"This... is the mist?"
Lin Feng stepped into the Misty Forest.
Now that the forest had taken form, a faint layer of mist had begun to spread throughout.
Thin—barely noticeable—yet it was unmistakably real mist.
It was midday, and the sun was blazing overhead, but the mist lingered, refusing to dissipate.
In the early morning, the mist in a normal forest would be heavier—caused by natural humidity. But this wasn't ordinary fog. This was mist born from the Mist Trees themselves.
That other kind of fog would vanish the moment sunlight touched it.
But the thin, pale mist surrounding Lin Feng now—this was different. This was true Mist.
No matter how fiercely the sun shone, as long as the Misty Forest remained, the mist would never disappear.
And this kind of mist... held true power—it could confuse and mislead.
---
"I suppose the Morning Mist Wraiths will only appear when the mist becomes dense enough?"
That was Lin Feng's thought.
The forest had only just begun to take shape, and already it was forming mist. It wouldn't be long now—just a few more days, and the density would rise.
Today marked the seventeenth day. Between the twentieth and twenty-fifth day, a Morning Mist Wraith would surely appear.
Lin Feng couldn't help feeling a surge of anticipation.
---
"Master, I'm ready to evolve."
On the second day, Miao Miao came to find Lin Feng.
"You're ready to evolve?" Lin Feng looked at her in surprise.
She hadn't even been around for a week yet. He had assumed her evolution would require more time—especially in gathering enough earth-element energy.
Miao Miao nodded. "Yes, Master. I've absorbed quite a bit of earth-element energy these past few days. But I still need the Life Tree to supply life energy for the actual evolution."
Lin Feng suddenly realized his misunderstanding.
He'd been thinking that the Life Tree needed to slowly absorb elemental energy on her behalf. But that was wrong—elemental spirits were living beings. They could absorb elemental energy on their own.
And Miao Miao had been helping with planting the whole time, constantly in contact with the soil. Naturally, she'd absorbed a lot of earth energy that way.
Combined with what the Life Tree had gathered, it made sense her evolution had come so soon.
Still, life energy was essential for the final step—and that required his approval. That's why she had come to him directly.
"Alright, Miao Miao. I'll evolve you tonight."
Even at level 1 she was incredibly helpful—once she reached level 2, she'd be even more valuable.
That evening, Lin Feng placed her into the Life Tree and spent 200 life points to initiate her evolution.
---
Boom—
That night, lightning split the sky. Thunder rumbled endlessly.
The second rain since entering the Floating Island world had arrived—and it was a thunderstorm.
"Haha! Finally—it's raining. My island was almost out of water!"
"Hope it doesn't pour too hard... my crops could get washed away."
"Why worry? The monster tide will wipe us out in a few days anyway. Just enjoy the ride."
"…"
The various chat groups buzzed with activity.
Many new island owners were still hard at work planting late into the night. Now, with the rain falling, they had no choice but to pause and gather in their shelters to chat.
---
"Only two more days until we can sell our first harvest—I'm so excited!"
"Su Hongxuan from Class 3 already started mass-selling his fruits a couple days ago. I heard he invested tens of millions early on and used a lot of C-rank seeds. He's definitely gunning for the Newcomer King title."
"Newcomer King? Him? I know at least a few people who've poured in over 100 million already."
"Didn't Lin Feng in our class start selling fruits a week ago? I wonder if he has a shot at the title."
"I doubt it. We still don't know much about Lin Feng. Besides, there are too many elite family heirs this year, and plenty of top students have received massive corporate investments. It's going to be a brutal fight."
The class chat group was lively.
Some were discussing sales strategies, others were already talking about the Newcomer King competition.
The Newcomer King would be chosen automatically after the first monster tide eliminated most rookie island owners. According to the rules of the Floating Island World, the system would rank all new players.
Winning the title had huge benefits: early island expansion, shorter cooldowns on special defense systems, and longer durations for those defenses.
This included the key mechanism that forced monsters to attack only from the ground—preventing aerial landings on the island. The CD (cooldown) reduction and increased duration of this defense was critical during monster tides.
That's why so many heirs of wealthy families had invested tens or even hundreds of millions right from the start.
It wasn't just about surviving monsters—most of the funds went toward manpower. Hiring workers in the Floating Island world was expensive—newcomers couldn't hire anyone for less than 800 a day.
Think about it: those who hired a thousand workers from day one were burning over 800,000 a day on labor alone.
Lin Feng hadn't hired anyone. But his elemental spirits worked as effectively as hundreds of people.
And now, with their upcoming evolutions, their usefulness would only continue to grow.
---
Lin Feng didn't join in the class discussions. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the crown of the Life Tree.
There, bolts of lightning struck again and again.
Lan Sha had already transformed into lightning itself, absorbing the energy from the storm.
Bai Ling had also flown out—ready to seize this thunderstorm to power up as well.
That night, thunder roared and lightning danced across the sky.
The canopy of the Life Tree had grown even denser, and now barely any rain could trickle through.
Lin Feng stood just outside the treehouse, occasionally glancing upward.
From time to time, Lan Sha would draw a bolt of lightning down through the Life Tree, absorbing the electric energy within.
As for Bai Ling—she had completely vanished, nowhere to be seen.
Tonight's storm was far heavier than the last.
---
"Aaaah! Why is it raining so hard? One of my plots just got washed away!"
"Crap! The dam I built near the edge of my island collapsed—lost a ton of soil!"
"Told you guys you're worrying for nothing. We're all gonna get eliminated anyway. If it runs off, it runs off."
"Exactly. Just sell what you've grown in a few days, pocket a few hundred thousand, and head back to Earth. A one-month vacation in the Floating Island world—sounds good to me."
"As if! You think your seeds were free?"
"…"
In the wristband chats among island lords, the topic of the night was this relentless storm.
And indeed, the rain was pouring down harder than anyone had expected.
---
For many island lords, this kind of rain was disastrous. Crops planted in low-lying areas risked being destroyed, and soil erosion would be a major problem.
But on Lin Feng's island, none of that was a concern.
The ring of Misty Forest encircling his floating island actually helped prevent soil erosion quite effectively.
Even without the Misty Forest, Miao Miao had already spent the past few days restructuring the island's water flow—redirecting rainwater toward the small lake beside the Life Tree.
She had even expanded the lake, digging out the rich soil inside and redistributing it to areas with poor-quality soil for future planting.
This small lake now functioned as a reservoir.
And Bai Ling?
She had already transformed into water itself—absorbing the water-element energy she needed to level up, while also guiding the flow of rainwater toward the lake.
All the water was converging into the reservoir.
Over the past ten days, the water in the lake had been gradually consumed during irrigation. Now, it was the perfect time for a refill.
---
The heavy rain lasted through the entire night.
Lin Feng stayed up late.
With thunder echoing in the distance, he rested one hand on Meng Meng's body and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Meng Meng always radiated a comforting warmth while Lin Feng slept, keeping the area around him cozy. Even without a blanket, he never caught cold.
And even if he did fall ill, Meng Meng was the best doctor he could ask for. She could heal even severe wounds with ease—ordinary illnesses were nothing to her.
---
The next morning, the rain finally stopped.
Lin Feng stretched lazily and, as soon as he got up, went looking for Lan Sha and Bai Ling.
They were already awake—and planting.
At the pace they were going, in just two more days, every inch of plantable land on the island would be fully sown.
Once all that matured and yielded harvests, Lin Feng would rake in a fortune—and then he could start planning for more high-value crops.
---
The ground outside was still muddy, but Lin Feng noticed a path leading to the treehouse that remained dry.
He didn't even need to ask—this was clearly Bai Ling's doing. She had drawn the moisture out of the path to make it easier for him to walk.
Though not as clingy as Meng Meng, Bai Ling was thoughtful in her own quiet way.
She truly was a gentle, water-like girl.
---
Soon, Lin Feng found them. When he pulled up their status panels, a smile spread across his face.
After just one night—Bai Ling had reached level 3!
No—not just Bai Ling. Lan Sha had also reached level 3!
Two levels in a single night!
Lin Feng had only expected them to rise one level. He hadn't anticipated a double upgrade.
Miao Miao had also leveled up, now at level 2, though her progress had been slower—she didn't have the kind of natural breakthrough opportunity the other two had.
Lightning Elemental Sprite: Lan Sha
Level: 3
Skills: Release and Manipulate Lightning, Lightning Ball
Water Elemental Sprite: Bai Ling
Level: 3
Skills: Water Manipulation, Water Shield (Defensive)
---
The information panels for Lan Sha and Bai Ling were still quite simple.
The changes occurred in their skills.
After both reached level 3, some changes had already taken place in their abilities.
For example, Lan Sha used to only release lightning, but now she can both release and manipulate lightning, which indicates a more refined control over the lightning.
Additionally, Lan Sha has gained a new skill: Lightning Ball. This is clearly an offensive ability.
---
Bai Ling's skills also saw some changes, with the addition of Water Shield, a defensive skill.
Apart from this, it's certain that Bai Ling's control over water has become much more powerful!
This is definite!
At level 3, Bai Ling's strength has increased several times compared to when she was at level 1!
The same goes for Lan Sha.
---
After observing the changes in the two of them, Lin Feng checked the information panel for Miao Miao.
Earth Elemental Sprite: Miao Miao
Level: 2
Skills: Soil Manipulation, Rock Manipulation (Weak)
Miao Miao's panel hasn't changed much. Her skills remain the same, though the description of her Rock Manipulation skill has gone from "Extremely Weak" to "Weak."
If she reaches level 3, the word "Weak" will likely be gone.
Miao Miao's leveling requires accumulation. Lin Feng felt that if the floating island were larger, Miao Miao would probably grow faster.
---
Currently, Miao Miao and Meng Meng are both at level 2, while Lan Sha and Bai Ling are both at level 3.
After all four of them leveled up, their efficiency in planting became noticeably higher.
Miao Miao only needed to stand in front of patches of soil and quickly manipulate it, making the soil loose and creating cracks for Meng Meng and the others to scatter the seeds.
Meng Meng and Lan Sha simply had to drop the seeds and then leave. After they finished a patch, Miao Miao would close the soil again, and Bai Ling would complete the watering.
The process, compared to before, was much faster!
---
"Today, we should be able to finish all the planting."
Lin Feng thought to himself.
He continued with his harvesting.
By afternoon, Meng Meng and the others came over.
"Master, we've completed planting all the suitable land!"
Lan Sha said.
Lin Feng looked and indeed, all the planting was done!
Now, for at least a month, he wouldn't have to worry about planting.
Many crops could even be harvested multiple times.
After a few harvests, they could start planting more valuable plants.
With the help of the system, even fruit trees that would normally take years to grow could likely have their growth and fruit ripening cycles shortened.
---
"Meng Meng, Lan Sha, Bai Ling, Miao Miao, you all did well. Tonight, I'll tell you the story of the White Snake!"
Seeing that the four elemental sprites had completed all the planting so quickly, Lin Feng decided to reward them.
The reward would be a story.
Yes, they had recently enjoyed hearing Lin Feng tell stories.
The mythological tales from the Eastern world, especially those with a romantic theme, always made them tear up!
The four elemental sprites were overjoyed!
---
Thus, the evening passed in Lin Feng's storytelling.
The next day, it only took a little over half a day to finish harvesting all the fruits.
And once again, Lin Feng became the idle overseer.
They completed all the tasks without needing him at all.
Lin Feng wandered through the Misty Forest again. It was already the 20th day, and the mist had grown denser. It seemed that the Morning Mist Demoness would soon emerge.
After the 20th day, a large number of sale posts began to appear in the trade channel.
Other new floating island masters were selling their first harvest.
"F-rank tree berries, fifty pounds, cheap price, anyone interested?"
"E-rank strawberries, thirty pounds, available daily, welcome to buy~"
"....."
Several companies specializing in acquisitions seized the opportunity to make big purchases.
Because so many new floating island masters were selling their first harvests, the prices were being driven down by 20%-40% compared to normal!
However, Lin Feng's prices were not being reduced by Shen Mengxue's company.