Leveling up really was easy

Killed an elite marine. Gained 100 experience.

Character leveled up. Character reached level 2. All attributes increased by 1.

After finishing off the one-armed marine the same way, Zhang Yao heard an incredibly pleasant notification. At the same time, a warm current swept through his entire body. The pursuit had drained quite a bit of his stamina, but now it instantly recovered, leaving him even more vigorous than before.

Another level! Character attributes! Delighted by the notification, Zhang Yao hurriedly called up his stats in his mind.

Zhang Yao: Level 2, 0/300.

Attributes: Strength 9, agility 9, constitution 13, mental power 10.

Health (red bar): 150 (health = constitution × 10; increases by 10 with each level).

True Qi (blue bar): 80 (does not increase with level).

Skills: Fetal Breath Technique (self-taught).

Items: Gemstone Ring.

Talent: Nine Netherworlds (first layer).

Zhang Yao was thrilled to see his attributes improve again. Higher attributes meant not only that he had grown stronger, but also that he had a better chance of surviving.

The only thing that frustrated him was that he had killed three elite marines in a row without getting a single item drop. His Spatial Ring was the Ring of the Cunning Jackal, whose special effect automatically collected loot within ten meters of it. That meant Zhang Yao could receive whatever loot he was due without searching the dead elite marines himself. Since the Jackal Ring had never given him a notification, there could only be one explanation: there was no loot to collect.

They call these elite marines? They're dirt-poor! Zhang Yao felt utter contempt for these supposedly elite marines who wouldn't cough up a thing.

Zhang Yao surfaced, checked his bearings, and prepared to look for Luo De. After all, Luo De was still tied to one of his quests. More importantly, it was the first quest Zhang Yao had received after entering Rodos, which made it especially significant.

Splash! Splash!

Just as Zhang Yao was about to leave, several splashes caught his attention. Seeing more corpses and several wounded men appear on the sea's surface, he froze. Of course, it wasn't the corpses that had him staring. It was the wounded men.

Should I...? As he looked at the wounded men, an idea suddenly sprang into Zhang Yao's mind. An incredibly tempting idea!

Zhang Yao silently noted the wounded men's positions. After gauging the distance to the nearest one, he quickly dove toward him. In Zhang Yao's eyes, those men were no longer wounded soldiers. They were irresistible bundles of experience.

Repeating his old trick, Zhang Yao approached the wounded man from underwater, grabbed his legs, and dragged him sharply toward the seabed. Caught completely off guard, the man was pulled straight down.

The wounded man struggled fiercely, trying to break free of Zhang Yao's hands. But with his injuries and the seawater he had just swallowed, his struggles were feeble and futile. Wasting more of his stamina only hastened his death.

Killed an elite marine. Gained 100 experience.

When the experience notification sounded, Zhang Yao released the now-dead man and crept toward his next target.

→

The battle between the marines and pirates still raged fiercely. Wounded and defeated men kept falling into the sea, handing easy pickings to Zhang Yao as he scavenged underwater.

Thanks to the "selfless contributions" of all those battered men, Zhang Yao had already reached level four. Each of his attributes had risen by another two points, making this business of snatching easy kills in the sea even easier.

Yet despite his increased strength, Zhang Yao had become more cautious than he had been at the start...

His string of successful ambushes had made him lower his guard. With his Fetal Breath Technique allowing him to stay underwater, he had thought claiming all this experience would be child's play. As a result, his carelessness had nearly cost him dearly.

Just as before, Zhang Yao had used his usual method to drag a wounded man underwater. This one was a pirate rather than a marine, but Zhang Yao treated all the wounded men who fell into the sea equally. Marine or pirate, you're all experience to me.

At first, the wounded pirate struggled just like all the others. Just as Zhang Yao thought the experience was as good as his, the pirate suddenly drew a dagger and stabbed at his hands.

Startled, Zhang Yao hurriedly let go and dodged the strike. The wounded pirate seized the chance to swim toward the surface.

Zhang Yao hurried after the pirate, inwardly cursing himself for getting carried away. A few successful kills, and he had forgotten himself completely. If this pirate reached the surface and shouted a couple of times, Zhang Yao would have no choice but to flee. There were still plenty of people on the surface. Though they were all wounded and battered, trying to fight so many of them alone would be suicide. Besides, once his underwater ambushes were exposed, there was no telling what might happen. Both sides might well send men specifically to hunt him down!

At that thought, Zhang Yao swam even harder after the wounded pirate. He had only just arrived in Rodos, had nothing to his name, and knew next to nothing about most things. He had no desire to end up being hunted like this.

He grabbed the pirate's legs again and hauled him downward, dragging him back underwater just before he could reach the surface. After being pulled down some distance, the pirate stabbed at Zhang Yao again with his dagger.

This time, Zhang Yao had learned his lesson. He watched the incoming dagger closely. Just before it reached him, he released the pirate's legs and lunged for the hand holding the weapon.

Once he caught the pirate's wrist, Zhang Yao locked all ten fingers around it, preventing him from attacking with the dagger while dragging him steadily deeper. Naturally, the pirate wasn't about to let Zhang Yao pull him down without a fight. He raised his foot and kicked Zhang Yao in the chest.

One kick, two kicks, three kicks. Traces of blood were already seeping from Zhang Yao's mouth. By the second kick, his chest had begun to burn, and his internal organs felt as though they were churning violently. But he knew he couldn't let go. If he did, all his efforts would be wasted.

Zhang Yao gritted his teeth and endured. Suddenly, the Nine Nether True Qi that had been circling in his dantian surged out and flowed into his chest. At once, a cool sensation spread through his burning chest, and the pain in his internal organs eased.

With this sudden help from his True Qi, Zhang Yao immediately tightened his weakening grip. Using every ounce of strength he had, he dragged the pirate toward the seabed.

(PS: Today's second update~~~ Your support is what keeps Tuifei going, brothers~~~~~~ Let's climb higher~~~~)