Chương 700: Predators in the Carnivorous Garden.

Aurelius and the others were not surprised by Liu Shu's retreat. Their lack of surprise was not because of their superiority, but because Liu Shu's behavior was exactly the same as other World Trees. The grand majority of World Trees were easily dealt with as long as you clearly stated your business and origin and didn't lie too much. If, once in their territory, you didn't bother the World Tree and their bottom lines, you were permitted to do as you pleased.

So, once Liu Shu retreated, the five of them and other merchant leaders used their communication devices and gathered into a large hologram room. All 28 ships belonged to different merchant chains, so there were exactly 28 seats for each of them. They didn't know that Liu Shu had already pierced their shields with her perception and was staring straight at them. Cassian opened up the communications between them. He, wearing an elegant suit, spoke up calmly.

"What are your first impressions of this World Tree?" Darius spoke confidently.

"I can sense that she is strong. However, her behavior is standard World Tree attitude. We have nothing to fear and can dock into their planet without problems." Selene looked out with curiosity.

"This World Tree has strong control over space. That explains why our estimations fell so short. Otherwise, her growth could only be described as ridiculous." Cassian glanced at the woman, thoughtful.

"Your <Constellation Human> species is very sensitive to space and every related attribute. Have you noticed anything special?"

"Yes." Selene nodded.

"The ability to manipulate space doesn't lose out to those humanoid beings born with innate abilities to control it. That means that the Heavenly Willow is like a massive human with top-notch spatial attributes. Her strength might not be exceptional, but I doubt anyone below Level 175 can deal with her." Aurelius spoke for the first time.

"What about <Second Ascension> experts?" Virelya snorted.

"Are you serious? A <First Ascension> is basically powerless in front of a <Second Ascension> expert. Remember, a <Second Ascension> expert receives a <Sub First Ascension> on top of their <Second Ascension>, <Sub Fifth Energy Cycle>, and another large <Sub Third Energy Cycle> boost. Finally, Level 200 is the level that unlocks the <Seventh Energy Cycle>. This makes Level 199 and 200 two worlds apart." Selene nodded.

"I do agree with her. For someone at Level 200 to have troubles with a Level 199 or below is ridiculous. It's a completely new world in both strength and how you see the cosmos." Aurelius agreed with them, but he still spoke with caution.

"I just felt a big threat from her roots. Hence, I thought of asking if any of you felt the same. My estimations are that she is as strong as a top-tier powerhouse at Level 199. So, you all better tread carefully." Darius was skeptical.

"Are you sure? From our intel, this World Tree is probably not older than two centuries old. A World Tree of that age has usually not even managed to dominate the continent they were born in, much less become a True World Tree." Cassian spoke calmly.

"That's why, since she has managed to expand this far, we must be careful. Her strength is something that can't be underestimated. Otherwise, we will suffer. Just think that all of our ships can't defeat her and work with that in mind. I don't care if we overshoot her strength, but it is better to be safe than sorry." Looking at the Daemon, Virelya nodded.

"I do agree. We are here to gather information, not to conquer this place. With the level of our wares, we will easily be able to carve a place in the empire's economy. Once we do, it will be hard for the World Tree to make us leave even if she wants to." Liu Shu, listening to their conversation, smiled silently.

'I would actually love it if you could suppress my locals. Let them know that there are peaks beyond mountains, and ceilings beyond the sky.' Was she afraid of her locals being suppressed by these foreign powers forever? First, check <Ingenuty Blessing>: <Ingenuity Blessing (A Rank)>: While under its influence, all beings gain heightened creation abilities and improved coordination in works that advance society. There is a small chance of becoming <Ingenuity-Touched> and gaining a <Title> with the same name.

While under the effects of the Blessing or the Title, you gain: Learning, comprehension, and innovation in craft-related techniques increase by 500%. Construction, crafting, and refinement speed increase by 50%.

Whenever you work alongside at least one ally, efficiency and precision increase by 35%. Crafted items have a 0. 5% chance to emerge with a minor blessing, increasing their quality by one sub-tier and granting a simple special effect. Tools, structures, and devices you create or maintain gain 30% increased durability and 10% increased functionality (excluding <Temple> structures). The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Organizational or technical methods you design spread 20% faster to others within your influence. <Ingenuity-Touched>: You gain a subconscious ability to see structural patterns and design flaws, allowing you to improve or stabilize creations without prior planning according to your education level and comprehension level of the craft.

With these buffs, on top of the others she gave with her <Otherworldly Rune and Nature Empire> and <True Ruler World Tree>, she was quite sure that these people were like fresh meat placed before voracious sharks.

'Try to suppress them. Try to use your technology. Then… get devoured by my people and myself. In my competitive society, there is no room for slackers. So, be careful.' Liu Shu honestly couldn't wait for these merchants to deploy their methods and stomp everyone. After their conversation, the following discussion proceeded about labor distribution. These 28 merchant ships were not random merchants gathered by chance. Each of them excelled in different areas.

Aurelius excelled in all that related to contracts and diplomacy. His merchant group was an expert at managing businesses and providing services for anything remotely competitive. If one side had its services and the other didn't, Aurelius was quite confident in crushing the competition. Cassian was a ruthless acquisitionist. He excelled at creating banks, controlling debt, and infiltrating until he got resource monopolies.

He could, in a short time, become an overlord in whatever economic area he decided to tackle while enslaving others in endless yet seemingly profitable debt. Selene, a species innately powerful in space and related fields, was an expert in trade routes, interconnected warehouses, and other related services. Once you tested their services, storing your wares with any other company would feel like going from a premium subscription to a free one.

Darius, while looking more upright than the rest, was actually an expert in creating black markets under the noses of authorities. His working methods were always perfectly skirting the legal, while making sure that some hidden routes allowed for the exchange of otherwise banned or scarce products. Finally, Virelya was an expert at information wars. Once she settled down, her information network spread like an unstoppable vine, and before you knew it, every secret of your company would be in their database.

Her company then sold and bought information, creating infinite profit just by listening. The others were a mix of their qualities, with not many of them being experts in prime resource gathering. The reason was that each planet was too peculiar in regard to its resources. Therefore, it was difficult to create a stable income from such traders. Most galaxy merchants used prime resources and similar as secondary profits. Liu Shu absorbed everything, her mind quickly organizing how to settle each of these big bosses.

Moreover, she found something quite peculiar.

'While they gathered from different professional ambits to have as little friction with each other as possible… I can feel tensions.' When they discussed together, Liu Shu had already mapped out where each of them would go and how they would start forcefully chomping a large part of the market. And yet… Some of them wanted to overreach.

'Clearly, these fleets are not friends. They are also competitors. Moreover, I can sense some alliances within. It seems that the <Astral Fold> and <Radiant Accord> are close, while the <Crimson Dominion> and <Shattered Ring> share similarities. The <Umbral Imperium> feels neutral, but with their specialty, I would not be surprised if they are interconnected with all of them.' As she sorted them all out, their ships accelerated, traveling through space extremely quickly. Liu Shu was somewhat surprised.

'These ships… they are using spatial shields to approach light speed to the limit. Won't they be able to travel faster than light in an emptier void?' She was not sure, as these merchant ships were extremely advanced compared to anything she had seen before.

'Actually, not all of them are like that. The ones with these spatial fluctuations are those of the super civilizations. The rest are just barely keeping up.' With this, she confirmed that, even when their empires were far, their top-tier armies could most likely approach her Solar System faster than she initially expected. Even at near-light speed, they would take several minutes to arrive. Therefore, she was not in a hurry.

"Flor, you'll have new visitors soon."

"Visitors?" The fairy stopped tapping on a keyboard and asked, confused.

"What visitors?"

"Merchants." Liu Shu didn't clarify much.

"There are around 28 merchant ships, each of them from a different civilization. Don't worry about their strength; their strongest person is Level 181, but their stats are poorer than Cael's. While there are many, and their threat is not negligible, they are not some sort of primal threat we can't deal with." Flor blinked, her ruby-like eyes blinking with curiosity. Then, she asked, confused.

"Baby, why don't you give me more details?" Liu Shu used a root to caress her cheek gently.

"Because they are perfect… fertilizer. Try not to get crushed too easily, alright, Mom? If you ever need help, I will intervene. However, unless the rules are being blatantly disrespected, I will fall back for a little bit and act like a 'normal' World Tree to deceive them." Flor's intelligence had long grown to a high level, so even with the vagueness of her warning, she was quick to the uptake and pieced things together. She leaned back, her hand tenderly caressing Liu Shu's roots.

'These merchants are probably from civilizations as strong, if not stronger than the Nexus. Otherwise, Liu Shu would have no need to deceive them. Her current strength is already high enough to allow her to act with impunity in the local area.' If that was the case, Liu Shu's gentle and hidden reminder made sense.

'Their technology, resources, and probably methods themselves are miles ahead of ours. When we clash in the market, we'll be instantly suppressed. So…' Her eyes flashed, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.

'They are perfect fodder for us to grow explosively and reach a galactic level of competence.' She flapped her wings, slowly levitating up from her chair and standing on the large desk.

"Ignatia, Mariane, Harmonixia, Cinderielle, Verdantia, Tempestria. Come to my office." Liu Shu smiled, satisfied. Meanwhile, Aionthra, sitting on her crystal and wooden throne, looked at Flor with a faint smile.

"Grandmother is not bad at all. She quickly understood most of your hints and is preparing to act on them. I am quite eager to see this clash." Liu Shu laughed and tenderly caressed her big empress girl with her roots.

"Me too, love. Me too."