Grinding EXP From a Demon Hunting Ship

The Golden Sword Orchid.

In the captain’s cabin, Su Ye sat cross-legged as a faint blue light gathered around him, his Magical Power circulating.

A long while later.

Su Ye opened his eyes.

A flash of faint blue fluorescence flickered in his eyes and was gone in an instant!

It was a sign that his Magical Power was extremely abundant and he was in peak condition!

"A high-grade spirit ship, indeed!"

Su Ye was glowing with vigor.

The results of his first cultivation session on the Golden Sword Orchid after establishing Harmony were very satisfying to Su Ye!

[Ship Panel]

[Name: Golden Sword Orchid]

[Grade: First-Rank, High-Grade]

[Ship Attribute Bonuses: Firepower +15, Armor +7]

[Cultivation Acceleration in Progress: 70%]

[Golden Sword Orchid: First-Rank High-Grade Spirit Ship (50%)]

[Crew Capacity: 50/50 (10%)]

[Crew Morale: 80/50 (10%)]

’Spirit ships of the same grade can have different base cultivation accelerations.’

’It seems to be because of its superior performance. The Golden Sword Orchid’s base cultivation acceleration is 5% higher than the Flying Serpent’s...’

And with a full crew, its cultivation acceleration reached a stunning 70%!

’It’ll probably only take about a year to reach the sixth layer of Qi Refining...’

Su Ye assessed his own cultivation speed.

Many cultivators with high-grade Spiritual Roots might not even be able to match this speed!

After all, the bottleneck between the fifth and sixth layers still required some time to overcome.

But Su Ye had no such bottlenecks to worry about; his path was smooth and unobstructed!

’Even if the progress bar for the Late-stage Qi Refining is longer...’

’At this rate, it will take me eight or nine years at most to reach Qi Refining Ninth Layer Perfection...’

’I’ll only be twenty-seven by then...’

Su Ye’s eyes glinted.

In a Foundation Establishment family like the Luo Family, a Late-stage Qi Refining cultivator under the age of thirty could be called a ’Foundation Establishment seed’.

And a cultivator who reached Qi Refining Perfection before thirty would be considered a core disciple, even in the Cyan Profound Sect!

’Even if the trip to the indigenous tribe doesn’t go as planned and I can’t get enough Sea Successor Remains...’

’I’ll still have enough time to plot for a Foundation Establishment Elixir, or rely on the Luo Family’s power to build a second-rank spirit ship...’

Su Ye mused to himself, his expression relaxed.

Youth was his greatest asset!

...

「Three days later.」

"Mr. Su, are you going to join the battle at Jade Valley? We can watch each other’s backs!"

Luo Qingjun was eager, polishing the silver prosthetic hand he had just fitted with several new functions as he extended the invitation to Su Ye.

Because the Blood Copper had been captured in the battle at Copper Drum Bay, the Qi Family had temporarily lost its ability to interfere in the Fuling Island war.

The Luo Family placed great importance on this precious window of opportunity.

At the same time, over at Jade Valley, the Shu Family had suffered heavy losses after a prolonged meat-grinder of a stalemate.

Now, with their forces depleted, the Shu Family was pinned down inside Jade Valley!

Even the Shu Family’s Foundation Establishment cultivator had been injured by Luo Xiyin after several engagements!

Therefore, the Luo Family decided to hesitate no longer.

They prepared to mobilize their main army to wipe out Jade Valley in one fell swoop and end the war!

The Luo Family’s cultivators were generally optimistic, believing the Shu Family had reached the end of its rope and that victory was certain!

However, even with the odds so heavily in their favor, Su Ye had no interest in the battle for Jade Valley.

His two main goals for joining the war—a high-grade spirit ship and a lead on the indigenous tribe—had both been achieved.

Continuing to fight would just be a matter of plundering some spoils of war.

But the Shu Family was dirt-poor. Even a Late-stage Qi Refining cultivator like Shu Fenglin only had a dozen or so Spirit Stones in his Storage Pouch.

A Loose Cultivator with no backing might have been keen to join the fight, hoping to seize the Shu Family’s cultivation technique manuals.

But for Su Ye, who was backed by a direct line of the Luo Family and had no lack of cultivation techniques, these things held no appeal whatsoever!

Besides, a cornered beast will still fight back!

Facing a life-or-death crisis, the Shu Family’s resistance was bound to be at its fiercest.

What’s more, they still had a Foundation Establishment cultivator!

Even if he was injured, the threat posed by a Foundation Establishment cultivator was still extremely high!

’When a Foundation Establishment cultivator fights for their life, people really die...’

Thus, faced with Luo Qingjun’s invitation, Su Ye’s eyes shifted, and he spoke in a profound tone.

"After my battle with Shu Fenglin, I had something of an epiphany while reflecting on my past battles."

"These past few days, as I watched the ebb and flow of the tides in the boundless Vast Sea, that feeling has grown even stronger..."

"I need some time now to settle down and process it all. I’m afraid I won’t be able to make it to the battle at Jade Valley..."

Su Ye shook his head with great regret.

With his established persona of having a ’talent for combat,’ it would have been suspicious if he’d just said he didn’t want to fight.

He had to put on a bit of an act.

"I see. That’s a shame..." Luo Qingjun nodded, a look of understanding on his face.

A cultivator’s insights and epiphanies were of the highest priority. To interrupt one was tantamount to creating an enmity as deep as obstructing their Dao path!

For the Luo Family, the odds of winning the battle at Jade Valley were extremely high, so it wasn’t an emergency. Naturally, they wouldn’t disturb Su Ye.

As for anyone who might use this to accuse Su Ye of slacking off...

"Why don’t you go kill one of the Shu Family’s Late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, or lead an assault to capture a harbor?"

...

「A few days later.」

Luo Qingjun left Copper Drum Bay, taking a group of cultivators willing to join the battle with him.

Of course, on Su Ye’s suggestion, more than fifty people were still stationed at Copper Drum Bay.

They were there to maintain the port’s basic operations.

And to satisfy the cultivation acceleration requirement for the [Golden Sword Orchid].

Time passed.

The battle for Jade Valley officially began!

Meanwhile, Su Ye remained on the Golden Sword Orchid, absorbing Spiritual Qi and cultivating in peace.

...

However, what was supposed to be a surefire, overwhelming victory was met with resistance from the Shu Family cultivators that exceeded all expectations!

「Several days later.」

Su Ye sighed with emotion as he read the jade slip in his hand, sent by Luo Qingjun.

"The battle was brutal..."

Faced with the threat of their family’s annihilation, the Shu Family’s Foundation Establishment cultivator could no longer sit still!

The Shu Family’s old ancestor was not highly cultivated; like Luo Xiyin, he was in the Early-stage of Foundation Establishment.

But he disregarded his own safety, forcing his injured body to fight on.

He repeatedly activated life-draining Secret Techniques in exchange for combat power!

Normally, when life-draining Secret Techniques are used consecutively, the amount of lifespan consumed increases exponentially...

In the end, having consumed too much of his lifespan, the Shu Family’s old ancestor died on the spot while attempting to activate the technique for a third time!

It was said that at the moment of his death, ’his skin was shriveled like a skeleton, and his blood essence was completely drained’.

He had, in the most literal sense, shed the last drop of his blood for his family...

And under the Shu Family ancestor’s final, frenzied counterattack, Luo Xiyin did not have an easy time either.

She used up several of her trump card second-rank talismans, but it still wasn’t enough, and she suffered considerable injuries!

In addition, the losses to the Luo Family’s main army were not small either...

Although this battle had killed the Shu Family’s old ancestor and eliminated the main force of their cultivators, the spoils of war were so meager that it could only be considered a pyrrhic victory!

’However, by retaking Fuling Island and winning this battle, we can now smoothly annex the Shu Family’s four first-rank spirit islands. These losses can all be recouped...’

"It’s just..." Su Ye muttered, his gaze narrowing.

’Could it really go so smoothly?’

’The Shu Family’s Earth Spiritual Root genius in the Cyan Profound Sect, and the ill-intentioned, restless Qi Family...’

’Did they have no backup plan?’