Chapter 269: Aftermath and the Preparatory Task of Planting

Li Ang had just received the news when He Ti's roots reemerged from the water.

"It seems you've received the message," came the soft female voice again. "You needn't worry too much—the assessment is merely a formality for you."

To become a planetary viceroy, one must undergo an assessment; it can't be just anyone.

In fact, Li Ang passing the approval so quickly was already special treatment, and certainly part of that credit belongs to the Clearwater Tree Clan.

At this moment, Lu Ke tugged at Li Ang's sleeve: "Given what happened on Colony Star 9527, the Federation won't give you trouble."

Li Ang quickly understood what this young master meant.

Indeed, after killing Bai Lando, he could at least be counted as a law-abiding citizen loyal to the Federation.

Combined with his strength and Lord Duonuo's unique circumstances, becoming the viceroy of Morabiss Planet wasn't as difficult as imagined.

Since he wasn't in a hurry to flee, Li Ang should now consider cleanup matters, given how broadly the previous battle had spread.

Fortunately, Morabiss Planet's low level of industrialization meant little damage was done to the cities.

Even so, the plants of each tribe still needed pacification, coaxing, and suppression.

Thinking of this, Li Ang looked up at He Ti: "He Ti, Clan Chief, please have the Clearwater Tree Clan soothe the aquatic plants."

"As you wish," He Ti did not refuse, and offered a suggestion: "For the terrestrial plants, you may contact the Jingtie Tree Clan—they won't refuse you."

Hearing this, Li Ang was taken aback; he hadn't expected He Ti to say that, given the poor relations between the two clans.

As if sensing his confusion, He Ti explained: "The Jingtie Tree Clan is always rigid."

High EQ: rigid.

Low EQ: fools.

"Now that Lord Duonuo is dead, we have no direct conflict—we're simply competing on our own merits."

This Clearwater Tree Clan chief was very candid; based on Li Ang's demonstrated potential, he could never remain here indefinitely as a petty planetary viceroy like Lord Duonuo.

For the Clearwater Tree Clan, twenty years isn't long, especially since Li Ang will likely leave before even completing twenty.

After brief thought, Li Ang smiled: "Thank you for your suggestion, He Ti, Clan Chief."

With the aid of two major tree clans, his work as planetary viceroy shouldn't be too difficult.

In Li Ang's view, Lord Duonuo's wealth accumulation was far too primitive—whether it was Clearwater Tree Clan's Clearwater Fruit or other tribes' special materials, all could be refined and sold.

Fortunately, he himself was a fairly competent alchemist.

Of course, due to his 【Traveler】 talent, Li Ang had to consider his situation upon departure.

Fortunately, he had already thought of a general solution.

【Puppeteer】.

Combined with Corpse Keeper Alchemy, he believed he could concoct something unique.

After handling the aftermath, Li Ang temporarily bid farewell to the Clearwater Tree Clan.

Since he wasn't in a hurry to flee, he should now inventory the spoils.

The greatest gain from this battle against Lord Duonuo was actually his corpse—given their prior clash, this former viceroy's bodily resilience was considerable.

'If I had the right blueprints, I could consider using it to build a starship.'

Looking at the colossal tree split cleanly in two before him, Li Ang thought to himself.

Even with Lord Duonuo's size, many branches could be pruned and repurposed into other artifacts.

In addition, Li Ang's 【Offspring of Mao】 had leveled up, and the proficiency of all his skills had increased.

And that was it.

Lord Duonuo certainly had Starlight Coins, but upon his death, those coins would have been seized by the state.

As for real estate…

Li Ang glanced at the land now transformed from mountains into plains, and sighed.

Good news: once he became viceroy, this land would belong to him.

Bad news: it had no value.

'I'll build a bronze palace like Old Tang.'

With this thought, Li Ang closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he stood within the Eight Trigrams Seal's space.

After today's battle with Lord Duonuo, he was nearly certain Huiye could not affect him.

Sensing Li Ang's arrival, Huiye, who had been in deep slumber, opened her eyes.

Looking at the young man beyond the bars, she asked: "Did you clash with the Zong family today?"

Li Ang's use of the Ten-Tails' power couldn't possibly have escaped Huiye's notice, but since she couldn't see the outside world clearly, she didn't know what had happened.

Li Ang nodded in agreement: "The Zong family caught up with me. I repelled them and escaped."

As he spoke, he observed Huiye's expression, searching for any sign of suspicion.

Unfortunately, the Mao Goddess truly believed his story: "It must have been hard on you."

Watching Huiye's genuine emotion, Li Ang fell silent for a moment, then voiced his purpose: "Can you tell me how to plant the Divine Tree?"

"Simply plant the Ten-Tails into the earth, and feed it a member of the Ōtsutsuki clan just before it matures," Huiye replied without suspicion, revealing the method to plant the Divine Tree. "But the maturation time depends on the planet's quality—in a world with weak natural energy, it may take a thousand years."

That simple?

Hearing Huiye's words, Li Ang was momentarily stunned, then quickly understood.

In the Naruto world, the Ōtsutsuki clan had been planting trees across the stars for so long that their techniques were highly refined, nearly foolproof.

The problem was, he had no spare Ten-Tails.