’Eye of Intelligence, acquire intelligence!’

An unknown amount of time passed. Shi Ming sensed that a new day had begun and silently recited the activation method for the Eye of Intelligence in his mind.

For some time now, he had been doing his utmost to decipher the text on the twelve stone steles. Curiously, in this Star Domain, living beings didn’t even need to eat. Each time the Starlight Power replenished his Spiritual Power, it also restored his Physical Strength, meaning he didn’t need food to keep going.

He wanted to understand the origin of this Star Domain Space.

Out of caution, Shi Ming hadn’t used his system warehouse once during this period.

However, the interactions with the Eye of Intelligence were visible only to him.

Therefore, he could use it when appropriate.

[BEEP... BEEP...]

[Collating intelligence...]

[Searching. Confirming detailed coordinates...]

[...]

[...]

The Eye of Intelligence beeped for a long time, apparently trying to confirm Shi Ming’s current coordinates. Just when Shi Ming was beginning to think that even the Eye of Intelligence couldn’t pinpoint his location, it finally responded.

[Coordinates confirmed. Search successful. Summarizing intelligence. Intelligence generated.]

[Unrated Intelligence: Spatial Prison and the Civilization Origin Steles]

[This is a Spatial Prison, carved out from the universe. It reflects the Endless Star Sea, yet it is difficult to locate by ordinary means. The method of entry is unknown. Twelve lost "Civilization Origin Steles" are located here. The steles are inscribed with 1008 symbols, each composed of a massive flow of information.]

[This prison has been sealed. It cannot be reached, it cannot be observed, and it cannot be escaped.]

[Method to unseal: Decipher and master all the symbols on the Civilization Origin Steles.]

[Note: The higher the Spiritual Power, the faster the deciphering speed.]

’Looks like that woman wasn’t lying to me.’

’To leave this place, the only way is to decipher the symbols on these steles. The intelligence says the higher the Spiritual Power, the faster the deciphering speed. As an Awakened who takes ten minutes to decipher a single symbol, I wonder if that’s fast or slow?’

Without any data for comparison, Shi Ming had no way of knowing whether his speed was fast or slow.

’According to the intelligence, these steles are treasures.’

’I wonder if I can take them with me.’

He tried to pry at the steles floating in the starry void, but they were completely immobile, as if they had been sealed in place.

’I wonder if I can store them in my system space.’

He did not try.

’According to that woman’s warning, I can’t let a second person know I’ve mastered this language, or disaster will befall me.’

’These steles are clearly extraordinary. If I really did manage to take them, it might just bring disaster upon me. For now, I should focus on deciphering all the symbols and getting back to the Great Fortune.’

Shi Ming calmed his mind and continued to focus his Spiritual Power on the steles.

The immense volume of information assaulted him in wave after wave of shock, pain, and torment.

He gritted his teeth, enduring the immense mental drain.

...

...

...

「The Pharaoh.」

Ptolemy sat upon his throne. After several days of non-stop work on the Pharaoh, his Golden Dome had finally been repaired. The Hall of Glory, which belonged to him alone, was resplendent once more.

But the enormous gash in the side of the general-class drifter ship was another matter; restoring it completely would be far more difficult.

This was no longer the Land Era.

The difficulty of building and repairing drifter ships had increased dramatically.

As for the four-eyed cobra sculpture—the very symbol of the Pharaoh’s spirit—it was utterly destroyed. The break was clean and complete. A large portion of it had been lost to the seabed, irretrievable, leaving a scar that would never heal.

Before this incident, Ptolemy never would have imagined that anyone would dare inflict such damage upon his Pharaoh—and from a drifter ship that looked so utterly ordinary, no less!

News of the incident spread throughout the Endless Ocean. Wherever the Pharaoh sailed, it was met with whispers and gossip.

What a humiliation!

Only the blood of his enemies could wash it away!

He had already issued an order: all drifter ships under his command were to report to him the instant they spotted that particular vessel in the Sea of Yellow Sand, the Sea of Silence, or the Sea of Boiling. Even if its captain was an S-class Awakened, he would use his own methods to exact brutal revenge.

His confidence stemmed from the aid he had received from the Lighthouse.

On the second day after the incident, the Lighthouse’s First Governor, Trellin, had personally contacted him.

Trellin had vehemently condemned the act of wantonly destroying a bastion of survival.

He also proclaimed that the Lighthouse would offer the Pharaoh its sincerest aid.

However, they also had a few "small" requests.

1. The Lighthouse stated that, after an "investigation and confirmation," they had discovered that the S-class Awakened Jia Fang’s ancestral home was within the Lighthouse’s territory. Therefore, the Lighthouse required that his remains be returned to his homeland.

2. The Lighthouse would provide the elite combatants, while the Pharaoh would provide the ships and funding for the operation.

3. The drifter ship, suspected to be a Silver-class vessel, was to be recovered by the Lighthouse for research. They would investigate how it was immune to the [Suppression] characteristic of a general-class ship and would share their findings with the Pharaoh, free of charge.

4. The Awakened known as "Stone" must be handed over to the Lighthouse to be dealt with.

Ptolemy found these demands somewhat laughable.

For one thing, Jia Fang’s family had been citizens of the Land of the Pharaohs for generations. Since when did he have any Lighthouse blood or ancestry?

But none of that was important.

It was just a corpse. If they wanted it, they could have it.

There was just one point on which he would not yield: the Awakened named Stone had to be personally executed by the Pharaoh. Only this could wash away the past humiliation! This was Ptolemy’s bottom line.

After some negotiation, the two powers finally came to an agreement.

The Lighthouse would provide the personnel;

the Pharaoh would provide the funds and the ships.

The man would be handed over to the Pharaoh for execution, and his body would be taken back by the Lighthouse.

The other conditions remained unchanged. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

And just like that,

before the operation had even begun, the two powers had already divided the spoils of victory.

Victory.

...

...

...

「Day three in the Mysterious Space.」

Shi Ming’s learning speed grew faster and faster. He was progressing so quickly that he had cut his estimated time by at least fifty percent. His eyes shimmered with starlight, his mind overflowing with new knowledge.

He had finished deciphering ten of the twelve Civilization Origin Steles, leaving only the final two.

If that mysterious woman knew about this progress, she would definitely be curious enough to drag Shi Ming back to her place and study him properly.

But unfortunately,

she was very busy, her attention already focused elsewhere.

Who knew when her gaze would next fall upon this prison.

’This script... the more I understand it, the more profound I realize it is. It’s just a pity that the symbols themselves are meaningless.’

’I’m getting more and more curious now about what the mysterious inscriptions in the Pyramid, written in this language, actually say.’

’Sigh!’

’I’ve been so exhausted these past few days. I don’t think I’ve ever worked this hard, not even in my past life!’

After muttering the complaint to himself, Shi Ming cleared his mind and began to rest. He had developed a routine: after deciphering each stele, he would spend twenty minutes letting his Spiritual Power completely relax. A proper balance of work and rest was the key to greater efficiency.

He had been away from the Great Fortune for three days without a single word. He could only imagine how worried his crew must be.

They probably thought their captain had met with some disaster.

But thankfully, the end was in sight.

At most, he would need another half a day to fully master these steles and return to his loyal Great Fortune!