Bai Shaohan's expression darkened. "Whitebeard is the strongest man in the pirate world, and I possess the Tremor-Tremor Fruit—I should be the strongest man in this world too. Yet, the gap between me and Ye Yu is this vast."
"Captain, even if Non-Ability Users are stronger than we imagined, and even if Ye Yu won't be as weak in the later stages, his potential definitely can't surpass yours."
"That's right. Human Power could never compare to Natural Power. You wield the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Captain."
"In the future, you'll undoubtedly surpass Ye Yu."
Hearing this, Bai Shaohan felt somewhat reassured. Just because Ye Yu's bounty was so high now didn't mean Ability Users were inferior to Non-Ability Users. At most, it meant they were stronger than expected. In the long run, they couldn't possibly compare.
Hei Jie's heart grew heavy. "No matter what, Ye Yu poses a significant threat to my ambitions of ruling the world. As a Non-Ability User, my Dark-Dark Fruit can't suppress him at all. If he were an Ability User, my fruit would counter him. That's why I must take this formidable Non-Ability User seriously."
At this moment, the entire world looked at Ye Yu's name at the top of the list and was utterly convinced. Many were shaken, and Non-Ability Users rejoiced, seeing hope.
"To be this powerful without relying on an ability..."
"Ye Yu has shown us hope."
"Through hard training and self-improvement, we can also achieve considerable strength."
"On the Bounty List, the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew has the most impressive presence—the most members ranked, all in high positions."
"Exactly. And now, the Pirate Crew List is about to be announced. It's certain that the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew is the strongest. They'll surely become the One King Pirates, won't they?"
"I really want to join the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew now. I hesitated before because I thought they had too many Non-Ability Users and would weaken over time. But now, they're still this dominant."
"I want to join too, but they're too far away."
...
For a time, countless people wanted to join.
Then, a notification resounded.
"The announcement is concluded. Rewards will now be distributed. The first-place winner will not only receive the top reward but also an additional bonus."
This made Jin Mo and the others grimace. The experience reward for first place was undoubtedly the highest, and now, Ye Yu would receive an extra one—effectively doubling it.
Such was the privilege of first place. Even second place wouldn't get an additional reward.
Jin Mo's expression darkened. "Ye Yu is gaining too much. He's already far stronger than us, and now he's getting even more experience. We won't be able to maintain a level advantage over him."
Song Ling frowned. "Exactly. He's already monstrous. We thought his leveling difficulty was several times higher than ours, but now, his level is almost the same as ours. After this reward, he might even surpass us."
They had comforted themselves with the thought that Ye Yu's slow leveling would eventually allow them to outpace him, reducing his dominance. But every opportunity seemed to grant Ye Yu disproportionate gains, making it hard to remember just how difficult his progression should be.
Yang Luo called, his voice grave. "At this point, even if we unite, taking down the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew won't be easy. Even if we win, the cost will be too high. It's not worth it."
Jin Mo said gravely, "Are we not going to unite against them? If not, Ye Yu will continue to reap the greatest benefits from future opportunities for a long time."
Yang Luo replied coldly, "Of course we must target him. But we need to put more effort into recruiting more and stronger Pirate Crews to join us. I believe they can be swayed."
"But the distance is great, and gathering them will take time."
"No matter. It's not too late to act once we're fully prepared. Ye Yu's leveling difficulty is high—he won't widen the gap further."
Jin Mo and the others found this reasoning sound. If they united now, even if they managed to suppress Ye Yu, other top Pirate Crews would simply profit from their efforts.
Yet, they still chose to make contact.
At that moment, beams of experience descended upon everyone based on their rankings.
The higher the rank, the more experience one received—especially for the top 100, who gained significantly more. For instance, the 100th place received far more experience than the 101st, despite only a one-rank difference. Meanwhile, the gap between 101st and 102nd was negligible.
Similarly, the difference between 11th and 10th place was substantial.
This only fueled Li Cang and Lin Muxue's frustration. Had it not been for Ye Yu, their rankings would have been higher.
"Damn it, I missed out on so much experience," Lin Muxue muttered.
After receiving her share, she realized she still hadn't leveled up—remaining at Level 39. She had hoped to reach Level 40, but the One-on-One Realm hadn't granted her any experience, and the rewards for 11th place weren't enough to push her over the threshold.
Meanwhile, Jin Mo and the others had all reached Level 40.
Wang Quanshi marveled, "Reaching Level 40 is truly difficult. Even with all this experience, we barely made it from 39 to 40."
Jin Mo said solemnly, "Ye Yu must have hit Level 40 too. Even if his progression is harder, this much experience would have definitely gotten him there. His strength must have grown significantly again."
Previously, they had assumed Ye Yu would grow weaker after Level 40, but now that was no longer certain.
Yang Luo's expression darkened. Ye Yu was undoubtedly stronger now, inheriting more power from the seven Contractors.
Indeed, Ye Yu had reached Level 40—and was close to Level 41. He sighed softly.
"The experience for having the highest Bounty Money is immense. First place already gets the most, and there's an additional bonus. Without that extra boost, I might not have even reached Level 40."
Ye Yu could feel his power growing, inheriting more of Red Hair's strength.
Initially, the inheritance hadn't been substantial—it wasn't as if he had inherited 30% of Red Hair's power at Level 30. At most, it had been 15%.
Now at Level 40, he estimated he had inherited close to 25%.
The higher his level, the more he would inherit—but from Level 40 onward, each subsequent level would be even harder to achieve.
Everyone had come to realize this.
"I thought reaching Level 40 in two months meant we'd surely hit Level 100 before the Navy arrives—maybe even in two years instead of three. But now I see I was being too optimistic."
"Right. We can't let our guard down. Even reaching Level 100 in three years will be a challenge. The higher the level, the harder it gets."
"It's like the levels in Douluo—progress becomes tougher later on, especially from 89 to 90. And every level past 95 is even more difficult. So we must keep striving and seize every opportunity."
"We must eliminate Ye Yu, otherwise he will take all the best resources. Even if the navy arrives, as long as Ye Yu is gone, we alone will be sufficient. If we allow Ye Yu's family to monopolize everything and our resources diminish, it won't be good for the world either."
(End of Chapter)