Bang! Bang!—Bang!!
Heavy collisions rang out continuously along the shore.
Wang Chuan stood with his eyes tightly shut, fighting Redfield, who also held a wooden stick.
Every time Wang Chuan swung his stick, Redfield received it with ease while continuously instructing him.
"Your comprehension is good. You stopped being bound by the forms of sword techniques so quickly.
But that is not important. Put away that little thrill in your heart. What you need to focus on now is not using the sword in your hand to find me in battle.
Instead, use your hearing to locate me, your sense of smell to detect the subtle changes in the air, and your sense of touch to feel for the weak points in my sword through the collision between our weapons.
Even your sense of taste, which seems the most useless in battle, must remain sharp at all times, strengthening the concentration of your sixth sense beyond the five senses.
Once you can do what I said, you will have initially grasped Iron Cutting."
Although Redfield claimed to be self-taught,
as the possessor of the strongest Observation Haki, every word he spoke taught Wang Chuan far more precisely than the Marines' inheritance could about how to draw out his own Observation Haki.
And Wang Chuan, having mastered Life Return, already possessed exceptionally fine control over his own body.
Thus, as Redfield continued feeding him moves, Wang Chuan began rapidly grasping the techniques of Observation Haki.
Very soon, even with his eyes closed, the world began appearing clearly in Wang Chuan's mind in an entirely different form.
Through his own Mind-Reading Observation Haki, Redfield sensed Wang Chuan's change. He immediately smiled in satisfaction, increased the frequency of his attacks, and continued.
"Very good. You have already mastered the initial stage of Observation Haki. Next comes deeper study.
Remember, higher levels of Observation Haki are about will.
This will does not only refer to yourself, but also to your enemy.
As long as your enemy is alive, every movement he makes must carry his will.
And as your own will becomes capable of sensing more, you will naturally be able to detect an enemy's malice toward you from a great distance and guard against it in advance. You can even predict the enemy's moves during battle."
At this point, Redfield paused, then sent Wang Chuan flying with a strike of his stick.
"Finally, train this ability to its limit, and it will become what you are thinking of—seeing the future."
Redfield did not attack again after that. His expression turned somewhat complicated, then amusement quickly curled across his lips as he burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, it seems I have been a frog at the bottom of a well.
Even inanimate objects have wills? No wonder Roger's Observation Haki always felt somewhat strange to me.
And this Observation Killer—I never saw this ability on Roger, Newgate, or the others. I never expected there to be an ability in this world specifically targeting Observation Haki.
Red-Haired Shanks? That brat from Roger's ship.
Hm? Bat-Bat Fruit Mythical Zoan Vampire Form? Sleepy Town?
Hahaha, interesting! Truly interesting, brat!
I only gave you a little guidance, yet you told me so much information. It seems I can live long enough to witness that new era.
How exciting. I never expected that, besides Roger and Newgate, such a powerhouse would emerge on the seas in the future. I am looking forward to the future again, hahaha!!!"
Wang Chuan wordlessly got to his feet and rubbed his slightly numb arm, but his face did not show the displeasure of having his payment forcibly taken in advance.
He had expected this long ago. It was fine when the other man did not activate that mind-reading Observation Haki, but once he used that ability while guiding his training, how could his wisdom-filled brain possibly keep such information from being exposed?
After all, one's true heart could not be deceived.
Still, this also indirectly confirmed that Redfield could not access memories from Wang Chuan's previous life, so Wang Chuan would not have to use the monkey-and-typewriter theory to explain what was real and what was illusion.
Picking up the wooden stick from the ground again, Wang Chuan closed his eyes and said in disappointment,
"Enough, sir. If you do not let me graduate first, there is no use thinking about any of that. Come on. I think I can hold on for a while longer."
Redfield's laughter abruptly stopped. The corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily, and a flash of annoyance passed through his eyes. Still, he soon resumed instructing Wang Chuan.
Because, just as Wang Chuan had said,
if he did not graduate, there was no use in Redfield thinking about anything else.
Yet after having his mood so thoroughly ruined, Redfield was not particularly angry. Instead, he truly began looking at Wang Chuan with something like the eyes of a master looking at his disciple.
Because after this period of teaching, he had already seen Wang Chuan's pure heart.
And people as pure as Wang Chuan—
he did not dislike them.
In the end, once exhaustion had fully accumulated, Wang Chuan returned to reality carrying immense gains.
Wang Chuan's eyes suddenly flew open inside the cave. They shone brilliantly as he was instantly restored to full health.
Although he could not see anything in this pitch-black darkness, as the feedback from the Strongest Haki Inheritance poured into his body, his Observation Haki immediately activated.
Through the thick layers of rock, he now perceived the world within a radius of roughly ten meters from a wondrous angle.
Through his sense of smell, Wang Chuan detected that the rock wall outside the cave was slightly warm but not scorching, indicating that it was already evening.
From the forest nearby came occasional rustling sounds, made by the small insects and animals within.
They were faint, but they could not escape Wang Chuan's perception now.
Zhao Wuji, who radiated strong life fluctuations, naturally entered Wang Chuan's senses immediately.
Zhao Wuji seemed afraid that the sounds of cooking would disturb Wang Chuan. He was currently chewing on the dry rations he had been saving at the bottom of his pack, his eyes sternly fixed ahead.
He faithfully carried out the task Wang Chuan had given him: protecting his path.
Wang Chuan looked at this scene with gratification. It proved that he truly had not chosen the wrong person.
The heavy stone was pushed aside. Looking at the boss before him, who appeared no different from usual, Zhao Wuji's instincts told him that the man before him seemed to have undergone some fundamental transformation.
But Zhao Wuji had only one reaction. He said honestly,
"Boss, did you succeed? Then let's splurge a little. How about celebrating with roasted meat? Or we could have hot pot instead!"
Wang Chuan smiled helplessly, privately laughing at this glutton.
Yet his body was very honest as he prepared both delicacies at once. After all, surviving a disaster truly called for celebration!
Thus, after resolving the minor crisis brought by his cheat, Wang Chuan returned once more to his orderly life.
Then, through diligent cultivation, the boost in level granted by his thousand-year Spirit Ring, and the nourishing benefits of eating Spirit Beast meat year-round,
under this double boost, Wang Chuan reached the level-twenty bottleneck at the age of seventeen, a milestone he had originally expected to reach only at twenty-two.
Furthermore, nourished by vast quantities of Spirit Beast meat, Wang Chuan's height directly surpassed two meters and twenty centimeters.
Before you continue