606: Selection

Inside the prison.

After looking at the dark-skinned Little Brat, Shen Bei turned to the man behind him.

He always felt that this guy's talkativeness wasn't out of boredom.

So he asked, "What can you do?"

"I spent 130 years among the White Water Tribe, so being a crew member is definitely enough. I can also handle general navigation tasks." The man smiled, not directly answering Shen Bei's question.

"Have you heard the saying, 'Cleverness may overreach itself'?" Shen Bei's smile faded, and his eyes became sharp.

He was looking for crew members, and what he needed first wasn't ability or strength, but crew members he could control.

He didn't believe that someone completely unfamiliar, especially a prisoner, would pledge loyalty and devotion upon their first meeting.

Even if there truly was such a capable and loyal person, Zhen Li would have chosen him long ago, instead of leaving him here to waste his talent.

Therefore, for now, Shen Bei had to be cautious in selecting crew members. This was a brand new beginning, and he couldn't afford to be careless.

Shen Bei didn't believe he could fully control this self-proclaimed clever person, who was constantly showcasing his value and intelligence through his words.

Here, he was barely clinging to life with a single breath, but once he left the prison and regained his strength, what would he do? No one could be sure.

This was a case of knowing a person's face but not their heart, like drawing a Dragon or a tiger but failing to capture their bones.

Shen Bei sighed inwardly. It was a pity. The Ghost Ship indeed needed a crew member with strong all-around abilities to take charge and handle various miscellaneous tasks.

But this person, he wanted to control the pace of the conversation, so Shen Bei couldn't use him.

Shen Bei turned to look at the dark-skinned, white-toothed Little Brat.

"Food will be provided. You follow me. Any problems?"

The Little Brat's eyes lit up. He slurped up the constantly flowing saliva and wiped his mouth.

"Can I eat my fill?"

"We'll see." Shen Bei's eyelids drooped slightly, smiling happily.

Relatively speaking, he still preferred this dark-skinned Little Kunlun Slave. The world across the sea was truly colorful and exciting.

According to Jiu Gui's introduction, the Kunlun Slave should be a race from a continent across the sea, towards the southwest. They were born in a harsh, cold land with a volatile environment. This race had thick skin and flesh, and after reaching adulthood, possessed immense strength.

It was said that many years ago, Body Cultivators with low strength had very low status, mostly doing manual labor. It wasn't until later, when many strong Body Cultivators emerged, that the status of Body Cultivators rose. And then, when the Kunlun Slave were discovered, there was an even better option for manual labor.

They were strong, not weak in strength, and relatively simple-minded. Slave traders loved this type. In some special mines, Kunlun Slave were accepted without question, as many as they could get.

And this Little Kunlun Slave in front of him, more likely than not, had a trace of an ancient Bloodline. It was just that this Bloodline might have come from a descendant with an ancient Bloodline, and it wasn't strong, but it manifested in this Little Kunlun Slave.

As for what the Bloodline was, that was not something someone like Jiu Gui could know.

To obtain such information, one would have to personally travel to the continent across the sea.

Shen Bei's thought moved, and the prison door opened. Shen Bei waved to the Little Kunlun Slave.

"Attack freely. Let me see your strength."

"If I defeat you, can I eat my fill?" The Little Kunlun Slave didn't rush out, but asked first.

"Yes."

As soon as the single word fell, a black shadow flashed. His speed was very fast, and in this dim place, he seemed to naturally blend in, appearing before Shen Bei in the blink of an eye.

"Bang!"

Shen Bei extended his hand, his palm pressing against the Little Kunlun Slave's fist. Waves of Qi exploded from the point where fist and palm met.

A trace of shock appeared in the Little Kunlun Slave's eyes, then he somewhat dejectedly walked back into the cell.

"I can't beat you."

"Not bad. Food is no problem. However, perhaps due to your Bloodline's characteristics, you might never feel full. The moment you feel full is when you'll burst."

Shen Bei was very satisfied. The Little Kunlun Slave, relying solely on the strength of his Physical Body, was already comparable to an eighth-rank Martial Artist, and this was in a weakened state.

Most importantly, this Little Brat was simple-minded and had good potential. He would definitely be a great help for work, and absolutely sufficient as a crew member.

"Let's go. You can leave the prison now. From today on, you are a crew member of the Ghost Ship."

The Little Kunlun Slave looked puzzled, not understanding why Shen Bei would let him leave even though he lost…

"Food?"

"Yes, if you do your work well, you'll get food."

"Good!" The Little Kunlun Slave kept slurping his saliva.

"You wait here."

Meanwhile, in the cell diagonally opposite, the man with the tattooed forehead quietly watched this scene, finally understanding why Shen Bei had suddenly ignored him…

Shen Bei continued to walk downwards. The further down he went, the stronger the gravity became.

Originally, this prison had eight levels.

But Shen Bei's strength only allowed him to reach the fifth level; he couldn't go down any further.

The suppressing force grew stronger and stronger. Even on the fifth level, he felt like every step was a struggle…

"This…" Shen Bei was stunned.

Currently, his strength, whether in the underground caves or on the earth's surface, was already among the first-tier Martial Artists.

Yet, he couldn't go past the fifth level.

Who could go down the remaining three levels?

Jiu Gui seemed to notice Shen Bei's doubts, took a gulp of strong liquor, and said, "Either a Great Cultivator of Divine Power Realm can go down, or one can take muscle-enhancing pills or use rare items to go down."

Shen Bei said, "Oh."

So that's how it is.

Clearly, Shen Bei didn't have these things. Perhaps Zhen Li did, but he had missed the best time to acquire them.

After thinking for a moment, Shen Bei left the fourth level, bringing with him a tightly bound three-headed pig demon.

Returning to the second level, the man in the cell suddenly spoke.

"I can start as a crew member. I'm skilled in navigation, understand written records, and have knowledge of creatures in the Dead Sea, as well as many legends, especially about the waters along the Great Wilderness coast."

Great Wilderness?

Shen Bei turned to look at Jiu Gui.

Jiu Gui explained softly, "It's what they call the continent across the sea. Some call it the Great Wilderness, some call it Tianyuan Continent, and others call it the Land of Minggu, etc. There's no unified name, you can call it whatever you want."

Shen Bei: …

Is it that much of a joke?

A continent's name can't even be unified?

Shen Bei didn't ask further. It seemed the continent across the sea must be in a fragmented state. If any power had ever unified it, they would have determined what the continent beneath their feet should be called.

At this moment, Shen Bei didn't dwell on the continent's name. Facing the man's request, he merely glanced at him and said, "Not enough."

"I just want to leave the prison. When the day comes that I want to leave, you cannot stop me, but before then, I will do what I should do."

"Your name?"

"I am an exiled sinner, with no surname or given name. Just call me Dao Ba…" Dao Ba touched the Dao Ba on his face, looking at Shen Bei with a strange gaze.

Shen Bei's thought moved, opening the prison door and releasing Dao Ba.

However, Shen Bei agreed so easily that Dao Ba felt a sense of unreality.

"You agreed so easily? You're not going to ask about my past?"

"I don't care who you were before. All I want are capable crew members who can honestly do their work. I'll give you a chance, let you out, and then escort you all the way to One-Blade Gorge. After that, we're even." Shen Bei said, grinning, and also released the Little Hei Pi: "As for any tricks you want to pull, you can try, but I won't give a second chance."