"In this world, only killing can end war."

Hao Mao shrugged and lay down in a lazy manner. If you don't have too many things on your mind, lying on the beach and sunbathing is indeed a very comfortable thing.

Much later.

He pondered for a moment, then said, "What you just said actually makes a lot of sense."

No one answered.

Only the soft snores of the Sahara Continent Lord mingled with the sea breeze. Hao Mao gazed at the seagulls that occasionally flew overhead, his eyes unfocused as he continued to stare blankly.

The "Mortal Domain Daily" had slipped from my hand and fallen to the ground without me noticing.

March 27, 2003 (Eternal Night New Calendar)

Twenty days have passed since Zhang Taiping returned. The Eternal Night Continent has been quite busy these past few days, with many people preparing for the upcoming "Mortal Domain Second Spring Examination".

The Mortal Domain set the date for April 1st.

From now on, April 1st will be every year.

Chen Fan was sitting at a desk in the Stone House in Cave One, looking through the list handed to him by his subordinates. These were all people who were considered by the public to have a high probability of winning the Top Ranker.

What is the attitude of those in power?

The people below should then do their jobs.

He has always attached great importance to the Spring Examination, which has influenced the Mortal Domain and even the entire Eternal Night Continent to attach great importance to it. The talents selected in the last Spring Examination very important to the Mortal Domain, and it is hoped that a few good talents can be selected this time as well.

Time passed little by little.

There are only about eight months left before the protection period for the "Second-Level Continent" ends.

"Young Master."

The Crippled Monkey pushed open the door and entered. "The 'Finance Pavilion' says that their foreign trade volume has exceeded one hundred billion Eerie Stones."

"Um."

Chen Fan nodded slightly, gazing at the "Endless Night Lord Panel" deep within his mind.

In fact, they did not wait for the Finance Pavilion to report.

He learned of this news yesterday.

"One of the Second-Level Continent Hidden Heavenly Dao's Blessing in the Mortal Domain."

"Trade Routes."

"Trade Routes": Establish trade relations with any number of continents, and the amount of Eerie Stones and water exceeds 100 billion.

Prize: Dark Technology Source Point, 5 billion Eerie Stones.

The rewards are the same as always.

His current "Dark Technology Tree" has reached its maximum level in the military category, and he cannot unlock any more military branches until he advances to the Third-Level Continent.

At that time, I had 9 Dark Technology Source Points left.

The original plan was to focus on the economic aspects later.

However, some unexpected events interrupted his plans. The Strategist Pavilion said that it wasn't economically worthwhile at this point, since the protection period was almost over.

Why not save them up first?

Once the Third-Level Continent, the subsequent Military Dark Technologies will be unlocked.

He thought it made sense.

So I kept saving them up.

Furthermore, over the years he has been pushing for the completion of Hidden Heavenly Dao's Blessings on other continents, and all the Dark Technology Source Points he has obtained belong to him. (Temporarily borrowed.)

Now

They have now accumulated another 27 Dark Technology Source Points.

Once the Third-Level Continent, it will begin to consume.

Up to now!

In this Sea Domain, almost all the Second-Level Continents have completed five Hidden Heavenly Dao's Blessings. They only need one more Continent Core to advance to the Third-Level Continent. And this thing...

There isn't just one Mortal Domain.

On the desk, there was a report that the "Commerce Pavilion" had just presented. During their regular patrol yesterday, they discovered a Heavenly Dao Strange near a Second-Level Continent, cleared it out, and destroyed a Continent Core.

There are two of these in the Mortal Domain.

Yes.

The Mortal Domain has been sending people to patrol regularly, not only their own territory but also other people's territories, to prevent anyone from making underhanded moves.

Now, all five Hidden Heavenly Dao's Blessings of the Mortal Domain have been officially completed, and they will officially advance to the Third-Level Continent once the protection period ends.

Third-Level Continent.

He became the overlord of a Sea Domain.

They truly gained a voice in the conflicts Heaven and Earth.

"There's one more thing."

The Crippled Monkey chuckled and presented a piece of scrap paper with messy handwriting on it, like a child's scribbles.

"Last time, Domain Lord, didn't you say you encouraged the development of Music culture? It just so happens that this is quite popular on 'Good Cat Continent,' so we sent people there to exchange ideas and learn from them."

"I have indeed learned a lot."

"Then a few days ago, a six or seven-year-old child wrote a song for the Mortal Domain. He kept it a secret from his family and went to the local government to deliver it to the Mortal Domain Member. The people below did not dare to neglect it and passed it all the way to Qi Yue then handed it to me."

"I brought it specifically for you to see, Young Master."

"Oh?"

Chen Fan became interested, put down the list of candidates in his hand, and took the piece of scrap paper from the Crippled Monkey's hand.

My partner and I will build a little home.

I'm not afraid of the wind, nor am I afraid of the rain.

"Let it get dark, I'll guard it."

"A small Camp, slowly growing."

"A strange wind came, and the wall collapsed."

"Let's hide in the mountains and build a new house."

"Slay the Wraith King, one strike at a time."

"Defend the Jiangbei and build a defensive line."

Even in the darkest Eternal Night, I am not afraid.

"My Mortal Domain is the largest, the very largest."

After estimating that the Young Master had almost finished reading, the Crippled Monkey hurriedly added, "I took some men to the child's home to offer my condolences. The child's parents said that the child was born before the Eternal Night New Calendar."

"Having experienced war and witnessed firsthand the suffering of the people."

"I start trembling every time Tianyi."

"Until the Mortal Domain is unified."

"She's become much better behaved, and she's not afraid of the dark anymore."

"That child is also very cute, she's a girl, and she said that when she grows up, she wants to join the Mortal Domain to protect the Eternal Night Continent and protect more people." When he received these lyrics, his first reaction was, "Hasty."

The lyrics to this song are too hastily written.

My second reaction was...

The Young Master will definitely like it.

Chen Fan didn't speak, but looked at the piece of paper in his hand, a smile in his eyes as he murmured, "My Mortal Domain, the biggest, the biggest." He never protected the people in order to gain their approval.

But.

No one likes an ingrate, so gaining the people's approval is a very happy thing for him.

"Good."

He handed the scrap paper to the Crippled Monkey: "Take this, smooth it out, then frame it, put it in a small frame, and put it on my desk."

"Okay."

The Crippled Monkey grinned and hurriedly accepted the offer.

Soon

The date is April 1st.

The annual Mortal Domain Spring Examination has begun.

A large number of candidates came to Jiangbei Mortal City to travel to Beijing for the imperial examinations.

This year, as usual, there are nine subjects.

The subjects that are of most concern to the public are basically "Military Strategy", "management" and "Arithmetic", which are generally qualified for important departments in the Mortal Domain.

The "Military Strategy" session was the first to conclude.

This year's Military Strategy exam questions are:

"The Eternal Night Continent will end its protection period in eight months, and it is surrounded by enemies. What is the best course of action after the protection period ends?"

Chen Fan was sitting at his desk, looking at the large number of exam papers that had been handed to him.

He personally graded the papers.

Beside the desk, a cup of steaming hot tea was bubbling away.

There are all sorts of ideas.

For example.

He led everyone to abandon the Eternal Night Continent and head to a Second-Level Continent that was still under protection. They would rotate every three years, keeping themselves within the protection period, and then accumulate strength.

Besides,

"Kindness"

Chen Fan narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the lengthy essay on the exam paper, the title of which was quite arrogant.

"On the Feasibility and Necessity of Constructing Sky Domain."

Heading to the Beyond Heavens.

If the Night Awakeners want to rebuild the Mortal Domain in the Beyond Heavens, why can't they do the same in the Mortal Domain?

The last sentence was also extremely domineering.

If Kou can go, so can I.

Next.

He didn't give a review.

This is yet another headline that looks quite radical.

"On the feasibility of indiscriminate bombing across Mortal Domains in a 'War Mire'."

Fork!

The Mortal Domain doesn't have that many resources!

Next!

"Restart the Night Watcher program for the Eternal Night Hall."

Two years ago.

The Eternal Night Hall modified many of the Night Watchers, making them incredibly powerful when activated. After the Mortal Domain was unified, this modification project was halted and never mentioned again.

Those Night Watcher do not need to be activated; after registering with the government, they can simply live normal lives like ordinary people.

It might be necessary to reverse the order of birth, aging, illness, and death.

This is absolutely not acceptable; we should have gone with the previous one.

Mortal Domain were to be mired in War Mire, it would be impossible to restart this plan.

Although many of the suggestions were somewhat far-fetched, that's exactly what he wanted to hear. He wanted to hear more voices, even if they seemed nonsensical, because they would inspire him.

Next.

"On the connection between the 'Night Watcher' and the 'Meatworm Wraith,' and a dialectical view of the connection between the 'Night Watcher' and the 'Night Awakeners.'"

We've gone off-topic.

This was Chen Fan's first reaction; the answer had no connection to the question anymore.

But.

This was a line of thinking he had never considered before.

Chen Fan looked at the exam paper thoughtfully.

The lengthy text, spanning several thousand words, first explained that both the "Meatworm Wraith" and the "Night Watcher" could be activated by self-destruction, at the cost of their lives. This method seemed to be driven by the Dark Energy within their bodies, thus causing them to self-destruct.

The "Night Awakeners" possess Dark Energy because they initiated the Eternal Night and thereby acquired this Dark Energy, which is passed down through continuous reincarnation. However, with each reincarnation, the purity of the Dark Energy contained within their bodies is weakened.

But it was passed down nonetheless.

Where does the Dark Energy within the "Night Watcher" come from?

Judging from their inability to accept the Heavenly Dao's Blessing, the "Night Watchers " were very likely among those who initiated the Eternal Night, but later regretted their actions, reformed, and used the Dark Energy within them in a different way.

The first half is somewhat off-topic.

But the second half returns to the main theme.

Why is there a "Dark Technology Tree" prefix?

Is this a manifestation of the exploitation of Dark Energy?

The Mortal Domain currently possesses dark-themed structures such as the "Dark Watchtower," allowing for in-depth research into Dark Energy through the Weird Emperor Jiu Wu. This would be a case of using their own methods against them.

If there are breakthroughs or achievements.

One year later.

Only then can the deadlock be broken.

"Kindness"

Chen Fan frowned, deep in thought. He hadn't considered this idea before; it was easy to write down, but difficult to put into practice. (Continue...)

Before we knew it, two hours had passed.

Chen Fan leaned back in his chair, exhausted. There were too many test papers; he was completely worn out from looking at them.

"Young Master."

The Crippled Monkey, who had been standing guard nearby, hurriedly changed the tea. "Do you have Top Ranker candidate for the top spot?"

"This."

Chen Fan pulled out a test paper from the top and placed it in front of the Crippled Monkey, then closed his eyes wearily.

The Crippled Monkey hurriedly took the test paper and subconsciously read it aloud.

"On the feasibility of indiscriminate bombing across Mortal Domains in a 'War Mire'."

Before even reading further, just seeing the title left the Crippled Monkey speechless. "Young Master, I understand. I'll have Ran tell this examinee he can go home."

"No."

Chen Fan shook his head. "He's the Military Strategy Champion this year."

"Ah?"

The Crippled Monkey stood frozen in place, his body stiff. "This... this actually works?"

If this can be Military Strategy Champion.

He thought he could do it too.

"The resources of the Mortal Domain are simply insufficient to support this plan."

"I thought so at first too. This guy's got talent. Keep reading."

Although the Crippled Monkey was somewhat puzzled, he still gritted his teeth and continued reading.

The opening only has a few lines of text.

"In this world, only killing can end war."

"The fighting continues, because too few have been killed."

"When the protection period ends, the Mortal Domain Foundation will be revealed."

In just a few lines, he clearly identified himself as a Radical Faction.

Then introduce yourself.

He's a Formation Master.

What the heck?

The Crippled Monkey felt even more confused. What was a Formation Master doing here in the "Military Strategy" subject instead of participating in the "Formation" course?

Keep reading.

Last year, this candidate went to the Mortal City Private School and, through his exploration of the "Sky-Piercing Pillar," developed an "Concealment Formation" that can make the "Strategic Sky-Piercing Pillar" lose its blazing light and become extremely introverted, just like the "Standard Sky-Piercing Pillar."

In fact.

The launch of the "Strategic Sky-Piercing Pillar carrying Nuclear Warhead" was extremely spectacular, with its intense heat visible from afar. It was completely different from ordinary Sky-Piercing Pillar.

If it can be contained to this extent, then it is indeed a very good Concealment Formation.

I offered many ideas.

For example.

First, deploy several "Strategic Sky-Piercing Pillar" towards a hostile Third-Level Continent, then deploy a large number of "Standard Sky-Piercing Pillar" to deplete the enemy's air defense system resources.

You need to know.

To intercept a "Strategic Sky-Piercing Pillar," regardless of the enemy's air defense system—for example, taking the "Mortal Domain's air defense system"—it is necessary to launch a "Strategic Sky-Piercing Pillar" and lock onto it via a "Watchtower" for interception.

This consumes a tremendous amount of resources.

In particular, using "Standard Sky-Piercing Pillars " to wear down the enemy's air defense system is like trading a pawn for a rook; after only a few rounds, the enemy can't hold on any longer.

This is one of the ideas.

There are many more ideas like this.

This is a visionary and radical "Formation Master".

After reading the exam paper, the Crippled Monkey was even more bewildered. He looked up at Chen Fan and said, "Young Master, why didn't he participate in the Formation subject? With this research, he could definitely become the top Formation Top Ranker this year."

There are many Private Schools in the Mortal Domain.

However, Private Schools also varied in quality.

The Private Schools in Mortal City are naturally the best. Besides the high quality of the teachers, they also offer students numerous opportunities to study and explore things like the Sky-Piercing Pillars and Teleportation Formation up close. "I'm thinking about that too."

Chen Fan leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and whispered, "He definitely didn't develop this 'Concealment Formation' in the last few days, but he's been hiding it all this time, waiting to make a name for himself in the Spring Examination."

"This means he is ambitious, but also patient."

"And you have to understand, he's just a 21-year-old boy."

"When an ordinary young person discovers something like this, who could possibly contain themselves? They'd want everyone to know, patiently waiting for their moment to shine."

"But they don't go into the Formation."

Instead, Military Strategy emerged.

"This indicates a desire to join the Strategist Pavilion."

"In this Spring Examination, there weren't any particularly outstanding candidates in the 'Military Strategy' subject. Some of his ideas are good and feasible." "He's definitely going to be Military Strategy Champion."

"But I need to meet him. The Top Ranker isn't just tested on academic knowledge, but also on character."

"Clear."

The Crippled Monkey nodded. "I'll arrange for someone to bring him over."

After Incense Stick.

The Household Pavilion had already submitted all the candidate's information, and Chen Fan was sitting at his desk reviewing it.

21 years old, male.

He was born an orphan with no parents.

His name is "Chen Jiutian".

He still shares the same family name as her.

Soon

The door was pushed open, and a young man dressed in Hemp Robe was brought in following the Crippled Monkey. Upon seeing Chen Fan sitting behind the desk, he first took a deep breath, then, without daring to look around, he simply bowed slightly and said in a deep voice.

"Chen Jiutian greets the Domain Lord."

"Sit."

Chen Fan didn't look up, but casually asked while staring at the candidate's information in his hand, "No father or mother, who gave you your name?"

"I chose it myself."

The young man dressed in Hemp Robe sat upright on the bench.

The Crippled Monkey stood behind him.

"What's the point?"

"Above the Nine Heavens, I reign supreme."

Chen Fan suddenly stiffened, raising his head to look at the ordinary-looking boy at the table. His lips twitched slightly, even interrupting the flow of their conversation. "Above the Nine Heavens, you are king?"

So what is he?

Chen Fan?

Under the Nine Heavens, is he merely a mortal?

"Domain Lord, you are an Emperor, and an Emperor precedes a King." Chen Jiutian subconsciously stood up to make amends for his earlier statement, then forced himself to say in a low voice, "I've never had a name."

"Call him Er Gou."

Before taking the Spring Examination, my neighbors said I should have a respectable name, so I named myself "Chen Jiutian," which is the name of the protagonist in the latest folk Storybook of "True Person Qi."

"I thought this name was cool, so I used it."

"In that Storybook, the protagonist always says this line after each major event..."

Chen Fan gently rubbed his temples, not dwelling too much on the name. The somewhat immature young man simply asked softly, "Is your Concealment Formation still theoretical, or have you already achieved results?"

"Results have been achieved, and it's ready for use at any time."

When discussing his field of expertise, Chen Jiutian suddenly became confident, raising his head and puffing out his chest. "I believe this research result should be very useful to the Mortal Domain."

"It's actually useless."

Chen Fan said quietly, "The Mortal Domain has already figured it out, but it hasn't been announced to the public. I've called you here to confirm whether you've stolen the Mortal Domain's internal information."

"Ah?"

Chen Jiutian, who had just been so confident, suddenly froze on the spot in disbelief, a deep sense of disappointment flashing in the depths of his eyes.

Just kidding.

When Chen Fan saw Chen Jiutian like this, he couldn't help but laugh. He looked much cuter like this.

"Explain why you chose to take the Military Strategy course instead of the Formation."

"If you want to become famous overnight."

"With this achievement, our chances of taking the Top Ranker in the Formation are much greater."