Chapter 189: Chapter 185: Holy Hall-level Flesh and Blood! Borrowing Arrows with Straw Boats?

Mel was not an unperceptive person. From his incredible recovery speed and the astonishing chill just moments ago, anyone could tell that the young man before her was no ordinary person.

And that physique, those features...

’Why does he look so familiar?’

’I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before?’

’It’s him?!!!’

A flash of insight struck Mel, and she finally grasped the key to the situation.

’Isn’t this the badass who rammed the *Pharaoh*?’

He had single-handedly smashed a corner of the *Pharaoh* with his ship, killed the newly-promoted S-class Awakened, Jia Fang, and completely ruined the "sea beast banquet" Ptolemy had intended as a show of force. He’d turned the *Pharaoh* into a laughingstock, then retreated unscathed, leaving a fierce legend in the Sea of Yellow Sand!

’How did a powerhouse like him fall from the sky and land in my pool?!’

Her eyes darted around.

’This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!’

...

Shi Ming pulled out the remains of the Holy Hall-level Sea Beast, which were covered in terrifying barbs. Ignoring the craving from the Right Arm Red Pattern, he stored the remains and the formless pure ice into his system warehouse, as if tucking them away into a hidden honeycomb.

Because his landing had triggered his passive ability, Brink of Death, the wound on his abdomen healed quickly.

Phew~

’Who would have thought that the Golden Crow’s lair was also hiding a Holy Hall-level Sea Beast!?’

’No wonder I saw so many tributaries of fate marked with ■■■ when I used the Wheel of Destiny!’

’It still ended up deviating.’

’Holy Hall Level Power... it’s truly terrifying.’

A single tentacle, striking from the bottom of the sea, had sent him flying nearly two hundred nautical miles! The Wheel of Destiny, which had been on the verge of closing its loop, failed at the last moment and shattered completely. Thankfully, his Black Tortoise Shield had withstood the initial, ferocious blow, and Brink of Death had allowed him to recover completely from his near-death state upon landing within a dozen seconds.

He was back on his feet and full of energy again!

’This world still has so many higher levels of power!’

Although the trip was a partial failure, it wasn’t without its gains. ’Snatch a feather from a passing goose, take the hide from a fleeing beast!’ This severed Holy Hall-level wrist, weighing nearly four kilograms, contained unimaginable power and was of inestimable value. Whether it was the blood or the flesh, even a single gram was nearly impossible to find.

’Why does this feel like "borrowing arrows with straw boats"?’

’What a Hell-level joke!’

’Right, where am I?’

’It seems I’m on a luxury ship?’

Shi Ming lifted his head and noticed the dark-skinned woman staring at him, the swimming pool filled with milk, and the slightly wilted Golden Bodhi Flowers not far away.

’The *Golden Bodhi*!’

’That’s the famous General-class female captain, Mel.’

After being summoned, Mel’s secretary also arrived at the private deck garden.

"Captain!"

Mel waved her hand.

"Adelu, go get a clean cloak for this young man."

"Young man, did you run into some trouble? How did you end up falling from the sky onto my *Golden Bodhi*?"

’You also smashed a huge hole in my expensive pool, and the pure milk is frozen into "ice cubes." A little more and you would have probably put a dent in the deck itself.’

Mel was no fool; she naturally wouldn’t do anything foolish.

Of course, she didn’t say these last words out loud.

She understood that this young man who had fallen from the sky was definitely an S-class Awakened. The *Golden Bodhi* had to be on good terms with such a powerful individual. A simple favor from an S-class Awakened might be enough to solve her current major problem!

Shi Ming casually took the clean cloak that was handed to him and draped it over his shoulders.

"Thank you for your kindness, Captain Mel. I ran into a bit of an accident while pursuing a Sea Beast."

Mel looked thoughtful.

"An accident? Young man, could it be that you encountered that golden sun?"

’The Golden Sun? It was more than just that.’

"The details are too complicated to explain in just a few words."

Shi Ming didn’t elaborate, and Mel showed her understanding.

"That’s true. The Sea of Boiling is fraught with danger; even an A-class Awakened can find themselves in peril with the slightest misstep. We are currently preparing to return to the vicinity of Black Gold to rest and regroup. Since you’re alone, young man, why not travel with us? We can look out for each other along the way. Although my *Golden Bodhi* isn’t as powerful as Black Gold, it has an excellent reputation in the Africa Region. You can rest easy as a guest on the *Golden Bodhi*."

Shi Ming glanced at the luxury pool he had smashed a large hole into.

He also glanced at the bath milk, which had been frozen solid.

"I appreciate the offer, Captain. But my crew is waiting for my return. As for the ship’s equipment I damaged, how about I compensate you with some Sea Beast bodies?"

Mel smiled.

"Incidents at sea are all Celestial Calamities. The fact that you’ve returned safely is what matters, little brother, so there’s no need to talk about compensation. However, to be honest, I brought the *Golden Bodhi* to the Sea of Boiling specifically to hunt Sea Beasts for their hearts. If you have any spare Sea Beast Hearts, little brother, I’m willing to buy them for triple the price in Qiong Crystals. The more, the better."

Her form of address had already changed from "young man" to "little brother."

She wasn’t short on money; what she really lacked were points.

’Triple the price?’

’It seems the *Golden Bodhi*’s wealth is no empty rumor.’

"I did indeed have some gains from this trip deep into the Sea of Boiling. If I can help Captain Mel, it would also be a small way to express my apologies."

Shi Ming moved to an empty spot on the deck.

He took out five D-class Sea Beast Hearts,

then three C-class Sea Beast Hearts,

and then,

he took out two B-class Sea Beast Hearts.

He wasn’t afraid that the crew of the *Golden Bodhi* would get any malicious ideas. In fact, if they did, he would be excited. His Brink of Death ability had reset his condition, and he had plenty of strength to spare.

Mel stared, momentarily stunned, as Shi Ming continuously pulled out Sea Beast Hearts from the "honeycomb" at his waist.

’No wonder I couldn’t find any Sea Beasts in this part of the sea!’

’You killed them all, didn’t you?’

The crew of the *Golden Bodhi* showed no malicious intent, so Shi Ming naturally had no reason to become their enemy.

After the transaction, he boarded a canoe by himself and set off in the direction of his ship, the *Da Yun*.

He still had many things to research. For instance, what was the use of the three "Fruits of Eternal Youth" from the Golden Crow’s mouth? What kind of abilities did the Holy Hall-level Sea Beast hidden in the center of the Boiling Sea possess?

Why did its blood make the Right Arm Red Pattern so agitated?

And what changes would it bring to him?

The Eye of Intelligence would give him the answers to all of this.

What neither Shi Ming nor Mel knew was that after this incident, all the D-class, C-class, and B-class Sea Beasts in the Core Area of the Sea of Boiling had been completely annihilated by the Holy Hall Sea Beast’s rage over its severed limb and the backlash damage it had suffered.

Only the A-class Sea Beasts remained, lingering in these waters, shaken and terrified.

Not understanding what had happened, they didn’t dare draw attention to themselves for the time being, choosing only to hide deep within the sea to wait for things to blow over. This most dangerous region of the sea had, paradoxically, become the one with the lowest concentration of Sea Beasts.

But the Golden Crow had escaped with its life, and the high temperatures of the Sea of Boiling remained.

Who knew how long it would be before humanity discovered this secret.

...

...

...

Mel, satisfied, put away the Sea Beast Hearts from the trade and went to the *Golden Bodhi*’s monitoring room.

Her chocolate-colored arms flew across the control terminal.

Finally, she pulled up the video surveillance from the dozens of seconds after Shi Ming’s rapid recovery, when he had climbed out of the milk pool and before he had put on the cloak—their moment of "frank" encounter. Then, she cheerfully clipped an extremely clear photo from the video.

Then, she sent this photo—which was actually very normal, yet extremely easy to misinterpret—to Ptolemy.

She attached a message.

"Old man, the young people these days are much more impressive than you."

She put away her communicator, waiting to enjoy Ptolemy’s reaction.

’Hopefully, the old geezer won’t just drop dead from anger.’

Hoh hoh hoh.