“Buzz~”
“Buzz~”
“Buzz~”
It was hard to imagine that the strange, sword-like slender ship… after touching the water, did not create even the slightest ripple.
Light!
This ship was unbelievably light.
After entering the water, the hull revealed a clear, pure purple glow. In the next instant, the sword-like body split the surface with a swaying streak of violet light. Carried by a fierce gust, the purple vessel had already stopped beside the Demon Ship, its color gradually returning to a dignified purple-blue hue.
Two breaths… or three?
Mo Yurou did not dare trust her own judgment. She only knew that the purple-blue sword ship before her launched far faster than the Smoke Ship, by several levels at least.
“Ah~”
“Dear!”
“You’re home today~”
The moment she saw the middle-aged man in the dark cyan robe, Second Aunt Yunzhi immediately released Zheng Hao and leapt onto the sword ship. Like an octopus, she wrapped herself around the man, her expression full of intimacy.
“You…”
“Yunzhi! That temper of yours… at your age, and you still won’t change…”
“Sigh…”
The middle-aged man exerted both arms but could not free himself from Yunzhi’s embrace. After an awkward and futile struggle, he could only fix Zheng Hao with a cold, stern gaze.
“I heard… Not only did you refuse to pay for Liu Ruyan of the Liu Family today, but you even found yourself a Ship Maiden in front of her?”
“Huh?”
“Dad! Even you heard about that?”
Scratching his head sheepishly, Zheng Hao did not think it was a big deal. Out of the corner of his eye, he quietly observed the changes in the man’s expression.
Zheng Family. Zheng Yunlong.
This old man who looked like he could only stand there being hugged by a Ship Maiden… was in fact the only outstanding Navigator in the entire Shanhai Region who had ever participated in the Global Sailing Tournament. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
It was said that, relying on the Zheng Family’s ancestral S-grade Talent, Lucky Dice, he had roamed beyond the Shanhai Region in his youth with just one A-grade Ship Maiden.
He gathered seven Ship Maidens one after another and, before the age of thirty, already commanded his own fleet.
Zheng Hao’s mother, a Ship Maiden from the great sea domain Purple-Blue Sword Ship family, had taken a liking to this outstanding young man who rose from a small place. As an S-grade Ship Maiden, she had voluntarily formed a contract with him.
In this world, the higher the rank of a Ship Maiden, the more selective she was in choosing a partner. Even if you possessed an SS-grade Support Talent, if an S-grade Ship Maiden did not approve of you, it meant nothing.
Someone who could make an S-grade Ship Maiden willingly contract with him…
It was easy to imagine how exceptional Zheng Yunlong had been in his youth.
Unfortunately…
Heaven envied genius.
During one Global Sailing Tournament while exploring unknown waters, Zheng Yunlong nearly perished along with his ship. As a result, at just thirty years old, he returned home in glory and led his fleet to solidify the Zheng Family’s position in the Shanhai Region.
Every playboy’s father was a formidable figure. Zheng Hao’s father was no exception.
By his own strength, Zheng Yunlong guided the Zheng Family and suppressed the other families in the Shanhai Region for nearly ten years.
At one point, even a single fish in the southeastern sea of the Shanhai Region had to bear the name “Zheng Family.”
“So this… This is the most outstanding Navigator in the Shanhai Region… and his Ship Maiden, the S-grade Purple-Blue Sword Ship?”
Staring blankly at Zheng Yunlong and his vessel, Mo Yurou murmured in admiration.
Which Ship Maiden did not hope to drift across the seas with her Navigator, adventure together, and eventually settle down to build a family?
“Hah… You brat, what made you change your temperament today? Didn’t you always say only an A-grade Ship Maiden was worthy of you?”
His hawk-like gaze swept repeatedly over Zheng Hao. Zheng Yunlong could sense that his son had changed today. He just could not pinpoint how.
“Dad… I’ve come to understand something. Sometimes, forcing something won’t make it sweet. Even if Liu Ruyan were an SSS-grade Ship Maiden and signed a contract with me, if her heart wasn’t with me and we sailed out on adventures…”
“Aren’t you afraid your precious son would get thrown overboard halfway and she’d elope with some pretty boy?”
Zheng Hao looked at Zheng Yunlong calmly.
He actually liked Zheng Yunlong’s character quite a bit. Yes, he was domineering and monopolized many resources of the Shanhai Region. But he had earned it all step by step.
“Oh? You’ve reached that realization… Hmm… good. I saw that girl stringing you along and was even considering intervening, forcing her with strength to sign a contract with you. Since you don’t want her and think she’s a broken ship, I won’t get involved. But…”
How could he fail to see that the Demon Ship’s base rank was not high?
“Dad! Ship Maidens can earn Demon Points through competitions and adventures to increase their attributes. Even low-rank Ship Maidens, though they start lower, can be upgraded through victories and modifications by their Navigator.”
“They… are not necessarily inferior to high-rank Ship Maidens! I firmly believe there are no trash Ship Maidens, only trash Navigators!”
“Even without the Smoke Ship, I can still leave the Shanhai Region and carve out my own world!”
Zheng Hao met Zheng Yunlong’s eyes with unwavering determination.
The Demon Ship was the First Ship Maiden he had chosen to steer. Even Zheng Yunlong, his own father, could not be allowed to look down on her.
This was the most basic duty a Navigator owed his Ship Maiden.
“No trash Ship Maidens? Only trash Navigators?”
“Good, good! You brat, you can actually say something like that?!”
Zheng Yunlong was genuinely surprised. But after staring at his son for a moment and recalling how he once competed in the great sea domain with an A-grade Ship Maiden against S-grade Ship Maidens, he smiled in understanding.
“Qingxue… Look at this child. Doesn’t he resemble me in my younger days?”
As Zheng Yunlong stroked the side of the sword ship, a gentle female voice came from within the Captain’s Cabin.
“Hmph~ Of course he does. Whose son do you think he is?”
“Xiao Hao… if you don’t want the Smoke Ship, then forget it! A few days before the First Sea Assembly, Mom will go back to my hometown and see if there’s a suitable Purple-Blue Sword Ship. I’ll bring one back for you!”
“…”
“Mom… that’s not necessary, is it? Even if you bring one back, with how proud the Ship Maidens in your hometown are, they might not even look at me. Forget it… I’ll find one myself slowly…”
Zheng Hao forced a smile toward the Purple-Blue Sword Ship. For once, a trace of warmth welled up in his eyes.
Jian Qingxue, his Ship Maiden mother. The one who loved him most in the entire novel, without exception.
According to the original plot, after the Zheng Family was destroyed by Zhou Hang and Liu Ruyan, she knelt at the gates of the Purple-Blue Sword Ship family for three days and three nights, begging them to avenge the Zheng Family.
Unfortunately… under the author’s disastrous novel setting, even a great family like the Purple-Blue Sword Ship was later annihilated.
“Mom… It’s really fine, don’t worry! If I defeat the Smoke Ship using the Demon Ship, that will be true ability!”
After repeatedly explaining to Jian Qingxue, the Purple-Blue Sword Ship hummed softly, sending ripples across the water.
“Good! That’s my good son! Mom won’t interfere in your affairs! Come… let’s go home first…”
The hull shifted slightly. The purple-blue deck of the sword ship turned and aligned itself beside the Demon Ship.