Chapter 45: The Dream of the Sea
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With the territory’s status upgraded to an advanced village, the village council hall had become much more spacious. The entire building was several times larger than before; the once dilapidated and simple structure now possessed a rustic charm. Though it lacked ornate carvings and painted beams, it was presentable and befitting of an advanced village’s style.
The expanded building included several additional rooms.
Upon entering the main gate, there was a spacious courtyard. Straight ahead stood the main hall, while to the left, three more rooms had been added compared to before. Aside from the lord’s warehouse and kitchen, there were a few rooms for resting where Lin Mu and Chang Yin would spend their nights.
Each room contained a simple gray wooden bed, a blanket, and a set of square table and chairs—plain and unadorned.
On the right side of the courtyard, besides a stable, a small bamboo grove had been planted. Next to it was a modest stone hill, encircled by a shallow pond with crystal-clear water. Several small, exquisite fish swam freely and leisurely within. This subtle decoration was likely designed and constructed under Chang Yin’s instructions.
The council hall also saw the addition of several rooms. Besides the rear hall housing the village founding decree stone tablet, there were several offices where over a dozen people busily handled affairs. These were assistants appointed by Chang Yin to manage the territory’s operations. They were also civil officials aiding in administrative matters.
Chang Yin had become the leader of a team of over a dozen!
“Yuanjian, are you busy? If not, come to the side room. I have something to discuss with you,” Lin Mu called to Chang Yin, wishing not to disturb the others in the hall.
Upon hearing this, Chang Yin gave instructions to those around him and followed Lin Mu to the side room. After they took their seats, Chang Yin spoke first.
“My lord, aren’t you going to train today? It’s rare to see you come to the council hall. Do you have instructions for me?” Chang Yin teased with a smile.
“No, no. With you and Feng Jin managing the territory, I’m very reassured and have no worries,” Lin Mu waved his hand, joking. “With you divine generals stationed here and the bonus from your high ranks, you’re far stronger than I am as a commoner. If I don’t rely on you, then who else? I’ve long wanted to be a hands-off manager.”
“Well, our village has been established for some time now. The villagers are gradually increasing, and everyone works very hard. As the lord, I’m very pleased. Their efforts have been significant, especially during the village’s upgrade. Should we reward them to encourage their spirit? Also, thanks to Feng Zhong’s incredible military training skills, we’ve already trained three thousand elite soldiers of high aptitude. It’s time to show some muscle!” Lin Mu explained thoughtfully.
“Oh, I didn’t expect my lord to be so considerate of the villagers. I’m very happy. The villagers are indeed fortunate to have you!” Chang Yin praised sincerely, feeling that such care was what a qualified lord should do.
“Haha, we’re all family. Everyone is my kin in this world. It’s only right to treat them well,” Lin Mu smiled and nodded.
“Very well. If that’s your wish, I’m at ease. Regarding the rewards, I have a suggestion.”
“Oh? Please, do tell!”
“Since our village has been upgraded to an advanced village, I’ve already arranged for the village square to be constructed. It’s almost complete and should be finished in a day or two. When that happens, my lord could host a grand feast there for the entire village. Whether it’s for rewarding the villagers or simply drinking together to celebrate, it will greatly enhance their sense of belonging, cohesion, and recognition of the village. It’s a win-win!” Chang Yin proposed.
“Excellent! Yuanjian, your suggestion is exactly what I had in mind!” Lin Mu clapped his hands in approval. “Do arrange for the villagers to prepare the feast. If there’s anything I can do, just tell me. Haha!”
“There is actually something. I think some of the territory’s top talents—like the Jiang couple, expert chef Huang Tao, master blacksmith Zhang, and expert shipbuilder Li Hao—should be officially invited by my lord with due respect. This will help secure their loyalty!” Chang Yin said. Although these talents weren’t considered divine or grandmasters, they were crucial to the territory’s development. Formal invitations from the lord himself were necessary.
Many of the territory’s rules and traditions were still incomplete. As more people and talents joined, professionals would handle such protocols, and Lin Mu as the lord wouldn’t need to intervene so directly.
“Ah, well, that’s no problem. I’ll invite them immediately!” Lin Mu regarded it as natural. After all, these were his territory’s top talents, and they deserved the highest honor.
“Good. I trust your handling of affairs, my lord. I’ll take care of the rest of the minor matters.” Chang Yin hesitated briefly, as if wanting to remind Lin Mu of something, but Lin Mu did not notice and bid him farewell.
…
Unknowingly, the territory had amassed so many expert-level talents.
Junior, intermediate, and advanced talents were just foundational. They were vital early on, but as high-end and cutting-edge product development progressed, master and grandmaster-level talents were needed. Experts were only the foundational pillars.
An expert chef could now lead subordinate cooks to create attribute-enhancing dishes. Lin Mu hadn’t even realized this. He hadn’t been involved in managing the territory, and Chang Yin considered an expert-level talent ordinary and hadn’t bothered to inform Lin Mu.
Lin Mu was already familiar with the Jiang couple’s attributes, so he skipped over them. Now, he wanted to see the expert chef’s details:
Name: Huang Tao, courtesy name Deyu
Aptitude: 8th rank [Sun]
Loyalty: 85
Profession: Expert Chef
Title: None
Reputation: 4406
Position: Chief Chef of Zhenlong Village
Merit: 0
Level: 27 (36%)
Leadership: 9
Combat: 7
Intelligence: 62
Politics: 9
Derived Attributes:
Combat Power: 700
Leadership Power: 900
Divine Strategy Power: 6200
Administrative Efficiency: 9%
Stamina: 200
Speed: 35
Defense: 30
Morale: 90
Talent: [Muscle and Bone Separation]—born under the Sun star, masterful and skillful, a talent for gathering and processing. Those with this talent handle ingredients like a butcher carving an ox, preserving and enhancing ingredient attributes.
Skills: Muscle and Bone Separation Technique, Decomposition Technique, Preservation Technique
Specialties: Expert-level Cooking, Advanced Fire Control, Expert-level Ingredient Processing
Internal Skill: "Culinary Classic," mysterious-level technique with 6 layers, currently studying layer 3. Each layer mastered adds 1 Intelligence, +5% cooking success rate, and +3% additional food attribute, making dishes more delicious.
Equipment: Heirloom Vajra Knife (Cooking success rate +15%, extra food attribute +10%), Deerhide Armor (Defense +20), Deerhide Boots (Speed +10)
Wealth: 4068 copper coins
Ha! A very impressive expert chef. With Huang Tao, the feast in a few days would have excellent food.
Moreover, with an expert chef, they could build a junior-level restaurant, no longer just a village canteen. The blueprints for such a restaurant had long been acquired.
The village canteen had become inadequate due to the increasing population, causing constant expansions. However, these expansions were self-initiated and unrecognized by the system, lacking attribute bonuses like comfort and happiness. Lin Mu’s territory was quite unique.
Next, Lin Mu viewed the expert shipbuilder’s details, but what he was most curious about was the expert shipyard currently being upgraded. He wondered what kind of ships this expert shipbuilder could construct.
Hopefully, there were special ships, as expert talents might possess unique techniques, whether inherited or self-developed—very important.
Name: Lu Hao, courtesy name Weizhi
Aptitude: 8th rank [Tiantong]
Loyalty: 89
Profession: Expert Shipbuilder
Title: None
Reputation: 69
Position: Chief Shipbuilder of Zhenlong Village
Merit: 0
Level: 36 (26%)
Leadership: 29
Combat: 16
Intelligence: 64
Politics: 9
Derived Attributes:
Combat Power: 1600
Leadership Power: 3200
Divine Strategy Power: 6500
Administrative Efficiency: 9%
Stamina: 250
Speed: 30
Defense: 40
Morale: 90
Talent: [Master Craftsman’s Strength]—born under Tiantong, masterful and exquisite manufacturing talent. Those with this talent enhance the speed and attributes of constructed ships.
Skills: Ship Keel Technique, Shipbuilding, Supervision
Specialties: Expert-level Manufacturing, Advanced Assembly, Expert-level Ship Design, Special Specialty: Lu Ban Warship Supervision
Internal Skill: "Lu Ban’s Seven Divine Crafts," earth-level technique with 7 layers, currently studying layer 3. Each layer mastered increases constructed ship attributes by 5%.
Equipment: Lu Ban Mysterious Artisan Toolbox (reduces shipbuilding time by 20%, ship attributes +20%), Deerhide Armor (Defense +20), Deerhide Boots (Speed +10)
Wealth: 12068 copper coins
Stunning! Ecstatic! There really was a special warship supervisor. Without hesitation, Lin Mu immediately checked Lu Ban Warship’s attributes—something he had never seen before:
Name: [Lu Ban Warship]
Rank: Mysterious level
Type: Warship
Attributes: Length 100 meters, width 30 meters, sailing speed 120 km/h, durability 20,000/20,000.
Description: This warship was developed by descendants of the ancient master craftsman Lu Ban, not by Lu Ban himself. Named to honor his achievements, it condenses some of Lu Ban’s techniques with innovations, making it excellent. It can carry catapults, crossbow carts, and other siege weapons. The hull is sturdy and the speed remarkable.
Construction Requirements: Must have learned "Lu Ban’s Seven Divine Crafts," led by an expert shipbuilder, expert-level shipyard, 20,000 units of grade 3 or above wood, 3,000 units of refined steel, 200,000 copper coins, 3 senior shipbuilders, 10 intermediate shipbuilders, 20 junior shipbuilders.
In the shipyard attributes, build speed: 10 days per ship; stock: 2; quantity: 2 ships already completed.
Seeing these attributes, Lin Mu was truly shocked. His previous life had been wasted. Even the great powers’ ships were at most earth-level. Now he already possessed mysterious-level ships, which would greatly aid his plan to plunder the boundless treasures of the sea!
His mind filled with endless riches of the ocean!
If he could train sailors, he could set sail for adventure. However, disappointingly, there were no sailors at all, nor any related camp buildings to train or reassign sailors…
Conquering the sea was many men’s dream, akin to exploring outer space—where men saw their future, their dreams, and ambitions, and countless treasures!
In his previous life as well, Lin Mu had longed to be a captain sailing the four seas, commanding his ship and leading his brothers and sisters to rich, uninhabited islands for adventure and treasure hunting.
In the “Mythical Three Kingdoms” world, the ocean was vast and endless, dotted with countless spiritual and blessed places, home to many monsters and spirit beasts, with countless dangers lurking at sea.
Setting out to sea was a high-risk, high-reward endeavor!
Unfortunately, becoming a captain was not easy—harder than being a village chief.
Going to sea required extensive preparation; otherwise, the ocean would be a graveyard.
You needed a ship—one that could withstand raging storms and vicious sea monsters. A skilled sailor was even rarer than a native with 6th rank aptitude.
The ocean’s natural treasures were virtually endless, with many deserted islands full of unharvested spiritual medicines, making many players envious. But developing a navy was not simple.
Seeing Lu Hao’s attributes and the Lu Ban Warship, Lin Mu’s thoughts raced to the countless riches of the sea and the passionate years ahead!
“With this warship in the territory, the ocean blueprint can begin. It seems the conquest of the sea is not far off!” Lin Mu clenched his fist and said firmly, exhaling deeply.
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Reached 500 bookmarks; as promised, an extra chapter added today! Three updates today; working hard to write!! Thank you all for your support. Seeing recommended tickets rise and bookmarks increase makes Yong Mu very happy. Thank you, everyone!
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