The *Dayun* set sail again. Shi Ming returned to the captain’s cabin to study the treasure map he had bought from the Twelve Stars.

The map was indeed a trap—seventy percent real, thirty percent fake.

But that didn’t matter!

His Brain of Creation could turn the fake into the real!

[Scorpion King III Pyramid Treasure Map]

[Level: 1]

[The tomb of Scorpion King III lay buried in the great desert for millennia. Not until the seas raged did the secrets deep within the sands emerge. This is a copy of the internal layout of Scorpion King III’s Pyramid, but it contains many incorrect details. Combined with the erosion of time and seawater, parts of the map have become illegible, rendering it useless.]

[Upgrade Requirements: Cuttlefish Ink Sac x1, Sea Fish Hide x1.]

In the vast ocean, cuttlefish ink sacs and Sea Fish Hides were extremely common materials. One could gather a large amount without even trying.

Now that he was here in the old Land of the Pharaohs, Egypt, he had to see the sunken Pyramids! The treasures buried within deserved to see the light of day once more.

Upgrade!

As if by a miracle, the cuttlefish ink sac and the Sea Fish Hide dissolved into a gaseous powder. It mended and patched the dried-hide treasure map, and in the span of a few blinks, a perfectly restored hide map appeared before Shi Ming.

The treasure’s coordinates and the route to it were all there. Even the pathways within the tomb and the exact locations of the treasure were marked with perfect clarity!

It was like the tomb’s original blueprint!

[Scorpion King III Pyramid Treasure Map - Authentic]

[Level: 2]

[This is a flawless treasure map! Blessed by a peculiar power, its errors have been corrected and its routes have been completed! Its value may even surpass that of the original!]

[The tomb of Scorpion King III lay buried in the great desert for millennia. Not until the seas raged did the secrets deep within the sands emerge. Explore this sunken tomb to find the legendary Scorpion King’s burial offering—an ancient meteorite. It can replace the Sailing Star as the Energy Core for an Admiral-class Wandering Ship, and it can also serve as a key material to upgrade an Admiral-class Ship into a King-level Wandering Ship.]

[Cannot be upgraded again.]

The moment Shi Ming saw the information, he latched onto the keywords!

’A key material for upgrading to a King-level Ship?’

Shi Ming had long had a theory. The Brain of Creation could work miracles. It could upgrade a Golden Ship to an Admiral-class Wandering Ship using only materials for a Golden Ship. Did that mean he could upgrade an Admiral-class Ship to a King-level Ship using only materials for an Admiral-class Wandering Ship?

Now, that theory had been confirmed!

’It said "a key material,"’ he thought, ’but a King-level Wandering Ship... what did that even mean?’

There were only seven in the entire Endless Ocean!

Aside from the elusive 001, the other six were humanity’s core bases—floating cities upon the ocean. They were the very foundation of humankind, the pinnacle of its architectural achievement and the last fruits of its civilization.

For a major power like the Lighthouse, adding another King-level Ship to that number was nothing but a pipe dream.

Admiral-class Ships really did have the potential to be upgraded to King-level! And that tomb contained a meteorite that could replace a Sailing Star!

Excellent! Absolutely excellent!

The Sailing series of Crystal Stones, the Energy Cores for Wandering Ships, were non-renewable resources derived from extraterrestrial meteorites. Shi Ming knew of four types, each corresponding to a different class of Wandering Ship:

Bronze-class: Sailing Stone

Silver-class: Sailing Crystal

Gold-class: Sailing Heart

Admiral-class: Sailing Star

As for the Energy Core of a King-level Wandering Ship—whether it even belonged to the "Sailing X" series—that was a closely guarded secret. No information had ever been disclosed, and Shi Ming was as much in the dark as anyone.

A fiery glint appeared in Shi Ming’s eyes.

Of course, the materials needed to upgrade to a King-level Ship would require far more than a single Sailing Star.

Based on past experience, he’d probably also need high-end goods like the blood of powerful Sea Beasts or Pure Dome Crystals. But now he had a goal, and with a goal came motivation!

It was like a character in a wuxia novel who dreamed of becoming a peerless hero but had no idea how. The moment they found a secret manual, they finally had a path to follow, a direction for their efforts.

Next target: the Scorpion King’s Pyramid!

But before that, he planned to upgrade the *Dayun* to Admiral-class!

Currently, Shi Ming’s two Wandering Ships were:

[*Dayun*, Gold-class, Level 4]

Upgrade requirements: High-Level Sea Crystal Stone x800, Iron Ore x600, 10 liters each of two different types of A-rank Sea Beast Blood.

[*She Ri*, Admiral-class, Level 1]

Upgrade requirements: Dome Crystal x100, 100 grams of any S-rank Sea Beast Blood, Sailing Heart x1.

Shi Ming had all the materials needed to upgrade the *She Ri* from level one to two. Unfortunately, he only had a single Sailing Heart, which he had stripped from the Golden Ship *Chuiyan*.

Shi Ming planned to use it for the *Dayun*’s upgrade, so the *She Ri*’s upgrade would have to wait. Even if the *She Ri* was upgraded to level 2, it probably wouldn’t result in any earth-shattering changes. However, if the *Dayun* advanced to Admiral-class, it would gain a brand-new [Admiral Trait], which would be far more helpful to him.

The only thing he lacked was one type of A-rank Sea Beast Blood. Theoretically, he could substitute it with S-rank blood, but that would be a waste. He was sure to need S-rank Sea Beast Blood for many things in the future; such a rare resource had to be saved for critical moments.

’Oh well. I’ll just have to go hunt another A-rank Sea Beast.’

For him, that wouldn’t take very long.

...

...

...

「Great Western Sea Region, the Lighthouse.」

"Sir, our research has reached a critical stage. We need to use a large quantity of Sailing Stones. These meteorites have no purpose other than as Energy Cores for Wandering Ships, so why can’t you provide us with an adequate supply?"

"Doctor, your humanity truly has significant room for improvement."

The Lighthouse’s Governor, Trellin, felt a headache coming on.

As a Governor in the Wandering Era, he didn’t have to manage a country, just a small number of ships. And yet, there were times he still felt overwhelmed.

He didn’t just have to manage incompetent subordinates; he also had to deal with these foolish pedants!

"Doctor, Wandering Ships are our survival fortresses, the very light of our civilization. Even if Bronze-class ships are numerous, maliciously hunting and destroying them is an act against all of humanity. No faction would tolerate it. Our only option is to covertly purchase them from other powers, and that takes time. I can promise you thirty. No more."

The doctor opened his mouth,

"Miss Yan..."

Trellin cut him off at once.

He knew what the doctor was about to say.

"Miss Yan’s body was never found. We only recovered partial remains, which have already been given to her family for a memorial. They cannot be provided to you. However, we did find some unidentifiable Sea Beast remains at the scene. Perhaps you can find something of value in those."

"Furthermore, you need to accelerate your research on the Holy Hall remains."

Trellin’s gaze grew profound.

"If you can produce results, I can pull some strings and apply for special resources on your behalf."

...