Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

The Ming Dynasty court did not expel them.

This new continent is too vast for the imperial army to fully control. It requires the influx of private capital and manpower to truly establish a foothold in that wild land.

Among this civilian fleet is a cargo sand barge that looks quite old, named "Fuyuan".

The hull of the Fuyuan was somewhat mottled, and there were several patches on the sails.

The ship owner was an old Shandong sea wolf surnamed Zhao, with a full beard and a very loud voice.

This time, he poured all his wealth into loading a boat with cured meat and salted fish, hoping to sell them at a high price to the pioneering soldiers and gold prospectors in the New World and make a fortune.

At this moment, on the aft deck of the Fuyuan.

The barrels were piled high with a salty, fishy smell.

A man dressed in a blue cloth robe was sitting cross-legged on an empty wooden barrel.

He held a worn-out Xiangfei bamboo folding fan in his hand, and a plate of peeled peanuts on his lap.

The sea breeze tousled his long hair, but he paid no attention. He simply squinted, leisurely watching the Royal Fleet cutting through the waves ahead, and the vast expanse where the water and sky met in the distance.

This man was none other than Li Changqing, who had strolled all the way from the capital.

He did not go to the Forbidden City to request a military supervisor's token, nor did he reveal his identity on Wang Shouren's flagship.

He found the Fuyuan, a ship that was recruiting accountants, at the docks of Tianjin.

With his beautiful handwriting and quick abacus skills, he not only got his boat fare waived, but also enjoyed the privilege of having three meals a day.

Shipowner Zhao assumed he was a down-on-his-luck, disheartened scholar who had repeatedly failed the imperial examinations and wanted to try his luck overseas, so he didn't take any precautions.

"Li, you're so carefree! Have you checked the shipment manifest properly? We're going to be at sea for over a month. If we're short even a barrel of salted meat, I'll make up for it with your own flesh when we get to Xinzhou!"

Zhao, the shipowner, spoke in a rough voice from the foredeck, accompanied by heavy footsteps.

Li Changqing slowly picked up a peanut, popped it into his mouth, patted the crumbs off his hands, and stood up.

"Don't worry, sir. I have checked the three hundred barrels of salted meat and fifty bags of coarse salt and found them to be exactly as described. They are all covered tightly with moisture-proof tarpaulins."

Li Changqing replied gently, his attitude neither humble nor arrogant, exuding the composure unique to a scholar.

Zhao, the shipowner, walked to the aft deck, glanced at Li Changqing's nonchalant expression, and couldn't help but purse his lips.

"You scholars are all just a bunch of poor, arrogant types. When the wind and waves rise on this vast ocean, it's no joke. Don't be so scared that you wet your pants and I have to send someone to rescue you."

Zhao, the ship's owner, walked to the ship's side and looked at the majestic royal warship ahead, his eyes revealing a sense of awe and envy.

"Look at those huge ships! They're completely covered in sheet metal, and they're even decorated with those mystical formations. If I could save up enough money to build one of those ships in my lifetime, I'd die happy!"

Li Changqing walked to the side of the ship and stood side by side with Zhao, the ship owner.

He held the folding fan and followed Zhao the boatman's gaze.

"The boss has high ambitions. The Ming Dynasty has opened up the seas, and the rules are more flexible. As long as you are willing to work hard, there are opportunities everywhere in the New World. Building an ironclad ship is not a difficult task."

"Thank you for your kind words, Accountant Li."

Zhao, the boat owner, sighed.

"I just hope this voyage will go smoothly. I've heard that on that new continent there are giant snakes that can eat people and fire-breathing monsters."

We small business owners can just follow the imperial navy and get by, but we must never run into those deadly things.

Li Changqing smiled slightly and said nothing more.

He tilted his head back, facing the slightly cool sea breeze.

He hadn't set foot on this sea for a long time.

When the maritime ban was lifted, he traveled on a magnificent warship, surrounded by countless sycophantic civil and military officials.

Now, he has a different identity, sitting on a dilapidated sandboat that smells of salted fish, listening to the boatmen's crude curses, and feeling the rhythm of the wooden planks beneath his feet rising and falling gently with the waves.

This genuine, intimate touch, so close to the pulse of the mundane, brought a long-lost peace and tranquility to his heart, which had been steeped in the river of time for a century.

The fleet gradually sailed away from the familiar Bohai Bay and entered the deep and dark ocean.

The surrounding coastline has long since disappeared, and all that can be seen is an endless expanse of azure blue.

into the night.

The starry sky at sea appears more vast and dazzling than that on land.

That Milky Way seemed within reach, stretching across the sky.

Most of the crew members on the Fuyuan were already asleep, except for two sailors on night watch, who were wrapped in tattered sheepskin coats and dozing off under the mast.

Li Changqing sat alone on the deck at the bow of the ship.

He didn't use his internal energy to resist the biting sea wind, but instead let the damp, cold wind blow against his cheeks.

The path to longevity is remarkably similar to the vast ocean.

All around is endless void; only by holding onto the light within one's heart can one avoid being swallowed up by the long years.

He placed the Xiangfei bamboo folding fan flat on his lap.

In the stillness of the night, he could clearly sense the distant East, deep within that new continent that had not yet been fully explored.

Several mixed and wildly violent auras were entrenched on the spiritual veins of that land.

That was not the aura of a human cultivator.

Rather, they are ancient, ferocious beasts that belong to this world and are yet to be cultivated.

"A fire-breathing demon wolf, a two-headed giant python..."

A slight smile curved the corners of Li Changqing's lips.

Those beasts that have slumbered in the deep mountains and forests for countless years are now about to face the massive war machine of the Ming Dynasty, armed with runes and cannons.

What a bloody and brutal collision that would be!

"The wine of this mortal world grows more mellow with age. Let's see what kind of spectacle this grand overseas drama will produce."

Li Changqing closed his eyes and, amidst the rhythmic rocking of the wooden boat and the sound of waves lapping against its hull, drifted off to sleep.

There was no earth-shattering pressure, nor any otherworldly aura.

At this moment, he was merely a poor accountant on the Fuyuan ship, earning a meager salary.

Go with the flow, heading towards that unknown distance.