Ant Lord in the Star Realm-Chapter 428 - 410: Advice from the Linnan Divine Tree

Chapter 428: Chapter 410: Advice from the Linnan Divine Tree

The sky was gray and hazy, the weather gloomy. The White Poplar Divine Seed entered dormancy and energy-saving mode, its soul consciousness in slumber.

Winter in the north was excruciatingly dull.

Dragon Cypress, having nothing else to do, walked over to the Linnan Divine-Given Seed tree to watch the training.

"Little Ant King, you ought to work on your combat abilities too."

This was the Nth invitation from the Linnan Divine Tree.

"...Okay."

Dragon Cypress, habitually perfunctory, thought about it. This time, instead of randomly making excuses as usual, he asked, "Chop ice pillars?"

Linnan Divine Tree: "Run 100 laps first, let’s see."

Dragon Cypress thought a bit more, then leapt down from the throne and started running around the boundary ditch.

After a hundred laps, then came vertical climbing.

The main trunk of the Linnan Divine Tree was over forty meters in diameter, with a rough bark, perfect for gripping with claws, making climbing up a breeze.

Climbing up was easy, but getting down vertically was much harder...

After some effort, up and down for a total of 100 trips.

"Linnan Divine Tree, how did I do?"

Dragon Cypress himself felt... not great.

As far as he could tell, Ink Orchid, Spruce, and Cypress were all much more agile than him at getting up and down the tree.

Linnan Divine Tree: "You are the most talented at wasting I’ve ever seen."

"Er—"

"Not only can’t you fight, even your legs are useless now."

"Well, Ant Kings are usually chubby."

"A real Ant King wouldn’t be as useless as you."

"Oh..."

In the distance, Ink Orchid stopped what she was doing, hopping gleefully over in this direction, which instantly provoked the Linnan Divine Tree’s wrath: "Little Mantis! Stop right there! Who told you you could stop?"

"I..."

"Start over! Chop 1,000 more ice pillars!"

"I just wanted to say something to Dragon Cypress."

"2,000 ice pillars!"

The Linnan Divine Tree’s spiritual power thundered like a raging storm.

Ink Orchid’s tentacles shot upright—she quickly turned and ran back to her training spot.

"..."

This was a thousand-year-old tree with psychological issues...

Maybe, just maybe, he should stop training altogether?

Dragon Cypress started chickening out. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Suddenly, the Linnan Divine Tree changed its mocking tone and said seriously, "Little Ant, you probably haven’t noticed, but you rely too much on the Dominating Throne. That’s by no means a good thing..."

The Linnan Divine Tree paused, then continued, "The God-Level Shining Gold we’ve fused with also comes with all sorts of little functions. In severe cold, for example, energy can travel through the veins, releasing primordial energy to resist the chill; in the summer heat, a membrane can be conjured to block some of the harsh sunlight and keep cool."

"God-Level Shining Gold is good stuff, able to create the most comfortable and cozy living environment for the Divine-Given Seed. However, neither I, Huagi, nor Quandong use those functions. Do you know why?"

Dragon Cypress asked humbly, "Why?"

Linnan Divine Tree: "Because evolution isn’t just about ascending in life levels, but adapting to the environment. A harsh environment forges a tough and upright tree; a comfortable and easy life only breeds weakness. From branches and trunks to mental quality, all-around, utterly fragile."

"It’s exactly the same for Insect Clan Warriors—every molting evolution is accompanied by further adaptation and strengthening. The bugs who exercise regularly, they’re strong, swift, agile. But you..."

"You spend every day lying on the Dominating Throne. Anywhere you go, you just give it a thought, and the throne flies you there. Your six insect legs are all but atrophied from years of neglect—practically disabled now."

"You’ve eaten tons of high-quality Origin Force Food to strengthen your comprehensive physique. But since you’re always in the comfort of the throne and never get exercise, all that precious primordial energy’s just become body weight."

"An Ant King rules the ant colony without needing to work or fight personally. But you have to understand: you’re an Origin Force Life now, not an ignorant Ant Queen in the mud who knows nothing but egg-laying. Your Ant Army inherits your power; your strength and weakness determines theirs. If you’re garbage, the Ant Army you raise will be feeble rubbish, too."

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Am I really that useless?

But thinking about it—it wasn’t totally wrong...

Dragon Cypress: "Got it. I’ll do another hundred laps."

The Linnan Divine Tree suddenly exploded with rage, "Idiot! Stupid insect! You didn’t get what I meant at all! Change! Change! Change! I want you to change! Insect Clan warriors don’t depend on outside things! If you want to walk, use your own legs; to fly, use your own wings. If I catch you flying around on that Dominating Throne again, I’ll impale you!"

"Er—"

Dragon Cypress got a real fright.

He hastily said, "Linnan Divine Tree, you are so wise! Your lesson is absolutely right! I’ll change this instant!"

He quickly started running on his own legs.

He ran around the ditch for another hundred laps, then up and down the Linnan Divine Tree trunk, climbing vertically a hundred times...

By the time he finished, it was already noon.

Just as Dragon Cypress was about to catch his breath...

The Linnan Divine Tree’s spiritual power surged like a tidal wave: "Useless! Idiot! Run!"

Dragon Cypress had no choice but to keep running laps around the ditch...

After he’d run a while,

The Linnan Divine Tree suddenly switched to a calm tone and said slowly, "For Insect Clan Warriors, after reaching Evolution Mountain Lord Level, the body’s structure is basically set. The best time for training and shaping is during the High-Level Warrior stage. Here on Huagi Mountain, all warriors—regardless of whether their job is farming or fighting—are required to do six months of training each age period at the High-Level Stage."

Dragon Cypress: "So I probably won’t lose any weight then..."

Linnan Divine Tree: "Little Ant King, you’re wrong again. First, being a fighter doesn’t mean you have to be skinny; even fat insects can be agile. Second, at Mountain Lord Level, each Age Period Evolution still brings body adjustments. Third, you’re overlooking that plant called ’Silver Cypress’..."

Linnan Divine Tree: "You’ve eaten Silver Cypress Seeds before, right?"

Dragon Cypress: "Plenty."

Linnan Divine Tree: "No effect?"

Dragon Cypress: "Ordinary Silver Cypress Life Seed products only optimize physique a little—it’s very limited."

Linnan Divine Tree: "No! You just don’t know how to use it—you weren’t doing corresponding, targeted training, so the effects never kicked in."

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Dragon Cypress quickly backtracked: "It’s not a total waste. I combined it with Divine-Given Southern Sour Jujube Seed to optimize my wings, and it worked pretty well."

Linnan Divine Tree: "I can see that."

Linnan Divine Tree: "You listed Silver Cypress as a ’Top-Level Plant Seed,’ which tells me you know how valuable its enhancement really is."

Dragon Cypress: "Yes, the effect is extremely valuable—second only to the Soul System."

Linnan Divine Tree: "No! In my opinion, its value is on par with the Soul System."

Dragon Cypress echoed, "That’s right! The moment a Silver Cypress Divine Seed appears, it’s going to fetch sky-high prices. The outrageous prices will make up for low yields, so I put it among the top-level plant seeds."

Linnan Divine Tree: "Does it have to be the Divine Seed? I hear you only eat Divine-Given Origin Force Food?"

Dragon Cypress: "...Thinking about it."

Linnan Divine Tree: "Then you’ll just get even fatter, until you turn into a helpless ball of meat."

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Dragon Cypress: "I’ll run faster!"

Dragon Cypress: "Linnan Divine Tree, I get it. Eat Silver Cypress Seeds in moderation, combine them with intense training, and by the next molting evolution, my shape should be optimized to some extent."

Linnan Divine Tree: "You really are a little smarter than that mantis."

Did you even need to say that?

Dragon Cypress buried his head and sprinted desperately.

...

Now, that mantis isn’t very smart, but she’s always hopping around, so she’s in good shape—skipped the basic running drills and moved straight to chopping training.

Dragon Cypress, on the other hand, was forced to circle the ditch and climb up and down trees every single day.

After running for about ten days and feeling pretty good, he took a trip to Black Fruit Mountain, brought Red Moonseed over, and had her join the training.

Now, the Linnan Divine Tree’s scolding and rage were divided among four insects: Dragon Cypress, Ink Orchid, Spruce, and Red Moonseed...

Time flew by. In the late winter season, Dragon Cypress went to Scarletlight Mountain to gather Divine-Given Scarletlight Seed nectar and, on the way, brought Areca, Snakebark Maple, White Rice, and Ghost Fan along.

Running together made things lively, and so did sharing the shouting...

The Linnan Divine Tree really lived up to being beyond the King-Level—its stamina was endless! So many insects to yell at, and it still managed to rotate scolding duties all day without a break.

This year, White Rice and Ghost Fan stayed in the Purple Tung Insect Nation.

White Rice helped out with the work.

Ghost Fan needed to speed up her evolution to Lord-Level, so she required combat training.