Chapter 26

"Trains to the Heavenly Sea Kingdom will depart in one hour. Passengers who have already purchased tickets, please prepare to enter the station..."

Hao Qi listened to the announcement, shook his head helplessly, and then began to eat a snack he held in one hand. With his other hand, he unfolded a map, found his current location, Xinyang City, the largest city on the border of Yingguo, and then continued north, which was his destination, the Heavenly Sea Kingdom.

It had been over a month since Hao Qi left the Blue Shadow Republic. During this month, Hao Qi spent about half a month touring the famous scenic spots and historical sites of the Blue Shadow Republic. After that, he set off northward, traveling through three countries, and the fourth country he planned to visit was the Heavenly Sea Kingdom, the largest maritime nation in the eastern region of the Blue Shadow.

Hao Qi's choice of direction was not random. After leaving the Blue Shadow Republic, he traveled and bought maps and geographical records of various countries, focusing on scenic spots, historical sites, and areas with mythological legends. In the geographical records of multiple countries, including the Blue Shadow Republic, he found a legend.

It was said that in the Blue Sea, there was a gigantic monster. This monster was so large that when it appeared, people could only see its head or tail, or a part of its body, but never its entirety. It was as large as a small country. A thousand years ago, someone angered this monster, causing it to go berserk and swallow a coastal city. People believed the city was completely destroyed and all its inhabitants were dead. However, every hundred years or so, people claiming to be descendants of the city would appear, selling large amounts of precious materials in exchange for basic supplies and ships, then disappearing into the depths of the Blue Sea.

Thus, there was a legend that the city had not been completely destroyed but had somehow survived inside the monster's belly. Some travelogues, though their authenticity was questionable, claimed that the authors had visited this city, experiencing unimaginable adventures. The city was named Mobie Mobie. Hao Qi confirmed multiple times that this city was indeed called Mobie Mobie, a name given by the desert civilization, meaning "pearl, pearl." In the desert civilization, repeating a word emphasized its importance, indicating that this city was the most brilliant pearl of the desert civilization.

This was a city of illusions!

After confirming the city's existence, Hao Qi was extremely eager to visit it. The idea of a city existing inside a super-giant sea monster was nothing short of a miracle!

Since then, Hao Qi decided to search for this city in the Blue Sea. Although the world's scientific development was not low, advanced internal combustion engines had not yet been invented, but very advanced steam engines had. During his free days, Hao Qi indirectly learned about the world's conditions. For some reason, large-scale oil had not appeared, delaying the invention of internal combustion engines. This led to the development of steam engines, which in Hao Qi's view, had a steampunk feel. Steam-powered ironclad ships built with such technology could easily cross the ocean.

However, after searching in several countries, Hao Qi was told that their ships could not cross the Blue Sea. The reason was simple... sea monsters.

Yes, sea monsters. Compared to the land, where powerful beasts were hunted and exterminated over thousands of years, the sea was vast and layered by depth, supporting a much greater variety of life. The sea's vastness and depth limited human activity, and the existence of free-floating energy made the sea's monsters even more ferocious.

In some books Hao Qi bought, it was mentioned that in this world's biological classification, ordinary animals were just given scientific and common names. Above them were the so-called ferocious beasts, which had reached the level of quasi-internal force. For example, a book describing a ferocious bear mentioned that it had slaughtered an entire technological weapon mercenary group, with bullets only embedding in its thick skin. The bear's claws could tear through metal plates, and it could break a tree with a single hand. It could run at least 120 kilometers per hour and jump at least 7 meters, making it a quasi-internal force level bear, stronger than human quasi-internal force.

Above ferocious beasts were the mad beasts. Hao Qi did not buy any books on mad beasts, but some animal books mentioned them. The most notable description was their exaggerated reaction speed, strength, and resilience.

In a comprehensive animal book Hao Qi found in Yingguo's national library, there was a detailed description of a mad python. It was discovered 26 years ago at the border between Yingguo and Baicao. Six martial groups took on the task of killing it, and the site was later found to have a collapsed hillside.

The python was 172 meters long and weighed 18,600 kilograms. Its skull is still displayed in Yingguo's national museum. Hao Qi saw it and found it to be the size of a small house, with two bony horns on its head, making it more like a dragon than a python.

The book did not record the casualties of the six martial groups, but Hao Qi assumed they were all injured but not killed. Even so, it was astonishing that six internal force experts were needed to kill a single mad beast, likely with the help of quasi-internal force experts and advanced technology. Mad beasts were at least as strong as internal force experts, and their size made them far more formidable than human internal force experts.

The book also mentioned that above mad beasts were the raging beasts, but such beasts only existed in ancient legends. The only confirmed raging beast was the one that swallowed a city in the Blue Sea, the Azure Giant Yamon Hadith, meaning "death storm" in the desert language. This giant was at least a raging beast, if not more, as confirmed in the book.

Besides the Azure Giant, the Blue Sea was home to many ferocious and mad sea beasts. Tens of thousands of people died each year from sea beast attacks, and naval ironclad ships only patrolled near the coast. Only the Heavenly Sea Kingdom, the largest maritime nation on the eastern coast of the Blue Sea, had the capability and courage to cross the Blue Sea.

For this reason, Hao Qi began his journey toward the Heavenly Sea Kingdom, hoping to find a way to cross the Blue Sea or buy the best steam-powered ironclad ship. However, his money was far from enough. Although he received a large amount of farewell gold from the Blue Shadow Republic, it was not enough to buy a giant ship.

During his travels, he spent about 10 million Blue Shadow coins on tourism, equipment, and other expenses, including donations to the orphanage where he once lived. In total, he had spent about 10 million Blue Shadow coins, leaving him with 87 million. This was enough for a lifetime, as long as he was not extravagant.

However, a regular ocean-going ship, with an iron hull and wooden interior, with a displacement of about 10,000 tons, cost about 150 million Blue Shadow coins. This did not include interior decoration, crew, and other expenses. Such a ship had an 80% sinking rate when encountering ferocious sea beasts and a 100% sinking rate when encountering mad sea beasts.

As for other ships, Hao Qi tried. In Yingguo, he visited the martial groups as an internal force expert and learned about the navy's ship prices. The largest ironclad battleship, with a displacement of about 20,000 tons, made of steel and equipped with a steam engine, cost 1.1 billion Blue Shadow coins, excluding interior decoration and crew.

The key was that such a battleship could only withstand ferocious sea beasts. It would not necessarily sink when encountering a single mad sea beast, but if it encountered a group of three or more, it would definitely sink.

Thus, Hao Qi was both frustrated by his lack of funds and curious about the Heavenly Sea Kingdom. According to Yingguo officials, the Heavenly Sea Kingdom was the largest maritime nation in the Blue Sea, with the most advanced shipbuilding technology and a special technique to avoid mad sea beasts, a national secret that would never be revealed unless the kingdom was completely conquered.

The only way was to buy or commission a giant ship in the Heavenly Sea Kingdom at a price several times higher than elsewhere, and accept the kingdom's national agreement, hiring its official personnel. This was the only way Hao Qi could search for the Azure Giant.

For ordinary people, or even the wealthy, this was a dream. Besides the cost, there were political, social, and other factors. However, Hao Qi was not ordinary. He was an internal force expert and a martial group leader, giving him a small chance.

As Hao Qi pondered how to earn money and deal with the Heavenly Sea Kingdom, the train began boarding. He followed the crowd into the front few carriages, which were the VIP section, expensive but not a problem for him. He wanted to enjoy the world, not suffer, so he would stay in the best places, eat the best food, and use the best things. He did not care about such trivial matters.

He only wanted to face his true self. Just like his desire to visit the city of illusions, Mobie Mobie, no amount of danger could stop him. Unless he died, he would...

He was determined to visit the city of illusions, Mobie Mobie!