Chapter 256: Chapter 249: Da Yu’s Invitation, a Clue to the Purifying Marrow

It was only because he possessed the invincible skill of the Overlord Body, granting him immunity to the bizarre Eclipse Moon Image, that there was even a sliver of a chance to kill it.

But it was only a sliver.

The Moonlight Ripple Beast possessed reflection clones, and it’s hard to fight two opponents at once. Only by recruiting Shi Ming, who also possessed an Overlord Body skill, could they join forces and finally pull out this thorn in their side.

With the pleasantries out of the way, he contacted Shi Ming.

He wasn’t as skilled with formal formatting as Shentu Kuo, but he still tried to keep the letter concise and clear.

"Brother Minglong, I trust you are well.

"I learned today from General Jin Riyi of the *Asahi* that you killed two A-rank and three B-rank sea beasts in the Sea of Soaring Dragons. With such strength, if you were to come to my Kunwu, I would gladly offer you the position of captain.

"An old proverb says, ’To see for a thousand miles, you must climb one story higher.’

"S-rank Awakened may be the pinnacle of humanity, but they are by no means the pinnacle of the ocean. The secrets of the Sea of Soaring Dragons are far more complex than they appear. The Jianmu Tree, Emperor Jiang, the Nine-tailed Fox... these beings from myth and legend truly exist in some corner of the ocean. Just the other day, the *Jiuding* explored a sea region and uncovered the secret of the [Bodhi Tree of Suffering] and its guardian sea beast. The Purifying Marrow found there is a renowned treasure, ranked among the top one hundred on the list of wondrous items.

"If this interests you, my friend, I invite you to Da Yu for a discussion. Alternatively, you could inform me of the Dayun’s current location.

"This is not a personal request from me, but an official commission from Da Yu. There will be a separate reward, and you can feel free to name your price.

"—Rong Bing"

After sending the message, he knew it would be at least two or three hours before he received a reply.

This was Da Yu’s most important mission in recent times. If he could complete it, the rewards would be immense. The Contribution Points alone would be enough to shoot him to the top of Da Yu’s merit rolls, far surpassing Zhan Peng, and he would exceed his quota for the latter half of the year in one fell swoop.

Of course, these external rewards weren’t what mattered most.

Just as different lands nurture different people, the Awakened of different seas pursued different ideals once their basic needs were met. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

In Africa, treasure and wealth were the greatest motivators; crews chased profit and thought nothing of crushing their rivals.

In Fujing Mountain, the spirit of the Martial Artist reigned supreme.

In Europe, the Awakened pursued glory and power, yearning to become heroes worthy of epic poems, to be immortalized in legend and remembered for generations.

And in the Sea of Soaring Dragons, it was different still.

It had been this way for a thousand years. Even after the continents fell, with not one percent of their former glory remaining, this core ideal had never changed.

...

...

...

BEEP.

Shi Ming received the message.

He glanced at it.

’Well, well, well.’

’Giving me the captaincy of the Kunwu... Are you addicted to taking holidays? Just looking for someone to kill sea beasts for you, aren’t you?’

But what caught Shi Ming’s eye before any of that was the Purifying Marrow.

’A lead on the Purifying Marrow I’ve been searching for so long? Just like that?’

He had several treasures that were waiting on Purifying Marrow for purification and upgrades! Especially the Lamp of Wishes.

’And according to what Rong Bing "casually" revealed, Da Yu also had intel on the Jianmu Tree, Emperor Jiang, and the Nine-tailed Fox...’ He understood, of course, that Rong Bing was casting a wide net. The more topics he brought up, the higher the chance of grabbing his attention. Strictly speaking, this wasn’t even real intel.

He was just showing his hand.

Emperor Jiang and the Nine-tailed Fox sounded like sea beasts or other monstrous creatures, at least S-rank judging by their names. As for the Jianmu Tree, Shi Ming knew a little about it. The Divine Revelation Stele on the Twelve Stars recorded it as one of five miraculous trees, a mythological bridge connecting the earth to the heavens.

At the end of the letter, Shi Ming read the line: "This is not a personal request... but an official commission from Da Yu."

’A commission from Da Yu?’

That revealed a lot more.

First, Rong Bing must have seen Shi Ming’s Right Arm Red Pattern when his clothes were shredded by the Sea-Rising Cherry Root, and from that, deduced that Minglong was actually Shi Ming.

Shi Ming had no intention of maintaining the Minglong alias forever anyway. To cooperate closely with Da Yu, he needed to display sufficient strength. Only then could he be treated as a true partner and gain access to their deeper secrets.

As for actually joining Da Yu, Shi Ming had no plans to do so at the moment.

He was used to his freedom, and joining a large organization would make it easier for his other secrets to be exposed.

Second, Da Yu had plenty of powerful S-rank Awakened. Why were they looking for outside help?

Never mind their other hidden forces, Rong Bing alone was able to kill the Wangba Dabo with Kunwu Heaven-Opening back when he was only A-rank. After obtaining his skill, Royal Hegemony, even if he wasn’t Da Yu’s top fighter, he was far beyond S-rank Awakened from the Lighthouse like Shadow or Miss Yan. If he teamed up with Da Yu’s other S-rank Awakened, Shi Ming couldn’t imagine any sea beast that could gain an advantage over them.

The fact that they were seeking outside help meant their own Awakened had already tried and failed to deal with it.

’So why do they think *I* can handle it?’

The biggest thing he and Rong Bing had in common was a similar invincibility skill. His was the 17th-ranked Black Tortoise Shield, and Rong Bing’s was the 18th-ranked Royal Hegemony. Both granted three seconds of absolute invulnerability. While "three seconds of invincibility" and an effect that "grows stronger against stronger foes" might sound average, anyone in a high-level battle would understand its true worth.

’That’s most likely the reason for the invitation.’

This led to another line of speculation—

’Does it require an invincibility skill to defeat? Is the Attack Power of the sea beast guarding the Bodhi Tree of Suffering that strong?’

’And they need at least two people to be confident of success?’

’Interesting.’

At the end, Rong Bing had said, "There will be a separate reward, and you can feel free to name your price."

’Since you put it that way, I’ll be sure to ask for the moon... Everyone knows a good partnership is built on mutual benefit. A lopsided, one-sided arrangement is poison to any relationship. It’s just like in romance; lowering yourself to be a sycophant and trying to please them at every turn will only backfire.’

Besides, if Shi Ming didn’t ask for a reward, they would probably suspect him of having ulterior motives.

Shi Ming typed out his reply.

"Brother Rong Bing,

"The Sea of Soaring Dragons is truly worthy of its name, the Sea of Peace. I, Minglong, have hunted here for days with little to show for it. Despite my best efforts, I have only managed to slay two A-rank sea beasts and a handful of B-rank ones. This only goes to show the might of the Kunwu, a true flood dragon of the seas, roaming freely across the vast expanse.

"The treasures on the List of Wondrous Items of the Endless Ocean are all precious beyond measure, and their guardian beasts must be incomparably powerful. If even the elites of Da Yu have found this foe difficult, I cannot claim to have absolute confidence.

"But our generation is defined by courage, and we must rise to meet any challenge.

"I shall return to Da Yu in the coming days to discuss the strategy for this expedition with you.

"—Minglong"

After sending the message, Shi Ming took out his intercom.

"After we’ve hunted the next two targets, change course. We’re returning to Da Yu."

...

...

...

Even though he knew it took a long time for messages to travel across the ocean, Rong Bing was on pins and needles. He felt just as anxious as he had after submitting his captain’s performance report, waiting for Elder Zhou’s long-delayed response.

BEEP.

Finally, his communicator chirped.

Rong Bing read the first sentence, and a smile immediately spread across his face.

The first sentence was a subtle compliment.

"Brother Minglong is too kind," he murmured.

By starting with his "meager harvest" from hunting sea beasts, Shi Ming indirectly highlighted the tranquility of the Sea of Soaring Dragons, then pivoted to the sharpness of Kunwu’s Sword. Though he never praised Rong Bing directly, he implicitly affirmed his hard work and its effectiveness.

This subtle praise was far more sophisticated than the crude "Awesome!" "666!" and "Incredible!" he got from his crewmates and colleagues.

It was incredibly validating.

He read on.

When he got to the line, "our generation is defined by courage, and we must rise to meet any challenge," a sense of camaraderie washed over him. Daring to fight in the face of immense challenges—that was exactly the kind of talent Da Yu needed! ’It’s a shame Brother Minglong doesn’t seem interested in the captaincy of the Kunwu.’

In any case, the matter was halfway settled.

Elder Zhou had promised a reward: "Let him name his price, he can ask for whatever he wants." The only conditions were that they had to retain a portion of the Purifying Marrow and the [Eclipse Moon Image] skill.

’There aren’t many rewards that could possibly match the value of [Eclipse Moon Image]!’

’Oh, well.’

’My job is just to fight.’

’I’ll let Elder Zhou worry about the rest.’