Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

Liu Shu noticed that many government branches began moving quite aggressively after Flor and Ignatia retook their positions. They even met with the envoys, asking them about different strategies that they could use.

It only took half a year to stabilize everything, pulling out almost every single group from the roots without affecting the functioning of the cities. Liu Shu let them do as they pleased. She wouldn't micromanage anyone unless she saw that they were straying off their path.

Instead, she focused on another very important thing. "...I arrived."

Her gaze traveled through the void, and she saw a bluish world in the distance. After spreading in all directions, she finally located the next planet of the solar system. "This one is further away from the Sun… So, is this the other planet with active intelligent life in our Solar System?"

She had heard previously that life was widespread in the universe, much more than she had ever expected. And the envoys even told her that her current Solar System was rather deserted in comparison. So, her "normal" was "uncommon" for the majority of stars.

"Hm… It took around 3 years to arrive here. Isn't that a bit too slow? The distance is not that large, after all."

While it was in the millions of kilometers, a year was a lot of time. For comparison, traveling at a constant 120 kilometers per hour was enough to cover over 1 million kilometers a year. Liu Shu's spreading speed in space was far beyond that. After all, she was using sub-dimensional movement to cover as much distance as possible with the least amount of movement, like crumpling a paper to go from one side to the other much quicker.

"Hm… Why did it take 3 years?"

Her gaze moved across her massive spatial net, and soon, she could see her gaze zooming out. Ceperet became a mote of dust in the vastness of the oppressive void ocean. The sunbeams that overwhelmed it in size made it look even lonelier, giving Liu Shu's heart a sentimental feeling.

"So… tiny."

She had never really stopped to see the full scope of her reach until now, and this gave her a sense of perspective, her mind changing with it.

"If Ceperet were as large as a seed… Wow. The distance to Nualis would be around 50 meters in its current position."

Overwhelming was truly perfect to describe the feelings those realizations gave her. The distance to the Moon already had her in shock, but this made even that seem like nothing.

Liu Shu glanced at her Level, which was still 100. She had been saving up Experience to upgrade her skills to S- Rank. "Speaking of which… Each time I passed a Cycle, my growth increased exponentially, right? First, I was moving at around one to two meters per level. During my last cycle, the numbers were already in the hundreds per level… What about now? Should I Level Up once to check?"

She was honestly a bit nervous. After all, she didn't know what to do if she became much larger. 'I will probably surpass Ceperet's size eventually, right? What do I do then?'

This was a worry she had been mulling over lately. She liked her body being large, but she didn't know how large was too large, or how her body would evolve once she started Leveling Up after becoming a "Universal" tree.

"If we go just by the name, this must mean that I will eventually reach sizes that dwarf even… stars? Am I lowbranching it?"

Her imagination simply wasn't able to grasp her size in the future. "Alright, Leveling Up stopped being taxing for a while, so I might as well try to Level Up once and see the growth."

Accumulated Experience: 16,803,109

Level: 100 [0/3,905,890]

"Hm… System, Level Up!"

[Level Up!]

[Aether +17, Physique +17, Anima +17, Willpower +17, Destiny +100]

[Accessory Level Up!]

[Aether +2,171, Physique +2,171, Anima +2,171, Willpower +2,171, Aether Mana Shards +175,258,990 (Cores: 1,753), Phoer Body Shards +175,258,990 (Cores: 1,753), Anima Energy Shards +175,258,990 (Cores: 1,753)]

The numbers appeared extremely skewed, but many of the large numbers of accessories were not significantly affected by the multiplicative affinity percentages. Therefore, the +17 base became as important as the raw stats of the equipment. In terms of numbers, Liu Shu gained around 40% extra base stats from equipment, going from around 680,000 to 971,000.

The biggest buff the equipment gave her was in the Ternary Essence reserves, which were multiplied by around 2.5 times thanks to the equipment's numbers. There, their influence was undeniable.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

To gain so many stats, the surroundings naturally reacted. With Liu Shu reaching Level 101, the energy of the world moved. A pulse that seemed to act as a great attractor, a hurricane of energies swept into her body.

Then, the growth began.

Liu Shu looked at herself and attentively noticed the changes occurring as she reached a higher state as a living being. Her height grew.

At Level 100, Liu Shu was around 9,000 meters high from the base to the top. Of course, counting her roots was stupid, since she covered literally millions of kilometers with them.

With Liu Shu's accurate senses and a bit of help with math, she was able to sense the changes in height in real time.

"9100… 9200… 9300…" Liu Shu muttered, increasing her height by around 100 meters every half a day. Of course, together with her height change, the entire Golden Sap City moved, creating a small earthquake on the ground.

The wall grew in size, expanding and covering more distance outward. "Ah… My wall is reaching Fortuna City."

Fortuna was also a bit fearful and asked, confused. "Um… Liu Shu, love, your Living Wall is sweeping my way. Can you make it stop?"

Liu Shu looked around, and she noticed that all three major nearby cities were also starting to get in her <Living Wall>'s reach.

"That… Fortuna, don't worry. I thought about this in the past, so there shouldn't be any problems! Only… Fortuna City might be reduced to Fortuna District… Do you mind?"

The World Tree tied to Destiny stared at her giant little sister with a speechless look. Still, she knew that she couldn't do much about it. So, she sighed and agreed, tenderly but helplessly caressing Liu Shu's roots. "Alright, your big sister will share the city with you. However, you better not bully me out of space, you hear me?"

Liu Shu answered fawningly. "Of course not, Big Sis Fortuna! I would never do something like that!"

Fortuna City's border was approximately 25 kilometers West of Liu Shu's body, with Sirol City, Taro's city, being the closest of the three at only 15 kilometers to the east. This city had long been swallowed by Liu Shu's <Living Wall>, enclosing it into a district and giving Taro considerable authority over the East side of Golden Sap City. The intelligent man was naturally able to take care of everything, cooperating with Flor and the others as needed.

Around Liu Shu, the first locations that she ever explored were as follows: Fortuna City, 25 kilometers West; White Flower Forest, 35 kilometers Northwest; Mareful City, 30 kilometers North; Lakeborn Forest, 20 kilometers Northeast; and finally, Sirol City, 15 kilometers East.

Naturally, the whole Southward section was covered by the previous Dark Aether Swamp, 30 kilometers away from Liu Shu's body.

Previously, at 9,000 meters of height, the <Living Wall> spread out for 23 kilometers, which swallowed most nearby landmarks. Now that her height was increasing, the <Living Wall> also spread out, making the city large enough so that Liu Shu's massive size didn't swallow everything.

It wasn't just the wall that moved, as everything shifted outward, expanded, and transformed. Liu Shu's massive root-network worked together to shift all <Lignified Houses>, change streets following the previously planned expansion algorithm, and even create a new map to give out for free to all people living in Golden Sap City, making sure no one felt lost after the city-wide reforms.

For veterans in the city, this event was a familiar occurrence, so they didn't panic. Other than the floor trembling lightly like a small earthquake, there were no inconveniences. If anything, the low rumbling sound at night could bother some people.

However, those who were new thought otherwise. Many panicked, thinking that the city was about to be hit by a massive earthquake and moved out of their houses, ignoring that they were living inside Level 100 <Lignified Houses>.

Liu Shu noticed the panic, so she gave a few words. "Don't worry, as my height increases, the city changes with me. Everything is normal and there are no dangers. I have not seen anyone get hurt in the past by my expansion, and there shouldn't be anyone getting hurt this time around as well."

The vast and gentle voice of the World Tree seemed to envelop them, as if nature itself were embracing them. However, many choked after hearing her following words.

"Also, I am probably going to swallow Mareful and Fortuna City. Therefore, the East and North districts will fall under their surveillance and be referred to as the Fortuna District and Mareful District. The change will be seamless, just as it was with the Sirol District. As for the South part of the city, there won't be any changes."

Her voice spread out for dozens of kilometers, so naturally, Delia heard it. Her face started twitching, and she shouted to the ceiling, exasperated. "Liu Shuuuu! Please give me a little heads-up when you are going to do these things!"

Liu Shu blinked and chuckled, her voice spreading in her room. "Hehe. Sorry, speak with Flor for the details~."

By Delia's side, a mature Sylvan with similar and gorgeous qualities smiled happily. Many years had gone by since Liu Shu saved her from Jolie's claws, and now she was all grown up and had left her dark past behind. "I will help Mother, Liu Shu. Do not worry."

"I am counting on you, Aria!"

Hearing those words filled Aria's heart with contentment. She smiled brightly, utterly different from her taciturn past self. "Alright!"

Her daughter's bright smile blew away any negative feelings in Delia's heart, making her smile softly as well. Then, she grabbed her hand and spoke mischievously. "Alright, we'll go visit Taro and ask for advice. Let's collect a few things for Eila as well. But, with Fortuna living in the West, wouldn't that make the West District the strongest?"

Aria shrugged, not worried at all. "There is no stronger district, Mom. Only those who are obedient to Big Sister Liu Shu and those who aren't."

Liu Shu heard her and chuckled. "If Elyne ever finds you, she will probably ask you to become a saint with that train of thought."

"Hehehe." Aria grinned. "I will become one after a while! Becoming Big Sister Liu Shu's Saint will only help me govern better and have more influence after I take over Mom's mantle!"

Delia gently tapped her forehead. "Are you going to abuse authority now, eh? Don't always rely on your Big Sister Liu Shu!"

Aria stuck out her tongue, her sapphire eyes gleaming happily. "I know, I know~."

Liu Shu chuckled and continued growing in size. Eventually, she reached a height of 12,706 meters, 30% larger than she already was.

On another note, the 310-meter-high <Living Wall> extended to cover a 40-kilometer radius with her body at its center. With the massive 1,000-meter-high <Guardian Trees> spanning its considerable length, their imposing manner left everyone breathless.