Maria World

Lu Zhiyu looked at the space inside his Universe Scroll. He had never imagined that this plane would inflate like a balloon, growing to such an enormous extent. It was so vast that he seemed unable to see its boundaries, an endless expanse that felt like a real world.

Lu Zhiyu could sense vast amounts of energy and matter surging within the plane. So long as he wielded its rules, he could mold this world into whatever form he desired and create the world he wanted.

Lu Zhiyu acted again, preparing to complete the most crucial step. Just as he had previously set the rules for the Painting Space, he began redefining this world's rules. At once, land and sky gradually appeared within the plane, along with oceans, the sun and moon, stars filling the heavens. Gravity emerged upon the land, as did air, clouds, and wind.

Lu Zhiyu scattered the plant seeds he had prepared long ago inside. Under accelerated time, they continuously grew and multiplied, eventually spreading green across the entire land. Lu Zhiyu could feel that this world no longer rejected the entry of powerful beings. This plane was stable enough and strong enough now. He no longer had to think solely about stuffing insects into it; other lifeforms could enter freely as well, including Lu Zhiyu himself.

However, Lu Zhiyu had no such plans for the moment. It was still unclear whether this world was suited to the survival of humans and animals. Although Lu Zhiyu had created this world, he had done so with the Universe Scroll, the silver Hourglass in his mind, and idiot-proof operations—not through his own power. If he truly considered himself an omnipotent god, then Lu Zhiyu would be courting death.

It was like how Lu Zhiyu could currently use the Universe Scroll's power to bring destruction and apocalypse upon everyone on Earth, but that did not mean Lu Zhiyu possessed that energy himself. A three-year-old child holding the launch button for nuclear weapons could destroy the world too, but would that mean he had mastered nuclear energy? Could he freely control that energy?

Lu Zhiyu was currently that three-year-old holding the nuclear launch button. Yet he had no mad intention of pressing it, nor did he harbor dreams of conquering the entire world and becoming its master. He merely wanted to use this weapon to achieve his ideals and goals. Step by step, he was exploring how to thoroughly turn this power into his own.

It was as though a gigantic hand were painting within space. This time, however, Lu Zhiyu discovered that once he accelerated time to ten thousand times its normal rate, the acceleration began to steadily decline. It seemed that as the space's rules became more complete and the world improved, accelerating time required greater demands and higher levels of energy.

After the plants began growing, Lu Zhiyu noticed that the time acceleration was gradually dropping, from ten thousand times to around nine thousand times, with signs that it would continue falling.

"From the previous two-dimensional plane to when I created the Painting Space, this space's dimensions had already begun to rise. This Crystal Wall System can now be considered a dimensional space. Although it hasn't directly advanced to the level of a three-dimensional universe, its spatial structure and rules are far more complete than before!"

"The more complete the spatial structure and rules become, the stricter the requirements for the flow of time. It can't be adjusted or altered at will!"

Lu Zhiyu suddenly came to this realization. After completing the rule settings, the Source Substance measure in his hand had fallen to one hundred and eight. He did not force the time flow back to his desired rate, since maintaining altered rules required a vast amount of Source Substance. He no longer had enough on hand and needed to reserve some for emergencies.

Lu Zhiyu looked at the enormous Crystal Wall System within the Universe Scroll. It was empty everywhere, containing only two bubbles, one large and one small. The smaller one was the previous Painting Space, which had already completely become a world of ruins. The larger one was the newly created plane world.

"You shall be called Maria World, a world created by Maria, the Goddess of Light!"

Lu Zhiyu gave the new plane a name and made some preliminary arrangements. He immediately took out a notebook and wrote the words "Maria World" on it. Then he moved on to the next stage of his plan: how to make Maria World form a complete ecosystem, a world capable of accommodating all kinds of lifeforms and allowing them to live freely, rather than a distorted and unique lifeform like the Zerg Race.

"An eclipse appeared in the early hours of yesterday morning. Experts have stated that this is very likely a..."

"The effects caused by the eclipse threw the country into chaos. The emergence of an unknown magnetic field caused widespread paralysis of global communication networks. In just over ten minutes..."

"A global eclipse is extremely rare..."

Lu Zhiyu held Li Wei's hand as they watched television in the lobby of a pet shop. The TV was broadcasting yesterday's events. Lu Zhiyu had not expected his actions to have caused such a huge impact, affecting the entire globe. But when he thought of Maria World's incomparably vast space, it seemed perfectly normal.

Li Wei played with her phone and held it out for Lu Zhiyu to see. "Look, there are all kinds of rumors online too. When the sky suddenly went dark yesterday, the hospital was in an uproar as well. But this time, it really doesn't seem to have been an eclipse."

Lu Zhiyu smiled awkwardly. He had also read the news online. Many people claimed that what had happened definitely was not an eclipse, because at that point in time, the orbital positions of Earth, the Moon, and the Sun had not met the conditions for one. Moreover, the effect had not been limited to one location—it had been global. Every corner of the world had lost its light.

The various strange sounds that occurred at the same time also led to endless speculation and discussion. While television and mainstream media continued promoting theories about an eclipse and the like, many scientists and astronomy students had stepped forward to voice their own opinions.

Quite a few people even guessed that this was a precursor to an alien invasion of Earth. Some said God was about to destroy the world and that this had been a rehearsal. All sorts of baseless rumors were everywhere, though none of it had much to do with ordinary people. Everyone simply treated it as a joke and moved on.

Lu Zhiyu held Li Wei close as they looked at her phone. At that moment, the door to a room inside the pet shop opened, and a middle-aged owner came out carrying a contract. "It's ready. Take a look. A lot of the equipment here is already in place—the pet grooming equipment and decor are all quite good. You may need to hire a pet groomer to help out, though. I can recommend one, and I can also introduce you to supply channels!"

"Really? That's wonderful!" Lu Zhiyu said in delight.

This pet shop was not far from Lu Zhiyu's home. The surrounding area was filled with residential communities, parks, and all kinds of supporting amenities, making it an excellent location. Lu Zhiyu quite liked the decor: square-patterned imitation wood flooring, an overall green theme, a very cartoonish style with the fresh feel of nature. The place was also fairly large, around eighty square meters. Once Lu Zhiyu had made up his mind, he seized on the owner's mindset and bargained the price down considerably.

"Cats and Dogs Pet Shop. No need to change the name; this works just fine. We can make a few minor changes to the interior later," Lu Zhiyu said after thinking it over. However, the owner would need another week to move out and complete the handover, so Lu Zhiyu would not become the owner here for another week. During that time, he decided to take the opportunity to go out for a walk.

Ahem, this lazy author hopes everyone can spare some recommendation votes. I think my updates have been pretty solid, so I hope everyone can support this new book too!