Chapter 217: Chapter 213: Upgrading the Grand Fortune! Encountering an Old Acquaintance?

On the Endless Ocean, perhaps the greatest benefit was getting to eat the most succulent seafood?

Of course, one would get tired of it after eating too much, but Shi Ming didn’t have that problem.

Pillar-like crab legs were sawn off whole and cooked by Old Yang himself. They were drizzled with various seasonings and sauces acquired at the cost of a great number of Sea Crystal Stones. The tender white crab meat was firm yet springy. There was no need for a complicated set of crab-eating tools; a simple tear yielded a large, succulent piece of meat.

Talk about a protein punch.

Using a B-rank Sea Beast as an ingredient could also, in some ways, improve the consumer’s physical constitution.

And after his third S-rank awakening, Shi Ming’s Attack Power, Defense Power, Physical Strength, and other attributes had also received a basic boost. Now that the powers of the Dusk Whale and the Formless Pure Ice were completely his, his various stats had stabilized.

[Attack Power: 131]

[Physical Strength: 157]

[Endurance: 143]

[Defense Power: 167]

[Spiritual Power: Unknown]

Aside from his Spiritual Power, which remained unknown, the other four stats had each increased by over 20 points, though by varying amounts. Shi Ming estimated that if he were to calculate the increase in Spiritual Power based on the average, the total stat boost from bathing in the Dusk Whale’s blood was likely between 120 and 130 points.

This was the basic enhancement from an S-rank awakening, a passive power gained without the cost of a "devour skill."

Meanwhile, consuming the Formless Pure Ice didn’t seem to provide any numerical increase, only boosting Shi Ming’s resistance to cold and heat.

He speculated that even if he entered the Sea of Boiling alone right now, he could easily withstand the high temperatures there. His body now contained an immense cold approaching absolute zero, making it a trivial matter to counter the radiant heat of a Three-Eyed Golden Crow.

In the future, perhaps he could even take a trip to the deepest parts of the Zero-Degree Ice Sea.

This trip to Europe had indeed been fruitful.

Next, he took out an azure Crystal Core.

This was the Sailing Heart he had obtained from the[Beheading Great Saber]. That unlucky Beheading Great Saber, along with all the Vortex Country Warriors and Awakened aboard, had failed to escape when the Dusk Whale attacked. They were affected by the Twilight of the Gods and decayed, becoming part of the ocean.

Along with it, a sturdy Golden Wandering Ship also corroded into a pile of rust.

He had managed to acquire only this Sailing Heart.

With a Sailing Heart in his possession and all the other necessary materials for an upgrade collected, he could once again upgrade his Grand General-class Wandering Ship.

Shi Ming considered his options.

Currently, the She Ri was useful for its incredible speed during solo exploration and its applications in various scenarios like diving and high-altitude travel. The Da Yun, on the other hand, was his main base, his foundation for survival at sea, and it also had a Grand General Trait like[Crown Prince]...

Upgrading either one would be a good choice.

His next destination was the Yinping Sea Region.

It was time for the Da Yun, once a Silver ship, to make its appearance before the Black Society and give them a huge surprise.

Brain of Creation, activate!

[Grand General-class Wandering Ship - Da Yun, ID 23333]

[Level: 1]

[The former Silver Soldier has now become a Grand General and has even activated two whole Grand General Traits! This is truly a rare miracle! Even ▇▇▇, who compiled the Wandering Ship System and the Celestial Net System, would click their tongue in amazement upon seeing this! They might even take it apart as a research sample!]

[Grand General Trait: Crown Prince!]

[Grand General Trait: Momentum Breaker!]

[Upgrade Requirements: Firmament Crystal x300, 1000g of any S-rank Sea Beast Blood, Sailing Heart (or equivalent Energy Meteorite) x1]

[Required upgrade materials detected. Upgrade now?]

Yes!

The blood, Energy Stones, and meteorite placed on the control console transformed into a viscous aura that roamed over the Wandering Ship. This was an upgrade, not a promotion, so the pressure on Shi Ming’s Spiritual Power was much less than last time, and it took relatively less time as well.

This upgrade only took 20 minutes.

Upgrade complete.

[Grand General-class Wandering Ship - Da Yun, ID 23333]

[Level: 2]

[The young king has taken another step forward on its path!]

[It’s earning more and more medals! It has successfully been promoted to a Second-level Grand General! The force of Momentum Breaker will be even more ferocious; a fully charged Momentum Breaker is enough to capsize any Wandering Ship of a lower tier, regardless of size! In addition to some numerical increases that would take up a lot of space to list, it also comes with some brand-new, highly practical functions.]

[Ultra-Long-Range Control: You can now remotely control this Wandering Ship from within 50 nautical miles.]

[Structural Remodeling: You can redesign the structure and appearance of this Wandering Ship. Of course, you must adhere to the principle of conservation.]

[Unyielding Ship: No one can destroy this ship in a single blow! It will take at least two!]

[...]

[Upgrade Requirements: Firmament Crystal x1000, 1000g each of any three types of S-rank Sea Beast Blood, Sailing Heart (or equivalent Energy Meteorite) x1]

The improvements were significant.

Besides the usual numerical increases, this time it gained three new practical functions.

What surprised Shi Ming the most was "Structural Remodeling."

With Structural Remodeling, he could easily change the appearance of this Grand General-class Wandering Ship. Combined with the "Tear of the Earth Sea" he’d obtained from Abraham, which allowed for disguise, Shi Ming could easily take on a completely new look.

With both the Wandering Ship and its captain "changed," even if he sailed the Da Yun right up to the Pharaoh again, Ptolemy wouldn’t be able to recognize him.

To say nothing of factions like the Black Society, Lighthouse, and Renhuang, who had never seen Shi Ming in person.

Ultra-Long-Range Control was an upgrade to a pre-existing function.

Unyielding Ship was a defensive mechanism designed to prevent the ship from being instantly destroyed by a powerful attack, mainly to guard against ridiculously strong assaults. However, Shi Ming felt that unless he encountered a powerful Holy Hall Sea Beast or a top-ranking Attacker Awakener, no one would be able to force this function to activate.

There was still a considerable distance to their first stop: Black Gold in the Sea of Silence.

Next, Shi Ming transformed into "Designer Shi" and began a drastic overhaul of the Da Yun. Only when he actually started using the "Structural Remodeling" function did he discover it wasn’t free.

It required a large amount of Energy Stones.

Its essence was to dismantle and reassemble the ship’s various modules, allowing for changes in appearance and optimizations in efficiency. However, the reassembly process required a great deal of energy. After some thought, Shi Ming decided not to alter the relatively logical internal structure. He only made drastic adjustments to its external appearance.

For example, on the hull, he engraved a crest of his own creation: a black pupil crackling with lightning.

He adjusted the style and layout of the structures on deck.

And so on and so forth.

After its complete makeover, no one would be able to tell that the Da Yun was the same mysterious Wandering Ship that had rammed the Pharaoh twice in a row.

The only downside was that after all the adjustments, the modified Da Yun looked even more unremarkable, almost like a bronze-class ship. It was heading further and further down the path of a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Functional upgrade, aesthetic... downgrade?

"Whatever. When sailing the seas, the most important thing is to keep a low profile."

...

"Captain, a bronze-class Wandering Ship has been detected approaching ahead."

"Pay it no mind."

On the ocean, Wandering Ships were as numerous as stars in the sky, scattered everywhere. Encounters were inevitable.

Some ships were keen on plunder, and Shi Ming would naturally teach them a painful lesson, but the loot was often unsurprising and a waste of time. Other ships simply went their own way, minding their own business, and Shi Ming wouldn’t bother them either.

...

After losing the[Son of the Sun], Prince Atte, with his father’s help, had managed to acquire another bronze-class Wandering Ship.

And it was the lowest-tier vessel among bronze-class ships.

Because he had plundered the[Olden Days]and angered the Lighthouse, Prince Atte found it difficult to get more support and had been keeping his head down ever since. He was also trying to find a channel to sell off the dozens of Sailing Crystal Stones he had plundered, one by one, in order to make a comeback and buy a better Wandering Ship.

But aside from the Lighthouse, no other channel or faction would buy them.

This troubled him greatly.

"Hm?"

He walked out of the cabin just in time to see an unremarkable Wandering Ship sailing past in the distance. The ship was heading in the opposite direction and was getting further and further away.

It was about to disappear from view.

’Judging by its class, it’s at least a higher grade than my own.’

Prince Atte’s eyes lit up.

’A perfect opportunity.’

’Just what I needed.’