Dark Night of One-Sword Style

On the fifty-fifth level of Impel Down, two months later.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Several pebbles tore through the air, shooting relentlessly toward Ye Qiong, whose eyes were covered. He shifted his body slightly, neatly dodging them.

After this period of training, he could truly vaguely "see" the things around him with his mind. He had the trajectory of the incoming pebbles firmly grasped in his heart!

Several more pebbles flew across the air. Ye Qiong swayed his body a few times and avoided them all safely. The missed pebbles landed on Crow King behind him.

"Ow!" Crow King was inexplicably struck and cried out miserably, an innocent victim caught in the crossfire.

"Master, I'm going to strike back!"

A smile curled across Ye Qiong's lips. The newly mastered Observation Haki felt like using R, allowing him to clearly sense everything around him, as well as the Night Emperor's location.

He kicked off the ground, sprinted sideways, and lunged at the Night Emperor with both hands spread wide, about to grab a handful of his beard.

"Disciple, my body has recovered somewhat during this time."

Watching Ye Qiong attack, the Night Emperor did not mind. He merely shook his head lightly and extended two fingers of his right hand. Armament Haki circulated and coated them like pitch-black armor.

Then sword light gathered at his fingertips, and he swung them at Ye Qiong, who was about to rush before him.

A faint black edge swept out. Ye Qiong's expression turned stern, yet he neither retreated nor dodged, meeting it with his fist!

Sshk!

The black edge sliced through the tough skin of his fist, splashing blood. Ye Qiong gritted his teeth and continued forward without slowing. Just as he was about to strike the Night Emperor, his fist stopped steadily at the final moment.

"Not bad." The Night Emperor nodded, patting his fist to show his satisfaction with Ye Qiong's progress.

To basically master Observation Haki in two months was already quite extraordinary.

"Master, could that just now have been..." Ye Qiong removed the blindfold and looked at the smooth, even wound on the back of his hand. That sort of sharpness resembled Dimensional Sky Slash.

"That's right. That is the self-created swordsmanship I once used to dominate the seas—the Dark Night Style." The Night Emperor's gaze became somewhat complicated, and his voice was hard to steady. "The strongest offensive swordsmanship school of its time!"

"Of its time?" Ye Qiong asked in confusion. "Why only of its time?"

"Because the one who defeated me in swordsmanship within a dozen moves was the true strongest." The Night Emperor sighed with emotion. "And I have been imprisoned here for forty years since leaving the seas. Who knows whether new experts whose swordsmanship surpasses mine have appeared outside?"

"Disciple, never underestimate this world! Your master is the lesson before your eyes!"

Ye Qiong nodded seriously at the Night Emperor's warning. He had already vaguely understood who had defeated his master and imprisoned him in Eternal Hell.

Only one of those five people standing at the pinnacle of the World Government's power could possess such strength and authority!

"However... for these forty years, I have constantly pondered the true meaning of swordsmanship, thinking of ways to defeat that man. In the end, I realized something..."

"The Dark Night Style does not need to change at all, because its swordsmanship techniques have absolutely not gone down the wrong path! I simply did not walk that path to the end!"

The Night Emperor spoke excitedly, unable to contain himself. For someone who had devoted his entire life to the sword, nothing was more frightening than having his swordsmanship questioned by the world!

Forty years of contemplation had allowed him to see through its true essence!

The Dark Night Style had not lost! Only he had lost!

"Disciple, no matter what, I have already lost! I am no longer qualified to challenge him again, but I hope that after inheriting my Dark Night Style, you will one day truly defeat that peerless master swordsman!"

The Night Emperor heavily patted Ye Qiong's shoulder. His entire being brimmed with the spirit of youth; it was the comfort of having a successor.

Ye Qiong solemnly agreed.

To hell with overwhelming power and peerless swordsmanship. If battle came, then battle!

If he feared the Five Elders, how could he become the strongest? How could he make the world's powerful yield before him?

"Of course, you cannot neglect your martial arts either." The Night Emperor looked at Ye Qiong's hand, only to see that the wound had already quietly healed.

Such regenerative ability was simply unbelievable.

"Master, in all your years at sea, have you never seen a tattoo like mine?" Ye Qiong asked curiously.

The Night Emperor frowned, pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "Your tattoo possesses an ability that enhances self-healing. It somewhat resembles the patterns of a Devil Fruit awakening, yet it also does not..."

"It probably is not a manifestation of Devil Fruit awakening."

Ye Qiong himself ruled out that possibility. Even using some of R's deeper abilities, such as "Space Banishment" and "Spatial Annihilation," was incredibly difficult for him. His spatial ability development had absolutely not reached that level.

"The plant tattoo began appearing from your navel... Why does it seem as though it is sprouting and growing on your body..." The Night Emperor mused.

Plant? Sprouting? Growing?

A flash of inspiration passed through Ye Qiong's mind, making his body tremble in disbelief.

"Damn, could this be that Tree of Omniscience Seed..."

Ye Qiong muttered. He remembered that when Dr. Clover gave him the glass bottle containing the Tree of Omniscience Seed, he had kept it in the right pocket of his shirt. Later, during his battle with Sakazuki, his lower right abdomen had been pierced by Sakazuki's lava fist.

He had thought the seed and glass bottle had been melted directly, but he had never expected it to become a tattoo and grow on his body.

"Truly miraculous."

The Night Emperor, who understood some of it, sighed in amazement. Yet if this strange tattoo had not provided life force to repair Ye Qiong's heavily injured body, how could he have such a lively disciple now?

After that, Ye Qiong officially began learning the Dark Night Style swordsmanship from the Night Emperor. After Crow King was taught the method of cultivating Armament Haki, he went off to burrow into a hole and study it himself.

"The Dark Night School—one slash, and everything is severed! At its pinnacle, Night Radiance Strike can resolve anything in the world with a single slash! If one slash isn't enough, then use two!"

The Night Emperor spoke with incomparable confidence, and his words were equally simple and brutal.

"To practice the Dark Night Style, the foundation lies in explosive strength, perfect muscle control, and extremely high demands on the wrists!"

"Starting today, lift the sword ten thousand times! Add another thousand each day until you reach one hundred thousand!"

The Night Emperor pointed at the ground. The so-called sword was a stone sword made from a slab of rock. Its blade was thick and heavy, while only its hilt was about the same size as an ordinary sword's.

"..."

Ye Qiong was speechless. He guessed only someone with a physique like his could endure such a deranged training regimen.

He did not resist. He walked forward, gripped the stone sword, and began training his wrist strength.

As long as he could grow stronger, what did hardship and exhaustion matter? Whenever he thought of Robin's smile, it felt as though his heart had been healed, filling him with sunlight and vitality.

"Robin, wait for me to get out!"

Fighting spirit burned in Ye Qiong's eyes. The stone sword rose and fell, while the muscles swelling along his arm made his entire body move in rhythm. His blood churned, and heat steamed from him.

The massive stone sword was raised and swung, whipping up howling gusts.

Sweat poured from him like rain, but he mechanically repeated the sword-swinging motion as if he did not know fatigue.

The Night Emperor nodded secretly from the side, deeply gratified.

Even with unmatched talent, a person could only be considered powerful. A true powerhouse needed not only talent, but also perseverance and conviction.

Besides possessing exceptional talent, Ye Qiong also had unyielding perseverance and an indomitable conviction.

Once he left Impel Down, he would surely be like a Dragon entering rivers and seas, stirring up countless raging waves!