novelraw Chapter 318 - 311: Arm of Power, Evolved Again
Chapter 318 - 311: Arm of Power, Evolved Again
"Shi Ming! This new ship of yours is so cool!"
Li Jiuyuan stroked the edge of the Da Yu’s hull, completely captivated.
"A 300-meter hull... every single detail, even the grain of the deck, is a masterpiece of craftsmanship, perfect to the last degree. The entire ship has this unified aura—domineering, regal, soaring, and righteous!"
"Only a ship like this is worthy of your strength and status!"
"I’m certain of it. Even the Cuiyan, which supposedly inherited the pinnacle of German precision engineering, can’t compare to your ship in terms of artistic value!"
The starlight that once shrouded the hull had long since receded inward.
The Da Yu’s overall color was now a deliberately understated Xuan Yao Black, like a dark meteorite buried for eons, its brilliance contained within. But even so, a King-level Wandering Ship, no matter how disguised or unassuming, could not conceal its extraordinary presence.
It was like a powerful expert who, even dressed in plain clothes, reveals their exceptional nature through the presence they exude with every gesture.
Listening to Li Jiuyuan’s praise, Shi Ming played along and replied,
"Of course. Modifying it cost me a lot of Pure Dome Crystals."
’That wasn’t a lie!’
’A full 20,000 of them!’
’Besides, that Cuiyan ship, the one that inherited Germany’s precision engineering, really was a good ship. Even though I already destroyed and sank it, its Sailing Crystal Stone was integrated into the Da Yu. You could say it was put to good use.’
’Right now, the single cannon mounted on the Da Yu’s bow could easily blast apart ten Gold-level Wandering Ships like the Cuiyan!’
Most people judged a Wandering Ship’s class by the length of its hull.
This was the simplest and most common method. Aside from a few rare exceptions—like the She Ri, a canoe-like Wandering Ship built from leftover materials, and special-purpose vessels like the Kunwu—there were conventional sizes for each class. King-level Wandering Ships ranged in the dozens of kilometers. General-level ships were a significant step down at around 600 meters, Gold-level ships were half that at about 300 meters, and both Bronze and Silver ships were typically within 100 meters.
More than thirty years ago, during the age of the great flood, bigger meant stronger.
It meant being able to carry more survivors.
This was a defining characteristic of that era.
Shi Ming hadn’t contacted Li Jiuyuan today to show off; he just wanted to confirm the subsequent payment and Contribution Points for his commission.
Following analysis by Xirang and Da Yu’s internal processing, the Contribution Points for the "Explore Mount Everest" mission had been successfully credited. Combined with the points from discovering a Xueding Hancui sapling, he had received a grand total of 8,000 new Contribution Points, which was enough for him to finally afford the Seed of Life, valued at 20,000 Contribution Points!
He’d even have a good amount to spare!
With the Seed of Life, the Arm of Conquest could finally surpass his other abilities and evolve to its third stage! Combined with the Fallen Sanctuary—which was already at 97% fusion progress and would be fully integrated in less than two days—the plan to conquer Fujing Mountain was now on the agenda!
At the same time, after a long wait, the payment for the Divine Revelation Stele had finally been approved!
This effectively alleviated his severe shortage of Pure Dome Crystals following the Da Yu’s upgrade.
Because of all this, Shi Ming’s schedule had been packed for the past two days, leaving him no time to hunt sea beasts. Fortunately, Ah Jian had been using her doppelgangers to hunt efficiently in the nearby waters. All the Sea Beast Blood she acquired was naturally consumed by Shi Ming, allowing his combined Physical Strength and Endurance to finally break through 500!
[Shi Ming]
[Attack Power: 221]
[Physical Strength: 256]
[Endurance: 251]
[Defense Power: 241]
[Spiritual Power: Unknown]
All was in place!
And the east wind was about to blow!
...
...
...
「Da Yu, Jiuzhou Platform.」
"Elder Zhou, Shi Ming has redeemed the seed."
The assistant was reporting Shi Ming’s transaction to him at the earliest opportunity, just as Elder Zhou had instructed. ’Of course,’ he thought, ’I don’t really understand why. I can’t figure it out at all.’
’That seed was so incredibly difficult to obtain!’
’Its value was enough to make the ’Doctor’ from the Lighthouse defect to Da Yu, just for the chance to study it.’
’Of course, Da Yu wouldn’t accept someone like that. They still didn’t know what had become of the Doctor, and the Lighthouse was keeping his fate under wraps. The Doctor’s research had always been illicit, and the so-called ’volunteers’ were an absurdity no one could believe!’
Elder Zhou contemplated for a moment before waving his hand dismissively.
The assistant left the Jiuzhou Platform.
Silence fell within the Jiuzhou Platform. Elder Zhou remained alone in his office, stroking the golden toad in his hand as he sank into thought.
The golden toad had changed—
For thirty years, once the Destiny Golden Toad’s predictions were set, they had never changed. But now, both parts of the ’Double-Yolk Egg’ reading from a few months ago were showing subtle transformations.
One was the blurry figure. It had originally been pure gold, its outline faint but visible. Now, the figure was growing clearer, and Elder Zhou was 90% certain it was Shi Ming. In addition to its improved clarity, the golden light had become more dazzling, shining like the morning star!
This change in the ’blurry figure’ was undoubtedly a good thing.
However, the changes to the ’Collapsing Celestial Pillar’ gave Elder Zhou, the master of the Destiny Golden Toad, a faint sense of unease.
The pillar’s collapse was accelerating. Specks of fractured gold drifted down from it like stardust, and a hint of red was beginning to seep from within.
The red seemed to be spreading, almost imperceptibly, exuding a faint, dangerous aura.
The Golden Toad was extremely sensitive to such things.
"Red..."
"Spreading..."
"Accelerate the construction of the floating islands in the Sanjiang Wall region, as well as the production of standard sailing vessels. If the unexpected happens, Xirang is to evacuate from Mount Everest!"
’As for the great stele...’
’If our people are gone, what’s the point of an unreadable stele?’
...
...
...
Shi Ming sat in his luxurious captain’s quarters, gazing at the Seed of Life floating before him.
He had already confirmed it:
This was one of the seven legacy seeds that broke off from the Jianmu when it was still the Creation Celestial Pillar. One of them had already grown into a pure Jianmu Seedling, while this one could be consumed by the Arm of Conquest, allowing it to advance to the next level.
The Right Arm Red Pattern was already stirring with uncontrollable excitement.
Impatient, practically burning with eagerness...
Shi Ming wasn’t one for ceremony.
He touched the Seed of Life directly with his right hand. The powerful life force within it, along with the energy of the Jianmu itself, was siphoned away by the Right Arm Red Pattern. His arm inevitably grew hot, then scorching, as it filled with an immense amount of power.
He felt the urge to throw a punch at whatever was in front of him, just to vent the energy.
But his self-control was exceptionally strong.
He suppressed the impulse to unleash that power.
Then, in less than sixty seconds, the Seed of Life in his hand shriveled and turned to invisible dust. A notification appeared before Shi Ming’s eyes, announcing the completion of the evolution.
This was the fastest evolution he had ever experienced!
[Arm of Power, has evolved;]
[Arm of Conquest, has evolved;]
[Arm of Judgment, has been activated.]
From Power, to Conquest, to Judgment. The third stage of the Arm of Power not only encompassed "Tenfold Power" and Conquering Power, but also added a brand-new ability!
"Judgment Power!"