Thanks to his privileges as an Honorary Knight, Shi Ming had obtained some information about the Da Yu from the Twelve Stars.

This King-level Wandering Ship, ranked #002, had five publicly known S-rank Awakened.

And that wasn’t even including the powerful individuals they kept hidden.

Among them, two were permanently stationed at the Xirang Research Institute Headquarters on Mount Everest. They carried out special missions, rarely appeared, and their skills were unknown. At least two stayed aboard the King-level Wandering Ship, the Da Yu, serving as a mobile force; their S-rank skills had been used many times, but only the superficial effects were known, not the specifics. There was one on the Sword-Holding Ship, the Kunwu, who was the captain of the Kunwu. He had once slain the S-rank sea beast "Wangba Dabo" as a mere A-rank Awakened, and it was said he preferred others to call him "Great Captain."

Shi Ming estimated their total numbers were no fewer than the Lighthouse’s.

Their specific skills, of course, couldn’t be public knowledge.

The specific abilities of any faction’s S-rank Awakened were strategic secrets. Unless they were straightforward, wide-ranging moves, they wouldn’t be revealed except in special circumstances or as a last resort. Take, for example, the Pupil of Evil belonging to the S-rank Awakened who followed the Secretary General of the Twelve Stars, Abraham. If the details of that ability were exposed, its threat level would plummet, and it would be much easier to counter.

Therefore, even though many factions knew the Kunwu had slain the S-rank sea beast "Wangba Dabo" and obtained its ability, "Wangquan Baye," it was still incredibly difficult to fully understand the specific rankings and capabilities of such skills.

Unless one possessed the Eye of the World.

But the Eye of the World wasn’t omnipotent; it couldn’t just pull intelligence out of thin air. To investigate, one had to be face-to-face with the S-rank Awakened in question to learn their specific abilities. And much of the time, the very identity of an S-rank Awakened was a secret in itself.

Perhaps an unremarkable old man or young woman who appears before you might secretly possess an incredibly powerful skill.

Like that 2D Girl.

...

...

...

Upon arriving in a new sea region, the most important task, besides assessing the strength of the local Awakened, was to locate the powerful sea beasts. This was to avoid stumbling unprepared into the lair of a mighty creature.

With his current power, Shi Ming wasn’t afraid of encountering an ordinary S-rank sea beast.

But the #1 S-rank sea beast and the #100 S-rank sea beast were both still considered S-rank. The third-ranked skill, the Eternal Life Law, was already this terrifying; the #1 S-rank skill was likely not much weaker than a Holy Hall Skill in some respects.

A true warrior doesn’t fight a battle for which they are unprepared.

And one must always respect the ocean.

After admiring the "Mountain and Sea Red Pillar," the second-ranked spectacle of the Endless Ocean, Shi Ming took out the Map of the Endless Sea.

He channeled his S-rank Awakened power into the Map of the Endless Sea, and the ancient map once again turned a deep azure.

WHOOSH~

He carefully observed the changes on the map.

His gaze first fell upon the location of Mount Everest, the place he was currently most concerned about.

’Nothing?’

The location of Mount Everest, where he had expected an S-rank sea beast to be lurking, showed no anomalies—not even a faint black dot. On the map, it remained a patch of pale white amidst the azure blue.

’Hmm... there’s a faint black dot at the location of the Sanjiang Source.’

’The old site of Kunlun has one too. This dot is even fainter than the one at the Sanjiang Source. You’d really miss it if you weren’t looking closely.’

’Doesn’t seem to be any others.’

The Map of the Endless Sea had a detection range of a cylindrical area with a 2,000-nautical-mile radius and a depth of 5,000 meters.

It could cover more than half of the Sea of Soaring Dragons.

’Now to check for A-ranks.’

S-rank sea beasts could be catastrophic, especially the top-ten-ranked ones, each terrifying in its own right. But for Shi Ming, A-rank sea beasts were simply resources—a means for him to get stronger. They were his precious meal ticket.

He dripped a drop of A-rank sea beast blood onto the Map of the Endless Sea.

Ever since his Bingyan had upgraded to the "Third Law," Shi Ming no longer possessed any A-rank Awakened power. He now needed to use external blood to locate A-rank sea beasts. However, he had no plans to acquire another A-rank skill. Having too many skills would be unwieldy and place a burden on his body. A good example was Mel, the female captain of the Golden Bodhi. She had awakened too many times, and her physical fortitude couldn’t keep up, causing her body to verge on collapse.

Although Shi Ming’s body was formidable, he felt it was more practical to convert skills into points unless it was a particularly special A-rank ability.

’The density of A-rank sea beasts in the Sea of Soaring Dragons is far lower than in the Africa Region. It’s also about a third less than in the European Sea Region.’

’It truly lives up to its reputation as the calmest sea region, even earning it the title ’Sea of Peace.’’

Any A-rank sea beasts born in the Sea of Soaring Dragons were truly unlucky.

As the foremost Sword-Holding Ship, the Kunwu was brutally efficient; they even had quotas for slaying sea beasts! If they ever found out that Shi Ming possessed a treasure like the Map of the Endless Sea, they would go absolutely mad for it.

The Kunwu was powerful, but the other two Admiral-class Wandering Ships were by no means weak.

According to intelligence from the Twelve Stars, each of the Da Yu’s three great Admiral-class Ships had been assigned a "great treasure."

They were:

Kunwu: Kunwu Heaven-Opening

Jiuding: Jade Sea Cangwu

Beidou Star: Zhutian Beidou

The Zhutian Beidou has been confirmed to be the Kuixiu Stone, ranked #72 on the List of Marvels.

However, the name "Zhutian Beidou" was already well-established, so it continued to be used.

The Twelve Stars had plenty of treasures as well, but a loose alliance like that would never hand out its truly precious items. They were kept firmly in the grasp of the King-level ship. If an Admiral-class Ship wanted to use one, they would have to borrow it using Contribution Points.

He silently scoffed. Then, he dripped a drop of heavily diluted Holy Hall-level blood onto the Map of the Endless Sea.

He didn’t find any abnormalities.

Perhaps the Map of the Endless Sea was indeed incapable of detecting Holy Hall-level Sea Beasts in its current state. He would have to break through its limits to upgrade it. The breakthrough required three types of Holy Hall-level blood, and he already had two.

...

Along the way, Shi Ming didn’t waste much time. The B, C, and D-rank sea beasts that either threw themselves at him or crossed his path were all converted into points. He didn’t encounter a single A-rank beast; the ones detected by the Map of the Endless Sea were not along his route.

Attack: 161

Physical Strength: 185

Endurance: 167

Defense Power: 197

His Defense Power only needed three more points to break 200.

Meanwhile, he was drawing closer to his destination.

Mount Everest remained in sight. It seemed to be getting closer, but it was still far away.

This Old Domain, now part of the Endless Ocean, held no trace of the world from Shi Ming’s past life. Perhaps only by diving to the seabed could he glimpse the familiar world he once knew, see the cities, villages, mountains, and ravines that haunted his dreams.

"All rivers flow east to the sea; when do they ever return west?"

As he neared his destination, Shi Ming contacted Shentu Kuo.

——————

PS: I’m reorganizing the detailed outline, so tomorrow’s 7 a.m. update will be postponed and released along with the evening Chapter.