The voice they heard carried a strange, calming authority.
It instinctively reassured everyone that it ant no harm, gently suppressing panic before it could even form. Without that subtle influence, the sudden, disembodied voice echoing across the world would have thrown countless people into chaos, sending them screaming in fear.
Instead, most simply looked around in confusion, trying to locate its source.
In cultivator cities, many even mistook it for a broadcast from their grand formation loudspeakers, at least for the first few monts.
"I wonder what this is about?" Leyvi said as he raised himself into a sitting position.
"I hope it’s not trouble." Hana hugged his arm, drawing a little closer.
A brief silence followed.
Then, the voice echoed once more.
"BEFORE I BEGIN, ALLOW THIS OLD MAN TO INTRODUCE MYSELF.
I AM ONE OF THE FEW DAO MANIFESTATION REALM CULTIVATORS IN THIS WORLD. YOU MAY REFER TO AS OLD MAN BALI. FOR THOSE WHO ARE UNAWARE, THE DAO MANIFESTATION REALM IS THE CULTIVATION REALM ABOVE THE SOUL TRANSFORMATION REALM.
AT PRESENT, WE STAND AT THE PEAK OF THIS WORLD’S CULTIVATION SYSTEM. IN OTHER WORDS, WE ARE, WITHOUT QUESTION, THE STRONGEST BEINGS IN EXISTENCE HERE.
RECENTLY, ALL DAO MANIFESTATION REALM CULTIVATORS HAVE GATHERED TO DISCUSS SEVERAL IMPORTANT MATTERS. AMONG US, I WAS CHOSEN TO DELIVER THIS SSAGE BECAUSE I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY PARTICULAR FACTION.
AT THIS VERY MONT, MY VOICE IS REACHING EVERY CORNER OF THE WORLD. WHAT YOU ARE HEARING NOW IS ALSO BEING HEARD BY EVERYONE ELSE, REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY ARE.
TWO MONTHS AGO, WE DECIDED UPON A NA FOR OUR WORLD... THE VERY NA I HAVE JUST SPOKEN.
ARCHIPELA.
FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, THIS SHALL BE THE NA OF OUR WORLD.
ALL OF YOU ARE NOW THE PEOPLE... OR CREATURES... OF ARCHIPELA.
NOW THAT YOU ARE AWARE OF THIS, YOU MAY BEGIN USING THIS NA IN YOUR SPEECH AND YOUR RECORDS.
PRIOR TO THIS, ALL CONTINENTS HAVE EXISTED IN ISOLATION, EACH FOLLOWING ITS OWN LONG HISTORY OF DEVELOPNT, LIFESTYLE, AND GOVERNING STRUCTURE. INTERACTION BETWEEN CONTINENTS HAS BEEN EXTRELY RARE, AS THEY ARE SEPARATED BY TREACHEROUS AND DANGEROUS SEAS.
HOWEVER, FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR WORLD, ARCHIPELA, THIS MUST CHANGE.
WE MUST BEGIN INTERACTING WITH ONE ANOTHER AND SHARING OUR KNOWLEDGE. THIS IS ESSENTIAL TO ACCELERATE PROGRESS IN ALL ASPECTS. TO ACHIEVE THIS, WE WILL DEVELOP THODS TO ENABLE SAFE TRAVEL BETWEEN CONTINENTS.
OVER THE PAST WEEK, WE HAVE HELD DISCUSSIONS WITH THE RULING POWERS OF EACH CONTINENT, AND THEY HAVE AGREED TO COOPERATE TOWARD THIS GOAL.
WE DO NOT YET HAVE AN EXACT DATE FOR ITS COMPLETION, BUT WE AIM TO ACHIEVE THIS WITHIN A HUNDRED YEARS. SHOULD THE PROCESS PROVE SLOWER THAN EXPECTED, IT MAY TAKE LONGER.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS MAY BE CONFUSING TO MANY OF YOU, AS THIS ANNOUNCENT COS SUDDENLY. IN TI, FURTHER DETAILS WILL BE PROVIDED BY THE RULING AUTHORITIES OF YOUR RESPECTIVE CONTINENTS.
LASTLY, TO MARK THE BEGINNING OF OUR GLOBAL CONNECTION, WE WILL IMPLENT A NEW CALENDAR SYSTEM TO STANDARDIZE AND SYNCHRONIZE DATE AND TI ACROSS THE WORLD.
STARTING TOMORROW, IT WILL BE THE FIRST DAY OF THE FIRST MONTH OF THE FIRST YEAR OF THE ARCHIPELA CALENDAR.
REJOICE, INHABITANTS OF ARCHIPELA.
YOU ARE NOW WITNESSING THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA.
AND WITH THIS, I CONCLUDE THE FIRST WORLDWIDE ANNOUNCENT."
After the announcent ended, the entire world imdiately buzzed with discussion. Whether in towns, villages, or cities, whether among cultivators or mortals, everyone began talking about what had just happened.
To mortals, most of it was beyond their understanding. Many believed it was the voice of a god speaking to them, and quite a number began to pray, hoping for a brighter future. The vast majority of them had never left their hotowns in their entire lives. They weren’t even aware that other continents existed, and so didn’t even know what a continent was. They had lived their whole lives without ever knowing how vast the world truly was.
To cultivators, however, the impact was entirely different. Many were in awe upon learning about the existence of the Dao Manifestation Realm. A being at such a level had just spoken directly to them, and for those in the lower realms, the experience felt surreal, almost unreal.
Overall, the entire world was now caught in speculation, discussing the direction it might take from this point forward. Would this lead to peace or chaos? So were afraid, so were excited, and others remained indifferent, choosing to simply observe what would unfold.
"A new era, huh... trying to connect all the continents. This isn’t going to be easy," Leyvi muttered to himself as his thoughts drifted back to the past.
When they had crossed the ocean aboard the pyramid, he had personally witnessed just how dangerous it truly was. He had once believed the stories were exaggerated, that the dangers had been dramatized over ti, but the truth was the complete opposite. The ocean was far more treacherous than any rumor had ever described.
The weather across the vast ocean was wildly unpredictable. At any mont, one could be struck by powerful lightning out of nowhere, or run straight into terrifying cyclones capable of tearing an airship apart in seconds. There were even mysterious cold winds that could freeze everything in their path without warning.
Flying high wasn’t any safer. Thick clouds stretched endlessly, blocking all visibility. It was easy to lose direction and beco trapped within them, only to be hunted by powerful demonic beasts with bizarre bloodline abilities. It was then that Leyvi realized Senior Lapin was far from the only creature capable of thriving in the skies.
Flying low ca with its own dangers. The ocean itself was alive with threats. Marine demonic beasts would attack from below, unleashing their power toward anything above the surface. Massive tsunamis and sea tornadoes could form without warning, dragging everything down into the depths. So creatures didn’t even wait, they would leap straight out of the ocean to strike.
Even flying at mid-altitude offered no real safety. Dangers from both above and below could still reach them at any ti. There was no truly safe route across the ocean.
In the end, crossing it was simply... terrifying. Anything could happen, and compared to it, the lands felt incomparably safer.
The only reason they had managed to cross it so easily two months ago was because of the pyramid. That vessel had been designed to travel through space itself, a realm far more dangerous and unpredictable than the ocean. In comparison, crossing the sea had been effortless.
However, the pyramid now belonged to Lin Wei, and he would soon depart for the heart of the galaxy. There was no way he would leave it behind, as he would need it for his journey.
If they wanted to cross the ocean again, they would have to find another way. Either they would need to develop airships powerful enough to withstand such dangers, or they would have to create so kind of shortcut.
Sothing like... portals.
Leyvi recalled that this was exactly what Barcas had been working toward for most of his life. His dream was to create portals that could connect all the continents together, drastically reducing travel ti while making it far safer. According to him, no one had seriously attempted such a feat before. But now... things might change.
Leyvi had a faint premonition that Barcas would soon beco involved in this project.
At the sa ti, he couldn’t help but wonder whether connecting all the continents was truly a good idea.
He still rembered the incident at Holy Cat City and several other cultivator cities. The ones who had caused chaos back then ca from a nearby continent known as the Makai Continent.
The cultivators there practiced death Qi, a path that required an abundance of death to sustain. And knowing human nature, there was no way they would be satisfied with absorbing death Qi from those who died naturally. Massacres would inevitably follow. It was a path that practically invited chaos.
If possible, Leyvi would rather have no interaction with such people at all.
And that raised another concern.
What about the other continents?
If they harbored similarly extre cultivation practices or twisted cultures like the Makai Continent, wouldn’t those influences spread as well once everything beca connected?
The more he thought about it, the more uncertain the future felt.
In the end, Leyvi let out a quiet breath and chose to stop dwelling on it.
At the end of the day, he was still just a small figure in the grand sche of things. He had no say in decisions of this scale. Whether the changes would lead to a brighter future or descend into chaos, all he could do was prepare himself and face whatever ca.
Fortunately, these changes wouldn’t happen overnight.
Even by their own estimate, it would take up to a hundred years to connect the continents, and possibly even longer. Ti was still on their side. The Leyan Family had ample opportunity to grow stronger and prepare for what lay ahead. With the resources they had recently obtained, their growth would undoubtedly outpace most others.
When the ti finally ca, if things truly turned for the worse...
Leyvi was confident that the Leyan Family would have enough strength to protect itself.
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