Struck by the full force of the Arm of Power, Jia Fang was sent flying. He sailed hundreds of meters over the Golden Ladder and crashed like a cannonball into a mural in the Great Golden Hall.

The impact smashed a huge crater in the gold-inlaid sun dome.

He then fell with a THUD, nearly landing on Ptolemy!

Ptolemy, the true ruler of the Pharaoh and a man who had dominated since the Land Era, had just regained his footing from the massive impact. Now, he watched in disbelief as a severely wounded Jia Fang dropped from the ceiling and struggled to his feet.

"Jia Fang,"

"what in the world happened to you?!"

Ptolemy stood beneath the dome, throwing his hands up in utter exasperation.

He hadn’t yet grasped the full extent of the damage to the Pharaoh. All he knew was that the special characteristic of his General-level Wandering Ship had failed and it had somehow been rammed by another vessel. That violent tremor, like a tsunami churned up by a Category 18 typhoon, had been the result.

Utter humiliation! A complete and utter humiliation!

If word of this got out...

He didn’t even dare to imagine it.

It would be like the Black Palace getting doused in ten thousand tons of sewage or the Vortex Country Temple getting gloriously blown up by righteous heroes.

Not just in the Sea of Yellow Sand, but throughout the entire Africa Region and across the Endless Ocean, his ship, the Pharaoh, would become a laughingstock. He, Ptolemy, would lose all his prestige, becoming a target of ridicule for even the lowliest sailor!

A General-level Wandering Ship, rammed to such an extent by what looked like an ordinary, unremarkable vessel?

The upcoming Feast of Sea Beasts, meant to be a display of power, would now be nothing but a joke—a tale that would circulate across the Endless Ocean for ages to come.

Amid his fury, Ptolemy couldn’t stop his mind from racing.

’Could it be the mysterious 001? The only King-level Wandering Ship capable of agile movement?’

’No,’

’absolutely impossible!’

"Whatever it takes, capture him!"

"No one provokes the Pharaoh like this and gets away with it!"

Ptolemy was hysterical.

"Yes, my lord."

An S-rank Awakened, yet he was still unfailingly deferential when facing the true ruler of the Pharaoh. It had nothing to do with authority or loyalty, but everything to do with the miraculous "Celestial Net Chip." Even at his level, he was still under someone else’s control.

From this, one could see that the being who invented the Celestial Net Chip had, in a sense, truly achieved "unity."

Jia Fang pushed himself up from the floor. From a honeycomb-like object he carried, he took out a black, heart-shaped fruit.

He ate it.

His condition improved considerably.

"Rest assured, my lord. I have already implanted a Nether Snake Feather in that brat."

"Even if he escapes today, he will die a horrible death within seven days."

Jia Fang promised.

"Seven days?"

"Do you expect me to be mocked for seven days by all the other powers? By the Nile River? By the Red Sea? By that loach-black Golden Bodhi?"

"The Feast of Sea Beasts is tomorrow. The major King-level and General-level Wandering Ship factions will be arriving one after another to purchase S-rank flesh. This matter must be perfectly resolved before then."

Perched at the apex of the Pyramid, he was still unaware of just how badly a corner of his ship had been mangled. While it wasn’t about to take on water and capsize, it had lost all semblance of majesty. Even its iconic four-eyed cobra figurehead was shattered into countless pieces. Some had sunk to the seafloor, while others littered the deck, impossible to reassemble.

Never mind seven days.

It might not be repairable even in a month.

The loss of face was now a certainty.

"My lord, I will capture him today."

"Then what are you waiting for? Go!"

Forcing down the intense pain wracking his body, Jia Fang bowed and retreated from the great golden hall. Leaning on his now-deformed Snake Staff, he stood at the top of the Golden Ladder.

Looking far down below, he seemed to see the brat standing on the bow of his ship, looking up at him and laughing.

It was as if he was mouthing a single word: "Amusing."

Jia Fang felt the blood rush to his head. He recalled his own subservience before Ptolemy, despite being an S-rank Awakened, and roared. Greasy, yellow wings sprouted from his body—from his temples down to his legs, a full nine pairs of Nether Serpent wings tore through his skin!

In an instant, the air around the Pharaoh was filled with drifting, grease-stained feathers.

The combat form of the Nether Snake Feather.

’Getting desperate?’

Shi Ming, who had been preparing to retreat, saw a single feather appear before him. It rapidly swelled into a giant Feathered Serpent, which then morphed into a human form. Jia Fang, the man he had just punched into the sky, now stood before him as if he had teleported.

The largest pair of wings on his back hardened into a scythe, slashing viciously at Shi Ming’s body.

No S-rank skill should ever be underestimated!

Black Tortoise Shield.

A perfect defense. Half the force was reflected back at Jia Fang, who staggered backward, his face twisting in agony once more. His magnificent wings drooped, heavily damaged again.

"You’re an S-rank too?"

Shi Ming said nothing.

’I was just about to leave, but you seem so eager for me to stay. It would be rude of me to just go, wouldn’t it?’

Descent of the Titan!

All the Titan Power in his bloodline activated.

An object resembling a clock from Ancient Rome materialized behind Shi Ming once more. It appeared as a phantom, twelve divine symbols forming a quicksilver ring as the hand of fate spun rapidly across its face. TICK... TOCK... TICK...

...

...

...

The Netherworld Serpent’s senses are keen. Inside Jia Fang’s body, the Netherworld Serpent bloodline began to tremble again, even more violently than before.

Only now did he understand.

The trembling in his bloodline before hadn’t been the thrill of finding prey.

It was the innate fear of a superior being.

He gritted his teeth, preparing to detonate the Nether Snake Feather he had planted in Shi Ming’s body. But he found that the Nether Snake Feather gave no response.

Shi Ming gave a bright smile.

"Are you looking for that snake?"

"I ate it. Tasted pretty good. You got any more?"

CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. CLICK.

The phantom hand stopped at the seven o’clock position.

Shi Ming’s body turned iron-black. Arcane patterns of dark blue, rust-flecked chains appeared on his skin. The smell of rust billowed out, completely overwhelming the greasy Netherworld aura from the Nether Snake Feather.

Seventh Form!

Chain of Order.

A three-nautical-mile radius was forcibly designated as a Prison of Order! Any Awakened caught within this prison would be randomly stripped of one of their Awakened skills, as long as it was a lower level than Descent of the Titan.

At the same time, the arcane chain patterns on Shi Ming’s body could be transmitted to others through direct contact during battle. The patterns would slowly spread across the target’s body. Once the patterns covered their entire form, the victim would be completely bound by the chains on their skin, unable to move or struggle.

This was the first skill the Titan had rolled when they first met.

That’s why the skill had left such a deep impression on Shi Ming.

He cracked his knuckles and loosened his joints.

The sound of the chains was a heavy, grating clank, accompanied by the thick smell of rust. Shi Ming looked like an archdemon from Hell, cloaked in sigils of rusted chains... Even his voice had taken on a grating quality.

"You were planning, weren’t you... to turn me, and other Awakened, into a Nether Serpent’s Heart?"

"This ship, the Pharaoh... for all its gold and splendor, it’s nothing but a den of depravity and filth."