Chương 793: Overwhelming Skill Transformation.

It had been over 12 years since the war ended, and around 2 years since the envoys arrived at Ceperet. During this time, the envoys had naturally tried without much success to inquire about Liu Shu's buffs. Other than that, they had not met too often, allowing the envoys to live as they pleased. Two years were neither too many nor too few.

It was enough to become accustomed to life in Ceperet and the surrounding worlds, but since they were all guided by the Verdant Elder, it wasn't really enough time for anyone to switch sides to Liu Shu. Or so it would've been if the Covenant had a tighter rein over their people. The Eternal Church was a place where many of the Covenant people went out of curiosity, and among the thousands, some who were dissatisfied with their mission to come to the Golden Sap Empire as envoys decided to defect.

These people were low-ranked, though. So, the information they could give was not really substantial. What Elyne and Cael knew from before their arrival covered much more extensively the information about the Covenant than what these people spoke about. Of course, seeing their fickleness, Liu Shu didn't dare to give these people her buffs and expose her cards. Even when it was a matter of time before someone sold out her buffs, she wanted to stretch that inevitable moment as much as she could.

In summary, while both sides were probing each other, there were no big movements from either side. After all, Liu Shu had managed to get the upper hand, and until the Verdant Elder got ahold of some information with equal importance, her advantage would not disappear. This stalemate was what Liu Shu wanted, making her quite comfortable. The few thousand people from the Covenant couldn't make a splash in her empire through bribery or anything similar due to the nature of her empire and Liu Shu's culture.

Did they want to make her people betray her? First, show better benefits than her buffs. Second, make sure to guarantee a life more comfortable than what she gave. Third, if the individual who was bribed was family-oriented, they needed to ensure that their children would have better buffs than those Liu Shu gave. Overall, people who were approached by the Covenant treated them like pests, scrambling away, fearing that Liu Shu would strip away their buffs if they stayed for a bit too long.

Even the greediest and stupidest among her people understood deeply what it felt like to be without Liu Shu's buffs. The reason? It happened not too long ago, when Liu Shu visited Eluan and saw his children become dizzy when they asked her to deactivate her buffs. Therefore, to ensure that her people understood its importance, Liu Shu had created "the day of nature" for the day before the year ended.

That day, Liu Shu completely shut off her buffs for absolutely everyone other than those in hospitals, retirement homes, or similar places. Remembering the dizziness, Liu Shu was not so brutal as to shut off everything for 24 hours. Instead, she made sure to deactivate them for a few minutes each hour, and in the final hour before the new year, she would completely shut them off, then activate them upon the arrival of the new year. This made everyone quite cheerful and grateful when the New Year arrived.

Overall, it was a day that people were quite reluctant to look forward to, but at the same time, it showed her people how utterly absurd Liu Shu's existence was. The first year she did this, the few non-religious people in her empire almost overnight decided to become part of the <Eternal Church>. At that time, Liu Shu remembered Flor and the others marveling at the effects of those few minutes without buffs. Even her children complained that the last hour felt torturous and whined at her not to do it again.

These complaints did the opposite, though, as Liu Shu sealed this day as a necessity. Otherwise, when her people left the Golden Sap Empire in the future to spread out, wouldn't they all become useless?

"Now… 12 years after the war, I finally managed to complete what I wanted… System, pour the energy necessary!" [<Soul Enthralling World Tree (A+ Rank Level MAX)> has <Tiered Up>!] [Transformation complete.] [You've gained <Well Of Souls And Enchantment (S- Rank Level 1)>.] Liu Shu's eyes widened as the skill's effects transformed and her perspective shifted.

This skill, which had previously given her the ability to create a reincarnation circle within her domain, had now transformed into a new something that allowed Liu Shu's senses to observe the world through a new lens.

"Whew. With this, all the skills needed to create the <Ascension Willow Lake> have reached S- Rank." Curse Cleansing Aurora, Otherworldly Rune and Nature Empire, Healing World Touch, Soul Enthralling World Tree, and finally, Cerulean Bloodsap. All these skills had gone through earth-shattering changes, and after so long, they arrived at S- Rank. With this, the blueprint for the <Ascension Willow Lake> she had initially thought about was complete!

The only things that were left to do were looking at the new effects of her <Berries>, the effects of the <Talents> and <Passive Skills>, and thinking about how to use them all in a small area for a long period of time efficiently. The last twelve years were naturally not spent doing nothing. So, most of these things were completed, only leaving her with the unknown on how her skills would evolve.

"Alright, System, show me the skills after transforming them." While she would love to show the differences, as mentioned before, the skills had completely transformed after reaching the S- Rank. Moreover, these skills all came from the F Rank skills Liu Shu got when she was recently born. So, the accumulation and change were even more exaggerated than for A Rank acquired skills. [Compiling…] [Complete. Showing the <Talents> and <Passive Skills>.] <Curse Cleansing Aurora → World Purity (S- Rank Level 1 [0/839, 900])>: Purges corruption/curses ≤ Tier. Curses purged will be reversed and affect allies within the skill range. Enemies within range receive soul damage equal to the corruption cleansed. Gives immunity to negative corruption or curse-related status ≤ Tier for 1 hour after casting it. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. • Area = Height x 100.

<Otherworldly Rune and Nature Empire → Interstellar Rune Array Lignified Arborarchy (S- Rank Level 1 [0/839, 900])>: The World Tree is recognized as the absolute ruler of her ecosystem. Basic flora (trees, bushes, flowers, etc.) can evolve into the unique species prefix <Lignified>. [Buffs for the World Tree] Can cultivate an expansive variety of berries and fruits. Can expend 10% of a berry's cost to accelerate 3, 650 Gestation Days. Rune, Array & Woodcrafting comprehension rate: +1, 000%.

Rune, Array & Woodcrafting success rate (≤ 1 Tier below): 100% guaranteed. Material-usage efficiency when creating <Lignified> species: +2, 000%. Can grow a <Lignified Rune Array Workshop>, granting an additional +500% bonus to all Rune, Array & Woodcrafting activities performed within. [Buffs For Non-intelligent Plant Species] Growth speed: +2, 000%. Lifespan: +100%. Minimum Birth Tier: C+ Tier. (Lower tiers are possible only if biological limits prevent advancement or if intended by the one planting.) Resistance to all harmful pests and illnesses increased by 2, 000%. [Buffs For Intelligent Species] Lifespan +20%. Resistance toward illnesses +2, 000%. Fertility +25%. Rune, Array & Woodcrafting comprehension rate +250%. • Rune, Array & Woodcrafting success rate +10% when working on deeply studied designs. [Bonuses for <Lignified> species] Experience gain from non-combat actions: +2, 000% until matching the World Tree's Level.

Can develop <Building> skills and evolve into habitable structures for intelligent or monstrous life. (Performing actions can induce a perfect <Talent>, <Title>, and <Passive Skill> substitution once every 100 years.) Permanently linked to the World Tree's essence; all evolution aligns with her interests, and their <Ascension> rank is increased by one tier, unable to surpass the World Tree. Born with <Living Rune Fields> etched into their bodies—these evolve alongside the host and can reach up to S- Rank.

(Area of effect can only be the vicinity of the Lignified Species.) Can produce 1–3 random fruit varieties already known to the World Tree in large quantities. (They won't be growth-accelerated.) <Healing World Touch → Touch Of The World (S- Rank Level 1 [0/839, 900])> Continuously heals any creature touched by the World Tree for 100 seconds. Healing affects soul wounds. Replenishes <Aether Mana> and <Anima Energy> by 20% of the <Phoer> healed to beings affected other than the caster.

When cast, it eliminates all negative status ≤ to this skill. <Soul Enthralling World Tree → Well Of Souls And Enchantment (S- Rank Level 1 [0/839, 900])>: Your presence is akin to a divine being. Natural Charm has catalyzed, reaching beyond mortal realms. Your voice can be a guide for souls, or the sound that snuffs them like candles in the wind. +25% soul damage. Souls dying in the domain are purified and reborn through you, including corrupted souls.

· Souls entering the reincarnation cycle through you will gain <Destiny> at birth depending on their past actions. <Cerulean Bloodsap → World Saint Bloodsap (S- Rank Level 1 [0/839, 900])>: Sap completely cures poisons/ailments ≤ Tier. Acts as a panacea and alchemy catalyst. (+200% multiplicative success rate.) Growth Rate +1, 000%. · Resistance to corruption or curses +1, 000%.

· Ternary Essence dissolves perfectly within the sap and can infuse with healing, pacifying, and even enlightening properties to those who bathe within it.

Liu Shu read through all the skills, and her eyes widened at the absurd percentages she was seeing thrown around here and there.

"World Purity, Interstellar Rune Array Lignified Arborarchy, Touch Of The World, Well Of Souls And Enchantment, and World Saint Bloodsap… Branches in the sky, they have truly become absurd things, haven't they?" What surprised her, among many things, was that both the Interstellar Arborarchy and World Saint Bloodsap had gained plant growth and resistance percentage boosts. If plant life already grew rapidly before, now, her world would have an overabundance of food.

"No… Instead, we will be able to plant higher <Tier> crops, which usually take far too long to feed the population. This will, once more, increase the foundation and strength of my people. Even the children will grow healthier rapidly." Of course, it wasn't only Liu Shu who noticed the change. As these skills got online, every single person who was affected by the Otherworldy Empire, now transformed into Interestellar Arborarchy, noticed. The ones who noticed the most were the non-plant creatures.

Before, the Otherworldly Array and Nature Empire skills only affected plant creatures. Now, that limitation was gone. Of course, the strongest buffs were directed toward plant creatures. Nevertheless, now other people, like humans, beastkin, and insectoids, would gain some benefits from it.

"The next thing that will probably get affected is my <Eternal Tea>." The quality of <Eternal Tea> came from her leaves, which were naturally affected by her essence and also her Cerulean Bloodsap. Having transformed into the World Saint Bloodsap, the changes to the <Eternal Tea> would not be few. Some <Eternal Leaves> to make the tea might even reach the S- Rank!

"If that's the case, I need to inform the producers to make sure to separate them. After all, S- Rank tea could be sold as an incredibly precious commodity outside. No matter how much I can produce, with the zillions of beings roaming space, I will never really create enough." Rereading all the skills, Liu Shu sighed loudly.

"Whew. This brings much more change than I initially expected." She shook her head, thinking that the jump between A+ and S- was truly… impressive.

"Then… what about from S+ to SS-?" Just thinking about it made her feel excited. Perhaps, in the far future, all her skills would reach SSS Rank or something!

"Alright, hehehe, let's stop fantasizing for a moment. I am about to fly to the sky even when I don't have wings! Hahaha." Gently scolding herself, Liu Shu focused on another very important matter.

"How have my berries changed? I can finally grow S- Rank berries!" Her berries were something all creatures and soldiers ate to strengthen themselves, and most potion makers used them to create Aether, Anima, and Phoer potions, among many others. So this change would once again transform the very foundation of her empire.