Zhao Ya remained silent, dragging Shi Bolong as he circled around the control console.
Shi Bolong felt like a mere ornament, filled with humiliation and anger.
Just wait until I escape, I’ll tear you to pieces!
"How did you obtain the control rights when you first purchased this Black Ship?" Zhao Ya suddenly asked.
"Ah!" Shi Bolong shivered all over, then quickly replied, "Naturally, it was the people from the Celestial Secret Sect who helped me get the permissions."
"So what was the process? Did you just walk in and obtain the permissions?" Zhao Ya continued to press.
"That’s right, after completing all the payments, a female sales representative from the Celestial Secret Sect brought me into the control room. Hey, you wouldn’t believe it, the female sales of the Celestial Secret Sect are famous across the Ten Thousand Realms. That waistline, that figure, heck, just thinking about it makes me drool..."
Crack.
Zhao Ya directly snapped three of Shi Bolong’s ribs, then asked coldly, "Still talking nonsense?"
Shi Bolong shook his head with difficulty, no longer daring to babble, and instead honestly recounted the process back then.
A moment later, Zhao Ya looked at the exquisite keyhole beneath the console panel and fell into deep thought.
Shi Bolong glanced secretly from the side, a cold sneer lingering in his heart.
To think you want to unlock this lock, you’re dreaming.
The most famous thing about the Celestial Secret Sect is this Black Ship crafting technique, renowned even across the Ten Thousand Realms.
Especially the seafaring merchants navigating the Endless Sea, they only recognized Black Ships made by the Celestial Secret Sect, disregarding all others.
The reason being, besides the Black Ships’ incredible durability allowing long voyages across the Endless Sea without maintenance, is their extreme security.
Once recognized as the owner, there’s no way of changing it without unlocking the Celestial Secret Lock.
The Celestial Secret Lock is the pride of the Celestial Secret Sect, especially after countless iterations and updates, it has become synonymous with unbreakable.
That’s why so many sea merchants highly praise the Black Ships, even flock to them.
Because after recognition, even pirates can only stare helplessly.
At most, they may lose some cargo, but the most valuable ship remains secure.
The reason the Celestial Secret Sect does this is twofold: they can charge a high binding fee when selling ships.
And during second-hand transactions, they can draw a hefty commission.
So, you’d better not complain about the price, because there are so many people wanting to trade second-hand Black Ships, you’d have to obediently queue up even if willing to pay.
Clearly, monopoly is the best business in the world.
Years of validation have given the Celestial Secret Sect’s Black Ships an excellent reputation, thus Shi Bolong wasn’t worried at all that Zhao Ya could unlock this Celestial Secret Lock.
To him, that was sheer delusion.
So he had no pressure in revealing this secret to Zhao Ya.
However, he buried these thoughts deep in his heart, not daring to show any sign, and even feigned regret, saying,
"Sir, it’s not that I don’t want to cooperate with you, it’s just that this Celestial Secret Lock is unbreakable..."
"Shut up!" Zhao Ya coldly rebuked, forcing Shi Bolong to swallow back his words.
Humiliation!
A great humiliation!
I, the direct disciple of the Wuyou Longevity Palace, was continuously humiliated by a bumpkin—truly a great humiliation.
I must get revenge!
Shi Bolong screamed madly in his heart.
Zhao Ya naturally knew nothing of this and had no time for Shi Bolong.
He was currently gazing at this seemingly ordinary keyhole, feeling a sense of déjà vu, as if he had seen it somewhere.
But for a moment, Zhao Ya couldn’t remember where he had seen it.
Strange, where did this strong sense of déjà vu come from?
Just as Zhao Ya was puzzling over it, a timid voice sounded from behind.
"Sir..."
Zhao Ya turned to see the Snake Woman poking her head out from a distant corner, her face full of fear.
Zhao Ya hadn’t expected this Snake Woman to be so resilient.
Despite the rampant Octopus Monster, it hadn’t killed her.
"What’s wrong?" Zhao Ya asked.
"N-nothing, I just wanted to remind you that I’m here..." the Snake Woman stammered.
"Got it, go play!"
Zhao Ya turned back to continue examining the keyhole.
But after the Snake Woman’s interruption, Zhao Ya suddenly felt as if his thoughts had cleared.
He suddenly captured that hint of familiarity.
A key!
A key!
All this time, he had been focusing on the lock, subconsciously ignoring the possibility of a key.
And at this moment, Zhao Ya just happened to carry a key on him.
This key had been retrieved from Zhen Juncheng of Wanghai Tower.
He had never known what it was for and had set it aside.
Zhao Ya immediately retrieved a small Deer Hide Pouch from his personal belongings, opened it, revealing the key inside.
Holding it up for a closer look, sure enough.
The patterns on the key matched many of those on the keyhole.
Meanwhile, Shi Bolong noticed this scene but didn’t take it seriously, instead watching as if for amusement.
Zhao Ya then stepped forward to the console, inserted the key into the keyhole.
The whole process was effortless, as if the key and lock were naturally paired.
Shi Bolong watched from the side, a cryptic smile on his face, thoughts unknown.
Zhao Ya took a deep breath and suddenly twisted the key.
Hmm... the key didn’t budge an inch.
With a stifled laugh, Shi Bolong couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.
Zhao Ya turned to look at him coldly.
Shi Bolong’s face was awkward.
"Uh... actually, I wanted to remind you, any key can be inserted into the Celestial Secret Lock, but whether it turns is another matter."
Despite explaining, the glee in his voice was all too evident.
Zhao Ya said nothing, turned back to continue scrutinizing the keyhole.
As expected.
No change whatsoever occurred.
It seemed his earlier thoughts were indeed wishful thinking.
If any random key could unlock the Celestial Secret Lock, the Celestial Secret Sect wouldn’t have such a reputation.
But just as Zhao Ya was about to withdraw the key and give up, the key suddenly began to melt rapidly in the keyhole.
No mistake.
Just like a candle, it melted into the keyhole, disappearing.
Witnessing this, Zhao Ya was stunned.
What was happening?
As shocked as he was, Shi Bolong was even more so.
His eyes widened at the scene, his body trembling uncontrollably.
"The Key of Ten Thousand Unifications from the Star-Picking Moon-Swapping Sect... how is this possible, wasn’t the Star-Picking Moon-Swapping Sect eradicated, along with other sects taking the mechanical path, by the Celestial Secret Sect?"
"Even their realm, the Liang Shang Junzi Realm, had been razed—how could there still be artifacts from them? Could this guy be connected to the Star-Picking Moon-Swapping Sect?"
As Shi Bolong was filled with dread speculations, the massive ship began to tremble beneath their feet.
The control console emitted a loud buzzing.
Subsequently, the unbreakable Celestial Secret Lock slowly opened.
"Celestial Secret Lock activated, ship owner’s permissions temporarily frozen, super management mode activated."
An icy mechanical voice echoed in the control room, followed by a water screen slowly emerging.
On the water screen was only one sentence.
"Would you like to change the ship owner permissions?"
Zhao Ya, of course, chose yes.
Instantly, the massive ship trembled again.
The icy mechanical voice echoed once more.
"Please place your hand on the console for permission verification."
Zhao Ya complied, placing his hand on the console.
"Verifying ship owner identity, please do not remove your hand..."
Shi Bolong watched desperately, despair flooding his eyes.
He knew that if Zhao Ya successfully changed the ship owner permissions, he was doomed.
However, at this point, even if he wanted to stop it, there was no way.
Yet at that moment, a shrill alarm suddenly sounded.
"Warning, infiltration traces detected in Celestial Secret Lock, ship owner identity verification terminated..."