On the seventh day, as the first light of dawn tore through the night and bathed the land.
Lin Yu appeared gracefully beside the World Tree and began his journey to the edge of his territory.
Under the dominion of the World Tree, the forest seemed to be in tune with his mind. With every step he took, everything around him cleared a smooth path. Thorns retracted on their own, dewdrops brushed past him gently, and even the tender grass cleverly bent away to avoid dampening his clothes...
'I feel like a Druid. This feeling of resonating with nature is just incredible!'
...
In an instant, Lin Yu arrived at a spot one kilometer from the World Tree.
A faint barrier materialized before him—the novice shield, specially prepared for participants in the Lord's Tournament.
The novice shield lasts for one month. When the month is over, the shield will dissipate.
At that time, high-level monsters will appear on this ten-square-kilometer novice continent.
These monsters will join forces with wild beasts to attack the contestants' territories. Only by withstanding the assault can one proceed to the second phase.
Therefore, every ambitious lord eager to advance would clear out the wild beasts around their territory beforehand to lessen the pressure of the monster siege.
This was also why Lin Yu was so fixated on acquiring defensive structures or barracks.
Without sufficient military might, it would be impossible to fight off the invading monsters and beasts.
Although his World Tree was impregnable, without any other military might, his only option to pass the first phase would be to have the little sprites self-destruct.
Now, with defensive structures, Lin Yu could deploy them within his territory to eliminate invading enemies.
The placed Pea Shooters and Timid Mushrooms were staggered, creating interlocking fields of fire. Day or night, he no longer feared an enemy invasion.
He had filled the territory personally expanded by the World Tree with Pea Shooters and Timid Mushrooms, rather than resource buildings.
Furthermore, when arranging his defenses, Lin Yu didn't clear the surrounding environment for better sightlines. Instead, he chose to place them in every available gap.
He had a vague premonition that it was best not to destroy the environment or disrupt its diversity.
So, when placing the Pea Shooters and Timid Mushrooms, he did his best to arrange them in the empty spaces between the various wild plants.
It was strange. Logically, the plant-type structures unlocked from the "Secret Garden" were called structures, but they were actually individual plants.
However, they couldn't be crowded together like normal plants; each one had to occupy an area of at least one square meter.
Fortunately, once placed, they could find the most suitable spot to grow within that one-square-meter patch of soil without destroying the original landscape.
Otherwise, Lin Yu would have had a real headache on his hands.
Passing through the barrier was like moving through a thin film of water. Lin Yu was now outside the novice shield.
Although he was still within his territory, wild beasts lurked here, and danger was everywhere.
Even though he was now a lord, his body was still that of an ordinary person from Blue Star. His Combat Power was practically nonexistent. If he suffered a fatal wound, he would almost certainly die.
Every year, many lords died in accidents while exploring. Their Lord's Heart would then shatter, sending them back to their home planet, their journey ending at the first phase.
If not for the World Tree's "Vigorous Growth" trait—which had expanded his territory beyond the novice shield and allowed him to build defenses out there—Lin Yu would have most likely huddled inside the shield without any troops, just waiting for the final monster siege.
Lin Yu moved cautiously through the jungle. Even though he was outside the novice shield, he was still within his own territory, so the surrounding jungle gave him a tacit sense of security.
As he walked, Lin Yu gradually began to relax.
This wasn't just because of the friendly environment, but also because he would occasionally spot one of his Pea Shooters or Timid Mushrooms in the undergrowth or among the trees.
With these defensive structures around, he wasn't afraid of any enemies suddenly appearing.
Thus, Lin Yu grew bolder and began to wander freely through the jungle, making sure to carefully observe his surroundings as he went.
His diligence paid off; he actually found a few treasure chests. Unfortunately, they were all gray chests and only contained resources like 100 wood or 100 stone. It was better than nothing, though.
To facilitate exploration in the early stages, every lord was given a personal space, one cubic meter in size, that could hold a small amount of resources and treasure chests.
Just as Lin Yu was happily hunting for more chests, a wolf's howl shattered the tranquility, echoing from nearby.
Lin Yu's head snapped up in alarm. He looked toward the source of the sound, but the dense thicket blocked his view.
To get a better view of his surroundings, Lin Yu climbed a large tree nearby. Perfectly placed handholds appeared, allowing him to quickly reach the top.
'Oh no! Why are there so many wolves?!'
Standing at the top of the tree, Lin Yu discovered that he was surrounded by quite a few Forest Wolves—more than twenty of them.
Amidst a chorus of howls, they slowly closed in on his tree.
Along the way, they passed by several of the Pea Shooters and Timid Mushrooms Lin Yu had placed, but none of them attacked.
'Never mind the Timid Mushrooms, since they only come out of the ground to attack at night. But why aren't the Pea Shooters attacking?'
'Do I have to configure parameters for these defenses? I didn't see any settings!!'
'Isn't this a total ripoff?'
While Lin Yu was muttering to himself, one of the Forest Wolves began to climb the tree, heading straight for him.
Lin Yu grew more and more nervous. To figure out why the Pea Shooters weren't attacking, he pulled up their detailed information and read it, word by word.
[Name]: Pea Shooter
...Will actively attack any hostile lifeform within its line of sight...
'Hostile lifeform?'
'Could it be? Are the wolves not hostile toward me, or just not hostile *enough*?'
As he was pondering, the climbing Forest Wolf reached him.
Its mouth was open, panting continuously, and its tail was wagging nonstop.
'Wait, wagging its tail?'
'I remember dogs wag their tails when they aren't hostile, right?'
'But this is a wolf, isn't it? It has to be a wolf. Do wolves wag their tails too?'
While Lin Yu was lost in thought, the Forest Wolf climbed even closer. Its snout touched the hand Lin Yu was using to grip the tree trunk, and under his wary gaze, it gave him a gentle lick.
Lin Yu saw fawning and gentleness in its eyes, and he relaxed.
Then, he sat up straight and looked at the Forest Wolf.
Suddenly, the Forest Wolf leaped into his arms, nuzzling against him and licking his face furiously.
"Hey, stop!!"
He lost his balance and fell right out of the tree.
Luckily, a few outstretched branches broke his fall, and Lin Yu managed to avoid injury.
But while he wasn't injured, the pain was unavoidable.