Grinding EXP From a Demon Hunting Ship

BZZZT.

In that instant, Mr. Xuan’s voice died out, and he plummeted from the sky like a kite with a broken string.

Countless fine ice crystals condensed and rapidly spread across his body. Before he even hit the ground, he had become a lifelike ice sculpture!

THUD!

The ice sculpture crashed to the ground.

The impact shattered Mr. Xuan’s legs.

Ghastly white bone shards jutted out, and thick, deep-red frozen blood slowly oozed from the wounds.

"This..."

Phantom Zhenren’s mind reeled in shock, the horror in her eyes impossible to conceal!

Her jade-like body trembled as a bone-deep chill shot up her spine and straight to the crown of her head.

’What terrifying Divine Techniques!’

’To silently suppress a Mid-stage Crystal cultivator from hundreds of miles away!’

’Golden Core?’

’Or... even stronger?’

Phantom Zhenren trembled, her mind racing with speculation.

When she was born, Qiuya of the Spirit Control Sect had already passed away.

Knowledge of the Divine Techniques of a Golden Core cultivator only existed for her in ancient texts... But no matter what, Phantom Zhenren was certain that this kind of power was far beyond the reach of any Crystal-stage cultivator!

GULP.

Her throat tightened as she swallowed hard.

Her eyes filled with awe. She didn’t dare try to flee—with her level of cultivation, trying to escape would only result in another ice sculpture.

Therefore, Phantom Zhenren reined in her Magical Power, slowly descended, and remained where she was to show her submission.

A hush fell.

Suddenly, the surroundings fell silent.

The distant clamor seemed to be from another world, completely cut off from this place.

Phantom Zhenren remained on high alert. Fine beads of sweat appeared on her temples, and every second felt like a year.

Just then, a silhouette appeared in the distant clouds.

It was a pitch-black, towering, streamlined Floating Battleship covered in bone-like armor!

As she gazed at the spiritual ship, Phantom Zhenren’s expression first went blank, then an incredibly intense look of joyful surprise washed over her face!

She was no stranger to this spiritual ship—the Ghostly Flood Dragon!

More importantly, this quasi-Tier 4 spiritual ship was Su Ye’s signature trademark!

’He’s back?!’ Phantom Zhenren was ecstatic.

Soon, the Ghostly Flood Dragon drew near, hovering in the air, blotting out the sun and casting a vast shadow.

At the same time, an unknown gravitational force emerged, pulling Phantom Zhenren and the ice sculpture of Mr. Xuan toward the Ghostly Flood Dragon.

HUM.

「A moment later.」

Phantom Zhenren found herself on the deck.

A young cultivator was leaning back in a rattan chair, his gaze scrutinizing. He wore intricate black robes, his handsome features were almost otherworldly, his pupils shone with an icy silver light, and his aura was unfathomably deep.

Seeing this, Phantom Zhenren jolted.

She immediately fell to her knees and bowed her head, saying with the utmost reverence, "Greetings, Mr. Su!"

"Congratulations, Mr. Su, on turning peril into safety and greatly advancing your Divine Techniques!"

"Your safe return is truly a blessing for our Corporation, as well as for the countless souls in this sea region!"

Phantom Zhenren said joyfully.

The fawning look was plain to see.

Then, she quickly added, "After you were trapped in the Mist Forest Divine Kingdom, Hope Port never gave up on trying to rescue you."

"Over the past three years, we dispatched over a hundred exploratory teams, including a Fake Core cultivator. But unfortunately, none of them ever returned..."

"I was burning with anxiety, but my duties here made it impossible for me to go personally. I could only hold down the fort here at the port for you and deter any would-be troublemakers..."

Her words were delivered with such feeling and sincerity that it was impossible to see any falsehood in them.

Su Ye raised an eyebrow. ’I didn’t realize I had such an award-winning actress working for me.’

’This is really something...’ Su Ye shook his head and waved a dismissive hand. "Get up."

He didn’t particularly blame Phantom Zhenren.

In a situation like the one in the Mist Forest Divine Kingdom, a single Crystal-stage cultivator would just be throwing their life away. It would have been a futile gesture.

Even if you took the entire Nanyaoguang Corporation—minus the Tier 4 great demon, Ziyuan—and bundled all the remaining Crystal-stage cultivators together, they still wouldn’t be enough to handle a crisis of that magnitude.

Su Ye’s standards for these subordinates weren’t particularly high.

As long as they could maintain the situation and keep things relatively stable until his return, that was enough.

And as his Divine Sense swept over the area, he found that aside from the recent chaos, Hope Port was actually quite stable.

At least, the few infrastructure projects he had seen when he left three years ago were still underway.

They hadn’t been abandoned.

In terms of the port, warehousing and transport were also largely in order.

All in all, Phantom Zhenren, as the Governor of Hope Port, had done an acceptable job. If sixty was a passing grade, she’d get a sixty-five.

No great merits, but no major faults either.

The only flaw was that the number of Spiritual Objects in the treasury of the governor’s mansion was not quite right.

It was clear that Phantom Zhenren had skimmed some Spiritual Objects for her own benefit. Her hands weren’t exactly clean.

However, to err is human.

Corruption was something that couldn’t even be eradicated in the modern world of his past life. As long as his subordinates handled their duties efficiently, Su Ye could tolerate a bit of it and be lenient.

With this in mind, Su Ye sent a jade slip flying from his hand.

"Compile a report of the last three years’ events and record it in this jade slip."

Hearing these words, Phantom Zhenren instantly relaxed.

’I’ve passed the test!’

’Yes! I get to keep being the governor!’

But then, Su Ye added lightly, "And while you’re at it, prepare a separate list. Itemize everything you’ve acquired through corruption over the past three years."

Su Ye’s words made Phantom Zhenren’s smile freeze on her face. She was at a complete loss.

"Mr. Su... I..."

"Return double the amount to cover the deficit in the accounts. Or... you could try to hide some things. But if I find out, I won’t be lenient."

"Any objections?"

Su Ye said coolly.

Having her report it herself and make up for the losses was, for Su Ye, a light punishment.

But if she still tried to hide things despite this lenient treatment, the nature of the offense would be completely different!

It would be disloyalty and dishonesty to the Corporation!

It would be feigning compliance while acting in defiance, saying one thing and doing another!

Phantom Zhenren understood the gravity of the situation and immediately replied, "Yes, I agree!"

She felt a slight sense of relief. ’Thankfully... it’s only been three years. I haven’t completely shed my old inhibitions and gotten too greedy yet. The amount I took isn’t that much.’

’Most of the assets are still in my warehouse; I haven’t dared to spend a single Spirit Stone.’

’Even if I have to return double, it won’t be a crippling blow. It’s acceptable.’

...

After dressing down Phantom Zhenren, Su Ye made his point and changed the subject.

"Right, who is this person?"

"Do you know?"

He pointed at the ice sculpture.

Although a Mid-stage Crystal cultivator was nothing more than a slightly larger ant in Su Ye’s eyes now, that wasn’t the case in this sea region.

Especially since this person had dared to come to the Far South Continent—Su Ye’s personal domain!

This put him on alert.

Now, hoping to redeem herself, Phantom Zhenren held the jade slip and began recording information.

At the same time, she quickly answered, "Mr. Su, based on my deductions, this person is most likely Master Yufeng of the Wanlong Commerce Association from the Day Flame Sea Region!"

"The Wanlong Commerce Association?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Su Ye’s eyes.

After a moment of contemplation, he grabbed the ice sculpture, placed his hand on its head, and began a Soul Search.