The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

The Elf Bug Amber was still brilliantly yellow, beautifully beyond words.

However, for Chris Truth, it had another layer of beauty, "Viscount, what do you think elves truly are as an existence?"

"I've discussed this with Granney Truth; he outlined to me the triangular relationship between the spirit, the material, and magic power," Liszt pondered, then replied, "I somewhat agree with his understanding that the fusion of the material with magic power, under certain conditions, creates an individual's spirit."

"Are you saying that elves are the fusion of plants and magic power, an accidental creation of spirit, thus endowing life to an individual?"

"I believe that whether it's elves or dragons, they all originate from this," Liszt explained earnestly, as he himself was currently nurturing a Fire Dragon, and his understanding of it was profound, "I don't know how the spirit comes into being, but I feel that everything begins with seeds."

"Seeds?"

"Plants sprout from a seed, growing into a flower or a mighty tree. Elves are also, in a way, nurtured from a seed, and no one has clearly explained the birth of dragons; perhaps they, too, are nurtured from a seed. Moreover, humans are also nurtured from a seed."

Chris was surprised, "How can humans come from a seed?"

"That involves human physiology... let me use a frog for example. Have you seen the eggs laid by frogs by the field ditch? Actually, those eggs are the joint masterpiece of a male and a female frog; each egg is a seed, which could turn into a tadpole and then grow into a frog."

Chris frowned and took a while to respond, "I'm sorry, Viscount, but I haven't seen frog eggs."

"Eh."

Liszt gave an embarrassed smile, "Then you've seen a hen lay eggs, right? Actually, an egg can also be considered a seed, a normal egg can be said to have no 'spirit', no soul. This is like the seed of a plant, but in the nurturing process, it ultimately possesses a soul, which must be due to the production of spirit in some way."

"Is that the same with humans?" Chris humbly asked; she had long discovered that the young Noble Landlord she was affiliated with had knowledge that sometimes surpassed even a Grand Magician.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Humans are the same, but they are incubated in the mother's stomach, belonging to viviparous creatures, just like cows, horses, and sheep. In fact, no matter the animal or human, at the beginning, it all starts with a seed, just pure matter, and spiritual power is gained later."

Liszt tried to make his explanation of the origin of life as simple and clear as possible for Chris.

Linking this to elves and dragons—however, after such an explanation, not only did Chris not understand the relationship between seeds and elves or dragons, but he himself also became entangled, feeling there indeed was no connection.

So he decisively switched the topic, "You were asking me what exactly elves are, right?"

"Yes."

"I think elves are a very magical type of magic creature."

Chris smiled, unsure whether she understood Liszt's dry humor or not; she began to explain her own understanding, "When studying amber, I found that the magic structure encased within the amber is actually a Magic Array. And the reason why the Elf Bugs inside still have magic reactions is the Magic Array hasn't collapsed."

"Magic Array?"

"Yes, so I believe that elves are a kind of special Magic Array. By understanding this kind of Magic Array, one could utilize it to achieve magical effects just like the elves."

Liszt suddenly perked up, "Then have you understood it?"

"I'm sorry, I cannot understand... The Magic Array that constitutes Elf Bugs is far more complex than I imagined; I think even an Archmage could not unravel such a complicated Magic Array. The Dynamic Magic Arrays that a Grand Magician needs to master are already complicated enough; the Elf Bug's Magic Array is countless times more complex than a Dynamic Magic Array."

"So what use is this piece of amber, and how does it help you?"

"This piece of amber could possibly be designed as a type of Magic Equipment to replace Cordyceps, though I'm unsure how to design it... As for its help to me, it has inspired my cognition of Magic Arrays, and that's the biggest help," Chris paused for a moment, then seriously added, "Viscount, I plan to go into quiet meditation for a few days, trying to break through to Grand Magician status."

"Is there anything that I can help with?"

"Not at the moment."

"Alright, take the Elf Bug Amber for now. It might provide you with some inspiration when you attempt to become a Grand Magician."

"Thank you."

...

Chris finally began her attempt to become a Grand Magician.

Meanwhile, the results of the research on tofu development released by the Smoke Mission were still pending.

Liszt didn't have too much work to do for the time being, but he spent every day fully engaged, so much so that he didn't have any spare time from morning till night.

Training dogs, cultivating, and feeding the Little Fire Dragon occupied most of his day.

The Magic Power of the Fire Dragon dwindled day by day, and the supply of volcanic glass that Black Horse Island could mine was also approaching exhaustion. The Mini Little Fire Dragon grew robustly, falling into a deep sleep immediately after eating its fill, all the while continually excreting impure magic power, aiding the growth of Liszt's Dragon Dou Qi.

The practice of the Advanced Dou Qi Manual "Rising Sun Blaze" was going smoothly; Liszt soared through the sky daily and continually stimulated the Landwalker bird Loki to fly as well.

Loki's body had stopped developing, clearly indicating the effects of the Bloodline Fruit had been fully realized, and its abilities had significantly improved.

Considering the dispersal of magic power, Loki had become on par with Douson, reaching the status of an Intermediate Dragon Beast.

Yet it still only knew the Light Body Skill and its progressively longer wings were still useless—it couldn't fly.

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Returning from his training that day, Liszt, as usual, took a walk through the glass greenhouse. He loosened the soil, weeded, and calmly waited for the Magic Medicine Seeds to sprout. However, a week and a half had passed since planting, and the seeds had yet to sprout, diminishing his hopes for their viability.

On the other hand, while researching the Sun Scriptures, he had some new inspiration.

"The Child of the Sun, Sky Ship, Tree City, Druids, Long Legs, Sun Scepter, Magic Medicine Seeds... The Child of the Sun race seems somewhat similar to the elves from Western legends on Earth—those tall, handsome beings who live in the forest and are proficient archers."

However, thinking of the appearance of the Sun Descendant—Old Phil—he seemed to have nothing to do with handsomeness.

Then another thought occurred to him.

The continent where the Child of the Sun lived was likely across from the Devil's Sea.

But the wreck of the Sky Ship was submerged near Black Horse Island, which meant it had crossed both the Devil's Sea and the Sea of Azure Waves. This suggested that the continents had interactions long ago—the fact that the Sun Descendant could be exiled to the Duchy of Sapphire also served as clear evidence.

"Thousands of years ago, there was a human kingdom called the Moon Empire, and across the continent lived a group of the Child of the Sun. 'Moon' and 'Sun', could there be a connection? Was the Sky Ship a tool for different human races across continents to interact?"

Information was too scarce.

He couldn't make any substantial judgments.

He bent his head and continued weeding the soil of the glass greenhouse—while the Magic Medicine Seeds failed to sprout, various weeds were racing to emerge.

Just then, as his small shovel removed a weed, he suddenly discovered a Magic Medicine Seed pushed upward by the loosened soil. The seed had split open, and a tender green-white shoot extended, pushing it to the surface of the earth, almost ready to break through the soil.

"The Magic Medicine Seeds have sprouted!"