The Flower Day Festival was a festivity that spread throughout the entire Golden Sap Arborarchy a few years ago. Flor created it in an effort to strengthen their culture and traditions. Flor's objective with this, thought together with many great minds of the Arborarchy, was a more cohesive society.

In the first place, since the Arborarchy was a new society, stigmas and different traditions clashed together, creating hostile environments. Simple customs, such as eating habits, diets, and how people viewed the world, would create friction and divide everyone if not treated with care.

So, Flor made a decisive move. Instead of trying to accommodate others, she would create a "culture" for the Arborarchy and make it mainstream. She would not deny other cultures, but she would make clear, through governmental efforts, what was considered a "local" custom and what was a "foreign" custom.

Usually, this kind of forceful method would be met with resistance. After all, in most cases, no one wanted to give up what their parents taught them since they were little. It was a precious memory and a way to recall their traditions.

However, behind Flor, there was Liu Shu. As the sacred World Tree, the Heavenly Willow, and the being who brought down the Abyssal Void Nexus, her influence was all-reaching. And Flor, who was well-known as Liu Shu's mother, held part of that strong influence.

In the entire Arborarchy, only a handful dared to raise their heads in Flor's presence.

Furthermore, if you look at how the protests against them turned out, no one wanted to be part of Flor's track record.

In a way, the Arborarchy was a Tyrant Nation. One ruler who commanded everything and created both law and order through pure strength.

However, this was the only way for a quickly formed nation to get a grip on its citizens. If the top showed weakness, those at the bottom would start thinking that they could be defeated.

Flor gently floated above the podium, gazing at the large crowd of attendees. The <Lignified School> area was large, and the backyard was spacious enough for over 40,000 people to gather comfortably.

The number of attendees was not exaggerated, but rather around 11,000. The specialness of these 11,000 participants was that they were all elites of the country and their children.

Looking into the crowd at the front, Flor could easily spot Verdantia and the rest of the family. Gathering Aether Mana in her vocal cords, Flor's voice spread far and wide without sounding loud.

"To start, I want to thank you, everyone, for making space in your tight schedules to attend today's festivity."

Her tone was calm, measured, and with an intangible dignity that left no doubt of her authority. Even if her body was petite, there was not a single person who dared to look down on her.

"The Flower Day Festival is a day when we all look at our past actions, at our efforts, and see if our efforts will bloom into a beautiful future. The flowers that your children had taken care of for the last half a year are a representation of their will to put effort into a bright future, a way of teaching our children that results don't come straight away. That, if you put in time and effort, that seed will eventually bloom beautifully, even when there might not be any signals in the middle."

Flor's beautiful voice, carried by her Aether Mana, swept the area like a light breeze. "Of course, if someone doesn't put in effort, the flower will never bloom. A flower that doesn't bloom is a flower that has no future, a flower that will be crushed by those who bloom earlier than it. Nature is, after all, ruthless to those who don't put in any effort."

Her words were spoken without any emotional fluctuation, as if she were speaking about the weather of that day. Yet, the words had enough weight to make some start sweating. Flor didn't mind if this event made it difficult for some children.

In a world as cruel and opportunistic as theirs, a soft mind with "participation trophy" coddling would result in the destruction of the Arborarchy. She needed strong minds, talented children who would grow into the cornerstones of the Arborarchy.

Moreover, the flower chosen was ridiculously easy to maintain. Just giving it water daily for around 10 minutes would ensure that it blooms. With the natural rain and such, just giving it an eye from time to time to avoid accidents was almost enough for the flower to open its petals on the fated day.

So, if the flower didn't bloom, the level of disregard for the flower would be easily seen. A person who can't even take care of a simple flower won't have the heart to take care of something much grander.

Ignatia stepped forward by her side, proudly showing off her figure in a red dress that matched her hair and carapace. The figure of the Ant Queen didn't startle many; it was an open secret that Ignatia existed, and today, that open secret would become open knowledge.

"The <Midyear Flower> is punctual. It always blooms in the middle of the sixth month. Sometimes, some days early, sometimes so many days late. But thanks to the Heavenly Willow, the flower has changed. It is a flower that blooms at noon on the eighteenth of the sixth month as long as it has absorbed enough nutrients."

Ignatia explained the flower to all those who didn't know about it. Flor and the others had made extensive experiments with this flower to ensure that Ignatia's current words were true. Among the millions they planted, not a single one failed to bloom during the desired hour.

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Of course, that didn't mean that there couldn't be accidents, but that's why several botanists were participating as judges during the trial. As long as the flower had been taken care of, even if it didn't bloom, the botanists would know and announce it.

The Ant Queen's compound eyes swept everyone as she spoke with a strong conviction. "The Golden Sap Arborarchy is about to become the only World Power. Those who resist will have the same fate as the Abyssal Void Nexus. So, with today as the start, I declare in the name of the Heavenly Willow…"

"Tianlian Liu Shu is the True World Tree!"

Her voice boomed outward with extreme potency. The shockwave of sounds almost felt physical, sweeping everyone involved and even those listening from the outside.

There were several reasons for this declaration. Among many…

"Those are some bold words, Ant Queen!"

Ignatia's lips arched as she looked upward. In the sky, Ignatia could see 10 people. These ten people had powerful auras, and they wore a mix of clothes from the Celestial Lotus, Verdant Sanctity Covenant, and Azure Rose Empire.

'Now that the final resistance has finally shown its head, it's time for the final cleanup.'

Ignatia hid her grin as she spoke solemnly. "Who are you!? How dare you interrupt the Flower Day Speech? This is a direct declaration of contempt for my daughter, the Heavenly Willow!"

She proudly and boldly declared Liu Shu as her daughter. A rush of excitement filled her heart. 'Ah… Finally saying it aloud in front of everyone feels so liberating! I can now love my darling as her Mommy openly! Kya!'

While inside she was gushing over her ability to speak so freely, outwardly her demeanor was that of an Empress without equal.

Her aura was so heavy that even the ten <Fourth Energy Cycles> floating above the crowd showed a change in expression.

The man leading the ten people spoke aloud, trying to keep his momentum. Sadly, with Ignatia's pressure engulfing the aura like an unstoppable tide, he was severely lacking.

"We are the <True World Resistance>! Tianlian Liu Shu is a murderous World Tree who has exterminated hundreds of millions without any sense of forgiveness in her heart. We, as the resistance, won't stay silent and accept such a tree as a sovereign!"

Ignatia and Flor were prepared, but they almost lashed out when that man insulted their darling. Their pressuring auras shifted as killing intent filled the air.

The man, somewhat flustered as the heavy gazes of the World Tree's two mothers locked onto him, raised his arm. "Now, know that we are not the only ones! Rise up, resistance! Bring down the evil Arborarchy!"

'Finally, it is here!' Ignatia and Flor's hearts beat with terrifying, murderous intent.

In the crowd of 11,000 people, around 70 rose to the sky, while many powerful auras surged all around the city around them.

Ignatia dropped her indignant act as she revealed a bone-chilling smile. "You ungrateful bugs. Instead of creating an all-out war that would cause countless casualties, my precious baby decided to bear all the evil by herself… And now, you all dare to act righteous and call her a threat!? Liu Shu, there is no need to continue ignoring those you've marked!"

A singular presence descended upon the world. However, the vastness and weight of this presence were such that it made breathing difficult.

Their current location was in the Golden Sap City. So, naturally, Liu Shu's main body could see everything that was occurring.

During the last year, there have been people who wanted to incite a revolution in the shadows. Liu Shu was quick to catch up and told Flor and the others.

But, instead of squashing it from the root, they decided to allow it to grow in a controlled manner. Now, on this special day, the resistance acted, thinking that Liu Shu wouldn't be able to cause indiscriminate attacks in her own city.

However, what did they know about Liu Shu and the Golden Sap City? Everyone was so blinded by the power of the World Tree that they didn't realize something fundamental.

"All of you are truly tiresome…"

The World Tree spoke, and everyone turned to look toward the source of the sound. Looking up to the sky, they saw the gargantuan World Tree looking down straight at them.

The gaze of the World Tree that towered over 6,000 meters into the sky was heavy. It felt as if the sky itself was glaring down at them.

"...You are just a bunch of hypocrites who want to take control. A bunch of people whose egos have been so inflated over the years that you think you can actually make me submit and listen to your demands."

No one dared to speak, or better put, no one could speak. If Liu Shu's presence felt overwhelming at a distance, when you were by her side, the feeling was several times worse. It was as if a godlike being had taken over the space around them.

"You are so pathetic that you don't even realize that my direct intervention is utterly unnecessary to deal with a bunch of bugs like you. So what if you are a <Fourth Energy Cycle>? Do you think that 112 of you can do something against me?"

The leading man bit his tongue to snap out of the constricting pressure through pain. He shouted. "Don't act all high and mighty, Tianlian Liu Shu! We have numbers!"

Everyone saw how Liu Shu's lips arched mockingly. "Numbers? Look around you. How many houses are surrounding you? Do you know… Their strength? <Otherworldly Rune and Nature Empire: Awaken>."

And, with a ripple of raw ternary essence, the city came to life.

BOOM!!

All the <Lignified Trees> strength surged and created pillars that pierced the sky, revealing their Level 99 strength.

"Have fun fighting against over 17,000 children at Level 99."

Everyone, almost with no exceptions, showed a face full of terror, their hearts sinking to the bottom of their stomachs.

***

<Miracle Tree Architect>: All buildings will receive the following benefits if they haven't already.

All buildings created/assimilated by the World Tree will increase one Major-tier.

All buildings created/assimilated by the World Tree will grow and reach the World Tree's level, advancing one level per week.

Any building created/assimilated by the World Tree can't be two major Tiers below the World Tree. Any building below that rank will be improved over time. 1 Sub-tier per half a year. (Current minimum Tier: C+ Tier)

***

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