"Are you the son of the Sun God?"

"No, I am merely a descendant of the dragon."

Shi Ming, whose body had transformed into light, shook his head seriously.

’But on second thought,’ he mused, ’the Flame Emperor also holds the title of Sun God, and aren’t all people of the Dragon Country descendants of the Flame and Yellow Emperors? So there’s actually some basis for calling me a son of the Sun God.’

’It’s not like that neighboring country that calls itself "Descendants of the Sun," just making up a mythological system to suit themselves. How ridiculous.’

’Haven’t they stolen enough already?’

...

"Dragon?"

Various legends of the East surfaced in the old man’s mind.

That was also an ancient civilization, but the legacy passed down from their ancestors was far greater than that of his own homeland! As one of the four great ancient civilizations, the Dragon Country even possessed a King-level Wandering Ship. It was one of the hegemons of the current maritime world, protecting millions of its people.

But his own country had only a single general-level wandering ship, adrift and displaced on this Sea of Yellow Sand.

The old man’s thoughts raced, his heart filled with unspeakable bitterness.

Shi Ming, however, was thinking, ’Looks like I’ve cooked this A-rank sea beast through and through.’

’Is its blood still useful?’

’Whatever. I’ll get it on deck first.’

It was just that in his current Radiant Body state, he couldn’t move it. He would have to deactivate Descent of the Titan to return to his original form. But deactivating the state would trigger an echo, and entering an echo state in front of strangers was not the behavior of an outstanding Awakened.

"You may leave now."

He floated above the sea like a dazzling new sun.

Although his light-forged body had burned his upper-body clothing to ash, no one dared to look at him directly.

’Descent of the Titan is such a waste of clothing. Thankfully, it doesn’t destroy pants. No idea what the principle behind that is,’ Shi Ming grumbled to himself.

"Thank you for your mercy."

The old man, prostrating with tears in his eyes, half-rose from the deck and respectfully entered the ship’s cabin. It was no wonder they were superstitious; his faith was in the Sun Gods Ra and Aton, the God of Death Anubis, the God of Vengeance Horus...

Ever since surviving into the Wandering Era, his devotion to these mythical deities had only grown stronger. This young man before them, wreathed in brilliance—wasn’t he just like a child of the Sun God?

Ordinary people didn’t understand much about power, simply because their perception was limited, having never seen a truly strong individual.

But the barefoot girl, Nia, quietly raised her head and, amidst the brilliance, saw the "dazzling" Shi Ming—

Golden hair as brilliant as the morning sun,

A chiseled, sculpted face,

Stars flowed across his body, his eyes like searing splendor.

Standing in mid-air, like the rising sun.

The young girl’s heart inexplicably began to beat faster, her cheeks growing as hot as the waters of the Hot Sea.

She subconsciously wanted to lower her head and hide her flushed cheeks, but then thought that would be too obvious. Her gaze fell in a fluster, and she hurriedly followed her father back into the cabin, where she began to help the other crew members clear the yellow sand from the propulsion system.

The crew of the Dayun sailed over with practiced coordination and began to haul away the worm-like sea beast, its skin charred but its flesh tender.

It smelled so good!

During this time, Shi Ming did not deactivate his Radiant Body state. Instead, he took the opportunity to feel the different power within him and explore more practical applications for Radiant Body. This would help him better control the Titan’s power next time and accumulate combat proficiency.

Through this experimentation, Shi Ming gained a comprehensive understanding of this power.

Although it had many limitations, it was still a notch above Ten Thousand Tribulations Thunder Body and Bright Eyes of the Void. Any part of his body that passed through an enemy would inflict percentage-based light-burn damage. With Shi Ming’s body size, dealing with large sea beasts might take considerable effort, but against smaller enemies, he was a true percentage-based killer.

Moreover, the Arm of Power didn’t seem to be restricted; it wasn’t suppressed by Radiant Body and could be used normally.

That made it far more terrifying.

Unfortunately, the probability of drawing it was only 4%.

This was a major limitation of Descent of the Titan: you weren’t guaranteed to draw a suitable skill for every battle.

Radiant Body also had a fatal flaw: it was hard-countered by reflective surfaces.

Shi Ming did a small test. When Radiant Body shot into the sea’s surface, it caused about 20% of its power to dissipate. Shooting into a layer of ice caused a 40% power loss. Shooting into a mirror, however, caused it to be directly reflected, having no effect whatsoever.

But it didn’t matter. Shi Ming was someone who was very good at hiding his weaknesses.

And he would never give his enemies the opportunity to discover them.

"Great Dragon."

"Please allow us to express our gratitude to you once more and to bid you a sincere farewell. The Obelisk will forever remember your kindness."

The old man stood respectfully at the ship’s bow and saluted Shi Ming. The sand in The Obelisk’s propulsion system had been cleared, and from the girl Nia’s explanation, he now understood that the young man who had saved them was not a Divine Spirit, but a powerful Awakened. Even so, his reverence had not diminished in the slightest.

Shi Ming waved his hand, signaling that he understood.

Amidst the brilliance, the young girl raised her gaze. "Respected lord, can you tell me your name?"

The old man shot her a fierce glare.

’Even if he isn’t a Divine Spirit, he’s an Awakened more powerful than anyone on Ptolemy’s ship. Asking for his name is disrespectful! Nia, you’re the strongest Awakened on our ship, how can you not understand this?’

"Stone."

Shi Ming’s magnetic voice rang out.

Stone.

’What a great name.’

Nia firmly committed the name to memory.

Her eyes shimmered with a faint light as she hoped that one day she too could become such a powerful Awakened, saving other suffering humans from danger, regardless of country or race.

The Obelisk set sail, disappearing amidst the mottled light and shadows.

Having familiarized himself with the power of the Radiant Body, Shi Ming’s eyes flashed. In the blink of an eye, he was over a thousand meters away. With another flash, he moved even farther from the Dayun and voluntarily deactivated Radiant Body.

The echo arrived.

His body returned to normal, and he could use other skills, like Ice Annihilation. His form was no longer bright.

Within a thousand meters, everything plunged into a lightless darkness.

It was as if all the light in the area had been sucked out, overdrawn, and completely consumed.

’Hmm... another divine skill perfect for sneak attacks.’

’Used properly, it could cause sudden blindness amidst intense light, achieving a surprising effect.’

Truly a skill worthy of its 4% draw rate!

...

...

...

’The blood has completely solidified, like blood pudding. It can’t be used for an Awakening. Even when my Right Arm Red Pattern makes contact, it’s hard to absorb its power.’

’The charred skin and meat are enticing... The inner flesh has the firm texture of fish, yet it’s soft and delicious.’

’The tail section wasn’t hit as hard, so there’s still some liquid blood.’

’Unfortunately, this little bit of blood isn’t enough to awaken a new A-rank skill. It only provided 7 points of Attack Power. My base Attack Power is now 92. This power-drained blood is good enough to upgrade the wandering ship.’

Shi Ming wasn’t discouraged by not obtaining a new skill.

Just as Wright had said back in the Twelve Stars, the more skills one mastered, the greater the burden on the body.

He now had one S-rank attack skill, two S-rank defense skills, one A-rank attack skill, and a reserve of "Phaseless Pure Ice" that he didn’t know when he’d be able to use, which could grant him the 29th-ranked S-rank skill, "Third Law."

An ordinary A-rank skill... 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

’How should I put it... It’s not that I look down on them, but I simply have better options.’