Chapter 91: Continue purifying the small fruit. The small fruit has been discovered by the dark elves...

Having returned to his Little Fairy form, Shu Li switched off the magic stone lamp in his room and, as usual, furtively flew through the gap in the window and into the courtyard.

The courtyard was pitch-black. Only the Mother Tree’s newly grown leaves emitted a faint green glow.

Shu Li flew up to the Mother Tree and said apologetically, “Onomysis, I’m sorry. I was so deeply asleep last night that I forgot to come and purify you.”

A faint light appeared upon the trunk, and a translucent figure emerged.

“My good child, there is no need to apologize. I should be thanking you.” The Mother Tree gazed lovingly at the Little Fairy hovering before her.

“Thanking me?” Shu Li was bewildered. Was it because he had purified her branch? But hadn’t she already thanked him for that?

“You purified the ancient battlefield in the northern Elven Kingdom, restored life to the land, and saved the ancient souls.” The Mother Tree clasped her hands before her chest and inclined her head to Shu Li. “Those departed children waited far too long. Now they can finally enter the cycle of reincarnation.”

Embarrassed to receive such a solemn gesture from the Mother Tree, Shu Li said, “I really didn’t do much... It was all a coincidence.”

The Mother Tree lowered her hands and merely smiled.

Shu Li asked curiously, “Um... did His Majesty tell you what happened?”

Otherwise, how could the Mother Tree know so much?

“My roots extend across the entire continent. Wherever they reach lies within my awareness.”

Shu Li clicked his tongue in amazement.

That was incredible!

Did that mean the Mother Tree could discover everyone’s secrets across the continent whenever she wished?

When Shu Li voiced his question, the Mother Tree gently shook her head.

“If someone has erected high-level defensive magic, I cannot sense them.”

So that was how it worked!

Shu Li marveled inwardly.

She might not be omnipotent, but that was still more than powerful enough.

Once their conversation ended, he flew toward the Mother Tree, transformed into a cluster of green light, and entered the thick trunk. Traveling through the spatial passage within her root system, he soon emerged in the Dark Elves’ territory.

For once, a torrential downpour was falling over Vanaku.

The moment Shu Li poked his head out of the Mother Tree’s branch, enormous raindrops pelted him. He hurriedly grabbed a leaf and held it over his head like an umbrella.

The rain was too heavy, however. A single leaf could not withstand it. Bean-sized raindrops battered it until it swayed unsteadily, leaving it unable to shelter him properly from the wind and rain.

Shu Li had encountered rain during his previous visits, so he calmly took out his magic staff and softly recited an incantation, casting an air bubble around himself that kept the rain out perfectly.

One advantage of the violent downpour was that it effectively concealed the sound of his chanting.

Shu Li remained hidden behind the dense leaves, raised his magic staff, and swiftly cast silent purification spells upon the trunk.

Now that he was a Senior Mage, his purification spell had advanced again. Each casting was five times as effective as before.

After he cast it five or six times in succession, the Mother Tree sent him a message telling him to stop.

The purification was progressing too quickly. If the branch began to change, it would attract the Dark Elves’ attention. The time was not yet right, so there was no need to rush.

Shu Li had no objections. He immediately flew upward and found the hidden little fruit.

The little fruit was securely wrapped in leaves and had not been touched by the rain.

Shu Li dispelled his air bubble and crawled bottom-first into the small space formed by the leaves. He stroked the tender green fruit and whispered, “I didn’t come yesterday. Did you miss me? I’ll purify you right away!”

Whether the little fruit understood him or not, he pressed the sunstone at the tip of his magic staff against it and silently recited the incantation.

The advanced purification spell was truly extraordinary. After only two castings, a faint film formed over the little fruit’s surface.

The film would last three or four days and protect the little fruit from being corroded by dark power.

Once the purification was complete, Shu Li hurriedly entered the Mother Tree’s branch and returned home.

The rain was far too heavy. He did not want to get soaked and have to take another bath.

Come to think of it, he had not encountered the Dark Elf responsible for counting the fruit today!

That was probably for the best. It saved him from having to play hide-and-seek every time, terrified that the other party might discover him.

Shu Li returned to the courtyard without incident. After bidding the Mother Tree good night, he flapped his wings and slipped through the slightly open window. He went into the bathroom to tidy himself up carefully, then returned to bed.

Being small really was better. No matter how much he rolled around, he would not fall out of bed.

Lying beneath the soft covers, Shu Li stretched out his limbs and sprawled arrogantly like a starfish. Then he closed his eyes in contentment and fell asleep.

While he slept soundly on this side, the Dark Elf responsible for counting the fruit arrived late on the other.

Ephit stood beneath the Mother Tree holding an umbrella and narrowed his eyes as he looked up at the fruit among its branches.

Vanaku’s weather was extremely severe. It was either scorching hot or bitterly cold, plagued by hurricanes or battered by torrential rain, causing no small amount of hardship for the Dark Elves living there.

With such heavy rain today, he had originally planned to take the day off. His sense of responsibility had compelled him to come and count the fruit anyway.

“One, two, three...”

He meticulously finished counting and recorded the same number as the day before.

There were 121 fruits in total, thirty of which would soon ripen and give birth to new Dark Elf cubs.

Ephit frowned slightly.

Vanaku’s resources were limited. With so many Dark Elf cubs and resources distributed unevenly, some of the cubs would inevitably be treated unfairly.

When Ephit was born, there had been few cubs in his generation. Combined with his considerable talent, that had spared him from being eliminated.

Yet watching the cubs born after him struggle in their brutal environment had always been difficult to bear.

Everyone said Dark Elves were cruel and heartless, but who knew how innocent and adorable their newborn cubs were?

Only because their environment was so harsh and they grew up without the care of their elders were Dark Elf cubs forced to abandon their innocence and learn to be selfish. If they lived somewhere else... in the Elven Kingdom, for example, would they grow up differently?

Sometimes, Ephit wished the Mother Tree would bear fewer fruits.

Better never to be born than to be born only to suffer.

He knew such thoughts made him an anomaly among the Dark Elves. Afraid of inviting unnecessary trouble, he had always kept them buried in his heart and never confided in anyone.

After counting the fruit, he prepared to leave. Suddenly, a powerful gust swept past, making the leaves rustle loudly.

Ephit immediately raised his head, worried that the stems of the newly formed fruits might be too tender and snap in the strong wind.

It had happened before. Any fruit separated from the Mother Tree had invariably died.

His sharp gaze swept over every fruit. Once he confirmed that none had been harmed, his tightly knitted brows relaxed.

Wait—

Why was there an extra fruit among the upper branches?

Ephit thought his eyes were deceiving him.

He counted the fruit every day and knew exactly where each one grew. There should not have been any fruit upon the branch near the crown.

To make certain, Ephit closed his umbrella. Ignoring the rain soaking him, he leaped onto one of the Mother Tree’s thick branches. He bounded upward from one level to the next and easily reached the top.

When he saw a tender green fruit hidden within several layers of leaves, astonishment appeared on the Dark Elf’s face.

Why... wasn’t this fruit gray-green?

Not only was it not gray-green, but its surface was covered by a faint white glow that wrapped around it like a protective film. Most astonishing of all, the fruit had clearly been growing for at least half a month, yet he had never noticed it.

Crouching upon the branch, Ephit stared at the plump, tender green fruit and sank into thought.

The Mother Tree seemed to be deliberately protecting it. She had specifically wrapped it in layers of leaves to prevent him from discovering it.

Had it not been for today’s wind and rain, he truly would never have found it.

Ephit reached out to touch the little fruit, only to stop just before his fingers made contact.

The rain had soaked his silver-white hair. A drop of water fell from it onto the fruit and was instantly repelled by the white light covering its skin.

He withdrew his hand and silently drew the leaves back around the fruit, carefully concealing it once more.

When he was finished, he wiped the rainwater from his face, jumped from the branch, and landed lightly upon the ground. He glanced upward one last time, then turned and left.

Since the Mother Tree did not want him to discover it, he would simply pretend that he had not.

He did not reopen his umbrella and strode briskly away.

After a good night’s sleep, Shu Li had no idea that the little fruit had been discovered by a Dark Elf. He rose early and released his core power, allowing his body to grow larger.

A larger body was more convenient for life in the Elven Kingdom.

He had suffered another humiliating public ordeal the night before, but after sleeping, most of his embarrassment had faded.

If he was going to live in the Elven Kingdom or the Faerie Forest, he needed thick skin. Otherwise, he would never be able to show his face in public.

His studies went exceptionally smoothly that day.

In the morning, he studied magical theory with the Elven King. At midday, he rested and read. In the afternoon, he worked in the orchard and practiced silent wood magic.

At dusk, Ilio challenged him to another fight.

This time, he had changed weapons and brought two one-handed wooden swords.

Shu Li accepted one, shouted fiercely, and seized the initiative while Ilio was not paying attention.

Ilio truly deserved his reputation as the finest warrior among the Elves. He neutralized the attack with ease, then put on that infuriatingly sharp-tongued expression again and provoked the Little Fairy with his maddening remarks.

Shu Li knew perfectly well that Ilio was doing it deliberately, yet he still could not remain calm. His fighting spirit was quickly ignited, and he attacked ferociously.

By the time the sun had completely set, he was panting from exhaustion, and even the hand gripping his sword was trembling.

Ilio bent down, reached out to stroke his sweat-dampened head, and praised him. “Not bad. You’ve improved.”

Shu Li ground his teeth and secretly vowed that he would defeat Ilio someday.

That evening, he did not go to the great hall to dance. Instead, he returned to his room and concentrated on reading.

He needed to find the next elemental spirit’s location as quickly as possible.

After bathing, Shu Li lay on his stomach across the bed with his silky hair loose, leafing through a book while his raised feet swayed idly back and forth.

...Wherever the Fire Spirit passes, not a blade of grass remains...

He found that sentence upon one of the pages.

“Not a blade of grass... Not a blade of grass...”

As he murmured the words, something suddenly occurred to him. He sat upright on his knees and swiftly took out a map.

It was a map of the Austin Continent. He had asked the Elven King for it that morning. Though ten years old, it was the newest map in the library’s collection.

Shu Li spread it open and examined each region. His finger slid from the top to the bottom before stopping upon the Izerafa Empire.

Found it!

The Izerafa Empire was one of the four great empires of the Austin Continent. Located in the continent’s southernmost region, half its territory consisted of desert, causing people from other countries to call it the Desert Empire.

Didn’t “not a blade of grass” perfectly describe a desert?

The Fire Spirit might be somewhere in the Izerafa Empire.

Shu Li excitedly rubbed his hands together, convinced that his deduction was absolutely correct.

“I’m a genius!”

He snapped his fingers and praised himself.

After half a minute of excitement, he scratched his hair in distress.

The Izerafa Empire was extremely far from the Faerie Forest. Not only were there mountain ranges in between, but the vast Dalia Empire also separated them.

He was still underage. There was no possibility of crossing the continent to search for the Fire Spirit in the Izerafa Empire.

A person’s luck was limited. Finding the Fire Spirit would not necessarily go as smoothly as finding the Wood Spirit had.

Besides, he knew nothing about the outside world. Venturing out recklessly would only put him in danger.

Pinching the space between his brows, Shu Li took out his notebook and quill and resignedly recorded the information. He could always go once he reached adulthood and became strong enough.

A hundred years... No, for a Fairy, ninety years would pass quickly.

He consoled himself.

After finishing his notes, he put away the notebook and quill and resumed reading.

“Sperien, I have some unfortunate news.”

The Mother Tree’s voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

Shu Li jolted. The word “unfortunate” filled him with inexplicable unease.

“What unfortunate news?”

“Our little fruit... was discovered by a Dark Elf...”

Shu Li was so shocked that he nearly jumped up.

“How was it discovered? When did it happen? What condition is it in now? Is the little fruit all right?”

It was over, over, over!

After all the effort he and the Mother Tree had put in, were they going to fail at the final hurdle?

Ever since the little fruit had appeared, Shu Li had cared for it meticulously. He spoke to it every time he purified it, cultivating a bond in the hope that it would willingly leave with him when the day came to transfer it.

Now that a Dark Elf had discovered it, everything was ruined.

The Dark Elf named Ephit was meticulous and responsible. He would undoubtedly record its existence. When one fruit later disappeared, Ephit would inevitably notice.

“After you left last night, the Dark Elf came to count the fruit. The wind and rain were so violent that the little fruit was accidentally exposed.”

“What? He discovered it last night?”

Shu Li’s expression changed drastically. Hadn’t the Mother Tree returned to normal? Why was she only telling him now?

“Child, don’t worry. I believe... Ephit will not interfere with our plan to steal the fruit.”

“What makes you say that?”

“After observing him for an entire day, I found that he never reported the newly discovered fruit to his superior.”

Shu Li froze.

“Why?”

“Although I do not know what he is thinking, we must transfer the fruit ahead of schedule.”

Shu Li wiped his face, forced himself to calm down, and answered with determination, “All right!”