Leaving

That night, Ye Feng lay on his bed, thinking that it was time for him to leave.

Although Ye Feng wanted to leave, he still felt a trace of reluctance—reluctance to part with Koushirou, his master who had taught him for years; reluctance to part with his Nana; and even reluctance to part with Zoro, that hopelessly directionless fool. He had grown attached to everyone at Isshin Dojo.

But he still had to go. After all, no feast lasted forever.

Early the next morning, after washing up, Ye Feng went to find his master, Koushirou.

After seeing his master, Ye Feng remained silent and stared at him for three or four minutes before finally saying, "Master, I've achieved my goal. I think it's time for me to leave."

Upon hearing Ye Feng's words, Koushirou seemed as though he had long expected this. He said earnestly, "Ye Feng, I've always known that you would leave one day. This small East Blue isn't your stage. Your stage belongs in the New World."

Hearing his master's words, Ye Feng nodded heavily.

Ye Feng suddenly raised his head, looked at Koushirou, and said, "Master, I'll go say goodbye to Kuina."

After hearing Ye Feng's words, Koushirou nodded and looked at him like a father-in-law looking at his son-in-law. "Go on. Say goodbye to Kuina before you leave."

After leaving his master's room, Ye Feng headed toward the place where Kuina often trained, wondering how he should say goodbye to Nana.

When he arrived, he found Nana standing there, facing a wooden post with a bamboo sword in hand. Kuina was practicing when she noticed Ye Feng had arrived.

She put down her bamboo sword and ran toward Ye Feng. "Ye Feng, why are you here? Shouldn't you be training by the sea?"

Then she added, "Oh, right! I've already cultivated the Nine Yin Manual you gave me to the first level. What do you think? Am I impressive?"

Looking at the coquettish Kuina before him, Ye Feng reached out and pulled her into his arms. He softly said to her, "Nana, I'm leaving!"

Sure enough, when Kuina heard Ye Feng say, "I'm leaving," her body trembled slightly in his arms. She softly asked, "Will you come back?"

Ye Feng fell silent upon hearing Kuina's question.

When Kuina saw that Ye Feng, who was holding her, had suddenly gone quiet, she already knew the answer in her heart, yet she could not help asking him.

At that moment, Kuina said to Ye Feng again, "Can you take me with you?"

Hearing this, Ye Feng held Kuina even tighter and softly told her, "I'm sorry. This time, I'm going to the New World. I'm not strong enough yet. If something happened to you there, I'd regret it for the rest of my life."

After thinking for a moment, Ye Feng said to Kuina in his arms, "If you can cultivate the Nine Yin Manual to the fourth level by then, come to the New World and find me."

Upon hearing Ye Feng's answer, Kuina hugged him tightly and nodded solemnly. "I'll definitely cultivate it to the fourth level. You have to wait for me."

At that moment, Ye Feng suddenly remembered something. He hurriedly took a book called the Nine Yin Sword Manual from his clothes and stuffed it into Kuina's hands. "Nana, this Nine Yin Sword Manual is part of the same cultivation set as the Nine Yin Manual I gave you before. As long as you cultivate both of them to the highest level—

—you'll be able to stand at the pinnacle of swordsmanship."

Looking at the Nine Yin Sword Manual in her hands, Kuina remembered what Ye Feng had told her and became even more unwilling to leave his embrace.

About three or four minutes later, Kuina finally struggled free from Ye Feng's arms. Taking his hand, she said to him, "Come on, I'll pack your luggage for you."

Hand in hand, Ye Feng and Kuina returned to Ye Feng's room.

She packed all of Ye Feng's belongings and prepared some food and drinkable fresh water for him.

Another half hour later, Ye Feng and Kuina arrived at the dock together. There, they saw a large group of people waiting: Koushirou, Zoro drenched in sweat, and a group of dojo disciples.

Seeing that Ye Feng had only a single bundle beside him and no ship behind him, the sweat-covered Zoro asked, "Ye Feng, how are you going to sail out to sea? You don't even have a ship. Don't tell me you're going to swim across the ocean?"

Ye Feng smiled faintly at Zoro, then turned toward the sea and let out a whistle. A massive figure rose from beneath the surface of the once-calm waters.

A gigantic Sea King more than twenty meters long suddenly emerged from the sea, stunning everyone nearby.

Zoro's mouth fell open in shock. "A Sea King? Don't tell me your mount is a Sea King?"

Ye Feng nodded at Zoro, then leaped onto the Sea King's head.

This Sea King truly had a bond with Ye Feng. A year ago, it had been bitten and injured by another Sea King from the South Blue, and Ye Feng had saved it while he was by the shore.