Chapter 257: Chapter 250: Shi Ming: A Spar? Touch and Go

It was just after five in the morning, and the sea, twenty nautical miles from the Da Yu, was already bustling with activity.

Like all other King-level Wandering Ships, the Da Yu had a small mooring area nearby. Wandering ships anchored here, selling all sorts of special products from the Sea of Soaring Dragons. There were also some independent ships that came to restock and purchase various supplies.

It was all very orderly, looking much like a marketplace from the old era.

The most sought-after goods were, of course, Grade D and Grade C Sea Beast Blood. After that came things like ship equipment, Sea Crystal Stones, and so on.

At the center of the trading zone was a specially constructed floating island that managed the order of the area. If trade disputes arose, one could seek out the staff here for resolution. Most of the time, however, their intervention wasn’t needed. Only occasionally would some outsiders of other skin colors cause trouble here.

RUMBLE, RUMBLE.

The sound of a new wandering ship approaching echoed.

The eyes of the staff on the floating island lit up, and they immediately moved to salute.

But they were stopped.

A thirty-meter-long, streamlined wandering ship sailed into the harbor and stopped at the edge, maintaining a low profile. Despite this, the staff on the floating island all knew this was the famous Kunwu. The man in his thirties, vaguely visible dozing in the cabin, was the Kunwu’s Sword Captain, Rong Bing.

"Captain, we’ve arrived."

The Kunwu didn’t have a large crew, and they were currently on a full-crew leave with no active missions, so only two people were aboard.

"We finally get some leave, and Brother Minglong picks six in the morning to meet. On a normal day with no missions, I’d still be sleeping... We still have half an hour until the meeting. I’ll get a little more sleep."

’Hm? Such a dense killing intent!’

’A Sea Beast invasion?’

This killing intent was already tangible, not like the aura of an ordinary sea beast.

His drowsiness vanished in an instant.

His right hand went to his waist, ready to draw the Kunwu Heaven-Opening.

He stepped out of the cabin, only to find that the source of the killing intent was a mottled wandering ship, stained with all kinds of Sea Beast Blood, approaching from a distance. The vessel was nearly a hundred meters long, and its deck was piled with the corpses of various sea beasts—at least five or six of them.

The sea beast corpses were extremely fresh; some were still gurgling with blood bubbles.

A young man with a sharp gaze and a daunting presence stood at the bow.

It was Shi Ming.

Compared to Rong Bing’s deliberately low-key arrival, Shi Ming’s entrance was far more conspicuous. Of course, most people couldn’t sense the killing intent. They only saw the sea beasts lying on the deck, and the eyes of the merchants on ships eager to purchase the corpses lit up one by one.

...

...

...

Rong Bing boarded the Da Yun and looked at the sea beast corpses that covered the entire deck.

He couldn’t help but be amazed.

He seemed to understand why Shi Ming had chosen this location for their meeting—it was convenient for selling his haul.

The sea beast corpses piled on the deck condensed into a kind of sharp intent. This killing intent alone was likely enough to keep even the more sensitive sea beasts from approaching. As someone who had fought sea beasts for over a decade, he was extremely sensitive to this kind of sharp killing intent. He had just mistaken it for a sea beast invasion and nearly drawn his weapon.

"Brother Minglong, your efficiency at slaying sea beasts would rank among the very best, even on the Da Yu!"

’If he joined the Kunwu, his annual Contribution Points would undoubtedly leave everyone else in the dust.’

"You flatter me, Captain. I just ran into a few sea beasts on the way back and killed them casually. Their corpses can be sold for money, and I couldn’t just toss them into the sea, right?" Shi Ming replied.

"That’s true. The corpse of a Grade B sea beast can indeed be exchanged for a good number of Qiong Crystals. If you include the blood, it becomes one of the most sought-after commodities in this trading hub. Many Gold-level wandering ships are willing to pay a high price for it."

Rong Bing paused for a moment before continuing.

"But I have to remind you, the more times you awaken, the greater the strain on your body. A temporary surge in power might feel good, but you have to think long-term."

"Thank you for the reminder, Brother Rong Bing."

"Hahaha, Brother Minglong, you’re brimming with vigor. It’s clear you’re nowhere near your bottleneck. Your future is limitless."

The two of them exchanged compliments as they moved from the deck into the Da Yun’s cabin.

There were no other crew members inside at the moment, making it a suitable time to discuss cooperation.

Rong Bing glanced around.

The cabin was not crude; it had all the necessary equipment. It was hard to imagine this was only a Silver-class ship.

It was also hard to imagine how a ship of this caliber could have overturned a giant vessel like those of the Black Society. He had no idea how it was done. ’Did he infuse his awakened power into the ship’s hull? Or is this a manifestation of that Deep Sea Titan ability?’

"Captain, please."

Serving tea was an ancient ceremony in Dragon Country, a tradition not lost even in the Wandering Era. However, native tea leaves were now extremely precious. Under normal circumstances, water was served in place of tea; the gesture was all that mattered.

But the cup Shi Ming offered contained authentic 35-year-aged "Kunshan Snow Seal" Puer tea.

The liquor was a deep, translucent red, full-bodied and heavy, with a thick, smooth, and fine texture. Before Rong Bing even took a sip, he could sense its profound and heavy charm. This was a trophy Shi Ming had casually confiscated from the "beehive" on Prince Wude after killing him on the Beheading Great Saber.

A single cake of it was worth as much as half a Grade B sea beast.

As a prince of Vortex Country, Wude had certainly known how to live well. He was also well-versed in the art of brewing tea, having paired these few cakes of Kunshan Snow Seal with ancient glacial meltwater from Antarctica.

Now, it was all Shi Ming’s gain.

"Excellent tea. Brother Shi Ming, you are not only young and promising but also have such fine things in your collection. This is much better than the wretched ration tea I drink on the Kunwu."

Without realizing it, Rong Bing had already switched from calling him Minglong to Shi Ming.

Shi Ming didn’t mind. Back at the Xirang Branch, his Right Arm Red Pattern had already been exposed due to his aura of destruction, so there was no need to keep up the pretense now. A false identity was only for dealing with enemies; for partners, a certain degree of honesty was necessary.

"If you like it, Captain, I’ll give you half a cake to take with you."

"No, no." Rong Bing shook his head.

"Our boss is strict. It’s fine for me to sample it here, but if I took it back, my mission subsidy would be docked. Sigh! Speaking of which, our Sword Team has a lot of rules. For example, all members are forbidden from drinking alcohol at any time, we can’t display our awakened abilities unless absolutely necessary, and we can’t spar with members of a different rank. Sometimes when I get the itch to fight, I can only go find some sea beasts to scratch it."

"That is strict. And what if you spar with someone of the same rank?"

Rong Bing was taken aback for a moment.

Then he replied:

"We stop at the first touch."

"Then let’s stop at the first touch."

...

The crewmen on the deck of the Da Yun only saw two figures leap out of the cabin and vanish in the blink of an eye.

A short while later, a gust of wind swept through.

The crews of all the ships in the area, large and small, felt a faint, almost imaginary chill coming from the north. It was September, and early in the morning. They all assumed it was just the morning chill and paid it no mind.

They didn’t know that a few nautical miles away, in an uninhabited stretch of sea, a glacier had appeared out of thin air.

Immediately after, two terrifying auras flared to life, as if two S-class sea beasts had met in a narrow pass, beginning their battle that would end at the first touch.