Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos

Back in Golden Sap City, the groups had returned from entering the portal right below Liu Shu’s canopy. What they saw inside was something utterly different from the other one.

Flor looked at Elowen, the Dryad leader of the Verdant Pathfinders, and asked with a confused look. "So... It’s safe?"

Elowen chuckled, understanding why Flor and the other leaders present were so confused. "Mostly safe, yes. That place is not easy to enter, as you must be at least Level 100. After all, there are monsters inside. However, there is no , no dangerous gimmick, nothing."

Flor crossed her arms and leaned back onto her tiny chair. If she were of normal size, her current looks would make her look wise and thoughtful. However, most people present could only suppress their urge to shout ’Cute!’ from the bottom of their hearts.

"Cute~."

Of course, there was one person who didn’t need to suppress her thoughts and even reached out to snatch the fairy onto her lap and squeeze her like a doll. Flor, already accustomed to Ignatia’s usual antics, didn’t even blink as she was smothered between the two white, soft mountains.

She would never admit it, but the way Ignatia "handled" her turned her on quite a bit. So, resistance was never a real option in the Flower Fairy’s head.

Ignatia took over while the fairy sank into the paradise that the Ant Queen’s body was. "Did you explore the entire area? Have you tried stepping out?"

Elowen moved her gaze away from the blissful fairy, holding back and showing only a serious expression. "Yes, Lady Ignatia. We searched the entire area. It envelops the central area of Lady Heavenly Willow’s canopy." Here, she paused and finally took on a more serious expression. "We thought of stepping outside of that area. However, there was this... aura that made our bodies freeze. It’s as if stepping outside the central area would lead us to unavoidable death."

Everyone became silent and began thinking. Elyne spoke with a thoughtful expression. "If our guesses are correct, this manifested due to Liu Shu’s existence and special attribute. Then, among all the incredibly difficult tests, there is a safe zone. A place that signifies Liu Shu’s protective umbrella. And where else is better to manifest such an area than what Elowen described?"

Rovan, sitting on another chair, crossed his muscular arms and nodded. "Lady Heavenly Willow has been a nightmare for all who dared go against her. Nevertheless, she has been a paradise for those who live under her canopy and protection. Lady Elyne’s words make sense."

Flor spoke up softly, moving her head away from the comfortable pillows of her wife. "I want to go inside."

Ignatia paused her hand for a second, and then she sighed softly with a smile. "Alright, let’s go. Is there any threat in our radars?"

Melody had decided to take charge of this area, together with many other specialists. But among all of them, she and Verena were the ones "connected" to the central group and keeping an eye on it.

"Actually, we did detect some anomalies. We compiled the information not long ago, and I was to give it to you in three days’ time." Melody commented, her eyebrow gently pulling together in thought. "It has not been that long after the attack by those mercenaries. So I didn’t expect to find a similar signal so soon. But we did."

Everyone frowned. With Liu Shu sleeping, defending the territory would be quite difficult. Cinderielle looked at Elowen and the others, smiling. "Thank you for all the information. You’ll receive appropriate compensation for this. Now, if you will, we have some pressing matters to attend to. Once we have a clear idea, and if there is anything we can ask the for help with, we will surely do so."

With her not-so-subtle meanings, Cinderielle stood up and accompanied the group out of the room. Once outside the Town Hall, one person from the group snorted and whispered. "What a way to kick out guests."

Elowen instantly frowned and spoke coldly. "If I hear one more complaint, I’ll send whoever speaks them out of the group. They are the rulers of this place, the family of our Lady, the Heavenly Willow. The fact that Lady Cinderielle was polite with her gestures and tone should be enough for us to feel grateful for, not the opposite."

That person wasn’t very convinced, but she didn’t speak again. Even then, Elowen looked straight at her and spoke up. "You’ll be moved to the secondary team. And before you complain, look at the LIST of buffs in your before you dare open your ungrateful mouth one more time. Because it’s not one or two of them, it’s a LIST that makes even F Tiers look like C Tiers."

With those words, she turned around and left. Most people found absolutely no fault in what Elowen did. Some people forgot and got accustomed to the sheer amount of blessings Liu Shu spread with her population. The buffed state became normalcy, and normalcy became complacency.

It was easy to forget that adaptability was not always positive, as blessings were sometimes not appreciated for what they were and were instead taken for granted. It was something that quite a few of the recently born youths failed to comprehend.

Meanwhile, Flor looked around and spoke up cautiously. "Wisdom, are you there?"

This sentient part of Liu Shu had always been quite a mystery for Flor and the others. They knew that, while being part of Liu Shu’s existence, it was not exactly herself.

In the past, they had asked Liu Shu about it, and our girl had reassured them that Wisdom was not harmful and would not go against her principles. She still reiterated that Wisdom was not herself and that she should be treated as a subconsciousness of her main existence.

After Flor spoke, everyone became silent before their system popped up.

[Wisdom: Yes.]

They remember hearing Wisdom in the past, so some of them were confused as to why it went back to using the system to speak to them. Even then, the very fact that she could do this showed how special Wisdom truly was.

’She is probably some sort of S Tier skill of Liu Shu.’

If Cinderielle and the other Sylvans heard their thoughts, they would smile wryly and complain that they were missing two whole letters.

"Wisdom, can you attack like before now that Liu Shu’s domain has expanded so much? I know that you can only use a fraction of Liu Shu’s strength. But that small fraction might be enough to summon some of a high-level, right?"

Wisdom listened to them and thought about it. As Liu Shu’s skill, she could obviously take over to some extent with Liu Shu’s permission. Still, Wisdom was not sure how much she should help them. After all, Liu Shu was still Leveling Up and forming her .

[Wisdom: I can help, but consider my help a last resort. Tianlian Liu Shu is in a critical moment, and any large interruption might cause irremediable effects.]

She was not telling the whole truth, as Liu Shu’s