"Eye of the World, retrieve information."

BEEP... BEEP...

[Compiling information...]

[Searching... Confirming detailed coordinates... Search successful. Summarizing information... Report generated:]

[Wondrous Item: Four Feared Vedas]

[A unique treasure ranked 4th on the Endless Ocean’s List of Wondrous Items. Legend says that when the Holy Spirit of the Ganges River transformed into the four "castes"—Brahma, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Shudra—this unique, endlessly rotating holy object was born. During the Land Era, it was enshrined in the Unsatisfied Galing Temple, but no one ever discovered its special abilities.]

[At the dawn of the Wandering Era, when the seas fell silent, the "Four Feared Vedas" fell into the ocean amidst the chaos. Afterward, the great maelstrom formed.]

[...Unobtainable.]

The information was surprisingly simple, lacking any complex details.

Shi Ming had assumed that such a treacherous location as the great maelstrom must conceal a massive sea beast, maybe even a Holy Hall-level Sea Beast. He never expected that after the Eye of the World’s investigation, he would learn that the depths of this maelstrom held a treasure resembling a power turbine!

The Four Feared Vedas.

Ranked fourth. This was the highest-ranked treasure he had encountered yet.

’So Ah San really is number four in the world,’ he thought.

But it was unobtainable.

The Eye of the World didn’t explain why.

Shi Ming guessed that either the depths of the maelstrom were unreachable or extremely dangerous. Or perhaps, actually obtaining it would cause an even greater disaster—a single action with unforeseen, widespread consequences. Sometimes a patch that seems like a bug is actually there to fix an even bigger one...

Although he couldn’t get the treasure, at least he’d gotten some information. It wasn’t a total loss.

"Continue sailing east."

"Understood."

After bypassing the great maelstrom, the rest of the voyage was unremarkable. The vast sea was a lonely, unchanging vista. The occasional sea beasts they encountered along the way simply became points for Shi Ming, increasing his power a little more.

Attack Power +8,

Endurance +6,

Physical Strength +2,

He no longer needed to personally deal with these ordinary sea beasts. The two A-rank Awakened on board were now fulfilling their duties as captains. Unbeknownst to many, the once-humble Da Yun was now full of hidden experts. Even without Shi Ming to hold down the fort, its overall strength could no longer be underestimated.

During the voyage, Shi Ming successfully used the materials he had to upgrade five Silver-level Sailing Crystals into one Gold-level Sailing Heart.

Then, using this Sailing Heart and the one from the "Son of the Sun," he upgraded the Sun-Chaser two levels to prepare for the upcoming infiltration of Fujing Mountain.

[Admiral-class Wandering Ship - Sun-Chaser, No. 360]

[Level: 3]

[Good things come in small packages! Miracles often spring from humble beginnings!]

[Originally a Golden Wandering Ship built by the Dragon Country Xirang Research Institute from surplus materials, it underwent an unimaginable transformation, successfully evolving to Admiral-class and receiving consecutive upgrades. A true miracle!! In addition to the requisite enhancements, it has also gained two new modes.]

[New: Mimicry Mode]

[New: Traceless Mode]

[Upgrade Requirements: Dome Crystal x1,000, 1,000g of blood from five different S-rank Sea Beasts, Sailing Heart (or Energy Meteorite) x1]

Mimicry Mode could make the canoe imitate a fish, a sea beast, or even the seawater itself.

In certain situations, this would be even more useful than a stealth mode. However, the mimicry had its limits. It could only imitate objects or creatures of a similar size; it was impossible to make a canoe look like a giant sea beast such as the Dusk Whale or a large ship. That would defy all logic.

As for Traceless Mode, it allowed the ship to move without leaving any trace.

No matter how good its stealth mode was, the ship would still stir up undercurrents as it moved, which could attract the attention of certain marine creatures or advanced detectors. But with Traceless Mode activated, the Sun-Chaser’s passage would be utterly seamless, without the slightest sound or disturbance in the water.

This small Admiral-class ship had taken its concealment abilities to the next level.

Small ships had their own unique advantages.

Because the Sun-Chaser itself was small, these new functions could be perfectly executed. The various modes could even be stacked, all without consuming vast amounts of Energy Stones. A medium-sized ship like the Da Yun, on the other hand, would find it nearly impossible to achieve traceless sailing.

"Upgrade complete."

’I still have 18 Bronze-level Sailing Stones and two Silver-level Sailing Crystals left.’

’With these remaining Sailing Crystal Stones, I can use repeated synthesis to get another Sailing Heart. That’ll let me upgrade the Da Yun to level 3, putting it on par with the Sun-Chaser. But the upgrade from level 3 to 4 will require blood from five different S-rank sea beasts.’

With his current strength, as long as he didn’t encounter a high-ranking, bizarrely tough, or ridiculously strong S-rank sea beast like the Netherworld Serpent, Shi Ming was confident he could solo it.

He had already cleared out Europe’s S-rank sea beasts—the Deep Sea Titan and the Dusk Whale—which had been detected by the Map of the Endless Sea.

The Twelve Stars really ought to thank him for that.

He felt he’d earned those 2,000 Pure Dome Crystals.

’As for Africa’s S-rank sea beasts... hmm... they either have powerful backing, like being protected by the Abyss Lord, making them untouchable, or they’re suppressed by a King-level Wandering Ship. Plus, they have bug-like abilities like the Undying Insect and the Eternal Life Law. I have a stable, cooperative relationship there for now...’

’There’s still one left in the Sea of Yellow Sand, though. I have no idea what kind of sea beast it is or what its abilities are.’

The S-rank sea beasts of the Yinping Sea Region...

What sort of "surprises" would they have in store for him?

This Endless Ocean was truly full of treasures and opportunities.

...

...

...

「Aboard the Da Yu, 24th Floor, a branch of the Xirang Research Institute.」

The researchers were all concentrating their efforts on a wondrous item called the "Sea-Rising Cherry Root."

As soon as the *Compendium of Wondrous Items of the Endless Ocean (Volume Two)* was deciphered, even before it was made public, the Awakened aboard the "Nine Cauldrons" were immediately tasked with a mission. They were to evade the Black Society’s surveillance, infiltrate Fujing Mountain, and after two full weeks, they found this section of the Sea-Rising Cherry Root.

Information is power.

Now, they were doing everything in their power to unlock its secrets.

Nearby, a cylindrical jar filled with a strange liquid held a single, shed black dragon scale.

It was a bonus prize from the "Nine Cauldrons" mission.

"Sigh..."

The young researcher slumped back in his chair, completely dejected, his eyes filled with disappointment.

Experiment 112 was a failure.

"Master, studying this Sea-Rising Cherry Root is even harder than deciphering the steles!"

"Be patient. Haste makes waste."

The young researcher sat up again.

"Sigh."

He wanted to take his time, but word from the higher-ups was that the Lighthouse was about to make its move. In the current political climate, it wasn’t wise for the two King-level Wandering Ships to clash again. And the research style of the Lighthouse’s "Holy Hall Research Institute" was anything but conservative like theirs.

"Don’t worry."

"There is only one Sea-Rising Cherry Root. Even if the Lighthouse blockades Fujing Mountain, they won’t find anything anytime soon."

"The Great Black Heaven Dragon will belong to us, the people of the Dragon Country."

the Master replied.

’I wonder which of those S-rank Awakened will prove to be the most promising?’

The Master wiped an old photograph on his desk. He looked at the young man in the photo, who bore a striking resemblance to him and was studying a canoe, and smiled wistfully.

’Brother,’ he thought, ’who do you think will be the first Saint Hall Level Awakener on the Endless Ocean?’