So I'm already this strong?

They chatted about this and that trivial matter along the way. Garp could tell Mo Xingchen's personality was a bit lazy, like Borsalino, but he didn't lack justice in his heart. Finally, they arrived at the Marine branch in Loguetown.

"Kid, let this old man gauge your bearing!"

On the branch's training ground, Garp threw off his Marine cloak and stood firmly, his posture casual.

Mo Xingchen, wanting to see what his combat power was truly at, naturally understood he couldn't defeat Garp at his peak. However, he wouldn't back down, and said dismissively:

"Uncle, you'd better be careful. My fist, as big as a sandpot, is very powerful. If I accidentally hurt you, don't you dare try to extort me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Mo Xingchen stomped hard on the ground. The ground where he had just stood cracked like a spiderweb, but the person was nowhere to be seen.

With a "buzz," the next second, Mo Xingchen appeared in front of Garp as if teleporting and threw a straight punch.

"Fist Bone · Iron Fist"

Their fists collided, and a visible shockwave of air erupted. The surrounding soldiers' eyes were filled with sand and dust. Those closer were blown over ten meters away.

In the dust, a small figure could be seen launching a fierce assault around the tall figure, with punches, elbows, kicks, and knee strikes, but all were blocked by the tall figure's fists.

Finally, the burly figure threw a straight punch, blasting one person out of the dust cloud. He flew backward to the edge of the training ground, sliding his feet on the ground for a distance before stopping against the wall. Only then did the soldiers clearly see Mo Xingchen, his arms crossed in front of his face, his fists and arms glowing red.

"Heh, Uncle, my... fist isn't light, is it? If you're... hurting, don't... hold back!"

Mo Xingchen leaned against the wall behind him, his legs trembling as he stood up straight, defiantly saying:

"Yohohoho, kid, you're still far from it. Can you still walk? Come to my office with me."

Garp took his cloak from a soldier and walked towards the office building.

Mo Xingchen leaned against the wall, recovering for a moment before slowly shuffling towards the building with shaky legs, grinning through the pain. He thought, This damn middle-aged man's fist is really hard! But as long as I don't cry out in pain, I haven't lost! I'm not like Ace or Luffy, kids who cry when they get beaten, hmph, how embarrassing!

By the time Mo Xingchen's figure disappeared into the building, the soldiers in the training ground erupted.

"Wow! This young man is so fierce! He could go toe-to-toe with Vice Admiral Garp and didn't even spit blood!"

"Exactly!"

"Amazing! It looks like our Marines will have another monstrous Vice Admiral!"

"Exactly!"

"I've decided! From today on, he's my idol!"

"Exactly!"

"You TM, brothers, beat him up!"

"Exactly... huh?"

Ignoring the bickering soldiers below, Mo Xingchen collapsed onto the sofa as soon as he entered the office. He stared at the tea set on the table, then got up to boil water.

"Not bad, you've got some foresight. You're already as strong as an average Marine Vice Admiral at your age, but compared to veteran Vice Admirals and those other two monsters, your stamina is still lacking. You could look for an Animal-type Devil Fruit to quickly boost your stamina, or you'll just have to spend time diligently training your physique," Garp said while eating senbei.

Mo Xingchen thought, I'm already cultivating immortality, why would I want a Devil Fruit? That's trash nobody wants. He said with a serious face:

"I don't want to leave any weaknesses for myself. I'll just train slowly."

"Hmm, that's fine. You have two choices now. One, you can follow my warship from now on. I can give you the rank of Captain, and you can slowly accumulate military merits. I'll also teach you how to improve your strength. Two, I can send you to the Marine Headquarters' Elite Training Camp under Zephyr for two years. You'll learn some things there. With your strength, upon graduation, you'll start at least at the rank of Vice Captain. After a few more years of missions, becoming a General is practically guaranteed. How do you choose?"

Mo Xingchen watched the water boil. He first brewed a cup of tea for Garp, then for himself. Holding the hot tea, he fell into deep thought.

The Marine's Elite Training Camp, I get it. It's like the Whampoa Military Academy, a golden opportunity to polish myself. Once I graduate, I'll be loyal and promoted quickly.

The Marine Six Styles and Haki. After sparring with Garp just now, I realized that Armament Haki doesn't actually turn you black. That's just Oda, that old thief, deliberately coloring it so the audience could see it clearly. He's just a manga artist, what does he know about pirates? Simply put, Armament Haki is using the energy within your body to coat your skin for defense. It has no color! To put it even simpler, it's like the protective Qi in wuxia novels. I'm already cultivating immortality, isn't my Qi better than wuxia Qi?

Observation Haki? Does it compare to my spiritual sense scanning?

Conqueror's Haki? Isn't that just mental pressure? A simple and unadorned cultivation technique.

Marine Six Styles: Geppo, no need to say more, my movement techniques are better. Tekkai? Something nobody uses, why bother thinking about it!

Geppo, hmm~~ Later, I'll be able to fly with my sword, and even later, I'll be able to fly directly using my Qi. But right now, I'm just a little Qi Refining trash, I can't use these techniques. I'm not going to eat a Devil Fruit, so this aerial maneuverability is still necessary to learn. However, it should be easy to learn.

Rankyaku, Shigan? Tsk, flashy stuff. I can just release my true Qi then, and I can do Rankyaku-tongue or Rankyaku-saliva.

Kami-e, hmm~ Not bad. A technique for deflecting force, an advanced version of Seimei Kikan. This one is quite interesting. It's a bit like internal vision and Golden Core storage in the cultivation system, and it allows perfect control of one's body.

So, overall, I'll only learn Geppo, Kami-e, and Seimei Kikan. If Zephyr can teach these, there's no reason Garp can't. Maybe Zephyr doesn't even know Seimei Kikan.

Besides, my ambition isn't to climb the ranks and get rich. It doesn't matter if I go to military school or not. It's better to avoid encountering idiotic Celestial Dragons on missions. If I can't help but... remove them, I'm not afraid, it's just too troublesome.

Following Vice Admiral Garp, being a junior officer, with a leader above to take the fall for any trouble, is perfect for slacking off!

Thus, Mo Xingchen heavily put down his cup, as if he had made a life-or-death decision, and said fiercely:

"I live as Vice Admiral Garp's soldier, and I die as Vice Admiral Garp's ghostly soldier!"

"Pfft"

Garp sprayed a mouthful of hot tea directly onto Mo Xingchen's face.

"Yohohohoho, interesting brat, alright then, let's make it official. I'll tell you upfront, the highest position I can authorize is Captain. Don't you think it's too low."

"Heh heh, boss, you know me. I don't care about military rank at all."

Mo Xingchen wiped the tea off his face, grinning obsequiously.

"Scram and get some rest! Spread the word, we report back to headquarters first thing tomorrow morning!"

"You got it!"