The Ultimate Evolution

(TL: One hand to cover heaven, or covering the sky with a single hand, is a Chinese idiom which means to be in absolute control. )

How terrifying was the force contained in Sindalor’s mighty stomp? Sheyan reckoned that even he could not take it head on!

The ground shook like there was an earthquake after it endured his stomp. A large amount of wet soil splashed like liquid from underneath Sindalor’s giant foot, reaching a height of ten metres before it fell back down.

The strange, deformed plant naturally got the worst of it – it was completely flattened to the ground. And even after that, Sindalor kept crushing it with his foot mercilessly, his usual kindness and benevolence completely gone! The kind of ferociousness he was displaying made it seem like he had transformed from Buddha to the devil in an instant!

Sindalor stomped down seven or eight times in succession until there was a large hole in the ground, until the mutated plant was one with the soil. Perhaps only the most sophisticated instruments could separate it from the soil now. Only then did Sindalor stop.

Seeing this, Sheyan could not help thinking that sometimes, an innocent person was guilty simply for the wealth they possessed.

The deformed plant itself was not an oak, but had occupied this precious piece of land. That was its sin, and it was the most serious kind of sin! In front of the great interests of his species, Sindalor was showing the cruel nature of natural selection!

The Sacred Oak’s branches and leaves started converging, and a large number of roots began to grow out of his feet. A great amount of deep grooves also appeared on his bark. Sindalor looked as if he was turning into a fossilised tree!

“Are…are you using the ‘Eternal Residence’ ability, Elder??” asked Melody in a panic, “But even if this is a holy land, it’s not worth such a sacrifice! From what I can sense, this place isn’t even the place with the densest holy energy. Is doing this really worth it?”

The ‘Eternal Residence’ was an innate ability only a powerful Ent could possess. At the cost of giving up their mobility, they could permanently take root in a certain place, then rapidly evolve to fully adapt to the surrounding environment, blending into the local ecosystem to the greatest extent possible.

This ability would only be used by the Ents when they found a really valuable piece of land. A really, really valuable piece of land.

It was incredulous that Sindalor would use the ‘Eternal Residence’ ability so decisively, before they had even explored the other areas on their list yet.

While staring at Sindalor’s twisting branches, Sheyan remarked thoughtfully, “The old Ent is wise. He knows how to compromise, knows when he should advance or retreat… Melody, it appears Sindalor was reaching the end of his life.”

“How do you know that?” asked Melody as she stared at Sheyan in astonishment.

Sheyan smiled. “This is akin to a man choosing his wife. Most men do not marry the most beautiful one among their girlfriends, but the one with the most compatible personality. Sindalor must have found this place to be the most suitable land for his growth and evolution. In addition, he could also feel death pressing ever closer to him. Since such a great opportunity was being presented to him right now, of course he must not waste a single second. He must evolve into a World Tree as quickly as possible!”

Hearing the words “World Tree”, Melody’s eyes turned blurry and full of anticipation. Trees may be born in all kinds of shapes and sizes, but like a hundred rivers flowing into the same ocean, the end point of their evolution could only be a World Tree! A great, powerful World Tree!

Once the Sin’dorei Elves had their own World Tree, they would become a whole new race that could stand toe to toe with the original Elven race! Because only a kingdom supported by a World Tree could become unassailable, reincarnating the marks of life under it non-stop!

Sindalor had become like a giant fossilised tree after performing ‘Eternal Residence’, having gathered all his vitality into himself, but his root system under the ground was growing and spreading wildly, forming a three-dimensional network structure which covered the area several kilometers around!

If an unbelievably strong force were to forcibly uproot Sindalor at this time, a monstrous pit 4-5 kilometres in diameter and more than 300 metres deep would be left on the spot, so astonishing was the growth of Sindalor’s root system!

Before Sindalor fell into the deep slumber of evolution, he left behind five golden oak seeds and entrusted them to Sheyan and Melody, asking them to plant the seeds in the other holy lands.

This was akin to entrusting his children to Sheyan and Melody. Sindalor was ready to face death if his evolution was unsuccessful.

Melody, feeling the heavy responsibility on her shoulders, walked all over the Tunguska area while nervously holding the five oak seeds. She would like to plant all five seeds in this place, but Sheyan stopped her. Sheyan told her that there might be other, even better holy lands…

Common sense told her that there was no way Sheyan’s words were true, but reality kept destroying her confidence. Sheyan and Melody returned to the Gulf Stream aircraft that was waiting on standby with the four remaining seeds.

“Our next destination is the Chernobyl region in north Ukraine!” Sheyan told the captain.

The captain was beyond shocked. “Are you crazy?! Why would you go to that damn place…. Yes, sir.”

***

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant incident was the most severe nuclear leakage accident in human history, bar none.

The radioactive contamination it caused was as bad as 500 of the atomic bombs dropped by the United States in Japan. The explosion completely damaged the facilities, leaking out more than 8 tons of strong radiation materials, and as the dust drifted along with the wind, it even endangered other parts of Europe. To this day, the disaster site and its surrounding areas were completely deserted, as no one dared to live there.

The reason Sheyan brought Melody here was because he could almost be sure by now that the so-called holy lands were areas with high levels of nuclear radiation!!

The Tunguska event was an unsolved mystery, but the most widely-accepted theory by scientists so far regarding the cause of the incident was a nuclear explosion. Although the strong radiation left behind was terrifying, the living creatures that could survive under such a high level of nuclear radiation would have a high probability of mutating and evolving.

The process of evolution was originally a long and arduous road, but under the stimulation of nuclear radiation, this process that normally took thousands of years, maybe even more, could potentially be greatly hastened! It was worth noting that most living creatures that could survive and mutate under high nuclear radiation were often bigger, fiercer and more aggressive.

Therefore, nuclear radiation was not only a fatal danger, but also a driving force for living creatures to evolve to a higher level. For Sacred Oak Sindalor, to advance to a World Tree was in itself an evolutionary process. With the help of high nuclear radiation, his chances would no doubt greatly increase!

In the world of the Lord of the Rings, deposits of uranium and other radioactive minerals were extremely rare. Therefore, there was only one Land of Miracles, and the World Tree had long taken possession of it. That was why Sindalor was so ecstatic when he saw the radioactive contaminated site! He estimated that his chances of advancing to a World Tree was only about 5% before, but it had now spiked to 50%. He could hardly wait a moment longer!

Now that Sheyan had confirmed that the Earth held a very strong attraction for all kinds of trees, it was very clear what he must do. The Sin’dorei Elves, who needed trees to live, naturally had to be migrated here.

While blushing profusely, Melody pulled Sheyan into a thick bush. Sounds of gasps and irrepressible moanings came from within, lasting for about an hour. Then, some soft whisperings followed. Suddenly, Melody could be heard exclaiming with shock and hesitation, “Is this really alright?”

***

Three hours later, Sheyan finally received the notifications from his Nightmare Imprint:

[ The strength of the Sin’dorei tribe has increased substantially. ]

[ The Sin’dorei tribe has officially broken away from the Lord of the Rings Elves and become an independent race on Earth. ]

[ Your relationship with the leader of the Sin’dorei, Melody Sunstrider, is currently ‘Worshipped’. ]

[ Title conferred by the Realm to the Sin’dorei tribe: ‘Second to none’ ! ]

[ All figures of the Sin’dorei tribe in other parallel universes will be irreversibly destroyed within an hour. No other Sin’dorei storyline characters will appear in any other parallel universes outside of this one. ]

[ Note: You currently possess a ‘Worshipped’ relationship with two powerful storyline characters accoladed with the ‘Second to None’ title. ]

[ Milestone progress: 2/2 ]

[ Note: Silver class milestone: ‘One Hand to Cover Heaven’ unlocked!! ]

[ After equipping, legend level +1. ]

[ Additional property: ‘Cornerstone’ – A title with the ‘Cornerstone’ property can perfectly replicate the additional properties of other titles. After the perfect replication process, the title of ‘One Hand to Cover Heaven’ will obtain the additional property of the other title, but the other title will then disappear. The ‘Cornerstone’ property can possess up to five additional properties. If, after the replication, you need to reset a certain property to restore it to its original condition, you will need to pay the price of 100,000 utility points and 10 achievement points. ]

After receiving the notifications, Sheyan’s Legend Level increased to +3, and Reef’s Legend Level increased to +2. What’s more, there was now a description after the “Legend Level +3”.

[ You have become a famous legendary figure. A lot of heroes with outstanding achievements could not even reach your current level of renown. In the Nightmare Worlds where you are free to do as you please, if you wish to be a hero, your deeds will surely be sung for generations; and if you wish to be a villain, your name shall be cursed for millennia! ]