Chapter Nineteen: The Ghost Ship (Part Two)

The Third Elder spoke up from the side, "Young Master, do you think it's possible that the Qingyan Pavilion has also discovered Princess Jing'er's true identity?"

The four of them fell into a heavy silence. After a long while, the First Elder spoke again, "Young Master, perhaps you should try to persuade Miss Jing'er to abandon this idea."

Kuang Chi paused, then frowned. "It's not that easy. She is a princess; do you think she is someone easily swayed? You have all spent enough time with her to know her temperament. Once she has made up her mind, no amount of persuasion will work."

Kuang Chi rubbed his temples and continued, "Let’s put this aside for now. If that ghost pirate ship is truly as legendary as they say, it would be a valuable asset. Let’s proceed with building it. Are there any other issues?"

The First Elder shook his head and replied, "All of our materials are prepared, but we have yet to find a suitable location to build the shipyard."

"What happened?" Kuang Chi asked quickly.

The First Elder thought for a moment before answering, "The main issue is that our three families cannot agree on the location of the shipyard. Furthermore, there is the question of who will have control over the facility in the future."

Kuang Chi had no interest in getting involved in these matters. He said directly, "I don't care about these details, but the location for manufacturing the power unit must be absolutely secure. As for our own starship, we will build it ourselves. You can negotiate the shipyard details with them, but our own progress must not be delayed."

The Third Elder asked, "Young Master, are you saying we should build our own starship factory now?"

Kuang Chi nodded, then immediately asked, "Do you have the capacity to do so?"

The three elders exchanged glances before the First Elder replied, "It is barely possible, but compared to the combined efforts of all three families, we would be lacking in many aspects."

Kuang Chi smiled. "Let it be so. Perhaps if the clan needs more starships in the future, we will have a use for it. Especially the equipment for manufacturing the power units—make sure the location is chosen carefully, and once the three power units are completed, that facility must be completely destroyed."

The Third Elder asked, "Young Master, must we really destroy the power unit manufacturing plant?"

Kuang Chi didn't elaborate, merely nodding firmly.

Not long after the elders left, Old Tuo walked in with a beaming Anna. As soon as she entered, Anna grabbed Kuang Chi’s right arm and smiled. "Fatty, why are you back so soon? Didn't my grandfather say you went on a long journey?"

Kuang Chi smiled. It was clear that Old Tuo hadn't even told Anna where he had gone.

Old Tuo, seeing Kuang Chi look his way, asked, "Did you find it?"

Kuang Chi nodded. Old Tuo laughed heartily and then asked, "Then why are you back so quickly?"

"There is someone inside."

Old Tuo exclaimed in surprise, "What? Someone is inside? How can that be?"

Kuang Chi sighed. "It is indeed an excellent place for physical cultivation, but it currently belongs to the Demon Valley. I encountered the Master of the Demon Valley inside."

Old Tuo’s eyes widened with shock. After a moment, he pressed for details: "Was it truly the Master of the Demon Valley?"

Kuang Chi nodded. Anna, standing by, looked equally astonished. "Fatty, you really saw the Master of the Demon Valley?"

Kuang Chi smiled. "It must be him. His entire body was composed of pale blue crystal-like structures. According to the elders, that is the unique mark of the Demon Valley's master."

Old Tuo nodded and then smiled at Kuang Chi. "Very well, if that is the case, then it cannot be forced. You don't just practice external physical arts anyway, so simply focus more on your internal mental cultivation. Anna, I leave her in your care. I’m heading back now."

After taking Anna for a stroll through the city and returning to his residence, Kuang Chi found Jing'er waiting for him with a clearly unhappy expression.

Looking at her expression, combined with observations from previous times, Kuang Chi felt a faint inkling of something. Yet, he knew deep down that this possibility was impossible.

She was the princess of a great empire, while he was a married man with two wives. Although Kuang Chi had wondered more than once if Jing'er had developed feelings for him, his reason always told him that even if she did, it could never lead to anything.

Upon seeing Kuang Chi return alone, Jing'er was startled. She asked curiously, "Where is Anna? I heard you were with her."

Kuang Chi smiled. "I saw her home. Why are you here?"

"What? Are you unhappy that I’m here? If you don't want me to stay, I can leave."

With that, she stood up, clearly angry, and turned to walk away. Kuang Chi quickly grabbed her and pulled her back to her seat. "Alright, you win. How could I ever be unhappy?"

Jing'er let out a cold snort, clearly uninterested in dwelling on the matter. She continued, "Have you discussed the ghost pirate ship with the three elders of Tyrannosaurus Peak? Did they agree?"

Kuang Chi nodded. "That part is fine, but Jing'er, are you truly determined to become a space pirate?"

Jing'er nodded without a word, but her resolve was clear to Kuang Chi.

Kuang Chi sighed helplessly. Trying to persuade a princess to give up her dream was an incredibly difficult task.

He understood that for someone who had grown up with everything at her fingertips, her dreams were perhaps the only things she truly felt were her own—things she didn't just take for granted. It was nearly impossible for such a person to give up something she couldn't have before but could now attain.

Kuang Chi pondered for a moment. "Jing'er, what will you do if your father finds out?"

Jing'er was visibly taken aback. Clearly, she had been so caught up in her dream that she hadn't considered this. After a long silence, she said, "Don't worry. Even if my father finds out, I won't let him cause you any trouble."

Kuang Chi smiled bitterly to himself, thinking: *How can you stop him? How could your father possibly listen to you then?*

Jing'er continued, "Besides, how could he find out? We are building a ghost pirate ship. Hundreds of years ago, it was wanted by every known civilization and country in the universe, and no one ever managed to capture it. This time, we’re outfitting it with the latest power units and even more advanced hull plating."

Kuang Chi retorted, "Don't forget, that was hundreds of years ago. Others haven't been idle in the last few centuries. Who knows if things from back then are still effective today?"

Jing'er raised her eyebrows. "You don't believe me, do you? What about things from hundreds of years ago? I’ve used the AI in the life-support pod to analyze the ghost ship's structural design. Even by today's standards, it is in some aspects more advanced than the ships we build. Do you know what kind of speed the AI calculated it would achieve with the ghost ship's propulsion system combined with our empire's latest power units?"

Kuang Chi shook his head.

Jing'er thought for a moment before saying, "Have you heard of the Tuna-class battleship of our Piaofeng Empire?"

Kuang Chi nodded. The Tuna-class light battleship of the Piaofeng Empire was the fastest vessel in human space, something he had been taught about since he was a student, let alone what he had learned during his time as a captain.

Seeing his nod, Jing'er continued, "If the calculations are correct, the speed of the ghost pirate ship we build will be nearly double that of a Tuna-class battleship."

"Ah!" Kuang Chi exclaimed. "Is there a mistake? And is the ghost ship a medium or light-class vessel?"

Jing'er glared at him. "There is no mistake. However, to achieve such high speeds, the ghost ship's frame will need to be reinforced, because the original frame cannot support that velocity."

She paused. "As for the classification, I haven't decided how large to build it yet. Regardless, the power units will be more than sufficient. As long as we have the materials, we can scale it up proportionally according to the designs on the chip."

Kuang Chi quickly asked, "Didn't you say the ghost ship relies primarily on that strange crystal currently at Tyrannosaurus Peak? Will building it larger affect that?"

Jing'er pondered this. "According to the data on the chip, the range of the energy turbulence created by the crystal is quite large. Why don't you go to Tyrannosaurus Peak to take a look? Then we can decide how large to build the hull."

Kuang Chi nodded. "I'll head over there in a bit. I was planning to check on the exiles anyway. Why don't you come with me?"

Jing'er agreed. "That would be good. I'll bring the life-support pod to Tyrannosaurus Peak as well. Even though the three elders have assigned twenty people to guard it, I'm still not at ease."

Kuang Chi agreed, and after consulting with the elders, they boarded the life-support pod and set off along the safe route provided by the elders.

Modern technology was truly efficient; a journey that would take half a month on foot took only three days in the pod.

As soon as the pod descended to the foot of Tyrannosaurus Peak, a dozen figures emerged from nowhere, completely surrounding the vessel before it had even fully settled.

Seeing this, Kuang Chi climbed out. His appearance was very distinct, and almost everyone recognized him immediately, bowing in haste.

Before long, the Lord of Tyrannosaurus Peak and the three elders led him up the mountain.

Inside the small metal house where Kuang Chi had stayed before, the five of them sat down. The Lord of Tyrannosaurus Peak looked at Jing'er and then at Kuang Chi. "Young Master, you came alone this time? Why didn't the First Elder send protection? This Forgotten Star is not safe. What if you and Miss Jing'er run into danger?"

Jing'er smiled. "Lord Peak Master, you worry too much, though I thank you for your concern."

When dealing with others or in certain settings, Jing'er truly possessed the grace of a princess, masking her usual impulsiveness.

After the two engaged in polite conversation, an increasingly uncomfortable Kuang Chi interrupted them. "Enough. Let's skip the small talk. Peak Master, are the materials for the warship and the power units ready?"

The Peak Master nodded quickly. "Rest assured, Young Master. Although these materials are rare, over the years we have accumulated quite a stash here at Tyrannosaurus Peak. We can essentially meet all of Miss Jing'er's requirements."

Jing'er looked at Kuang Chi, then turned to the Peak Master. "If we want to build the ship larger, will we have enough materials?"

The Peak Master hesitated, exchanged glances with the other elders, and asked, "How much larger does Miss Jing'er intend to go?"

Jing'er replied, "That depends on the scale of the spatial turbulence created by the crystal. If the range is large enough, we shouldn't hesitate to build it bigger. In any case, we won't have any trouble finding crew for the ship in the future."

She turned to Kuang Chi with a smile. "Even if the Qingyan Pavilion and the Demon Valley don't provide us with manpower, if Tyrannosaurus Peak lacks personnel, there should be plenty of your Kuang clan members on the other two planets in the Abandoned Star Sector. According to recent records I've accessed, your clan has produced many daring individuals over the last tens of thousands of years. Many have been exiled to this sector or fled here while being hunted by other families after killing someone in a duel. Especially according to our Piaofeng Empire's intelligence, your clan has a tradition of secretly sending people into the Abandoned Star Sector."

The Lord of Tyrannosaurus Peak gasped in surprise. "Ah! Why have we rarely encountered any Kuang clan members on our Forgotten Star over the last few thousand years?"

Kuang Chi shook his head. "I don't know. Before I came to this sector, my family only told me to go to the Lost Star. As for whether there are any of our kin on that planet, I have no idea."

He then added, "Actually, I've been wondering about something. Even though our heavy warships cannot enter this sector, surely the various nations wouldn't just give up on exploring and controlling this region? Does your Piaofeng Empire really have no personnel stationed in the Abandoned Star Sector?"