The Dongning Sea Region.

A three-decked sailing warship, as majestic as a mountain, was anchored beside an unnamed, desolate island.

Anyone familiar with Weiyuan Immortal City...

...would have easily recognized this spirit ship as the city’s flagship, the Fubo!

A quasi-Tier 3 spirit vessel!

Once a spirit ship reached the third tier, it could be called a spirit vessel!

And now, near the Fubo, over ten other spirit ships had gathered, forming a massive fleet!

Suddenly, in the sky.

A streak of white Escape Light, carrying the sharp aura of a flying sword, landed on the Fubo’s deck.

"Yuqing..."

"Greetings, Yuqing..."

Several crew members bowed in succession.

As a direct disciple of the Vast Sea, and a genius Sword Cultivator who had reached Mid-stage Foundation Establishment at such a young age, Bai Xiuying’s status was extraordinary.

Bai Xiuying gave a brief nod, her expression serious, and made her way to the captain’s cabin.

CREAK.

The door to the captain’s cabin opened on its own.

Bai Xiuying wasn’t surprised. For a Crystal Core Master’s Divine Sense, such a feat was effortless.

She stepped inside.

There, within the captain’s cabin...

...a young Daoist in a gray-and-white robe with an unremarkable face sat in the main seat.

RUSTLE.

His gaze was calm as he leisurely flipped through an ancient, yellow-paged paper book.

The young Daoist’s appearance wasn’t striking; one could only say he was ’not ugly.’

But he naturally exuded an unhurried and composed aura...

...like storm clouds gathering silently before a downpour!

Thunder from a silent place!

"Mr. Sikong."

Bai Xiuying performed a solemn curtsy.

The man before her was none other than the Crystal Core Master, Sikong Xin, who had recently crushed the Beast Tide and revealed his terrifying Divine Techniques!

"Ah, Little Nine... what’s wrong? Did your attempt to persuade the Luo Family fail?"

Sikong Xin didn’t look up from his ancient book, his tone calm.

"Your eyes are sharp, Mr. Sikong..." Bai Xiuying gave a wry smile, a hint of helplessness in her expression.

She then recounted the details of her trip, adding,

"Initially, the negotiations were going smoothly, but then someone from the Cyan Profound Sect unexpectedly interfered."

"However, the leader of the Luo Family has some friendship with me and didn’t side with the Cyan Profound Sect. He only claimed to be ’in closed-door cultivation.’"

’It seems he wants to remain neutral...’

"What a pity..." Bai Xiuying sighed.

"The Luo Family’s Ghostly Flood Dragon is fast and excels at combat. If it had joined our fleet, it would have been a powerful asset..."

"No need for regrets. This is perfectly normal." Sikong Xin was unconcerned.

"The Cyan Profound Sect has ruled this sea region for over three hundred years. Their authority runs deep."

"And that ’Su Ye’ has no prior grievances with the Cyan Profound Sect."

"Over a decade ago, he even obtained a quasi-Tier 3 material, the ’South Frost Ice Crystal,’ from them."

"The fact that he’s willing to stay neutral and even provided a detailed sea chart is already quite good."

Sikong Xin put down the ancient book.

He looked up, and a silver-white arc of electricity flashed through his ink-black eyes!

"In the end, these Foundation Establishment families..."

"...will help whoever wins. There’s no need to worry about them..." Sikong Xin’s tone was faint.

"Next, our goal is to slay the White Whale Moby Dick, take its Whale Brain Oil, and refine the Heart Guarding and Calming Candle for Master!"

"But we aren’t the only ones coveting such a treasure."

"I’ve already received word that Zhaoxia of the Cyan Profound Sect is on the move..."

Sikong Xin’s eyes turned cold.

...

「Two months later.」

Donglong Island.

Luoyue Cave Mansion.

Su Ye opened his eyes, reined in his Magical Power, and ended his cultivation session.

’The effects of the Gathering Essence Pill are pretty good...’

One hundred fourteen drops of Liquid Magical Power—that was Su Ye’s current Magical Power level.

He was still thirty-six drops of Liquid Magical Power away from the bottleneck of the Late-stage Foundation Establishment.

’So... six years?’ Su Ye murmured to himself.

He had a clear grasp of his own cultivation progress.

Then, Su Ye summoned his virtual panel.

First, he looked at his personal panel, at the Profession entry.

[Profession: Pastor of the Sea Lv. 2 (9,789/20,000)]

[Profession Stat Bonuses: Lethality +39, Protection +19, Evasion +6, Mystery +6]

’Even though I killed many demonic beasts that attacked Donglong Island during the Beast Tide, including a good number of Tier 2 beasts...’

’...it was only just enough to get the experience for [Pastor of the Sea Lv. 2] to the halfway mark...’

Su Ye let out a long sigh.

According to his calculations...

...from now on, each new level of Pastor of the Sea would require an additional 10,000 experience points!

And as an advanced profession, Pastor of the Sea couldn’t have fewer levels than Tidal Hunter...

’This means that in the later stages of the profession, each level-up for Pastor of the Sea will require over a hundred thousand experience points...’

Thinking of this, Su Ye raised an eyebrow, his expression turning strange.

’How many demonic beasts would I have to hunt, and how many warships would I have to sink for that...?’

"I really don’t want to become the enemy of the world..." Su Ye grumbled.

’Looks like... obtaining the Key of Earth, the [Pioneer Certificate], must be added to the agenda...’

’And I need to do my best to get the Key of Heaven and the Key of the Sea, too...’ Su Ye mused.

The [Pioneer Certificate] could provide its holder with a fixed amount of experience points every day!

...

Next, Su Ye turned his attention to the number of living souls for the Ghostly Flood Dragon.

[Legendary Ability: Soul Abyss Blood Prison (140,000/500,000)]

One hundred forty thousand living souls. Thanks to the Beast Tide, the number had grown quickly.

’And... it can be even faster...’

A glint flickered in Su Ye’s eyes.

Recently, he had discovered a new function for the Ghostly Flood Dragon...

Su Ye rode his Escape Light and arrived at the bottom of the Ghostly Flood Dragon’s hold.

In the past, this place had held nothing but cold ballast.

Now, however, it served as a ’prison.’

"Captain... the rogue cultivators we’ve captured recently are all locked in the bottom of the hold."

"There are twelve in total, with cultivation levels ranging from the third to the sixth layer of Qi Refining."

"Well done." Su Ye nodded and entered the ship’s hold.

GASP...

The great door opened, and light streamed into the dim hold.

Motes of dust danced in the light.

The prisoners sitting on the floor near the entrance panicked, scrambling on all fours to crawl deeper inside.

The clanking of chains echoed through the hold.

Under the terrified gazes of the prisoners, Su Ye, holding a whale oil lamp, walked slowly to the center of the hold.

"According to the laws of Donglong Island, all of you should be hanged!"

The power of his Foundation Establishment Stage Divine Sense swept out, perfectly intimidating everyone present without causing any harm!

"However, I’ve decided to give you a chance."

"And... a new life!"

Su Ye chuckled, his demeanor gentle and refined.

SNAP.

He snapped his fingers.

From the seemingly wooden wall panels in the hold, crimson tentacles began to spread.

"AHH!!"

"Monster...!"

Terrified screams rang out.

The blood-red tentacles moved swiftly, wrapping around the limbs of all the rogue cultivators.

Then, like a spider spinning its cocoon, they enveloped the men, turning them into giant, bloody cocoons!

The entire hold fell silent.

Su Ye stood there, his expression serene.

After a long while.

RIP.

A blood cocoon tore open, and a hand reached out from within.

...

...

...

Sorry for the late update.

I haven’t been sleeping well these past few days. I can’t seem to fall asleep, and I have no energy when I wake up...

It was a struggle to meet today’s quota...

I’m doing my best to readjust...