Ye Yu said coldly, "Lin Muxue was quite arrogant when you arrived, saying some offensive things to me."
Hearing this, Lin Muxue frowned, her heart uneasy. She had indeed spoken those words earlier due to long-held resentment, feeling a brief sense of satisfaction. But now that Ye Yu brought it up, what was he planning?
Jin Mo asked in confusion, "So what do you want?"
"It's simple. If Lin Muxue and Li Cang kneel and apologize to me, you can leave."
Immediately, Li Cang's expression changed in shock, while Lin Muxue was the most furious.
"Impossible! Kneel and apologize to you? I'm no longer a slave—I'm Lin Muxue, the Chosen One! Besides, was what I said earlier wrong? Your period of weakness is gradually beginning."
Lin Muxue swore in her heart that she would never do such a thing. She had already endured enough humiliation—how could she kneel and apologize? Especially with the live broadcast still running.
Ye Yu smirked coldly. "If you don't apologize, you'll bring disaster upon the four Pirate Crews. We'll declare war on you."
This made Jin Mo and the others pale. They couldn't win before, and with no improvements during this time, they stood even less of a chance now.
Lin Muxue's frown deepened, her anger rising. She warned, "Even if the gap between us has widened, we've learned from last time. If we fight again, the outcome might not be worse than before—it could be the same. You might still suffer casualties."
Ye Yu remained confident. "We'll do our best to minimize losses."
At once, Xia Ling and the other powerful fighters unleashed their auras. Han Ling snapped a photo of Ye Yu, preparing to use her Devil Fruit ability.
This sent a chill through Jin Mo and the others, who hurriedly urged, "Lin Muxue, apologize!"
"Don't drag us down with you!"
"An apology can prevent this. If you don't, the crew will resent you."
"For everyone's sake, just apologize."
Jin Mo, Song Ling, Wang Quanshi, and the rest of the Chosen One Pirate Crew all pressured Lin Muxue to apologize.
Lin Muxue gritted her teeth, regretting her earlier words. Now she had to kneel and apologize.
She didn't want to, but if she refused, a fight would break out.
After struggling internally, Lin Muxue could only drop to her knees with a thud, facing Ye Yu as she forced out the words.
"I was wrong. I'm sorry."
Her fists clenched tightly, the humiliation unbearable.
Li Cang also quickly knelt and apologized.
Ye Yu corrected, "Three kowtows, and then you can leave."
Lin Muxue exploded in fury. "Ye Yu, don't push your luck!"
"Then let's fight."
Ye Yu drew the Black Blade Night from his back, causing Jin Mo and the others to pale again as they shouted, "Just kowtow already!"
Lin Muxue had no choice but to lower her head in even greater anger and shame, knocking it against the ground three times. Li Cang followed suit.
Ye Yu boarded the ship with Xia Ling and the others, leaving behind one last remark.
"You can scram now."
Jin Mo and the others sighed in relief. Though humiliated, they endured it for the greater good.
Jin Mo ordered, "Board the ship and leave."
As Lin Muxue stepped onto the ship, she swore in her heart: Ye Yu, just you wait! The one-on-one duel is in twenty-seven days. That's enough time for me to grow stronger. By then, I alone will defeat you!
Lin Muxue was utterly confident. Even if she couldn't kill Ye Yu, she was certain she could defeat him. That would be the moment she vented all her rage and wiped away her shame.
They set sail and departed. After Lin Muxue finished her bath, she frowned and asked, "Is there any more treasure left? I haven't made much progress lately. Compared to other top Chosen Ones, my level has fallen behind a bit."
Jin Mo shook his head. "No, we barely managed to gather just enough treasure. There's no extra left."
Lin Muxue said solemnly, "I need to reach level thirty as soon as possible and undergo my transformation! I want revenge in the arena!!"
Her eyes were red with fury, and everyone could imagine the suffering she had endured during her time as a slave.
Wang Quanshi asked, "For the next while, should we sail separately, or should the four Pirate Crews continue together?"
Jin Mo suggested, "Let's stick together. We've fallen behind quite a bit and need to work together to gather resources and treasure."
Song Ling agreed. "That works."
Lin Muxue nodded. "Then let's continue together and push ourselves even harder to improve. Ye Yu's level might be high now, but it's only temporary. Progress gets harder and harder. In twenty days, we can definitely surpass him. By the time of the arena, my level will be higher than his—how will he even stand a chance against me?"
Wang Quanshi said, "Enough talk. Let's start training and improving. I'm also eager to reach level thirty."
...
Meanwhile, the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew headed toward a nearby Treasure Drop. Though everyone knew their ship carried plenty of treasure, no Pirate Crew dared to try and seize it.
A day later, they arrived without incident. There had been battles here before, but the moment the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew appeared, everyone fled.
The distribution had already been decided: Ye Yu would throw in the most treasure, accounting for one-third of the total.
Another third would be contributed by Xia Ling and other high-combat members of the crew.
The final third would be divided among the Combat Crew and lower-ranking crew members, with extra given to Ability Users to help them reach level thirty sooner.
Ye Yu had already reached level thirty-four. His progress wasn't as rapid as before, but it was still fast, considering how much harder leveling up had become.
Ye Yu sighed inwardly. "It's only been a little over a month since the mutation, and I'm already past level thirty. I initially thought reaching level one hundred wouldn't take three years, but now it seems uncertain whether I'll even get there before the Navy arrives. The difficulty increases far more than I imagined."
Even if he didn't reach level one hundred by then, it wouldn't matter—his combat power would already surpass that of Admirals, the Four Emperors, and even the Pirate King.
Moreover, by that time, the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew's overall strength would rival, if not surpass, any of the Four Emperors Pirates in the Pirate World.
For now, their efforts to improve were mostly in preparation for the impending Navy invasion. As long as they were strong enough, they could survive and deter the Navy from acting recklessly.
Just like in the Pirate World—there were countless pirates, but the Navy never actively waged war against the Four Emperors or vowed to eradicate all pirates. It simply wasn't realistic or feasible.
The Dominant Feather Pirate Crew continued their voyage. Unnoticed, six days passed, leaving only twenty days until the Mystic Realm arena.
During these six days, Ye Yu spent most of his time training in the Gravity Chamber. Whenever they encountered islands inhabited by Ferocious Beasts, the crew worked together to eliminate them. They also faced powerful Sea Beasts.
Along the way, they even stumbled upon a Mystic Realm—a purple one, which made it relatively easier to handle.
Seven days had passed, yet Ye Yu's level hadn't increased, which showed how increasingly difficult leveling up had become. To make significant progress now, they either needed to encounter a Ferocious Beast island or Sea Beast powerful enough to challenge the entire Pirate Crew in battle—which would grant them experience points for the kill and possibly precious treasures—or they had to find a purple-black Mystic Realm.
During these seven days, they had recruited some new members, with even more people applying to join the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew. This was mainly due to the reputation boost from Ye Yu protecting the crew's territory during the recent Giants' Mystic Realm incident.
Although they hadn't acquired any new Executive-level combatants, such strong fighters weren't easy to come by. While the pirate world had no shortage of top-tier experts, they weren't exactly common either. Continuously recruiting Vice-Captain or Executive-level high-combat personnel remained challenging.
At this moment, Lin Muxue, Jin Mo, Wang Quanshi, and Song Ling were in high spirits, preparing a feast to celebrate. They had pushed themselves hard over the past seven days, training and adventuring day and night without rest, and now their exhausted faces showed the toll of their efforts.
The reason for their celebration? All four of them had reached level thirty.
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