"Well done. For dinner tonight, everyone gets an extra portion of half-demon fish meat."
At dusk, Su Ye's expression softened, and he clapped his hands.
The Loose Cultivators, exhausted from a day's work, finally showed a hint of joy on their faces.
"Thank you, Boatswain!"
The words came from the heart.
Although Su Ye was incredibly strict to gain experience points, allowing no slacking, which inevitably caused some resentment.
But when it came to distributing the demon fish meat, he was much more generous than the stewards!
The Luo Family had a standard for extra crew meals of demon fish meat, but it could be adjusted up or down.
And Su Ye, every time he distributed the meat, always went with the maximum allowable portion.
He let the crew eat as much demon fish meat as possible!
This move, of course, left the first mate and the steward somewhat dissatisfied.
'All that good demon fish meat, wasted on Loose Cultivators. What a sin!'
However, the captain, Luo Qingjun, was very supportive of Su Ye.
Furthermore, after receiving more demon fish meat, the crew's work efficiency also improved significantly.
They butchered the demon fish faster, the quality of the meat was fresher, and its value was higher.
A quick calculation showed that, overall, the profits had increased significantly.
With that, the first mate and the steward had nothing more to say.
At this moment, the crew members, finished with their work, put down their tools and flocked to the mess hall, ready to enjoy a delicious meal after their hard labor.
The once-bustling deck instantly fell quiet.
"Hooo..."
As the sea breeze blew past, Su Ye narrowed his eyes and summoned his virtual panel.
[Name: Su Ye]
[Realm: Qi Refining, Third Level]
[Class: Tidehunter Lv. 1 (379/500)]
[Class Attribute Bonus: Damage +6, Protection +4]
[Exclusive Skill: Whale-Hunting Spear]
[Cultivation Technique: Ghost Water Skill]
'Hunting demon fish and supervising the crew's butchering today earned me a direct 42 experience points!'
A smile appeared on Su Ye's face.
After setting sail, the feeling of his cultivation and experience points both growing steadily was intoxicating.
Especially after becoming boatswain, he could gain experience points just by supervising the crew at work!
It brought a joy akin to a bountiful harvest!
In his pleasant mood, Su Ye felt that even the nauseating, cloying stench of demon blood in the air had started to smell fragrant.
'Even on calm days when we don't encounter any demon fish...'
'...patrolling the deck and supervising the crew every day can still get me 3 to 6 experience points!'
'Compared to when I was just a crew member, my gains have nearly doubled!'
'And it doesn't even require that much hard work...'
'In a month at most, my Tidehunter class will get its first level-up!'
Joy flashed in Su Ye's eyes.
Unlike the basic Seaman class, the first advancement class, Tidehunter, would not only bring greater attribute boosts after leveling up.
At the same time...
Su Ye pondered.
'I remember... according to the settings of that game from my past life...'
'...classes with exclusive skills also get their skills strengthened after leveling up?'
Reality was different from a game, after all.
He couldn't be completely certain of his guess.
But the possibility clearly existed!
'The Whale-Hunting Spear's power is already extraordinary.'
'If it can be enhanced even further, how strong will it become?'
Su Ye's eyes gleamed as he got lost in thought.
...
「One month later.」
The crew's quarters.
BANG!
With a blank expression, Su Ye pushed the door open and entered.
Inside the room, several Loose Cultivators gathered around a square table playing cards were startled.
"Son of a..."
The bearded Loose Cultivator sitting with his back to the door was furious, about to let loose a string of curses.
But when he turned his head, he saw Su Ye looking at him calmly.
His eyes were deep and black as ink.
That knowing look in his eyes was like a basin of ice water poured over his head.
"B-Boatswain!"
The big man's knees went weak on the spot, and he stammered.
"W-What brings you here?"
The crew held this powerful and strict boatswain in great awe.
Su Ye walked into the cabin with his hands behind his back, not saying a word, and casually looked around.
"Oh! This... We're just playing for fun, not gambling!"
Seeing Su Ye's gaze fall on the card table, the bearded man explained nervously.
"Right, not gambling, just playing some cards!"
The other Loose Cultivators by the table all stood up and said in a panic.
Su Ye made a circuit of the room, nodded, and said flatly,
"Extinguish all open flames after 9 PM."
"Get some rest."
Only after he left did the Loose Cultivators heave a collective sigh of relief.
"Phew... The boatswain is really strict."
"Yeah, but besides being strict, he's a pretty good boatswain."
"That's right. During the last demon hunt, if it weren't for him, several people probably would have died."
The crew members chatted for a bit.
They lost their interest in playing cards and went back to their own rooms to rest.
...
Meanwhile, in the upper-deck cabins.
Su Ye returned to his own room and stretched.
'That wasn't easy...'
'Playing the part of a dean making late-night dorm checks... I finally scrounged up that last point of experience.'
[Disciplined crew. Tidehunter EXP +1]
Su Ye wasn't doing late-night inspections because he was bored, of course, but to gain experience points.
He opened his virtual panel and looked at the class section.
[Class: Tidehunter Lv. 1 (500/500) +]
After his experience bar filled up, the '+' sign he had been dreaming of finally appeared after his class level!
The efforts of more than four months were finally about to pay off!
'Level up!'
Without hesitation, Su Ye pressed the '+' sign.
The familiar cool sensation surged through him again.
Having gone through several upgrades, Su Ye was already prepared for this.
An invisible, cool energy coursed through his meridians and marrow, bringing a tingling, itching sensation!
After a few dozen breaths, Su Ye opened his eyes.
Looking at the panel, he couldn't help but smile with delight.
[Class: Tidehunter Lv. 2 (0/1000)]
[Class Attribute Bonus: Damage +9, Protection +5]
But aside from the direct offensive and defensive bonuses from the increased attribute values, Su Ye noticed that the cool energy had brought other benefits as well!
'Is this... pill poison?' Su Ye was pleasantly surprised.
A faint trace of gray, mixed with sweat, was expelled from his skin.
Although the Qi Replenishing Pill's medicinal power was gentle and its pill poison minimal, it wasn't nonexistent.
And now, this faint trace of pill poison, hidden so deep within his body that it had almost no effect and was undetectable even with Spiritual Sense, was purified so easily!
Not only that!
After purifying the pill poison, the remaining cool energy merged into his body.
Su Ye could feel that his senses, spiritual perception, and other faculties had also been slightly enhanced.
'Purging toxins, refining the body, overall strengthening...'
The panel's attribute bonuses were even more comprehensive and thoughtful than he had imagined.
'Truly magical...' Su Ye marveled.
After a moment of admiration, Su Ye's gaze returned to the panel, his eyes filled with anticipation.
[Exclusive Skill: Whale-Hunting Spear +]
After the exclusive skill entry, a golden '+' sign was shimmering with a faint light!