Chapter 616 - 336: 100-Meter Warship, Immortal Golden Spots!

Hundreds of cavalry galloped swiftly, passing through the gates of the Commandery City, and an hour later arrived at a bay on the edge of the Donglai River’s estuary.

The icy cold water was hard to move, and as far as the eye could see, there were waves stretching across hundreds of miles, with countless sails swaying. The bay was equipped with a large port exclusively built for the Cyan Fish Gang, where one could see numerous gang members bustling around, the area bustling and dark with activity.

The docked sailing ships were neatly arranged, varying in size—some only capable of carrying a dozen or so people, classified as the fleet’s fast ships.

The most striking were the warships at the center of the port, surrounded by the fast boats like stars encircling the moon; each warship was no less impressive than the Black Whale, which had served as the black market’s flagship in the Blackwater region before.

The port’s core housed an enormous warship, over thirty zhang long and nearly ten zhang wide, capable of seating several hundred people simultaneously—a true giant among ships!

Such a warship would have been rare even at the height of past feudal dynasties, with ordinary rivers unable to accommodate its navigation.

Creating such a behemoth in a past life would have required the dynasty to exhaust its treasury, yet in this world, merely the power from one county under the rule of the Great Yan Dynasty could construct it.

"Third Brother, this is one of the two bays belonging to our Cyan Fish Gang; the largest warship here is the current Cyan Fish flagship, while the other three are the Cyan Fish’s escort ships."

Baili Hongtang, standing at the forefront of the crowd, transmitted the message telepathically. Su Mu nodded silently, feeling quite shocked—this wasn’t even the entirety of the Cyan Fish Gang’s territorial waters, and the other bay likely would not fall short compared to this one.

It’s no wonder the Cyan Fish Gang could hold over thirty percent of the waterway business in the Donglai’s vast county, with these two bays and hundreds of ships as their foundation.

As they were about to set sail today, people in the bay sweated profusely, fervently inspecting and maintaining the soon-to-sail warships, with some specialists venturing out early to ensure the voyage’s normality.

"Truly deserving to be one of Donglai County’s seven great powers... It’s no wonder other forces united with the County Mansion to dismantle ’Zao Gang’ then!"

The scene before him stirred two thoughts in Su Mu’s mind.

One was Zheng He’s expedition to the Western Seas during the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty.

The other was Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang encountering formidable rival Chen Youliang when he unified the realm.

This was still after the Cyan Fish Gang had been divided into two factions. Imagine if the two gangs were one and all fleets belonged to one gang.

Even if Su Mu were the Governor of Donglai, or the Qingzhou Inspector thousands of miles away, he would surely feel uneasy, resorting to divide and dismantle the Zao Gang inevitably.

Moreover, in a previous life, a power like the Cyan Fish Gang shouldn’t have existed; it would not be tolerated by the Court and would inevitably be feared, leading to dispatch of troops to destroy it.

Yet in this world, it merely exists as one of the major powers within a large county, and possessing such fleets isn’t even the strongest force in Donglai County—just one among several major factions.

With just a slight thought, Su Mu felt his blood boil, truly stirred by the vastness of this realm, causing the heart to race enthusiastically!

"In such a magnificent world, how could one not wish to see it with their own eyes!"

With the thought born, Su Mu was filled with bravery, the recently breached Life Character ’Heart’ resonated immediately, showing signs of agitation but soon returning to calm within a few breaths.

Though this emotional shift deepened Su Mu’s insight into the Life Character, each breakthrough of the Life Character was no easy task.

Still, it wasn’t without gains.

Such enlightenment caused the Dragon of Spiritual Power in Su Mu’s sea of consciousness to surge, achieving a slight breakthrough on the spiritual power level.

"Not too bad... the spiritual power roughly increased by half a rank!"

Su Mu slowly opened his eyes, exhaling softly. Among hundreds of riders, nearly no one noticed his transformation within the few breaths.

Only Baili Feng and Baili Hongtang at the forefront of the team sensed something, with Baili Feng being perceptive due to receiving the Small Yellow Court, but Baili Hongtang’s intuition was sharper as she didn’t know what had occurred.

But her pair of rare eyes captured the change in the Third Brother’s aura—he seemed stronger!

"Just coming to the bay for the first time and already having an epiphany... A prodigy, the Third Brother truly is an unparalleled prodigy!"

The port’s bustling continued until midday when craftsmen completed the warships’ maintenance and disembarked, with everything ready!

"Board the ship!"

Baili Feng waved, and hundreds of people boarded consecutively. Besides the elite disciples stemming from the gang, each warship had another twenty experienced helmsmen onboard.

Su Mu boarded as Baili Hongtang’s personal guard, naturally following the siblings onto the largest Cyan Fish ship, accompanied by another four escort warships—five warships in total.

On the deck, Baili Feng and Baili Hongtang dismissed those around them, while Su Mu stood beside the siblings. As they advanced, tumultuous waves crashed against the vessel, but on the deck, one could only feel slight swaying, more stable even than a regular carriage.

This was not only due to the warship’s size but also because its surface was engraved with inscriptions capable of absorbing spiritual qi from the wind between heaven and earth, transforming it into propulsion for the warship.

"Set sail!"

With a command infused with qi blood, the order spread across the ship, as groups of five or six Cyan Fish Gang disciples strained to turn the capstan and iron lock, raising the massive sail engraved with green inscriptions.

As they activated, the warship swiftly sailed away from the port, and soon the massive port turned into a small dot in the distance.

After the warship departed, well-trained disciples performed their duties; some climbed high the sails and masts observing, confirming directions, while others were in charge of vigilant observation.