Chương 892: Interstellar Technology and Skill Rank Up galore!

Liu Shu didn't leave straight away after completing the deal. Instead, she kept talking with Sarlos about miscellaneous topics. Even when it was just common topics, Liu Shu learned plenty. For starters, she learned who was supporting the Nexus's activities. Surprisingly, it wasn't a Globular Star Cluster Empire. It was a force deep-rooted in the center of the Galaxy. That was why, even when there were plenty of World Tree civilizations wanting nothing more than for them to disappear, not many fought back.

The Covenant did so because they were a True World Tree civilization and had to resist or they would be conquered. So, Sarlos told Liu Shu that she was in a similar situation and didn't need to worry too much. The Covenant, surprisingly, was an independent force. They had connections and such, but they didn't have a stronger backer that was supporting them like the Nexus. The reason they could face the Nexus was that World Trees were just very strong, natural space fortresses.

Balaya's existence, for instance, was more than enough to make the Nexus reluctant to fight an all-out war. Instead, chipping away slowly at the World Tree while the Corrupted Church analyzed Balaya and found countermeasures was a much better approach. Liu Shu was quite surprised when she learned about all that information. As for the name of the big backer the Nexus had, Sarlos didn't act mysterious and told her straightforwardly.

"<Void Empire>. That's their name. They are strong enough to mingle with central civilizations, so their label is above Nebula Class Empires. Even our Shattered Star Ring would avoid provoking them at all costs." Liu Shu was not too surprised. It was clear that there would be strong forces trying to eliminate World Trees so that they could take over. World Trees were a far too neutral existence that could flip the table of an entire interstellar sector if they had strong enough powers.

"Even then, it is still surprising that there are no Globular Star System Empires nearby that outright hate World Trees." Sarlos laughed." Well, our six Globular Star System Empires are rather old. We've been here for long enough to see several Covenant and Nexus rise and fall. Of course, I am not that ancient at a personal level. However, my family has kept records, and they are all resting in a library back in my main state." It was something Liu Shu hadn't expected.

To be honest, she had thought that after sinking her roots into the Nexus, a "Big Brother" would jump into the fray from the Globular Star System Empires to face off against her. Sarlos heard her guess and laughed.

"If that were the case, said force would start to get involved now. To be honest, you have gained enough strength to face the Nexus to a large degree. So, after surpassing them, you should focus on the next threat."

"The next threat?" Sarlos nodded.

"That's right. There are many other threats besides civilizations in the depths of our galaxy. The nearest one is a Hive-Type <Astraelis> nest. They have been expanding and kept at bay by us. But we see no end to the conflict. The core area is heavily guarded, and the Queen of the hive-mind is a Level 399 super powerhouse that gets stronger the more allies she has around her." A look of horror flashed in Liu Shu's eyes.

"What kind of absurd skill is that? It's like one of those BOSS Monster type skills but brought into reality." Sarlos sympathized. He had a similar reaction the first time he heard it.

"The saving grace is that such a powerful skill has a big drawback… that Queen can't move outside her main nest. And the nest's movement speed is rather slow. Even then, as long as she is in the nest, that monster is basically invincible." Liu Shu frowned deeply. But after a second, she focused.

'That's a matter for the future. I have plenty to do before I target that thing. The later that thing knows of my existence, the better. First, deal with the Covenant and Nexus while also absorbing Xakira's and the other two's insectoid empires.' Beyond those, she needed to target nearby Solar Systems from weaker civilizations as well.

'Also, I need to make sure to save Deadly Petal if possible.' That worry she had placed at the back of her mind was also important. She just didn't do anything yet because her roots were still moving in Deadly Petal's direction. Unless she managed to arrive fast, she might be unable to prevent Balaya from dealing with Deadly Petal. Shaking her head slightly, Liu Shu continued speaking with Sarlos for a while.

After the productive conversation, Liu Shu untangled her roots and brought back the technology while informing Flor of the deal they made. From here on out, Liu Shu would be in charge of giving Flor <Lignified Seeds> and the like. As for the layout, transportation, building, etc, Liu Shu would leave it to them. Speaking of seeds, Liu Shu glanced at her System Page.

'Oh…? My last skill has finally reached A+ Rank Level MAX!' This last war had not given her many Experience Points. Nevertheless, the amount of proficiency points she had earned for all her skills was tremendous. Each and every skill had gone through many changes, and after spending plenty of Experience Points, they had all finally evolved to S- Rank. There was not a single skill left below S- Rank on her system page, and the changes were astounding.

Her strength, even without much stat number changes, had gone through monumental shifts. [You've completed a difficult achievement for someone at your Level!] Liu Shu blinked, and then her eyes widened.

'This message… A new <Title>!?' [Across your 250 years of life, you've gained plenty of skills. You did not give up many of them, even when some started at the F Rank. You persevered, evolved them, understood them, and finally catalyzed them into powerful skills perfectly suitable for yourself.] Liu Shu nodded with bright eyes.

"Yeah! Yeah! It was really difficult!" [Now, all your skills have reached the first grand divider. S- Rank. The amount of Experience Points used to Rank Up all of them is well over 1 billion, and your comprehension for each of them is superb.] [Congratulations! You've learned <Title: S Ranker>.] <S Ranker>: You are a genuine S Rank super-powerhouse. All S Rank skills and below receive various bonuses. All <Talents> and <Passive Skills> you learn will be 200% easier to develop up to S+ Rank.

S+ Rank skills and below consume 10% less <Ternary Essence>. 10% stats.

Liu Shu burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha! What a powerful <Title>! Hehehehe." Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. There was not much to say about it; it was just a massive boost toward her everything. Truly a title befitting the name <S Ranker>.

"Since there is a <Title> named S Ranker, there must be a title named SS Ranker and SSS Ranker… I wonder what effects they will have in the future?" After that, Liu Shu continued to read the rest of the System messages. [You've spent a total of 238, 348, 975 Experience Points to Rank Up all the remaining skills.] [Accumulated Experience Points: 795, 426, 578 → 557, 077, 603] Liu Shu sighed with emotion. What a delightful thing it was when System messages popped up one after another.

With a wistful sigh, Liu Shu decided to check on her new evolved skills. (Author Note: Today, this will be all for the chapter. The main focus is the skills, so I have counted them as "Word Count" for today's chapter. These new skills are important, after all. So, the main text will be slightly short. Also, creating the damn arrows is so tiresome! QAQ! It took quite a while to transform all these skills; I hope you like them~.) <Soulseed Projection → Soulseed Manifestation (A+ Rank → S- Rank Level 1 [0/839, 900])>: Produce 1 → 2 <Soulseed> every 5 years, via <Sylvan Quest>, or by assimilating <World Trees>. Plant Soulseeds as waypoints to project body (75% stats → Base Stats). Can manipulate size to reduce it up to 1/20th → 1/200th of the original's size. Current Soulseeds: 162. NEW When a <Soulseed> dies, they unleash a catastrophic soul attack on the one who caused the most damage.

<Temple Seed → Temple Soul (A+ Rank → S- Rank Level 1 [0/839, 900])>: Create <Temple Seeds> (6 → 10 per Temple / 5 years). Can plant outside the domain to spread Temple buffs. Grows into <Temple Tree> equal to Temple Level & Tier. All <Temple Seeds> gain offensive and defensive skills equal to their main <Temple>. Total: 335 Realms, 328 Fatebrushing, 322 Ingenuity, 297 Mortal Growth, 198 Eternity, 189 Faith Temple Seeds.

NEW When a <Temple Seed> dies, they unleash a catastrophic soul attack on the one who caused the most damage. <Elemental Lord Willow Catastrophe → Aetherlord's Elemental Catastrophe (A+ Rank → S- Rank Level 1 [0/839, 900])>: Branches & roots unleash devastating elemental attacks → Elemental Catastrophes. Range for basic attacks up to x15 → x50 height. Area Catastrophe Attack: up to x40 → x150 height; consumes heavy → moderate resources. Reachable anywhere within vision, up to x6 → x10 domain size.

NEW Your <Catastrophes> elements can be mixed. NEW Your <Catastrophe> can be concentrated up to +- 50% range and +- 10% damage. (Example: you can expand 50% in range at the cost of 10% damage or vice versa. The changes are proportional.) <Mountain Soul Root Lance → Moon Pierce Root Lance (A Rank → S- Rank Level 1 [0/839, 900])>: You can channel your Aether Mana or Anima Energy to manifest a giant root lance to throw at your enemies, creating massive physical and soul damage in its path.

NEW Upon impact, the attack divides and targets 10 nearby entities with 30% of the original damage dealt. NEW Range for target of secondary attacks x0. 5 distance until impact. <Hair Manipulation → <Flowing Willow Hair (A+ Rank)> → <Heavenly Willow's Silk Threads (A Rank → S- Rank Level 1 [0/839, 900])> You can control → control, solidify, and strengthen your <Hair>. Growth Rate x0. 1 → x0. 01 to x100 → x1000. Max Length Height x5 → x25. Max Durability Bark Resistance x3 → x5. Max thickness Original x10 → x100.

NEW You can create solid structures by visualizing them and detach them as long as they are linked to your main body. NEW Effects on hair lose effectiveness after 5 minutes without contact with the main body. <Expanded Perception → <Spatial Awareness (A- Rank)> → <Dimensional Canopy (S- Rank)> → <Dimensional Canopy (B+ Rank → S- Rank Level 1 [0/839, 900])>: Your senses can → greatly sharpen using <Aether> and <Anima>. Detection volume height x 50 → 750 (m 3).

NEW If you detect something hidden, they won't notice unless they have perception abilities above S- Rank. <Elemental Sea → Elemental Flow (A Rank → S- Rank Level 1 [0/839, 900])> Your elemental attacks do 32% → 50% more <Damage>. NEW Casting your elemental skills cost 15% less <Ternary Essence>. <Solidified Soul → Diamond Soul (A Rank → S- Rank Level 1 [0/839, 900])> Your <Willpower> will gain 13% → 20% of your <Anima> stat. NEW Your mind defense is increased by 30%.

<Mind Lake → Mind Sea (A- Rank → S- Rank Level 1 [0/839, 900])>: Increases thought processing speed by 30% → 150%. NEW 300% more efficient multitasking. <Mana Root Circulation → <Spiritual Sap Flow (C+ Rank)> → <Aether Sap Core (B Rank)> → <Heavenwood Mana Veins (B+ Rank)> → <Astral Rootheart (A Rank)> → <Heavenroot Aetherheart (C Rank → S- Rank Level 1 [0/839, 900])>: Increase <Aether> stat by 3% → 22. 5%. (Can only be learned by plant creatures). NEW Your <Aether Mana> regenerates 500% faster.

<Soul Seed → <Spiritual Germination (B Rank)> → <Soulroot Growth (B+ Rank)> → <Anima Tree Core (A- Rank)> → <World Soul Germination (C+ Rank → S- Rank Level 1 [0/839, 900])>: Increase <Anima> stat by 3% → 22. 5%. (Can only be learned by plant creatures). NEW Your <Anima Energy> regenerates 500% faster.

<Hardened Bark Body → <Ironwood Physique (B Rank)> → <Ancient Arbor Body (B+ Rank)> → <Undying Tree Vessel (A Rank)> → <Imperishable Treeform (C+ Rank → S- Rank Level 1 [0/839, 900])>: Increase <Physique> stat by 3% → 22. 5%. (Can only be learned by plant creatures). NEW Your <Phoer> regenerates 500% faster.

<Fortuitous Sprout → <Threads of Fortune (C+ Rank)> → <Destiny Pollen (B Rank)> → <Fatewoven Branches (B+ Rank)> → <Providence Seedling (A Rank)> → <Providence Bloom (C Rank → S- Rank Level 1 [0/839, 900])>: Increase <Destiny> stat by 0. 5% → 15%. (Can only be learned by plant creatures). NEW In any situation involving luck, you are 5% more likely to achieve a great success. NEW In any situation involving luck, you are 20% more likely to achieve success.

NEW In any situation involving luck, you are 20% less likely to achieve a bad outcome.