A few weeks before the attack on Dark Water City, Liu Shu had searched for the other two most significant influences on the planet: Celestial Lotus and Azure Rose. Reaching them was not an easy task, so it took some time. To not lose time, Liu Shu decided to check the temples she could build in the meantime.

  [Temple Of War]

  [Temple Of Life]

  [Temple Of Death]

  [Temple Of Elements]

  [Temple Of Fertility]

  [Temple Of Music]

  [Temple Of The Conqueror]

  [Temple Of Space]

  [Temple Of Phoer]

  [Temple Of Aether]

  [Temple Of Anima]

  “Hm?” Liu Shu was somewhat surprised. “Weren’t there Temples of Fire, Wind, etc. to choose from? Have they now all merged into one ?”

  This development was outside of Liu Shu’s expectations. Moreover, when she checked them, these temples were all B- Rank from the get-go, unlike the ones before, which started at the D- Rank.

  “System, why have those temples merged?”

  [System Hint: concepts can merge if the concepts they represent are compatible with each other. These merges can only occur if Tianlian Liu Shu is strong enough.]

  Liu Shu’s heart became uncomfortable. “So… If I had not chosen the temple of craft, it might’ve evolved into a more powerful temple in the future?”

  [System Hint: Not only the , but all the other ones as well.]

  “WAH!” Liu Shu very much wanted to flip the landscape. “What’s wrong with you and never telling me the whole story!? Useless! Stupid! Stupid System! Stuuuppiiiiiid!!!!!!”

  [...]

  “YEAH! THREE DOTS FROM ME AS WELL! HMPH!”

  [Wisdom: Temples can evolve after reaching high tiers and even merge with other concepts. Tianlian Liu Shu has not lost the chance to possess the combination temples; you just need higher-tiered materials.]

  The temper tantrum instantly evaporated. “Oh? Really?”

  [...]

  [Wisdom: …]

  This time, both Wisdom and the System felt speechless at how fast Liu Shu changed her mood. The World Tree asked, curious. “Then, then… can my temples be merged with any of the ones in the list?”

  [Wisdom: It’s not possible for now. Moreover, the Temples you possess are only . They need to reach A- Tier at the very least to merge with another .]

  “Oh…” Liu Shu muttered. “Still useless. I have to do everything first, and only then will you come to help…”

  [System Hint: The system doesn’t exist to help. It is a reflection of a creature’s potential and a tool to…]

  “I know! I know! I do not get stronger because my

  goes up 10 points. Only after my

  goes up ten points does it reflect in the system, right? Whatever, whatever. Now, show me these temples. I want to see them!”

  ***

  : While under its influence, Elemental Aether Mana becomes much more controllable. Creatures who have this blessing will be able to learn how to control Elemental Aether Mana much more efficiently.

  Elemental Aether Mana control +500%.

  Elemental Aether Mana abundance +500%.

  All creatures gain 30% resistance to Elemental Aether Mana.

  Proficiency needed to upgrade Elemental-Aether-related skills -20%.

  ***

  “Whoa! Weren’t the Fire and Wind ones +100%? The other numbers were also much smaller… Is there really such a big difference between D- and B- Tiers?”

  She had not checked the Temple Blessing specific numbers for a while, so she decided to do so afterward.

  ***

  : While under its influence, Music Creativity will become an innate quality. All music created can evolve beyond limits and affect the surroundings greatly.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  All effects created from music will be positively enhanced by 60%.

  All crafting of instruments is enhanced by 150% and will be blessed with special effects.

  All future instruments will have two minor upon creation.

  ***

  “Another boost to the blessing… Not interested, though. Next!”

  Liu Shu checked them one by one, and after a while, she came to a conclusion. “Alright, the ones that I am interested in are , , , and .”

  The Ternary Essence temples were really powerful. Nevertheless, Liu Shu felt that they would combine into one in the future, similar to what happened to the elemental temples. Therefore, she decided to ignore them for now.

  The was also intriguing. It buffed Liu Shu’s ability to transform people. Nevertheless, Liu Shu felt that she didn’t really need that now.

  “Let’s see, create the four windows of the temples of choice.”

  [Understood.]

  ***

  : While under the influence, you can learn combat skills three times faster. There is also a 5% chance to break your potential limits as long as you put in hard work and discipline.

  During a War, all allies’ stats are increased by 20%.

  Ternary essence efficiency increased by 20%.

  The Experience Points needed to upgrade combat-related skills are reduced by 25%.

  ***

  : While under the influence, you can heal 500% quicker. Crippling wounds that do not affect the root of your power are able to heal over time. (Can’t regrow limbs without external aid.)

  Lifespan increased by 30%.

  Phoer Recovery per healing spell increased by 50%.

  The Experience Points needed to upgrade health-related skills are reduced by 25%.

  ***

  : The space layer in your domain is 500% harder to penetrate by foreign creatures, while it will be 500% easier for people under this blessing.

  Spatial Affinity increased by 500%.

  Space channels will require 500% less cost to keep open.

  Space-related skills deal 20% more damage.

  The Experience Points needed to upgrade space-related skills are reduced by 25%.

  ***

  Liu Shu read the Space Blessing, thoughtful. “Why does this one not fall under the category? Is Space not an element as well?”

  [System Hint: is not a fundamental element. Control over space means control over locations, not Aether Mana in the strict sense. Therefore, it is not considered elemental mana, as it has its own school.]

  “Oh…! What about Time? Can time be manipulated?”

  [System Hint: Time manipulation is strictly forbidden under the System’s vigilance. Any creature that attempts to manipulate directly will be punished.]

  “O-Oh. I will keep it in mind.” Liu Shu didn’t ask why, as she could already imagine the reason.

  Liu Shu checked all the again. “The continues to be tempting. More lifespan, meaning more population. Moreover, some who are limited by age will live longer as they reach higher levels by default. So, instead of a 30% increase in lifespan, it can go much further.”

  It had always been extremely tempting, as in the long term, this temple was without a shadow of a doubt the strongest. It would increase her population quality over time as well, since higher-level people would have better-quality children. “The ants would benefit tons as well…”

  However, Liu Shu didn’t need long-term benefits. She needed to upgrade her current strength as quickly as possible. “The Temple Of Space is worth building after I take over the entire planet. I am sure that, when I reach out of the planet, this one temple will be quite useful. So, that leaves me with Temple Of War or Elements.”

  Liu Shu rechecked these two blessings. Combat-power-wise, the Temple of War was unmatched. A raw 25% boost was enough to make it extremely valuable. Nevertheless, Liu Shu values the Elemental Abundancy that the other temple promoted.

  What could create higher-level people? A higher quality environment. Unlike the Temple of Life, which affected things indirectly through making everyone more long-lived, the Temple of Elements accelerated the world’s growth in a positive feedback loop.

  “Ugh…” Liu Shu was honestly torn. The was just too tempting!

  “Thirty percent more lifespan… It’s just too much. Moreover, the heavy injuries caused by war and other conflicts can be easily recovered from as well. It’s like giving my soldiers an “invincible” buff as long as they were not killed.”

  While that sentence sounded obvious, killing was not the only way to make a soldier unable to fight. If they lost a leg, had their Ternary Essence circuits damaged, or were mentally scarred, that soldier would have a hard time being useful. With the , all those problems disappeared.

  “UGH!” Liu Shu threw her branches into the air and blurted. “Whatever! I’ll build the and get it out of the way! While War and Elements are very tempting, a longer-living population will pay off the earlier I take it. The next one will be elements, and the next one will be war, and the next one will be space… As long as no new ones appear, that should be the order! HMPH!”

  After deciding upon that, Liu Shu waited for her roots to encounter the two World Trees. It took around a day to make contact, almost at the same time, with the two of them.

  “Um… Hello?” Liu Shu tentatively sent a message to these two ancient World Trees.

  Once she did so, their presence manifested on the edge between them.

  One of them, carrying an ethereal and gentle voice, spoke to her curiously. “Hello… Who are you, little sapling?”

  The other one had a much more stern, but equally soothing voice. Like a gentle empress speaking to you. “Oh? First time hearing such a beautiful voice. Are you new, little sapling?”

  Liu Shu giggled when she heard these two answer. To be fair, she expected a much more overbearing answer. Instead, what she got were two gentle big sisters speaking to her!

  So, letting go of her initial nervousness, Liu Shu spoke with them. “Hello! I am Tianlian Liu Shu! I came to speak with you two regarding my future controlling the world!”

  The two powerful World Trees almost choked in their minds. ‘Who opens a conversation declaring they are going to conquer the world!?’

  Still, once they learned of Liu Shu’s name, they naturally understood who was talking to them. Celestial Lotus' tone became a tad colder. After all, Liu Shu formerly belonged to her faction, but then she left. “You are the Heavenly Willow? Do you know your wrongs?”

  “Eh?” Liu Shu was a bit confused. “What wrongs?”

  The Azure Rose could hear their conversation thanks to Liu Shu connecting everyone in a single root net. So, she poked fun at Celestial Lotus. “You speak of wrongs? How about you sending some help first? If you had not ignored Heavenly Willow, I bet she wouldn’t be trying to conquer the world at the moment.”

  “Eh?” Liu Shu muttered. “But… I would conquer it either way…”

  The two World Trees became silent, looking at this new young World Tree with strange gazes. ‘Her confidence… It is quite high. Is it not?’