Hah...
The Flying Serpent sailed from the harbor. On deck, Su Ye leaned against the railing, gazing into the distance.
Jade-green sea, blue sky, not a cloud in sight.
The salty sea breeze washed over his face, and Su Ye squinted contentedly.
After transmigrating, months of life at sea had unconsciously made him grow fond of this ocean.
At that moment, the ship's bell rang.
Captain Luo Qingjun came down from the upper deck and stood before the crew members.
"Greetings, everyone. I am Luo Qingjun, captain of the Flying Serpent..."
Luo Qingjun began his customary address.
Compared to the last voyage, his speech contained little that was new.
Su Ye listened with utter boredom.
He was more interested in Luo Qingjun's arm than in the captain's repetitive speech!
During the previous crew mutiny, Luo Qingjun had been caught in a surprise attack.
He was lucky to survive, but he'd lost an arm in the process!
But now, though the severed arm hadn't regenerated, a metallic prosthetic hand had been attached in its place—one inscribed with array patterns and gleaming with a silver light!
His metallic prosthetic hand was incredibly dexterous, moving just like his original one.
With a glove on, few would ever suspect it was a prosthetic.
A prosthetic couldn't restore the vital essence of flesh and blood.
However, a prosthetic made to the standards of a Magical Artifact most likely had a few spells embedded within it.
'Maybe it even makes Luo Qingjun's combat prowess stronger than before?'
While Su Ye was lost in thought, Luo Qingjun finished his address and began introducing the officers.
And that included Su Ye, the new boatswain!
Notably, the Flying Serpent's first mate on this voyage was not Luo Jing.
Instead, it was a middle-aged man from the Luo Family's main branch named Luoguang River.
The man was nearly fifty, yet only at the fourth level of Qi Refining—clearly, his aptitude was mediocre.
'This guy's aptitude is probably equivalent to half a Zhao Li...' Su Ye grumbled to himself.
If he weren't from the Luo Family's main branch with priority access to resources, he'd probably still be floundering in the Early-stage Qi Refining realm.
Su Ye had no interest in interacting with the man. Maintaining a surface-level friendliness was sufficient.
...
The first day of the voyage passed in a flash.
The sea was calm, the journey uneventful.
This was to be expected, as they had only just set out.
The Flying Serpent hadn't even fully left the waters around Donglong Island, which were still considered a safe zone.
Then again, if it was the Luo Family's territory—
「Night fell.」
The rookies were crammed into the narrow crew quarters, lying on cold, hard wooden bunks.
Filled with the excitement of setting sail for the first time and dreams of riches, they were too keyed up to sleep.
「Meanwhile.」
In a warm and comfortable upper-deck cabin,
Su Ye elegantly lit a whale oil lamp.
The fragrant, clean-burning whale oil drove the darkness from the cabin.
Su Ye sat cross-legged on his spacious, clean, and soft bed, thinking to himself.
'Now, I am the boatswain. I've met the condition for a promotion in rank.'
'If my theory is correct, the rate of my cultivation acceleration should increase...'
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began to circulate the Ghost Water Skill.
He completed one full circulation of his Magical Power.
Su Ye's expression hardened as he called up his panel.
[Cultivation Acceleration Active: 30%]
[Flying Serpent: Tier 1 High-Grade Spirit Ship (45%)]
[Crew Count: 60/50 (10%)]
[Crew Morale: 90/50 (10%)]
[Total Cultivation Acceleration: 65%]
[Limited by your rank [Boatswain], you currently only benefit from 30% cultivation acceleration.]
After becoming boatswain, even though his profession level hadn't increased, his cultivation acceleration bonus had jumped from 20% to 30%!
'It worked!'
'I was right! A promotion in rank really does increase the cap on my cultivation acceleration!'
Su Ye's face lit up with delight, and he let out a cheer.
'A 30% cultivation acceleration... At this rate, doesn't that mean my cultivation speed has reached the level of a mid-grade Spiritual Root?'
His eyes lit up.
Su Ye's own aptitude was that of a low-grade Spiritual Root.
Over thousands of years, the methods for testing Spiritual Root aptitude in the Cultivation Realm had become more refined.
More precise detection Magical Artifacts could accurately measure a cultivator's Spiritual Energy Sensitivity.
Su Ye's Spiritual Root was most sensitive to water, with a Water Spiritual Energy Sensitivity rating of a full sixteen points.
A rating of ten points corresponded to a low-grade Spiritual Root.
Twenty points corresponded to a mid-grade Spiritual Root.
With a thirty percent boost, Su Ye's cultivation speed had now crossed the threshold for a mid-grade Spiritual Root!
'And with resources, my cultivation speed will be even faster than that of a normal mid-grade Spiritual Root!'
A sharp glint flashed in Su Ye's eyes.
On his last voyage, Su Ye had already discovered that the cultivation acceleration bonus also applied to progress gained from consuming cultivation resources, factoring them into the final calculation!
This meant that not only would his own meditation and breathing exercises receive the panel's buff, but as long as he was on the Flying Serpent, the effects of any Spiritual Object he consumed would also be boosted by a flat thirty percent!
'On the last voyage, my acceleration bonus was lower.'
'Besides, other than the demon fish and whale meat, there were no other Spiritual Objects to consume.'
'But this time...'
Su Ye's gaze fell on his Storage Pouch, his eyes burning with eagerness.
Inside his Storage Pouch was an entire year's supply of Qi Replenishing Pills he had stockpiled!
...
「Two months later.」
SWISH.
The Blood-Drinking Spear transformed into a blurred, crimson streak in midair, striking a demon fish thrashing in the water below!
The moment it was hit, the demon fish went rigid, as if struck by lightning.
It floated to the surface, its white belly turned upward.
[Demon fish hunted. [Tide Hunter] EXP +30]
Su Ye glanced at the virtual screen, a slight smile playing on his lips as he saw the EXP notification.
Then, Su Ye casually issued a command.
"It's dead. Haul it aboard."
"Yes, Boatswain!"
At his words, the crew members all lowered their heads in fearful respect.
Initially, there had been a few third-level Qi Refining cultivators among the outsiders and Loose Cultivators.
Confident in their own strength, they had grumbled about Su Ye being appointed boatswain.
But that dissatisfaction and contempt quickly turned into fear and admiration for a powerful expert!
The reason was simple: the combat prowess Su Ye displayed was just too overwhelming!
His skill with the Blood-Drinking Spear was lightning-fast and utterly terrifying!
No matter the place, great strength always commands respect.
The demon hunt ended.
But Su Ye didn't return to his cabin on the upper deck to relax.
Instead, he remained on deck and supervised the crew as they worked.
"No slacking! This needs to be processed before sunset!"
Under Su Ye's cold gaze, the crew cursed him endlessly in their hearts but could only redouble their efforts and work harder.
But no one knew that while Su Ye appeared to be a heartless taskmaster, he was inwardly laughing with glee as he watched the notifications pop up in his vision.
[Supervising crew. [Tide Hunter] EXP +1]
'As the boatswain, I can't very well be doing tasks like butchering carcasses or scrubbing the decks myself anymore.'
'But... I can make other people do it for me! HAHAHAHA!'
In fact, after some testing, Su Ye discovered that by playing the part of a stern boatswain and strictly supervising the crew, he actually earned a bit more experience than if he did the work himself!
'So...'
'In order to level up sooner, the crew will just have to suffer a little more!'
'I'll bear the infamy!'