Chapter 12: Ten Years

At some point, the villagers began to grow accustomed to Lin Yu’s protection; they spontaneously gathered around his territory, regarding themselves as subjects under the Forest Lord’s rule, and felt proud and honored to do so.

Over these ten years, Lin Yu intervened seven times, slaying six demons and an entire demonic army.

Especially when confronting that demonic army, the villagers suddenly realized that the once arrogant demonic forces were slaughtered like lambs beneath Longlong Rock’s horn and Guangzhi Guangmou’s claws.

This reversal—hunters becoming the hunted—shattered the villagers’ worldview.

After the intense shock, they developed an indescribable reverence for Lin Yu, the mysterious lord.

Nearby towns, having witnessed the massacre of the demonic army, hurriedly sent envoys to pay respects and show goodwill.

Trade routes reopened, bringing even greater prosperity to the village.

Many refugees fleeing from the north heard of a powerful and benevolent Forest King here and flocked to join this emerging settlement.

As more subjects joined, the original villagers moved into Lin Yu’s ten-li territory, while new arrivals spread outward in a radial pattern around his domain.

Gradually, the village evolved into a town, and the town began constructing walls.

Lin Yu did not interfere in any of this development.

He merely kept his original promise: acting only against demons and monstrous threats to the village.

Yet the subjects still revered him, grateful and willing to uphold his rule.

It was laughable—he had never regarded them as subjects, so how could there be any rule?

But some things cannot be changed merely by one’s thoughts.

For instance, he had publicly declared he would not interfere in human kingdoms’ conflicts, yet his overwhelming power forced neighboring states—and even the mightiest unified empire—to take his stance seriously.

Thus, even if Lin Yu did not wish it, his very existence had become a deterrent.

Lin Yu understood this well but said nothing, allowing events to unfold as they would.

After all, he had not yet lost his humanity; he still held some feeling for the village that had grown beneath his gaze and for the villagers who revered him so deeply.

Moreover, this land lay along the border between the unified empire and neighboring states, serving as a buffer zone.

The small towns and villages caught between these powers already faced awkward political positions, and with the endless demons from the forest and the threat from the northern demons, they desperately needed strong protection.

Thus, under Lin Yu’s tacit approval, this emerging town developed at an astonishing pace.

In this process, besides Lin Yu—the absentee lord—there was another crucial figure: the old village chief.

He truly possessed some governing ability and was a remarkably perceptive man.

He was the only person in the entire territory who knew Lin Yu’s true attitude; had he wished, he could have easily deceived both superiors and subordinates, making himself the de facto lord of this land.

From a god’s-eye view, such behavior seemed foolish, but from the old chief’s perspective, it was highly feasible.

After all, the old chief did not know that Lin Yu, residing in Shibao, could perceive every blade of grass and every stone within his ten-li domain.

He only knew that this powerful Forest Lord spent his days studying magic, and even when demons appeared, he merely sent his demonic beasts—never once stepping out of Shibao in nearly a decade.

Moreover, Lin Yu outwardly showed little concern for the village; had he been any ambitious man, he might have already seized power.

But the old chief did not do so; instead, he clearly understood that the lord’s power was the foundation of everything.

Therefore, even though this still-unbuilt Ridge Peak Town was his own creation, he dared not overstep even slightly, and always presented himself publicly as the lord’s most loyal servant.

Thanks to this cautious mindset, Lin Yu was deeply satisfied with him and had secretly aided him for years.

The old man, nearing sixty, still managed to give his eldest son, who adventured far away, a younger brother and sister—thanks to Lin Yu’s secret use of demonic energy to enhance their bodies.

Time moved forward steadily amid this calm yet bustling daily life.

Until the tenth year and seven months after Fulaimei’s departure, Lin Yu’s inner universe finally underwent a change!

The scene shifted to Lin Yu’s inner universe: ten years had left little mark; the entire inner universe remained as harsh as hell, filled with high-temperature, high-density energy.

The only difference was that at the center of this newborn universe, a highly stable spindle-shaped cavity had formed.

Compared to the entire universe, this cavity was minuscule.

Yet in reality, its external volume was equal to that of Uranus from Lin Yu’s past-life solar system.

A deep-blue magical barrier, tens of thousands of kilometers thick, surrounded the cavity, shielding it from the hostile external environment.

Inside the cavity lay an exceptionally stable space: a landmass over ten thousand kilometers in diameter floated within, adorned with endless mountain ranges but bearing no trace of life.

On a plain at the continent’s center, all manner of items were neatly arranged—plants, soil, stones, metals, jewels, artificial objects, and mountains of magical scriptures.

Undoubtedly, this was Lin Yu’s storage space!

Above this storage plain, countless wisps of mist swirled, gathering and dispersing, radiating white light like a perpetually luminous sky, illuminating the entire dark land.

If Fulaimei were to come here, he would be stunned to discover that the boundless, endless sea of light in the sky consisted entirely of pure, refined magical energy.

Yes, in Fuli Lian’s world, magical energy was essentially a universal energy.

This energy existed throughout the world and could be converted from daily food and drink.

In other words, with the right principles and methods, any matter or energy could be transformed into magical energy.

Conveniently, Lin Yu lacked everything—except energy.

He controlled an entire newborn universe’s matter and energy, inexhaustible and limitless.

Moreover, in Fuli Lian’s cosmology, magical energy could even be reversed to generate matter.

The matter here was not merely shields or barriers—it was real, tangible substance.

For example, in the original story, Fuli Lian conjured ice sand and hot tea out of thin air using magical energy.

The deep-blue barrier tens of thousands of kilometers thick around the cavity, and the floating continent within it, were both created by Lin Yu converting the universe’s matter and energy into magical energy, then shaping it.

Of course, using magical energy as an intermediary to create matter was merely a temporary workaround due to Lin Yu’s incomplete mastery of his own power.

If he could fully comprehend and control the forces belonging to him, he could eliminate the middleman and directly manipulate all matter and energy in the universe through sheer will alone.

Back to the matter at hand: when Lin Yu sank his consciousness into his inner universe, the once-peaceful sea of magical energy instantly boiled.

The white cloud-sea, stirred by the immense, primordial will, formed two colossal vortices.

Looking up from below, they resembled a pair of colossal eyes suspended in the heavens, gazing down with lofty, indifferent detachment.

Simultaneously, beneath the cloud-sea, a blue cube the size of a fist glowed with a soft radiance.

Upon closer inspection, the blue cube was a compressed, condensed magical barrier—its internal space long sealed and frozen solid by Lin Yu’s will.

At this moment, the glow did not come from the barrier itself, but from an invisible, mysterious force within the space.

“Ten years!”

Lin Yu couldn’t help but sigh.

After a full decade, this thing was finally ready to recognize its master!

“Made me wait this long…”

“Let’s see what you really are!”

Gazing at the glowing light within the blue cube, Lin Yu willed his vast consciousness to descend from the horizon like a celestial river, pouring into the blue cube.

In an instant, the mysterious force merged with his consciousness, and a new piece of information appeared before him.

【Congratulations! You have gained eligibility to join. Would you like to join the Multiverse Chat Group?】

【Yes/No】

(End of Chapter)