"I, Zhang Damao, Discovered a New Continent."

The moment the braised offal touched his tongue, the man froze in place. After a long pause, he looked toward the signboard hanging to the side—Jiangbei Braised Master—and four words surfaced in his heart: worthy of the name! Never in his life had he tasted braised food this delicious. It was an indescribable flavor, an ecstasy akin to having one's prostate prodded with a stick. "Tasty, isn't it?" Zhao Shengping grinned widely. "Dig in! In all of Jiangbei—or rather, the entire four regions of Jiangbei—no one makes braised dishes better than me." The man nodded in a daze, entirely at a loss for words. Utterly captivated by the flavors flooding his mouth, he wolfed down the portion in his hands, then hurriedly retrieved two ghost stones from inside his robes. "Give me another serving! I want to take some home for my family to try." "Coming right up!" Zhao Shengping cheerfully agreed. The ghost stones his shop earned were handed over directly to Fan Domain; he didn't keep a single stone for himself. Not that he minded—he was hardly hurting for ghost stones anyway. What he cared about was the joy of cooking braised food and the satisfaction of seeing his craft appreciated. Everyone had a passion in life. If someone claimed to have none, it didn't mean they truly lacked one; it merely meant the harsh realities of the world had worn down their edges until their everyday thoughts were consumed by earning a few ghost stones to survive the ghost tides. That was completely normal and understandable. His passion just happened to be braised offal. Before long, a long queue formed in front of the stall. Wagon after wagon of visitors arriving from Ping'an City stopped before the shop and joined the line. Similar scenes played out across all of Fan Domain. The official opening of Fan Domain High-Speed Rail Line 1 on its first day caused a massive stir. It affected not only the various factions, but also brought a profound shock to the ordinary folk of Jiangnan. "Young Master." Chen Fan had returned to Fan City. Standing atop the city walls of Fan City, he looked down at the bustling scene below, amusement lingering in his eyes. Beside him, Quehou remarked with a touch of concern, "Young Master, what about our Silk Road? Previously, because the journey was so long and arduous, it was inconvenient for most people to travel to Jiangbei; other factions would buy our Skeleton Horses and take them back to sell in their own territories for a profit. But now that the high-speed rail is open, travel has become remarkably convenient. Those people could simply take the train to Fan Domain themselves, buy Skeleton Horses, and bring them back. Aside from the ticket fare, paying a bit for rail freight storage hardly costs anything. Won't this disrupt our Silk Road plan?" "It won't," Chen Fan replied softly with a chuckle. "Don't rush; let the bullet fly for a bit. Besides, haven't we only sold Skeleton Horses at wholesale rather than retail from the start?" What he intended to do was very simple: make the pie bigger. Four years from now, he would need at least three hundred million ghost stones. Amassing that many was no small undertaking. He could certainly squeeze ghost stones from the four regions of Jiangnan and Jiangbei, but there was a ceiling to how much wealth those regions possessed. He had to first find a way to enlarge the pie and enable others to acquire more ghost stones, which in turn would allow him to rake in even more. Take a simple principle: ghost stones primarily came from ghost creatures. During the dry season, hunting ghost creatures was no easy task, as it meant venturing into the Eternal Night—an impossible feat for most. The only remaining method was laying traps. In the past, whenever an architect was invited elsewhere to construct a building, traveling back and forth was exceedingly difficult. Now, with high-speed rail, transit was far easier. The overall defenses of the four regions of Jiangbei would rise accordingly. At the same time, by following the Jiangnan Shui clan's method of using bait to lure ghost creatures, they could draw them into attacking ghost fires even outside the rainy season. That would boost the output of ghost stones across the four regions. It would get more ghost stones circulating in the market, ultimately channeling them all into his pockets. His domain was the final terminal; once stones entered his purse, they rarely left. Indeed. During their cleanup of the Jiangnan Shui clan, they had uncovered the clan's secret schemes to frame two other architectural factions during the rainy season. Chen Fan already viewed the four regions of Jiangbei as Fan Domain's territory. Once the development of all four regions was complete, Fan Domain would assume an entirely new form to carve into the massive pie that was the Guanxi Plain. He turned and gazed toward the distant sea. Many travelers from Ping'an City had paused by the shore to take in the view. As the damp ocean breeze brushed against his face, Chen Fan stared toward the far horizon, wondering how Wang Mazi was faring. All he knew was that the man was still alive. Wang Mazi's life tablet had not shattered. Beyond that, he knew nothing. More than ten days had passed. He didn't know whether they were still adrift upon the waves or if they had discovered something new. Fan Domain was currently developing at breakneck speed. It transformed almost day by day. Yet on the other side... "What the hell is that damn thing?!" Standing on the deck with a blade gripped in his left hand, his right arm clamped tightly around the mast, Wang Mazi roared with a ferocious grimace, "Hard to port! Steer clear! Steer clear!" Night had not yet fallen. Yet overhead, a massive expanse of dark clouds hung so low it threatened to collapse upon them, plunging the world into endless gloom. A violent gale and torrential rain battered them mercilessly. The sea ship beneath their feet was by no means small, yet on these raging waters, it was tossed about like a leaf, liable to be swallowed by the waves at any second. They had set out with three sea ships. Now, only one remained. On the ninth day of their voyage, ghost creatures had ambushed them in the dead of night, destroying two of the ships. Fortunately, thanks to Wang Mazi's decisive command, they abandoned the two vessels ensnared by the tentacles of octopus-like ghost creatures and brought the crew aboard this final ship, barely escaping with their lives. However... They had lost a substantial amount of resources in the process, including their most precious supply: fresh water. Most of their potable water had been stored on those two destroyed ships. Just as they were debating whether to turn back, they spotted an island. The entire crew erupted in ecstasy. It meant they truly had discovered a new land—an island completely detached from the Eternal Night Continent, possessing vast territory. On it, they discovered an abundance of heavenly materials and earthly treasures. Among them was a fruit roughly the size of an apple, which upon closer inspection possessed features resembling eyes and a nose, looking remarkably like a monkey's head. He recognized it. It had been covered during Fan Domain's training sessions. The academy in Fan Domain offered a crucial course dedicated to teaching members how to recognize and preserve various heavenly materials and earthly treasures, ensuring they wouldn't overlook rare finds. That fruit was the Monkey Head Fruit, a treasure considered exceedingly rare on the Eternal Night Continent. Here, however... It covered the hills and plains. As far as the eye could see, it stretched without end! Every member of the Commerce Pavilion went wild with joy. Everyone knew they had achieved immense merit; once they returned, the Domain Lord would surely shower them with rewards. They truly had discovered a "New Continent." Yet after landing on the island, replenishing their fresh water, and gathering a haul of Monkey Head Fruits to prepare for the voyage home, they ran into a storm. A storm of terrifying proportions. They were entirely unable to control their heading and could only drift helplessly with the raging swell. They drifted farther and farther away from Fan Domain. Right then! Without any warning whatsoever, the overhead storm clouds seemed to be torn apart by an invisible giant hand. The waves surged frantically, coalescing into a spiraling water spout hundreds of meters high that pierced straight into the heavens, as if a colossal dragon hidden within the clouds were siphoning up the sea. "Hard to port!" Wang Mazi, clinging tightly to the mast to anchor himself, shrieked at the top of his lungs, "Steer hard!" He didn't know what that thing was. He only knew that if they were sucked in, they were dead meat. Endless swarms of ghost creatures surged past both sides of the ship, carried along by the waves in numbers far exceeding anything they had ever witnessed. Yet these creatures had no time to attack them; they seemed to be fleeing in terror from something. Trapped in that stretch of ocean, the crew lost all sense of time, unable to tell day from night. Amidst sheer despair, a monstrous wave slammed down on them. Several members of the Commerce Pavilion were swept into the sea. The remaining crew members were knocked unconscious by the impact. An unknown amount of time passed. Light spilled across the deck of the sea ship for the first time in ages. The vessel drifted like a solitary leaf upon the water; they had finally broken out of that terrifying region of thunderstorms and towering swells. But... The bad news was that they were even farther from Fan Domain now. And they were also drifting further from the uninhabited "Hope Island" they had discovered. The name of that island had been chosen amid excited discussion among the Commerce Pavilion crew. Having been knocked into the cabin by the wave, Wang Mazi struggled to crawl out onto the deck. Feeling the calm waters around them, he turned back to look at the storm-covered sea behind them, where dark clouds formed a stark boundary line across the horizon. "Pavilion Master..." a pale-faced subordinate beside him reported with great difficulty, "we lost many brothers. Counting you and me, only twelve of us are left." Wang Mazi looked toward the horizon and rasped, "Tally our ghost stones. Prepare to return." "We don't have many ghost stones left..." They were out of ammunition and provisions. Stranded in the deep ocean, far from any help, they were completely alone. Fan Domain didn't even know their location, let alone their dire straits; no one could come to their rescue. Without ghost stones, they could not make the return voyage. Right at that moment— He suddenly spotted a new island ahead, one significantly smaller than Hope Island. Perhaps it was part of the Eternal Night Continent. Or perhaps it was another new land altogether. "Make landfall!" Wang Mazi quickly reined in his emotions and barked, "Set up camp, prepare for battle, and slay enough ghost creatures to get us home!" If they lacked ghost stones, they would slaughter ghost creatures to earn them. The remaining ghost stones were enough to power their cannon towers for a short while. Soon! The ship hoisted its sails, turned the rudder, and set off once more. The moment the sea ship dropped anchor along the island's shore, Wang Mazi looked at the scene before him, his eyes wide with shock. If Hope Island had borne not a single trace of human presence... Then this island was entirely covered in signs of human habitation. At a glance, skeletal remains of ghost creatures and humans lay scattered across the land. Priceless ghost stones rested everywhere, left uncollected. Looking further, one could see the ruins of numerous destroyed structures. Beyond that, there were no living creatures. Only dead silence. No, wait. Occasionally, a rat scurried across the rubble; there were still small signs of life. This was... an island destroyed by ghost creatures. Humans had once built a base here, only for it to be overwhelmed by a ghost tide. No human had set foot on the island since; otherwise, those ghost stones would never have been left behind. They were the very first people to arrive here since the island's fall. Wang Mazi's mouth fell open as he stared into the distance. This was merely the first island they had seen. Once ashore, they could vaguely make out clusters of small islands scattered behind it like stars. In all likelihood, those islands had met the same fate. And further beyond... The faint coastline of a massive continent loomed on the horizon. He turned back to look behind him. Across the sea, the expanse of black clouds and thunderstorms stretched for hundreds of kilometers with no end in sight, acting like a distinct divide that completely severed this region from the waters of Fan Domain's Dead Sea. "Let's check the others!" Wang Mazi did not immediately collect the ghost stones. Instead, he boarded the ship to investigate the neighboring islands. One island. Two islands. Three, four... They scouted six islands closest to them. Without exception, every island was covered in destroyed human settlements and mounds of ghost creature carcasses. One could only imagine that long ago, a terrifying ghost tide had swept across all these islands—perhaps even the entire continent. These islands had merely served as forward outposts for that continent, the very first to fall when the ghost tide struck. Wang Mazi did not set foot on the continent itself. Although the coastline was visible to the naked eye, that was only because of the clear weather; in reality, it was still a great distance away. He returned to the first island. This was the outermost front of the continent, perhaps the defensive line closest to the ghost tide's advance. He climbed a hill on the island. Looking across the terrain, he could see that the ghost creature remains were not evenly distributed. The vast majority were concentrated on the northern side of the island—the side facing away from the continent. From this, one could deduce that the ghost tide had made landfall from beneath the sea, surging onto the islet. After leaving behind countless corpses, the endless swarm had swallowed the desperate outpost whole. Was this the Eternal Night Continent? He wasn't sure. Perhaps it was an entirely new continent. He had never imagined that other continents existed beyond the Eternal Night Continent. He had assumed it encompassed the entire world—it was already vast enough. Before meeting Chen Fan, he had thought Jiangbei was the entire world. Jiangbei was already huge, with many places he had never visited. "Pavilion Master..." A trusted subordinate stepped forward with trembling legs. "Are... are we going back?" Wang Mazi turned silently to face his fearful men. Every one of them was wounded, the initial excitement of setting sail completely washed away. After being battered by the ocean, none of them wanted to take any more risks. "We are going back," he rasped, nodding heavily without the slightest hesitation. "We must bring this news back. We must let the Domain Lord know that Hope Island exists. We must let him know that a fallen continent lies here, overflowing with abandoned ghost stones—enough to build an impenetrable defense line for Jiangbei." The men standing behind Wang Mazi kept their heads bowed, offering no response. They were terrified. None of them wanted to brave that sea of thunderstorms again. Yet to return, they had to cross it. "Pavilion Master," the same subordinate said in a low voice, "ghost creatures devour ghost stones. Since the stones here haven't been consumed, it means there are no ghost creatures left on this ruined continent. It's safe here. Maybe... maybe we could..." "Could what? Stay here?" Wang Mazi let out a laugh. "Why didn't you speak up earlier? Had you told me before we set sail, we could've brought a few women along! What's a bunch of rough men going to do staying here? Besides, it doesn't look like there's any food on this island. What would we eat? We have to try. That sea of thunderstorms has to end somewhere. If we sail along its edge, maybe we can bypass it and find our way home. And since we managed to break through once, we can definitely do it a second time." "Pavilion Master!" The man looked up, his eyes bloodshot. "I'll speak plainly! If these ghost stones were truly so easy to take, the figure who once guarded Nameless Mountain would've taken them long ago! Why would he leave them for us? That sea of thunderstorms is certain death! We were lucky to survive it once—can we survive it a second time? I'm starting to think we might already be dead. This isn't a new continent at all; it's the Underworld! Or maybe we've been poisoned and everything before us is a hallucination! Going back is suicide! Pavilion Master, I really don't want to die, I..." The man's voice grew louder and louder, teetering on the brink of an emotional breakdown. Before he could finish, Wang Mazi stepped forward, brought the edge of his hand down on the man's neck to knock him unconscious, and caught him in his arms. He looked at the ragged, disheveled survivors and remained silent for a long time before speaking in a hoarse voice. "A place even that great figure never discovered... "We found it. "Us! "Me, Wang Mazi, and all of you—we created a miracle! "We have to go back. We must go back! We have to bring this news back! The ghost stones here will guarantee the completion of the Jiangbei defense line! Don't you want to start families? Don't you want your children to grow up in a place free from the corruption of ghost creatures? "I swear on my life that I will bring every one of you back alive. "If we broke through once, we can break through twice. "Trust me." The despair of the Thunderstorm Sea had nearly shattered their resolve. After a long silence, another man stepped forward with a grin. "Pavilion Master. When we set sail, the folks from the Logistics Pavilion had me fill out a personnel file. One of the questions asked what highlight moments I've had in my life. I thought about it for a long time and wrote 'None.' My entire life has been unremarkable, without a single moment of glory. I'm with you. If we make it back alive, I'm going straight to those bastards in the Logistics Pavilion and making them write this down in my file: "'I, Zhang Damao, discovered a New Continent.' "If I die, Pavilion Master, you have to go to the Logistics Pavilion and update my file for me." "Don't worry," Wang Mazi grinned, his eyes slightly red. "When we return, whichever of us makes it back alive will go to the Logistics Pavilion to update the files for every brother—including those who have already fallen." "Count me in!" "Me too!" The others exchanged glances, then stepped forward through gritted teeth. The morale that had been on the verge of collapsing coalesced once more. "Good!" Wang Mazi laughed with reddened eyes. "Gather some ghost stones and load them onto the ship. We'll skirt the Thunderstorm Sea and find our way home!" Just then, the subordinate in his arms regained consciousness—or perhaps he had woken up earlier. He didn't break down hysterically this time. After a long pause, he asked softly, "Pavilion Master, even if we bring the news back, how will the Domain Lord exploit these ghost stones?" "The Domain Lord will have his ways," Wang Mazi replied with a smile. "Trust him. That's not our concern. Our job is to bring back the ghost-skin map and the information." A large quantity of ghost stones was gathered and hauled into the hold, securing their fuel for the return journey. Four or five men took saws to the island's trees, cutting them into planks to patch and reinforce the battered ship. Wang Mazi walked alone into the ruins of the settlement. On a crumbling wall, he spotted several marks. There were 371 tally marks in total, etched closely together. The first 370 were checkmarks, signifying a peaceful night. Only the final mark was a cross, denoting an incoming ghost tide. That last mark had been carved in extreme haste, and no further marks followed it. Wang Mazi stood frozen before the markings. His eyes grew moist, but after a moment, he let out a chuckle. It reminded him of the rainy season, when Zhou Mo had done the exact same thing every night—carving a mark into the wooden planks each day they survived. Fortunately, their own luck had been better. Their planks had been filled entirely with checkmarks, carrying them through the rainy season. At last, after resting on the island for a night, they set sail at dawn. The sea ship traveled along the perimeter of the Thunderstorm Sea for nearly thirty days. Yet the storm-covered waters seemed boundless, standing like an impassable chasm. There was no way to sail around it. And the ghost stones remaining in the hold would not permit them to waste any more fuel. "Brothers!" Standing on the deck, Wang Mazi glanced toward the sea to his left, where dark clouds churned and lightning flashed, then looked at the men gazing up at him. The fear in their eyes was gone. They knew there was no retreat left. Their gazes held only unyielding resolve and reckless fervor. After a brief pause, Wang Mazi broke into a grin. "Before joining Fan Domain, I was just like the rest of you—I'd never accomplished anything earth-shattering. When the Logistics Pavilion had me fill out my file, I wrote 'None' in the highlight section as well. "But after today— "So long as we make it back alive and deliver this intelligence, our lives will have been worth living! This is the greatest deed any of us will ever accomplish! "Today is not just my finest hour—it is yours as well! "If we survive, the glory to come belongs to all of us! "And if the heavens are blind and this journey has no return, then this sea shall be our grave, and I will be buried alongside you!" Wang Mazi took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over every face. Raising his broadsword high, he roared with fierce determination, "Hard to port! Return home!" The next instant, the sea ship swung its bow around, surging headlong into the Thunderstorm Sea like an arrow loosed from the bowstring! Dark clouds choked the sky. The ocean churned like swirling ink, without a trace of blue. As the ship pressed inward, the waves grew tempestuous as if boiling, slamming repeatedly against the hull. Darkness enveloped their vision, yet the vessel did not slow in the slightest. Instead, it accelerated, plunging into the heart of the storm with absolute resolve. Countless ghost creatures churned beneath the waves, yet none attacked the ship. A closer look revealed that the creatures in this region were writhing in agonizing torment, thrashing like crabs plunged into boiling water. *** Forty days had passed since the completion of Fan Domain Line 1. Over those forty days, Chen Fan had traveled non-stop. After consuming 4.38 million ghost stones, he constructed Fan Domain Line 2, Fan Domain Line 3, and Fan Domain Line 4 in addition to the first line, distributing them across Jiangbei, Jiangdong, Jiangxi, and Jiangnan. Transportation across all four regions had become remarkably swift. Today marked the official completion and commercial launch of all high-speed rail projects. The four lines traversed the four regions like vital arteries, dramatically accelerating travel and commerce throughout Jiangbei and beyond. During this time, he had also erected seven Signal Towers, ensuring the reach of voice transmission talismans covered every corner of the four regions. Tomorrow would be the official launch of Fan Domain Communications. The Logistics Pavilion had been working overtime to produce a massive batch of voice transmission talismans and had recruited numerous auxiliary personnel. Beyond Rank 1 and Rank 2 members, Fan Domain had recently taken on over a thousand auxiliary members. These auxiliary staff handled simpler tasks and received a lower monthly stipend of only twenty ghost stones. While far less than what Rank 1 members earned, it still attracted countless applicants. Even twenty stones a month was substantially higher than the wages paid for ordinary labor elsewhere. Furthermore, outstanding performers had the opportunity to be promoted to official members, which would bump their pay to one hundred ghost stones. Fan Domain now boasted over a thousand auxiliary workers, more than two hundred official members, and over a dozen core members, establishing itself as a massive organization. Its monthly payroll alone amounted to roughly seventy thousand ghost stones—an expense no other faction could hope to bear. Every department in Fan Domain was bustling today in preparation for the official public rollout of Fan Domain Communications tomorrow. Yet at such a momentous juncture, Chen Fan stood alone in the depths of Cave 1 in the Fan Domain encampment. A large stone chamber had been carved out here and designated as the Life Hall, housing the life tablets of every Fan Domain member. The identity tokens issued to members served as life tablets, while duplicate tablets were kept here. Every member had one, including Chen Fan himself. On the massive stone wall rising dozens of meters high, his life tablet occupied the very top, emitting a soft white glow. Below his were the tablets of the various pavilion masters, followed by the Rank 1 members, Rank 2 members, and auxiliary staff. Even auxiliary workers possessed their own identity tokens. The vast majority of the tablets remained intact, radiating gentle white light. Only the column belonging to the Commerce Pavilion had many tablets snapped in two, their light completely extinguished. Across the entire Commerce Pavilion, only twelve tablets remained intact, glowing with dim white radiance. Among them, Wang Mazi's tablet was still whole. Chen Fan stood in the chamber, gazing at the wall expressionlessly. Forty days ago, the member stationed in this stone chamber had contacted him urgently via voice transmission talisman: the life tablets of the Commerce Pavilion had begun shattering en masse. Chen Fan had rushed back immediately and realized the expedition at sea had encountered a catastrophe. Yet there was nothing he could do. The distance was far too great. He didn't even know where Wang Mazi was and could offer no assistance; everything had rested on Wang Mazi's shoulders. Fortunately, not all of them had perished. Chen Fan had breathed a sigh of relief, expecting Wang Mazi to return quickly. Yet thirty days had elapsed without any sign of them. Throughout these days, he came in person to check on the tablets from time to time. "Domain Lord," the member guarding the chamber greeted respectfully upon seeing Chen Fan enter. "Mm." Chen Fan nodded gently. After a long silence, he said softly, "If there are any changes, contact me immediately." "Yes, sir!" Chen Fan then turned and left the chamber. Fan Domain was thriving more and more. Yet casualties were inevitable as any faction expanded. Still... perhaps out of personal sentiment, he did not want the companions who had clawed their way out of the rainy season with him to die. He wanted them to witness the rise of Fan Domain with their own eyes and see their shared dreams realized. "Young Master, the New Year is almost here." Up on the wall of Cave 1, Quehou stepped up to Chen Fan and murmured, "It's already late in the second month of Year 379 of the Eternal Night Calendar. The New Year is upon us. The folks below are asking whether we should put up some spring couplets around the domain." Chen Fan paused, then replied softly, "Go ahead and arrange it. Spring is right around the corner; it's time everyone had a bit of rest." "Understood." After Quehou withdrew, Wang Kui took the opportunity to step forward and deliver his report. "Domain Lord, the camp's ghost stone reserves have reached 9.38 million, nearly hitting the ten-million mark. Line 1 brings in an average of one hundred thousand ghost stones daily. The other three lines officially entered service only today, so we don't have concrete data for them yet. Over these forty days, Line 1 alone has generated four million ghost stones. If we maintain this pace, Line 1 alone could bring in over thirty million ghost stones a year." "It won't stay that high," Chen Fan said calmly, shaking his head. "The trains just opened, so people are eager to try them out. Once the novelty wears off, the numbers will settle into a normal range." "Also..." Just as Wang Kui was about to continue, the voice transmission talisman in Chen Fan's robes grew warm. He took it out, and Wang Mazi's faint yet proud voice came through: "Domain Lord... the Commerce Pavilion has returned from the New Continent mission. We have safely reached the port." Chen Fan froze for a moment, then hurriedly made for the stairs. "Let's go." Quehou and Wang Kui quickly followed. Instead of taking the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage, they boarded the high-speed rail line connecting Fan Domain to the port, arriving in no time. A battered and broken sea ship was moored at the dock. A crowd of Fan Domain members had gathered nearby. Walls had already been built around the port to keep outsiders from seeing inside, necessary given the influx of visitors coming to view the sea lately. Inside the port, Wang Mazi and his eleven surviving men stood in tattered rags, supporting one another with arms slung over bruised shoulders. Their bodies were covered in wounds, some visibly festering. Every man's face was deathly pale, yet their eyes gleamed with fierce vitality—the unmistakable light of men who had stared death in the face and survived. "Domain Lord." Standing on solid ground for the first time in weeks, Wang Mazi stumbled slightly from the unfamiliar sensation. He looked at Chen Fan striding toward him, his eyes reddening as he grinned. "Mission accomplished. We're back." Chen Fan walked up to the group, his gaze sweeping across each man. Their faces bore the weathered look unique to sailors battered by ocean storms, and their bodies were covered in severe injuries. Yet beneath his gaze, every one of them puffed out his chest and stood ramrod straight. "Tend to their wounds first," Chen Fan instructed, his heart aching as he saw the bone-deep gashes on Wang Mazi. Waving his hand, he called out, "Someone take them on the train back to Fan Domain for treatment!" "High-speed rail? What's that?" "We'll talk about it later." Before long, Wang Mazi and his crew were whisked back to Fan Domain aboard the train. They peered curiously out the windows, but before they could take in much, they had already arrived. Waiting members of the Logistics Pavilion quickly placed Wang Mazi and his men on stretchers and carried them to the altar. The altar healed injuries with incredible speed. In short order, their wounds were completely closed. Though they still looked pale from malnutrition, that could be restored with time. The Logistics Pavilion soon brought out twelve hearty, hot meals and nourishing broth. Once the others dispersed, Chen Fan received Wang Mazi and his men alone inside the Life Hall. After they had eaten their fill, Chen Fan asked in a gentle voice, "Did you run into ghost creatures?" "Countless," Wang Mazi said, wiping grease from his mouth as he recalled the ordeal. "Endless swarms, packed side by side. But they were all concentrated inside the Thunderstorm Sea. They didn't attack our ship; it seemed like they were fleeing or struggling in agony. At first, I thought the aura left by the figure from Nameless Mountain on the ship was keeping them away. But later I realized that wasn't it—they were thrashing as if being tortured. Before leaving that storm, I collected some seawater from that area. It might be of use." "The Thunderstorm Sea?" Chen Fan frowned slightly. "Yes," Wang Mazi continued with a nod. "On the seventh day after setting sail, we discovered an island rich with heavenly materials and earthly treasures. I didn't recognize most of them since they weren't taught in the academy, but I recognized the Monkey Head Fruit—there were tons of them there. The island showed no signs of human activity. But just as we were preparing to head back, a storm swept us into the Thunderstorm Sea. It was an expanse of ocean covered by endless black clouds, filled with lightning and thunder. The clouds hung so low that I felt like I could touch them if I were just a bit taller. The winds and waves were monstrous, and the water was teeming with endless ghost creatures. There were so many... so very many... And many possessed auras that terrified me; they clearly weren't low-grade entities. The brothers we lost perished in that sea." Wang Mazi's voice dropped before he resumed his report. "After making our way through that sea, we came upon dozens of dead islands. On them..." An incense stick's time later, Wang Mazi finished his account. Chen Fan remained silent for a long time. He had not anticipated that Wang Mazi would surpass all expectations and actually discover a new continent. It had completely exceeded his hopes. There truly was a second continent beyond the Eternal Night Continent. And that continent had already been eradicated by a ghost tide. It was virtually certain that not a single human had survived. The war between humans and ghost creatures was a battle of survival between two races. There was no surrender, only absolute slaughter; there were no peace talks, only life or death. Vast quantities of ghost stones lay scattered across that land. If they could reach it, it would represent an unimaginable fortune. It would be enough not only to construct the Jiangbei defense line, but to build its ultimate form—one that could withstand the ghost tide emerging from the sea four years from now. Even if the front lines of the Eternal Night Continent were breached, the Jiangbei defense line could serve as humanity's final bulwark. It would become the final heart of the Eternal Night Continent. The last hope. If his Jiangbei defense line failed to materialize and the continent's front line crumbled, the Eternal Night Continent would become a second "New Continent." Decades or centuries later, people from yet another continent might land here, witnessing fields of scattered bones just as Wang Mazi had. Chen Fan accepted the ghost-skin map Wang Mazi handed him. The map in his hands was blurred and unreadable for now. But when sailing upon the Dead Sea, several clearly marked locations would appear—coordinates Wang Mazi had plotted representing Hope Island, the Thunderstorm Sea, and the New Continent. After a long silence, Chen Fan rose, looked at the survivors, and spoke gently. "Thank you all for what you have done for Fan Domain. The intelligence you brought back is invaluable. You've had an exhausting journey, so rest today. Tomorrow, Fan Domain will hold a celebration banquet in your honor. Tonight... we will send off our fallen brothers." Chen Fan walked out of the stone chamber and instructed Quehou, who stood waiting outside, "Postpone tomorrow's rollout of Fan Domain Communications. Fan Domain will celebrate the Commerce Pavilion's return, and tonight we send off our fallen brothers." "Understood." "Ahem." Having finished his report to Chen Fan, Wang Mazi led his eleven men toward the nearby Logistics Pavilion. Kicking open the door to the Living Workshop, he looked around before asking the workers inside, "Where's your Pavilion Master Qiu?" "Pavilion Master Qiu is in Sunset City," a logistics worker hurriedly replied. "The Domain Lord built a central base for the Living Workshop there, and most of our members are stationed in Sunset City." "Sunset City?" Wang Mazi scratched the back of his head. Had Fan Domain changed this much in just over a month? High-speed rail, Sunset City... the place felt almost foreign to him. "Never mind that. Where's the person in charge of personnel records? Call one over. I want to update our files. Hurry!" Soon, an archival clerk from the Logistics Pavilion hurried over. "I want to update the highlight moments in our files," Wang Mazi stated firmly after conferring with his men for a moment. "Write down: 'Wang Mazi, Master of the Fan Domain Commerce Pavilion, discovered a New Continent.'" Behind him, Zhang Damao grinned widely. "I want to update mine too! Write: 'Zhang Damao, Rank 1 Member of the Fan Domain Commerce Pavilion, discovered a New Continent.'" "And me! 'Qi Tianpeng, Rank 1 Member of the Fan Domain Commerce Pavilion, discovered a New Continent.'" "'Zhang Suo, Rank 1 Member of the Fan Domain Commerce Pavilion, discovered a New Continent.'" "'Wang Tianfang, Rank 1 Member of the Fan Domain Commerce Pavilion, discovered a New Continent.'" "'Li Hu, Rank 1 Member of the Fan Domain Commerce Pavilion, discovered a New Continent.'" "And..." Wang Mazi exchanged glances with his men. "'Huo Lin, Feng Yi, Yan Zhi, He Tuo... Rank 1 Members of the Fan Domain Commerce Pavilion, discovered a New Continent.' They have fallen, but I want this highlight added to their records as well. This is our shared glory."