Spring… truly was beautiful.
Yu Zi Yu silently admired the scene for a long time. He didn't move until the two girls finally left the pool. He even adjusted his branches, arranging them to blend perfectly with the surrounding willows.
Only after watching the twins disappear into the distance did he withdraw his wandering thoughts and settle once more into that ethereal state.
He had stumbled upon this state by accident—but once he entered it, his ability to refine Evolution Points increased significantly.
Ding. Basked in sunlight. Evolution Points +0.1.
The crisp notification echoed in his mind. Yu Zi Yu slowly opened his eyes, gaze drifting to his status screen.
He now had exactly 1 Evolution Point.
A moment ago, he had 0.9. With that refined 0.1, he finally reached the threshold he was saving for.
All fifty of his branches had already been fully upgraded. The reason he had been accumulating points was simple—he was preparing for the next big enhancement.
Ding. Please confirm. Use 1 Evolution Point to upgrade: Root.
"Yes."
Yu Zi Yu confirmed without hesitation, excitement rising in him.
Upgrading a branch cost only 0.1. But upgrading a single root… required a full 1 point.
That alone proved its importance.
And as a tree, strengthening his roots was crucial. In fact, he harbored a small hope—that perhaps after this upgrade, he might even be able to pull his roots out of the ground… and walk like a human.
He imagined it for a moment—a massive willow tree running across the earth, roots flailing like legs.
That would look absolutely horrifying… A Tree Monster? A Demon Tree?
The thought made him wonder what he should even call himself in the future.
…
His musings were abruptly cut off as excruciating pain ripped through his consciousness.
It felt as if a surge of violent energy had been injected straight into his roots. Before he could even react, the energy burst through the restraints within his body.
CRACK!
A sharp, soul-piercing pain exploded from deep underground. His roots felt as if they were shattering.
His branches trembled uncontrollably, thrashing in the air and whipping up violent winds. The entire area around him instantly became a dangerous zone where nothing could approach.
Only the nest of Peregrine Falcons high above remained untouched.
Even through the agony, Yu Zi Yu never forgot to protect them.
"I never thought upgrading roots would hurt this much…!"
He endured it again and again, the pain bordering on unbearable.
And then—
Rumble!
The soil erupted as a ten-meter-long black root burst out from the ground.
"My goodness…"
The thick, sinuous root—now jet-black—coiled like a python, fully under his command. Yu Zi Yu stared in disbelief.
So this is the power of Evolution Points… total control over a sub-root.
It was only a sub-root, not his main one.
His main root stretched 20–30 meters downward, embedded deeply into the rocky earth. It was his core—his life.
He had learned this the hard way.
Moments earlier, he had tried to tug his main root upward—only to be hit by a pain so severe, so soul-crushing, that he nearly blacked out.
Heart-wrenching agony.Even remembering it made him shudder.
Running on his main root?Controlling it?Not anymore.
After that experience, he knew—no matter how strong he grew, he could never change the fact that he was fundamentally a tree. And a tree's biggest weakness… was the main root.
Branches could break. Sub-roots could be severed. None of that mattered.
But the main root…that was his throat, his heart, his life.It must never be exposed recklessly.
Instinctively, Yu Zi Yu extended his other sub-roots underground.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The earth trembled as eight sub-roots coiled tightly around his main root, forming a protective cage in the darkness.
This is my life. I must protect it.
The long black root aboveground slowly withdrew back into the soil. In an emergency, this powerful sub-root would be his hidden trump card—several times thicker and stronger than any branch.
Just then, a sudden sensation prickled through his consciousness.
He wasn't alone.
"Tsk tsk… curiosity kills the cat, you know?"
Not far away, in the dense forest, a pair of fiery red eyes stared directly at him.
Without hesitation, Yu Zi Yu immediately went still—utterly motionless. His branches drooped, leaves falling silent.
He played dead.