Grinding EXP From a Demon Hunting Ship-Chapter 38: The Luo-Shu Conflict and Su Ye’s Plan
On this day,
The wind was calm, and the sea was still.
Su Ye swung over on a rope and chatted with Luo Qingjun on the deck of the Flying Serpent.
Luo Qingjun was from the main lineage of the Luo Family. His privileged background meant he knew many hidden histories and tales from the Cultivation Realm.
These kinds of chats were hugely beneficial for broadening Su Ye’s horizons.
Thus, whenever he had free time, Su Ye would swing across to chat with Luo Qingjun about anything and everything.
Luo Qingjun, wanting to get closer to and recruit this outstanding cultivator for the main lineage, was also happy to oblige.
The two of them got along quite well.
Soon, the conversation naturally turned to the conflict between the Luo and Shu Families.
Su Ye was also very interested in the inside details.
After all, his origins were too humble, and he was too young.
His understanding of the history of the conflict between the two families was as hazy as viewing flowers in a fog.
Even with his modern perspective, Su Ye found it hard to overcome the disadvantages brought by this information gap.
Seeing Su Ye listening with rapt attention, Luo Qingjun’s desire to share swelled, and he began to explain.
"The Shu Family was originally a minor Qi Refining clan. They survived with great difficulty in these islands, clinging to some market town, drifting about like rootless duckweed!"
"However, forty years ago, this minor clan had a stroke of immense fortune and produced a young prodigy with an Earth-Grade Spiritual Root!"
"The emergence of an Earth Spiritual Root caused a strange phenomenon, which drew a Perfected Master from a higher sect to investigate."
"The Shu Family was sensible enough to know they couldn’t keep such a genius for themselves, so they opportunistically sent him to become a disciple in the higher sect."
"Subsequently, not only did that person reach Foundation Establishment himself, but the Shu Family also produced a Foundation Establishment cultivator of their own thanks to his support."
"The whole Shu Family rose with him, becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator clan in one leap!"
"But as a newly promoted clan, the Shu Family lacked the most important thing for a Foundation Establishment cultivator clan: a Tier-2 Spirit Land!"
"So... those bastards set their sights on our Donglong Island!"
As Luo Qingjun spoke, he grit his teeth slightly, his expression darkening.
Hearing this, Su Ye’s heart stirred, and ripples of thought spread through his mind.
’So, not counting the Earth Spiritual Root genius who joined the sect, the Shu Family only has one Foundation Establishment Ancestor, and a recently ascended one at that...’
’Then why... is the Luo Family on the losing end of this war, even losing an island?’
Su Ye was a little confused.
Logically, with their high-level combat strength being similar, the Luo Family, being a major clan with several hundred years of history and profound resources, should have had a huge advantage in a conventional war, right?
Filled with doubt, Su Ye voiced his question in a tactful manner.
Luo Qingjun sighed softly and shook his head.
"My Luo Family has been around for over three hundred years. Over such a long time, we’ve naturally made many enemies."
"The Shu Family is just the one making the most noise out in the open."
"The few neighboring Foundation Establishment clans are wary of my family. Although they don’t dare to get involved directly..."
"...they don’t hesitate to use dirty tricks like holding us back from the shadows and fanning the flames from behind!"
"A large portion of my family’s strength must be used to guard against these supposedly ’friendly’ neighbors!"
"What’s more..." A look of apprehension appeared on Luo Qingjun’s face.
He raised a finger, pointed toward the sky, and said in a low voice,
"That person has superior talent. After reaching Foundation Establishment, he maneuvered and formed alliances within the higher sect, causing the sect to show some subtle favoritism towards the Shu Family."
"However..."
Luo Qingjun paused for a moment, then sneered.
"By violating the sect’s prohibition and selling controlled-access ballistae, the Shu Family has made a foolish move this time!"
"Heh... these upstart clans ultimately lack our family’s deep foundation. They don’t have enough spirit ships, so they had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure and collude with native pirates!"
"Once this is reported, even if the sect is biased, they will have to impose at least one round of sanctions."
"The day we counterattack Fuling Island is not far off!"
Luo Qingjun grew excited as he spoke, and he pumped his fist!
However, Su Ye was not as optimistic as Luo Qingjun. He thought to himself,
’Even if everything goes smoothly and the sect sanctions the Shu Family, with that Earth Spiritual Root genius mediating, they probably won’t be punished directly.’
’In that case, this war will still have to be fought with real blades and real spears!’
’Retaking Fuling Island...’ Su Ye’s gaze grew profound, and his heart sank a little.
To the Luo Family, Fuling Island was just a resource point.
It was very important, but losing it hadn’t damaged their foundation.
However, for the newly risen and resource-poor Shu Family...
...it was their only Tier-1, high-grade spirit land!
Moreover, this spirit land was of the wood element, capable of producing a large amount of Spirit Medicine resources!
In the Shu Family’s eyes, Fuling Island was undoubtedly the lifeline on which their future depended!
In the Island Cultivation Realm, where land resources were scarce,
a spirit land to settle down, establish oneself, and grow was, in the eyes of many families, more important than life itself!
If the Luo Family wanted to retake Fuling Island, to knock the soaring Shu Family back into the dust and turn them into rootless duckweed once more...
...there was no doubt the Shu Family would fight to the death, spilling blood to the last man!
’The intensity of the war is about to rise again...’
Su Ye’s expression was grim. He could already imagine how brutal the coming war between the Luo and Shu Families would be!
’Late-stage Qi Refining... no, a battle between Foundation Establishment cultivators might even break out!’
Taking a deep breath, Su Ye felt a surge of urgency.
’This means I have to increase my combat power even faster!’
...
TWANG!
After bidding farewell to Luo Qingjun, Su Ye flicked his rope and swung back to the Sea Crocodile.
Leaning against the mast and feeling the sea breeze, Su Ye brushed aside his messy long hair and began to plan carefully.
For him, there were quite a few ways to increase his combat power.
’First is to accumulate EXP and level up my [Tidehunter] class.’
’Second, now that I’ve broken through to the fourth level of Qi Refining and entered the mid-stage, I can cultivate the many Secret Techniques recorded in the Ghost Water Skill.’
’With more practice, my mastery of these techniques will grow, increasing my options and strengthening my practical combat abilities!’
’Beyond that, I need to find ways to enhance my physical strength to better utilize my melee capabilities, which are boosted by my attributes.’
’And finally...’ Su Ye’s eyes glinted.
In the Cultivation Realm, cultivation stage is everything!
The simplest way to increase combat power was to advance one’s cultivation base and raise one’s stage!
For ordinary cultivators, the difficulty in advancing one’s cultivation lay in two areas.
First, cultivation bottlenecks.
The difficulty of bottlenecks needs no further explanation.
The bottlenecks between the Mid-stage and Late-stage Qi Refining alone had stopped countless cultivators with poor talent in their tracks.
Second, Magical Power accumulation.
This either required spending a massive amount of time, practicing breathing exercises day after day,
or consuming medicinal pills, which easily led to the accumulation of pill poison.
Too much pill poison, and one’s cultivation path would be hopeless.
Take Luoguang River, who was recently decapitated, for example. In order to break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining, he consumed a breakthrough medicine that contained a large amount of pill poison.
For years afterward, he made no progress.
But...
’For me, it seems neither of these two problems exists?’
Su Ye muttered to himself.
’Bottlenecks?’
’As long as I’m the captain and maintain my Harmony with the Sea Crocodile,’
’I won’t have to worry about bottlenecks, at least not before the seventh level of Qi Refining.’
’Pill poison?’
Su Ye recalled the night his [Tidehunter] class leveled up to Lv. 2.
’The cool energy that came with my class level-up seemed to purify my body and expel pill poison?’
’No bottlenecks + no fear of pill poison = ...?’
As he contemplated this, a flicker of excitement flashed in Su Ye’s eyes.
And the most important piece of the puzzle to achieve this perfect combo was the position of captain!
’On this return voyage, the most important thing is to become the official captain of the Sea Crocodile!’
Su Ye’s gaze was profound, his resolve firm.
...
