Sailing toward the wind belt, the Flying Serpent turned to head home.
The tense atmosphere of mutual loathing between the captain and first mate didn't affect the life of an ordinary crewman like Su Ye.
He worked diligently every day. His experience points rose slowly, but steadily!
「One month later.」
The seventh month of the Flying Serpent's voyage.
「Night.」
Dressed in a short-sleeved shirt, Su Ye sat cross-legged on his bed, staring at the virtual panel.
[Class: Seaman lv.2 (300/300)+]
[Class Attribute Bonus: Damage +2, Defense +2]
Since the Flying Serpent was trying to make good time on its return journey, it no longer stopped to hunt demonic fish.
As a result, the rate at which Su Ye accumulated experience points had slowed considerably.
But now, after more than a month, Su Ye's experience bar was finally full!
He let out a long breath.
Then, he took a deep one.
Su Ye gently tapped the "+" sign. A pleasant, cool current of energy gushed forth.
[Class: Seaman lv.3 (0/∞)]
[Class Attribute Bonus: Damage +3, Defense +3]
The upgrade from [Seaman lv.3] still provided 1 point of Damage and 1 point of Defense.
Then, Su Ye looked back at the virtual panel, his brow twitching.
'Infinity? Does this mean I can't level it up anymore?'
A positive infinity for the experience cap meant the class had reached its maximum level.
'As expected. A basic class like Seaman has a very low level cap. Level 3 is the limit.'
Su Ye pondered for a moment, then broke into a carefree smile.
'This is good, too. Now I don't have to agonize over whether to change my class.'
Su Ye gestured, and the [Blood-Drinking Spear] leaning against the wall flew into his hand.
At this moment, he had met all three conditions for advancing to the Tide Hunter class!
'Change Class—[Tide Hunter]!'
As the thought crossed his mind, Su Ye tapped the button to change his class.
In an instant, a wealth of experience and insight regarding the spear inexplicably flooded Su Ye's mind!
Stances, footwork, power-generation techniques—countless minute details that would normally take years of painstaking practice to master.
In a flash, he understood it all perfectly!
It was a moment of sudden enlightenment.
Su Ye stood up and gripped the Blood-Drinking Spear, his body moving as if he had practiced the motions thousands upon thousands of times.
He sank into a low stance and thrusted the spear!
SWISH!
The spear cut through the air with a whistling gale!
It was perfectly smooth!
But this spear experience was just a bonus. What was more important was...
[Exclusive Skill: Whale-Hunting Spear]
'Whale-Hunting Spear!' Su Ye's heart leaped.
This exclusive skill, gained from his class change, was faintly glowing.
He gripped the Blood-Drinking Spear, and a familiar feeling washed over him, as if it were an extension of his own arm.
Su Ye felt that with a single thought, his muscle memory would allow him to execute this exclusive skill flawlessly!
Just by assuming the opening stance, a ferocious power, like that of a coiled dragon, began to surge violently within the Blood-Drinking Spear!
He let out a breath.
Su Ye dispersed the power, suppressing the urge to run through a full practice routine.
The cabin was too small to practice in.
And making a commotion would attract unwanted attention.
However, that brief taste was enough to convince Su Ye that this technique's power was absolutely extraordinary!
After completing his class change, Su Ye looked at his panel.
[Class: Tide Hunter lv.1 (0/500)]
[Class Attribute Bonus: Damage +6, Defense +4]
[Exclusive Skill: Whale-Hunting Spear]
His Damage attribute had reached a staggering 6 points!
The class change had given him an additional 3 points in Damage and 1 point in Defense!
Su Ye's heart burned with excitement as his imagination ran wild.
'With a six-point Damage bonus, plus the Blood-Drinking Spear Magical Artifact, if I use the [Whale-Hunting Spear]...'
'Who could possibly withstand that?! Even a Mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator... would probably be skewered to death by a single thrust of my spear!'
At this thought, a surge of heroic pride filled Su Ye.
With the Blood-Drinking Spear in hand, he finally had enough power to stand his ground on the [Flying Serpent]!
Filled with this joy, Su Ye drifted into a deep sleep.
...
「A few days later, on deck.」
During their leisure time, Su Ye and Zhao Li leaned against the mast, chatting idly in the shade of the sails to escape the summer heat.
He believed in balancing work and rest.
Now that he had successfully changed his class, Su Ye planned to take it easy for a few days instead of working so hard.
"What do you plan to do after we get back?" Su Ye asked casually.
"Mr. Su..." Zhao Li lowered his voice, stammering.
"I... I'm planning to go check out the shantytown by the market."
Seeing the look on his face, Su Ye immediately understood and couldn't help but chuckle.
As the headquarters of a Foundation Establishment family, Donglong Island naturally had its own market district.
Outside the market, a large shantytown had sprung up, home to numerous dependent Loose Cultivators, including a fair number of women.
Most of them had no particular craft and didn't work as spirit farmers for the Luo Family. Yet, they lived stable lives, never wanting for food or clothing, which meant they had... other ways of making a living.
Su Ye clapped Zhao Li on the shoulder and offered a piece of sincere advice, "Pace yourself."
"No! It's not what you're thinking, Mr. Su..." Zhao Li waved his hands frantically, his face flushing red.
"It's okay, I get it, I get it..."
As they chatted and joked around, time flew. Su Ye squinted, enjoying the peaceful afternoon.
However...
Just then!
"SPOUT!!!" The lookout's shriek rang out.
On the horizon not far away, a white plume of water suddenly shot into the air!
"That's..." Su Ye's pupils contracted.
"A whale?!"
...
The appearance of a demonic whale was no small matter.
The ship's bell rang out urgently!
A few minutes later, the entire crew was assembled on deck.
Even the reclusive captain, Luo Qingjun, made an unprecedented appearance on deck!
"It's a Gray Ridge Whale, a top-grade Rank-One demonic beast!"
Luo Qingjun stared at the shimmering sea in the distance and the massive body of the whale that had been revealed, making his assessment after a moment of observation.
"Haaa... We can take it!"
"Quick! Lower the Spiritual Boats and prepare to strike!"
Gripping the wooden railing, color returned to Luo Qingjun's pale face, his eyes shining with intense, delighted surprise!
To him, this was a heaven-sent opportunity!
Hunting this whale would bring an enormous profit!
If this hunt was successful, the profits from the Flying Serpent's entire voyage would double!
For Luo Qingjun, who was desperate for a great achievement to prove himself and secure a meteoric rise, this was an irresistible temptation!
Down below, Su Ye heard this, and his heart sank.
The allure of wealth was a powerful thing.
Faced with such immense profit, Captain Luo Qingjun had clearly lost the caution befitting a hunter.
This was not a good sign.
Just then, the first mate, Luo Jing, frowned and voiced his opposition directly.
"Whale hunting is no easy task! Demonic whales are massive, their vitality is immense, and their combat strength is often a notch above other demonic beasts of the same rank!"
"The Flying Serpent is already on its way home. Why stir up unnecessary trouble?!"
Su Ye's gaze swept over the crewmen around him; most of them seemed to agree wholeheartedly with the first mate, Luo Jing.
Having already set a course for home, the crew had finally begun to relax.
They were so close to home.
Forcing them back into a desperate, life-or-death battle now would inevitably be met with resistance.
Faced with his first mate's opposition and the crew's silence, Luo Qingjun's bottled-up anger surfaced. His expression soured as he snapped,
"I am the captain!"
"First Mate, you will obey my orders!"
Luo Jing fell silent for a moment. He took a deep breath, lowering his head to hide the fury in his eyes.
"Yes!"
In front of the crew, as a fellow member of the Luo Family, he had to uphold the captain's authority.
"Hmph." Seeing Luo Jing back down, Luo Qingjun snorted coldly, a triumphant glint in his eyes.
"Lower the Spiritual Boats! All hands, prepare to attack!"
"We're hunting the Gray Ridge Whale!"
"And I, your captain, will fight alongside you!"