Ten thousand I am across the heavens

The firepower of this terrifying warship, reaching a length of 3km, was no joke. After losing one of its core leaders, the other forces that had planned to plunder immediately abandoned their robbery plans. Collecting tolls required sufficient strength. Like the Blood Sea Sword King before, whose individual strength clearly exceeded the peak of the fifth rank. It was a realm forcibly created between immortals and the fifth rank, mainly because the gap between the sixth and fifth rank was too vast. People with strength between these two ranks were almost nonexistent before. However, with the development of technology, more and more people, without the ability to become immortals, possessed strength far surpassing the level of mortals. Thus, this previously non-existent realm emerged, mostly referred to as demigods or semi-immortals. These individuals would still be crushed when facing their predecessors, but they had a crushing advantage against fifth-rank individuals. With the addition of this realm, the transition between the fifth and sixth rank became relatively smoother, and the gap between them and the previous realms was no longer so terrifying.

The Blood Sea Sword King's strength is roughly equivalent to that of a demigod. Although he gained his demigod power through a sword, this doesn't prevent him from maintaining a firm foothold in this realm. Those who reach this level almost always rely on external forces. Traditional cultivation methods make it virtually impossible to reach this level through some kind of cheat code.

After obtaining the Luoshui Sword, Daotian spent a great deal of time each day studying how to master it. However, this study was more of an act for others to see. Of course, he had already perfectly mastered the sword long ago, but he wanted others to witness his slow and steady progress in acquiring it. Without this process, he wouldn't be able to openly use this "cheat code" in the future.

Therefore, explosions frequently occurred in the section he controlled, and his colleagues often saw him blasted into the air, covered in dust and grime. Occasionally, he would even be chased by the sword, looking quite disheveled. But at other times, he was able to control the sword's power to a certain extent, and with each blast, his control grew stronger. However, he wasn't using the abilities of a mechanic; it seemed he was wielding the sword with the power of demonic energy, which prevented others from coveting it, even if they harbored greedy desires.

Blood-path cultivation techniques are not difficult to obtain. The streets are teeming with demonic cultivators; one can easily seize a manual or two. However, obtaining a technique doesn't guarantee one's ability to cultivate it. These techniques often require cruel sacrifices, built upon human lives. For the inhumane demonic path, such considerations are irrelevant. But living within a city-state's orderly system, indiscriminate killing is impossible. Even if one secretly commits murders and accumulates a little blood energy, compared to the blood energy of millions on this guy's body, it's still a drop in the ocean. Even a level 4 mechanic cannot completely control the world, using so many lives to aid their cultivation. Under the city-state system, people are extremely valuable. The lives of millions, even converted into monetary value, are worth more than a level 4 mechanic. The city-state cannot allow him to indiscriminately kill innocents.

The helpless crew could only watch as their opponent gradually mastered the sword's power. Although it took a month and he still hadn't reached the level of the Blood Sea Sword King, the combined strength he could unleash, along with his original abilities, had increased exponentially.

Fortunately, they could console themselves. Mechanics like them were never judged by their individual combat prowess. As long as their research and organizational abilities were stronger, their future achievements might not be inferior to this guy's.

Dao Tian hasn't given himself any excessive power-ups yet. His current level is sufficient to handle most troubles. If he were to become stronger, reaching or even surpassing the demigod level, he would encounter even higher-level troubles. The experiments he's about to participate in require a relatively quiet and stable environment; getting involved in major problems would be extremely undesirable for him.

During their more than one-month voyage, they had crossed the estuary, passed through the city-states in the delta at the estuary, paid a considerable amount of customs duties, and finally entered the interior of the Five Domains Boundary Wall.

This place was not what Dao Tian had imagined. In his memory, natural disasters frequently occurred here. There were either floods or lightning strikes, and fires would occasionally break out out of nowhere. It was completely unsuitable for human habitation. Even ordinary people, who were not restricted by the Five Domains Boundary Barrier from using killing techniques, would find it difficult to survive in such an environment.

But once he truly arrived inside the Five Realms Boundary Wall along the coastline, he discovered an extraordinary level of prosperity. Cities in the deep-water ports along the coast easily boasted populations in the millions, with towering buildings and a constant flow of people. Thick spires stood throughout the cities, attracting the vast majority of lightning strikes from the sky and channeling it to the earth, preventing damage. Transparent shields protected the cities from the onslaught of fierce winds, and even though fires frequently occurred due to the unique natural environment, the cities' hydraulic systems could instantly coordinate water resources to extinguish fires. Earthquakes would cause some impact, but these buildings had very high earthquake resistance. Even when swaying during an earthquake, they were unlikely to collapse.

The streets were bustling with vehicles. The only difference from those cyberpunk cities was the scarcity of flying vehicles here. Without the aid of powerful special effects, the production of floating vehicles was clearly much more difficult, so the transportation system here remained primarily ground-based.

Ships often docked in these towns to replenish fresh water and food. To carry more cargo, their supplies were often limited; if they were to continuously cross the Five Realms Barrier, they might run out of food before reaching their destination. Fortunately, these towns served as supply points along the way. The crew could also go ashore for a short break, which was crucial for those who had been at sea for long periods without seeing land. Prolonged periods of isolation could easily lead to psychological problems.

After observing the area briefly ashore, he roughly understood why so many human towns had formed here. Technological diffusion had greatly enhanced the adaptability of ordinary people to their environment. Even a level of technology barely comparable to the early stages of the Second Industrial Revolution was sufficient to establish settlements composed entirely of ordinary people. Initially, it might have been people who couldn't survive outside, seeking a secluded paradise, who fled here. As they settled down and realized that this once forbidden land could actually support more and more people, the rudiments of cities began to emerge. Meanwhile, the continuous warfare that had raged for tens of thousands of years drove even more people to seek refuge in this paradise. They gradually arrived in this once desolate place, causing these initially small cities to expand to a scale that appeared even more prosperous than the surrounding area.

In terms of the residents' living standards alone, the average standard of living in these towns is even better than that of the cyber cities within the city-states. This is partly because there is indeed no oppression from Gu Masters and Immortals here; those people would only come to this land of declining Dharma as a last resort. On the other hand, smuggling ships passing through often need to resupply here, and they themselves can provide certain conveniences for trade. They can earn a considerable profit from the price difference, and gradually prospered because of trade.

Dao Tian was quite curious about the local customs and traditions along the way, performing continuously while also documenting them. This was of great significance for future development. The formation of the local way of life is itself an exploration of how humanity interacts with nature. If this region is liberated in the future, we absolutely cannot blindly apply the model of the Shanhe Republic. We still need to consider the local people's living habits and make improvements while respecting some of their customs.

The ship encountered several thunderstorms along the way. Even sailing close to the coastline, the surging waves nearly capsized it. If it weren't for the combined efforts of the entire crew, deploying shields to withstand the terrifying waves, and sending divers at great personal risk to secure the hull to the seabed when a giant wave struck, they might have faced a tragic fate of sinking to the bottom. Fortunately, this wasn't the first time the city-state's ships had traversed the vast ocean. Countless predecessors had accumulated experience, and the ships were built with considerable safety margins. Although the situation seemed extremely urgent, they ultimately weathered the storm without serious incident.

The most nerve-wracking moment for everyone along the way was when they were about to leave the Five Domains Boundary Wall, just like when they entered. There was no delta there; instead, a city-state located at the estuary collected taxes, but a large number of pirates roamed the islands large and small along the border.

They also knew that they couldn't use their killing moves inside the Five Realms Boundary Wall, so they resolutely refused to cross the barrier, staying outside and then using their killing moves from the outside before throwing the opponent inside. This undoubtedly gave them a huge advantage in terms of terrain.

Even now, with a relatively mature shipping system, ships are still frequently plundered by these pirates. The crew members, including top-notch mechanics, are all sold into slavery.

Similar incidents have occurred in recent months. This inevitably raises their guard. This is probably the most dangerous aspect of this voyage.

"I'm sure you're all somewhat aware of the difficulties we face. Many ships that previously reached the border, even after paying hefty tolls, were still robbed. To safely cross the border, we must send an elite force to break through and severely damage the enemy on the other side, clearing a safe zone for our warships to cross. If we fail to do this, we'll be handing our lives over to those pirates. I doubt any of you want to risk your lives to test the pirates' conscience and integrity."

The captain's words silenced all 22 mechanics on board. Many turned their gazes to Dao Tian, ​​suddenly understanding why the captain had protected him and given him special training. It wasn't just that he had high potential and a chance to be promoted to a level 4 mechanic in the future.

Furthermore, this individual is one of the few exceptionally strong individuals within the city-state system. While ordinary mechanics are indeed much stronger than cultivators of the corresponding rank, their individual talents often vary greatly. Many level 3 mechanics are only at the third rank in their cultivation. While producing large quantities of weapons of war in factories is not difficult for them, when it comes to actual battlefield combat, both their raw strength and combat experience are simply insufficient.

In contrast, this guy, who ambushed and betrayed the Blood Sea Sword King, had already reaped the benefits of the demonic path's cultivation for years before arriving in the city-state. A master of individual mech manufacturing, he was exceptionally skilled in individual combat. Almost every future voyage would involve dealing with pirates. Even if he could never advance to a level 4 mechanic, his formidable individual strength would still allow him to play a crucial role in situations like this.

The pirates' strength varies greatly and is no match for a regular army. If the warships were to cross the border, their superior performance would easily overwhelm these weaklings. Even a top-tier pirate reaching the fifth rank would be considered quite formidable. This means that if a demigod-level warrior could be cultivated, even if only one successfully crossed the border, it would be nothing short of a massacre for the enemy.

Dao Tian knew this task would definitely be his, and he took this opportunity to demonstrate his control over the Luoshui Sword. This gave the people on the ship a better understanding of his strength and fleshed out his growth curve after arriving in Zhongzhou. This way, even if they encountered someone skilled in divination who could deduce his recent experiences from certain aspects of him, he wouldn't reveal any flaws.

Although Zhidao's deductions could resolve most of the problems by relying on the concealment of heavenly secrets by the Shanhe Republic, it did not mean that he himself would be careless and leave loopholes in this regard.

"Now that I've taken the Blood Sea Sword King's spoils, I should step up in this situation. I'll lead a bunch of men to launch a surprise attack from the sea. The rest of us will travel in submarines and diving equipment. While I draw most of the enemy's fire, we'll break through the blockade together and let them taste the power of giant swords and cannons."

[To be continued]

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