c6: Release the lottery today and send you to Huangquan
This battle finally came to an end. Though it lacked the dramatic, island-splitting techniques or devil fruit-powered explosions seen in legends, it delivered something far more valuable a grounded, unforgettable lesson in true swordsmanship.
Like a frog in a well glimpsing the vast sky, the students of Isshin Dojo had today seen a horizon far beyond what they imagined.
However, this battle wasn't without its downsides. Since that day, Dongze had been relentlessly pursued by both Kuina and Zoro, and what followed could only be described as a never-ending spiral of daily challenges.
Twice a day, without fail, Kuina and Zoro would drag Dongze into yet another spar.
Initially, Kuina had doubted her father Koshiro's judgment. But when she stepped into the ring herself and clashed blades with Dongze, she finally understood the frustration and disbelief that Zoro had experienced and how powerless it felt to face someone who saw through every strike.
As a result of these frequent interruptions, Dongze's focused practice on the Thirteen Styles of Basic Swordsmanship slowed down. But fate is ironic what began as a distraction became a blessing. Over time, Dongze achieved full mastery of the fundamental forms.
When the proficiency bar for the Thirteen Basic Sword Techniques finally reached 1000/1000, the system notification changed. What had previously read "Basic Swordsmanship" was replaced by a new term: Basic Swordsmanship EXP.
Exactly as Dongze had speculated.
A line of dimly glowing text soon appeared:
Swordplay (Unlocked!)
"Swordplay?"
Dongze paced around thoughtfully, trying to make sense of the golden finger's newest development.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck.
With the bamboo sword in his right hand and the middle and index fingers of his left hand pressing gently against its flat side, Dongze exhaled and visualized the technique in his mind.
In his imagination, the sword took flight slicing the air with grace. Wind stirred. Ink scattered like rain. A black dragon roared through the clouds. The sword gleamed with ethereal brilliance. Dongze moved as one with the blade, harmony between body and spirit achieved.
Of course, reality was far less cinematic.
He just flung a bamboo sword with all his strength.
Yes, this was his rendition of the legendary technique from wuxia-inspired vertical-horizontal swordplay Hundred Step Flying Sword!
The sword shattered into fragments in midair.
Dongze scratched his head with a sheepish grin.
"Guess I got carried away again…"
But just as his motivation was fading, a new prompt lit up in front of him, making his jaw slacken in astonishment.
[Swordplay - Hundred Step Flying Sword: Proficiency 1/10000]
The sudden surge of hope nearly made Dongze shout out loud.
"In that case…"
A grin crept across his face as he licked the corner of his lips. His eyes gleamed with fervor.
But reality quickly grounded him. Just like the Eight Directional Sword Qi from vertical-horizontal swordsmanship moves that required control in all eight directions even the simplest techniques from that style were still leagues ahead of his current capability.
After all, he had only just fully mastered the basics.
For now, he could barely maintain precision with a single sword qi. Any more, and it would scatter into chaos.
After exhausting countless bamboo swords and hours of testing, Dongze managed to solidify just three usable techniques:
The first Hundred Step Flying Sword.
The second Drawing Sword.
And the third Taichi Sword Style.
…
"Hey! What are you two doing here?"
Dongze was mid-swing when he spotted Zoro and Kuina nearby. His concentration broke when he noticed his "Iron Head Skill" proficiency bar had stalled at 950/1000.
He halted.
Zoro and Kuina were watching in disbelief, jaws practically on the floor.
"Oi! Did I hit my head? How the hell did I lose to this guy?"
In that moment, Kuina took full advantage of her taller frame and delivered a sharp slap to Zoro's green-haired head.
"Green algae head! You looking for another beating?"
"Bastard! You're the one asking for it! I'm going to defeat you today!"
Zoro, as explosive as ever, was already fuming especially with Kuina egging him on. Every time she opened her mouth, it lit his fuse.
Seeing them about to fight again, Dongze felt the beginnings of a headache.
"Oi! I said, what are you two doing here?"
But apparently, his timing was impeccable as in terrible. The two turned their heads simultaneously and yelled:
"SHUT UP!"
Dongze's eye twitched. He had tolerated them for days.
"…MD. Mentally delayed."
"WHO'RE YOU CALLING RETARDED?!"
They replied again in perfect sync.
…
"Hey! Dongze, what was that move?"
"Hey, hey, are you nuts or what?!"
Seeing their dumbfounded faces, Dongze couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.
"NM. Am I the crazy one here?"
"It seems that I need to relax my muscles and bones today!"
Kuina and Zoro exchanged awkward glances and asked, "Then what are you doing?"
After a short silence, Dongze replied calmly, "Taking your body!"
"If you want to truly learn how to fight, then you must first learn how to be beaten! Everything in this world is built on dualities yin and yang, offense and defense. If you don't build a physique that can endure a hundred battles without falling, then even if you master the art of slicing through a throat in one stroke, it will still be nothing more than a single, final blow!"
"I doubt either of you wants to be that kind of warrior!"
"But this is too much~~"
"Hey, Dongze, are you sure this isn't just self-harm?"
Even though Dongze's words sounded noble and philosophical, Kuina and Zoro weren't easily fooled. They weren't dumb. What they saw Dongze ramming his head against stone, slamming his fists into logs, and testing sword strikes against his own body didn't look like any kind of training they'd learned from Koshiro.
Dongze flushed slightly with embarrassment. While his actual goal was to raise his physical stats and passive resistances using his system, his methods did look… deranged. Still, unwilling to admit that, he doubled down and kept speaking righteously, hoping the topic would pass without further probing.
Fools! To someone like him, who already knew the story's future, wasn't the goal to start off maxed?
"It's the things that seem most difficult that bring the greatest returns! If you can't face pain now, then your so-called ambition is no better than a child's fantasy!"
His words hit a nerve. Kuina and Zoro both flushed in the face.
As Dongze's proficiency stats steadily rose, his physical capabilities developed in inhuman directions. Every movement he made now carried terrifying explosive power like the force of nine bulls and two tigers in each step.
During the recent duel, Kuina had lost in two moves not because of skill but because of sheer strength disparity. At this point, her training had already given her the strength of a grown man, honed under Koshiro's rigid standards. Yet she couldn't block Dongze's second strike.
And it wasn't just her even Zoro, who had improved rapidly thanks to his obsession with surpassing Kuina, could barely take a hit.
Okay, okay!
You've got fists like Sea Kings, fine! You win!
To their credit, neither Kuina nor Zoro dwelled on the loss. They were competitors, but also knew when the gap was real together, they still couldn't beat Dongze now.
"Father told you to come over."
After a pause, Kuina suddenly spoke.
Dongze blinked. Since he'd completed the Basic Sword Style training, he hadn't returned to the dojo regularly. Koshiro hadn't interfered or commented, simply letting him be. That Koshiro now called him specifically meant something.
"What's the matter?"
Kuina shook her head.
UU reading www.uukanshu.com
"I don't know. Father didn't say anything."
Dongze narrowed his eyes. Thoughts flickered through his mind as he mentally focused on the dojo. Only someone like Shimotsuki Koshiro Zoro's master and Kuina's father, and the man who held the same sword style that once gave birth to Ryuma's legacy could recognize his current state.
He guessed Koshiro must have noticed the invisible bottleneck in his training. Whether this was a trial or opportunity, he wasn't sure.
"Yo! Dongze! You're here."
"Meet the master!"
"Ashamed! I still haven't taught you anything substantial to this day!"
"No, master. If you hadn't taken me in back then, I wouldn't even be alive now."
Dongze wasn't exaggerating. When he had first awakened in this world, a group of bandits had raided Shimotsuki Village. Helpless and with no weapons, he had nearly been killed on the spot. It was Koshiro who defeated them and offered him shelter.
"You've reached the point where you can take revenge now."
Dongze narrowed his eyes. "You mean...?"
"Swords are, by their very nature, weapons meant to take life. If you wish to go further on the path of the sword, practice alone isn't enough."
Dongze fell silent. Only after a long moment did he speak.
"So that's it... no wonder."
It explained a lot. Ever since unlocking the three-style swordsmanship, he hadn't seen any progress no matter how much he trained or adjusted his form. Even his "Iron Head Skill" stopped increasing. Now, with Koshiro's words, everything made sense.
The true test of a sword's power was combat.
Real combat.
Dongze borrowed a sword from Koshiro, gripping its hilt with quiet determination, then turned and left with firm steps.
Facing the blood-red dusk, Dongze whispered in a low voice filled with steel:
"A bandit..."
"Release the lottery today, and send you to Huangquan!"
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