The middle-deck cabins.
Su Ye sat cross-legged on his bed, his long eyelashes lowered. His breathing was deep and steady as he circulated his Magical Power according to the pathways of the Ghost Water Skill.
Outside, dark clouds pressed down like a besieging army as a torrential rain fell. Inside, a single lamp cast a bright light, creating an atmosphere of peace and tranquility.
In this serene environment, Su Ye's cultivation progressed much more smoothly.
After a long while.
"Hoo..."
Su Ye opened his star-bright eyes, let out a long breath of impure air, and said with delight,
"This Gray Ridge Whale meat truly is extraordinary. The progress I made with my Magical Power today is several times greater than usual!"
"If I could eat this meat every day, even without the help of Spirit Pills or a Spirit Vein, I could advance to the third level of Qi Refining in half a year at most!"
The Early-stage Qi Refining realm was the beginning of the cultivation journey.
A cultivator's meridians were fragile, and even those with high-grade Spiritual Roots had a daily limit to how long they could cultivate.
This held true for anyone short of a top-tier genius of legend—those with an Earth Spiritual Root, a Celestial Spiritual Root, or even a special Dao Body or Spirit Body.
In the Early-stage Qi Refining realm, the influence of aptitude had not yet created a world of difference.
As long as one had sufficient resources—consuming large quantities of Spiritual Objects and Spirit Pills to nourish their meridians—even someone with a low-grade Spiritual Root could advance with great vigor!
'It's a shame the Gray Ridge Whale meat is so expensive. The dream of eating it every day is probably impossible...' Su Ye shook his head.
As a crewman on the Demon Hunting Ship, the most he could do was buy some of the whale meat for himself at a relatively low price when they disembarked.
Just as Su Ye finished his thoughts and was about to put out the lamp and go to sleep,
BOOM!
The sound of a Magic explosion echoed from a distance, ringing through the cabins!
"Hm?" Su Ye was instantly on alert, his heart tightening.
The Flying Serpent prohibited crew members from using magic to fight privately. Violators would be severely punished!
Just a moment later, BOOM! RUMBLE! Another series of explosions and clashes from Magic and Magical Artifacts thundered out!
Even on this stormy night, the sounds were incredibly piercing!
'This is trouble...' Su Ye's brow furrowed, confirming his suspicion.
'There's no mistake. This commotion... it's definitely a mutiny!'
...
In the Luo Family's cabins.
The cultivators of the Luo Family were all resting here, separated from the Loose Cultivators and crew members with other surnames.
This was originally a form of preferential treatment.
But now, the comfortable and spacious Luo Family cabins were filled with the stench of blood!
The walls were splattered with fresh blood, and the floor was covered in frozen, severed limbs and chunks of flesh!
This was the power of the Ice Blade Technique that had been sealed within the steward's Jade Pendant!
With a surprise attack, Menghou had used this one move to kill several cultivators from the Luo Family instantly!
SHINK!
"Kill!"
Wielding a butcher knife, Menghou plunged it into the chest of the Luo Family cultivator before him, watching as the man's eyes lost focus and he collapsed into a pool of blood!
Then, filled with glee, he took the small pouch from the man's waist.
He weighed it in his hand, gave it a gentle shake, and grinned as he heard the crisp clinking of Spirit Stones inside. He couldn't help but curse with a laugh.
"Damn, these main family cultivators are loaded!"
Nearby, several Loose Cultivators were attacking the other members of the Luo Family!
These were the helpers Menghou had roped in by claiming the captain and others were already dead, and by promising them a hefty profit.
Great profit sways the heart.
For an ordinary Loose Cultivator, while a mutiny to seize a ship was risky, it also represented an astonishing opportunity!
An opportunity to easily obtain several hundred, or even over a thousand, Spirit Stones might never come again in their lifetimes!
Watching the Luo Family cultivators being overpowered and killed one after another, Menghou grinned, filled with satisfaction.
"Heh... Serves you right for acting so high and mighty all the time, looking down on us outsiders and Loose Cultivators!"
He counted the bodies on the floor. There were about twelve in total, nine of whom were Luo Family cultivators.
Seeing this, his mind was put at ease.
There weren't many Luo Family cultivators on the ship to begin with—only about a dozen or so, even including the management.
Even if a few scattered Luo Family members weren't here and had luckily escaped the slaughter, they wouldn't be able to cause any trouble!
'I'll just find them and kill them later.'
'As for the other crew members... Cultivators are selfish by nature. With all the Luo Family dead, why would the outsiders and Loose Cultivators stick their necks out for them?'
'At most, I'll just have to share some of the profits to buy them off...'
As he thought of this, Menghou's eyes suddenly narrowed. A figure came to mind, and a flicker of displeasure rose in his heart.
'Su Ye...'
Even though Feng Dequan had given him orders, Menghou had just committed a major deed and killed several people with his own hands. His blood was pumping!
'Hmph! As long as I kill him, is Feng really going to punish me—someone who's followed him for so long—over a dead man?'
'What's all this about him being "hard to take down"? Su Ye is just a measly second-level Qi Refining cultivator. So what if he has a Magical Artifact?!'
As Menghou muttered this, a vicious look flashed in his eyes, and he walked out of the room.
Not far from the Luo Family's cabins, Zhao Li, who had heard the commotion and crept over to investigate, was crouched in the shadows with a nervous expression.
Just then, he saw Menghou step out of the room with a ferocious look on his face.
He was muttering words like "Su Ye" and "second-level Qi Refining."
'It's that guy? He's turned on the main family, and now he's going after Mr. Su?'
'I have to tell Mr. Su right away!'
Horrified, Zhao Li turned and ran.
"Hm?" Just then, Menghou's eyes flickered, and he caught sight of Zhao Li's retreating back.
'That person... isn't he on good terms with Su Ye?'
'Then I might as well kill them both!'
A savage expression crossed Menghou's face.
On the vast sea, risking their lives to hunt demons, every crewman on a Demon Hunting Ship concealed a deep-seated brutality.
Now, the strict rules that had once suppressed this brutality had completely shattered.
Before a blood-crazed fiend like Menghou,
human life was as worthless as grass!
"You brat, time to die!"
...
Su Ye gripped his Blood-Drinking Spear, its tip pointed toward the floor, and walked out of his room step by step.
The corridor of the middle-deck cabins was much more spacious than the one on the lower deck.
Now, the doors on both sides of the corridor were shut tight.
Su Ye pricked up his ears. After his profession level increased, his physique had been strengthened in all aspects, making his senses exceptionally sharp.
Listening closely, he could hear faint movements and even the sound of nervous breathing from within the rooms.
These crew members had obviously realized what was happening on the ship.
However, they had chosen to protect themselves by staying out of it and remaining neutral.
They were waiting for dawn, at which point they would pay their respects to the final victor.
"That is one way to survive," Su Ye remarked, his expression calm.
A large, ocean-faring vessel like the Flying Serpent could not be operated by one person alone.
No matter who won or lost, they couldn't just slaughter all the innocent bystanders.
"However, that is not the path I choose!" Su Ye gripped his Blood-Drinking Spear, his eyes deep and profound.
With the boons of his panel and his exclusive skills, he was no longer willing to just go with the flow and beg for the mercy of others!
Suddenly, Su Ye's brow twitched.
A thin, dark-skinned boy, stained with blood, stumbled into the middle-deck cabins and collapsed on the floor.
It was Zhao Li.
He pushed himself up, saw Su Ye in the corridor, and cried out anxiously,
"Mr. Su, watch out! Menghou and his gang have rebelled..."
Before he could finish, a boot slammed down on Zhao Li's back.
His face twisted in a savage grin and radiating a palpable Evil Qi, Menghou strode in from the outer cabin.
"Su Ye? You've saved me the trouble of hunting you down!"
He let out a vicious laugh and lunged forward to kill.
His malice was so obvious that no words were necessary!
Su Ye's expression turned cold as he raised the Blood-Drinking Spear...