After all, this was the first creature in this world to speak with him.
Although the term 'speak' was still debatable, Lin Yu truly felt reluctant to kill this living being that had finally been encountered after overcoming countless hardships.
...Perhaps beating it into submission would be better!
With this thought, Lin Yu smiled slightly and raised his right hand, which was clenched into a fist.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
For the next five minutes, deafening roars and the Wail of the Horned Beast continuously echoed through the forest.
Five minutes later, the Horned Beast knelt on all fours, lying on the ground, its massive, mountain-like body trembling.
Lin Yu stood beside the earth yellow eye pupil on the giant beast's left side, smiling as he stroked the shattered Scales.
"Be good, and I won't hit you anymore, okay~"
"Roar~"
The Horned Beast let out a weak roar.
This wasn't because it understood Lin Yu's words; it was purely because it hadn't responded last time, leading Lin Yu to mistakenly believe it hadn't yet surrendered, so he struck its eye socket again...
It was clear the creature was genuinely terrified!
Lin Yu nodded in satisfaction, then turned around, placed his hands on his hips, and looked out at the forest ahead with high spirits.
"Next, I'll patrol this King's Territory first and find a suitable place to settle down!"
...
...
For the next three days, Lin Yu rode this newly subdued Younger Brother, traversing every inch of land within a ten-mile radius.
After careful consideration, he chose to return to the original starting point, building a somewhat presentable shelter by cutting wood near the hundred-meter-diameter Giant Pit.
Of course, given his current status as the main body, nothing in this world could harm him, nor did he require eating or sleeping.
The reason he chose to cut wood for a house and weave grass for an apron was ultimately due to the lingering memories of his Previous life.
The power of habit is incredibly strong, especially for the current Lin Yu. The memory of drifting eternally in the Endless Void added another layer of beautifying filter to his already deeply cherished memories of his Previous life.
Thus, for a period afterward, Lin Yu lived a savage life, dominating the forest and acting tyrannically.
In the very beginning, the vibrant life force of this world, every blade of grass and tree in the forest, filled him with excitement.
But as time passed, he grew accustomed to his current situation and gradually began to long for genuine interaction.
Although he now had the wild beasts of the forest as companions, these beasts had not yet developed Sentience. No matter how much Lin Yu tried to convince himself, deep down he knew they were merely listening to his monologue unilaterally.
From some unknown day onward, Lin Yu began hoping that higher intelligent beings would pass through his Territory.
He was certain such existences were in this world because, within this dense forest spanning ten miles, there was a Forest Path bearing very clear wheel tracks.
Undoubtedly, this was proof of the existence of Humans, or rather, Civilization.
Unfortunately, this Forest Path seemed to have been abandoned long ago.
Lin Yu kept watch by the path for several months, yet still found nothing.
...
...
In the seventh month since arriving in this world, Lin Yu, riding the Horned Beast he named 'Rumble Rock,' arrived at the edge of his ten-mile Territory as usual, habitually waiting for potential visitors.
"Rumble—"
Accompanied by the earth's tremor, the thirty-meter-long Rumble Rock lay down on the spot, lazily closing its eyes to enjoy the sunlight.
Lin Yu, wearing a grass skirt around his waist, sat cross-legged on its head, his eyes tightly shut, his mind sinking into his Inner Universe.
Since the Inner Universe had only recently been born, it was still in the initial stages of the Big Bang.
Matter in the universe currently existed only in gaseous form. Scorching and dense energy accumulated in this narrow, nascent universe, propelling the space of the entire universe to expand continuously at superluminal speeds.
At this time, Stars and star systems had not yet formed; the entire universe was in a state of extreme High Temperature, High Density, and high radiation.
In a place more hellish than the Underworld, let alone matter, even Immortal-level powerhouses of the Myriad Worlds in the conventional sense could not survive here.
Because of this, Lin Yu could not use his Inner Universe as a Storage Space at all.
The matter he Devoured upon first entering this world had already been completely destroyed at the moment of Devouring.
In the full seven months since transmigrating to this world, Lin Yu had only stored some relatively mild external energy outside of that infinite, terrifying Energy Source, without making any changes to the entire universe.
If Lin Yu had mobilized the energy belonging to the Inner Universe when dealing with Rumble Rock, the external manifestation would have been far more than just subduing it.
It might have instantly annihilated the entire planet!
To return to the main point, the reason Lin Yu was observing the Inner Universe now was not because of the harsh environment he was already used to, but because of the mysterious power that suddenly drifted into the Inner Universe from the Endless Void a month ago.
This thing was formless and intangible, yet truly existed; even the environment of the universe, comparable to the Underworld, could not harm it in the slightest.
When it broke into the Inner Universe from the Endless Void, Lin Yu detected it immediately. Thus, he sank his consciousness into the universe, casting his gaze from a higher dimension, just as he was doing now.
To Lin Yu's surprise, this thing seemed to sense his presence and, the instant his 'gaze' fell upon it, it unhesitatingly tore through the Void, attempting to flee this universe.
To be honest, if time were rewound to the moment Lin Yu merged with the world, it might actually have escaped.
But the current Lin Yu was no longer his former self. In order to move within the Endless Void, he had spent countless eons mastering his own Authority and strengthening his Control over the Inner Universe.
Therefore, upon discovering this thing attempting to flee, Lin Yu unhesitatingly chose to act.
In the span of a single thought's birth and demise, he firmly sealed this wisp of mysterious power within the Inner Universe.
Afterward, he mobilized his Authority to observe it closely from a higher dimension, only to discover that its Rank was quite strange, seemingly fluctuating between rising and falling states.
At times, its Rank could equal Lin Yu's; at other times, it was even more lofty than Lin Yu's.
Of course, the vast majority of the time, its Rank was below Lin Yu's, perhaps a level below the World Consciousness.
Just as Lin Yu was observing silently, this thing seemed to realize it could not escape, so it decisively gave up struggling and instead actively merged into the Inner Universe, choosing to Surrender to Lin Yu as its master.
Don't misunderstand; the so-called Surrender was not Lin Yu's wishful thinking, but rather the information actively transmitted by this thing when it chose to merge.
Lin Yu was already very interested in this thing, and furthermore, as a dignified Dimensional Demon God and the esteemed World Consciousness, he feared nothing, so he happily accepted its act of Surrender.
However...
"It's been over a month, why hasn't the process of Surrender finished yet..."
Lin Yu opened his eyes, sitting on Rumble Rock's head, and muttered to himself, "Could it be because my main body is too massive?"
"No, how could it be my fault? It must be this thing that's too useless!"
"Just what are you anyway? If you can Surrender, you must be either a Magical Treasure or a cheat, maybe even some kind of System..."
"Pah! A System? You can't even finish Surrendering in a month—how did I end up with such a weakling!"
Lin Yu sat on Rumble Rock's head, grumbling and muttering to himself.
This state of talking to himself had persisted for a long time; even his Younger Brother beneath him had long grown accustomed to it.
Rumble Rock snorted, ignoring the voice from above its head, and continued to enjoy the sun on its own.
Just then, it suddenly opened its half-closed eyes, staring intently at the Forest Path ahead, and let out a low, wary roar.
"Roar!"
At the same moment, Lin Yu's self-muttering abruptly stopped.
He Suddenly stood up, his gaze sharp as he looked ahead, his handsome face filled with excitement, anticipation, apprehension, and thrill.
"Before coming here, I wondered what exactly had happened in this forest..."
Accompanied by a tone of surprise and the light sound of footsteps, a beautiful, young White-robed Woman emerged from the woods, looking with interest at the mountain-like giant beast and the Young Man atop it:
"But this scene truly exceeded my expectations!"