Chapter Forty-Two: The Dispute Over the Island's Name

Hua Shaojie and his companions appeared on the sandy shore of this small island, while the multipurpose vehicle materialized directly on the sea.

“Wow, the scenery on this island is truly beautiful!” Zhang Qiang was the first to speak.

“Indeed, it’s quite lovely. By the way, since we’ve arrived here, why not give this place a name? What should we call it? Since this is our first time here, how about ‘First Arrival Island’?” Hua Shaojie suggested.

“First Arrival Island? What a terrible name! It sounds awful. I think ‘Immortal Island’ sounds better,” Bai Dongfang immediately argued with Hua Shaojie.

“That’s so tacky. ‘Immortal Island’—listen to how cliché that sounds. Who would believe in that? We’re here to blend in with the locals on this planet. I think ‘Flying Island’ is a better name,” Liu Mingde opposed.

“Flying Island? No way. Although we came flying here, that name just doesn’t fit. I’m against it!” Ding Pengfei voiced his objection.

“How about this: everyone thinks of a name, then we take a vote. The one with the most votes becomes the island’s name. How does that sound?” Zhang Qiang, who usually had little say, suddenly spoke up with a brilliant idea.

“Good, let’s do it that way. Any objections? ...No? Then everyone write down your chosen name on the beach now. It would be best to also explain why you chose that name so we can vote more thoughtfully. Let’s begin!” Hua Shaojie said, and he was the first to step onto the wide beach and start writing.

Hua Shaojie wrote “First Arrival Island,” symbolizing the significance of their first arrival here.

Lü Zhengyang wrote: “Zhengyang Island, the island where Lü Zhengyang arrives—haha! Didn’t expect Lü Zhengyang to be so shameless.”

Ding Pengfei wrote: “Celestial Boar Island. The name sounds grand and refined, and since we came from beyond the heavens, it fits perfectly.”

Gu Zhenzhen chose a very feminine name, “Peach Blossom Island,” without any particular reason other than her fondness for the name.

Bai Dongfang wrote: “Immortal Island. To the people on this planet, we are like immortals, so the name suits our current status.”

Li Zhan wrote: “God of War Island. The God of War is my ideal, so I chose that name.”

Liu Mingde wrote: “Bright Moon Island. The island’s shape resembles a half-moon on the tenth day of the lunar month, which is vivid and elegant.”

Finally, Zhang Qiang wrote: “Mystery Island, because this whole thing is mysterious. Let’s just call it that.”

“Mystery Island? I didn’t expect Qiangzi to come up with such a name. Not bad at all,” Li Zhan praised.

The voting rules were that each person could only vote for one name, and they could not vote for their own suggestion. To everyone’s surprise, Zhang Qiang’s “Mystery Island” received four votes and was chosen as the island’s name.

Though called a small island, by the standards of this planet it was indeed quite modest, but in reality, its area was roughly equivalent to that of Hainan Island. According to their previous plans, they were descendants of some secluded powerful beings living on this island. Currently, there were only a dozen or so of them; this time, eight of them came out for training.

Thus, Hua Shaojie and his seven companions began searching the island for a suitable location, undertaking a large-scale construction project to build many houses. Under Hua Shaojie’s supernatural powers, the central part of the island was transformed into a valley surrounded on three sides by mountains, with only an eastern exit. The valley was perpetually like spring, beautiful and vast. Three days later, a cluster of new buildings had sprung up in this valley—some with earthen and wooden structures, some entirely wooden, and others carved out of massive stones. These were the proud creations of Hua Shaojie, Lü Zhengyang, and Ding Pengfei.

Looking at these buildings, the eight men felt deeply moved. Although their cultivation levels made such feats not difficult, completing such exquisitely beautiful constructions in just three days was no small achievement.

“Alright, now it’s Brother Liu’s turn,” Hua Shaojie gestured invitingly to Liu Mingde.

Liu Mingde nodded, stepped forward, and placed one hand on a pillar. A faint white light emanated from his palm, rapidly expanding until it enveloped the entire cluster of buildings. The white glow gradually shifted through shades of gray, finally turning black. After a few flickers, the black light suddenly dissipated, and Liu Mingde withdrew his hand, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Clearly, this use of his supernatural power had consumed a great deal of energy.

After Liu Mingde’s power enveloped the buildings, the newly constructed houses took on an ancient, weathered appearance, as if they had endured thousands of years. It turned out that with the upgrade, Liu Mingde’s ability could rapidly age objects, and likewise, restore aged items to pristine condition.

With everything prepared, the group followed a newly opened mountain path to the seaside. At the junction of the beach and the path stood a large stone. Bai Dongfang drew a gleaming sword, moving with fluid grace as he carved the characters “Mystery Island” onto the stone. Hua Shaojie pressed a communication device on his ear and spoke to the multipurpose vehicle awaiting at sea.

“Zero Zero Five, we’re about to board. Come pick us up.” Though the distance was only a few dozen meters—a trivial distance for them to traverse using flying devices—they had grown lazy aboard the ship, accustomed to everything being done by intelligent systems. It was a bit like having everything served on a silver platter.

The vehicle, 005, also possessed a light transmission function, though its range was far less impressive compared to their spaceship. In a flash of light, the eight of them were transported inside the ship’s cabin. The 005 then set off, slicing through the waves toward the nearest continent.

This enormous planet was called Dream Blue. Seventy percent of its surface was covered by water, with the remaining thirty percent consisting of five continents. Scattered across the oceans were numerous small islands, but their total area was insignificant. The five continents were named Central Continent, Sand Continent, Arctic Continent, Sky Stone Continent, and Green Forest Continent.

Among them, Central Continent was the largest, followed by Sand Continent, Arctic Continent, Sky Stone Continent, and Green Forest Continent. Central Continent featured diverse terrain and climate, with four distinct seasons, forests, lakes, mountains, basins, deserts, and glaciers, making it home to the largest population.

Eighty percent of Sand Continent was desert, hence its name. The coastal ring was dotted with strange mountains and rocks, while within the desert lay over a hundred thousand oases—only a few of the larger ones were inhabited by tribal peoples.

Arctic Continent lay at the planet’s north pole. Its central region was perpetually covered in ice and snow, occupying about a third of the continent. Though not vast, its population was second only to Central Continent.

Sky Stone Continent was named after a massive meteorite that long ago descended from the heavens and settled there. Strangely, this meteorite fell as lightly as a feather, silent and serene. Perhaps because of this celestial stone, ordinary people generally could not survive there, making it a place where only the powerful came to train. It was essentially deserted.

Green Forest Continent was covered ninety-five percent by lush forests, inhabited by the legendary Elves and Dwarves.

From left to right, aside from Arctic Continent at the pole, the other four continents arranged themselves as Sand Continent, Central Continent, Green Forest Continent, and then Sky Stone Continent. The distance between Sky Stone Continent and Sand Continent was equal to that between Sky Stone Continent and Central Continent.

Unlike Earth, Dream Blue’s south pole was not a continent but an endless ocean, forever battered by fierce storms and towering waves.

Today, at a massive seaport on the eastern coast of Central Continent, a special merchant ship arrived. Eight figures stood on its enormous deck—seven men and one woman—dressed in attire unlike that of any nation on Dream Blue.