Chapter 1349: Malnutrition

She couldn't tolerate seeing Xia Yingluo's success, it should've been hers!

Tang Yuan smashed everything that she could in the house, including the expensive porcelain vase that was now reduced to shards. She looked at the fragments on the floor. Why wouldn't Xia Yingluo just die? Xia Yingluo was a rich girl from a powerful family, why did she have to join the entertainment circle and compete with those like her for a living? Tang Yuan emerged out of stringent training and tests as an ordinary person. She'd earned her place through hard work. This wasn't fair at all!

With a distorted expression, she mumbled to herself, "Xia Yingluo, I hate you."

How could she not?!

While the Huanisi commercial was won over by Xia Yingluo, she, or rather Skyart, hadn't let her off just yet. They'd bribed the media representatives to spread the word that Tang Yuan had overestimated herself in attempting to win over this endorsement, and had ended up in a pathetic defeat.

They had even featured a photo in which Tang Yuan had only half of her makeup on.

Tang Yuan still looked beautiful in the photo, but put next to Xia Yingluo's photo, she paled in comparison. Xia Yingluo's cold demeanor exuded a power that seemed to crush other female celebrities, and with her armor suit on, she made the Queen of Film Tang Yuan seem no more than a wooden puppet.

On the internet and in the press sneers were targeted at Tang Yuan.

On the web, Tang Yuan's popularity index fell significantly, and it directly affected the monetary value for her upcoming work.

This was a chain disaster.

Her manager was in a fluster and couldn't help but vent her frustration. "Sister Tang, I'd already advised you not to fight with Xia Yingluo for that endorsement. Look what's happened now. Not only have you lost to her, but you have also brought so much trouble upon yourself."

Tang Yuan was full of grievances too. It wasn't she who wanted to get that endorsement! It was Gu Jinxiu who forced her to it! Now that she was caught in such a fix, the production crew for the next movie was only offering her one-third of the original offer. How could she bear with this? She gave Gu Jinxiu a call. "Miss Gu, you were the one who got me to find trouble with Xia Yingluo back then. Now that you've got Huanisi to offer the endorsement to Xia Yingluo instead, what are you going to do about me? There's so much going on out there, I can't be the only scapegoat!"

On the other end, Gu Jinxiu's voice was cold. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm warning you, if you harass me again, then don't blame me for being mean." Xia Yingluo had gotten the endorsement and was even expecting the World Tree, how could Gu Jinxiu feel good about it? To be fair, Gu Jinxiu was in a worse position than anyone else now. With Tang Yuan's confrontation at a time like this, it was good enough that she didn't turn all nasty.

Tang Yuan was pissed off at the response but dared not harass Gu Jinxiu anymore.

She remembered that Gu Jinxiu had a sort of drug that could make skin rot. This was a risk she couldn't afford to take.

Being at such a disadvantage put her under much stress. Tang Yuan ended up seriously ill and looked a lot more haggard than before.

Meanwhile, Xia Yingluo carried out several activities and events, making good use of her name having been featured in the Huanisi commercial.

The fans gathered very soon, and Skyart facilitated the creation of webpages and formation of groups to aid Xia Yingluo's publicity. The effect was impressive.

One afternoon, she was standing in the garden at her villa, dressed in a pastel dress. She looked down at her palm quietly. She seemed to not be holding anything in her smooth, fair hand, but with light that was not within the visible spectrum of a normal human, she was able to see little gold and green leaves on her palm. They were almost luminous, and clearer now than before.

"What are you looking at?" A man said from behind her.

Xia Yingluo turned around and saw a handsome man. "Second Bro," she called him softly.

Li Rui approached her and looked at her palm as well. "I saw that you've been in a daze for a while. What's with your hand?"

"There's a mark of the World Tree," she said and placed Li Rui's hand on hers. "Close your eyes, do you feel anything?"

Li Rui did as he was told. A while later, he opened his eyes and shook his head, bringing the back of his palm to her forehead. "What's this supernatural thing about, are you having a fever?"

"You're the one having a fever!" Xia Yingluo glared at her brother.

"I really don't feel anything," Li Rui said innocently.

Xia Yingluo lowered her head in disappointment.

"Should I be feeling something?" Li Rui asked her.

She nodded. "If the energy of the World Tree was stronger, you'd be able to feel its presence. But it's too small and weak at the moment, my energy is simply inadequate." She was a little worried. The amount of energy she was providing the tree was far less than ideal for its growth.

At this rate, would the World Tree die?

If it really died, chances were that this was the first World Tree on the Skatana Planet to die of malnutrition?

What a joke.

Xia Yingluo was troubled.

Li Rui could tell that she had something bothering her, and asked, "The other time, you said that with increased popularity, you'd be able to accumulate more energy. You've been doing well in that commercial recently and your popularity is rising. Didn't that help?"

Xia Yingluo smiled sadly. "It did, but..."

Initially, she'd gathered energy in order to extend her life as well as to get to outer space on a spaceship. Based on Earth's slow, gradual development, it'd take about a hundred years to extend a life span by a few decades and to operate the spaceship at the minimum level. Once she got to outer space, the amount of energy she could gather would be far more than on Earth, and she could refuel on the way until she arrived at Skatana.

But expecting this World Tree, this was an accident.

It took a lot of energy to be expecting a World Tree. Even on the Skatana Planet, it required the support of the entire species.

The Queen would consume her husband for the first burst of energy, but after that, more would be needed to sustain it. A good half of the energy in the entire species would be provided to her through special means, and that would be the weakest period for the species as well. The soldiers would have to defend themselves from invasion of the worm species during this time of vulnerability, and at the same time, gather energy to provide for the Queen.

Xia Yingluo once felt that expecting the World Tree on the Skatana Planet was a bother. Only now did she feel that it was actually such a blessing to be able to receive support from the rest of the species on their home planet.

She looked up at the sky sadly. "Second Bro."

"Yes?"

"I think I might die early."

"Ah?" Li Rui had a shock.

"The World Tree and I will die together of malnutrition. This astronomical amount of energy expansion is going to drag me to death."

Li Rui's expression darkened with worry. "I'm warning you. If you die, I'll definitely kill you!" He paused for a while upon realizing his mistake, but went on, "Worst-case scenario, you can turn to Wei Lingnan for help. Use him and toss him aside, same thing."