"I never thought elves would hold these strange prayer meetings. It seems like fanatics across the world are all the same," interrupted Hao Yun upon hearing this, unable to resist interjecting into Eliana's rant.
"What's wrong with that? While we elves naturally revere deities, don't forget, we're also born with innate magical talents. So, even if we fervently worship gods, at least there's tangible magical power to support it. In such a case, certain radical magic enthusiasts organizing prayer gatherings to seek divine favor doesn't actually make much sense," Eliana retorted indifferently.
Then, she continued her rebuttal, "It's your humans who are even more outrageous. As the race with the worst aptitude among the higher beings of the lower realms, you live in a world that advocates science and dispels superstition. You have no connection whatsoever with supernatural talents, yet you often engage in unrealistic prayer meetings begging for divine blessings. Hmph, you humans are truly off the rails, aren't you?"
Though Eliana's points were valid, as the sole representative of human civilization present, Hao Yun felt it necessary to defend human worship of deities, "From your perspective, it's indeed puzzling why humans blindly worship deities. After all, in human civilization, there's hardly ever been mass witnessing of phenomena beyond science. However, if we step outside the human perspective, isn't the real world actually governed by a multitude of deities in the divine realm?"
"So I think, from this perspective, human worship of deities and the creation of many legends related to them can't be dismissed as groundless behavior, right? This only shows that as a member of the lower beings possessing a higher civilization, humans can still subconsciously perceive their connection to the divine realm."
Eliana shrugged at his words, indicating she remained skeptical regardless of Hao Yun's defense. Then, the story continued.
If learning the white magic of the Light Elves was an in-depth exploration of the interconnectedness of all things, then studying this mysterious black magic was delving into the realm of death. Through their research, the twelve Dark Elves discovered that this newly found black magic seemed to be perfectly suited to Dark Elves. This also explained why Dark Elves couldn't better grasp white magic; compared to white magic, Dark Elves had a great affinity for learning black magic.
Under the diligent research of these twelve fanatical magic enthusiasts, they soon discovered two different branches of black magic. One technique allowed them to enhance their bodies using black magic, making them stronger. The other, a more dangerous branch, involved death spells. Mastering this death magic enabled them to defy death itself, bringing the dead back to life.
With the personal demonstration of these twelve Dark Elves, this black magic quickly attracted other Dark Elves who were struggling to master the path of white magic. Finally, they found their true magical calling after discovering their own talents.
The Dark Elves threw themselves into the exploration of black magic and couldn't stop. The twelve initial enthusiasts who discovered and spread this black magic gradually became the most respected among the Dark Elves, earning the title of "Pioneers of Black Magic." Under the extreme admiration of the Dark Elves, these twelve pioneers smoothly joined the highest ruling council of the Dark Elves, the "Council of Elders," and after quickly gaining influence within the council, officially renamed it the "Dark Elf Black Magic Association."
Thus, the Dark Elves ushered in an era ruled by black magic. The entire Dark Elf-controlled area fell into the allure of black magic, entering an era where everyone learned black magic.
As mentioned earlier, because Dark Elves devoted all their energy to learning black magic, the social development of their area was almost completely stagnant. In such a situation, they could only continue to deplete existing resources, leaving the entire society and environment in a state of deficit. In the land inhabited by the Dark Elves, erosion and loss of soil and water began to occur, turning what was once lush vegetation into desolation, worsening the overall ecological environment.
But that's not all. Under the influence of the vast negative energy generated by Dark Elves practicing black magic, the azure sky and warm sunlight were obscured by dense clouds, turning the once sunny land into gloominess. Living in such an environment for a long time, the Dark Elves lost their delicate white skin and instead became Dark Elves with rough, deep purple skin.
Additionally, because Dark Elves practiced black magic year-round, their originally well-proportioned bodies changed into various heights and builds, with some becoming burly and others becoming thin, but all with a slightly hunched appearance. Furthermore, their gentle golden eyes turned into deep red, making them look evil and aggressive.
Of course, this aggression wasn't just talk. Since the Dark Elves underwent such a dramatic transformation, they began to adapt to life in the desert. Consequently, many Dark Elves began to migrate to the bordering wasteland where they interacted with the Light Elves. However, due to their naturally fiery temperaments and their currently aggressive appearance, friction with the Light Elves inevitably arose, even leading to small-scale skirmishes.
The unrest incited the Light Elves, who had been enjoying a peaceful life, to great anger. Consequently, they had dispatched envoys to the Dark Elf Magic Association multiple times to protest. However, it was obvious that their protests would be in vain. Because the main elves of the Dark Magic Association were all focused on exploring the profound knowledge of dark magic, they simply had no inclination to pay attention to the disturbances at the border between the two tribes, let alone to the Light Elves who were pampered and lacked ambition, solely desiring to enjoy life.
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However, it could not be denied that although the Light Elves enjoyed a life of pleasure, they had indeed managed their society in a very orderly manner. Under more stringent management, the Light Elves had acquired powerful economic strength and formidable manufacturing capabilities. Moreover, despite the Light Elves squandering their talents in magic and indulging in a life of pleasure, there were still some who, having received a good education, became elite wizards mastering white magic.
Furthermore, the Light Magic Council was well aware of the nature of the Light Elves. Therefore, to prevent any future troubles, they still mandated that every Light Elf must regularly participate in professional military training, to prevent them from losing their ability to protect themselves when encountering extreme situations due to excessive indulgence in pleasure.
Hence, despite the Light Elves' preference for peace and their reluctance to engage in warfare, they actually possessed a certain level of military expertise and combat capability. Moreover, with their remarkable manufacturing capabilities, the Light Elves had created a semi-automated army, which made the combat power of the Light Elf tribe still formidable.
Based on these factors, the Dark Magic Association naturally dared not let the conflicts between the two sides escalate. Therefore, the Dark Magic Association could only, amidst their busy exploration of dark magic, order the arrest of the Dark Elves causing trouble at the border between the two tribes, and by increasing the presence of security management teams there, attempt to resolve the protests of the Light Elves as much as possible.
However, it was evident that such measures were insufficient to root out the brawls incited by the Dark Elves at the border. Therefore, the Dark Magic Association could only continue to symbolically go through similar procedures each time they received complaints from the Light Elves, which at least prevented the Dark Elves from causing trouble at the border for a period.
Although the Light Elves knew that the Dark Magic Association's way of handling the issue was very perfunctory, the Light Elves, who already considered themselves as noble and highly cultured higher elves, had no desire to associate with those rude, uncivilized, ugly, and uneducated Dark Elves. Therefore, while repeatedly complaining to the Dark Magic Association, the Light Magic Council also continuously advised their elves to stay away from the Dark Elves to avoid unnecessary disputes.
Of course, while repeatedly going to the territory of the Dark Elves to complain to the Dark Magic Association, the envoys of the Light Elves also discovered that those Dark Elves, after practicing dark magic, were rapidly growing in strength towards another extreme. At the same time, when conflicts occurred between the two sides near the border, the Light Elves also discovered that, benefiting from the rapid growth in personal strength and physical qualities, the Dark Elves were increasingly at a disadvantage in their struggles against the Light Elves.
The strength of the Dark Elves was undergoing a qualitative leap, and the fact that they were constantly becoming stronger made the Light Elves feel a slight threat. Therefore, the Light Magic Council also deliberately dispatched some senior white wizards to the territory of the Dark Elves to participate in their dark magic exchange meetings in a friendly civilian manner, hoping to learn more about dark magic, a knowledge they regarded as dirty and inferior.
Although from the results of their understanding, this dark magic seemed to be very incompatible with the constitution of the Light Elves, making it difficult for them to comprehend the mysteries of this magic, the experience of getting close to understanding dark magic still allowed the Light Magic Council to see the profound and extremely dangerous nature of this dark magic.
Therefore, after careful deliberation by the Light Magic Council, they unanimously decided to build a wall at the border with the Dark Elves to block those Dark Elves who posed a huge potential threat outside their homeland. In order not to provoke dissatisfaction from the Dark Elves, the council publicly declared that the plan to build the wall was due to the frequent harassment of the Light Elves by the Dark Elves.
At the same time, the Light Magic Council also stated that their actions were not to exclude the Dark Elves, but to better regulate and manage the border between the two sides, and to establish a more complete bilateral trade market there, facilitating better communication and economic exchanges between the elves of the two tribes.
The Light Elves living around the border in the jungle, who frequently suffered from the harassment of the Dark Elves, naturally agreed to the decision of the Light Magic Council. The Dark Magic Association also had no objections to this. Because in this way, they could better prevent those restless elements who, after practicing dark magic, considered themselves to be powerful and unrivaled from causing trouble in the territory of the Light Elves.
Furthermore, the Dark Magic Association also regarded this move by the Light Elves as another silent protest against the Dark Elves. At the same time, it was also seen as a way for those wealthy individuals with nowhere to spend their money to flaunt their wealth. Anyway, no matter how you looked at it, the Dark Magic Association did not find anything inappropriate about what the Light Elves did. Because in this way, they wouldn't have to deal with complaints from the Light Elves every day, and could continue to focus their energy on delving into the mysteries of dark magic.
Thus, the Light Elves and the Dark Elves formally divided the land of the Elven planet, and the two elven tribes went their separate ways to develop their own careers. While the Dark Elves continued their relentless pursuit of dark magic, the Light Elves continued to lead a leisurely life, enjoying joyful times close to nature.
Of course, while everything seemed to have returned to the peaceful days on the surface, the powerful Light Magic Council, which had already learned about the might of dark magic, also began to proactively put the development of white magic back on the agenda. Therefore, white magic was no longer just used as an auxiliary force for daily life and production labor, but was deeply studied as a combat magic that could resist foreign invasions.