Candle Yin's Heir

Dawn looked down at Mihawk on the ground, his expression utterly frank.

"Purely in terms of swordsmanship and understanding of slashes, I am indeed inferior to you."

He knew full well that Mihawk's earlier strike had first broken through his defenses with Armament Haki of an equal level. Then, even without additional Haki reinforcement, its sword energy had still pierced his Gravity Armor and wounded him.

That ability to temper sword energy to such an extreme was beyond his reach for now. His faith in the path of the swordsman was far less pure and resolute than Mihawk's.

The first step toward becoming a Swordmaster was to pour one's will into the blade without reservation. If one's will was not pure enough, one's achievements would naturally be limited.

To Dawn, swordsmanship was a powerful means of attack and one path toward the pinnacle of strength, but it was not the only path.

He had never intended to become a pure swordsman who relied solely on the blade in his hand. Embracing all things and turning every usable power to his own advantage—that was his style.

"No need to be modest. Your terrifying strength can fully make up for the gap in will."

Mihawk wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, lightly shaking his somewhat numb arms, which even carried a faint sensation of fractured bones. He switched to gripping the hilt of Black Blade Yoru with both hands and sighed sincerely.

For swordsmen who had reached the realm of Swordmaster, unyielding will was certainly important, but a swordsman's destructive power depended largely on his own strength.

"It is an honor to receive such praise from a swordsman of your caliber. Are we still going to continue?"

Dawn had already roughly gauged his current level of strength. Being able