The Rich Cultivator-Chapter 411. Connecting to the ’NN’

In the vast, open sea, a luxurious ship glided peacefully across the glittering waves. From a distance, it looked serene — like a floating peaceful palace blessed by the heave. But within, it was anything but quiet.

The crew bustled with energy and purpose, each member attending to their duties with practiced ease. Whether polishing weapons, or navigating the ship’s magical arrays, everyone was hard at work.

Perched casually at the edge of the deck sat Su Fei, fishing rod in hand, her long hair gently swaying with the sea breeze. Despite the flurry of activity on board, she had carved out her own tranquil corner of the world. But boredom still loomed like a lazy cloud over her head.

To keep herself entertained, a small, floating projection screen hovered before her, playing a romantic movie like Demon Fox falling in love with a mortal kind of story. She watched it with half interest while keeping an eye on the water.

"Here is your coffee, Ms. Su Fei," said a voice behind her.

An octopus tentacle extended from the side, balancing a fine porcelain cup and saucer, along with a small plate of steaming dumplings and spicy crackers.

"Thanks, Taka," Su Fei replied, taking the cup gracefully and sipping. "Mmm... cinnamon?"

"I added a little spice to suit your taste," Taka replied proudly, his tentacles curling.

Su Fei suddenly pointed toward the waves. "Looks like those are your people?"

Taka turned in the direction she indicated, squinting. "Hah... Miss Su Fei, stop teasing. I’m the only handsome octopus man in this sea!"

"No, seriously," she said, narrowing her eyes. "You forget your cultivation level isn’t high. Look closely." freёnovelkiss.com

Taka adjusted his monocle-like lens and peered again. His expression shifted from amusement to surprise.

From beneath the waves, a pod of fishmen surfaced—some riding sleek dolphins, others swimming alongside. Several children, with glimmering scales and excited eyes, stared wide-eyed at the magnificent ship. The children waved enthusiastically.

Taka chuckled and waved back with two of his tentacles. "Must be a small fishmen settlement nearby."

Inside the captain’s cabin, a few crew members had gathered around a glowing map table. Arrays flickered across the surface, displaying their current position and potential routes.

"There’s a detour ahead," Tuman reported, pointing to a red-marked area.

"Should we really reroute again?" Lily asked, sighing as she studied the overlapping projections in front of her.

Tyler leaned over the map and nodded. "Yeah. I’d rather not risk entering the Valaria Subcontinent. The Abyss Breakout in Ixalaria was already a nightmare. Valaria shattered because of an Abyss eruption ten thousand years ago. The passage there hasn’t closed—it connects to a deeper layer of the Abyss. One wrong move and we’ll be caught in another disaster."

He paused before adding, "I don’t want an another Abyss Run nor another Vale Village."

There had once been two great continents: Valaria and Ixia. When the Abyss first erupted, it tore Valaria into fragments that scattered across the oceans. Ixia was nearly consumed as well, but through the combined might of brave cultivators and ancient immortals, the land was healed and the rift sealed—giving birth to what is now known as Ixalaria.

Serena’s voice chimed in suddenly from a crystal orb in the center of the cabin.

"Tyler, I’ve made progress on connecting to the NN," she announced.

Tyler perked up. "Great. What’s the update?"

A blue holographic projection of Serena appeared. Her figure was semi-transparent, dressed in a scholarly outfit with floating data screens around her.

"Before we connect, let me give a quick explanation," she began, her voice amplified for all to hear.

"In these chaotic seas, where Aura and Prana fluctuate wildly, stable communication is nearly impossible. But there is one network that transcends traditional boundaries—the Northern Network, or NN for short. It’s essentially a digital newspaper system, maintained by the Federation."

"Only certain locations or ships with specialized arrays can connect to it. But even if not all crew members can access it directly, I’ve set up a terminal to print physical copies for distribution."

A gentle hum filled the cabin as a projection of a floating newspaper materialized before Tyler. The heading read in bold letters:

NN - Northern Network Daily

Tyler grabbed the projection like it was a physical sheet of paper. "This is surprisingly immersive."

He scanned the front page, eyes narrowing. "There’s actually news about the fall of the Clown."

Lily leaned in. "Any names?"

"No, thank goodness," Tyler muttered in relief. "There’s a photo of the burning circus, but no mention of us. If that Feng bastard finds out I’m still alive, he’ll teleport to me just to kill me again."

"Still," Lily said, narrowing her eyes, "it’s only a matter of time. News spreads like wildfire. If this is already out there, future leaks are inevitable."

Tyler sighed and nodded. "Looks like we’ll need to keep a low profile."

Lily raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Correction—you need to keep a low profile. Leave the business and public affairs to me, Mathilda, Darla, and Mana. You should avoid drawing attention."

Tyler grinned, realizing she was right. "What about if we run into crazies like Clown again?"

"Then we wear our masks," Lily replied coolly. "We use our alternate identities, remember?"

Tyler’s eyes gleamed with excitement at the thought. "Yeah... Mode Shadow Then"

"Oh... Captain, look at this." Suddenly Lily pointed at another section of the projection. "We haven’t even made our official debut, and there’s already news about us."

Tyler raised an eyebrow and leaned over. "Huh... Phantom Pirates? Pirate Challenge?"

Lily scanned the article quickly, her eyes darting over the glowing text. "In short, the so-called ’Phantom Pirates’ don’t like that we used the name Phantom before. They’re calling us impostors and have issued a Pirate Challenge."

Tyler frowned. "They’re betting their pirate name as the stake?"

"Yup," Lily confirmed. "They’ve gone so far as to ask other pirate crews to find us and deliver the message. They want us to show up at Veins Peak in six months for a formal pirate duel."

Tyler sighed. "Wow... the name of a pirate crew and their Jolly Roger flag are symbols of their pride. They really want to gamble that? We even changed our name already."

"True. We’re the Blackwood Pirates now, technically," Lily said, folding her arms. "But they’re still hung up on our first appearance being under the name Phantom Pirates."

Tyler went silent for a moment, tapping his fingers against the table. "Hmph. I actually liked the name Phantom Pirates more than Blackwood Pirates. It had a certain mystery to it. Also..."

He took a breath and narrowed his eyes. "How dare they say we’re fake Phantoms."

A head suddenly popped down from the ceiling, hanging upside down like a bat.

"Yeah," Mana chimed in with a playful grin. "We even have a real phantom on this ship. That makes them the fake ones."

Lily rolled her eyes but chuckled. "Honestly, I’m kind of tempted. It’s been a while since we stirred things up. What do you think, Captain?"

Tyler’s grin slowly stretched across his face. "Let’s do it. If they want to gamble their pride, I’m happy to crush it. Let’s go and snatch the name back. We’ll make waves as Phantom Pirates again."

"As long as we activate the Shadow Mode," Lily added, "we won’t need to worry about getting tracked. We stay unpredictable."

Tyler nodded. "Exactly."

Lily turned toward the front of the deck. "Tuman!"

"Aye?"

"Change course. Our new destination is Veins Peak."

Tuman gave a sharp salute. "Aye, Vice Captain!"

"Serena," Lily continued, "There should be a way to send messages to the Northern Network, right?"

Serena’s voice responded promptly. "Yes. There’s a community board called ’Threads’—people use it to post rumors, announcements, and bounty updates."

"Perfect. Post this: ’The Phantom Pirates from the South are sailing toward Veins Peak.’ That’ll stir the pot."

"Message sent," Serena replied after a brief pause. "It’s already gaining views."

"That was fast." Tyler muttered.

Tyler leaned against the railing, watching the sun dip low over the horizon. The sea stretched endlessly before them, calm and glittering with golden light. In the distance, seabirds cried out, and the ship’s sails fluttered gently in the wind.

"So much for staying under the radar," he muttered.

Lily shrugged, arms crossed casually. "If we’re going to be hunted anyway, we might as well do it in style. Besides, it’s not us they’re after—it’s the Phantom Pirates."

Tyler chuckled, a mischievous gleam in his eye. "Sounds good to me."

Just then, the door to the CIC room slid open, and Su Fei walked in with her usual calm yet sharp presence.

"Oh? Fancy seeing you here," Tyler greeted, raising a brow.

Su Fei didn’t waste time on pleasantries. "What is this ’Threads’? How do I access it?"

Serena materialized beside her in a soft glow, her projection flickering as she explained. "Threads is a message board under the Northern Network. Think of it like a place where pirates, merchants, and lunatics post rumors, updates."

As Serena spoke, Tyler and Lily exchanged a curious glance. Tyler turned back to Su Fei. "Why the sudden interest?"

Su Fei hesitated, then muttered under her breath, "...To get views."