Chapter 252: Chapter 246: Da Yu, "Jiuzhou Platform

WHOOSH~

This sea beast, which looked like a giant mutant lobster, was a cold-blooded animal to begin with. Its blue blood, carrying bone-chilling ice shards, gushed from the wound made by Great Cold and poured over Shi Ming’s body. The temperature meant nothing to him; in fact, it was rather refreshing.

Great Cold Returns to the Sheath.

The Right Arm Red Pattern frantically devoured the energy within the blood.

A prompt appeared in Shi Ming’s vision.

[Successfully bathed in the blood of the A-rank sea beast, Iron Blood Golden Claw.]

[Obtained Skill: Doomsday Claw (Sea Beast) / Doomsday Fist (Human).]

[Doomsday Fist: Concentrate all power into your fists, increasing your fists’ Attack Power by 300%-400% (cap of 120) and Defense Power by 300%-400% (cap of 120). Also applies knockback and shatter effects. Duration: three seconds.]

[You may choose to devour this skill to increase your body’s stats.]

[Devour the A-rank skill ’Doomsday Fist’ to gain Attack Power +12, Physical Strength +10, Endurance +11, Defense Power +12, and Spiritual Power +3?]

Doomsday Claw. If acquired by a human, its name would change to Doomsday Fist.

Shi Ming briefly reviewed the skill and found it to be a completely inferior version of Arm of Power. Moreover, it was hard-capped at 120 points.

For an ordinary person, this was definitely an excellent skill—a straightforward and brutal boost of up to 400% Attack Power. But to Shi Ming, it was worse than useless. His current base Attack Power was already well over 120, making an effect like this a liability to actually use, though a shame to let go of.

Its only use was to be devoured for stat points.

Devour!

With a thought, the Right Arm Red Pattern instantly and completely absorbed the energy from the Iron Blood Golden Claw’s blood. The skill was broken down, devoured, and converted into Shi Ming’s own power!

Attack Power, 173!

Physical Strength, 195!

Endurance, 178!

Defense Power: 209!

The boost from the Iron Blood Golden Claw provided over 10 points to every stat except Spiritual Power. His Physical Strength and Endurance increased by a total of 21 points, bringing him one step closer to his goal of 500!

’A decent haul for the first battle!’

He changed into a fresh jacket and directed the crew to begin processing the decapitated Iron Blood Golden Claw.

Compared to the White Dragon Whale and the Glacier Dragon, it was indeed quite small. But for a six-to-seven-meter-long creature to be ranked as an A-rank sea beast showed that the best things come in small packages. It was just unlucky enough to run into Shi Ming. Faced with the absolute power of the Third Law, it was decapitated and killed instantly without even a chance to use its A-rank skill.

This was only the prelude.

The sea beasts of the Sea of Soaring Dragons were about to face their strongest Hunter.

"Captain, after we posted a message on the Hunter terminal yesterday, a General-level Wandering Ship contacted us. They said they want to buy the carcass of an A-rank sea beast."

"Oh? Which one?"

"It’s the *Asahi*, currently in the Northeast Domain of the Yinping Sea Region. They’re willing to pay 300 Pure Dome Crystals for the carcass of an A-rank sea beast for scientific research. They also said that if we have the corresponding A-rank blood for an Awakening, they’re willing to pay triple the price."

’The *Asahi*.’

’Although it’s a General-level Wandering Ship, its overall strength is average. In the early days of the Wandering Era, it once sought shelter from Da Yu for a full decade. It was only after slowly developing that it left the Sea of Soaring Dragons and gradually became independent.’

A price of 300 Pure Dome Crystals, even for just a carcass, was relatively low.

"Tell them yes, but at that price, they’ll have to pick it up themselves."

"Understood, Captain. Should we sell them the one on the deck?"

"The next one."

It wasn’t that he refused to sell imperfect goods. Rather, this Iron Blood Golden Claw had already been carved up by the Third Law. Its two large claws looked plump and meaty, and the extreme cold had coated them in a tempting, sugar-like glaze of ice.

"Tell Old Yang we’re all having lobster tonight."

...

...

...

「Da Yu, Jiuzhou Platform.」

This was the core of the King-level Wandering Ship, a place of absolute secrecy, and the highest administrative center of Da Yu. Here, the Three Generals and Seven Golds were tightly united, like the colossal pillars Nuwa erected from the turtle’s legs, propping up the remnants of a shattered civilization after the great flood.

Sword Captain Rong Bing had come here to report to his direct superior, an old man dressed in a Tang suit.

Behind the old man hung a stone tablet.

On the tablet were thirteen abstract symbols: a figure with an abstract face, a flourishing giant tree, a collapsing celestial pillar, a great flood dragon with sharp fangs and wings, a coiling and twisting thunder dragon, a sky-piercing Kun Peng...

Six of them had been crossed out.

As if names on a list of life and death had been struck off.

The old man looked at the grim-faced Rong Bing.

"Rong Bing!"

"There’s no need to be as tense as you are on the battlefield when you’re here with me."

"I’m not a sea beast, after all."

The old man’s voice was gentle and natural, carrying not a hint of pressure, yet it inspired solemn respect in the S-rank Awakened. Even after meeting him many times, Rong Bing always felt this way.

"Elder Zhou."

"The first task you assigned me has been completed."

"Minglong is Shi Ming, who also goes by Stone. Based on analysis of his past combat data, he has used at least two different S-rank skills: one is an invincibility skill similar to Royal Hegemony, and the other is a skill from the Deep Sea Titan that can switch between different forms. Additionally, he killed the Dusk Whale in the European Sea Region and is suspected of having acquired another unknown skill."

Elder Zhou motioned for Rong Bing to sit.

That Minglong was Shi Ming was something other factions had also guessed. However, Minglong hadn’t taken action on Fujing Mountain, and the ship that rammed the Black Society’s vessel was completely different from the one that rammed the *Pharaoh*. Therefore, the guesses remained just that—speculation, with no concrete evidence to support them.

But now, with two of Lighthouse’s eight S-rank Awakened dead and one missing, it was not a good time to stir up more trouble.

They had chosen to lie low for the time being.

’It’s not that vengeance won’t come; the time just isn’t right.’

Da Yu, however, saw an opportunity.

’The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Strictly speaking, there are no enemies on the Endless Ocean, but a solo SSS-rank Awakened is worth recruiting. What’s more, this was finally a chance to remove a thorn that has long been stuck in the side of the Northeast Domain.’

The S-rank sea beast, the Moonlight Ripple Beast!

Originally, it was just an ordinary S-rank sea beast that only appeared on moonlit nights, hiding unknown within the ripples and the moonlight.

But in recent months, it had grown much stronger. It was suspected to have consumed the marrow drippings of the deep-sea Bodhi Tree of Suffering, which greatly enhanced its abilities and made it extremely aggressive.

Skill: Eclipse Moon Image.

This was a very strange skill. Within the span of ten breaths, a lunar eclipse would descend. The reflections of any creatures cast in the Moonlight Ripple would be devoured along with the eclipse. When the eclipse ended, their Physical Strength would be completely drained, leaving them powerless and becoming food for the beast.

This attack is very mysterious. So far, it has been verified that only Overlord Body-type skills can grant immunity. The other way is to use a high-speed skill to make one’s Shadow difficult to capture, allowing a swift escape before the eclipse ends.

Rong Bing, who possessed an Overlord Body skill, once went to slay it, bringing "Kunwu Heaven-Opening" with him. However, he never expected that the sea beast actually had a reflection clone hidden in the ripples.

He couldn’t fight it alone. After using Royal Hegemony four times, he was soundly defeated and had to retreat.

Now, a second Awakened with an S-rank Overlord Body skill has appeared.

’Perhaps this thorn can finally be pulled out!’

’And at the same time, we can also obtain the Purifying Marrow it’s guarding!’

"He gives a very good first impression—he’s vigorous and eager to help others. However, he might not be willing to undertake such a dangerous task. I haven’t yet found an opportunity to recruit him," Rong Bing said.

"If you can’t recruit someone, it just means you haven’t offered them enough."

Elder Zhou smiled.

"He can ask for anything he wants. Of course, whether we agree or not will depend on what he asks for."

"And even if the recruitment fails, it doesn’t matter."

"All men within the four seas are brothers. The man who sank the Black Society will not be an enemy of Da Yu."