Swordsmanship from Antiquity

As Luo Ya changed his clothes and hurried to the palace, King Brunen took his seat at the head of the table, while Madalina and Annajia sat to one side.

Luo Ya walked over to the empty side, sat down, lit a cigarette, and asked, "What's this about? Don't tell me your princess wants to pick me to teach her how to train?"

"Lord Luo Ya, Madalina has chosen Annajia to help her with her training and cultivation. However, I would like to request that you and Lady Annajia instruct her together."

"Heh, not interested."

"I believe you will not refuse the reward I have prepared for you, Lord Luo Ya. If you still do not wish to instruct Madalina when the time comes, that will be fine as well."

Upon hearing this, Luo Ya became interested. It was well known in the underworld that Luo Ya was famous for his efficiency and high completion rates; usually, he received extra bonuses beyond the target itself.

But he was equally famous for his exorbitant fees. The last time Luo Ya had been interested, he had walked away with a Great Grade sword and two Devil Fruits.

Luo Ya was curious where King Brunen found the confidence to offer something for a task he was clearly uninterested in.

"Fine, the way you put it has actually piqued my interest," Luo Ya said, nodding in agreement.

Madalina, sitting nearby, looked as if she wanted to say something, but King Brunen stopped her with a sharp look.

"Haha, let's eat first. Miss Annajia is young yet possesses extraordinary strength, and she isn't even a Devil Fruit user. Now that she has a Devil Fruit, her strength will surely increase significantly."

"Ah, I haven't decided if I want to eat this fruit yet. After all, my combat style relies primarily on kicking techniques; turning into an animal might actually decrease my combat effectiveness. Especially since this is a Zoan-type fruit—Kangaroo Form. It feels so ugly, and the belly is so big."

Annajia complained about the Devil Fruit. After all, if one's strength was low, consuming a Devil Fruit would provide a significant boost to their combat power.

However, for someone like Annajia who had already developed a systematic style, eating a fruit that didn't suit her would be counterproductive.

"Haha, let's not talk about that. Come, let us celebrate Miss Annajia winning the championship in this tournament."

King Brunen raised his glass, and Luo Ya, who was busy stuffing his face nearby, didn't want to spoil the mood and raised his glass along with them.

After the group had eaten and drunk their fill, Madalina and Annajia, already calling each other sisters, headed to the bedchamber to discuss tomorrow's training.

Meanwhile, led by King Brunen, Luo Ya entered an underground passage within the palace.

After passing through a long tunnel and unlocking seven or eight iron doors, they arrived at a stone chamber.

Luo Ya looked around curiously. The walls of the stone chamber were covered in strange, cryptic symbols, which Luo Ya barely managed to identify as the so-called ancient script.

However, if they thought they could sway Luo Ya with some "lost Poneglyph" nonsense, they were delusional; Luo Ya had zero interest in lost history.

To borrow a line from a novel in his past life: "There is no need to resurrect the ancestors; I shall surpass them."

In Luo Ya's view, if one couldn't overthrow the World Government now, relying on a piece of history to change the situation was complete bullsh*t. If he had the time for that, he'd rather spend it researching how to get stronger.

After all, the World Government surely had records of the lost eight hundred years. As the ultimate victors, erasing history to dilute the influence of the previous regime was the most logical thing to do.

"If the reward you mentioned is some bullsh*t history recorded in these ancient texts, then I'm leaving. I have no interest in such boring tricks."

"Haha, you have a sharp eye, Lord Luo Ya, but the reward I speak of is not the text on the walls."

As he spoke, King Brunen produced a paper book. The cover was a simple, plain black.

Luo Ya flipped it open. The handwriting was fresh, clearly copied not long ago. But as he read, Luo Ya became increasingly engrossed.

It turned out that the book recorded the sword techniques and two original sword moves of a Great Swordsman.

The exact timeline was impossible to verify, but according to the records, this swordsman had been the world's greatest at the time.

Like Luo Ya, he had felt that the profession of a swordsman lacked technique; others relied on the sheer volume of Haki and physical stamina to brute-force their way through, Devil Fruit users relied on their abilities and Haki to brute-force their way through, and swordsmen relied on a mix of sword intent and Haki to brute-force their way through.

Thus, after becoming the best, he had racked his brain trying to create some unique sword moves.

In the end, on his deathbed, he had created two techniques: Line-Cutting Void and Infernal Fire Prison. As for how they were subsequently lost and how the Norberto Kingdom had obtained them, that remained unknown.

Moreover, the sword intent this swordsman had comprehended happened to be flame-based, which could be said to be extremely suitable for Luo Ya.

The book only copied up to this point and then stopped abruptly; there wasn't a single word regarding the subsequent cultivation methods.

King Brunen watched the mesmerized Luo Ya and said with a chuckle, "Lord Luo Ya, would this reward be enough to exchange for you teaching my daughter swordsmanship and protecting our Norberto Kingdom?"

"Heh, what if I just take it by force? Why bother wasting time and effort teaching your 'gas tank' of a princess?" Luo Ya tucked the book away, his right hand resting on his sword hilt, a scarlet light gleaming in his eyes.

"Even if you were to take action, Lord, we might not be so easily defeated. Furthermore, the secret manual is passed down orally from generation to generation; only I know how to transcribe it. No one else knows a thing."

Seeing King Brunen's firm stance, Luo Ya smiled. "I can teach, but I also want that Annajia's Hasshoken."

Luo Ya had long been interested in the Hasshoken, with its high single-point penetration, and he decided to take this opportunity to bring it up.

"I can only say I will try my best to negotiate with Miss Annajia, as she is from the Flower Country," King Brunen said, looking troubled.

"Heh, Brunen, you're quite interesting. I suspect this swordsman must have had other legacies, right? The condition to open them must be either your royal bloodline or perhaps flame sword intent. Otherwise, it makes no sense why you'd insist on me teaching. I don't need the subsequent legacy, but if there's no Hasshoken, you'd better find someone else."

King Brunen, having had his intentions seen through, was not surprised. After all, there were plenty of excellent swordsmen even within their own country; insisting on having a notorious swordsman teach the princess was, by any measure, a case of "the thief protesting his innocence."

"Then it is a deal, Lord Luo Ya. As a token of my sincerity, here is the cultivation method for the Infernal Fire Prison." As he spoke, he handed over another brand-new book.