Chương 341: Ten Years.

"Lord Marlius, our preparations are ready." The tall and slim man standing in the middle of the room looked out of the window with a confident smile.

"It has been ten years already… Heh. Evangeline was wrong in the end. Even after ten years, the biggest thing that the World Tree did was grow in size and gain a new blessing related to a useless stat like <Destiny>." The woman reporting by his side frowned.

"Lord Marlius, is it really okay to disregard her so much? We've noticed a few intense Essence Spikes in the domain. A few <Third Energy Cycles> have probably appeared in Tianlian Liu Shu's domain." Marlius snorted.

"So what if a few appear? In our main continent, <Third Energy Cycles> are as numerous as the stars. Can they compare? If we are ever short of people, we can ask for reinforcements from the base, and we can flatten this piece of land!" The assistant woman nodded, but she was disdainful in her heart.

'If it were that easy, why haven't we done that in the past and subjugated this continent? Even if there are many <Third Energy Cycles>, they are mostly tied down in large battlefields against the other three global powers. Even calling back a squad of 20 is difficult, not to mention more. Plus, our resources are already stretched thin, and sparing effort to conquer and keep this continent doesn't seem worth it.' The assistant woman looked coldly at Marlius' back and internally humphed.

'If you fail, you will probably be abandoned since conquering one place was easy, but keeping a tight grip on it is not that easy.' Marlius turned around with a frown and asked, his tone somewhat unpleasant.

"Why have you been looking at my back for so long? If you have any complaints, speak up!" The assistant woman shook her head quickly and bowed her head.

"How could this one have any doubts? While I am someone from the main continent supervising you, I naturally am below Lord Marlius. Your orders, I will follow! Your esteemed self, I will respect." Marlius glanced at the woman and shooed her away with her hand.

"Sure, sure. Stop speaking. I feel that you are mocking me with your words even when you are clearly not. Deal with things as I and Vaelin have planned. We need to do one swift strike and take possession of the northern part of the continent belonging to the <Verdant Sanctity Covenant>." The woman straightened and nodded seriously.

"Understood." However, when she turned around, there was a hint of interest in her eyes.

'I wonder… Will you be able to do as you please after leaving the World Tree that Lady Evangeline feared alone for ten years?' While this happened, in the <Deep Prairie Merchant Province>, Thalgryn was standing around fifty kilometers from her main city with a look of surprise.

"I really didn't expect this." Prarya muttered, her tone unconvinced.

"You… How did you do it? It should be impossible for you to reach that far." Answering Prarya, a playful but gentle voice reached them, echoing with the sounds of nature.

"Hehehe. Why is it impossible? In truth, I was able to reach here long ago, but I held back for a little while~. You should be Big Sister Prarya, right? My closest neighboring World Tree!" Thalgryn laughed aloud.

"That, she is. I am really impressed, Liu Shu. You've surpassed all my expectations. Since you've decided to reveal yourself to us, I am guessing that you have the ability to spread your roots beyond our city, right?"

"Yeah! I can!" Liu Shu smiled happily. Then, she commented with a sigh.

"Sadly, Big Sister Prarya is here, so I don't really want to push forcefully. I have been surrounding your domain, though." Prarya humphed.

"You call me big sister, but you don't respect me one bit! It is clear that this space is controlled by me. You taking ownership of the land around me is directly challenging me!" Thalgryn just smiled and didn't interrupt. She had come here with an army just as a show, not because she wanted to battle Liu Shu. Of course, if Liu Shu attacked violently, she would naturally defend her good friend Prarya. Still, she was sure that she was worrying for nothing. Liu Shu answered Prarya innocently.

"No way, right? If you are slow spreading and don't take as much space as I do, how is it my fault? I can't really wait for you to spread, right? Moreover, if we followed that logic, who is destined to occupy everything? We would be acting rude to that person!" Thalgryn burst into laughter.

"Prarya, she has a point." Seeing the bear woman laugh at her expense, Prarya was upset.

"Laugh! Laugh! You'll see what happens when your territory stops expanding because we are surrounded by Liu Shu's roots!" If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Thalrgyn was unforgiving and commented, her lips arched.

"Weren't you quite arrogant, saying that even if Liu Shu reached here, you would be able to push her back? Now it's your chance to prove your words!" Prarya felt upset in her heart. That was her intention at first! She was a <Third Energy Cycle> World Tree. So, naturally, her strength went without saying. However, when she first came into contact with Liu Shu's aura, her entire being was seized with caution. She didn't really feel that she would lose, but she didn't feel that she could win either.

Liu Shu's root net gave a sensation of an unfathomably deep lake, looking shallow but being nothing as such. Analyzing Liu Shu, she could sense that she was beyond Level 40, but how high-level, she could not tell. Then, in terms of raw <Stats>, Liu Shu was not worse to her! This single thing made her mind feel shocked to the skies. The buff received at Level 50 was gigantic.

It was the Sub-cycle of the <First Energy Cycle>, added to the Sub-cycle of the <Second Energy Cycle>, and added the gigantic bonus of the <Third Energy Cycle> developing for the first time. These three things pushed a creature's strength so far away that comparing a Level 49 with a Level 50 would be like comparing a Level 10 with a Level 25. It was a divide between the truly strong and the weak. Of course, Prarya knew that further Energy Cycles also had significant increases in strength.

But in her knowledge, the number of people that had reached the <Fourth Energy Cycle> were few and far between. They were super-powerhouses that major powers relied on to keep a tight grip on their forces and main continents, seldom going outside of their assigned locations. The number and quality of the <Third Energy Cycle> powers were the staple to make war between the most prominent powers in the Ceperet World.

"Big Sister Prarya?" Prarya snapped out of her daze when she heard the likeable and gentle voice of the World Tree.

"Wait a moment, Liu Shu." Liu Shu patiently stopped talking and waited. In truth, Prarya was not unwilling to cooperate with Liu Shu. She had been listening to people that came from the <Golden Sap Province>, and she had a good grasp of Liu Shu's personality. She was a World Tree that would protect the cities beyond a specific bottom line while also allowing everyone to develop freely. Something like.

'As long as you follow the rules without trickery, you can play as you wish.' In Fortuna City, the only thing that had changed since Fortuna came under Liu Shu was the amount of protection for the civilians and Liu Shu's barrage of buffs. The quality of all flora and fauna across the entirety of the province had transformed to the level that some "forbidden zones" had appeared. High-level monsters, flora, and locations meant danger but were equally a place of opportunity and resources.

No one had ever regretted going under Liu Shu's domain.

'Moreover, there is this new World Tree that has appeared in Liu Shu's domain called Lakeborn Forest. Many aquatic races have actually made the journey from the ocean to settle in the lake and work to make an underwater city… Liu Shu's auras combined with Lakeborn's auras were that attractive.' Still, even with all the benefits literally glowing in front of her, there was a blockade in her mindset. She just couldn't resign herself and admit to becoming a subordinate to a World Tree below the <Third Energy Cycle>.

"Liu Shu… I can't accept you into my domain. I can't accept someone who is weaker than me as my superior. Do you understand?" Thalgryn frowned slightly, but she didn't interrupt. She naturally understood Prarya's mindset after so many years together. To be honest, Thalgryn was also slightly reluctant that things had developed in this direction. During the last ten years, she had been paying close attention to Liu Shu and has seen the terrifying rate of growth of the World Tree.

The first time Liu Shu's roots reached them was a month after the <Destiny Blessing> appeared. Several years had passed since then, so Thalgryn could imagine how far Liu Shu's roots could reach. Still, she never overstepped her boundaries and gave Prarya as much time as she wanted. It was only today that Liu Shu came and talked to them personally about the matter. Liu Shu was not offended by Prarya's words. She naturally understood her thoughts. However, that didn't mean that she wouldn't put pressure on her.

Yet, just as she was about to do so, Prarya added.

"Moreover, I've become a World Tree under the <Celestial Lotus Empire>. If I join you, there will naturally be backlash." This time around, Liu Shu fell silent. Although her strength has grown tremendously over the last few years, she was far from confident that she could take on one of these global superpowers head-on. While her fear toward individual <Third Energy Cycles> had disappeared, an army of them was not something she could face.

At this time, Thalgryn stepped forward and looked at the roots of the World Tree seriously.

"Liu Shu. I know why you are reluctant to join a global superpower. You feel that you will be suppressed and be unable to grow as you have until today. Nevertheless, I can promise you that the <Celestial Lotus Empire> or any of the others are far from what you are imagining." She admitted.

"There will naturally be voices of opposition. However, the main aim of these powers is to nurture a World Tree that can become [The World Tree]. And honestly speaking, you are the closest one I've ever seen. Even compared to Lady Celestial Lotus, I feel potential from you that I can't feel from Her Ladyship." Liu Shu muttered.

"Celestial Lotus… Is she the main World Tree?" Thalgryn nodded and spoke.

"Her Ladyship is a <Fourth Energy Cycle> World Tree. However, even Her Ladyship has yet to dominate the entirety of her main continent." Liu Shu sighed and asked.

"What will happen when she and I eventually collide?" Thalgryn smiled faintly, her heroic face looking convinced.

"If it were another World tree, I would tell you that a fight was unavoidable. However, you don't necessarily need to fight, right? Joining the <Celestial Lotus Empire>, you are not under anyone. You can act as you have and additionally have a strong backing that will nurture you." Liu Shu paused. Similar to Prarya, the feeling of being under another power felt incredibly uncomfortable in her core. However, after Thalgryn worded it as she had, her mind couldn't help but linger as she started evaluating her words.