After sleeping deeply for more than ten hours, Su Xiao was jolted awake by hunger.
If the sensation of stomach acid burning his stomach lining had not been so unbearable, he would have slept a little longer.
Before leaving the empty Exclusive Room, Su Xiao frowned. It was far too crude—not even a bed. It seemed he would have to spend some Paradise Coins decorating it.
Reincarnation Paradise only provided the function of expanding the Exclusive Space. It could not exchange furniture, so Su Xiao had to purchase that himself.
"What a hassle. I'll settle these things as soon as possible today."
After finding a restaurant run by a Worker, Su Xiao enjoyed a full meal for only three Paradise Coins.
The food tasted pretty good, and the Worker Manager was also extremely enthusiastic.
From that enthusiastic attitude, it was clear that surviving in Reincarnation Paradise was not easy for Workers either.
After eating, Su Xiao searched the stalls lining both sides of the street.
Purchasing the furniture he needed for daily life was not difficult. A Worker had once invented a type of compression capsule that compressed all kinds of furniture to the size of a finger, making them extremely convenient to carry.
After paying 200 Paradise Coins, Su Xiao purchased the furniture he needed for daily life.
With his food and lodging problems solved, Su Xiao headed straight for the central area of Reincarnation Paradise and arrived before the Training Ground.
He could remain in Reincarnation Paradise for another two days. During those two days, he had to adapt to his suddenly strengthened body.
Welcome, Hunter. Thank you for using the Training Ground. Please select a mode. Support Mode / Combat Mode
Su Xiao pondered for a moment before choosing Support Mode.
Support Mode selected. Please choose the level of the summoned mirror image.
Three options appeared before Su Xiao: Beginner Mirror, Intermediate Mirror, and Advanced Mirror.
Each option had a price marked beneath it. A Beginner Mirror cost 100 Paradise Coins per hour, an Intermediate Mirror cost 1,000 Paradise Coins per hour, and an Advanced Mirror cost 10,000 Paradise Coins per hour.
After hesitating for a while, Su Xiao chose Intermediate Mirror.
He had observed the situation in Reincarnation Paradise for a long time. The equipment sold by those contractors was basically all white-grade equipment, and their ratings were very low.
The only green-grade firearm he had seen was actually priced at 4,000 Paradise Coins, and many contractors were eager to buy it.
Moreover, the attributes of that green-grade equipment were inferior to those of Dragon Slayer Flash at Su Xiao's waist.
The items sold by contractors might include good stuff, but they were not easy to come across. Some luck was required.
Compared to purchasing equipment, Su Xiao preferred improving his own strength. Inner strength was true strength.
After Su Xiao paid 1,000 Paradise Coins and summoned an Intermediate Mirror for one hour, a mass of milky-white light appeared before him. As the light faded, a middle-aged man dressed in white training clothes and holding a sharp blade appeared.
The surrounding scenery also changed, becoming the dojo of a sword school.
Summoning Koshiro Image, originating from the One Piece World.
After seeing the prompt from Reincarnation Paradise, Su Xiao was secretly delighted.
He did not know how strong Koshiro was, but when it came to teaching ability, Koshiro was definitely formidable. Zoro was a living example.
Although Koshiro had not taught Zoro any techniques, he had laid the foundation for Zoro to become a strong fighter.
"Hello, I'm Koshiro. We don't have much time, so let's begin now."
Koshiro appeared completely natural. This was not the real Koshiro, but merely a mirror image.
Koshiro glanced at Dragon Slayer Flash at Su Xiao's waist and nodded.
"A weapon similar to mine? That makes things simple. Strike at me with all your strength."
Su Xiao did not waste words. The summoning fee of 1,000 Paradise Coins per hour made his heart ache, so he slashed at Koshiro.
With Su Xiao's current attributes, this slash was extremely fast and fierce, and its angle was exceptionally tricky, aimed straight at Koshiro's head.
Something that shocked Su Xiao happened. Koshiro did not even draw his weapon. He merely blocked with the sheath, then changed the angle of the sheath.
Su Xiao felt the long blade in his hand veer uncontrollably to the side. Because he had used too much force, he staggered two steps in that direction as well.
With his attack dispelled so easily, Su Xiao felt unwilling, but there was nothing he could do.
The real world he lived in and the One Piece World where Koshiro lived were simply not on the same level of martial power.
The swordsmanship he had painstakingly trained in the real world was insignificant in Koshiro's eyes.
The real world might have possessed superb swordsmanship, but the rapid advancement of technology had left those techniques with no practical use, causing them to gradually become lost.
"That's enough. Your understanding of swordsmanship is lower than I expected."
The swordsmanship Koshiro referred to was actually sabersmanship. The names were different, but they were the same thing.
A sense of defeat filled Su Xiao's heart. The saber techniques he had painstakingly trained were insignificant in another person's eyes, and he had no grounds to argue. Compared with Koshiro, that was indeed the truth.
Being inferior to someone else was not shameful. He only needed to catch up. The truly shameful thing was being inferior while stubbornly refusing to admit it.
"What should I do? Practice the basics?"
Su Xiao casually swung his blade several times, and several white lines flashed through the air.
"No. Your foundation is very good—far better than most people's. Very few people are willing to spend several years practicing a simple yet grueling movement like chopping.
"Answer me one question. How do you view the weapon in your hand?"
Koshiro sat cross-legged on the ground in his white training clothes, smiling as he looked at Su Xiao. Together with the glasses perched on his nose, he gave off a gentle air.
"How do I view the weapon in my hand? Hmm... a tool for killing."
Su Xiao's answer made Koshiro shake his head repeatedly.
"If you continue holding that view, then even if you train bitterly for a hundred years, you will only be 'swinging a club.' That cannot be considered swordsmanship at all."
Su Xiao glanced at Dragon Slayer Flash in his hand but said nothing.
"Sense the weapon in your hand. Turn it into an extension of your body. If you cannot even do that, then I cannot teach you anything."
Koshiro's words darkened Su Xiao's expression.
He had spent 1,000 Paradise Coins to summon Koshiro, only for the man to tell him to sense it himself.
Su Xiao immediately contacted Reincarnation Paradise, intending to pause the training and continue once he had sensed the blade in his hand.
Unfortunately, Reincarnation Paradise gave him a prompt: training could not be paused. He could leave the Training Ground now, but the Paradise Coins he had spent would not be refunded, and Koshiro would disappear as well.
With no other choice, Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the ground too, placed Dragon Slayer Flash across his knees, and began to sense it.
"Don't imagine your weapon in your mind. Sense it. Sense its sharpness, its feel, and its unique aura."
Koshiro had not been summoned for nothing. While Su Xiao sensed the weapon in his hand, Koshiro began giving detailed guidance from the side, passing on some of his insights to Su Xiao.
Koshiro would only teach these insights to disciples like Zoro, whom he considered promising. Now that he was a mirror image summoned by Su Xiao, however, he imparted this precious knowledge without holding anything back.
Time passed by the second. After half an hour, Su Xiao vaguely sensed Dragon Slayer Flash across his legs.
He instinctively picked up Dragon Slayer Flash and slashed once. The air let out a sharp whine.
Koshiro nodded in satisfaction from the side and continued guiding Su Xiao.
After an hour, Koshiro dissipated into the air, but Su Xiao remained seated cross-legged on the ground, occasionally slashing once.
He felt a door slowly opening before him. The saber techniques he had practiced before had simply been club-swinging. Apart from mastering the basic posture for swinging a blade, they had possessed little use.
Draw the blade, return the blade. Su Xiao was immersed in his own world and did not notice Koshiro's disappearance at all.
His obsession with saber techniques was clear from the fact that he could persist in practicing a single chopping motion for three years.
As the saying went, a single thought could connect one to the divine. After receiving Koshiro's guidance, Su Xiao's three years of painstaking practice began to gradually undergo sublimation.
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