After Liu Shu began her Level Up, her realm shook due to the terrifying energy undulations. The very fabric of reality seemed to shift under her weight, leaking out and creating suffocating waves from time to time.
Flor, Elyne, and the others quickly noticed, and they moved together with Mariane, Tree, and others to craft a powerful Runic Field and Array Formation to block it.
It took about 3 months, but they managed to build a temporary structure that blocked the leaking energy.
Everyone in the Golden Sap City sighed in relief, as if their shoulders had become lighter.
Cinderielle sat at her personal desk, Pyralis sitting on a small chair while studying some books. "Mom, I have a question."
Cinderielle hummed in response, showing that she was listening.
Pyralis asked, her eyes flashing with a puzzled light. "Why is Mommy so different from Aunt Fortuna and the others?"
Cinderielle and the other Sylvans had shown their children to the other World Trees, especially those that were close to Liu Shu. They all treated Liu Shu's children gently, not only out of respect, but also because of personal liking.
After all, these children were intelligent and obedient. While they had their mischievousness, it was a bothersome one, but one born from curiosity and intent to experiment.
Quick to catch details, Pyralis and the others noticed their World Tree mother's specialness. It was something born of their own specialness among their siblings.
Being the only five sylvans in a family of over a hundred Alraune-related species came with both perks and drawbacks. Dewna and the others naturally adored their Sylvan siblings; they bought plenty of gifts for them.
However, perhaps due to their specialness, Cinderielle and the others had to… confiscate some of the presents until they were older.
Hearing Pyralis's question, Cinderielle paused her work. "Honestly, love. I also don't really know why."
While she could see her lover's absurd System Page, that didn't mean that all of Liu Shu's secrets were an open book for her. On the contrary, seeing Liu Shu's ridiculous System Page, she wondered how and when her dear big girl had the ability and chance to evolve as she did.
Knowing that Pyralis was listening, Cinderielle was not vague. Instead, she pondered and explained her thoughts. "I believe that your mother is someone bound to become great. We, as her family, must support her and push her along her path."
Pyralis frowned. "But Mommy is super strong, right?"
"She is." Cinderielle nodded. "But she is not invincible."
After saying that, she hesitated for a moment. She called Tempestria and the others, discussing something with them. After a few moments, she cut the connection.
"Pyralis."
The Sylvan child blinked, looking at her mother's serious expression. She saw Cinderielle reach into one of the cabinets at the side and take out one photo. When her mother looked at it, she saw pain flashing in her eyes, making her feel a bit uncomfortable.
"What is that, Mommy?"
Cinderielle hesitated once more, but after a bit, she became determined. Pyralis saw her approach and placed down one photo and two super-realistic illustrations on the table.
When Pyralis looked, her eyes widened in fright.
The photo showed Liu Shu's burnt body after Altherion's fleet bombarded her with their main cannons. The harrowing sight of a burnt World Tree, her branches falling off as her body was charred black, made Pyralis's breath hitch.
"See this? Your mother needs to fight threats that can leave her like this. She is very strong. Stronger than us combined, probably. However, our enemies are far from easy opponents."
Pyralis couldn't look away from the photo, her heart beating painfully as an urge to cry made her eyes sting. Liu Shu's burnt form was truly heart-wrenching.
"Look here." Cinderielle placed the photo away and showed the first of the two illustrations.
Pyralis was expecting to see another hard-to-stomach image, but instead she saw an illustration that made her eyes glow with delight. "Mommy's Avatar! She is so pretty!"
As Liu Shu's daughter, Pyralis had been in Liu Shu's
The illustration showed Liu Shu smiling and twirling in a gorgeous blue dress. Her long jade-colored hair followed her spinning motion, and the flowers around her danced with her movement. Her amethyst-like eyes curved with her tender, happy grin, her innocent and gentle beauty shining through.
Pyralis couldn't help but smile brightly. 'Mommy is so, so pretty!'
Cinderielle looked at Pyralis and smiled. Then, she sighed softly and spoke. "The next image is also hard to watch. It is from when your mother was almost corrupted by a Corrupted World Tree."
Pyrali's smile faltered, and her eyes moved toward the revealed second illustration. Her heart constricted instantly.
The illustration was glum, and in the middle of the dark space, Liu Shu's figure was curled in a ball, looking like a wounded beast.
The trimmed, pink, and rounded nails were sharp and broken, having gained a sickly black color. Meanwhile, her white skin was covered in purplish-red, pulsing veins, making her look more like a ghost than a human.
Her silky-smooth hair was dry and bristly, her face gaunt, and one of her eyes shed a bloody tear. Her face was twisted with faint malevolence, yet there was a clear struggle in her eyes trying to hold every thought back. Trying to keep herself unchanged.
Pyralis almost couldn't breathe as her heart tightened. Liu Shu's corrupted Avatar was too tragic-looking, especially so when compared to the previous illustration.
Cinderielle hugged her daughter, speaking softly yet firmly. "Love, never think of your mother as invincible. Under her grand exterior, she is always teetering on the edge. Keeping a dangerous balance between progress and conflict. A single misstep, and she will fall into an endless abyss."
Pyralis nodded, her eyes stinging as she sniffled. However, she spoke with a determined look, fighting through the tears. "I, sniff, I will protect Mom in the future!"
Cinderielle's orange-colored eyes shone gently. She planted a kiss on her cheek and spoke softly. "You and everyone else. That's why everyone works so hard: to protect your Mom. That's why, now that she will be absent for a little while, don't hate her, alright? She is trying her best to become stronger."
Pyralis nodded over and over again, her young mind shaping up slowly but surely.
The Sylvan children had similar conversations with their respective mothers, all of them gaining a deeper understanding of their World Tree mother.
After that conversation, time began slipping by like sand between one's fingers.
One year became two, and two years became four. For Cinderielle and the other three, time without Liu Shu seemed to slip by in a blur.
During these years, thanks to the influence of the four
Technological advances, Lignified Houses that evolved to become science hubs, and many other structures evolved naturally, giving Liu Shu's society a proper profundity.
In the fifth year after Liu Shu began the Level Up, Nualis and Ceperet had absorbed Liu Shu's techniques, evolving them further.
No one slacked. All geniuses worked their asses off, while those who were too conceited were left far behind and lost some of their blessings.
With many more experts, schools and universities gained teachers with deeper foundations, which in turn created more knowledgeable studies.
Following Liu Shu's advice to prioritize practical experience and integrate it with theoretical knowledge, almost everyone fitted into society like another gear right after finishing their studies.
The economy took shape as well, prices slowly changing as the market molded and transformed.
The seeds Liu Shu painstakingly planted for decades, dragging the entire society under her vast canopy for a long while, began bearing fruit, and how juicy that fruit was.
The leader of the Explorer Association, Arven Caldray, observed this transformation with admiration and awe. 'I don't understand how Adam was stupid enough not to see the potential. Lord Wert, even when being much lower ranked, had vision far surpassing Adam's.'
His two predecessors had two very different ends.
One of them was cherished by The Heavenly Willow and lived to his twilight years, passing away peacefully and happily.
The other opposed her, and his end was gruesome, to say the least.
Arven knew whose footsteps to follow, and with his deep intelligence, he knew he would've done so even without Wert as an example.
While he looked out of the window, Arven looked at the wall and smiled faintly. "Could you pour me a cup of tea?"
A soft, female voice answered him cheerfully. "Of course!"
After reaching Level 100, the population noticed that the Lignified Houses could speak back simple words. If they wanted to express something complex, their speech was slow, basically tree-level communication.
This made everyone's feelings for their homes more profound. Most people treated their houses like family members, while some people even fell in love with them. For now, though, the number of successful people courting Lignified Houses and similar was a grand total of zero.
All those who tried anything funny with the houses were also beaten black and blue and thrown out of the windows. When one asked, curious, the Lignified House answered, her adorable voice serious. "Mommy said that bad people can be thrown out of the windows! Little ants will take care of the rest!"
Most laughed, finding them adorable.
Nevertheless, finding it amusing was one thing; not believing them was another. Every single person who had been thrown out of the window was instantly swarmed by all nearby ants, dragging them to the nest underground.
Everyone knew the end of those who were dragged down. But no one felt pity. Living inside these houses, even children knew how patient the Lignified Babies were. To anger them enough to throw you out, you would need to do something terrible.
Speaking of the ants, their society was developing in parallel to the one above. The subterranean empire worked tirelessly and evolved at a pace that left everyone breathless.
Liu Shu had not only printed books in the common language, but also in a language that the ants could read. With Ignatia's deep desire to be helpful to Liu Shu, she pushed her colony to the limits, creating a progress system that crushed anything above.
After all, ants didn't have a natural need for entertainment. They were hardwired to follow commands, and that was their delight, which is what made a Humanoid Ant Queen so fearsome.
When a human-like mind had an army of tireless workers who obeyed without question, what they could develop was absolutely terrifying.
Arven pondered over the potential behemoth that Ceperet was when, suddenly, he felt someone approach with a hurried pace.
"Guild Master Arven! We've noticed signals of several
Arven's eyes opened with surprise. "How many
The person spoke with a solemn tone. "At least one per major city."
Arven's teacup almost slipped from his grasp.