Chapter 240: Chapter 235: Commission Complete! Privileges of an Honorary Knight

"Mr. Abraham, are you representing the Twelve Stars this time?"

Shi Ming asked with a smile.

The last time they met, the old man had said that commissioning Shi Ming to sneak into Fujing Mountain and acquire the Holy Hall Flesh was a personal request, not one that represented the stance of the King-level Wandering Ship, the Twelve Stars.

Had his status changed this time?

"Hahaha, young brother."

"Times have changed."

"Everyone has different roles. I am Abraham, but I am also the Secretary General of the Twelve Stars."

"When I issued the commission, I was acting in a personal capacity."

"But in inviting you, young brother, to become an Honorary Knight, I am representing the Twelve Stars. The Twelve Stars will always walk alongside outstanding Awakened who share our goals, never against them."

’You’re quite flexible.’

’Aren’t you afraid of Lighthouse targeting you anymore?’

’Then again, Lighthouse has lost three of its top combatants and is focusing all its attention on Fujing Mountain. They don’t have the time to target anyone else.’

Shi Ming thought to himself.

Abraham, in his fifties, was remarkably vigorous. Although his combat power was average, he was a legendary leader on the Twelve Stars. He had taken command at a critical moment at the dawn of the Wandering Era, and his status and achievements in history were enough to place him in the top three.

The man was decisive, knew how to seize opportunities, employed firm methods, and held significant authority.

Shi Ming said no more and took a container out from his Hive.

This container was, of course, a device provided by the Twelve Stars. It could hold the blood of a High-level Sea Beast without being corroded and also had preservation functions. It was a piece of very high-tech equipment.

Inside the container were about 1000 grams of necrotic flesh, keratinous matter, and blood.

Abraham took a look and was slightly taken aback.

The flesh and blood of the Great Black Heaven Dragon had been separated from its body for a long time, yet it still pulsed with a destructive aura. The deep black blood, in particular—just a small amount of it—was enough to make the atmosphere on the entire ship feel like a catastrophe right before the apocalypse.

But what surprised and delighted him was that the flesh and blood inside the device were all there.

There was even as much as 300 grams of blood.

According to the intel from their members who had infiltrated the Black Society, every one of the Black Society’s infiltration attempts required sacrificing two Lava Shuttling Capsules just to collect a minuscule amount—sometimes less than 10 grams—of blood for research using a probe. Most of what they obtained was just keratin and dead skin scraped from the scales.

And yet, this Shi Ming had directly provided 300 grams!

’A young man with considerable sincerity!’

At Abraham’s signal, the Awakened standing beside him took the container holding the Holy Hall Flesh, inspected it, and then nodded before carefully putting it away.

"The commission is complete."

"Mr. Abraham, don’t forget what you promised me,"

Shi Ming said.

"Of course not. The conferment ceremony can be held at any time. From this moment on, Brother Shi, you are the thirteenth Honorary Knight. I have already reported this through the Round Table Council, and no one will object. Although we cannot make it public or draw attention to it right now, you will not be denied a single one of the benefits and privileges an Honorary Knight is entitled to."

As a normal person, Abraham looked like just an old man. But as the Secretary General of the Twelve Stars, Abraham was quite formidable. The things he decided on would not meet with much resistance, and even if they did, he would make that resistance vanish into thin air.

Since the ship was built, the Twelve Stars had exactly 12 positions for Honorary Knights.

Each position represented immense glory and exclusive privileges.

For those already in high positions, these exclusive privileges might not seem like much—things like permanent residency rights, the right to be inscribed on the stele, council oversight rights, and so on... At most, they were icing on the cake, not bringing any direct, tangible benefits.

However, they were a symbol of status.

They were a nameplate, a halo, a priceless and unparalleled honor.

Only those who had made immense contributions to the King Ship were qualified to be among them.

And now, a new seat was being added to the twelve.

This wasn’t just because Shi Ming had brought Holy Hall-level Flesh and Blood, but more importantly, because of his power. A mighty Awakened of at least double-S rank, who had slain the Deep Sea Titan and the Dusk Whale, was worth recruiting to any faction. The commission was a bridge to build a good relationship, as well as a bond of mutual interest.

More than Shi Ming needed the title of Honorary Knight, the Twelve Stars needed Shi Ming *as* an Honorary Knight.

It was a win-win for everyone.

...

Shi Ming declined the lengthy conferment ceremony, so it was not held. Now was indeed not the time for publicity.

But he certainly wouldn’t be missing out on any of the rights and benefits.

The main rights of an Honorary Knight were:

1. The right to permanent residency on the Twelve Stars, which was inheritable. The King Ship would gift a residence in the best location, along with complimentary ship stabilization services, free medical care, and so on.

2. The right to have one’s name or mark inscribed on the King Ship’s Eternal Stele.

3. The right to an oversight seat on the King Ship’s council of representatives.

4. The right to share in the King Ship’s research findings.

5. Various other major and minor rights.

Shi Ming wasn’t very interested in most of these rights. His ultimate goal was the "right of inscription" on the Eternal Stele.

According to previous intelligence from the Eye of Intelligence, the Twelve Stars’ Eternal Stele was a Divine Revelation Stele salvaged from the deep sea. It was suspected to share the same origin as the great stele Da Yu discovered on Mount Everest. It was marked with symbols that were difficult to decipher, and the Twelve Stars was also studying them.

The symbols couldn’t be copied. Even if rubbings were made using human technology, they would lose their original meaning.

To decipher its contents, one had to study the original stele directly. The Twelve Stars lacked experience in this area, and their research efficiency was far lower than that of Xirang. In the thirteen years since they had obtained the stele, they hadn’t managed to decipher a single complete inscription.

Instead, the Eternal Stele had become synonymous with honor.

The 12 Honorary Knights, as well as others who had made great achievements, could all have their names eternally engraved on the stele’s base, to exist alongside the brilliance of these symbols.

’This is meaningless.’

’But it is a great honor.’

’The people of Europe really eat this stuff up.’

Personally led by Abraham, Shi Ming set foot on the King-level Wandering Ship. The interior of this massive city floating on the Endless Ocean was just as breathtaking. The administrative level, research level, school level, armory, residential level, cultivation level, medical level, infrastructure level... It was, without a doubt, a complete ecosystem, a place that could be called the safest sanctuary and legacy of the Wandering Era.

Even if the whole world turned to sea and humanity was left with only a few such great ships, they could still carry on civilization indefinitely.

...

Shi Ming, who had put on a simple disguise, walked openly beside Abraham.

On the way to the top of the sea-faring city, they encountered many people. Some looked curiously at the young man beside the Secretary General, while others greeted the Secretary General as usual. Afterward, they all tried to inquire about the young man’s identity and name behind his back.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t find out a thing.

He was like a mysterious visitor.

"Young brother, it will take some time to deactivate the stele’s external protective device. Let’s wait for a bit in the lounge area outside the research room. What name are you planning to engrave under the stele later?"

Abraham asked. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

’Will it be Stone, Shi Ming, or something else?’

Shi Ming just smiled and didn’t reply.

Abraham understood. In his youth, he had also placed great importance on honor. The feeling of being wreathed in a halo was more thrilling than any other sensation, like becoming the protagonist of an epic tale, like Aeneas or Achilles, whose stories were passed down through the ages.

Whichever name it was, they didn’t care at this point.

Compared to winning over a supreme expert, any targeting from Lighthouse could be ignored.

While waiting, Shi Ming picked up a copy of the *Twelve Morningstar Post* and other newspapers from a table in the lounge. They were old issues from the past thirty-or-so days, which the researchers from the Stone Tablet Research Room often read in their leisure time. As Shi Ming flipped through them, he was surprised to find several articles related to him...

*"Wanderers Aren’t People! Exclusive Interview with Eliza of the Ganges, Revealing the Cannibalism Scandal Aboard the Pharaoh."*

*"An Analysis of the Twelve Stars’ Must-Date List (Part 7)! A Deep Dive into the Potency and Vigor of the ’Eastern Baijiu’ Man!"*

*"Exclusive Interview with Captain Wright of the Fontainebleau: The Inherent Flaw of the Vortex Country People? Villains and Heroes Beneath Mount Olympus!"*

...

The artistic license in these news articles was so heavy that Shi Ming was left stunned as he read.

The exclusive interviews with Eliza and Wright were somewhat acceptable. They mainly focused on Pharaoh and Vortex Country’s Iwami. The portrayal of him, the protagonist of the events, was vague and even included a great deal of speculation. It was like they were describing a completely different person.

If he hadn’t experienced these events himself, Shi Ming wouldn’t have even recognized himself as the one who had resolved the crises.

But that analysis of the "must-date list" was just completely and utterly ridiculous!