Pirate Kingship.

Chapter 394 Red Beard Paradox: Stairway to Immortality
Whoosh-!
A tiny person, only the size of a peanut and almost indistinguishable to the naked eye in the night, bounced at high speed on the crest of the waves, leaping thousands of meters at a time.

Starting from Island No. 3 of the Centaur Archipelago, we soon arrived outside Island No. 1, the largest island.

The huge ghost fleet with will-o'-the-wisp burning on it first came into view, and countless tireless undead sailors were patrolling back and forth with guns and swords in hand.

At night they are significantly more active than during the day.

In particular, a young [Lich] on the ship was holding a whale oil lamp that seemed to be a "pass" to the edge of the world, and every boat shouted:
"The Vanguard Colonial Trading Company's World's Edge branch is hiring new members.

The environment at the edge of the world is friendly, the climate is suitable for ghosts, the people are simple and honest, the moon is rounder than that in the material world, and there are endless treasures that are of great benefit to undead creatures.

Although we are cursed by the damn false god and cannot go ashore, there are still many treasures underwater.

As soon as you join the company, you will be given the blood sublimation ceremony of the [Book of the Dead] and transformed into a formal and powerful employee with immense strength, thick skin and unlimited endurance.

The salary is generous, the number of places is limited, first come first served! ”

[Sailboat Collector] stopped and took a closer look.

It was discovered that this young [Lich] was probably Norwich the Younger, the son of Norwich York, the fleet marshal on the "King Edward".

“They actually got a token that allows them to travel to the edge of the world?
Each of these treasures is priceless, and I only have one in my collection.

These white roses in the Kingdom of Hattings are so lucky!

This is to prepare to recruit people to explore the edge of the world.

But soon all of this will be mine, and a beautiful woman with a rich dowry is more desirable."

The corresponding high-sequence [First-level Holy Relic: The Emperor's New Clothes] not only confused the existence of the two warships, but also matched the identities of the personnel on the warships one by one, leaving no loopholes.

Even Morton Gray mistook his cousin Edward for little Norwich.

He continued forward, quietly bypassing the outer ghost fleet and moving towards the "King Edward" and the Golden Hind parked in the middle.

Seeing them up close, her eyes once again lit up with an intoxicated glow, even hotter than when Byron and Violet looked at each other.

It looked like he was really hungry.

"Normally I should kill everyone first and then put the beauties into bottles.

But the Oceanic Throne is right next door, and he probably won't sit idly by and watch me kill the Lantern Man and ruin the good situation of the entire 'Fissure Trench'.

There is not enough time left for me to slowly deal with the beginning and the end.

However, as soon as the seal is completed, I immediately turn around and run.

My magic [Virtual Ship Spirit] should be enough to temporarily suppress the original ship spirits of the ghost ship, leaving them powerless to resist.

After returning to the Broken Isles, there will be plenty of time to slowly cleanse these two beauties."

The sailboat collector couldn't wait to hold the bronze steering wheel and an empty wine bottle in his hands, and use the [Black Magic·Sailboat in the Bottle] to put them all into the bottle.

"Humph!"

But before he could do anything, he suddenly heard a very suppressed groan coming from a building on the shore that was half submerged in water and half built on land, which looked like a dungeon.

It was as if someone was trying to scream, but because he lacked some key vocal organs, he could only make this muffled sound.

Even if I screamed my throat out, it wouldn't be this miserable.

With the sailboat collector's experience of roaming the sea for many years, he immediately judged that this must be a prisoner being tortured.

Moreover, the dying groans of pain came one after another, almost without stopping.

According to the intensity of this torture, how many people are being tortured at once? !

Even with the cruelty of the [Sailboat Collector], he still suspected that he had entered some bloody den rather than the territory of the "good man" Saint Byron.

He subconsciously mobilized his legendary powerful senses and listened attentively to the movements in the water dungeon.

Unexpectedly, when he heard it, he got an unexpected surprise.

A very shrill voice like a mosquito said:

"Isn't it time to give me Redbeard's head?
Thank you. Mr. Robert was indeed a famous knife expert. His knife skills were excellent. Look at the cut. The cervical vertebrae were cut off at the joint without damaging any bone at all.

I want to master such knife skills, but I'll need to perform 10,000 cesarean sections in about three months to have any hope.

However, have you ever thought about a question? "

Then there was a sound as if someone was shaking their head in their hands, and then the shrill voice continued:
"As long as Red Beard's heart hidden in the Soul-Hiding Life Box is not destroyed, he will not truly die.

Even if it is cut into pieces and the bones are crushed to ashes, it can be restored to its original state immediately.

We have dissected this immortal body dozens of times in the past half night. As long as we take away the spell-breaking stone, he will be resurrected on the largest piece of corpse and grow a complete body again.

Then an interesting question arises.

There are so many body parts of Edward Red Beard here that you can reassemble dozens of complete Red Beards.

Then use [Transmutation Blood] to revive it, making it exactly the same as it was in life, so which of these bodies is the real Red Beard?"

When ordinary people hear such a brain-burning question, they would probably curse inwardly: "I think you are just too full" and then turn away.

When the sailboat collector heard this, his body shook violently.

Because this question has been echoing in his mind for a full ten years ever since he obtained the [Mysteries of the Ship Spirit of Theseus]!

He also spent ten years searching for answers alone on this road.

In essence, it is a variation of the ultimate problem "Theseus's Paradox" in "The Mysteries of Theseus" - the Red Beard Paradox.

Although he and the other people inside took a different extraordinary path, at this moment, they were fellow travelers pursuing the same problem!
If Morton Gray didn't know that he was an intruder, he would have wanted to run in and sit down with those people to discuss this issue.

Robert Liston, the killer doctor who was distributing dissection materials to a group of great wizards, thought for a moment and responded to the mosquito wizard:

“You, the Bloodthirsty Cult, should know the answer to this question best.

[Blood of Transmutation] is the blood of transformation and replacement, symbolizing the one thing that never changes in this world, that is, 'change'!
The great "Father of Medicine" wrote in his works that even ordinary human bodies are actually constantly replacing.

Proteins, the basic materials in living organisms, refer to the information carried in genetic material, allowing our bodies to constantly renew and update.

For example, human stomach cells are renewed every 7 days, skin cells are renewed every 28 days or so, red blood cells are renewed every 120 days, and liver cells are renewed every 180 days.

In about a year, 98% of the cells in the human body are renewed, and the renewal of bone cells takes 7 years, so the cells in an average human body are completely replaced every seven years.

I can ask the same question in a different way.

Will you still be the same person seven years from now? "

The dungeon fell into silence.

But including the [Sailboat Collector] who was eavesdropping outside, all the dark wizards were convinced that they would still be themselves seven years later.

Although the materials that make up the body are no longer the same as before, the shape and structure are preserved intact.

The key factor is the genetic material in the body, or the life information it carries - the "genetic code". At this time, Ms. Leech continued:

“Your Excellency the High Priest has made it very clear in the theory of genetics.

Mortals may not be able to achieve immortality, but the genetic code carried in their blood can, which can be regarded as a kind of 'collective immortality'.

Individuals will eventually die out, but populations or families can survive for a long time.

For example, the Y chromosome remains unchanged among males in the same family lineage and can be passed down for thousands of years.

In the absence of mutations, the Y chromosome is inherited from father to son and grandson, and the genetic information it carries remains consistent.

It is manifested externally in aristocratic lineage and family inheritance.

This is why you wrote in the book: 'YY is forever, one chromosome will be passed down forever, if you love her, give her an ancestral chromosome. '"

When Morton Gray heard this, he immediately drew inferences from the past and became extremely excited:
"Yes, that's it!

Although everything is changing, life can achieve eternity in an alternative way.

For the Ship of Theseus, the wood changes, but the information remains unchanged, which is a unique composition method among the infinite types of material structures.

This is Theseus' life information and genetic code!

I understand! I will become a god! "

The status of each ship spirit is equivalent to a fifth-order [pseudo-god] in the mythological era, and has the initial power to fight against time.

For example, the Dragon Head Ship was a legendary battleship hundreds of years ago, and the spirit of the ship is still alive and well. As long as it is not physically destroyed, it will continue to be alive and well.

This is the lowest level of immortality that can be achieved while retaining the self, far surpassing those [Cursed Spirits] who have immortality but no self at all.

However, it has only been a few years since humans re-embraced forbidden knowledge, and so far few people can clearly explain what it is that can make people immortal.

Many dark wizards, even important figures from the Church's College of Cardinals and the Council of God are searching for the answer.

For those who have reached a high-sequence legendary level like the [Sailboat Collector], ordinary knowledge is no longer a factor that limits their growth, but cognition is.

The answer to the "Theseus Paradox" is exactly the key to his promotion to the fifth-order legendary ship spirit and gaining immortality!

In other words, the birth of every fifth-order [false god] requires extracting such an eternal and immortal concept from one's own path and then anchoring it firmly.

The sailboat collector was probably so engrossed in listening that he walked onto the island without realizing it, getting closer and closer to the water dungeon.

They were totally unaware that a slightly hazy "border maze" had quietly blocked off the entire Island No. 1 and the surrounding waters.

Suddenly, he heard the dungeon fall into inexplicable silence.

Then a clear voice sounded in his ears, and the words it spoke were like divine voice that penetrated his soul:
“The basis for determining whether a thing is itself is not the material that makes up the thing.

Rather, it is the internal structure of this thing - the relationship between its material elements, and the space-time continuity of this thing.

To strip away and summarize the essence of "Ship of Theseus", it is:

A specific relationship between parts that have spatiotemporal continuity.

Even after countless repairs and replacements of wood, the ship of Theseus that always sails on the sea is still itself.

If someone continues to help it maintain this specific relationship, the 'Ship of Theseus' will undoubtedly be an immortal existence.

No matter how long or how much power there is, it cannot destroy this concept, just like billions of years cannot destroy a mathematical theorem. "

Hearing this, the [Sailboat Collector] finally couldn't help but jump up, as if he saw a smooth road appearing in front of him.

He danced with joy and said:

"The Ship of Theseus is a specific relationship between its parts that have a continuity of space and time!

It’s so insightful. It’s really so insightful!
Why didn't I think of that?

This is the most important pillar in the fifth-order forbidden ritual 'Long Stairway to God', the ladder to immortality. This time I will definitely be able to firmly anchor that symbol of eternity.

Become the first human being in the Old World in the new era to achieve immortality! Huh? "

Suddenly I realized something was wrong.

When I looked up, I saw that while my mind was wavering and I could no longer control myself, a young man and woman with such good looks and demeanor that made me feel ashamed quietly appeared on the street not far away.

The young man was wearing the uniform of a commodore of the Hattings Navy, while the girl was wearing a shirt and trousers, dressed like a confidential secretary. Judging from the blush on her face that had not yet completely faded, it seemed that she was just "performing her duties".

Looking around again, I saw that one, two, three, and fourteen third-level wizards had quietly gathered around me. Many of them had blood on their hands.

On the other side, there were [Guardian Knight] Bruch, [Blood Red Whiskey] Alfred, nearly ten third-level pirate officers, plus [Blue Hair], a fourth-level shame.

The ghost ship "King Edward" on the sea also sailed silently to the shore.

The two fourth-level and more than a dozen third-level undead officers on the ship pointed their guns and swords at him.

With so many mid-sequence transcendents gathered together, their brilliant transcendent aura almost illuminated the night sky, but was blocked by the border maze, and no one noticed anything unusual.

In this world, even gods can die under the siege of ants.

If they fight at all costs, their terrifying lineup is enough to surround and kill an intact fifth-level [False God].

"Mr. Moulton Gray, the [sailboat collector], it turns out to be you."

Just now, two giant wolves reminded Byron that some malicious humans had quietly arrived on the island.

He could only change clothes with Violet as soon as possible and launch a counterattack against the "sailboat pervert" who had fallen into the eyes of the two ravens.

While throwing out a theory that was well known to everyone in the previous life to attract his attention, he completed the encirclement.

At this time, he did not order everyone to fight to the death with a fifth-level warrior. After all, they had worked hard to accumulate this little fortune, and even if they won, they would suffer heavy losses.

Instead, he nodded to him and said:

"Mr. Moulton Gray, please give me a favor!"

[Sailboat Collector] was about to take preemptive action in the face of this sudden trap, but he paused upon hearing these words.

Subconsciously, I wanted to continue listening to what Mr. Saint Byron, who seemed to be truly "possessed by the Holy Spirit" and extraordinary, had to say.

But Byron threw a golden card at him.

"Catch it!"

The card turned into light and disappeared, and when it reappeared, it had transformed into a huge golden scale.

The two ends of the tray landed on his and the [Sailboat Collector]'s heads respectively.

A majestic voice sounded in the hearts of both of them:
“Rules of the Domination Scale: Based on the level of worldly status, both parties are forced to be subordinate.

Those with higher status have complete control over those with lower status and can exercise absolute command over them three times, except for suicide, and the effective time limit is one day! "

(End of this chapter)