Chương 692: The Pace of Growth.

"Absolutely not!" The five girls looked bitterly at Verdantia, their eyes full of complaints. Verdantia looked at them and squinted.

"How old are you? Twenty-one! You can barely be considered an adult by human standards, yet you want me to let you girls enter a <Dungeon>? Even if the others agree, I won't!" Arlyn spoke softly, trying to convince her.

"Mother Verdantia, you know that we are strong for people near our Level. If we enter a Level 10~25 <Dungeon>, nothing will happen to us." Verdantia frowned and turned to look at the garden she was in charge of. This garden was one of the most valuable places in the Golden Sap City, as it grew all types of A Tier flora for harvest and created top-tier Alchemy potions. As she observed the fairies and other species close to nature working, Verdantia sighed and explained herself.

"Children, I understand that you want to get stronger. I very much understand that feeling because your other mothers and I are the same. Our Liu'er is… exceptional. If we want to help her where it matters besides administration, our growth pace needs to be equal to or even outmatch hers.' Pyralis spoke, her tone uncertain.

"Aren't you one of the strongest in the entire Golden Sap Empire? I heard that you can easily face some <Sixth Energy Cycles>." Verdantia corrected her.

"I can face Level 150 to Level 170 <Sixth Energy Cycles> with relative ease. However, those above Level 175 are much stronger. At Level 175, the <Second Energy Sub-Cycle> gives a very strong boost to stats. Moreover, as you know, some at Level 10 having 100 <Physique> will have much less <Phoer> than someone at Level 20 having the same 100 <Physique>." Meldy, hugging Verdantia's arms, asked, confused.

"Why do you bring that up, Mother Verdantia?" Verdantia sighed softly.

"You girls are all at Level 20~22, right? Your skills are strong, and your strongest <Stat> is A Tier, right?" The girls nodded. This set of attributes made them extremely fearsome. Moreover, they all have the same <Passive Skill> named <Fruits Of Chaos (S+ Tier)> that increases their attack damage, defense, and support abilities by a percentage, adding something similar to unblockable damage. No one really knew where this godlike passive skill came from, and only those closest to Liu Shu knew about it.

Therefore, the five Sylvan children were absolutely tyrannical powerhouses when fighting those at the same realm. Verdantia glanced at them and sighed softly.

"What you will encounter in the <Dungeons> won't be of use to you. After all, you five can ask Liu Shu whenever to create equipment that escalates, right? Even right now, all of you have a set of weapons, armor, and four accessories that scale from Level 1 to Level 50, right? Moreover, this set has enhancement effects and is World Grade Flawless Level." Arlyn spoke up.

"That's why we are so confused. We are very strong. We can probably steamroll the entire <Dungeon> without any problems. Why are you then so against it?" Verdantia looked at the garden and asked.

"What do you think makes a flower grow strong?" The curveball of a question made the five girls confused, but none of them dismissed it. Faylin answered, her purple eyes thoughtful.

"Proper care and fertilizers?" Verdantia shook her head.

"That makes the flower grow beautifully. Never strong. A properly taken care of flower will give better seeds and better fruits and live much longer than any wild flower. However, what will happen when you plant this perfectly taken care of flower in the wild?" Faye, following her mother's hidden meaning, answered.

"It… wilts?"

"Yes." Verdantia nodded.

"You five are currently the former type of flower. You are beautiful, strong, and well-nourished. Here, under our supervision, you won't really go through true hardships." Arlyn frowned, her cold facial features showing confusion.

"Then… Isn't it with more reason that we should go to the <Dungeons> so that we understand threats?"

"That's the problem." Verdantia sighed and glanced at them.

"You five are too strong. The <Dungeons> will only hurt you because they are not a challenge. If exploring the wild under our care is like a properly and carefully served meal to stimulate your growth, the <Dungeons> are fast food that will only hurt your health while giving you a false sensation of progress and achievement." Pyralis, still unconvinced and feeling as if their paths were too… tight, complained.

"Mother Verdantia… are our choices wrong? While I understand your words, I feel that we are still strong enough to push through. I don't believe that <Dungeons> will make us greenhouse flowers." The other four agreed with Pyralis. Verdantia's words were not wrong per se. However, they hurt their pride. It was not arrogance that they had, but they understood their personal strength. Hence, they felt that limiting them too much would kill their growth momentum. Verdantia didn't think like that.

"Love, it's not that we are trying to suppress you. It's just that growing too fast will only harm you in the long run; you need to understand restraint." Liu Shu, listening from the side, smiled faintly. Cinderielle, Harmonixia, and Tempestria were all serious, but they all believed that lessons could be learned later in life without problems. Therefore, they didn't mind if the five Sylvans Leveled Up quickly and caught up to them. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

They were confident they could guide them properly once they reached their level. So, if they wanted to Level Up quickly, they did not have strong opinions as long as they were measured. Verdantia, although she wouldn't be against that kind of teaching method, believed they shouldn't raise their levels so recklessly. Therefore, she wanted to restrain them. Leveling up too fast would, after all, steal them from gaining certain <Titles> that were easier to trigger when you were lower leveled.

Without proper titles earned through real effort, Verdantia feared that the girls would be too dependent on Liu Shu's blessings. Once outside Liu Shu's domain, the girls would be paper tigers. Therefore, she wanted to prevent hasty Leveling. Instead, she wanted to pace their strengthening and teach them with expeditions and local "beast wars." Liu Shu, while governing the entire place, didn't really stop competitiveness. If two cities entered into a dispute and wanted to fight over resources, she wouldn't stop it.

After all, a place without war would only lead to stagnation. A situation she saw in the past when she first visited World Tree Snow and the other isolated "wild lands" down south. Hence, conflict was still rampant within the domain. Cities, towns, and even some bandit groups participated in conflicts. The only place that was "untouchable" to a degree was the 14 capitals spread throughout Ceperet, where the strongest 14 World Trees were stationed.

The only time she would intervene is when the army of one side started fighting non-resisting civilians. One time, a town raided and tried to plunder and rape a neighboring town. When Liu Shu noticed, she buried those people with a single thought and sent them to the ants to deal with. While she couldn't kill them, as she would lose Experience Points, it wasn't hard to call appropriately leveled ants once she dragged them to the complex underground insect empire Ignatia stretched throughout the entirety of Ceperet.

Few were knowledgeable of the sheer complexity and grandness of Ignatia's Ant Empire. She was also about to learn, thanks to her inherited memories, how to spread her nest through space to other planets. Meanwhile, after listening to Verdantia, the five Sylvan children became thoughtful. Meldy looked up, her voice soft and confused.

"But… Mother Verdantia… Then, when will we be able to grow properly? I feel… stifled." Verdantia smiled and caressed her beautiful purple hair.

"Love, aren't you girls already Level 20? Moreover, didn't you girls manage to complete a Cycle over 90%? You are already growing properly." Meldy blinked and nodded, confused. Naturally, reaching their current Level was not something easy. The fights they encountered were up to standard, and each time they needed to use wits and careful planning to win. The reason was Wisdom and Liu Shu's secret guidance.

According to Liu Shu's desires, which aligned with Verdantia more than Tempestria and the other two, Wisdom had controlled the wild beasts and allowed extremely high-tiered ones to appear in their path. She even guided them once to an underground nest of low-level but high-tiered beasts, allowing them to gain the <Title: Siege Master>, which increased their attributes 5% when attacking a fortified location. They didn't know that these "chance encounters" were mostly arranged.

Of course, within the "arrangement," there was a chance of failure. It was not a sure battle, not in the slightest. It was a situation where Wisdom or Liu Shu set proper situations and opponents that would be difficult for the girls to overcome, with chances of failing. Naturally, nobody would tell them about it. After all, if they were knowledgeable of the arrangement, the <System> would not accept their "feats" and transform them into <Titles>. Gaining <Titles> was one of, if not the most complicated thing.

After all, they were similar to <Passive Skills> but permanent and with zero consumption. Arlyn and the others looked at Verdantia and then glanced up at the World Tree that appeared like a Sky Supporting Pillar.

"Is this what you think as well, Mom?" Liu Shu's voice reached them, five roots moving out of the ground to caress their faces.

"I believe that Verdantia's words are reasonable. While you probably can also gain good strength by completing <Dungeons>, farming them will only hurt you. And now that you understand this, here comes my true proposal for you five." Verdantia blinked and listened curiously. She knew that her Liu Shu would never gamble with her children's future, as she wanted nothing but the best for each of them.

Her spread-out consciousness, keeping some company for each child, was a testament to her incredibly resilient will to assist her babies. Of course, this was a privilege reserved for her direct descendants. Liu Shu cared for her grandchildren and such, but she would not go out of her way to guide them closely. Liu Shu spoke.

"You girls will be able to enter a <Dungeon> 2 times per Level Up. I also want you girls not to Level Up recklessly and to keep Accumulated Experience Points to raise your skills alongside your levels. This way, the Experience Points you'd need will be easier to gather and with less grinding. At the same time, you will gain <Dungeon> experience without losing out on the wild training you've been completing until now. What do you think?" Verdantia blinked and didn't speak. This arrangement was more than acceptable.

She even wondered why they didn't do it before. Liu Shu, knowing Verdantia's thoughts, spoke to her mentally.

'If they went into a Level 20 <Dungeon> at Level 10, the experience would probably be enough to push them a few levels. Only now, at Level 20, will <Dungeons> give less Experience comparatively to the Experience needed to Level Up.' Verdantia was enlightened and then smiled wryly.

'I was thinking a bit too shallowly, wasn't I?" Liu Shu lovingly caressed her face with one of her roots.

"Sometimes, I am muddle-headed; other times, you are. What's the problem? We are here to cover for each other's faults. That's what makes us family, isn't it?" Verdantia closed her eyes, sighing lovingly.

"Yes…" Meanwhile, the five Sylvan girls were excited at their mother's proposal. Arlyn nodded, accepting the role of acting leader of their group.

"We will do that, Mom. Thank you!" She used her roots to tickle them.

"Thank you? How dare you treat your Mommy as a stranger!? Super skill: tickling until you're breathless!" All five girls burst into laughter, their bodies surrounded by Liu Shu's roots as she tickled them until they cried with laughter. Only when they asked for mercy did Liu Shu stop and cradle them with her roots. Even when they were 21, they couldn't resist the boundless love of their World Tree mother!