System Upgrade

A navy warship sailed slowly through the Calm Belt. Marines stood in ranks on both sides, rhythmically chanting "One, two! One, two!" as they pulled the massive oars. Veins bulged, sweat soaked their backs, and every marine worked with utmost focus, as though they had found the value of their existence.

Seeing how earnestly the marines worked, the refugees felt a little embarrassed and wanted to help, but the sailors refused. Still, they felt the refugees' goodwill.

Because of the Whitebeard Pirates' flag earlier, Wuli had heard the "ding" but had not checked the mission completion details.

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Sword Master: Lv2 (322/500)

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Name: Wuli

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Skills: *Shigure Soen Ryu* (Esoterica), *Floating Rain Divine Wind Sword* (99%)

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Chivalry Points: 50

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Now that he had completed the mission of saving civilians from the Sea Kings' attack, he would receive a full 180 experience points!

With those 180 experience points, added to the 322 he already had!

The system could level up once again, granting him a new sword technique and increasing his strength!

Thinking of this, Wuli could not help growing excited. Full of anticipation, he opened the system interface.

The data on the system interface had changed. Not only had the system leveled up and rewarded him with another sword technique, but to Wuli's surprise, there were now things that had not existed before!

First, a pet slot had appeared on the system interface. Inside were three silver eggs, each about the size of a watermelon, gleaming brightly.

Beside them was a wooden mallet, shaped somewhat like the gavel used at an auction or in a courtroom, only much larger.

System prompt: Sword Master, you have two chances to choose a pet egg! Of the three pet eggs, one is a dragon egg, one is a random mystery egg, and one is a dud egg. (It contains nothing, only a ribbon with words written on it.)

Looking at the three silver pet eggs in the newly appeared pet slot, Wuli began to ponder.

The best outcome would naturally be picking the dragon egg. It was a dragon, after all. Once it grew up, he could swagger across the Grand Line without fear. A slightly worse outcome would be the random mystery egg—it was highly unpredictable and entirely dependent on luck. The worst outcome would be the dud egg. Just hearing that name did not inspire much hope. Still, what was that ribbon with writing on it? Could it have an effect similar to the Swordsmanship Esoterica Scroll from before?

The three pet eggs looked exactly the same from the outside, with no visible differences, so he could not choose based on appearance. He could only rely on luck.

With a thought from Wuli, the hammer smashed down on the silver pet egg in the middle.

Clang!

The silver egg shattered. A flash of silver light burst forth, and as the radiance gradually faded, Wuli saw what was inside the pet egg: a ribbon with writing on it. When he read the words, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and a herd of horses thundered through his heart.

Ding~ Congratulations, you smashed the dud egg and obtained the "Keep It Up" ribbon! We hope it will motivate you. You have one final chance remaining!

Wuli did not even know what to say. He had originally thought it would be something like the Swordsmanship Esoterica Scroll.

But the result... was this supposed to be a beer bottle cap? It seemed he had expected too much from the system. He only had one chance left!

Wuli began to feel nervous, hoping he could smash the dragon egg.

Wuli's hammer drifted back and forth between the two eggs as he hesitated. After struggling inwardly for a long time, he smashed it toward the silver pet egg on the right.

Clang!

The silver egg shattered, and a mass of colorful glowing mist appeared within. Shadows of various strange beasts flickered past before finally stopping on the phantom image of a bird.

Wuli looked forward to it. Could it be a phoenix? A flaming bird? Then his gaze fell upon the image's single foot, and he became puzzled.

Ding~ Congratulations, you smashed the mystery egg and obtained a divine beast pet, "Shangyang."

The other pet eggs and the hammer disappeared together. A hatchling appeared in the pet slot, hugging its eggshell as it ate.

Shangyang?

Could it be Shangyang, the divine beast from ancient myths and legends?

Looking at the hatchling's single leg, Wuli was afraid there was no mistake.

Having obtained the pet egg, Wuli checked the sword technique rewarded by this system upgrade—Wind's Sorrow!

It was one of Inuyasha's moves. Its attack power was formidable, perfectly making up for Wuli's lack of offensive strength.

What surprised Wuli was that, compared to the previous set of sword techniques, there had been new changes as well. This sword technique should more accurately be called a sword move.

Moreover, aside from the moves rewarded through leveling up, the later moves could also be purchased with experience points.

Now that Wuli had leveled up, the data on the system interface had changed.