Endless Ocean: Survival Begins with a Dugout Canoe Chapter 257 - 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 so independent ships that ca 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 ca things like ship equipnt, 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 ti, however, their intervention wasn’t needed. Only occasionally would so 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 imdiately moved to salute.

But they were stopped.

A thirty-ter-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 so leave, and Brother Minglong picks six in the morning to et. On a normal day with no missions, I’d still be sleeping... We still have half an hour until the eting. 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 ters 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 extrely fresh; so 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 rchants 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 seed to understand why Shi Ming had chosen this location for their eting—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 soone who had fought sea beasts for over a decade, he was extrely 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 , 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 becos 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 mont before continuing.

"But I have to remind you, the more tis 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 complints as they moved from the deck into the Da Yun’s cabin.

There were no other crew mbers inside at the mont, making it a suitable ti to discuss cooperation.

Rong Bing glanced around.

The cabin was not crude; it had all the necessary equipnt. 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 extrely 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 ltwater 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 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 mbers are forbidden from drinking alcohol at any ti, we can’t display our awakened abilities unless absolutely necessary, and we can’t spar with mbers of a different rank. Sotis when I get the itch to fight, I can only go find so sea beasts to scratch it."

"That is strict. And what if you spar with soone of the sa rank?"

Rong Bing was taken aback for a mont.

Then he replied:

"We stop at the first touch."

"Then let’s stop at the first touch."

...

The crewn 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 assud 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.

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