In a restaurant called the Silk Road Diner in Market Square located close to the Cinema, a large group of male and female cultivators were entering a large banquet hall.
"Li Wei", a man called out to another, "How are things in North River city?"
Li Wei turned around before recognizing who spoke to him.
"Lui Jue, did you come here just to brag?", Li Wei countered, "If you must know, you wouldn't even recognize North River city anymore. It's improved so much, I doubt North Wind city could compare now."
A woman's voice interrupted the contest between the two men, "Did the both of you face a bottleneck in your improvement, and decide to return to take another course?"
Li Wei looked at the woman to his left, "Wu Dan, nothing of the sort happened. We finished our work, and returned here to celebrate. Now that you mention it, they do offer more advanced courses here. Thank you for the reminder, I will go enroll in one after today's banquet."
The surrounding artisans laughed at his shamelessness, and Wu Dan gave Li Wei a disapproving look.
"I have you know, that just like all of you, we of Iron Wood city have succeeded in setting up farms, improving of defenses, and establishing our own internet network", Wu Dan, "But our city wasn't visited by Daoist Wei, so we've been able to invest in our citizens, and we are seeing similar results as Daoist Wei."
Many in the room felt embarrassed as she expressed this, as it was well known that many of the business owners of Market Square were poor residents of their cities previously.
"Yes, yes, that's very true ", an irritated voice broke the silence, "You can't blame us though, at the time resources were scarce, and we've only made this progress through the grace of Daoist Wei and his master."
A few voices sounded in agreement, but an older man loudly hugged before saying, "Yang Lei, if this was the past, even if you had access to large amounts of resources, you would have never made it available to mortals."
"Wu Peng", Yang Lei yelled, "How dare you slander my good name. Fine, you think I would hoard everything good to myself? Then let me tell you something I heard."
The room was silent, and everyone turned towards the elder artisan, ready to judge the news he was about to share.
Yang Lei cleared his throat, and spoke, "I happen to run across Instuctor Xie Yifan a few hours before coming here. He was telling me about a new artifact that had been created by the sages. It's a stele that is attuned to the Internet of Sun & Moon island, and its purpose is to connect different networks together."
Chen Tao, a well respected master artisan of the Boundless Yang sect asked, "Does that mean what I think it means?"
Yang Lei nodded at Chen Tao, "Master Chen, as far as I can tell, all the cities connected by this stele will be able to instantly communicate with each other."
The crowd began to speak among themselves after hearing this exchange.
Yang Lei continued, "Once this connection is in place, not only will people be able to chat with each other, but if sects, families, and companies purchase QR pods, they can use them as well. Each city will be able to have its own QR pod cafes, and people with the ability to afford it will be able to purchase their own personal pod. Movies and tv shows will be available for anyone with aportable artifact to download and watch. Finally, instructors on Sun & Moon island can hold their courses online, and we won't have to travel here every time to attend."
Everyone reacted to his news the same, and the room was filled with the loud discussions about the new possibilities.
After things quieted down, Chen Tao asked, "Are these new steles available for purchase now?"
"I'm sorry", Yang Lei replied, "I didn't think to ask him about that. Please blame this old man for his lapse of judgement."
"No harm was done", Chen Tao laughed, "Everyone, let's enjoy the banquet and tomorrow we will get back in contact with our old friends."
The mood in the room was cheerful as the large crowd ate, drank, and talked.
A season and a half had passed since Wei Huoran had started the artifact suit and destroyer projects, but today, he was doing something different. Grand Lord Mechant Kang and he had just arrived at the newly opened shipyard, and the two of them were staring at the ten large docks behind the main entrance of the yard. Three of the docks were visible, and all three docks held very large flying ships that appeared as futuristic fantasy cruise ships. Kang and Huoran walked through the main building and into the docks.
Kang exclaimed when he observed the ships up close, "This is beyond my imagination, Daoist Wei. How much longer until they are ready?"
"I brought you here, Merchant Kang, because they are ready", Huoran explained, "We are here today to do the final inspection together, and sign the documents. The crew provided by you has already completed their training, so you just have to inform us when you're ready to perform the launch ceremonies."
Kang grew excited, "There is no time to waste then, my friend. Let's start the inspection."
"By the way, my friend", Kang inquired of Huoran, "What are in the other seven docks?"
"This is secret, so I'm unable to answer this", Houran answered, "Let's move on to your ships."
Huoran smiled and summoned a hologram of the closest ship in his hand. Over the next several hours, he briefed, presented, and explained all the features of the ships, and answered all the additional questions Kang had. Satisfied, Kang signed all the documents and returned to his pavilion, where he called the other two Grand lords, and showcased all the images and recordings he had made during the inspection.
Shen and Gong were ecstatic when they viewed everyone Kang showed them, but then Gong made a serious face.
"Gong, you grumpy old man", Kang needled his business partner, "Why do you look like someone stole a prized possession from you?"
Gong played with his beard before asking, "Do the two of you think we should change our current operation?"
Shen made a weird look at Gong before responding, "Are you getting too old now? What nonsense are you trying to feed us now?"
"I'm serious", Gong angrily retorted, "We have these three fine ships, and there are three of us. Doesn't it make sense that we each lead a ship, and let the lord merchants get experience running the branches?"
Kang and Shen thought this over, and began to smile, then Kang agreed, "You make an excellent point. The three of us are the best protectors of the ships, and it gives us a chance to see how everything is being run."
Shen has been quietly considering their plans this whole, but he finally spoke up, "This is a good arrangement, but we need to decide which subordinates will take over the headquarters and branches", he suggested, "Also, which route were you wishing to helm?"
Kang answered first, "I want to oversee the Shuo route. I know it's dangerous over there right now, but I don't mind."
"I thought as much", Gong remarked, "So Shen, are you tired of home or do you want the route?"
"I'll take it", Shen replied.
"Why don't the two of you start handing out assignments, since your already there", Kang requested, "The Nanying branches only need one lord merchant per branch, Sun & Moon island is the same, and the Wu continent should have two lords per branch."
The three men took the next few hours to argue about which subordinates would move.
Wang Huo was controlling one of the Burning fists sect's flying boats as it just reached the sea. On board were several elders, a dozen inner court disciples (including Jiang Da and Fan Chao), and around a hundred outer court disciples. Wang Huo was assigned to verify the findings of the two disciples, and if the situation was confirmed, train the most promising disciples.
It wasn't uncommon for an elder like him to guide disciples to find opportunities, but this trip made him more cautious for several reason. The first reason was that they were to meet up and travel with the Hidden Eye sect, and even though recently their turmoil had lessened, Wang Huo still felt he had to always be ready for a betrayal. The second reason was that to reach the destination required passing through the waters of the Black Wolf pirates. With the two sects traveling together, it should deter the pirates from targeting them, but Admiral Chen was said to be very intelligent man. The last reason was the destination itself, Wang Huo worried that the disciples had been tricked. Even though he had seen Jiang Da and Fan Chao display all the items to the Sect master, it was still unbelievable to him that a place with such rich resources wasn't under constant attack.
After another hour, Wang Huo stopped the flying ship at the agreed location. He extended his senses out to warn of imminent danger, and waited. No long afterwards, another flying ship entered his perception and he readied himself for a confrontation. When the approaching ship was in range, Wang Huo heard someone calling out him, "Elder Wang, it's an honor to finally meet you, and I look forward to our journey together."
While it was only a slight sensation, Wang Huo felt the words from the man affect him. He cycled his blood essence to clear any effects of the skill before responding with a frown, "I would have been honored to meet you, Elder Zhuo, but it seems you have forgotten your manners during times of cooperation. I'll forgive you now, but I should warn you that if you continue to tempt fate, I'll make sure to report to your sect that you were unfortunate enough to fall to Admiral Chen. Also, I look forward to you trying this trick at our destination, I heard the senior has a habit of suppressing cultivators to the strength of a mortal for similar behavior."
Zhuo Xin just smiled, "I apologize, my control over my technique still requires mastery, and I made a fool of myself."
"I also look forward to viewing if this excuse works on the senior", a voice interrupted the stand off of the two men.
Wang Huo and Zhuo Xin both quickly turned towards the voice, and when they were greeted by a sail and flag bearing a black wolf head, they swiftly summoned weapons and talismans.
Wang Huo politely stated, "Admiral Chen, it's an honor to meet such a renown person such as yourself."
Chen chuckled, "Your words and your actions are very different, Elder Wang. I didn't mean to appear in such a manner, but let me assure you, I am not here to harm you. In fact, I should thank you, your disciples performed a mission for me recently, and they upheld the reputation of your sect proudly."
Zhuo Xin asked a question, and his voice had become noticeably more genuine than before, "What brings the esteemed admiral to this cove today?"
"It's a coincidence, really", Chen responded, "After the four disciples from both your sects left, I had been preparing to travel to that island in person. It must be fate that all of us are traveling to the same destination on the same day. I have an idea, why don't we travel together? Lately, the seas have been more dangerous due to the Draco empire, and staying in a group should ensure we safely reach the island."
Zhuo Xin replied first, "Admiral Chen's suggestion is very wise, I look forward to bragging that I was able to travel alongside you."
Wang Huo looked at the Hidden Eye elder with disdain, but this option was better than the alternative, "I welcome the admiral and look forward to our cooperation."
"Excellent, shall we depart?", Chen suggested.
The other men nodded, and soon all three ships disappeared from the cove as they started their journey.