This strange world was abundant in daybreak and sparse in darkness origin power. What made up the bulk of the energy was a chaotic neutral origin power. From what Qianye knew as common knowledge, something like this should never have appeared.

Darkness origin power was the foundation of this world—its soil and building blocks. Daybreak origin power was so scorching that a world built on it would be filled with light and fire; no creature would survive on it. Yet not only did this new world before Qianye exist, but it was also fairly stable. The creatures of this realm had adapted to the laws here.

The only bad thing about it was how barren it was.

Just as Qianye was thinking, he accidentally kicked a fist-sized rock and sent it rolling down the cliff. Qianye noticed a sudden flash of gold as he watched it fall.

Remembering something, his figure flickered to the base of the mountain, where he picked up the rock to study it. It looked fairly ordinary except for some dark golden specks, a bit similar to cut metal.

Qianye slashed the stone into two with East Peak and found that the cut surface possessed similar specks.

This was probably a dark golden sandstone. It could be refined into various rare metals and was a necessary component of many high-quality alloys. The price of dark golden sandstone had always been sky-high—just the raw ore was more expensive than gold. Qianye tossed the ore in his hand and picked up another random rock near his feet. It was dark golden sandstone as well.

He managed to find five or six of these ores in this tiny area. It would seem there were countless such ores in the wilderness. There were also other types of rocks that Qianye did not recognize. All he could say from the metallic glint and speckles was that they were probably some type of ore and not ordinary stones. These never-seen-before minerals might not have any use, or they might also be priceless resources.

Qianye stood up and looked at his surroundings. This time, he didn’t feel that the place was barren anymore. There seemed to be boundless possibilities hidden beneath the unconventional surface.

A new world came with endless opportunities, but Qianye couldn’t help but think one step deeper. The heavenly monarchs and great dark monarchs had been exploring the void for hundreds if not thousands of years, with no tangible developments. Even the three supremes on the Sacred Mountain rarely produced results. To these experts at the apex of the world, the attraction of exploring the secrets of this world was not inferior to struggling for power.

However, exploring the outside of this world wasn’t that easy. Everyone could look up and see the small asteroid belt at the peak of the world, but the fall of the Void Valley Star and its subsequent destruction of the continents reminded people of how minuscule they were.

The great vortex itself was a good example. The various restraints inside the world served to reject powerful experts. The risk of death would be much higher for a heavenly monarch or great dark monarch. Qianye himself had reached the core region before, so he knew of the dangers. Back then, his strength was fairly mediocre, so he didn’t attract the attention of that powerful existence. Things would be different for a great dark monarch.

An elephant might not take notice of a passing ant, but an approaching lion would anger it.

The new world’s appearance provided yet another opportunity for experts to explore the realm beyond this Evernight World. Qianye also wanted to understand the operations of this unconventional world.

He glanced into the distance but didn’t go deeper in. Instead, he did a quick exploration of the area and confirmed that this was an area rich in dark golden sandstone. He picked a pile of these rocks and placed them in Andruil’s space before returning with Eiseka and Xu Jingxuan.

Once outside, Qianye immediately boarded a high-speed corvette and returned to Expansive. This city, as well as the Eastern Sun Island, had become a gathering place for aristocratic families. The easiest way to negotiate with them was to go there.

Not long after Qianye set out, the Martyr’s Palace slowly rose into the air and turned toward the Fort Continent.

The current dragonship was different from before. There were no more open spaces on its body—the outside was fully covered in armor plates, and neat rows of cannons lined the sides. Although it was not as crazy as Qianye’s dream of installing a hundred battleship cannons, it could easily suppress an Imperial mothership at the moment.

The important parts of the vessel were covered in reinforced armor plates, and the tail part was fitted with spiked armor for both attack and defense. The kinetic sails on its back weren’t full just yet, but the airship was already much faster at sixty percent capacity. The ten high-output engines on the airship could provide a basic level of acceleration, more than that of cargo ships at least.

The current dragonship was mighty, but the work involved in its modification was also shocking. The first three days Bluemoon promised was far from enough, and it dragged out several days longer before completion.

The Martyr’s Palace would head for Fort Continent immediately after its completion and guard the “door” there. Even considering its firepower and Caroline at the helm, Qianye only felt relieved after adding a hundred-thousand-strong army to the lineup.

As the dragonship drove away from the Northern Continent and over the Eastern Sea, a pair of mysterious eyes opened in its depths. Sensing the entity’s gaze upon it, the Earth Dragon came to a stop.

It lowered its head toward the water and met the colossus’ gaze for several seconds. No one knew what messages they exchanged during that period, but after a while, the pair of eyes in the sea slowly closed back and the Earth Dragon continued on its flight toward Fort Continent.

News of Qianye’s return spread throughout the entire city of Expansive. This was Zheng’s center of smelting and forging industries, so all the aristocratic family representatives dispatched from the Empire decided to pick this place as their base and not the military base that was the Western Fortress.

Most of the sorting equipment was large and heavy. Bringing them over from the Empire wasn’t a very practical move, so the best way was to utilize local resources. Hence, the first task for the technicians dispatched by the aristocratic families was to test the facilities and workshops in Expansive. They were to assess what kind of modifications would need to be made.

Most of the forces headed for Eastern Sun Island were scouting parties as the environment there was likely to produce rare ores.

The moment Qianye arrived in Expansive, he immediately summoned all of the representatives. Before long, a dozen or so people had gathered before Qianye and taken their seats in the meeting room.

He didn’t make everyone wait for very long before placing a piece of ore on the table.

“Dark golden sandstone!” A series of surprised gasps echoed through the room.

The dispatched managers possessed much more experience than Qianye in this regard. He was only familiar with the materials he had seen on the Imperial map and knew a bit about their special characteristics. In the end, he needed a final confirmation from a specialist to be sure. These managers were able to tell most of an ore’s type and composition just by looking at it.

Everyone took turns observing the ore before putting it back on the table. An elderly man said while stroking his beard, “This dark golden sandstone is of the highest quality, one that I have never seen before in my life. If my judgment isn’t wrong, this ore should be able to produce twice the minerals when refined.”

The old man was a famous specialist in the Empire, so no one doubted his appraisal. Everyone’s fiery eyes fell upon Qianye.

Qianye picked up two boxes and opened them up on the table. The entire meeting room erupted in a commotion because they were full of dark golden sandstone!

These two boxes were worth one division of equipment each.

“Each of your families has expressed their sincerity before coming to Fort Continent, as well as the trust and support that I needed. Consider one of these boxes as my repayment for this year, distribute them according to the ratio of contributions.”

Everyone became spirited. At first, the provision of supplies and troops could be considered a long term investment for each family. They would reap the corresponding rewards when Qianye’s grand plans came to fruition.

Most of those at the scene were small to medium-sized families. Most of them were looking toward the future, hoping to form a good relationship with this expert and his boundless future prospects. Who would’ve thought they would be repaid so soon?

They hadn’t even warmed their seats yet when their rewards had arrived. One crate wasn’t a big amount after dividing it amongst all investors, but it wasn’t a small amount, either. The value of rare ores couldn’t be measured with gold coins alone. The important thing was the meaning behind these ores—it meant that Qianye had likely grasped an ore vein.

After the crowd had quieted down, Qianye said, “I’ll be honest, these are troubled times. I will be facing a big battle in the near future. The amount of weapons and armor in my possession are far from enough. I hope everyone can help me in this regard. Consider this other box a form of downpayment, there will be more by the time the armaments arrive.”

The message in Qianye’s words excited everyone. One of them tried to probe, “Sire, how much more will you have?”

Qianye replied with a smile, “It won’t be a small amount.”

It was enough at this point. Everyone began calculating the resources their families could provide and produced an equipment list. Qianye looked through the documents in detail—he would ask more of the equipment he needed urgently while striking off the ones he didn’t need.

He was finally done with the lists by dinner time. Before him was a set of equipment for fifty thousand more soldiers. The standard of equipment for the Jade Sea werewolves was much lower, namely some armor plates to cover their vitals. A standard set of human gear was enough to modify into three sets of werewolf armor.

This batch was what he could obtain right away. If he could expand the timeline, they would be able to provide even more. Some of them had even suggested opening up more factories for him specifically.

This outcome was even better than Qianye had expected. It would seem the price of this dark golden sandstone was higher than his estimations. The early show of rewards was like injecting them with a stimulant; everyone was fighting to invest more.

It would take some time to send word back and ship the gear over. Fortunately, Qianye held a large werewolf force that had undergone initial training, so he didn’t really need soldiers. And with fifteen thousand private army elites defending the eastern side, Zheng would not win even if they fielded an army of a hundred thousand soldiers.

After dealing with the equipment, Qianye made ready to return to the front lines. Although he had already entered the door and made sure that there were no new beasts, he wasn’t too certain about his judgment. The laws of the new world were too strange, and no one could say for sure where these beasts had come from. A large beast horde might just charge out at a moment’s notice, so he couldn’t be careless.

Qianye had yet to move out when one of his aides arrived. “Sire, an urgent missive from the Empire!”