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By the time Qiyu appeared at the main gate of the domain, not only was he himself ready, but the demon vines and other creatures in the domain were also prepared to switch to combat mode at any moment.

Even the plant sprites wanted to join in on the fun.

However, Qiyu remembered that this species’ innate abilities were entirely focused on support; even the emerald bees were more combat-capable than they were, so he simply shooed them off to play in the garden on their own.

There were no signs of strangers at the main gate yet.

But when Qiyu released his spiritual energy, he saw a group of… little dwarves?

These little dwarves were about waist-high to Qiyu, looking much like humans, though their skin was dark green, their hair was curly and yellowish-brown, and their limbs were slender.

He counted them—there were twenty dwarves in total, all carrying bundles on their backs, as if they’d traveled a long way.

He felt a little more at ease: none of the dwarves had particularly strong auras; the most powerful among them was roughly at the third-tier level.

He waited another ten or so minutes before the group finally emerged from the snow.

Clearly, it, too, had spotted this territory that stood out like a sore thumb in the icy landscape.

Qiyu heard them cheer and quicken their pace as they made their way over.

Upon drawing near, they saw Qiyu, clad in a mage’s robe, his face hidden from view.

The dwarves’ demeanor visibly became much more respectful.

“Greetings, esteemed Mage,” the leader of the dwarves said, “We are the Lulute tribe from the north. The bitter cold and heavy snow destroyed our homes, so we’ve been forced to wander.”

As they spoke, the group of dwarves—who identified themselves as Lulute people—glanced around the estate from time to time. They looked at the lush demon vine fence and could faintly make out the flowers blooming within the grounds, their expressions growing more and more…

A message popped up on the Survival Panel:

【Lulute tribe: The Lulute tribe is divided into different subgroups based on skin color. The Lulute tribe excels at caring for plants and cleaning the forest, but they do not possess high intelligence.】

Qiyu stared at the words “not very intelligent” and remained silent for a moment.

Seeing that Qiyu wasn’t speaking, the group of Lulute people clearly began to grow impatient.

“Merciful Mage, please take in these poor wanderers. We’re willing to become your servants and tend to your territory.”

Qiyu refused: “Strangers are not allowed to come and go as they please in my new domain.”

He heard a wave of disappointed sighs.

The leader of the Lulute people pleaded, “In that case, please allow us to settle near your domain.”

Clearly, he hadn’t given up yet.

Qiyu replied, “Do as you please.”

He only cared about his own territory; everything beyond it was the free zone of the Star Forest and had nothing to do with him.

He turned and walked away, sensing the Lulute people’s gazes lingering on him for a long time.

Walking into the garden, Qiyu thought for a moment, then opened the 01 Survival Squad:

【I Love Survival Game: Today, a group of unfamiliar little dwarves arrived at the border of the new territory. They call themselves Lulute people and have wandered here.】

【Need A Little Money To Save Me: Aaaah, are they natives? Little dwarves? What do they look like?】

Qiyu found his line of questioning a bit odd, but he answered anyway:

【I Love Survival Game: They’re about waist-high, with green skin and yellow hair. There are twenty of them; the strongest is nearly a third-tier martial artist, while the weakest is first-tier.】

As soon as he said that, the group members—who had been merely curious—immediately became wary.

【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: Twenty people, ranging from Tier 3 at the highest to Tier 1 at the lowest. With that kind of strength, I doubt anyone in the entire region—except you in the game—would dare claim a sure victory. If they have malicious intent, this could get very troublesome.】

【Civil Engineering Brother: What’s he up to?】

【I Love Survival Game: He wants to enter my territory and become my servant. I refused.】

【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: Yeah, turning them down was the right call. Our territories all have protective measures in place; if they really had malicious intent, we could still put up some resistance. But once they’re inside the territory, it’d be a whole lot more trouble.】

【I Love Survival Game: I’ll go to the regional channel and say something too.】

Region 01 Regional Channel:

【I Love Survival Game: .】

【Cockroach Taste Is So Weird: Huh, it’s rare to see a top player pop up in the regional channel at this hour.】

Qiyu didn’t beat around the bush and gave a brief account of what had just happened.

【Liver Emperor: Gaming pro, was it a huge group of local alien creatures with strong martial spirit? That’s really scary.】

【Traveler in the Misty Rain of Jiangnan: Gaming pro—I was just about to post this, but the gaming pro beat me to it.】

【Traveler in the Misty Rain of Jiangnan: I ran into three mutated creatures this morning. My survival panel even gave a warning, saying the heavy snow had left them unable to find food, so they’d started wandering around in search of it.】

【Traveler in the Misty Rain of Jiangnan: I guess situations like this won’t be rare from now on. Everyone, please be careful.】

【Irritable Brother: Well, it looks like things are really going to get “lively” in the Star Forest now.】

However, it’s not all bad news.

【Traveler in the Misty Rain of Jiangnan: I killed those three mutated creatures, and they dropped a “serendipity fragment.”】

Serendipity fragments were from the previous Safe Day event.

That prize wheel disappeared after Safe Day ended, so everyone assumed it was a limited-time event.

Now it looks like it might make a comeback?

【Liver Emperor: That’s great. I’m not afraid of too many monsters—I’m just afraid of killing them without getting any rewards.】

【Liver Emperor: It’d be even better if there were hidden rewards! Waiting for mutated creatures to show up is way too inefficient—I’ve decided to go out exploring every day from now on.】

【Cockroach Taste Is So Weird: No wonder you’re Liver Emperor, bro—how are we newbies supposed to compete with you?】

Qiyu’s attention was also drawn to the “serendipity fragments.”

He still remembered the “vision” he’d seen; from the Tree of Wisdom’s response, he’d learned that it might be the “Forest of Stars.”

But there were still many mysteries yet to be unraveled.

If there were more serendipity fragment draws, he might be able to uncover more details.

At that very moment, he suddenly understood the Liver Emperor: as long as the rewards are generous enough, the more mutated monsters, the better.

A new message with special effects popped up on his personal panel.

Currently, only one person on his friends list had special effects.

【Your friend “God Has No Form” has sent you a gift.】

【God Has No Form: Breakfast!】

【God Has No Form: You’re definitely going to like this.】

Qiyu opened it and received a plate of plump, white dumplings.

He really did like them.

Before he even had a chance to thank God Has No Form, he received a request to join his territory.

Qiyu:?

Accept.

His friend appeared, carrying a plate of dumplings.

A question mark slowly appeared above Qiyu’s head: “Why didn’t you just bring the dumplings with you?”

He went out of his way to send breakfast over via the survival game.

Dan Xingyu: “You don’t get it—it’s all about the ritual.”

“Are you happy to receive breakfast?”

Qiyu nodded: “I’m happy.”

“Then, are you happy to see me and eat together?”

Qiyu nodded again: “I’m happy.”

Dan Xingyu: “See? That way, you get double the joy, right?”

Actually, that was a lie. The truth was that after delivering the dumplings to the local guy, he really wanted to see him again.

So he brought breakfast over.

Qiyu: …Never mind. I can’t argue with him anyway.

He carried his own plate and went to the garden with Dan Xingyu.

There were several varieties of dumplings: shrimp-filled, lean pork-filled, and egg-filled.

As Qiyu ate, he thought back to the powerful warriors he’d encountered in the Royal City of Ophelia.

The dumplings, which had already been delicious, suddenly tasted even better.

It worked out perfectly—he’d been meaning to talk to Dan Xingyu about the Lulute people anyway, and now he could do so in person.

Upon hearing this, Dan Xingyu immediately replied, “Our group has also received a similar notice; I was actually planning to head out to explore during the day.”

He had come in a hurry and, after finishing breakfast, hurried back just as quickly.

This left Qiyu a bit baffled, unsure why he had made the special trip in the first place.

Since a group of strangers had arrived outside the territory, he hadn’t gone out during the day.

After all, with the Tree of Life, the Tree of Wisdom, and the elemental array within the territory, it was the most suitable place for cultivation he could find at the moment.

That evening, Dan Xingyu came over again.

He brought dinner with him.

Qiyu belatedly realized that the teleportation gate was indeed quite convenient. Now that he and Dan Xingyu had become true “dining buddies,” it was certainly much more convenient than communicating via the communication orb as they had before.

As usual, after dinner, Dan Xingyu left.

Qiyu thought to himself that having dinner with a good friend every day felt pretty good.

His good mood lasted until nightfall.

Because of that group of Lulute people, Qiyu didn’t practice under the Tree of Life that night.

He returned to his bedroom, sat on the carpet, and read for a while.

When it was about time to go to bed, he turned off the light and lay down on his bed.

Outside the territory.

Twenty Lulute people had set up tents during the day and gathered quite a bit of firewood, looking as if they truly intended to settle here.

At that moment, they were all gathered inside one of the tents.

In the darkness, a shadow slipped in silently.

“Our people have been keeping an eye on it—the light in the treehouse has gone out. That mage must be asleep.” The one who had just entered was, in fact, a member of the Lulute tribe.

“Boss, should we make our move tonight?”

The Lulute person called “Boss” hesitated slightly: “He’s a Level 3 mage. The plants in his territory are growing so well—there’s definitely a magic circle there. Why don’t we wait a few more days?”

“But it’s so cold out here. I don’t want to wait a few more days.”

“So what if he’s a Level 3 mage? Boss, you’re about to become a Level 3 martial artist yourself, and we have so many people on his side.”

“Once we storm in and kill that mage, this gorgeous territory will be ours, heh heh.”

After being persuaded by a few of his clan members, the leader was tempted.

“Alright, we’ll sneak in slowly under cover of darkness. As Lulute people, we have a natural advantage in the forest.”

A rustling sound came from inside the tent, and before long, several dark figures slipped silently into the darkness.

The moment the first Lulute person’s hand grasped the fence, Qiyu sensed it.

He ordered the demon vines to hold their ground, and the energy tower did not launch an attack.

Not until all twenty Lulute people had crawled inside.

Under the light of the sunflowers, the group of Lulute people finally got a clear view of the entire territory.

A territory brimming with flowers and vitality caused everyone’s breathing to grow heavy.

Even when Qiyu’s figure appeared before them, these Lulute people made no attempt to hide the greed in their eyes.

Of course, recalling the “not very smart” assessment from the survival game, Qiyu reasonably concluded that the leader must have been so dazzled by the beautiful, bountiful territory that he could no longer even pretend otherwise.

Qiyu: “What are you doing here in the middle of the night in this new territory?”

The leader of the Lulute people: “Kill you and become the new lord of this place!”

His tribesmen behind him cheered in unison:

“Kill the lord! Become the new lord!”

Qiyu: “……”

The Demon Vines sprouted from the ground and climbed up the bodies of this group of Lulute people.

A bow appeared in Qiyu’s hand.

He drew the bow, nocked an arrow, and released it like a shooting star.

With blinding speed, the targeted Lulute chieftain didn’t even have time to react before the arrow was upon him.

It all happened in the blink of an eye; the remaining Lulute people had only just been bound.

The chieftain standing before him had already turned into a streak of white light.