[Name]: Lord Core — World Tree Growth Stage I
[Quality]: Mythical (Chromatic)
[Description]: A World Tree that grew from chaos, currently in its first growth stage.
[Territory Traits — Natural Dominion, Rapid Growth, Space-Time Ripple]...
[Lush Foliage II]: The construction requirements for all Natural-type buildings in the territory are reduced to one percent. The recruitment and maintenance costs for all units of the Natural Camp are reduced to one percent. (Passive, always active)
[Territory Trait — Vigorous Growth II]: The World Tree has entered its second growth stage. The territory's size is no longer restricted by the Lord Core's level and will now expand daily along with the World Tree's growth.
The territory expansion gained from leveling up the Lord Core is not affected.
Daily Territory Expansion: +10% (based on the territory's area at the start of the growth stage).
[Territory Trait — Spatial Protection II]: The World Tree Seedling is afraid of being harmed, so its surface is protected by a spatial barrier. Immune to all attacks below 20,000 damage. Immune to detection effects below God-tier.
For the rest of the day, Lin Yu meticulously reviewed the information recorded in the Lord Core.
The Lord Core's records contained not only text but also video logs for major events, allowing Lin Yu to witness the territory's changes more intuitively.
The footage was spectacular and eye-opening, even more impressive than the 3D, 4D, or 5D movies on Cuiwei Star.
After watching it all, Lin Yu couldn't help but sigh. 'It seems this territory can run just fine without me.'
On the morning of the third day, Lin Yu stood atop the World Tree, gazing at the rising sun in the distance as he contemplated the future of his territory.
After 3,000 days of autonomous development during the rest period, the territory had become a behemoth.
At the end of the first stage, the territory's area was 17.5 square kilometers. After passing the first trial, the Lord Core was upgraded to level 2, and the territory expanded to 35 square kilometers. The "Vigorous Growth" trait became "Vigorous Growth II," and its efficiency was drastically reduced. Lin Yu had reason to believe the tournament organizers had patched his territory.
The upgraded Vigorous Growth II still allowed the territory to grow by 10% daily.
The only difference from the original Vigorous Growth was that its 10% daily increase was based on the previous day's total area.
However, Vigorous Growth II's 10% daily increase was based on the territory's area at the time the Lord Core was upgraded to level 2. In other words, it grew by a fixed 3.5 square kilometers per day.
After 3,000 days of growth, the current territory area was 10,545.5 square kilometers.
The territory was now 300 times larger than when Lin Yu had left.
So much so that on the Lord Core's map, his original territory was now just a tiny dot.
If his original territory was a small village, the current one had become a sprawling metropolis.
(Translator's Note: The city of Xi'an has an area of 10,108 square kilometers and a population of 13.07 million, ranking it 17th in area among China's provincial capitals.)
If he continued placing buildings one by one on the map like before, he probably wouldn't even be finished by the end of the second stage's year-long duration.
Moreover, although the World Tree was incredible within the Natural Realm, the territory lacked intelligent life. There was no development, no technology, and no Magic.
The entire forest was more like a primeval wilderness.
It was filled with powerful beasts, mutated plants, dangerous monsters, and a world-class treasure—the World Tree.
Looking at it this way, the territory had quite a few problems.
"My Lord, I'm here!"
"Master, you were looking for me?"
Just as Lin Yu was feeling troubled, Chenxi and Phantom appeared by his side.
Looking at the person and the wolf before him, Lin Yu's anxiety eased considerably.
"I wanted to ask, how did you two become heroes?"
Since the territory's populace couldn't be changed, adding a new type of resident as he had before was a matter of rare, unrepeatable luck.
'If I want to increase the number of intelligent beings in the territory, I'll have to find a way to create them.'
For example, by helping them evolve into heroes, like Chenxi and Phantom.
Hearing Lin Yu's question, Chenxi and Phantom exchanged a glance.
"Master, I became a hero by absorbing natural energy, then sleeping beneath the Divine Wood and absorbing a bit of the energy it leaked."
"My Lord, I was producing natural energy on the World Tree when Lord Divine Wood granted me some of its energy. Combined with the natural energy I'd already absorbed to improve my body, I was finally able to become a hero."
"So, you're saying there were two conditions for you to become heroes: one was absorbing natural energy, and the other was energy from the World Tree?"
Lin Yu summarized after hearing Chenxi and Phantom's explanation.
"In that case, is there any way to replicate the process?"
"Master, after I became a hero, I told many of my friends about my experience. They all tried, but none succeeded. Even now, many of my brothers habitually sleep and rest under the Divine Wood, hoping to obtain a sliver of its essence."
Phantom answered first.
"My Lord, it's a similar story with the sprites. Ever since I became an Elf Fruit and hung on the Divine Wood, many sprites got ahold of my research notes. They've since improved their methods for storing natural energy and strengthening their bodies, but they also failed to gain the Divine Wood's favor and become heroes."
"So, everyone is just lacking the World Tree Essence?"
Lin Yu understood. To create heroes on a mass scale within his territory, he was missing one crucial element: World Tree Essence.
'How am I supposed to solve this problem?'
Lin Yu was lost in thought, racking his brain.
Seeing Lin Yu so troubled, Chenxi felt a pang in her heart for some reason. She took a few steps forward, hugged his arm, and said, "My Lord, didn't you say the territory leveled up? Did you find any useful new buildings?"
A blush crept up Lin Yu's face, and he tried to pull his arm away, but his feeble strength was completely useless.
Soon after, however, his attention was captured by Chenxi's question.
"New buildings? Hmm, I think... there might be something related to the World Tree Essence."
Lin Yu casually pulled up the Lord Core's interface and began to examine it carefully.
(Note: After the Lord Core was promoted to level 2, Lin Yu could communicate with it and access its functions from anywhere within the territory.)
After scrolling through the list of new buildings, Lin Yu found his target.
[Name]: Spring of Life
[Category]: Natural
[Grade]: Legendary (Purple)
[Level]: 5 (Inherently High-Level)
[Prosperity]: 256
[Construction Requirements]: 1000 Wood, 1000 Natural Energy, 500 Stone
[Construction Time]: 10 days
[Effect]: Contains the essential sap of the World Tree. Fills one pool per day, with each pool usable by 10 individuals. It can heal physical wounds, increase the chance of advancement, eliminate fatigue, extend lifespan, strengthen the body, and improve intelligence.
"The essential sap of the World Tree... I wonder if this will work?"