Hegemon Conference

When the messenger from the Eternal Sea of Trees stepped into the laboratory, the fluorescent trail of his emerald robes outlined vine patterns on the metal floor.

The leading tree whisperer had a crystallized leaf embedded between its foreheads, and with each step it took, pale green spores drifted from its sleeves.

"Lord Lister."

As the Tree Whisperer bowed, Lister noticed that the wood grain around his neck was slowly changing color—from moss-green to dark red, as if suppressing some emotion.

"Tell me, why have you been waiting until now to contact me?"

"Lord Lister, I am acting on the orders of the Lord of Qingteng to invite you to a meeting in the Eternal Sea of Trees."

The whisperer's voice carried the rustling sound of leaves rustling against each other.

Its entire face has completely deviated from human appearance, resembling a life form that evolved from a plant.

What meeting?

"A meeting in which the Hegemon participated."

Lister frowned upon hearing this.

Is this the level of meeting invitation you're getting right off the bat?

Does the Eternal Sea of Trees still have that kind of power?

With a light tap of his fingertips on the armrest, Lister began to recall memories from the game in his past life.

To be honest, once he arrived in the vast universe, much of his memory became useless.

It's not even very effective in the Galactic Federation.

Without deeply immersing oneself in a particular faction, or before gaining sufficient strength, the world one can access is entirely different from the real world.

But in any case, he had never heard of the Eternal Sea of Trees as a force in his previous life.

The only similar major power I've heard of is the Emerald Royal Court.

One of the seven super powers in the universe, comparable to Kavin Diehl's Mechanical God Cult, it's estimated that it has a World-Ending Level powerhouse in charge.

As for this Eternal Sea of Trees, it should have no connection with this Emerald Royal Court.

As he pondered, a crimson Killing Intent Wave unconsciously spread throughout the laboratory.

Although it was just an unconscious leak, it made the Tree Whisperer tremble uncontrollably.

"A conference of Hegemons?"

"It seems your Eternal Sea of Trees is more powerful than I imagined!"

He looked at the Tree Whisperer with a half-smile.

"However... I've just taken over the Blue Cluster Galaxy and don't have time to get involved in these matters right now."

After some thought, Lister declined the invitation.

He has just entered the Fourth Advancement, and with his World-Ending Level strength, he is already qualified to build a super power in the universe.

However, its level is indeed too low, and it is far inferior to the existing cosmic powers that have existed for tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years.

Whether it's himself or the warriors he can summon.

I don't want to get too involved in the power struggles within the universe right now.

We'll have to wait for the players to arrive, for Act 8 to begin, and for them to advance to level 22 or higher before making any further moves.

At that moment, the dark red lines on the Tree Whisperer's neck suddenly deepened.

The spores drifting from the sleeve suddenly condensed into a miniature star map—in which the Mother Tree Royal Court of the Eternal Sea of Trees was surrounded by seven stars, each with a different Hegemon's emblem floating on its surface.

"The Lord of Qingteng says... If you are willing to keep the appointment, the Eternal Sea of Trees is willing to bestow upon you the 'Mother Tree Heart Core'."

As he spoke, the crystal ball in his hand transformed into a Phantom.

A fiery life force surged and boiled before him.

[Mother Tree Heart Core (SS Grade): A treasure nurtured for millennia by the Eternal Sea of Trees, increases Stamina by 10 points, slightly improves Soul Strength and Recovery Speed, and grants the "Natural Resonance" trait (Soul Power Recovery Speed +35%).]

That's a good tactic!

Although he didn't bring the item, he could still sense its value.

The fact that it could be directly detected by the system made Lister sigh inwardly.

What they dared to offer was indeed attractive enough to him.

It grants 10 points to stamina, increases soul strength, and improves recovery speed, among other things.

Although he didn't know the effect of comparing it to the Soul Crystal, his own effectiveness against the Soul Crystal had already been greatly reduced.

If there are new things to try, I certainly won't miss them.

"Just keeping an appointment?"

"Just keeping an appointment."

The Tree Whisperer looked certain, to which Lister simply smiled.

"In that case, I will go and take a look at your Eternal Sea of Trees."

"If you don't give it to me later, don't blame me for taking it myself."

Since it was just a meeting to listen to, Lister chose to agree.

In any case, the Eternal Sea of Trees was not in his memory, so the Lord of Qingteng should just be an ordinary Hegemon.

The others we can invite are probably not much stronger and pose no threat.

"Time?"

The escaping killing intent completely subsided, and the Shadowless Blade emitted a soft hum in its sheath.

Three years later.

You may choose to settle on one of the seven stars.

The Tree Whisperer breathed a sigh of relief, its branch-like fingers unfurling.

I will then lead you there.

"Let's go with the seventh star."

Three years pass in the blink of an eye in the universe.

As Lister's refurbished crimson mechanical warship passed through the corridor of the seventh wormhole, a torrent of emerald-colored nebulae suddenly surged out of the porthole.

Tens of thousands of fluorescent vines intertwine into a net in the vacuum, with ancient tree-language runes floating on the surface of each vine.

Warning: An oversized gravity well has been detected!

The electronic voice of the warship-like robot suddenly became shrill.

Amidst the violent tremors of the warship, Lister saw the vines dragging passing meteorites into the emerald vortex—they were not plants at all, but gravitational tendrils manifested from some higher dimension!

"This is the Eternal Sea of Trees...?"

Lister rose from the control room, his Killing Intent Wave from the ship's hull.

The moment it came into contact with the vines, it stirred up emerald-colored energy ripples.

The runes suddenly wriggled like living things, piecing together in the void to form a huge tree-shaped emblem.

"Verification successful."

An aged voice resounded directly in my mind.

The vine network suddenly parted to both sides, revealing a channel paved with glowing spores.

At the end of the path, several emerald planets are slowly revolving around the seventh star, each with the outline of a colossal tree that blots out the sky.

When the warship sailed in, it was as if it had entered a specially folded space.

Although on a star, they did not feel the scorching heat of its surface.

Instead, it is a lush, verdant space built upon this star.

"Your Lister."

At the end of the path, the figure of the Green Vine Overlord appeared.

They seemed to have been waiting here all along, and are now suspended in this space.

Her enormous body, composed of countless emerald branches, was almost transparent, but in the next instant, it shrank again, eventually transforming into a woman in a green robe.

Wearing an elaborate and exquisite emerald crown, her face was completely indistinguishable from that of a human, unlike that of the Tree Whisperer.

Killing Intent Wave swept across the opponent's body, and the system notification sounded.

[Target discovered: Qingteng - Eternal]

[Level: LV???]

[Health Points: 55039212/55039212]

[Stamina:???]

[Attribute: Strength:???,...]

[Skill:...???]

[Overall Rating: S]

As expected, their strength was remarkable, their rank at least three ranks higher than his, and much of their information was impossible to directly ascertain.

However, the health points allowed him to make a direct judgment; fifty million health points was five times his own.

It should be noted that Lister's health is already among the highest for Fourth Advancement character, only lacking in defense.

Of course, most of the powerful individuals who can reach the Fourth Advancement Overlord Tier have mysterious methods, and simple defense is not very useful.

Even so, the fact that this Lord of Qingteng has such a high amount of health means he is probably considered top-tier even among Overlord Tier.

"The Green Vine Overlord..."

Just call me Qingteng.

The sound of the Qingteng was accompanied by the rustling of its branches and leaves.

"37 hours until the meeting, shall we try the baptism of the Mother Tree Courtyard?"

With a gentle wave of her branch, the ground suddenly split open into an abyss.

Countless fluorescent spores rose into the air and condensed into giant crystals similar to the nurturing space of the Star Matrix Civilization —but with a purity a hundred times higher!

At the same time, an ancient branch emerged from the abyss beneath their feet.

It gently wrapped around his right hand.

[Target discovered: The Tree of Eternity]

[Extradimensional creature, cannot be detected]

It seems that this is the true reason for the power of the Eternal Sea of Trees.

The Lord of Qingteng is probably not a complete ruler of power, but merely Qingteng born from the backing of this Tree of Eternity.

Notification: Unfamiliar energy is being injected. Should we block it?

"No."

Notification: Energy has been injected.

The gentle, green energy continuously flowed into Lister's body.

However, he could only absorb a small amount; it dissipated as soon as it was poured in, which was completely different from his previous improvements.

Just as the Lord of Qingteng said, it was merely a baptism.

The tingling sensation in my flesh and blood was quite intense, which provided a significant boost.

Notification: Body defense increased by 19.7%, regeneration and recovery rate increased by 25.3%, and resilience increased by 7.9%.

Thank you!

Although it was only an increase in physical strength, it was one of the shortcomings that Lister had addressed.

They expressed their gratitude for the continuous stream of benefits.

The Lord of Qingteng shook his head, his hair, composed of tendrils, swaying in the wind.

"Lister, Lister, for coming to the meeting."

"As I suspected... you are not the Hegemon."

So this so-called baptism can be considered a test?

Lister had anticipated this.

In the realm of cosmic powers, there is no direct energy measurement instrument to distinguish between Overlord Tier and World-Ending Level forces.

It was purely based on the difference in strength during the battle.

The same applies within the Galactic Federation; it has failed to distinguish between Overlord Tier and World-Ending Level.

Based solely on the limited Lord of Qingteng, it's unlikely that he could directly assess or measure him. However, the Tree of Eternity must possess special methods.

"I'm very curious, which galaxy does Lord Lister come from?"

"You invited me here just to investigate me?"

"I didn't have that thought; I was just curious."

The Lord of Qingteng shook his head again, then took out the "Mother Tree Heart Core" from his hand.

A powerful surge of life energy rushed towards him, Lister immediately accepted it upon seeing this.

The slight dissatisfaction that arose in my heart was soothed by this core feeling in the present moment.

What exactly is the purpose of this meeting?

"Originally, I just wanted to invite everyone to jointly build a new force."

"Original?"

Lister understood the implication in his words.

Unfortunately, the Lord of Qingteng did not offer any further explanation at the moment.

"The meeting is about to start, so I'll begin now. If you, Lister, are unwilling to join, please wait a moment afterward..."

The Emerald Nebula suddenly collapsed into seven vortexes in the void, with a stellar-sized tree-shaped totem emerging at the center of each vortex.

The Green Vine Overlord spread its arms, and its branch-like hair suddenly extended into billions of fluorescent filaments, connecting with the totems on the surfaces of the seven stars.

"Meeting begins."

As her words fell, the space beneath Lister's feet suddenly became transparent—the entire space was decomposing and reconstructing!

The silhouettes of those towering trees, which blot out the sky, transformed into a flowing torrent of emerald, constructing a heptagonal conference hall in a vacuum.

Each wall corresponds to a star totem, which is now slowly lighting up.

"Buzz--"

A dark red projection suddenly appeared on the first wall.

The blood mist condensed into a human figure, and an old man dressed in a red robe and holding a dark red book appeared within it.

"Qingteng, you'd better have a good reason to convene the meeting earlier than planned..."

The old man's projection suddenly froze. He stared with great interest at the unfamiliar aura of the seventh star, and subconsciously began to speculate.

"This is the one who killed Yatke..."

Blue and white ice crystals lit up the second wall, and the Phantom of Ewaer, the Extreme Cold Hegemon, shattered abruptly before it could solidify—her true form actually pierced through the spatial barrier and descended!

The ice crystal armor etched frost patterns onto the emerald ground. "A newcomer has arrived?"

Then the third and fourth walls lit up simultaneously.

Behind the golden gear emblem emerged the metallic face of the Archbishop of the Mechanical Holy See.

On the other side, within the purplish-black energy, the Zerg Queen's compound eyes reflected Lister's image.

When the seventh wall lit up, the entire conference hall suddenly trembled.

Lister's Shadowless Blade automatically unsheathed three inches, and the entire wall displayed the latest star emblem of the Divine Rise Galaxy!

The figure seated behind him was shrouded in starlight, with only the general's badge on his chest faintly visible.

Qingteng's voice suddenly became more emphatic, and emerald branches grew wildly from her seven orifices.

"Welcome everyone to this meeting. This meeting is different from previous ones; I would like to discuss with you the idea of forming a new force."

As soon as she spoke, everyone's senses shifted away from Lister's area.

The Lord of Qingteng raised his hand and lightly tapped the void, and the emerald green vines intertwined to form a three-dimensional star map, projecting the approximate situation of three shimmering star systems.

"The Ash Corridor: Originally a relic of the Ancient Machine Faction, it became a no-man's land due to a dimensional energy storm."

The core area contains the SS-grade 'Machine Spirit Furnace', a core treasure of the original Ancient Machine Faction...

Scarlet Rift:..."

"Qingteng, our meeting was only about transactions and sharing."

"Everyone already has their own star systems and factions, and to form a new faction with you... isn't that a joke?"

The old man in the red robe was the first to let out a disdainful sneer.

He was the first Hegemon Lord of Qingteng won over, and he witnessed the meeting grow from two or three people to the current seven.

They had gained many benefits from past meetings, but now the moment of truth had finally arrived for the Lord of Qingteng Vine.

I thought it was going to be a matter of them working together.

Seeing that he had received so many benefits, the old man was willing.

But suddenly becoming a co-founder of a new power, from a local leader to a co-founder, was a sense of disparity he simply couldn't accept.

"These three star systems are indeed rich in resources, but that alone isn't enough to impress me."

Ewaer, the Extreme Cold Hegemon, also shook his head, giving a straightforward rejection.

He did covet the resources of these star systems, but at the level of Hegemon...

There are many unclaimed galaxies and communal galaxies.

For resources like these, it's more about him looking for opportunities than actually getting them to cooperate.