On the surface of the moon, Fang Yuan lit a cigarette, his face filled with worry as he gazed at the massive blue planet in outer space. That planet was Earth. He hadn't been to Earth in half a year and wasn't sure if the incident he had caused on Earth had created a stir. Back then, he simply didn't want to be constantly disturbed, so he decided to be decisive and strike fear into those who might have ill intentions.
Since he had almost no relatives on Earth, it was likely that no one would notice his disappearance. But Fang Yuan wasn't worried about that; his concern lay with the last egg still in the hatching chamber, which hadn't hatched yet. It was a jade egg, made entirely of jade. It had been incubating for over three hundred years, yet still showed no signs of hatching. If it weren't for the life force he could sense emanating from within, Fang Yuan might have doubted whether it had failed.
"According to the previous pattern, the longer the incubation time, the more powerful the species. Could this jade species be more powerful than the Magma Giant?" Fang Yuan mused. The Magma Giant, although powerful, had no gender and couldn't reproduce, which limited its growth. He wondered what kind of species would hatch from the jade egg.
"But this is what makes it interesting. That way, humanity won't feel so lonely," Fang Yuan smiled faintly.
"By the way, every time the world expands, the time flow speed increases. Maybe it'll increase again this time?" Fang Yuan tried adjusting the time flow speed.
Indeed, the time flow in the Steel Ball World increased once more, soon multiplying by ten thousand times. This was the limit; any further acceleration would have to wait until the next world expansion. However, Fang Yuan knew that if the time flow speed in the Steel Ball World became too fast, it would be difficult to observe the world, and his mind would struggle to keep up, leading to fatigue. He decided that even if the world expanded, he would only maintain a ten-thousand-fold acceleration at most.
Additionally, maintaining time acceleration consumed the world's original power. Fortunately, the world's origin was developing rapidly, or Fang Yuan wouldn't dare to play with time flow this way. Even at ten thousand times acceleration, the results were astounding; one day in the outside world equaled about seventeen years and four months in the Steel Ball World.
After setting the time acceleration to ten thousand times, Fang Yuan once again observed the jade egg. Sure enough, the life force within seemed to strengthen at a faster rate. However, something felt strange to him. The life force inside the jade egg seemed somewhat disconnected from the egg itself. It felt as though the life force was independent, with the jade egg merely acting as a container. This was very odd.
"Never mind. As long as it hatches life, that's the best outcome!" Fang Yuan focused his mind on observing the hatching progress of the jade egg and the evolution of the Steel Ball World. He also reconsidered his plans for world development.
Previously, Fang Yuan had planned to develop the Steel Ball World into a Xianxia (immortal hero) world, but that would require an immense amount of knowledge of cultivation techniques, and he couldn't study everything on his own. It might take a long time to guide the people of Steel Ball World to meet the requirements of such a world.
Instead, controlling elements seemed much simpler. Just like the Magma Giant, which could instinctively control magma due to its natural constitution, Fang Yuan, as the god of the world, could control all things in Steel Ball World, including the elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, as well as light and darkness. This made him think that directly developing magic would be far easier than creating complex cultivation techniques.
So, he changed his plan and decided to try developing magic instead.
"Whoosh..."
Fang Yuan's thoughts focused, and the elemental forces in the thin air before him quickly gathered, forming a flash of lightning.
His eyes lit up as he continued experimenting.
Soon, another bolt of lightning appeared, even larger than the first. The purple lightning blasted a hole about ten meters wide into the surface of the moon.
"I didn't expect my mind to be able to control supernatural forces in the outside world. This makes things much more convenient," Fang Yuan was both surprised and pleased. However, compared to his control over Steel Ball World, the power he could command in the outside world was negligible.
In the outside world, he could only rely on the strength of his mind, but in Steel Ball World, he had the backing of the entire world. With just a thought, he could obliterate everything, easily destroying the heavens and earth.
"What about other powers?" Fang Yuan once again simulated the feeling of controlling the forces in Steel Ball World, attempting to command elements like metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.
In the following practice, flames shot into the sky, and violent winds howled as sand and stones flew about. Fang Yuan discovered that nearly every power he could control in Steel Ball World could also be harnessed in the outside world, even though the rules of the two worlds were slightly different. The fundamental principles were quite similar.
Thinking for a moment, Fang Yuan once again entered Steel Ball World, finding himself in a mountain range.
This time, he didn't use the godlike powers of creation; instead, he sealed off his immense power temporarily using the world's force. He focused only on his mind, or rather his spiritual energy, summoning the elements from the air.
"Omnipresent wind element, hear my call, Wind Blade!"
As Fang Yuan chanted, green light flickered, and a wind blade, ten meters long and two meters wide, quickly formed in midair, solidifying like a physical entity.
"Whoosh!"
Fang Yuan called out, and the wind blade shot out silently, slicing through tens of thousands of meters. Where it passed, everything was cleaved in two. Only after the wind blade dissipated did the massive trees it had cut down slowly topple, their broken surfaces as smooth as mirrors.
However, Fang Yuan wasn't fully satisfied. "I'm the master of this world. Even if I suppress my power, the elements of this world will still instinctively be controlled by me!"
"It seems I need to test it outside the world to see how it goes. I can control the forces in Steel Ball World, and although the rules of the two worlds are different, the principles are still sufficient for borrowing."
Fang Yuan left Steel Ball World once again and returned to the surface of the moon.
He tested the Wind Blade again, and sure enough, the wind blade was only one meter long and about twenty centimeters wide. However, it was still powerful enough to easily slice through steel.
Fang Yuan realized that what he had initially thought of as a fun little spell turned out to have some real substance.
The effectiveness of a spell was a form of self-hypnosis, making the caster believe that the elements would truly respond to their summons. In such a state, their spiritual energy would be amplified. It was similar to someone saying, "I'm the best," where the self-hypnosis boosts their confidence and allows them to perform better.
At the same time, a spell could also increase the cohesion of spiritual energy, helping the caster to focus and effectively cast the magic without distractions.
Perhaps this worked better for others than it did for Fang Yuan, as he could cast magic with just his thoughts and didn't need spells. However, spells were crucial for studying the magic that others could cast.
Various types of magic appeared in Fang Yuan's hands, and for someone who controlled an entire world, casting magic was simple. What he needed to do was refine the core essence of each spell type, then guide others to develop different spells within the same system. His role would be to lead and guide the process.