362: Chapter 297: Initial Strategy - Build High Walls and Store Up Grain

The void was lonely, and the starlight was cold.

The group from Xinghai University steered an energy barrier formed by their combined Domains, shaped like a shuttle boat, advancing at a steady speed through the simulated "Endless Star Sea." Direction: Southeast.

Although they won the first battle, Lin Zhou felt no arrogance. The Abyss/Void-type opponent that had been scared away was merely an ordinary or even weak link among the countless predators in this bloody hunting ground. The truly powerful and real crises were still hidden in the deeper, darker parts of the star sea.

After sailing for about three hours (measured by the main world's time flow), they encountered two small-scale "accidents" along the way.

One was an encounter with a group of wandering void plankton, shaped like a combination of jellyfish and octopuses. Their individual energy reactions were weak, but they were numerous, densely covering a small Star Domain and instinctively devouring all nearby energy. After Li Mo analyzed their characteristics, Lin Zhou decisively ordered a detour and did not engage. Such bio-groups were troublesome but "barren"; the points gained from defeating them would likely be extremely low, while the consumption would not be small—it wasn't worth the effort.

The other was a "passing encounter" with another team fighting local star sea monsters (a group of creatures resembling metal bats that could emit high-frequency oscillation waves). Upon discovering the Xinghai University team, the other side immediately showed strong alertness, even faintly intending to divert power for defense. Lin Zhou did not intervene or show hostility, merely maintaining a guarded posture and accelerating past the edge of the battlefield. That team also seemed happy to avoid unnecessary trouble, focusing on clearing the monsters before them. Both sides tacitly maintained their distance.

"Based on energy fluctuations and combat style analysis, that team just now was likely a subordinate team from 'Elemental Court Academy,' specializing in wind and thunder element manipulation. Their strength is estimated to be between the middle and high stages of Lesser Divinity, not the core main force," Li Mo said, continuously collecting data to refine his understanding of this star sea region. "The metal bat swarm they are clearing might have nests containing resource points like 'Adamantine Veins' or 'Vibration Energy Cores,' which are of medium value."

Lin Zhou nodded and noted this information. In the Early Stages, intelligence gathering was more important than blind plundering.

As they went deeper into the southeast, the surrounding "star sea environment" gradually changed. The floating broken platforms and asteroid debris became sparse, replaced by a more "solid" "nebula dust belt" emitting a faint blue glow. These dust belts were not gaseous but composed of extremely fine solid particles containing weak water attributes and spatial stability energy. Traveling through them felt like being in a quiet blue sea of mist.

"The rules are becoming smoother and more stable, the spatial structure is relatively solid, and the free energy attributes lean toward 'tranquility' and 'nourishment'." Qin Qing's Law Domain felt comfortable in this environment. "It provides a weak buff to our Order side, especially my Law divine office."

"Detected a large 'Gravitational Stability Point' about five thousand kilometers ahead." Li Mo pointed to the holographic star map appearing in front of the shuttle boat's energy barrier, where a bright green cursor was flashing. "Energy readings show composite resource reactions around this point, including water element enrichment, life energy fluctuations, and a stable rocky structure. More importantly, no strong energy signatures or frequent activity from other competing teams have been detected within at least a hundred-thousand-kilometer radius. It fits the definition of 'relatively remote'."

Lin Zhou stared at the cursor: "Let's go take a look."

The shuttle boat adjusted its direction and quietly sailed into the thicker blue stardust mist. About half an hour later, a strange sight appeared before everyone.

It was not a planet or continent in the traditional sense, but an archipelago structure composed of dozens of "floating rock islands" of various sizes and shapes, connected by natural energy rainbow bridges and thick stone "veins" resembling ancient tree roots. The largest central rock island was over thirty kilometers in diameter, and even the smallest was several kilometers wide. The rock islands were covered with glowing moss, low-lying crystal cluster forests, and some slowly flowing streams and small lakes emitting fresh water vapor and Spiritual Qi. The archipelago was shrouded in a thin but stable faint blue energy barrier (seemingly naturally formed), making the internal environment significantly more stable and suitable for life than the external stardust mist.

"What a natural blessed land!" Zhao Hao's eyes lit up. "This place is easy to defend and hard to attack! Those energy rainbow bridges and stone veins are natural passages and key points for defense."

Su Yueyao felt the pure water spirit and life aura in the air, her Moonlight Power circulating slightly: "The environment has a buff for our life-System followers, especially the elves and fishmen."

Li Mo's data stream accelerated: "Preliminary scan: A medium-sized 'Spirit Spring Eye' (estimated daily production of about 100 units of low-quality spiritual liquid) was detected under the central main island; multiple rock islands contain 'Azurite Veins' (Medium Grade Materials with water/spatial attributes); the crystal cluster forest can produce 'Tranquil Crystal Flowers' (having a weak mental soothing and meditation-assisting effect); there are low-level water element lifeforms and edible fish in the lakes. Overall resource rating: upper-middle, with a complete range of types, especially suitable for development as a long-term base. The natural energy barrier's strength is roughly equivalent to a continuous defensive barrier at the Peak of Lesser Divinity, but it blocks both internal and external access and needs modification."

Lin Zhou's gaze swept over the floating archipelago and then at the vast and "calm" stardust mist area shown on the star map. This location was indeed relatively remote; if they hadn't specifically explored in this direction and if Li Mo's detection methods weren't so Advanced, it would be hard to find. The natural barrier plus the complex terrain provided natural advantages for defense. Although the resources weren't top-tier, they were enough to support a team's consumption and development from the early to Middle Stages, with even a slight surplus.

"This is the place." Lin Zhou made his decision, his tone steady. "We will use this place as our Foundation and execute the 'Build High Walls and Store Grain Widely' strategy. In the first phase, our goal is not to frantically seize points to climb the rankings, but to establish a solid base that allows for both offense and defense, accumulating strength while gathering as much intelligence as possible on the entire 'Endless Star Sea,' especially the movements of the top powerhouse teams."

"Understood!" everyone responded in unison. This strategy matched Lin Zhou's consistently steady style and captured the essence of the School of Military's principle: "First make yourself invincible, then wait for the enemy to become vulnerable."

The shuttle boat slowly passed through the natural energy barrier (the barrier's detection response to harmless passage was mild) and landed on the largest central rock island. Stepping onto solid ground, a rich and gentle Spiritual Qi rushed toward them.

"Qin Qing, immediately deploy 'Order Anchors' to deeply link our divine kingdom's rules with this place, starting the assimilation and transformation of the environment to suppress any potential local hidden dangers or hidden rule traps," Lin Zhou ordered.

"Yes!" Qin Qing took the Order. The phantom of the Temple of Law manifested behind her, and countless pale gold Chains of Order phantoms spread from beneath her feet, rooting deeply into the rock island, beginning to weave the prototype of a "Net of Law" covering the entire archipelago. As assimilation began, the archipelago's slight, natural rule fluctuations were gradually incorporated into the Order System of the Hundred Schools Divine Kingdom, becoming more stable and controllable.

"Li Mo, Zhao Hao, Su Yueyao, take people and start a comprehensive survey immediately! Map out every rock island's terrain, resource distribution, energy nodes, and potential dangers in detail. Highlight key defensive points and resource-rich areas. I want to see a detailed 3D map and assessment report within three hours."

"Leave it to us!" Li Mo, Zhao Hao, and Su Yueyao immediately sprang into action, leading some team members and reconnaissance units to scatter.

"Everyone else, centered on the central rock island, immediately start constructing basic defensive works and an alert System! Prioritize establishing Formation nodes for early warning, anti-stealth, and anti-spatial jumping!" Lin Zhou looked around at the remaining team members.

The team began to operate with high efficiency.

Lin Zhou himself stood at the highest point of the central rock island and slowly closed his eyes. His consciousness sank into the divine kingdom, communicating deeply with the Temple of Civilization and the river of civilization. At the same time, he began to mobilize the power of resource cards stored in the divine kingdom and the productivity of his followers.

[Orders Issued]:

Tiangong Dwarves Engineering Corps (50,000 people): Immediately summon projections from the divine kingdom, carrying basic tools and building Materials (partially converted from divine kingdom reserves, partially prepared to be sourced locally). Priority tasks: 1. Construct Mohist Mechanisms Defense Towers (Elementary) at key energy nodes and transportation hubs according to the map Li Mo is about to provide. 2. Mine Azurite, perform preliminary refining for reinforcing defenses and as energy for some Formations. 3. Begin building standardized defensive corridors connecting the main rock islands (replacing some unstable natural stone veins); corridors must have built-in mechanisms and runes.

Literary Heart Elves Mage Corps and Nature Priests (30,000 people): Responsible for environmental synergy and energy channeling. Tasks: 1. Guide the archipelago's native water spirits and life energy to strengthen the natural barrier and attempt to resonate with the Spirit Spring Eye to improve its output efficiency and quality. 2. Sow seeds of alert vines, tranquility flowers, and other plants modified by the Fire of Civilization in key areas to build a biological alert and auxiliary network. 3. Assist in stabilizing and optimizing the energy flow of Formation nodes deployed by Li Mo and Qin Qing.

Law Fishmen Patrol and Construction Teams (20,000 people): Responsible for water area control and auxiliary construction. Tasks: 1. Clear lakes and underground rivers, investigate hidden dangers, and establish underwater alert outposts. 2. Assist in transporting Materials and participate in constructing some underwater or near-water works. 3. Cooperate with Qin Qing to cover the water areas with the Law and Order network.

Other affiliated races and new forces (about 50,000): Responsible for logistics, gathering, basic manufacturing, and other auxiliary work.

As Lin Zhou's will was conveyed, the follower legions within the divine kingdom, already prepared, began to respond. Temporary summoning circles lit up across the central rock island, and organized units of Tiangong Dwarves, Literary Heart Elves, and Law Fishmen, as well as Bugbear laborers and Centaur Rangers, appeared in sequence, quickly throwing themselves into the feverish construction and exploration.

Three hours later, Li Mo's team brought back an extremely detailed exploration report and a holographic map. It clearly marked where mineral deposits were rich, where energy nodes were active, where the terrain was dangerous and suitable for ambushes, and where hidden natural caves or spatial weak points existed.

Combining the map with his on-site perception, Lin Zhou began to formally plan the "city building" scheme.

"Our defensive System will be divided into three layers," Lin Zhou explained to the core team members, pointing at the floating holographic sand table. "The outermost layer: Stardust Mist Alert and Delay Zone. Utilizing the vast surrounding stardust mist environment, we will deploy a large number of hidden, miniature [Mohist · Alert Mechanisms] (biomimetic floating type) and [Legalist · Order Detection Runes]. We don't aim to kill enemies, but only to ensure that if any outsider enters a certain range of the mist, we can immediately know their approximate direction, number, and strength, and use the mist environment and preset small interference Formations to delay their advance."

Estimated workload: Approximately 100,000 units of alert mechanisms need to be deployed, and 3,000 detection rune nodes set up, forming an early warning network with a coverage radius of about 500,000 kilometers in conjunction with the natural environment.

Primary Execution: Li Mo (mechanisms), Qin Qing (runes), Literary Heart Elves (environmental synergy).

"The middle layer: Floating Archipelago Three-Dimensional Defense Network. This is the core of the defense. We are going to turn this archipelago itself into a massive war fortress."

Point One: Strengthen and transform the natural energy barrier. Based on Qin Qing's assimilation, the Literary Heart Elves mage group will guide and integrate the [Confucianism · Wenhua Barrier] trait, giving the barrier a certain level of 'identification' and 'purification' abilities. This will produce a stronger rejection and weakening effect against intruders carrying malicious, chaotic, or evil auras. Goal: To raise the barrier's defensive strength from the Peak of Lesser Divinity to a level capable of stably withstanding attacks from Early Stage Mid-Tier Divine Power (LV500-LV550).

Point Two: Construct a three-dimensional firepower and trap System within the archipelago. At all important rocky islands, energy rainbow bridges, and stone vein joints, construct Mohist Mechanisms defense tower clusters (planning to establish 108 main defense towers and 360 secondary sentry towers). The defense towers will integrate:

Armor-Piercing Ballistae (targeting heavy units)

Chain Explosive Bolt Launchers (targeting swarm units)

Energy Interference Rays (targeting Spell units and energy shields)

Some Advanced towers will be loaded with [Logic Interference Fields] (newly developed by Li Mo, targeting logic-dependent enemies such as mechanical or elemental types) or [Law Imprisonment Auroras] (provided by Qin Qing, targeting high-mobility or rule-defying units).

The defense towers are connected by energy channels and signal networks buried underground, which can be unified and controlled by a central command node (planned to be located beneath the central rocky island) or operate through autonomous collaborative combat.

Point Three: Establish mobile defense forces and rapid response channels. Utilize the constructed standard defense corridors and reserved aerial passages (maintained by Zhao Hao's Dragon troops and Su Yueyao's Moonlight Power) to ensure that core guard units (composed of mixed elites from various vassal races and led by hero units) can maneuver quickly within the archipelago to support any point under attack.

Point Four: Construct multiple backup defense lines and shelters. Excavate and reinforce underground fortifications within the main rocky islands, store Materials, and set up teleportation evacuation points (short-range, relying on stabilized local spatial rules) as a precaution for emergencies.

“Innermost Layer: Central Divine Kingdom Domain Core Area. With the central rocky island as the core, within a radius of approximately ten kilometers, this will be our final line of defense. It is also the area where Divine Kingdom power projection is most concentrated and rule control is most thorough. This area will be equipped with:

【civilization furnace · Projection Enhancement Node】: Guides a portion of the civilization furnace's power to form a continuous energy supply and rule stabilization field, providing the optimal environment for the manifestation of the [Scroll of Civilization] divine art.

【Hundred Schools Temple · Resonance Array】: Enhances the connection between all vassal races and the Hundred Schools of Thought, increasing the power of battle Formations and providing anchor points for potentially summoned Heroic Spirit powers.

【Enlightenment Tea Garden · Expansion Area】: Attempting to transplant part of the tea tree's spiritual charm here to form a small-scale 'Enlightenment Domain,' accelerating the recovery and insight of key personnel.

Final Defensive Measure: Beneath the core area, pre-bury [Rule Collapse Bombs] designed by Li Mo and tempered by the Fire of Civilization (activated only in extreme circumstances, these can trigger a small-scale rule tsunami to perish alongside the enemy, but will severely damage the base and are not to be used unless absolutely necessary).”

The planning was detailed and thorough, making everyone feel a surge of excitement while also sensing the heavy responsibility.

“The workload is immense and time is tight,” Su Yueyao said softly. “Other teams won't give us much time to develop peacefully.”

“Therefore, we must be fast, but even more so, we must be steady.” Lin Zhou's gaze was firm. “From this moment on, everyone is to be fully committed to city building. I will adjust the Divine Kingdom's time flow, supported by the Fire of Civilization and the enlightenment tea tree, to achieve an acceleration effect of 'ten days in the Divine Kingdom equals one day outside.' We actually have about a hundred days to complete the main construction. Li Mo, start designing the specific blueprints for the defense towers and mechanisms immediately; Qin Qing, deepen the Law assimilation and barrier construction; Zhao Hao, your Dragon Clan is responsible for high-altitude vigilance and transporting some high-strength Materials; Yue Yao, you will coordinate natural energy guidance and internal environment optimization; other team members, cooperate fully according to your specialties!”

“Yes!” Everyone took their Orders, fighting spirit igniting in their eyes. Building a city in ten days, the work of a hundred days! This was a race against time and a tough battle to solidify their Foundation.

Lin Zhou said no more and sat cross-legged, his mind completely sinking into the core of the Divine Kingdom. The Fire of Civilization flickered slightly, emitting profound space-time ripples; the enlightenment tea tree's spiritual light flowed, assisting in stabilizing the rule load brought by this localized time acceleration. The time flow within the entire central rocky island and a certain surrounding range began to undergo subtle changes.

Construction had fully commenced!

Day 1 (approx. 2.4 hours outside): Detailed surveying was completed, and the overall plan was finalized. The first batch of Tiangong Dwarves engineering corps, led by the hero unit [Mountain King · Bronzebeard (LV58)], set out for various mining sites to begin the extraction and primary refining of Azurites. The Literary Heart Elves, led by the Heroic Great Scholar [Wen Yuan (LV56)] and several newly promoted Sword Cultivator leaders, began to organize the archipelago's energy veins. The Law Fishmen cleared the waters and established preliminary outposts. Li Mo worked behind closed doors on designs, with blueprints being produced like snowflakes.

Day 3 (approx. 7.2 hours outside): The first batch of thirty-six Mohist Elementary defense towers (prototypes) were erected at key locations and began trial operations. The strengthening and modification of the natural energy barrier officially started; pale golden Order runes and silver-white Moonlight patterns began to flow across the light blue barrier. The central command node began excavation and construction. The first batch of warning mechanisms was quietly deployed into the Stardust Mist Sea.

Day 5 (approx. 12 hours outside): The Foundations for the main defense tower clusters (108 towers) were all completed, with fifty-four of them finishing main construction and loading basic weapon modules. Three main lines of the standard defense corridors were completed. Underground fortification excavation reached 30% progress. After guidance, the Spirit Spring Eye's daily production of spiritual liquid increased to 150 units, with a small amount of Medium Grade spiritual liquid appearing. The first small-scale actual combat test: a group of Stardust Predator Bats (about a thousand, average LV30) attracted by the construction energy tried to attack, but were easily annihilated by the newly established defense towers and patrol teams, yielding a few points and Materials.

Day 7 (approx. 16.8 hours outside): The outer warning network took initial shape, covering a radius of 300,000 kilometers. The main structures of the middle-layer defense tower clusters were all finished, with 80% completing weapon loading and rune engraving, and linkage testing began. The internal energy network of the archipelago was connected, with the overall energy efficiency of the defense System reaching 65% of the design goal. The Law Order network presided over by Qin Qing covered the entire island, deeply integrating with the defense System and initially achieving a Domain effect where 'violators are suppressed.' Resource collection entered a stable period, and reserve warehouses began to be established.

Day 9 (approx. 21.6 hours outside): The three-layer defense System was basically constructed! The outer warning and delay zone operated well, successfully providing early warnings and interfering with three waves of detection fluctuations of varying intensity that occasionally approached (suspected to be scouting from other teams). The middle-layer three-dimensional defense network completed final debugging; all 108 main towers and 360 sentry towers were activated, with the linkage test score reaching Grade A, estimated to effectively resist and heavily damage group attacks from Early Stage Mid-Tier Divine Power (below LV550). The inner core area construction was finished, the civilization furnace projection provided stable energy, the Hundred Schools Temple · Resonance Array was activated, and the rule control of the core area reached 85%, becoming a Domain as solid as iron. Underground fortifications, material reserves, and emergency Systems were all in place.

Day 10 (approx. 24 hours outside): Final wrap-up and optimization. All defense units underwent final calibration. Environmental camouflage and energy shielding Formations were activated; from a distance, the abnormal energy fluctuations of this archipelago were reduced to a minimum, blending more seamlessly with the surrounding Stardust Mist Sea environment, as if it were just a slightly larger, slightly more resource-rich ordinary floating island group rather than a war fortress armed to the teeth. Internally, all construction personnel withdrew to the Divine Kingdom to rest, leaving only routine vigilance and patrol forces.

Building a city in ten days, the work of a hundred days was finally completed!

On the newly built Star Gazing Platform on the central rocky island, which integrated Mohist Mechanical Arts and Daoist natural principles, Lin Zhou stood with his hands behind his back. He looked down at the orderly archipelago defense System, which hid killing intent everywhere, and further out at the seemingly calm Stardust Mist Sea that was actually filled with 'eyes' and 'tripwires.'

Su Yueyao quietly came to his side, holding the latest summary report in her hand.

“Construction completion is 98.7%, exceeding expectations. Resource reserves: a total of 5,200 units of spiritual liquid (Low/Medium Grade), 8,500 units of raw Azurite ore and roughly refined products, with sufficient food, medicinal herbs, and basic Materials to sustain high-intensity combat for more than thirty days. Defense System comprehensive rating: S- (targeting threats of Early Stage Mid-Tier Divine Power and below). Divine Power consumption: approximately 38,000 points accumulated (mainly used for time acceleration, high-intensity rule assimilation, and transformation of some Advanced Materials), current reserve is 162,000/200,000.”

“Regarding intelligence gathering,” Su Yueyao continued, “through passive detection by the outer warning network, fragmented information (at no small cost) purchased from the 'intelligence market' outside the arena by Chen Hai and managed to be passed in, and our macro-analysis of energy flows, we have roughly mapped out the current distribution of some strong teams and activity hotspots in the 'Endless Star Sea.'”

She pulled up a brief star map: “Hotspot areas are mainly concentrated in several large resource-rich zones or special rule zones, where multiple large-scale melees have broken out. Currently, in the top ten of the leaderboard, besides the Honghuang Academy which holds the top spot with points already exceeding 8,000 (they seem to have found and monopolized an 'Innate Spiritual Qi Spring'), others like the Eternal Divine Court, Abyss Covenanters, and Void Zerg are also active in the hotspot areas, with points very close to each other. The Titan Domain Academy, ranked 8th, has recently had an activity trajectory leaning towards our direction at the edge of the Southeast Stardust Mist Sea, about... fifteen standard star sectors (about fifteen million kilometers) away from us, but their movement is towards another explored 'Gravity Well Secret Realm' and they haven't headed our way for now.”

Lin Zhou took the report and looked at it carefully. Because he had focused on construction, his leaderboard ranking was only 215 points, ranked 58,472nd, based solely on annihilating scattered monsters and that first battle. There was still a large gap from the top thousand, but this ranking was already in the upper-middle reaches among millions of teams and was extremely stable, not attracting any special attention from the top powerhouses.

“Very good.” Lin Zhou put away the report, his gaze deep. “The walls are built high, and the grain is widely stored. Next is the stage of 'slowly claiming kingship.' Continue to keep a low profile, consolidate defenses, and deepen rule control. At the same time... we can begin small-scale, elite active strikes. The goal: clear out potential surrounding threats, obtain necessary intelligence and resources, and steadily increase our points. But we must strictly control the scale and frequency of combat; we absolutely cannot expose the true strength and location of our base.”

He turned to look at his team members, who were full of energy and whose temperaments had become increasingly composed after the baptism of a hundred days of high-intensity construction.

“The first stage of the elimination tournament is still very long. Let those teams eager to climb the rankings and campaign everywhere fight it out first. We only need to sit firmly on the fishing platform and watch the clouds change. When the time is ripe...” A sharp light flashed in Lin Zhou's eyes, “that will be the time for us to 'unsheathe our swords.'”

Deep in the Stardust Mist Sea, the floating archipelago was like a crouching giant beast, retracting all its claws and teeth, quietly waiting.

Within the high walls, provisions were ample, and spears were like a forest.

Just waiting for the wind to rise.