A Year and a Half

A Year and a Half

Crack!!!

Crack!!!

Crack!!!

"."

Then, his junior brothers continuously swung the long whips in their hands, lashing Li Yuan's body and letting him experience what ancient whipping punishments felt like.

"Endure it!"

The pain was so intense that Li Yuan nearly told his junior brothers to stop. Yet, with his formidable willpower, he gritted his teeth and continuously circulated the first layer of the Sword God Body Tempering Technique, enduring it.

"Stop!"

After half an hour of whipping, his junior brothers were exhausted and panting. Only then did Li Yuan tell them to stop.

"Whew, it's finally over. Eldest Brother, are you all right?"

Kano asked worriedly.

"I'm fine!"

Li Yuan answered with difficulty.

His body was covered in whip wounds, even his face. He looked utterly miserable.

Yet half an hour later, all the wounds had healed. If not for the shed skin and blood left on the ground, Kano would hardly have believed it was real.

"Go bring me the barbecue."

After recovering from his injuries, Li Yuan's stomach growled loudly. He was starving. Fortunately, his master had plenty of supplies on Small Island and provided them to him free of charge, so he had never lacked meat.

"Eldest Brother, your barbecue is here."

His third junior brother, Karu, soon pushed over a cart piled with barbecue.

"The barbecue's a little bland. Add more salt next time."

Li Yuan grabbed the barbecue and stuffed it into his mouth. The entire cart of meat, three times larger than his own body, was all devoured by him.

Kano and the other junior brothers stared at Li Yuan as though he were a monster. They had never seen anyone capable of eating so much.

"One day, I'll sail out to sea and become a pirate. I'll form a Pirate Crew, become a famous Great Pirate, and become the World's Greatest Swordsman!"

"You're my junior brothers. If you want to sail with me, train alongside me and work hard to grow stronger. If you aren't strong enough by then, I won't take you out to sea."

After eating his fill, Li Yuan looked seriously at the ten junior brothers gathered around him.

He wanted to form a Pirate Crew, and its early members would most likely be chosen from the Sword Hall. They would be his initial core.

"That's great, Eldest Brother! I want to go out to sea too! I want to become a Great Pirate too! I'll train hard, and when the time comes, I'll definitely sail with you!"

His second junior brother, Kano, said excitedly.

"Eldest Brother, I'll work hard too."

His third junior brother, Karu, was also very interested.

"Then let's work hard together!"

After eating, Li Yuan continued training. He looked at a boulder thirty meters away, walked over to it, and lifted it over his head with both hands before doing frog jumps while carrying it.

Once he had trained to his limit, he circulated the first layer of the Sword God Body Tempering Technique to dispel his fatigue, then began practicing his swordsmanship.

However, the sword in his hands was no ordinary Iron Sword. It was a special greatsword weighing a thousand jin.

Li Yuan held the greatsword and began practicing the basic Sword Skill of "lifting." He intended to practice this single Sword Skill for an entire month. After all, half a year ago, he had only practiced six basic Sword Skills.

He needed to practice every basic Sword Skill until it was perfected and became instinct.

A year and a half later

Li Yuan's inhuman daily training continued for a full year and a half.

By now, two years had passed since his consciousness awakened.

In two years, his strength had undergone earth-shaking changes!

His Observation Haki had grown even stronger, while his physique and swordsmanship had advanced rapidly as well. He was completely different from who he had been before!

"Over the past two years, I've become much, much stronger, but I've never truly fought an enemy. I don't have any real combat experience."

Li Yuan was very satisfied with the progress he had made over the past two years.

"Eldest Brother, this is bad! Pirates are here! Master told us to hide and not go outside!"

Karu rushed over and shouted anxiously.

"Third Junior Brother, if Master won't let us go out, what about Master himself?"

Li Yuan steadied his third junior brother, Karu, and asked.

"Master is obviously going to stop the pirates from invading our island. Don't worry, Master is very strong. Nothing will happen to him. He's stopped many pirate invasions before."

Karu said after catching his breath.

"Stay here. I'm going to see Master."

Li Yuan's eyes lit up at those words. A pirate invasion—wasn't that the perfect chance to test his strength?

As long as he did not court death or charge to the front, he should not be in any danger with his Observation Haki.

"Hey, Eldest Brother, wait—"

Karu wanted to say something more, but Li Yuan did not listen. He immediately ran out of the Sword Hall.

Li Yuan sprinted to the edge of a house near Small Island's Port, hiding to one side without revealing himself as he secretly observed the Pirate Ship approaching the Port.

"Boss, this island is under Marine protection, but it's on the outskirts. The Marines can't get here that quickly. As long as we move fast enough, loot the place, and run, the Marines won't be able to catch us!"

A pirate wearing a Black Headband and holding a blade greedily eyed the Small Island ahead.

"Hahahaha, you're right. As long as we're fast enough, all the Treasure will be ours."

"Men, get moving! Kill everything, burn everything, loot everything!"

The pirate captain raised the large cleaver in his hand and shouted excitedly.

"Charge, charge, charge! The Treasure is mine!"

"Kill them! All the women are mine!"

"Kill everything, burn everything, loot everything, eat everything!"

"."

The pirates aboard the Pirate Ship were instantly thrilled at their captain's words. Greedy grins spread across every face as they jumped off the Pirate Ship and charged toward Small Island.

"Hahaha, old man, are you here to welcome us? Don't worry, we'll make sure you die peacefully. No need to thank us."

However, the moment these pirates rushed ashore, they saw an old man holding a blade standing before them.

The pirates did not hesitate in the slightest, raising their weapons and hacking at him. To them, cutting down an old man was perfectly normal.

"Aaaah!!!!"

"Aaaah!!!!"

Yet the five pirates charging in front, who had completely dismissed the old man, suddenly let out miserable screams. Their hearts had all been pierced through!

"Pirates, leave now. Otherwise, you will all die!"

Louis said calmly.

Though Louis's face remained calm, the killing intent radiating from him brought the excited pirates to a halt.

They then looked toward their captain. This old man was powerful; if they charged forward, they would only be throwing their lives away.

"I never expected Master to be this strong. He usually never spars with me, so I have no idea what level his strength is at. Still, that pirate captain probably isn't stronger than Master."

After arriving, Li Yuan had already activated his Observation Haki to observe them. He could sense that the pirate captain did not seem very strong.