Jueming Island—I had long heard its great name!
Yet this was my first time truly coming here.
The sea winds blew broad from north to south. The Marquis of Wu'an's might from Huai Island had yet to reach Jueming Island, but the Marquis of Wu'an himself had arrived first.
There was no formation drawn up to welcome him, no flags raised and cheers shouted.
Jueming Island had its own garrison duties. The soldiers had no such leisure.
Yet wherever Jiang Wang went, he was met with reverent gazes.
The Marquis of Wu'an of Great Qi, with a fief of three thousand households, represented how far a young man with no backing at all could rise in this dominant power of the Eastern Domain through his own struggle and effort.
And this was still far from the end.
He was only twenty-two this year. The Administration Hall or the Military Affairs Hall was now but a single step away.
Many people understood clearly that the Son of Heaven had sent him overseas precisely to complete this final step.
If, in the past, Jiang Wang's possible ascent into the next Jiang Mengxiong had merely been a hope held by a select few—
after his return from the Demon Realm, it had nearly become a consensus.
Within the Near-Sea Archipelago, Jueming Island lay to the south, Huai Island in the center, and Yang Valley to the north.
Like the three sharp prongs of a trident, they faced the raging waves of the Cang Sea.
They were also like three banners pinning down the sea and subduing dragons, uniting the sea folk and stabilizing the Sea Frontier through the long years.
But unlike Huai Island and Yang Valley, Jueming Island was an artificial island.
It was vast enough to accommodate hundreds of thousands living