry with outsiders, giving rise to mixed-blood elves.

Mixed-blood elves were raised under the educational systems of other races and grew up in the complicated mortal world, gradually drifting away from the heart of nature. By now, aside from carrying elven blood, their habits and ways of thinking had become vastly different from those of pure-blooded elves.

Humans were the most numerous race on the continent, and accordingly, most mixed-blood elves had grown up among humans. Human relationships were complicated and tangled with conflicting interests. From childhood, everyone underwent systematic education and lived under institutional rules in order to develop accepted views of life and the world. Differences in beliefs, experience, identity, social position, and countless other factors produced all kinds of temperaments, which in turn created even more complicated divisions of right and wrong, good and evil, and competing interests.

Pure-blooded elves were different. They revered nature and possessed simple hearts. Nature itself was their greatest teacher. They were born in nature and raised by nature, with little interest in money or power. Mattie and the others fed them meat according to their own habits, dressed them in elaborate clothing, and bound them with rigid rules. To Shang Ke, that amounted to erasing the very qualities that made the children beautiful.

What Shang Ke found hardest to tolerate was the way some people looked at the little elves because of their disabilities. They might never say anything aloud, but their expressions and behavior inevitably revealed their true feelings—contempt, arrogance, resentment, impatience… Children were sensitive. After enduring that kind of pressure and rejection day after day, how could they not become insecure and timid?

Shang Ke had originally planned to wait until his body fully materialized before dealing with the problem. But he could not wait any longer. His precious children would be protected by him.

The first step of his plan was to establish a magic formation. The Sacred Grounds were saturated with natural energy, making them the ideal place for such a formation. As long as the Sacred Tree remained alive and the Fountain of Life did not run dry, the surrounding energy would continue without end, allowing the formation to sustain itself.

The purpose of expelling the mixed-blood elves was to make them understand who the true masters of the Sacred Grounds were. Only elves who possessed the heart of nature had the right to approach the Sacred Tree and Fountain of Life.

Magic formation—activate!

Mixed-blood elves—expel!

An immense force suddenly rippled outward with the Sacred Tree at its center…

Eight days later, Ivan returned to Faesier Forest alone without alerting anyone. Ever since Keke became the Sacred Tree, Ivan had grown accustomed to acting alone, even in battle. Because he worried about the little elves’ safety, he usually avoided distant campaigns and would return within a few dozen days at most.

He needed neither glory nor praise. Everything he had done came from the sense of responsibility in his heart. But that sense of responsibility had vanished with his death in his previous life. This time, he wanted only to take the little elves far from the flames of war and preserve their lives with everything he had—until the day he once again died fighting for Keke, who had become the Sacred Tree…

After traveling through the forest for a while, Ivan suddenly stopped and looked toward one direction. Faint voices and commotion drifted from the nearby woods, as though something unexpected had happened.

Ivan frowned and hurried toward the noise. Near the inner region of the forest, he found a group of mixed-blood elves gathered together in heated discussion. After listening for a moment, he roughly understood what had happened.

That very morning, an enormously powerful magic formation had appeared in the Sacred Grounds, centered on the Sacred Tree and covering a radius of one thousand meters. Every mixed-blood elf inside the Sacred Grounds—whether Mattie, who had been teaching the children, or the guards assigned to protect them—had been forcibly expelled. The formation’s aura clearly came from the Mother Tree. In other words, it was their own Mother Tree that had driven them out. The mixed-blood elves were terrified. Had they unknowingly angered her?

Ivan, however, felt his heart quake. He rushed to the edge of the formation and slowly reached out to touch the transparent barrier of light. A familiar warmth flowed through his fingertips. No one understood the source of that feeling better than he did. The formation Keke had once established in Wasier Forest had felt almost exactly the same.

Ivan had imagined countless times that one day he would meet Keke again. Yet in his previous life, even up to the moment of his death, that wish had never come true. Now, the existence of a magic formation that had never appeared here before sent his heart pounding uncontrollably.

Could it be… had the Sacred Tree regained consciousness? Had his Keke come back?

Without the slightest hesitation, Ivan pushed off hard and shot toward the formation like a gust of wind.

“Sir Ivan, you can’t go in there!” A mixed-blood elf happened to catch sight of him and cried out in alarm.

The Great Elder frowned. “It’s fine. The formation will drive him back out soon enough.” Even they, who carried elven blood, could not enter. How could an outsider like Ivan possibly get through?

Yet to everyone’s astonishment, Ivan encountered no resistance whatsoever. He passed smoothly through the formation’s restriction.

The mixed-blood elves stared at his disappearing figure in disbelief. Several refused to accept what they had seen and tried entering again themselves, only to be teleported back out the instant they crossed the boundary.

Why could he enter? The same question filled every mixed-blood elf’s mind. They carried elven blood yet had been rejected by the Mother Tree, while Ivan, a member of the Dragon race, could freely enter elven territory? Had something gone wrong?

While everyone stood there dumbfounded, one mixed-blood elf suddenly whispered, “Do you all remember the relationship between the Sacred Tree Elf and Sir Ivan…?”

At those words, everyone’s expression became strange. The Sacred Tree Elf had once used the name Shang Ke and had been exceptionally close to Ivan—close enough to be lovers. The mixed-blood elves had always treated the subject as taboo. In their eyes, the Sacred Tree Elf should be noble and sacred, someone no one was permitted to profane. Ivan’s existence overturned that belief, which was one reason they had never welcomed him. They could not accept the Sacred Tree Elf becoming someone’s partner like an ordinary mortal—especially when that someone belonged to another race.

“Has the Sacred Tree Elf truly awakened?” the Great Elder murmured as he stared toward the distant Sacred Tree. Once the Mother Tree possessed personal feelings, could she still retain her former impartiality and selflessness? And what did the appearance of this formation signify?

【Body condensation has reached 50%. Spirit form is now visible.】 The System’s voice sounded at just the right moment after the formation activated.

Beneath the Sacred Tree, Shang Ke’s figure gradually appeared. He was light and translucent, his form and features exactly as they had been before he disappeared.

“Keke!” The little elves crowded around him happily, stretching out curious little hands and touching him with great care.

Wherever they touched him, Shang Ke’s body rippled gently like the surface of a lake.

The little hands immediately jerked back, terrified they might accidentally break him.

Shang Ke smiled at them, signaling that it was fine and they could poke him as much as they wanted. For the moment, however, the little elves still could not hear his voice. Well… not all of them. There seemed to be one exception: Wuyin. Wuyin’s hearing was impaired, but in truth, what he could not hear were ordinary sounds.

Leilei: “Keke, you’re finally back. We missed you so much.”

Wuyin translated, “Keke says he missed us too.”

Bubbles: “Keke, why did you turn into this?”

Wuyin: “Keke says he doesn’t have enough nutrients.”

Shadi: “Keke, you won’t leave again, right? If you have to go somewhere, you have to remember to take us with you.”

Wuyin: “Keke says he’ll never leave us again.”

“Keke, Keke…”

The little elves could not hear Shang Ke, while Wuyin could not hear the other little elves, yet somehow their conversation proceeded without the slightest difficulty.

Shang Ke floated lightly over the Fountain of Life and said, “Come here.”

The little elves came to the edge of the spring. Some stood, some crouched, but none made any other move.

Leilei hesitated. “Keke, the Great Elder and the others don’t let us approach the Fountain of Life whenever we want.”

“The Fountain of Life belongs to you.” Shang Ke slowly lowered himself until the lower half of his body sank into the water. Then he opened his arms and smiled at them. “Little elves, come to me.”

The little elves exchanged glances, stripped off their clothes, then jumped into the spring one after another like dumplings dropping into boiling water. Splashes erupted everywhere amid peals of laughter.

Shang Ke swept one hand across the surface of the spring. Light flashed, and several enormous bubbles suddenly formed around the little elves, lifting them lightly over the water. Then the bubbles transformed—into flowers, boats, fish, clouds, ferocious beasts… The children rode them freely, chasing one another through the water.

At first, the little elves remained somewhat restrained after having been controlled for so long. But as one marvelous form after another appeared before them, they gradually cast aside their worries and began playing without reserve. Under Shang Ke’s guidance, they used their own imaginations and magic to create whatever they liked. Soon the surface of the spring was filled with all sorts of bizarre, indescribable objects…

Shang Ke’s way of teaching magic was completely different from Mattie’s. Mattie treated magic as combat power and demanded that the little elves control it, use it, strengthen it, and turn it into their strongest weapon. Shang Ke taught them instead to draw close to it, merge with it, protect it, and make it their most intimate companion. Nature power had never been a weapon. It was a life force capable of infinite creation.

Shang Ke wanted the mixed-blood elves to understand just how beautiful a true elf could be.

Just then, a voice that completely ruined the mood sounded in Shang Ke’s mind: 【System inspection has determined that Host’s standing posture is incorrect. Body condensation reduced to 49.9%. Spirit form returning to an invisible state.】

Shang Ke: Excuse me?

Before Shang Ke could even demand an explanation, the answer quickly appeared.

A tall figure shot from the forest. After several powerful leaps, he landed steadily on the bank.

At the exact instant he appeared, Shang Ke’s translucent body vanished into the air, causing the newcomer to miss his chance to see him.

Staring at the familiar figure only a few steps away, Shang Ke ground his teeth. System, you bastard!

【System is willing to accept Host’s severely inaccurate evaluation. (⌒⌒)】

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