# Chapter 24: Blessing the New Generation, Part 1
Starfall Year 837, February 27th, Eternal Lake, Redwood Mother Tree Island.
Hill Langor knelt in meditation within a simple wooden shrine at the center of the island, his eyes closed.
This was the island where the Langor tribe's Mother Tree of Life stood, and within this humble shrine hung portraits of all the past chieftains of the Langor tribe. Their remains had long since merged with the Mother Tree, leaving only these paintings to remind future generations. The black-haired elf sat calmly in the center of the wooden hall, enduring the gaze of his ancestors' portraits. Beside him, an elf with white hair who appeared incredibly aged from having overdrawn his life force, and another elf who had lost his right hand and left lower leg but still retained a relatively youthful face, knelt in silence.
The three elves bore striking resemblances to one another. Anyone who saw them would never doubt their blood relation. Hill, seated in the middle, was the youngest and most physically intact. One could see that the heads of all three were adorned with crowns woven from redwood branches, signifying the completion of the chieftain succession ceremony.
"From this point forward, the burden falls upon you."
"I still don't understand, actually."
At the location of the tribe's most important Mother Tree of Life, in the center of this shrine filled with portraits of past chieftains, Hill slowly shook his head. The young elf murmured in a puzzled tone: "Father is one thing—his life force is so depleted that even the Life Tree's buds can only delay death, not restore his strength. But Big Brother, your missing limbs aren't incurable. Why must I return to inherit the family?"
Hill was not unwilling to shoulder his responsibilities. He simply couldn't understand and wanted to know the answer.
"Because what was damaged wasn't my limbs—it was my heart."
Facing his younger brother's question, the older elf replied in a calm tone. He raised his head, looking around at the portraits of their ancestors, and said frankly: "In that life-and-death battle with the Five-Colored Dragon, I recognized the fragility of my spirit. With just one moment of carelessness, I lost my arm and left foot... And this injury isn't as simple as it appears on the surface. The Green Dragon's venom constantly erodes my internal organs. To be completely healed would require five years of quiet cultivation."
"Even for an elf, five years is precious. I cannot wait five years, and the Langor tribe cannot wait five years either."
This was a convincing answer. Hill could not refute it and could only accept it. He watched his father and elder brother leave the shrine and close the door behind them. The young elf let out a deep sigh.
Although the succession ceremony was complete, he could not yet leave this shrine. Soon, his chieftain inauguration ceremony and wedding would follow. He needed to remain in this wooden house with the ancestors of the Langor tribe, waiting until the ceremony began.
"So this is the constraint of returning to the family... All kinds of rules and regulations. Once I become chieftain, I'll have to coordinate relationships among tribe members, communicate with other tribes, and even leaving the Far South will be difficult... That free and unrestrained life I once had will probably never return."
Kneeling back down with eyes closed in meditation, Hill heard the shrine door open behind him. He heard light footsteps approaching, and the crackling sound of static electricity gradually filled the air. The black-haired elf knew this was Faina, who had not yet fully mastered the power of her Ancient Dragon bloodline. As his fiancée, she would wait with him for the ceremony to begin.
"Are you unhappy, Hill?"
Walking slowly to Hill's side, the Sea Dragon lady gently knelt beside the black-haired elf. She leaned close to Hill and asked in a low voice. One could see a hint of unease on Faina's expression. She seemed troubled that her race had brought extra trouble to Hill, so this usually assertive woman now wore a face full of worry.
"Hill... it's all my fault," she whispered to herself.
"Not a bit of trouble. You have no fault at all."
In response to Faina's self-blame, Hill shook his head. He extended his left hand and grasped Faina's right hand. The elf held her hand tightly, then replied with a light laugh: "Listen, as long as you're by my side."
"Even if I'm no longer free and unrestrained, I'm still willing."
---
Starfall Year 837, March 1st, Eternal Lake, Redwood City. The weather was fine, with clear skies and not a single cloud.
The wedding of Hill Langor, the new chieftain of the Langor tribe, was held today.
The Far South had abundant water resources, and combined with its near-tropical geographical location, the moisture from dense forests and rivers would always rise to form clouds regardless of the weather. But under the spellwork of elven mages, even unruly clouds had to obey the command of magic.
Compared to the festive atmosphere in the city, the Redwood Castle atop the giant redwood tree, which served as the wedding venue, seemed somewhat quiet. But those walking through the castle were, without exception, major nobles and important figures of the elven race. At the invitation of the Nature Mentor and the Fairy Empress, most of the chieftains of the nine major elven tribes had come to Redwood City. Even those who couldn't attend for various reasons had sent family deputies, or even former chieftains, as substitutes.
In fact, Hill, as the protagonist of the wedding, knew that his wedding was merely an excuse for the Elven Royal Court to gather many elven nobles together and mediate the conflicts caused by the recent World Tree succession. After all, they were all elves. Even if disputes became ugly, finding a face-saving way out, chatting, and making compromises could solve most problems. If someone was truly dissatisfied, the Empress and the Mentor would have no choice but to intervene and make them satisfied.
For this reason, the Nature Mentor personally endorsed his union with Faina, suppressing most of the opposition within the tribe against diluting elven bloodlines.
"Bloodline purity—this is a tribal law we elves have upheld for eight hundred years. But to be honest, is there still any meaning in desperately maintaining pure elven bloodlines now?"
At that time, facing a group of skeptical conservative elven nobles, the Nature Mentor spoke with unprecedented seriousness: "Even rats know to adapt to their environment and change. Are we elves inferior to rats, insisting on following ancient rules from eight hundred years ago? In ancient times, when the population of all races was small, we elves could rely on elite individuals for rapid development. But now, with the widespread adoption of mana industry, the world has come to the most important turning point. What we need is not elites who take decades to train, but a large population capable of managing large-scale industrial production!"
"The fertility rate of pure-blooded elves is well known. If we stubbornly refuse to change, we can only be eliminated by the times... Do you want this ancient and glorious race to gradually fade into history? It's time for change!"
The Nature Mentor refuted everyone, causing many conservative nobles to abandon their opposition to the 'Bloodline Improvement Plan' through intermarriage, bloodline modification, and magical experiments. But she cleverly avoided an obvious problem—that dragon fertility rates were also low. Hill and Faina's union had absolutely nothing to do with bloodline improvement; on the contrary, it worsened the situation.
But who cared? Who would really mind? Just as only a few people in this castle were genuinely celebrating his wedding, not many would truly care about the marriage partner of someone unrelated to them.
Even so, there were always a few pure-hearted individuals.
"...Before the God of Love, by the ancient oath, you two shall share life and death, never abandoning each other."
Before the statue of the God of Love and Decay, 'Joy-Sorrow,' the current Fairy Empress recited oath after oath in elegant Ancient Elvish. This beautiful elven lady with silver hair, golden eyes, and a purple jade crown smiled as she blessed Hill and Faina. Although 'Herenvaoix IX,' who inherited the name of past elven kings, supported Hill's wedding with ulterior motives, at this moment she genuinely blessed the two before her—this legendary expert, whose fame was overshadowed by the title of Fairy Empress, quietly adjusted Hill and Faina's physical conditions and even suppressed the restless Ancient Dragon bloodline within the Sea Dragon lady.
A gentle, warm floral fragrance spread throughout the hall with the Fairy Empress's blessing. This heart-penetrating fragrance seemed not to exist in the material world at all but reached directly into the depths of the soul. Even the Great Druids who had abandoned their elven forms to become wooden bodies or dragon forms could clearly smell this refreshing fragrance. As the fragrance rippled and spread, extending beyond the Redwood Castle to envelop the entire city, cheers that shook the entire city and made the earth tremble slightly could be heard from outside the castle.
Throughout Redwood City, everyone with minor ailments felt it—within this mysterious floral fragrance, the pain and illness in their bodies eased and improved at a clearly perceptible speed until they completely disappeared. Redwood City was a city of adventurers, and which adventurer didn't have hidden injuries, rheumatism, or minor ailments? But now, under the effect of this gentle transcendent power, everyone was completely healed without any side effects.
This was power comparable to miracles, yet it was like spring breeze and rain, silent and unnoticed.
"Clap, clap, clap, clap."
Beneath the ceremony platform, seated in the front row, Joshua was the first to applaud, breaking the slightly dull atmosphere of the hall caused by shock. As this legendary expert who had traveled from afar clapped loudly, the nervous elven nobles around and behind him quickly joined in, celebrating the successful wedding of the new chieftain of the Langor tribe. Instantly, the entire castle hall was filled with blessings and applause, and the band beside them began playing gentle and ethereal elven music.
The most tedious part of the ceremony was over. Next came the busy and fulfilling ceremony. As Hill and Faina withdrew, the many elven nobles present and the human and dwarf guests invited like Joshua were led by maids to the castle's banquet hall. Ying and Lin followed behind the warrior. This was their first time attending a wedding, and they looked curious with a hint of nervousness.
"There are so few elves here."
Through the psychic terminal, the silver-haired girl quietly remarked to her brother: "Although I've never formally attended a wedding, I've watched many in Moldavia City. Any of them had several times more people than here. And the process was so plain, a bit boring."
"Boring... Sister, have you looked at who these people are?"
The black-haired boy was somewhat speechless at his sister's simple thought process: "If you throw a stone among this group, you'd hit a dozen Gold-ranks, seven or eight Ultimate-ranks, and most of the actual rulers of the elven race. Remember, counting the Fairy Empress, there are three Legendary-rank experts at this wedding!"
"Whose wedding can gather three Legendary-rank experts? Look at that stern-faced elf beside the band—he's the 'History Weaver' responsible for recording major historical events of the elven race. Although this wedding seems quite quiet, having three Legendary-rank experts present simultaneously is enough to be recorded in history as an extraordinary event!"
The Divine Mechanism siblings chatted and joked with each other through the network, occasionally browsing the Northern news and forums, amusing themselves. But Joshua, walking ahead of them, did not show the sincere smile he had when blessing Hill earlier as he entered the banquet hall and was led into a special room prepared specifically for him.
At this moment, the warrior's brows were slightly furrowed, appearing lost in thought about some problem.
The luxurious and extravagant private banquet room was specially prepared for Joshua. The table was empty but had fixed teleportation spells. The warrior only needed to tap lightly, and food matching his requirements would be automatically teleported. Because aside from the Nature Mentor and the Fairy Empress, no one dared—and no one had the status—to sit on equal footing with him, Joshua had to dine alone.
"Hill and Faina should now be with the other eight tribal chieftains, the Fairy Empress, and the Nature Mentor in a secret room discussing matters related to the World Tree succession."
Having already discussed this issue with Galannod when he first arrived in Redwood City, Joshua knew where the two elven legendary experts and the disappeared chieftains had gone. He also knew that all his purposes for coming to Redwood City had been fulfilled, and he should now be able to return.
In the past few days, he had talked with Hill, Faina, and others several times. The warrior encouraged the elf not to panic—with his potential, becoming a powerful tribal chieftain was beyond doubt. The warrior even intervened to alleviate the life depletion of Hill's father, extending the old elf's lifespan by at least a dozen years.
As for Faina's integration with the Ancient Dragon bloodline, with the help of the Nature Mentor and the Fairy Empress, it had been perfected. Even Joshua had little room to intervene. Today, the Fairy Empress's blessing had filled the last flaw in Faina. Now, the Sea Dragon lady could almost be called the incarnation of the Chronos Ancient Dragon in the Mycroft World, a perfect awakening entity like Hei, and could be called a future Ancient Dragon.
"The elves are on the eve of reform... Not just humans, but all races on this ancient world are beginning to change to stride toward the distance. I have changed this world from crisis to this state, but why does something still feel wrong?"
Since a few days ago, Joshua had been feeling somewhat irritable. At first, he suspected it was the effect of divinity, but after several self-examinations, he found that his divinity had no unusual movements since his last suppression. During these irritable moments, the warrior felt he could vaguely hear some strange sounds—he initially thought it was similar to the micro-information flow of Steel Force, like the lament of Mycroft that the Steel Serpent Carlis heard, a side effect of his increasingly sharp senses. But he eventually discovered it wasn't... This matter was very mysterious. Joshua had no good explanation for it and could only set it aside for now.
It absolutely couldn't be an illusion. As a legendary expert, if one couldn't even control one's own senses and observation methods, one truly didn't deserve to be called legendary.
"Can't find the source for now. Let's set it aside... Let's see if this situation continues after returning to the Northern lands."
Suppressing the unease in his heart, Joshua casually ordered a few dishes. Elven cuisine tended to be light, but this time, considering the tastes of Joshua and a few other human and dwarf dignitaries, chefs from other races had also been brought in. The warrior felt that the unknown chef's skill had almost reached the master level. No matter what ingredients or dishes, the craftsmanship was exquisite to the extreme. He liked it very much.
However, just as Joshua was halfway through tasting the world-class chef's cooking, he suddenly stopped eating, furrowed his brows, and turned his head to look in a certain direction blocked by the wall. Ying and Lin both raised their heads, puzzled by their master's unusual behavior. Then, Joshua's words shocked them even more.
"Is that so? Today is also your wedding day."