In front of his own women, Wang Yue didnât feel the need to play coy. He leveled with them immediately, "To be honest, I was thinking the exact same thing. I just wasnât sure if theyâd be down for it."
Hearing that, the four of them lit up, trading their worries for grins. Zi Yun laughed, "Oh, donât you worry about that. Weâve already had one-on-ones with every single one of them. As of right now, three hundred and twenty-two sisters have signed onto the plan. We even started teaching them the dual-cultivation basics already."
Wang Yue blinked, genuinely stunned. He hadnât expected them to be this preparedâtheyâd already done all the legwork and handled the recruitment.
And three hundred and twenty-two? That was way more than heâd hoped for. He figured if they could talk forty or fifty girls into it, theyâd be doing great.
With the primordial Yin energy from that many women, he could hit the peak of the Mortal Shedding Realm easilyâhell, pushing straight into the Transcendence Realm was actually on the table now.
This wasnât just a win; it was a massive power-up dropped right into his lap.
"You girls really hit a home run this time," Wang Yue said, beaming. "Tell me what you want for a reward. If itâs humanly possible, itâs yours."
The four women shared another look before speaking up. "We donât need a reward. Just... come see us more often, okay?"
"Count on it. Iâm not about to leave you hanging," Wang Yue promised. "Also, keep an eye out. Pick some women with solid character and real talent. Train them up to take over your roles here so you can get back to my auntâs side."
That hit them right in the feels. Even though they were running a crew of fifteen hundred and living large on the sub, they were used to the high-stakes adventures theyâd shared with Su Mengqing. Being away from their captain for this long had them aching with homesickness.
Plus, life on a submarine is boring as hell if you donât have a burning vendetta to keep you occupied like the new recruits did.
"In that case, Iâll go get things moving," Hong Ling said, forcing her jelly-like legs to cooperate as she sat up.
Wang Yue nodded. Three hundred-plus womenâeven at thirty minutes a popâwas going to take a solid six or seven days to wrap up.
Back home, his mom was waiting for them to finally become a "real" couple, and he was dying to get back to her.
If it werenât for the fact that this power boost was too good to pass up, heâd have hauled ass back to Jinling already.
He decided to hold off on teaching the Su Nu Gong (Plain Maiden Technique) to the recruits for now. It was a Mid-Grade Heaven-Tier manualâheavy stuff that wasnât exactly "Beginner 101."
These women didnât have a foundation yet, so trying to teach them now would be like teaching calculus to toddlers. Heâd teach Hong Lingâs crew first and let them handle the trickle-down training.
Still, it gave him an idea.
While Hong Ling was out making arrangements, he used his communicatorâs scanner to copy every word of the manual Li Yingying had given him. He blasted a digital copy to all his women, with a special note to his mom: Make sure youâve got this mastered before I get home.
When the time came, the combination of their emotional fire and the double-cultivation boost would make his momâs first real time the ultimate experience.
Even though heâd been in Tianhai, he hadnât spent a single day without talking to her.
But talk is cheap; the more they shared their hearts, the more they craved the physical stuff.
Theyâd even tried "video sex" to take the edge off, but Su Mengyangâs slender fingers were no match for her sonâs massive equipment. It was like trying to scratch an itch through a winter coatâit just made the frustration worse.
After one try, sheâd shut that down, choosing to wait for him to return to the "first home" that had once carried him.
Just as he finished the message, his comm chirped.
It was from Zhang Hong. Li Yingying had been picked up by her Master, and heâd officially taken the reins of the Zhang family.
With the Ancestor backing him and his own solid reputation among the branch families, the transition was smooth sailing.
Attached to the message was a scan of the Zhang familyâs crown jewel: the Peak-Grade Earth-Tier technique, Heaven-Shaking Palm.
With that, his Tianhai trip was a total sweep. His haul: one Low-Grade Heaven-Tier leg technique, one Peak-Grade Earth-Tier blade style, one Peak-Grade Earth-Tier palm style, control over one of the Four Great Families, one sexy-as-hell lawyer aunt, a pair of innocent twin cousins, and one drop-dead gorgeous Transcendence Realm powerhouse.
However, looking at the Heaven-Shaking Palm heâd been hyped for, he realized it wasnât really his style. The name fitâit was powerful and grandâbut it was slow.
Wang Yue didnât need more raw power; his "Category 8 Hurricane" was already compressed down to a 0.05-second charge time with a 256x power multiplier.
That was arguably stronger than some Heaven-Tier stuff. But like he always said: it doesnât matter how hard you hit if you canât land the punch.
Against weaker opponents, he didnât need it; against the big dogs, they were too fast to get hit by a slow wind-up.
He sighed. He needed to shrink that charge time even further, but as his Qi got purer, further compression was becoming a nightmare. Luckily, a massive shortcut was standing right outside his door.
Hong Ling didnât waste time. A few minutes later, the first woman arrived.
When Wang Yue saw her, he did a double-take. Heâd saved a lot of women from those pirates, and while they were all beauties, most of them blurred together.
But he remembered Zhuang Wenxian. She was the very first one whoâd stood up and said she was staying to fight.
Back then, sheâd struck him as the classic "girl next door" typeâgentle, soft-spoken, the kind of woman meant for a quiet life.
Seeing her now, that gentleness was still there in her bones, but it was tempered by a new, steely resolve. It was a weird mix of vibes that somehow worked, giving her this unique, "mama-bear-with-a-mission" charisma.
What shocked him was that she was the first one through the door for this, too.
Usually, a "traditional" woman like her is all about loyalty and playing it safe. They donât like change and they definitely donât "swing."
And "boss-babes"?
They usually want to do it all on their own, not lean on a guy. But the blend of those two traits in Zhuang Wenxian was like a 1+1=3 situation. It was magnetic.
"Come on in, have a seat," Wang Yue said, gesturing to a chair.
He was actually feeling a little awkward. This was the first time he was doing this with someone who wasnât already "in the inner circle."
The session with the maid-sisters didnât countâheâd been a human vibrator with a blindfold on for that. Facing her now, he felt the tension.
Zhuang Wenxian felt it too. Even though sheâd been prepped by Hong Ling, reality is a different beast than theory.
She wasnât holding onto any guilt over her late husbandâthe "old" Zhuang Wenxian died when her family was slaughtered. Now she had two goals: see her daughter grow up safe, and kill every pirate she could find.
Sheâd realized early on that while hitting small crews was easy, they were dead weight when it came to the big fleets. If it werenât for the fifteen hundred "civilians" holding them back, the four leaders could have done way more damage.
When Lu Bo told her there was a way to become a warrior and get strong fastâprovided she gave herself to the Young Masterâshe didnât hesitate.
They all owed Wang Yue their lives anyway. If heâd just asked for a hookup, half the ship wouldâve probably said yes out of gratitude. But the way the leaders presented it as a "plan" felt a bit like joining a cultâwhich is why only three hundred-odd women signed up.
Zhuang Wenxian didnât care if it was a cult. She didnât even care about her own body anymore. She only cared about her daughterâs future and her own revenge.
Thatâs why she was first in line.