Chapter 140 - Leaving the Forgotten Ocean

Dream Island, the closest island to the Continent as well as the destination of Hei's journey on the artifact ship. The island, unlike other inhabited islands, was quite small so that there was only one city. However, it would have been a mistake to think that its influence was low or that weak people lived there.

Since it was the closest island to the continent, it was also the one with the most contacts with the Sun Empire. It was necessary to know that, although there was a ban for the islands' martial artists, it wasn't that there was no communication at all.

The Empire had numerous commercial relations with the islands, which took place in Dream City, the only city on the Dream Island, thus becoming a nerve center for these exchanges. The territories of the islands produced certain species of plants and other materials, which, although they were of little value, were indispensable for the creation of more advanced pills. So the Empire had maintained a commercial relationship with the sole purpose of acquiring these goods and getting rid of other material of which it had an unsold surplus.

It was also the reason for the Empire's ban - if free transit had been allowed, any talented martial artist would have tried his luck on the Continent, destabilizing the political and commercial situation in the islands. It would have ended up affecting the production quotas that the Empire needed to supply its armies. In a sense, it could be said that the entire ecosystem of the islands was nothing more than immense cultivation fields belonging to the empire left in management to the martial artists of the islands. It wasn't so different from slavery, only that the Empire didn't interfere too much in the affairs of the islands so as to leave a semblance of freedom and not risk producing riots that were harmful to business.

The various sects and organizations of the islands were aware of this, but with the overwhelming power of the Empire, it wasn't something they could rebel against. The ideal solution would be that only a few young elites were accepted, but unfortunately, the Empire's standards were too high. It was, therefore, better to keep their fake freedom than to lose their lives unnecessarily.

Besides, it wasn't as if there were no benefits. The exchange with the Empire allowed the islands to stock up on materials not found elsewhere; however, it was the protection of the Empire itself that represented the greatest gain. If they hadn't had the Sun Empire behind them, the islands of the Forgotten Ocean would have ended up under the control of the Moon Empire, the empire of the demons.

It was known that in addition to the Forgotten Ocean, there was another Ocean. It was called the Evil Ocean, although that was the name humans gave to that ocean. The Evil Ocean represented the other side of the coin compared to the Forgotten Ocean, and inside there was another ecosystem of islands. However, those islands, instead of being under the Sun Empire's influence, were under the rule of the Moon Empire.

The two oceans were bordering, and there was no precise edge that delimited the contours. Fortunately, however, the distance between the closest islands of the Two Oceans was practically so big that the neighboring section between the two oceans was an area of nobody, an area forgotten in itself and proclaimed by the spirit beasts.

"Well, we have come to an end. I conclude that this concludes my journey with you, Master Hei." Old Tohyon said in a low voice as he sighed. After years of inactivity, this strange and impetuous adventure had been like sailing in a stormy sea. His heart had been on the point of giving up several times for the events in which he had been involved. But now that it was all over, he ached at the impossibility of being able to feel something similar.

"Yes, it is. It was a nice journey, though." Hei answered with a smile as he thought about the various vicissitudes that had followed one after another. When he started his journey, he was still a spirit apprentice scarred by the death of his mother. Now, however, he had reached the rank of spirit soldier. Although the wound of the loss of his mother still hurt, he had found the spirit and determination that he had before.

"As promised, the artifact ship is yours, Old Tohyon. Take this too. It's a space ring; there's a lot of gold and jewels inside." Hei handed one of the space rings with the smallest capacity he had to the old helmsman. After killing several spirit soldiers and recovering their better quality space rings, he could get rid of those with less carrying capacity.

"No, no. Master Hei, I can't accept. Only the artifact ship is more than enough. Besides, you, Lian, and those two strange little spirit beasts have given me something much more fulfilling. I can't." Old Tohyon tried to refuse Hei's gesture. It was true that they had agreed on an economical sum as a reward for the work done, but now the old man thought he didn't deserve it.

"Accept it; it's an order. You've earned it. Old Tohyon, find a young wife, and start a family. Or adopt some child without parents. Teach them the art of navigation and continue to sail these waters. That money is for that as well." Hei didn't accept Old Tohyon's refusal and forcefully slipped the space ring in his hand.

Old Tohyon could only accept as he bowed deeply to express his thanks. Inside, he blessed the day he received the visit of that strange and mysterious young man with a cautious attitude.

Thus, Old Tohyon separated from Hei and the others. His journey with them had now come to an end, but he would bring their memory with him. When he returned to lead the artifact ship, he swore that he would never touch the sail depicting a giant spider or the pirate flag attached to the top of the mast.

Hei then brought Lian and his little sisters to the city center to eat and visit the place. Since they were here, they could take advantage to ask questions about the Empire's situation and buy/sell useful resources for their future. Although it was the only city on the island, the City of Dreams was huge and full of commercial activities of all kinds. Hei gave his family and himself a few days off as he prepared preparations for reaching the Continent.

*

It should be known that the Sun Empire had been notified of the death of the Artifact Spirit as it was an episode involving all the islands, including the Dream Island. However, until the material production wasn't affected, the Empire would have little concern for the islands. So they dismissed the matter as a trivial matter. This reaction was also due to another reason - the disappearance of the family head of the Shé Family, one of the Eight Big Families of the Sun Empire.

The Sun Empire was ruled by the so-called Imperial Family, led by the Emperor of the Sun Empire. Nevertheless, it wasn't as if the Imperial Family had absolute control of power within the Empire. In order to deal with the threat known as demons and their Moon Empire, the Imperial Family of the Sun Empire had to grant territories and privileges to eight families who acquired the name of Eight Big Families.

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Each of the Eight Big Families, in addition to the Imperial Family, had a very pure bloodline, also called Royal Bloodlines. Their power was so enormous that various spirit emperors per family were available. Together with the Imperial Family, they were the foundation of resistance against the demons. As a result, the loss of the family head of the Shé family, a sixth-rank martial artist, was a massive blow to the Sun Empire, mainly because it happened so mysteriously.

Some proposed a correlation between the disappearance of the Artifact Spirit and the family head of the Shé Family. But that hypothesis was immediately discarded. Why on earth would such a person go to the islands, considering he was a spirit emperor? And even if he had gone there, there was no one on the islands capable of injuring such a powerful martial artist, let alone kill him. The investigations continued to wander into thin air until they had to give up.

To avoid citizens' concerns and keep the Moon Empire in the dark, the Shé Family only communicated that the head of the family was in a closed-door cultivation period because he was close to making a breakthrough. It wasn't specified how long it would last, but by their movements, the demons were able to understand that there was something wrong. The situation, therefore, began to overheat as it was only a matter of time for the event that both Empires had been waiting for since their foundations.

These movements in the activity of their rivals consequently led the human Imperial Family to issue a solution for the disappearance of the Artifact Spirit, who managed the island formations. Training hundreds and hundreds of insects would have been a waste of time. However, among those insects that crawled on the ground, there might have been diamonds worth cultivating. Thus, an outpost of the Sun Empire was created on Dream Island, designed to evaluate the talent of martial artists of the younger generation.

In a sense, Hei and the others' pirate adventure had come at the right time. If they had gone straight to the Dream Island, they would have had to remain still without alternatives for a long time, losing time and experience that were fundamental for the development of a martial artist, especially when they were young.

"Welcome, everyone. We will shortly examine you one by one. When you are called by name, all you have to do is get into the formation here and not resist. The formation will read your age and your degree of cultivation. If you fall within the minimum acceptable threshold, you will be boarded in one of the ships of the Empire, and you will be taken to a city with a War Academy. Depending on your level of talent, an appropriate War Academy will be assigned."

One of the emissaries sent by the Empire to manage the outpost spoke. Although it was the closest island, the distance between the Dream Island and the nearest city of the Sun Empire was still enormous. It took several weeks of sailing to reach the Continent. It also meant that the amount of spirit power in the environment on the Dream Island was roughly equal to that of the other islands, only a slightly more abandoned notch.

Furthermore, it wasn't as if everyone could put a ship in the water and sail to the Continent. The section of ocean that separated the Dream Island from the Continent was dominated by powerful spirit beasts that went up to the fifth level. The martial artists of the islands who could only reach the rank of spirit soldier would have been crushed by a single third-level spirit beast, let alone a fifth-level one. The same was true for the sky, which was inhabited by countless species of flying type spirit beasts.

The only way to cross that section of the ocean unharmed was through a corridor of water bordered by metal blocks in which peculiar formations had been carved. The spirit beasts of those waters had learned not to touch this corridor at their own expense, and they didn't dare to bother the ships of the Empire. Of course, only ships with direct permission from the Empire were allowed to use that corridor.

"Well, now it's Hei's turn." The emissary meanwhile had continued in the evaluation of the young martial artists brought by their families and sects. Unfortunately, none of them had hitherto proved suitable by empire standards.

"I'm coming," Hei replied as he gave Ye and Xing to Lian. Then he headed inside the formation. Suddenly a warm sensation enveloped him as he felt his body tingling. It seemed as if something was looking at him up until the bones.

"What?!" The person in charge of analyzing the results of the formation exclaimed loudly. His reaction intrigued the emissary who had spoken so far that he went to check himself. But he too was amazed and had his mouth wide open.

"This data... is it possible? Isn't that an error? "

"No, no. The formation is brand new. There can't be any mistakes. "

"Does that mean then ...? "

The attendant and the emissary looked at Hei with a nervous look. Within them, they couldn't conceive the result just displayed. Since Hei had come with Lian, they also analyzed her and were shocked once again. In both cases, the data collected were as follows - 14 years old, early first stage spirit soldier.

"Call the commander." Said the emissary as he chased away all the other participants, including those who had not yet been examined. They tried to protest but to no avail. After all, the outpost was commanded by the direct men of the Empire. Even the simple guy reading the formation's data could kill most of the martial artists on the islands.

The commander sent to watch that outpost was quickly called. He was a Spirit Master, a third rank martial artist, the same rank achieved by the Pirate King Hae Seong. The man asked Hei and Lian some questions about their origins. Hei replied for both by giving not exactly clear answers and hinting that they were wandering martial artists. The commander frowned at it but did nothing else. It wasn't that he was interested in their origins. As long as they weren't demons, regardless of their past, if they had the ability, they were more than welcome to the Sun Empire. Especially now with the climate of tension that was breathed in the air.

"Listen to me well. I will be frank with you. The talent you demonstrate is equal to that of the geniuses of the Eight Big Families and the Imperial Family. As a result, assigning you to a regular War Academy is a waste. You have to know that between the War Academies, there are differences, according to the talent of the martial artists that are being raised. With your talent, you can enter one of the Four Royal War Academies. There you will find people with your same talent or even superior; after all, the members of the Eight Big Families and the Imperial Family all study in one of the Four Royal War Academies."

'The Four Royal War Academies. Eight Big Families. Imperial family. Certainly, the best thing is to study in one of those four academies, but this also represents a risk. However, it is something that absolutely must be done.' Hei meditated briefly to himself as he accepted the commander's proposal.

Having received their approval, the commander immediately began preparing to sail. Although there was an indefinite number of geniuses with that kind of talent level, it was still true that Hei and Lian had been the first-ever since the Empire had created the Continent Trial. The two geniuses from the Forgotten Ocean Islands. It sounded good as a slogan. They would no doubt have rewarded the commander for this result, and he would also have gotten bonuses if the two young martial artists had done well in the War Academy.

Soon, the ship was ready, and Hei and Lian were boarded. From then on, they would sail for several weeks without stopping, but the two young humans and the two little divine beasts didn't care. The four of them sat in the corner of the ship's deck as they watched the Dream City getting more and more distant. They had already had a similar experience when they left the Rainbow Island, but this time there was no bitter farewell.

The wound, due to Bao Bei's death, remained but was now sufficiently healed so that they could concentrate on their future. The continent. The new chapter of their life. The unknown of tomorrow awaited them, but together they were confident that they could face anything.

What they didn't know, however, was that the events that would happen from then on would drastically mark the future of the whole world and of the people who lived there.