Reach for the Moon Above, Catch Turtles in the Five Seas Below

Half a year had passed.

The four words "Six Treasury Immortal Thief" had returned to normal and no longer flickered.

The "!" had also disappeared.

Not long ago, the Curse of the Sea had finally been completely broken down.

After testing it, Xia Luo discovered that he no longer feared seawater. He could even fight underwater while transformed into an azure dragon. Now he could truly reach for the moon above and catch turtles in the five seas below. The strongest creature on land, sea, and air—who else could it be but him?!

As for Seastone, Xia Luo could not access any for the time being, so he was unable to test it.

Besides, Xia Luo did not dare try swallowing a second Devil Fruit. What if it had only removed the weakness to seawater?

If he died just like that, wouldn't that be terribly unfair?

Moreover, there were no suitable Devil Fruits for him to eat at the moment.

For now, Xia Luo had no plans to reveal that he was a Devil Fruit user.

After all, the Azure Dragon Fruit had been snatched from the Celestial Dragons. Once exposed, it would bring him a great deal of unnecessary trouble.

Furthermore, Xia Luo had to guard against that crazy woman, Charlotte Linlin. Who knew whether she might charge back from the New World? The Red Line could not stop her.

At the same time, concealing his Devil Fruit ability could serve as a trump card he had prepared for himself, allowing him to turn the tables at a critical moment.

If one wanted to live long, trump cards were indispensable.

A moment later,

Under the watchful eyes of the new recruits, veteran soldiers, and instructors, Xia Luo completed forty laps at an astonishing speed. Meanwhile, the others had not even finished twenty laps.

"Th-this..."

"Damn, where did this monster come from? Is he really a recruit?"

"I'm convinced. I'm never competing with him again. What a freak!"

The recruits discussed it among themselves.

Amid the chatter, Xia Luo gradually slowed to a stop. His face was flushed, and he panted lightly.

"After forty laps, he still has strength left. Forty laps are clearly nowhere near his limit. I'd say he can run at least another twenty."

"More than that, surely?"

"He doesn't look very old. What did he do before this? Has he trained?"

"What a strong newcomer. The base is going to get lively now."

Passing veteran soldiers also whispered among themselves and stopped to watch.

"Not bad!"

Colonel Whiteman walked up to Xia Luo, his eyes full of admiration.

"Well? Want to run a few more laps? Let me see how long you can keep going."

"How about this? If you can complete one hundred laps before sunset, I'll personally teach you from now on. What do you say?"

"What?!"

At his words, the veteran soldiers erupted in commotion. Colonel Whiteman had come from Marine Headquarters. Though he was also a colonel, his rank carried far more weight, and he was stronger than colonels from other branches.

Not long ago, he had even killed a notorious pirate with a bounty as high as thirty million!

In 1485, a thirty-million bounty would be worth at least twice that amount three or four decades later. Colonel Whiteman's ability to kill such a man proved that he was truly formidable, possessing the strength of a Marine Headquarters colonel.

And now, Colonel Whiteman had actually said he would personally teach Xia Luo, a new recruit. How could the veteran soldiers not be shocked? The colonel was usually extremely busy, and they rarely had a chance to receive his guidance.

The recruits were even more stunned. If the 15th Branch were compared to a sect, then recruits were newly admitted servant disciples, while Colonel Whiteman was the sect master. What did it mean for the sect master to teach someone personally?

They were still servant disciples, while Xia Luo was about to become the sect master's personal disciple!

"Calm down. Didn't the instructor say he has to finish one hundred laps first? If you ask me, there's no way he can do it!"

"Exactly. The farther he gets, the more exhausted he'll be. He may look relaxed now, but that doesn't mean he can make it to one hundred laps. I bet he definitely won't finish."

The words of the two recruits carried more than a hint of sour jealousy.

Yet everyone around them looked at the pair as if they were idiots.

"You two morons, do you really think the instructor won't pay special attention to him just because he fails to reach one hundred laps?"

"Haha, that's hilarious. Even if he doesn't finish one hundred laps, he'll still be a hundred times better than you two idiots."

"Hey, who knocked over a vinegar jar? It smells so sour!"

"Hahahaha..."

Faced with everyone's mockery, the two recruits' faces instantly turned the color of pig liver, red and purple. They were furious but did not dare say a word.

At that moment, Xia Luo seemed to have made up his mind. He took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Alright. I'll do my best."

"Haha, good lad. I hope you don't disappoint me."

Colonel Whiteman patted Xia Luo on the shoulder and laughed heartily.

Then, he suddenly turned toward the two recruits. His expression darkened at once as he barked:

"What are you two watching for? Who told you to stop? Have you finished twenty laps yet?!"

Upon hearing that, the two recruits immediately felt as though the sky had collapsed.

For fuck's sake, everyone had stopped, yet Colonel Whiteman seemed to see only the two of them.

Seeing this, everyone else hurriedly started running again. At that moment, they suddenly were no longer out of breath, and their legs no longer ached. They were terrified that the instructor's wrath might catch innocent bystanders.

"Instructor, we know we were wrong. We'll start running right away."

"Ten extra laps for slacking off!"

Colonel Whiteman's voice came from behind them. The two recruits stumbled and nearly fell.

The pair looked like they wanted to cry but had no tears. They did not dare stop and could only answer loudly, "Yes, Instructor!"

"Serves them right for not being able to stand seeing someone else do well!"

"Hahaha, now this is entertaining."

"Way to go, Instructor!"

Everyone applauded and cheered.

Good thing I didn't say anything stupid just now. Otherwise... someone silently rejoiced.

"Forty-one." "Forty-two." "Fifty-five." "Sixty-three." "Seventy-seven." "Eighty-eight..."

Time passed. Before they knew it, the recruits had already completed twenty laps. While resting, they gathered around to watch Xia Luo. Every time he completed a lap, they called out the count.

"Phew..."

Xia Luo wiped away sweat while panting, his peripheral vision sweeping over the crowd. Putting on an act is fucking exhausting!

If he ran seriously, he would have finished long ago—and he would not even be out of breath!

Why the hell was he panting? At this snail's pace, without even carrying any weight, the stamina he consumed was not as fast as his recovery!

Should I pretend to be completely exhausted after finishing one hundred laps?

Forget pretending to faint. That would be overdoing it. My acting skills are only average. What if I mess it up and give myself away?

Xia Luo thought.

Finally,

Amid a chorus of cheers, Xia Luo completed the "great feat" of one hundred laps.

Xia Luo trudged over to Colonel Whiteman with difficulty and said between gasps:

"Reporting, Instructor. The mission is complete. I didn't disappoint you."

"Good! Good! Good!"

Glancing at the sun that had yet to set, Colonel Whiteman said "good" three times in a row.

He had expected Xia Luo to finish only after nightfall. He had not expected him to do it so quickly. Xia Luo had once again exceeded his expectations.

"I keep my word. From today onward, I will personally teach you."

Then Colonel Whiteman changed the subject. "But you'd better prepare yourself mentally. I'm very strict!"

"Today was merely an appetizer. From now on, my demands of you will only grow higher. Can you do it?"

"Yes! No matter what the requirements are, I can meet them! As long as I can grow stronger and kill pirates!"

Xia Luo's slightly bent back instantly straightened. His gaze was firm as he answered loudly.

At the same time, he appropriately showed hatred for pirates on his face, looking as though he could not coexist under the same sky as them.

Anyone unaware of the truth might have thought pirates had really slaughtered his entire family.