Entrustment

Treant World.

The Treant Elder Council.

The demigod treants gathered together.

"The Mother Tree's oracle has descended. What are your thoughts?" Sky Sea, Grand Elder of the Treant Race, swept his gaze over the demigods.

"If the Mother Tree said Zhou Leng resolved our race's crisis, then there can be no mistake. In principle, I have no objection."

"But wouldn't conferring the title of 'Ancient Crown' on him be going too far? The Ancient Crown's standing far exceeds his standing among the giants and the Dragon Clan. It is probably even a notch above a True King, already equivalent to a true son of a god."

"Our race hasn't conferred the title of Ancient Crown in tens of thousands of years. Giving him that title would mean he was a god's son, possessing the divine might to incarnate as the Mother Tree. That hardly seems appropriate."

"Once he becomes the Ancient Crown, he will effectively become the king of the treants, and we will all have to obey his commands. When that happens—"

"Exactly. What worries me is that he might harbor ulterior motives and bury our entire race for his own sake."

"Even if this is in preparation for an evacuation, we shouldn't make an outsider the Ancient Crown."

"I've heard in ancient legends that powerful deities would fight over the title of Ancient Crown to obtain a Tree God Clone. We must be cautious about granting this title."

"Actually, whether we grant it or not no longer matters. Our race cannot sustain a new Ancient Crown, much less a second Mother Tree."

"That's true—"

"Do you think the Mother Tree can stop the Calamity Envoy?"

All the treant elders fell silent.

"Never mind. Let's invite Zhou Leng to cultivate at the Mother Tree first. We'll secretly grant him