The Threat of Native Dominant Forces!

A gigantic ice phoenix spread its wings, almost covering the entire sky.

Its shadow shrouded the entire village of Avalon.

The phoenix exuded an extreme coldness, with icy shards scattering from the air as its massive wings flapped.

A biting cold wind erupted from its center, raging fiercely.

Every tree around the village of Avalon was coated in a layer of frost.

Its presence was overwhelming!

The ice phoenix circled above the village, its cold, arrogant eyes fixed on the humans below, as if it would dive down and launch a violent attack at any moment.

You Qian sat on a chair, squinting his eyes as he watched the giant bird.

The humans, too, showed no fear on their faces, standing ready and staring intently at the ice phoenix.

In the end, perhaps realizing it couldn't breach the heavenly blessing barrier, the ice phoenix quickly turned and flew out of the valley, leaving a long trail of frost in the mountains as it disappeared.

This ice phoenix was a being of dominator level, surpassing 9 stars!

"It seems the native forces in this area couldn't hold back any longer and sent it over to gather information!" You Qian drummed his fingers slowly on the table. "Luckily, the humans were busy serving me, washing up, and having breakfast. Otherwise, if they had gone out hunting early, they would have surely been targeted by this icy menace. Given the current level disparity, there could have been casualties!"

Although humans could be resurrected through sacrifices, it was a significant drain on Yu Qian, causing him to feel weakened for a time and indirectly slowing the development of his territory. It wasn't worth the cost.

"This icy creature seems quite intelligent, knowing when to retreat decisively without any hesitation," You Qian thought, realizing it was a major threat. After all, the heavenly blessing barrier would soon disappear. When it came back and found the barrier gone, it wouldn't just take a tour and leave but would launch a thunderous attack!

"Enhancing the strength of the humans can't be neglected for a moment!" You Qian scanned the humans, making a mental note. Suddenly, he noticed that all the humans were kneeling before him.

"A powerful enemy attacked, yet we were powerless to stop it, disturbing the Holy One. Please, Emperor, punish us!" Even powerful figures like Dreamweaver and Artemis looked ashamed.

To them, the Emperor was a supreme being, beyond any disrespect. This incident was a testament to their incompetence!

"It's alright, everyone just needs to work on improving their levels," You Qian waved his hand, indicating it wasn't a big deal.

"The Emperor is benevolent and magnanimous, giving us a chance to redeem ourselves!" The crowd responded with excitement and reverence.

Archer Artemis solemnly declared, "I will not fail the Emperor's expectations and will improve my cultivation! Once I reach 9 stars, I can keep it at bay. If I reach dominator, killing it will be as easy as slaughtering a dog!"

You Qian nodded, knowing Artemis was right. The potential limit of a unit determined the highest level they could achieve. However, the higher the potential, the greater their advantage over other units of the same level.

Artemis, an archer, could eventually reach the pinnacle of demigod. However, she didn't need to reach demigod to kill a dominator-level ice phoenix!

But it was too early to discuss this now. After all, she wasn't even close to 7 stars yet. Improving levels took time, and though the progress was quick, it still required some days.

If she could reach 9 stars in the next few days and keep the ice phoenix outside, You Qian wouldn't be greedy. Besides Artemis, there was also the 7-star illusionist Dreamweaver. She too was refining herself in battle and growing.

Judging by the accumulation of spiritual energy within her, it was foreseeable that she could reach 9 stars even faster than Artemis.

If both of them worked hard, they might reach 9-star strength before the heavenly blessing barrier disappeared.

Then, if the ice phoenix dared to come "sightseeing" again, the combined strength of two 9-star warriors and the equally formidable farmers would undoubtedly ensure that icy menace stayed in Avalon village forever!

Thinking of this, You Qian felt a bit of anticipation.

…

Perhaps due to the eerie transformations of the night, the number of strange beasts around the territory, which had been cleared out the day before, increased again by morning. Of course, this wasn't entirely a bad thing. After all, it made hunting more convenient for the humans.

Yu Qian opened the "Trading Area" to check on the sale of skill books, water, and equipment he had listed the previous day.

As expected, everything had sold out overnight. The skill books and water had fetched over three thousand units of wood and nearly a thousand units of stone. The equipment, sold through auction, had brought in over fifty thousand units of wood, more than ten thousand units of stone, and over a thousand units of steel.

Such substantial earnings propelled him significantly forward on the path to upgrading the leader's mansion!

These resources would make other leaders green with envy!

At this stage, most leaders were still in the early stages of development. Their territories were weak, and their resource collection efficiency was very low. Most of their materials were counted in the hundreds. Top-tier unit leaders were slightly better, with a few managing to gather resources in the thousands.

But compared to You Qian's haul, where resources were measured in tens of thousands, they were practically destitute. Not to mention, most leaders were still struggling with intermediate villages, while You Qian was already racing towards "early town" status, leaving all other leaders far behind.

…

In the yard, after counting the transaction proceeds, You Qian prepared to summon new human units at the Human Altar.

At this moment, Archer Artemis and others returned with the first batch of hunting spoils. Yu Qian casually glanced at Artemis and was taken aback.

From a distance, he saw that Artemis had leveled up. Now, her presence was even more imposing, her single ponytail neat, her figure explosive, and her face cool and collected.

She had ascended from a 6-star level to a 7-star level, matching Dreamweaver!

But just this morning, she had still been at 6 stars. How did she level up so quickly after just one hunt?

Yu Qian shook his head. Impossible. Twenty-something beasts weren't enough to level her up.

Sensing the Emperor's will, Artemis approached You Qian and respectfully saluted.

"I have felt the supreme will of the Emperor and have come to report!"

"Artemis, tell me how you leveled up?"

Upon hearing You Qian's question, Artemis's face lit up with reverence.

"I sensed that I had reached a bottleneck. During this morning's hunt, under the Emperor's divine inspiration, I broke through the bottleneck and stepped into the 7-star realm!"

So that's how it was.

The so-called divine inspiration was obviously nonsense. It was clear that humans could absorb spiritual energy from the environment at any time for cultivation. Of course, this was much less efficient compared to hunting strange beasts.

Artemis had long reached a bottleneck. She had been absorbing spiritual energy all along, and combined with the spiritual energy from this morning's hunt, naturally broke through.

With the mystery solved, You Qian encouraged Artemis a bit before turning to the Human Altar to summon new human units.