One month. To the Thang Long Imperial Capital, a month was sufficient time for the turbulent waves stirred by Marquis Vinh An to temporarily subside, allowing the imperial court to gradually stabilize under the governance of Duke Dinh Quoc and Tao Chinh. But to the distant Tran Nam Port, this month was a frantic race against time—a process of heaven-shaking, earth-shattering metamorphosis.
The bustling seaport had been transformed into a colossal, secret military construction site. On the surface, ships continued to come and go in a steady stream, but deep within the most heavily guarded shipyards, forges blazed day and night. A terrifying war machine was taking form.
Ly Tin and Thiet Phu—one orthodox and one demonic, one a general and one a fiend—initially clashed quite often. However, under Tran Kien's mediation and driven by a singular purpose, they gradually began to synergize. Ly Tin used the iron discipline and orthodox joint-attack tactics of the military to refine the Blood Fiend Guards, who were accustomed to acting as lone wolves. Conversely, Thiet Phu utilized the most ruthless assassination methods and survival skills to train the Sea Dragon Guards, transforming them from sailors who only knew how to fight on a deck into sharp daggers capable of operating in any terrain. An unprecedented, amphibious fighting force was slowly taking shape.
Old Whale and Trinh Cong, meanwhile, oversaw the grand logistics. Old Whale leveraged his network within the merchant guilds not only to procure materials but also to meticulously chart the most detailed nautical maps, gathering every shred of intelligence—no matter how trivial—regarding the Black Water Ghost Domain. Trinh Cong established an academy right within the base, using historical tales and the indomitable spirit of the Lac Viet nation to educate warriors who had previously only known slaughter.
Yet, the true center of it all lay within an extinct volcanic cavern deep inland. Tran Kien had chosen this place for his secluded meditation and forging.
He was not merely cultivating. He was creating. He used the solar flame summoned from the Solar Essence Guardian mark as his furnace. He used his Saber Intent - A Thousand Hammers, A Hundred Refinements as his hammer. Tons of rare and precious ores were brought in, and under his tempering, they were transformed into entirely new sets of battle armor and war sabers.
But the creation he poured the most heart and soul into was a colossal killing machine positioned in the center of the cavern. It was crafted from the trunk of a millennium-old "Iron Dragonwood" tree, as unyielding as steel. Its shape resembled a gargantuan crossbow, but its body was densely inscribed with complex array diagrams, fusing the principles of the Lac Viet Heavenly Cycle Array with the Shamanic restrictive arts he had comprehended. He was forging the ultimate weapon for his flagship, Lac Hong.
The "Demon-Shattering Divine Crossbow"!
A month passed swiftly. On the final day, as Tran Kien carved the last stroke of the array runes and poured in a surge of Primordial Chaos Qi imbued with the power of the Dragon Veins, the entire cavern shook violently. The colossal divine crossbow let out a resonant HUM, and an aura—destructive yet possessing a righteous, luminous majesty—radiated outward. It was enough to make even a Golden Core cultivator tremble in fear.
Simultaneously, Tran Kien's cultivation, after a month of bitter cultivation and enlightenment during the forging process, achieved a breakthrough. The chaotic Golden Core within his body spun rapidly, absorbing all the spiritual qi in the cavern, becoming more corporeal and lustrous than ever before.
Peak Mid-Stage Golden Core Realm! Only a tiny half-step away from the late stage.
When Tran Kien reappeared at Tran Nam Port, everyone was astounded. The aura upon his body was completely restrained, fathomless as the abyss, yet his eyes shone like twin suns, bearing a majesty that made men dare not look directly at him.
He said nothing. He merely waved his hand. From behind, hundreds of burly soldiers worked together to carry out the colossal Demon-Shattering Divine Crossbow. They mounted it upon the prow of the retrofitted flagship Lac Hong, making it look like a true black dragon that had been bestowed with fangs and claws.
The entire fleet, after a single month, had undergone a complete metamorphosis.
Tran Kien stood before his army, drew the Lac Hong Saber, and pointed it straight at the great sea.
"Target: The Black Water Ghost Domain!" he commanded, his voice echoing across the port. "For the legacy of our ancestors, for the peace of the hundred clans!"
"Depart!"
The south wind had truly begun to blow. This time, it carried not merely a storm. It carried the indignation of an entire nation, marching forth to reclaim a debt that had been owed for a millennium.