A Month of Progress

"Kid, for Shakky's sake, I won't hold it against you today. In one month, the Rocks Pirates will hold their Recruitment Meeting. If you want to join the Rocks Pirates, then come!"

"At the Recruitment Meeting, I'll see just what gives you the nerve to reject Golden Lion's invitation!"

Golden Lion looked at Li Yuan as he spoke.

"One month? I'll be there!"

"By then, perhaps I'll be a Rocks Pirates Officer too!"

Li Yuan sheathed his sword and spoke seriously.

After saying that, Golden Lion sailed away.

As for Li Yuan, after escorting Shakky to the vicinity of Hachinosu Island, he did not continue onward.

He was not yet a member of the Rocks Pirates, so he could not get too close to Hachinosu Island. Otherwise, even with Shakky there, unnecessary trouble would arise.

"I'll wait for you on Hachinosu Island!"

After getting off the ship, Shakky gazed deeply at Li Yuan as she spoke.

She was fairly satisfied with this man. At the very least, he could meet her needs.

He was strong enough, ambitious enough, and treated her well. The only bad thing was that he was a little too promiscuous.

She had only been with him for such a short time, yet she had already gained another sister.

Still, she did not say anything about it. In this world, strength was supreme. For a powerful man to have multiple women was not considered a bad thing.

"Don't worry, I'll come find you."

After saying that, Li Yuan set sail. He did not like this sort of clinginess during farewells.

"Senior Brother, where are we going next?"

Kano asked. This place was close to Hachinosu Island, surrounded either by Rocks Pirates members or islands occupied by the Rocks Pirates.

"First, find an island to settle down on and train seriously. I'm going to attend the Rocks Pirates Recruitment Meeting in one month."

"You won't need to participate then. You're still not qualified for that level of battle."

After thinking it over, Li Yuan spoke. He was currently in a period of rapid growth, and one month was enough for him to become much stronger.

By then, he was confident that he could make a name for himself with his own strength.

"Yes, Senior Brother!"

Kano said as he clenched his fists.

They knew that there was a huge gap between their strength and Li Yuan's.

Setting aside the gap in physical strength, none of them had even reached the Iron Cutting Realm in swordsmanship. That left them deeply powerless and frustrated.

"Train hard, and you can become stronger too. But this kind of strength requires persistence over many long years!"

Li Yuan said to his many junior brothers.

These junior brothers were all ordinary people without much talent. Even Kano and Karu, who had the greatest Swordsmanship talent among them, were merely average swordsmanship geniuses. Compared to those monsters and Li Yuan, they fell far short.

However, that did not mean ordinary people or ordinary geniuses could not become strong. They could, but it would take a great deal of time, and their growth would simply be slow.

With Kano and Karu's talent, without Devil Fruits, relying solely on swordsmanship, physical training, and Haki, they could at most reach the level of Rear Admirals.

If they also obtained suitable Devil Fruits, they should be able to reach the level of Vice Admirals.

"Senior Brother, we understand. We don't have any exceptional talent, but since we chose to sail with you, it means none of us are afraid of hardship or difficulty. I believe that one day, I'll become stronger—strong enough to help Senior Brother and not hold you back!"

Karu said firmly. He was rather simple and honest by nature, so he had a clear understanding of himself, but once he set his mind on something, he was unwavering.

"Keep it up!"

After saying that, Li Yuan did not say anything further. Other people's words were just words. If one wanted to become stronger, in the end, it still depended on one's own effort and persistence.

"One month. During this month, I need to become as strong as possible!"

Afterward, Li Yuan made a schedule for himself, using the shortest amount of time to gain the greatest possible improvement.

To maximize his strength, throughout the entire month, aside from eating, drinking, relieving himself, and sleeping, he spent almost all his time training.

In the mornings, he borrowed his junior brothers' External Force to train the fourth level of the Sword God Body Tempering Technique.

In the afternoons, he wore weighted iron armor and entered the Great Sea to practice swordsmanship. At night, he continued training the fourth level of the Sword God Body Tempering Technique.

His daily training time reached nearly eighteen hours, utterly insane!

This relentless, day-after-day training allowed Li Yuan's strength to improve continuously every day.

It was precisely the sense of accomplishment from feeling himself improve every day that allowed Li Yuan to endure this inhuman training.

"Boss, tomorrow is the Rocks Pirates Recruitment Meeting!"

One day, Kano ran over with a newspaper in hand.

"Is that so? Has a month already passed?"

The newspaper recorded news of the Rocks Pirates Recruitment Meeting. Upon seeing it, Li Yuan finally snapped out of his frenzied training state.

"Notify everyone. Make preparations—we're going to Hachinosu Island tomorrow!"

Since the Recruitment Meeting was tomorrow, Li Yuan did not continue training that day. Instead, he properly relaxed his body.

He would restore his energy and attend tomorrow's Recruitment Meeting in his best condition.

"Senior Brother, don't worry. We're all ready."

Kano said excitedly, as if he were the one attending the Recruitment Meeting tomorrow.

Joining the Rocks Pirates was something most pirates on the Great Sea wanted to do.

After all, the Rocks Pirates' current prestige was simply overwhelming. They could be said to rule over the New World, leaving even the Marines helpless.

And he knew that his Senior Brother, Li Yuan, was aiming for the position of Rocks Pirates Officer.

Every current Rocks Pirates Officer was a Great Pirate renowned throughout the Great Sea. Just imagining his Senior Brother becoming a Rocks Pirates Officer filled him with incomparable excitement.

"A month of frenzied training has made my strength soar, but this rapid progress has more or less come to a stop. My future progress won't be nearly as fast."

Because he had undergone his first Haki Body Tempering after initially awakening Armament Haki, the Haki Body Tempering had been highly effective, and his physique had grown rapidly.

But after a month of frenzied training, his body had grown accustomed to being tempered by his current Haki.

In other words, now that his body had adapted to Haki and his physique had strengthened, his resistance to Haki had increased, so the effects of Haki Body Tempering would diminish.

Unless his Haki Quality could rise to another level, the efficiency of Haki Body Tempering could only progress steadily. It could no longer advance by leaps and bounds as it had during the previous month.