Self-Made Longsword, Facing the Forest Overlord!

After receiving news that the Neon Nation contestant had claimed a water source, Xu Fan quickened his pace.

Before long, the thick snow began to thin out.

The breeze brushing against his face was no longer quite so cold.

Especially the mountain forest ahead.

Trees.

Weeds.

Earth.

Lush greenery.

Especially in today's resource-scarce world, such a beautiful mountain forest had become exceedingly rare.

And judging by its scale, Xu Fan felt that even if there was no small river in this forest, there should at least be a stream.

Otherwise, it could not possibly provide the forest with such abundant vitality.

Xu Fan took two steps for every three and entered the mountain forest.

However, he did not rush deeper inside.

Instead, he stopped beside a towering Cypress Tree.

The cypress stood nearly thirty meters tall, its trunk thick and full of life.

Xu Fan tossed his backpack onto the ground, climbed up with both hands, selected a branch of suitable thickness, tore it off in one pull, and finally jumped back to the ground.

"If I'm not mistaken, the main force of the Snow Wolves we encountered earlier should be stationed nearby."

Even by Blue Star's common knowledge,

a wolf pack could number anywhere from dozens to over a hundred.

Yet the ones they had encountered on the snowfield only numbered around ten in total.

They were likely a small unit sent out to search for food.

Combined with the information that the Neon Nation contestant had obtained a water source,

Xu Fan guessed that if he wanted to claim this mountain forest, he would most likely need to defeat the Lord of this territory.

The Snow Wolf King!

With that in mind, Xu Fan used his Machete to trim the branch, chopping away the excess parts. Then he tore off a corner of his clothes, cut it into strips, and tied the Machete to one end of the branch.

It resembled a Simple Longsword.

Then, Xu Fan gripped it tightly with both hands and swung it with force.

The blade rubbed against the air, producing a sharp hum!

"It's a little crude, but it should do."

Xu Fan muttered to himself. The template he had unlocked belonged to Whitebeard from the world of One Piece.

Conqueror's Haki.

Observation Haki.

Armament Haki.

Martial arts.

Swordsmanship.

And the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.

Xu Fan had mastered thirty percent of each.

This kind of longsword was better suited to his abilities.

Once everything was ready, Xu Fan put his backpack back on and headed deeper into the mountain forest.

It was worth mentioning that...

Xu Fan had considered how resources could be claimed.

The first possibility was that the first contestant to discover a resource would gain ownership of it.

However...

After he entered the mountain forest, the officials gave no response.

That meant it was probably the second possibility.

Only by defeating the ruler of the territory

could one truly claim its resources!

Only then could the resources manifest in the real world!

In the real world...

The number of viewers in Yan Kingdom's Live Stream Room surged once more, easily breaking past seven hundred million!

Even excluding foreign viewers, there were still at least five hundred million people watching!

Nearly one-fifth of Yan Kingdom's entire population was following Xu Fan!

Moreover, as Xu Fan discovered a vast mountain forest filled with lush greenery and vibrant life, all of Yan Kingdom erupted into celebration!

One spread it to ten, ten spread it to a hundred.

The entire nation rejoiced!

It was no exaggeration to say that compared to the forest Xu Fan had found, the small stream claimed by the Neon Nation was nothing at all!

A mountain forest of this scale could very well conceal a river!

Whether on Tieba, forums, or other social media platforms,

everyone was spamming comments like "Xu Fan is awesome!"

The previous pessimism had been completely swept away.

It was truly wonderful that Xu Fan had been chosen to enter the Forbidden Land!

"Contestant Xu Fan has brought us far too many surprises." Even the usually taciturn Director of Strategic Deception Bureau in the Live Stream Room could not help exclaiming.

Although this mountain forest was not particularly large compared to Yan Kingdom's more than nine million square kilometers of land, it was still astonishing!

If it could manifest in the real world,

it could not only support an entire region of people,

but also help resist the disasters caused by landslides every year!

However...

Just as everyone was thrilled by Xu Fan's discovery, the famous writer Yuan Yuan suddenly poured cold water on them.

"You seem to have overlooked one detail."

"The reason Mr. Koichiro Mori was able to secure a water source for the Neon Nation was because he defeated the giant beast occupying that stream with his exceptional swordsmanship."

"It was not because merely discovering it allowed the resource to manifest in the real world."

"Look, the mountain forest Contestant Xu Fan discovered is indeed larger than the one Mr. Koichiro Mori found. But correspondingly, shouldn't the giant beast in that forest be even more terrifying?"

"Contestant Xu Fan escaped death several times only by relying on luck."

"I seriously doubt that Contestant Xu Fan has the ability to claim these resources."

Yuan Yuan laid out her analysis in an orderly manner.

It instantly calmed the other Guests and the viewers in the Live Stream Room.

Although Yuan Yuan's words always made people uncomfortable,

this time, she had indeed hit the nail on the head.

If merely discovering a resource counted as claiming it, the officials would have announced it long ago.

"This..."

Brother Qiang's expression became worried.

Xu Fan's performance in scaring off the Snow Wolves and calmly finishing them off afterward had been impressive.

But he had never truly fought the Snow Wolves head-on.

No one knew what his actual combat ability was like.

And the most frightening thing was...

Everyone only had one life.

If Xu Fan failed, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Noticing the change in everyone's expressions, Yuan Yuan's lips curled upward into a smile.

She looked as though everyone else was drunk while she alone remained sober.

"That old woman is seriously infuriating! The moment our contestant turns the situation around, she has to come out and make snide remarks. This is too much! I suggest the production team kick her out immediately!"

"Too much +1. But Yuan Yuan isn't wrong this time. Who knows what kind of ferocious beast he'll encounter."

"Could it be the Snow Wolves from before? Like a Wolf King or something..."

Anyone with even a little common sense knew

that an ordinary wolf pack would have a powerful leader.

People called it the Wolf King.

"But what if Xu Fan isn't a match for that thing?"

A pessimistic comment drifted across the screen.

No matter what, Xu Fan had never killed a Snow Wolf by himself.

And the Wolf King was the king of an entire pack.

Even if Xu Fan's presence suppressed it, it would not turn and flee like a Sentinel Wolf.

Most frightening of all, the wolf pack held the status to summon a hundred responses with a single call.

As long as it gave the order, Xu Fan could very well face an assault from hundreds of Snow Wolves!

Without modern weapons, relying only on Xu Fan's combat strength,

how many could he deal with?

One or two?

Three or four?

"Right, can't the officials contact the contestant once? Hurry and tell Xu Fan to leave! We don't need the resources, okay? He absolutely must not die there!"

"Yeah, the officials should contact the contestant right away. Staying alive is what truly matters!"

The comments in the Live Stream Room began calling for the officials to use their once-a-week privilege.

Although the resources of a vast mountain forest were extremely valuable, the consequences of failure would be even more terrifying!

From an ordinary person's perspective, they simply did not believe the benefits outweighed Xu Fan risking his life.