Endless Ocean: Survival Begins with a Dugout Canoe

The Time Giant, Candela, resumed his true form. As a giant striding across time, he walked upon New God Star, closely followed by the Six-armed Giant, Ron, who was a head shorter.

They were no longer in the council.

There was no need to restrain their true forms.

As a child of destiny and the universe's one and only Time Giant, Candela's thirty-meter form was far from his state of full power. If expanded to his limit, he could reveal a supreme form that touched the heavens and stood upon the earth. He could not only cross star systems at will but even roam the future and the past. He possessed a "past self," "present self," and "future self," and could switch between them at will.

However, there was no need to be so conspicuous right now.

This was even more true for Ron.

In the Thirty-Seventh Cosmic Country, Ron was the Sovereign whose words were law.

But before this Time Giant, even a Sovereign had to lower his stance and be deferential. From Pillar Stone to New God, there seemed to be only a single tier of difference, but in reality, an insurmountable chasm lay between them. What's more, there were distinctions even among New Gods. This Time Giant could not only wield the authority of a deity but also possessed the immense advantage of his race and the powerful, numbered Nirvana skill, [Time]. He could be called one of the most terrifying New Gods in existence.

Forging this connection was a "blessing" for Ron.

"Little Ron."

"Your Eminence."

"I recall that thirty thousand years ago, I gifted you a supreme treasure of the destiny attribute: the Ten Thousand Flowers Jade. I retrieved that Ten Thousand Flowers Jade from the confluence of the River of Time and the River of Destiny. It is connected to the myriad states of all living beings and, more importantly, can elicit the infinite possibilities of destiny. Why is it that I can no longer sense its aura?"

"This..."

Ron was momentarily at a loss for words.

He didn't know how to answer.

'I can't just say that the supreme treasure Your Eminence gifted me was stolen by some fledgling of unknown origin, can I?'

'If I say that, Candela will definitely get curious and look into it. The humiliation I suffered in the past would be a secondary concern; the [Divine Rune] I'm trying to hide would inevitably be exposed. When that happens, the ownership of the Divine Rune won't be up to me anymore.'

Ron might be weaker,

but he wasn't a fool.

Seeing the Six-armed Sovereign's evasiveness on the matter, Candela keenly sensed a ripple in destiny. However, he didn't press the issue, letting it go just as Ron had hoped.

"Destiny has its own course, as do supreme treasures. Losing something isn't necessarily a bad thing, and gaining something isn't necessarily good. You are also proficient in the ways of destiny; you should understand this."

"Your Eminence is right."

In the Star Sea, there was always a brighter star. Sovereign Ron was an ambitious and formidable figure in his own right, but conversing now with a New God who stood at the pinnacle of the Star Sea, simply by sharing the same space with him, he felt an immense pressure.

'But I have my own stroke of fate.'

'An even greater one!'

'The future ordained by [Fate], once achieved, will inevitably come to pass. When that fated time arrives, I, having mastered the [Divine Rune], will become the one and only legitimate heir to the First Civilization Cosmic Country. The "Light of Enlightenment," the "Secret Walker," the "Time Giant"—all of them will have to bow down.'

'Perhaps my [Empty Shell] could even be filled with the origin of [Time]!'

This was his ambition!

Candela would have had a hard time detecting such ambition, but it wasn't something he cared about anyway.

'What I care about now is why a ripple just appeared in the destiny of this Sovereign of the Thirty-Seventh Cosmic Country. What role will he play in this operation? Where is the opportunity that destiny hinted was connected to him? How should I use this opportunity to receive destiny's boon?'

Of the seven on this journey, each had their own agenda.

Perhaps only the woman in the Star Skirt, who had attended the meeting with the Secret Walker, had simpler thoughts and less to consider:

'Looks like taking on a disciple will have to wait until this is all over...'

'My good disciple,'

'You've managed for over a year, so what's another month or two? When the time comes, your master will be sure to select the most powerful Holy Hall Origin for you.'

...

...

...

The experience of using the [Teleportation Vortex] was remarkably similar to Shi Ming's first time using a [Miniature Wormhole] for ultra-long-distance travel. However, their underlying principles were completely different. Where the Miniature Wormhole's transit was bumpy and turbulent, the [Teleportation Vortex]—unused for 120,000 years—was exceptionally smooth, the journey over in an instant.

No matter which planet one was on within the Tomb Star Realm, the data for the [Divine Treasure Vault] and the [Mercenary Terminal] was universal.

It did not vary from place to place.

After surveying the new planet with his Eye of Destiny, Shi Ming was quite disappointed.

This lifeless planet had once been an industrial world for a former Cosmic Country. While it had stockpiled a large number of Civilization Stones, they hadn't been sealed for protection and had long since crumbled to dust over the ages. This prevented him from scavenging any easy finds. After searching a wide area, he only managed to locate a little over seventy dim Civilization Stones underground, and he wasn't sure if they were still usable.

'Abandoned weaponry... Useless. No value in upgrading.'

'An abandoned metal fabrication plant... also useless.'

'...'

'I really need to find a star chart. Instead of blundering around aimlessly on worthless planets, I'd be better off trading for a treasure that functions as one. I remember in the Divine Treasure Vault, there's an item ranked #338 called [Celestial Query]. The discounted price is only 300 Civilization Stones.'

Until he found a significant source of Civilization Stones, every expenditure had to be made with extreme caution. He could trade for treasures and spend his Civilization Stones, but only on things that held clear value for him.