Chapter Thirty-Two: The Sacred Tree

Doppelganger.

This was an ability that existed only in the realm of fantasy.

Just like Yang Luo’s Infernal Flame, which could conjure fire out of thin air and generate searing heat; or like Xi Gu’s “One Percent Stronger Every Day” ability, which bestowed immense power and physical prowess that defied all known laws of physics.

Yet, just as these powers—once deemed impossible—had become reality, Xi Gu now sensed the presence of his own doppelganger.

—This ancient tree.

“Suyuan Guardian Deity!”

“Why did things turn out this way… It’s clearly a plant, and yet it can absorb my evolutionary blood. And after evolving, it didn’t become an independent beast, but rather, a doppelganger under my own conscious control?”

Doubt flickered through Xi Gu’s mind.

But it was only a fleeting thought.

His abilities contained far too many aspects that defied understanding, impossible to explain through science or even mysticism. Since the principles behind them were nebulous and entirely subjective, what mattered most was practice—and mastering every facet that arose from these powers.

Xi Gu quieted his mind, immersing himself in the experience of this arboreal doppelganger.

At the same time, his true body, standing across from the doppelganger, aided in comprehending the current state.

“Hmm… The evolutionary blood has already begun to take effect. I can feel my trunk growing tougher, the roots beneath me stretching ever outward, and as a tree, my senses are expanding—”

Within the doppelganger’s perception, his body resembled a sponge adrift in water, continuously swelling in a strange, wondrous way.

Originally, the trunk had already reached several dozen meters in height and required four or five people with arms outstretched to encircle it. Now it grew even larger, the height inching ever higher.

The roots pushed ever outward—from hundreds of meters to several kilometers, eventually spanning over a thousand meters. Each tendril transmitted vivid sensations back to the center of perception, allowing Xi Gu to feel everything within the earth.

Meanwhile, from top to bottom, the tree’s sensitivity sharpened further and further.

—The flow of the wind, the gnawing of insects, the perching of birds, the wriggling of earthworms in the soil, the coursing of groundwater, the gentle sigh of sunlight…

“So this is… what it feels like to perceive as a tree.”

Xi Gu silently savored the experience.

And the evolution of the divine tree doppelganger continued.

When its height reached one hundred meters, the ascent finally ceased.

But this was not its limit—Xi Gu could tell this was not the pinnacle, only that he had intentionally suppressed the urge to climb higher, instead channeling all the evolutionary energy into the expansion of the roots below.

For a tree, after all, its roots are its core.

—

Thus, one by one—like an endless tangle of vines—the divine tree’s roots devoured nutrients and water from the soil, cutting a swath through the earth with reckless abandon.

Underground stone deposits were easily pulverized, streams were drained dry in a single gulp, and tiny insects in the dirt were swept away, becoming fuel for the ancient tree’s vitality…

Eventually, over ten thousand roots radiated from beneath the tree’s body, forming a vast network beneath the earth. The longest of these…

Stretched a full one hundred kilometers!

Those roots had already reached the heart of Tokyo itself, encompassing thousands of square kilometers, and bringing nearly all of Tokyo under its domain!

“It’s just like the legendary World Tree…”

Feeling this immense power, Xi Gu’s eyes gleamed strangely.

Although this divine tree was a “doppelganger,” it hadn’t inherited his core talent of “One Percent Stronger Every Day.” Instead, like the other beasts and supernaturals that had absorbed his evolutionary blood, it had simply undergone a comprehensive elevation of its own vitality.

But… this was, after all, a towering tree of several dozen meters to begin with. Once evolved, the power it gained was simply staggering.

“Currently, Shadow’s evolutionary level is 62, Black Moon’s is 61. Yang Luo, after his transformation, reached level 63…

“But, as I sense it, the evolutionary level of this doppelganger… has already surpassed two hundred! In other words, this body’s evolution is now equal to what I’d reach after two thousand days of gaining superpowers!

“What’s more, I can tell it possesses, like the other beasts and superhumans, a ‘Rapid Growth Phase’. It is ravenously absorbing nutrients from the soil and air, and energy from photosynthesis… If this ‘Rapid Growth Phase’ is allowed to run its course, it might reach the equivalent of three thousand days of evolution.

“…At that point, if I wanted, I could send a single root surging out from underground—one that’s a hundred kilometers long, capable of tearing open the earth and destroying the entire Tokyo metropolis in three seconds flat—and that would be just one out of my tens of thousands of roots…

“…Even now, I can sense that my roots, spread over thousands of square kilometers, have become my eyes and ears. Anything that happens underground within this region, my roots will sense instantly. Even events on the surface, I can vaguely perceive…”

Xi Gu savored the information flowing in from his divine tree doppelganger, his eyes flickering.

“In this light, my doppelganger truly does resemble a god—possessing the power to destroy cities and nations… Heh… ‘Suyuan Guardian Deity’—that’s not a bad title.”

Using the “eyes” of his divine tree doppelganger, gazing out from Aranami Mountain across the whole of Tokyo, Xi Gu’s spirit stirred.

“—In that case, let this name become my ‘divine title’ in Japan!

“…Heh, I haven’t even formally set foot in this city, and already I’ve received such a delightful surprise—who knows what I’ll gain next, after I find the second superhuman?”

…

Over ten days later.

Tokyo, Arakawa Ward.

Following the Sumida River, one would reach the old wooden neighborhoods of Minamisenju. Beyond Minamisenju, the homes of Arakawa and Machiya sprawled loosely along both sides of the river.

Crossing the stone bridge over the water, walking the flagstone path flanked by cherry blossoms and roses, clusters of detached houses nestled along the edge of the park. At the top of a winding slope, amid these scattered homes, a left turn would bring you to Shizudai Academy in Arakawa Ward.

—

On one side of the school rose rows of shops and high-rises; the other side was a tranquil slope, as if some contradiction was at play.

The average student score at Shizudai Academy ranked above average within Arakawa’s high schools, but only average in all of Tokyo. Most students here fell somewhere between “putting in a little effort” and “barely studying.” It wasn’t an elite school, but neither was it poor. Like many schools, it had its share of delinquent groups and bullying, but also diligent students striving hard.

Recently, a new trend had swept through the academy.

“Hey, did you hear? They say there’s a ‘Divine Tree’ over a hundred meters tall growing on a mountain near Tokyo!”

“Over a hundred meters? That’s taller than the Hanasegi Three Cedars, isn’t it? It must be Japan’s number one sacred tree!”

“Apparently some tourists discovered it, but they didn’t get any photos—and as soon as they turned back, the tree vanished.”

“No photos? Then it must be just another made-up urban legend, like those fake fossils in the past—”

“But some explorers claim to have really found the Divine Tree, while others found nothing at all. It’s said the tree appears and disappears at will, and many believe it’s the embodiment of a god…”

“Oh, stop talking about far-fetched stuff like that! More important than any ‘Divine Tree’—did you hear a new bookstore opened in the shopping district, and the owner is supposed to be super handsome? Even better-looking than Tomohisa Yamashita!”

“Really? You’re not kidding? Even more handsome than Yamashita?”

“No joke—”

“Where is it? Where?!”

“I only heard about it… Shall we go check out the bookstore after school today?”

“Great idea!”

“We have to go!!”

The fifteen- and sixteen-year-old girls’ eyes sparkled with excitement as they imagined the mysterious owner’s face.

Beside them stood a girl wearing thick, bottle-bottom glasses and plain clothes.

She was the one who’d first brought up the topic of the hundred-meter-tall Divine Tree.

Watching her friends get worked up over an imaginary heartthrob, Mana Minamoto, a sixteen-year-old in Shizudai Academy’s second-year, class three, sighed helplessly and turned her attention back to her phone screen.

“Handsome guys and all that… They’ll never compare to the supernatural when it comes to excitement…”

Mana muttered to herself in her heart.