Chapter 12: Ten Years

It was unclear when it began, but the villagers had grown accustomed to Lin Yu's protection; they spontaneously gathered around the territory, regarding themselves as subjects under the rule of the Forest Lord, and felt proud and honored by it.

Over these ten years, Lin Yu had acted a total of seven times, slaying six demonic beasts and an entire demonic army.

Especially when dealing with that demonic army, the villagers suddenly discovered that the once-arrogant demonic forces, under the horn of Lord Lord Longlongyan and the claws of Guangzhi and Guangzhi Guangmou, were like lambs ready for slaughter.

This plot twist, where the hunter became the hunted, dealt a massive shock to the villagers' worldview.

So much so that after the intense shock, they developed an indescribable admiration for Lin Yu, this mysterious Lord.

Nearby towns, having witnessed the scene where the demonic army was massacred, hurriedly sent people to pay respects and curry favor.

Trade routes were thus reopened, making the village even more prosperous.

Many refugees fleeing from further north, hearing that there was a powerful yet benevolent King of the Forest here, flocked together one after another, choosing to join this emerging settlement.

As more and more subjects joined, the initial batch of villagers moved into Lin Yu's ten-li territory, while newly arrived residents spread outward, radiating around Lin Yu's domain.

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

Lin Yu did not interfere in any of this development.

He only adhered to his original promise, acting against demonic clans and demonic beasts that threatened the village.

Even so, the subjects remained deeply grateful to him and voluntarily upheld his rule.

This was quite amusing; he had never regarded these people as subjects, let alone spoken of any rule.

But some things were not done simply according to his thoughts.

Just as he had personally stated he would not interfere in the conflicts between human kingdoms, his overly powerful strength forced surrounding nations, and even the most powerful unified empire, to care about his stance.

In this way, even if Lin Yu had no such intention in his heart, his very existence had already become a deterrent.

Regarding this situation, Lin Yu was fully aware but said little, allowing it to develop on its own.

After all, he had not yet lost his humanity; for this village that had developed right under his nose, and for those villagers within it who revered him so deeply, he still harbored some feelings.

Moreover, this location lay on the border between the Unified Empire and the surrounding nations, belonging to the buffer zone between the various countries.

The small cities and towns nearby, sandwiched between the various nations, already held a very awkward political stance; coupled with the endless demonic beasts in the forest and the threat of the northern demonic clans, they urgently needed powerful protection.

Thus, under Lin Yu's tacit approval, this emerging town developed at an extremely rapid pace.

In this process, besides Lin Yu, this lord of the 'no-man's-land', there was another key figure: the old village head.

It must be said that this fellow indeed possessed certain administrative abilities and was truly a clear-sighted, understanding person.

He was the only one in the entire territory who knew Lin Yu's true attitude; if he wished, he could completely deceive those below and conceal things from above, making himself the de facto lord of this land.

Such behavior might seem extremely foolish from a god's-eye view, but from the old village head's perspective, it had high feasibility.

After all, the old village head did not know that while Lin Yu resided in Shibao, he could perceive every blade of grass and tree within the ten-li territory.

He only knew that this powerful Forest Lord spent every day researching magic; even when demonic clans appeared, he would only dispatch his subordinate magical beasts, and in these nearly ten years, he himself had never stepped out of Shibao even once.

Coupled with the fact that Lin Yu superficially did not seem very concerned with the village, someone ambitious might truly have been unable to resist.

But the old village head did not do so; on the contrary, he understood clearly that my lord's power was the foundation upon which all this succeeded.

Therefore, even though the not-yet-completed Jifeng City before them was developed by his own hands, he dared not commit the slightest overstep, and even when dealing with outsiders, he always positioned himself as my lord's most loyal servant.

Thanks to this cautious mindset, Lin Yu was very satisfied with him and had secretly looked after him quite often over the years.

The fact that this old fellow, nearing sixty, could still have another pair of younger siblings for his eldest son who was out adventuring, together with his wife who was also in her fifties, was the result of Lin Yu secretly using magical power to improve their physical bodies.

Time continued to move forward amidst this daily life that was both peaceful and bustling with energy.

Until the tenth year and seventh month after Fu Fu Lamei's departure, changes finally appeared within Lin Yu's internal universe!

The scene shifted to within Lin Yu's internal universe; ten years had little effect on this place, as the entire internal universe remained as harsh as hell, filled everywhere with high-temperature, high-density energy.

The only difference was that at the center of this newborn universe, an extremely stable spindle-shaped cavity had appeared.

Compared to the entire universe, this cavity could be described as infinitesimally small.

But in reality, it possessed an external volume comparable to Uranus from his previous life's solar system.

A deep blue magical barrier, tens of thousands of kilometers thick, shrouded the periphery of the cavity, resisting the harsh external environment.

Inside the cavity was an extremely stable space; a landmass with a diameter exceeding ten thousand kilometers floated within the cavity, and although it was adorned with various continuous high mountains, there were no signs of any life.

On a plain in the central position of the continent, various items were sorted and placed; among them were not only grass, trees, earth, and stones, metals and jewels, but also various man-made products, as well as piles of magical classics mounting up like mountains.

Undoubtedly, this was the storage space Lin Yu had developed!

Above this plain used for storage, countless mists rose and fell, gathering and dispersing; clouds blooming with Bai Guang resembled a white sky that constantly emitted light, illuminating the entire dark earth.

If Fu Fu Lamei could come here, she would surely be shocked to discover that the vast, boundless ocean of light in the sky, stretching as far as the eye could see, was actually incredibly pure, refined magical power!

That's right; in the world of Frieren, the essence of magical power was actually a kind of universal energy.

This energy not only existed throughout the entire world but could also be converted from daily food and drink.

In other words, as long as one mastered the principles and methods, any substance and energy could be transformed into magical power.

Coincidentally, Lin Yu lacked many things, but he did not lack energy.

He controlled the matter and energy of an entire newborn universe, which could be described as inexhaustible and endless.

Not only that, but magical power under Frieren's worldview could even be reversibly transformed into various substances.

The substances here were not just things like shield barriers, but true matter.

For example, in the original work, Frieren used magical power to conjure daily items out of thin air, such as shaved ice and hot tea.

That deep blue barrier surrounding the cavity, tens of thousands of kilometers thick, and this floating continent within the cavity, were both created by Lin Yu converting the universe's matter and energy into magical power, and then using that magical power to create them.

Of course, creating matter via the intermediary of magical power was merely a stopgap measure due to Lin Yu's insufficient control over his own authority.

If he could completely understand and control those powers belonging to him, he could remove the middleman and freely manipulate all matter and energy in the universe solely by his own will.

To return to the main topic, after Lin Yu sank his consciousness into his internal universe, the originally calm ocean of magical power immediately began to boil.

The white sea of clouds was stirred by that innately great, vast will, forming two immensely huge whirlpools.

Viewed from below, it was like a pair of giant eyes hanging high in the sky, casting a lofty and indifferent gaze upon the land.

At the same time, below the sea of clouds, a blue cube the size of a fist was emitting a shimmering glow.

Upon closer inspection, this blue cube was precisely a magic barrier compressed and solidified tens of thousands of times; the space within had long been firmly sealed by Lin Yu's will, transformed into a frozen expanse of time and space.

At this moment, what radiated light was not the barrier itself, but a wisp of mysterious power invisible to the naked eye within the space.

"Ten years!"

Lin Yu could not help but sigh.

A full ten years; this thing has finally completed its recognition of its master!

"It actually made me wait this long..."

"I shall see just what kind of thing you are!"

Gazing at the fluorescent light blooming within the blue cube, Lin Yu shifted his thought; his vast consciousness instantly descended from the horizon, like the Milky Way from the nine heavens, pouring down and surging into that blue cube.

In an instant, that mysterious power merged with his consciousness, and a brand new piece of information appeared before Lin Yu out of thin air.

【Congratulations on obtaining qualification to join the group. Do you wish to join the Myriad Realms Chat Group?】

【Yes/No】

(End of this chapter)