Dark Moon Era

Up until this point, Tang Ling had dealt with almost all of his spoils from the Dream Domain.

Only the Demon Infant and the bottle of strange water remained a mystery, but he was not in a hurry. All that was left were the trivial problems like the refinement of crystals and how much fees the boss should take.

The two of them settled the trivial matters swiftly.

There was one more thing left that Tang Ling wanted to discuss with Boss Huang. Boss Huang did not know that the kid had other matters to discuss with him. As a top-tier blacksmith, since work came in and he decided to put effort into the job, he was already thinking about the draft for Tang Ling’s inner armor.

According to his most ideal draft, he somehow realized he was on the losing side of the deal. His realization made him unhappy.

No, I can’t be this kind to the kid! I can’t!

“Boss?” Tang Ling brought the blueprint out from his backpack, but the boss was in deep thought. Whatever the boss was thinking, it was something unpleasant and infuriating.

What happened? Did he somehow think of the women who have rejected him?

Tang Ling did not want to interrupt the boss, but the blueprint took priority, so he mustered his courage and nudged the boss.

“What?! Wanna get a beating?” Boss Huang glared at Tang Ling.

“What? I’m not a woman and I didn’t reject you!” Tang Ling argued.

“What are you talking about?” Boss Huang raised a confused brow.

“Then, why are you so angry?” Tang Ling asked.

The two of them fell into an awkward stare and went silent for two seconds.

Boss Huang embarrassedly looked away. He had not even started on the job, yet he was already angry about the loss. It was very childish of him! He should be a charming and matured gentleman, not a child!

With that in mind, he asked, “Why are you still here? Stop bothering me if you don’t have anything else to discuss, I’m thinking about the draft for your inner armor.”

Really? Who are you kidding? You got angry because you are thinking about my inner armor?

However, Tang Ling dared not express his thoughts and further agitate the boss. What if the boss took revenge on him and made his inner armor a bra? Who should he complain to then?

Tang Ling went along the flow and said with the blueprint in his hand, “Boss, this is from the Mysterious Store. Mind having a look?”

Boss Huang did not ask for it this time. Every Dream Seed, including himself, tended to keep the gains from the Mysterious Store a secret. It was not due to fear but unease. The existence of the Mysterious Store defied the heavens and the things that came from that place were ridiculous to the point that felt unfitting to mention it in the real world as if one would become a deviant.

Boss Huang could not exactly pinpoint the reason why either.

“Boss, please? Can you have a look at it?” Tang Ling scratched his head awkwardly.

Kun had told him to show the blueprint to Boss Huang. If Boss Huang rejected him, what should he do? Use the blueprint as a wrapper?

“Are you sure about this?” This time, it was Boss Huang who was surprised.

“Of course.” Why should he not? Tang Ling believed the boss was being too cautious.

As a matter of fact, both Tang Ling and Boss Huang did not know that the Mysterious Store that they visited were different. After all, Tang Ling was less revered as the boss.

Since Tang Ling was serious about it, Boss Huang had no reasons to reject it either. He was actually curious about it as well. Tang Ling had been into the dream for an hour, so what had he experienced inside? What did he get from the Dream Domain?

Even though Boss Huang was a veteran Dream Seed, it was his first time getting the chance to look at another Dream Seed’s gains in the Dream Domain. Excited, he unfolded the blueprint, and at first glance, his excitement was immediately replaced by a solemn look.

Hmm, this blueprint should be something good.

Tang Ling was clueless about the blueprint, but judging from Boss Huang’s reaction, he knew the blueprint was good.

If Kun knew that Tang Ling simply judged the blueprint based on the boss’s reaction, he would have probably spat blood out. Did he not explain to Tang Ling the usage of the blueprint? Did the kid not know how great the blueprint was? Why did the kid have to be so ignorant?!

Boss Huang was carried away by the blueprint. He even told Ding Dong to bring him his pen and papers from his room. Were they to take notes or to draw something? Tang Ling had no idea.

While waiting for the boss’s answer, Tang Ling got bored and started refining an iron blank. The only thing a smithing maniac could do was smith.

“Tang Ling, is there any more description about this blueprint?” Boss Huang asked suddenly.

“Yeah. It’s a one-time blueprint for some dynamic force.” Tang Ling could barely understand it but since the boss asked, he simply recited what Kun had told him.

While he did not think highly of the blueprint, Boss Huang got so excited that his body trembled. “One-time?! Even if it’s for one-time use, it’s crazily powerful! It defies even the heavens! Triple dynamic force! And has a duration of 30 minutes!”

“Dammit! What the f*ck!” Boss Huang started to curse in excitement.

Tang Ling watched quietly.

Is it that great?

Then, Boss Huang thought of something else. He looked at Tang Ling and asked, “Is this the best reward from the Dream Domain? Is it the only one? And you’ve shared it with me? You know, after you showed it to me, it’s actually considered my gain as well…Unless I forcefully forget it…”

“Mm-hmm, it’s not the only one, I guess. There’re still some other toys.” If the blueprint was the only reward, Tang Ling would have fought Kun on the spot.

Had the Great Lord Tang Ling earned a total of 91 Dream Coins in a single run? How dare Kun simply brush the Great Lord off with a lousy blueprint?!

Tang Ling seemed to have forgotten the whipping session from Kun.

“Hmm.” Boss Huang felt even more embarrassed. In his opinion, Tang Ling might have really gotten other toys other than this blueprint.

But…

Boss Huang tightened his grip on the blueprint, appearing to be fighting against his own thoughts. Half a minute later, he looked at Tang Ling and said, “Since you showed me this blueprint, you can leave your ship for your voyage to me. I won’t take a single coin from you.”

“Huh?!” Tang Ling was awestruck this time. He was holding a hammer that weighed tens of thousands of kilograms, but his body froze. Was it normal given his current level of strength?

“Aren’t you planning to search for the chance at sea? If you don’t have a ship, how are you going sailing? Do you plan on swimming with Han Xing for the chance? Just leave your ship to me. That’s it!

“Oh, and remember to clean up the place after you finish. This is volunteer work. I’m not paying you extra time.”

After that, Boss Huang slipped away with the blueprint and the pen and papers, seeming really embarrassed.

Tang Ling was left alone in the smithing room. He was stunned for a very, very long time with his hands holding the heavy hammer in the air.

…

That night, Tang Ling could not fall asleep, which was rare.

A ship?! Am I going to have a ship?! 

As a matter of fact, Tang Ling had not started thinking about the voyage. His biggest plan was to rent a ship. This was because he had limited information on the upcoming voyage, and if someone else knew his plan was to rent a ship to search for the opportunity at sea, he would probably be the joke of the century.

The places where the opportunities were rumored to be were nowhere a normal ship could reach. Even if Tang Ling knew how the tough voyage was and it would be difficult to get whatever opportunity there was, he had never been sailing, thus he was clueless and thought so naively.

However, none of those mattered anymore because Tang Ling would have his own ship very soon and that satisfaction alone was enough to excite a teenager. The never-felt-before thrill of an adventure rumbled in his heart.

Although he had no idea what triggered the stingy Boss Huang to be this generous, his best guess would be the blueprint. However, even until now, Tang Ling did not take the blueprint seriously.

Boss Huang might be sleazy, stingy, perverse, boastful, and had almost no strong points, but he still had his credibility.

“If Higan could be on my ship…” As the excitement slowly calmed down, Tang Ling was assaulted by sleepiness since he did put his life on the line in the Dream Domain. With Higan in his mind, he fell asleep.

Beside his bed was that highly stretchable backpack. He simply tossed it beside his bed and the contents were messy to the point that some of them rolled out. After all, he was sleeping inside Dvesha Moha, so security was the least that he had to worry about.

Among the items that rolled out from his backpack was the Demon Infant’s body.

The night got darker. Tang Ling was in a deep sleep. It was a skill that he had cultivated since his days in the Hope Barrier, but his brows were tightly furrowed at the moment. His face was pale and sweaty as if he was suffering.

Seconds turned into minutes and his hand unconsciously clutched where his heart was. He seemed to be struggling but failed to wake up.

Suddenly, in between his fingers over his heart, a dozen green tiny tentacles sprung out. The tentacles seemed to have a mind of its own and acted in a sleazy manner when they carefully slid off Tang Ling’s body. They wriggled their way to the side of Tang Ling’s bed, fell on the ground, and seemed to be searching for something.

A while later, the tentacles writhed to the body of the Demon Infant, and after several delighted wriggles, they wrapped around the Demon Infant’s body.

“Ugh…” Tang Ling grunted heavily while dreaming. It seemed like his suffering had just increased.

…

Darkness Port was always a lively place, but it was also a lonely one. It was situated above a cliff without any neighboring cities. The safety city ran along a hundred-kilometer range without a safety village within its proximity.

A city that reeked of loneliness ought to give birth to people with the same lonely presence.

A quiet figure was sitting on the edge of the deck area. Not even the sea breeze could take away the depressing presence around him.

If this person were a handsome man, there might be girls who would approach him and be curious about his story. However, this person had a strange figure. He resembled a square and wore a copper mask on his face. His whole body was wrapped under a black robe.

No one dared to get close to him.

The same night again? The sea breeze, the waves emptying my mind while I numbly fall asleep?

Suddenly, the copper-faced man stood up. He seemed to be distressed as he clutched where his heart was tightly. In less than a second, he looked towards a certain direction of the city, and immediately his figure disappeared from the spot.