The Passage of Time

In the forty-fourth year of the Levant Region, several major events took place. Light's eighteen-year tenure as prime minister came to an end after he voluntarily requested not to serve another term. His first two requests were rejected, but Rus Wang finally granted the third. After the Sage Council, made up of the kingdom's highest officials, elected a successor, Terence became the new prime minister. He had distinguished himself by encouraging immigration and opening several new provinces in the Central Plateau and along the west coast of the Folded Ear Continent.

Every Elf on the Sage Council was among Rus Wang's most trusted confidants, and naturally knew about humanity and much other information that could not yet be made public to ordinary Elves. Under Terence's plans, the kingdom paused further expansion and made its top priorities cultivating the newly acquired land, increasing the population, and improving the roads connecting the city-states and towns in each province.

By now, every family in the Elf Kingdom had several children. The eldest son could inherit the family business, the daughters would marry, and the remaining sons had to find their own way. Terence understood this, so after taking office, he introduced a policy: anyone who settled in a newly opened province and cultivated the land would receive farming tools, seeds, oxen, and heavy plows. Officials would provide guidance, and settlers would be exempt from land tax for two years. They would also receive a thousand copper coins in financial support. A series of penalties was established for anyone who abused the policy.

Terence didn't need to worry that anyone who broke the rules would escape punishment. With the two Lady's, Xingyue and Youlan, secretly keeping watch, not a single Elf who took the money under this policy and ran off would live long enough to enjoy it.

The Elf Kingdom entered an era of internal consolidation, temporarily halting its expansion abroad.

As for Rus Wang, his five children had already turned forty, and it was time for them to live independently. After all, even the two children being raised by their mothers—including the mothers of his children—had been born. One by one, under Rus Wang's attentions, Xingyue and the others had also had their first children.

Last year, after taking his children on a tour of the southern part of the Folded Ear Continent, Rus Wang had summoned the five of them to the forest in the Core Circle and spoken with them before they set out on their own.

"In three days, your mother will drive you out of the Core Circle of the Nanshan Rainforest. As your father, I can't argue with your mother. Besides, every territory in the Core Circle of the Nanshan Rainforest already has an owner. If you want a territory here in the future, you'll have to take one by force. But you're always welcome in the Elf Kingdom. If you ever want some Elven food or anything else, just ask me for money."

Rus Wang wanted to ask his three sons and two daughters what they planned to do next: fight for territory in the Nanshan Rainforest or venture into the southern part of the Folded Ear Continent. The former offered the richest concentration of heaven and earth energy anywhere on the Folded Ear Continent. In the latter, the concentration in the Core Circles of the Southern Forest and Southern Coniferous Forest was only as high as the lowest level found in the Mixed Circle of the Nanshan Rainforest. But those lands were occupied only by a few Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts and Soul Beasts that had fled there. Any Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that fled to the Folded Ear Continent and sought to break through the Hundred-Thousand-Year threshold would generally come to the Nanshan Rainforest to seize territory in its Mixed Circle.

More than twenty years ago, after their father had subdued them by force, the territories of the thousand- and ten-thousand-year-old Soul Beasts in the Mixed Circle of the Nanshan Rainforest had been divided into regions. But they were absurdly large, far beyond what these Soul Beasts could normally patrol. Many territories seemed to have owners, but unless the owner could fly, patrolling the whole territory was all but impossible; it would take months. As a result, many areas had been abandoned by their Soul Beast owners and remained unclaimed.

"The five of us already have a shared territory near the border between the Outer Circle and the Mixed Circle of the Nanshan Rainforest, Father."

The five siblings shared Rus Wang's bloodline. From childhood, their intelligence had been little different from that of Elves and humans, unlike ordinary thousand- and ten-thousand-year-old Soul Beasts, which relied mostly on survival instincts. They had sat down and discussed it together, choosing a place at the boundary between the Outer Circle and the Mixed Circle to make their territory once all five of them had reached ten thousand years.

"Is that so? The border between the Outer Circle and the Mixed Circle is mostly home to Hundred-Year Soul Beasts, with very few thousand-year ones. That's a good choice. Once you reach ten thousand years, you can also try to scout out the situation in the Mixed Circle."

Rus Wang nodded and rose to his feet. He had already given his first children all the help he could. If Barus and the others later decided to challenge him and the other Ten-Thousand-Year Ferocious Beasts for territory in the Core Circle, he would welcome the challenge.

"If you want this map of the Folded Ear Continent, keep it safe. Remember to carve it into stone. If paper gets damp, the ink will wash away."

"Will we still be able to see you in the Elf Kingdom, Dad?"

Iyuda called after her departing father.

"Of course, Iyuda. There, I'm just Rus, Thalassa, and her children."

Rus Wang stopped to answer his second daughter's question, but didn't turn around. He didn't want his children to see his face just then.

That afternoon, the five children spread their wings and flew away from the Core Circle of the Nanshan Rainforest for good. They headed to their territory at the border between the Outer Circle and the Mixed Circle and began their independent lives.

"Have the children left?"

Rus Wang's huge body sat atop a mountain peak. Thalassa's figure approached from behind.

"They've left. All five of them together."

Thalassa leaned against Rus Wang, gazing at the same stretch of sky, in the direction their children had flown, and spoke.

"Sometimes, having children develop intelligence too early is a mixed blessing. We've begun to think like humans and Elves, and to feel joy, anger, sorrow, and grief. That means we can't drive our children away once they're grown, the way the hundred- and thousand-year-old Soul Beasts in the forest do because of the difficulty of finding food, their need for mates, and their territorial instincts."

"But circumstances demand that our descendants awaken their intelligence earlier, like humans and Elves. Compared to the sorrow we feel now, watching our children grow up and leave, it's far more beneficial for them to develop their intelligence early. They'll learn to think, cooperate, and sense danger. Otherwise, the Soul Beast Clan will only ever slowly fade into the earth."

Rus Wang lowered his head. From this rocky mountain, he couldn't look out over the entire Nanshan Rainforest, but he could still survey the peaks below.

"Thalassa, I'd rather our children develop intelligence early than see humans enter this New Continent and hunt them like prey."

"Once the older generation of Elves begins to pass away, we'll use Barus's improved Mental Contract Law to deepen the bond between Soul Beasts and Elves. Before humans discover us, we need to unite all the strength this continent can offer and build a sanctuary where Soul Beasts can live alongside Elves."

His dragon claws sank deep into the soil, scooping up a handful.

"What if Star Dou Forest notices us?"

Under Rus Wang's tutelage, Thalassa had come to understand the situation across the planet. She had only just learned that the Silver Dragon King was the Dragon Race's leader and the common ruler of Soul Beasts. Until then, she had never even considered it.

"I'll show some respect to the common ruler of Soul Beasts, but if it's them, let them come! Those old bastards never cared whether the younger generation lived or died. If they want to use their status as the common ruler's subordinates and their seniority to take this forest from beneath our feet, they'll have to step over my corpse first."

For the first time, genuine ruthlessness appeared in Rus Wang's eyes. He was the King of the Nanshan Rainforest, the protector of the Elves, and the nominal ruler of the Elf Kingdom.

Gradually, the Elf Kingdom settled into a cycle: twelve years spent opening new land, followed by twelve years spent expanding its foundations and construction.

As time passed, new technologies and knowledge found their way into the Elves' lives and education.

The capital, which had once been home to tens of thousands, gradually grew into a metropolis of hundreds of thousands. Its foundations were rebuilt and expanded again and again. City-state borders reached the edges of towns, villages were surrounded by towns, and, over time, the farmland that had once surrounded settlements became residential areas.

Officials laid out plans for new provinces, cities, counties, towns, and villages. Government roles, which had once been mixed together, became increasingly specialized to manage the growing Elven population.

The armed forces—the military—also grew, and began quietly selecting loyal officers to train as Soul Masters. The elected peace officers also became more professionalized. Their jobs turned into secure, well-paid positions that required passing an exam.

In the 109th year of the Levant Region, Evans, the Elf Kingdom's first prime minister, was murdered. After stepping down as prime minister, he had continued to serve as the kingdom's chief justice as it expanded and developed. He had devoted his life to ensuring fair appointments to the civil service and preventing the ossification of class divisions, surviving dozens of assassination and poisoning attempts by various families.

The Grey Feather Division, under Xingyue and Youlan's command, had spent years protecting Evans. Since Evans had no intention of cultivating himself and advancing to a higher level, the Grey Feather Division had wiped out the families behind those assassination and poisoning attempts. But even the most thorough precautions had their blind spots. In the end, every member of the family responsible for Evans's murder was executed to pay for his death. But the loss of a sage capable of governing a million people could never be made up for by wiping out an entire family of civil servants.

Rus Wang personally carried Evans's coffin in his dragon form, showing the Elves how highly he had regarded the kingdom's first prime minister.

One day in the 134th year, the Elf Kingdom's second prime minister, Light, passed away peacefully in his garden.

In the 195th year, Ravenna was rocked by an uprising launched by officers who had undergone Soul Master training. They tried to seize Rus Wang's throne by force. Before the Grey Feather Division's trained Soul Masters could suppress them, the Soul Beasts bound to the officers through Mental Contracts took the initiative to break their contracts and sever their Spirit Ring Sharing, preventing them from causing further destruction. But Soul Masters, a supernatural force, had now been revealed to the public, and unscrupulous newspapers spread the news throughout the kingdom.

In the 196th year, the current prime minister proved incapable of governing. Information about Soul Master cultivation levels and the Meditation Technique leaked and was published in the newspapers. Elves of every class threw themselves into cultivation, feverishly seeking to raise their Soul Master levels. The officials could no longer manage the situation, and the entire kingdom descended into chaos under the rule of the strong. Rus Wang ordered the prime minister to resign. Osuen took the office, while Tewitz, a Soul Saint, became marshal of the military and worked with the Grey Feather Division to suppress the Soul Master uprisings across the kingdom. Osuen introduced the Newspaper Act and declared martial law throughout the country. Tewitz led the army to Ravenna and restored order in the capital. After reclaiming the surrounding provinces, he reported that the campaign had stalled. Rus Wang approved.

During this time, Tewitz reformed the military and drilled its discipline. Firearms and Soul Tools were issued to the troops, and Mental Contracts were made public so soldiers could be trained to form bonds with Soul Beasts.

The following year, Tewitz led the army on a campaign to retake the lost provinces, which had fallen completely under the violent rule of Soul Masters. Elves who could no longer tolerate the strongmen's brutality welcomed the army with open arms. Within a year, after experiencing the harsh reality of Soul Master rule, the Elves who had once dreamed of a world ruled by the strong—thanks to the newspapers' reckless propaganda—returned to the kingdom's rule one after another.

The military carried out a bloody purge of the Elven Soul Masters who had launched the uprising. The Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts of the Nanshan Rainforest came out in force, crushing the Elven Soul Masters both physically and mentally and wiping out the force behind the nationwide rebellion.

In the 198th year, on Temple Mountain, Rus Wang and the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts of the Nanshan Rainforest took human form and held a conference with the Elf Kingdom's senior officials on the subject of Elven Soul Masters. Soul Power awakening, early childhood education, and academy education were made top priorities. Because Rus Wang's many children had developed their intelligence early and were good communicators, unlike ordinary hundred- and thousand-year-old Soul Beasts, the Elves considered them the ideal Mental Contract partners. Rus Wang was urged to have more children.

In the 209th year, Rus Wang's eldest son, Barus, led the way by forming a Mental Contract with Elena. After that, many of Rus Wang's descendants chose to form contracts with Elves over the following thousand years, strengthening the bond between Soul Beasts and Elves.

In the 208th year, Osuen and Tewitz stepped down from their respective posts as prime minister and military marshal. The nation's production recovered to its 194th-year level, while radios and Soul Tool broadcasting stations became part of everyday life.

In the 213th year, Tewitz died of old age.

In the 214th year, Elena became the first Titled Douluo among the Elves. Barus, who had reached ten thousand years, fully confirmed all the functions of the Mental Contract Law. It allowed Soul Beasts to share their abilities with Elves while also increasing their cultivation slightly. For every level an Elf gained, their Soul Beast partner's cultivation also increased a little. If both parties agreed to end the contract, that small increase would remain.

In the 217th year, Osuen and Liana died of old age.

In the 226th year, as the Elves' expansion finally spread across the entire northern part of the Folded Ear Continent, Rus Wang achieved a system milestone and evolved. Thunder roared through the sky that day. After enduring the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, the Blade Ruse King emerged unscathed.

Rus Wang, who had been only a little over two hundred thousand years old, now possessed more than six hundred thousand years of cultivation. He could unquestionably be called the King of Soul Beasts on the Folded Ear Continent.

In the 240th year, Rus Wang made steam engine technology public. The Elf Kingdom officially entered the Steam Age, rapidly spreading the technology across the land. The roar of steam trains strengthened the central government's control over the provinces.

The year 250.

After evolving into his Blade Ruse King form, Rus Wang had no intention of waiting another 1,749 years for the protective barrier to disappear before making contact with the outside world. He now possessed cultivation of more than six hundred thousand years. It was time to save the Soul Beasts on other continents who could still be saved.