He ceremoniously circled the Eternal Stele. After confirming there was no other writing on it, Shi Ming picked up the Engraving Knife and, with a flourish, carved a single word into the basalt base.

Stone.

Abraham was not at all surprised by the false name Shi Ming had carved.

No matter what name Shi Ming carved, he held the final right of interpretation:

"Our little brother Stone has eliminated two S-class sea beasts in the European Sea Region, making a tremendous contribution to the safety of the Endless Ocean. He is truly deserving of the title of Honorary Knight of the Twelve Stars. His name shall be eternally imprinted upon this King-level Wandering Ship, along with the Eternal Stele."

Shi Ming set down the Engraving Knife.

’It really did have a sense of ceremony.’

’Who wouldn’t enjoy a feeling like this?’

After the engraving ceremony concluded, the protective barrier around the Eternal Stele’s base rose again. Shi Ming and the Secretary-General left the highest level of the Twelve Stars together. Abraham was heading back to the secretariat to handle administrative affairs, so his guard took his place to lead Shi Ming to claim his "property" on the Twelve Stars.

Originally, Shi Ming hadn’t cared whether he took the property or not.

But Abraham had reminded him that the property was worth 1,500 Pure Dome Crystals.

On the Twelve Stars, where every inch of land was worth a fortune, this was no exaggeration.

Shi Ming had no reason to refuse.

As for other benefits, like supervisory rights over the House of Representatives, Shi Ming had no interest whatsoever. He couldn’t care less about the administration of the Twelve Stars. Besides, a nominal position like Honorary Knight only came with supervisory power, not the right to participate in major policy decisions.

As for the sharing of research results, the blood of the Great Black Heaven Dragon would be analyzed by the most capable research institute on the Twelve Stars, and the findings would be shared with Shi Ming. He wasn’t worried about them hiding their results. For one, researching Holy Hall Flesh was no easy task; it was perfectly normal to see no progress for six months or even a year. Even if they did make a breakthrough, the information was unlikely to be as comprehensive as what the Nameless Cocoon and the Eye of the World could provide. Secondly, Abraham was a smart man. Shi Ming was sure he could tell the difference between a long-term partnership and a short-term gain.

Shi Ming followed the "wooden man"—the same guard who had stood by Abraham’s side on the ship, stiff as a statue—to his property on the Twelve Stars.

The room was on the twenty-third floor of the sea-faring city, in a section overlooking the ocean. It measured about thirty-two square meters and was well-equipped with basic infrastructure, including a food synthesizer, a water purifier, an emergency communication device, and standard entertainment systems.

It looked remarkably like a standard apartment from Shi Ming’s previous life, the kind that would rent for 2,000 a month.

Use of this equipment normally came with a fee, but for an Honorary Knight, it was all completely free.

’It’s not bad, but how could it possibly be more comfortable than the captain’s quarters on my own ship, the Great Fortune?’

"Can I sell this? Or trade it for Pure Dome Crystals?"

The corner of the wooden man’s mouth twitched, but he still replied:

"You cannot."

"I can at least rent it out, right?"

"..."

He couldn’t rent it out, either.

’Come to think of it, I still don’t know what this personal guard’s S-rank skill is.’ It was his second day in the European Sea Region, and his uses for the Eye of the World had been replenished. Shi Ming looked at the guard before him and activated the ability.

’Information on any S-rank skill is extremely valuable. Using a charge on this is definitely not a waste.’

"Eye of the World, acquire information."

[BEEP... BEEP...]

[Organizing information...]

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

[S-rank Skill: Pupil of Evil]

[Rank: 95.]

[Passive Skill. Keenly senses surrounding malice and identifies its specific source. Predicts impending dangers, including Celestial Calamities and man-made disasters. In combat, anticipates enemy attacks to mount an effective counter. Accuracy ranges from 70% to 99% based on the power disparity between both parties. Maximum effective range: 3,000 meters.]

’A combination of malice perception and attack prediction!’

’No wonder the Secretary-General chose you as his guard. This skill was practically made for bodyguards!’

’Speaking of which, I didn’t show any malice during our negotiations, did I?’

’I shouldn’t have. Vying for benefits doesn’t count as malice, it’s just human nature.’

...

The Twelve Stars was a colossal, multi-layered wandering ship. It would take ages to fully explore even a single one of its levels. Shi Ming didn’t waste his time on a tour. After concluding all matters related to his status as an Honorary Knight, he went straight to its internal marketplace. He restocked some common supplies for his ship there, then returned to the Great Fortune.

Back in his own territory, he finally had time to properly digest and organize the information from the Divine Revelation Stele.

He had already memorized the meditation technique for increasing Spiritual Power that was recorded on the stele. He could try it out in his spare time. Although his Spiritual Power was already too high for its specific value to be measured, who would refuse the chance to make it even stronger?

As for the five mystical trees, the Immortal Fusang Tree had been destroyed by the Abyss Lord, and the only three remaining fruits were in Shi Ming’s possession.

The Purifying Marrow of the Bodhi Tree of Suffering was something Shi Ming currently coveted greatly.

As for the other trees... both Jianmu and Dachun were giant trees from the myths of the Dragon Country. In the current age, with the Endless Ocean being a vast expanse of water, he hadn’t heard of any tall trees growing anywhere. Even if they existed, such treasures were likely guarded by powerful sea beasts like the Three-Eyed Golden Crow, making them inaccessible to ordinary people. As for the World Tree, Shi Ming had only seen an illusion of it on the Fallen God Battlefield during Ragnarok. It was a colossal tree that touched the heavens and stood firm on the earth; a tree of that magnitude surely couldn’t exist upon the Endless Ocean.

Shi Ming also learned that the seven Holy Hall-level Sea Beasts each corresponded to a different Origin Power.

’I wonder what the keyword for the "Fallen Sanctuary" skill I’m going to acquire will be?’ Its fusion progress was already at 34%.

’It can’t just be "Fallen," can it?’

’Like Lucifer or something?’

’Neither Ragnarok nor the Third Law carried connotations of "fallen." So maybe it’s something else? Sinking? Shadow? Or perhaps concepts from thermodynamics like "entropy" or "finality"?’

Although "Fallen" didn’t sound like a positive term, when used to describe a skill, it was merely a neutral descriptor like "Destruction," "Eternal," or "Corruption." It held no inherent good or evil, but was simply a definition of power.

Therefore, it was difficult to guess its specific manifestation based on the name alone.

Take the Abyss Lord’s "Extremely Evil Sanctuary" for example. Hearing the name, who could have guessed its manifestation would be hundreds of thick, malevolent tentacles rising from the water to impale an enemy and inflict a terrifying corruption? As for the Eternal Sanctuary, who would have thought it would emit countless disintegration beams from an evil eye, breaking an enemy down into its most fundamental substances to be absorbed into eternity?

’All of these powers are so alluring.’

...

BEEP.

Shi Ming’s communicator beeped.

He now had several communicators, each one representing a different identity: Yellowstone, Stone, Shi Ming, Minglong...

The one that had just beeped belonged to "Minglong."

It was a message from Shentu Kuo.