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

Seven days later.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated.

On the mainmast of the Fuyuan, the lookout with excellent eyesight suddenly let out a shrill, almost hoarse roar.

"Land! I see land!"

This roar, like a bolt of lightning, instantly ignited the entire massive fleet.

Countless people poured out of the cabins onto the deck, jostling and crowding along the ship's side, standing on tiptoe to look towards the eastern horizon.

The sea breeze dispersed the morning mist.

On the horizon where the water meets the sky, an endless black coastline, like a sleeping dragon, slowly appears in everyone's sight.

New World!

The new world, which the imperial court had touted in glowing terms on its edicts, a world brimming with endless wealth and spiritual energy, finally unfolded before the people of the Ming Dynasty after a difficult two-month voyage.

As the fleet drew closer, the outline of that landmass became increasingly clear.

What comes into view is not the delicate and gentle green hills and waters of Jiangnan.

Instead, it is a continuous, vast mountain range, on which grow ancient giant trees that are tens of meters tall and block out the sky.

A wild and ancient aura, yet brimming with vibrant life, swept in with the sea breeze.

Taking a deep breath, even an ordinary sailor who doesn't know anything about cultivating immortality can feel a sense of comfort in his heart and chest, as if even his breathing has become much lighter.

"Such abundant spiritual energy from heaven and earth. This place is practically a vast, untouched medicinal garden."

Li Changqing stood at the bow of the boat, feeling the spiritual energy in the air that was almost solidified, and a look of admiration flashed in his eyes.

No wonder those immortal cultivation sects coveted this place, and no wonder those ferocious beasts lingered here.

The concentration of spiritual energy in this new continent is even more concentrated than when the Qin Dynasty alchemists first arrived at Penglai two thousand years ago.

The Ming fleet slowly anchored in a deep and wide natural bay.

On the shore of the bay stand three sturdy fortresses built of massive stones.

On the fortress, the Ming Dynasty's sun, moon, and dragon banners fluttered in the wind.

This is the outpost camp established here by the vanguard of the Ming Dynasty.

The fortress walls were covered with countless knife marks and claw marks, and the ground below the walls was a dark red color, stained with the blood of countless ferocious beasts and Ming soldiers.

The camp gates suddenly swung open.

Thousands of vanguard soldiers stationed here stood in neat square formations, their armor clanging, to welcome the arrival of Wang Shouren's main army.

Their faces were weathered and weary, but their straight backs and the determination in their eyes revealed the indomitable spirit and resilience of this lone army in a foreign land.

Wang Shouren disembarked from the flagship and set foot on this unfamiliar land.

He drew his sword, planted it in the soil beneath his feet, and roared to the sky.

"The Ming Dynasty is mighty!"

"Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!"

The roars of tens of thousands of soldiers echoed across this wild continent, startling countless birds from the depths of the jungle.

The civilian fleet subsequently anchored outside the harbor.

Zhao Laolang directed the sailors to hurriedly lower the small boat, preparing to transport the moldy salted meat and coarse salt ashore to exchange for real gold and silver.

Li Changqing did not join them in the fun.

Carrying the blue cloth bundle and holding a folding fan, he walked alone along a pier, slowly stepping onto the land of the New World.

The instant both feet touch the ground.

Li Changqing felt the solid yet unfamiliar earth beneath his feet, raised his head, and looked towards the deep, misty jungle shrouded in the mountains.

"The first step in this new world has finally been taken firmly."

He tapped the folding fan lightly in his palm, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Let's go and see what kind of menacing old friends are still hiding in these deep mountains and forests."

He wore a simple blue robe, his silhouette as straight as a pine tree.

The wind blows from the depths of the mountains and forests, carrying a wild call.

……

Night falls in the New World a few minutes earlier than in the Central Plains.

The last rays of the setting sun had just disappeared behind the rolling mountains.

A thick, opulent night fog spread along the dense ancient jungle, enveloping the entire natural bay in a vast expanse of mist.

The three fortresses built by the Ming Dynasty's vanguard army, arranged in a triangular pattern, were now brightly lit.

The main fortress is called "Zhenhai Fortress", and its five-zhang-high walls are all built with the blackish-brown boulders unique to this continent.

The cracks in the stone were filled with mortar mixed with glutinous rice juice and iron sand, making it exceptionally sturdy.

After Wang Shouren led his 50,000-strong army ashore, the once somewhat empty camp instantly became crowded and noisy.

At each ten-step interval along the crenellations of the city wall, a tiger-crouching cannon engraved with a fire-gathering spirit pattern is set up.

Squads of heavily armored soldiers, carrying torches, patrolled back and forth on the city wall.

The firelight reflected off their weathered armor, giving it a cold, metallic sheen.

Inside the camp, large iron pots for marching were set up in the open space.

The cooks were wielding large iron ladles, mixing the salted meat that Zhao Laolang and other merchants had just brought ashore with dried vegetables and coarse grains, and simmering it into a large pot of thick meat soup.

The fatigue from the long voyage transformed into a sense of vigilance towards this unknown world the moment the soldiers set foot on solid ground.

Many soldiers, holding earthenware bowls, squatted in groups of three or five around the campfire.

While swallowing large mouthfuls of hot meat broth, he followed the methods of "The First Chapter of Body Strengthening and Breathing in the Great Ming Dynasty".

It rhythmically inhaled and exhaled the exceptionally rich spiritual energy around it.

With each breath, the flames of the campfire flickered gently.

Wisps of spiritual energy flowed into the dantian through the mouth and nose, transforming into a warm current that circulated throughout the body, gradually dispelling the dampness and fatigue of the voyage.

Inside the central command tent, huge tallow candles illuminated the spacious area as bright as day.

Minister of War Wang Shouren, still in his armor, stood before a huge, pieced-together sand table, his brow furrowed.

Different colored red and blue flags were planted on the sand table, marking the terrain within a hundred miles and the locations of ferocious beasts brought back by scouts.

Shen You, a student of the Imperial Academy, was wearing a moon-white casual robe stained with oil and mud. He was squatting in a corner of the sand table, holding a small steel file in his hand, and concentrating on repairing a palm-sized array plate.

"Shen Jiansheng, if these armor-piercing array patterns were engraved on the bolts of heavy ballistae, how much would their power increase?"

Wang Shouren looked away from the sand table and asked in a deep voice.

Shen You blew away the iron filings on the array plate, stood up, and respectfully cupped his hands in greeting.

"Reporting to the Commander. The ferocious beasts of this new continent are nourished by spiritual energy year-round, and their hides and bones are far tougher than those of the tigers, bears, and leopards of the Central Plains."

The students, along with several master craftsmen from the Imperial Observatory, calculated that ordinary steel crossbow bolts probably wouldn't even be able to pierce the scales of that two-headed giant python.

Shen You walked to the sand table and pointed to several strategic locations marked with red flags.

"But if you engrave these two combined spirit patterns of armor-piercing and whirlwind on the back of the arrowhead, the shaft will spin rapidly when the crossbow is fired, thanks to the wind."

Once the animal hide is touched, the armor-piercing array will instantly erupt, concentrating the force on a point the size of a needle tip.

Let alone beast scales, it can even drill through three-inch-thick city bricks. Its power can be increased by at least forty percent.

Upon hearing this, a hint of admiration flashed in Wang Shouren's deep eyes.

"Excellent! This is true learning that can be applied to practical matters. The students taught at the Imperial Academy's Immortal Cultivation Department are a hundred times better than those pedantic scholars of yesteryear who only knew how to talk about military strategy on paper."