Taking Root and Sprouting

Of course, daily sword-swinging training could not be neglected either. From this perspective, Aeneas's entire day was packed to the brim.

This, naturally, was because Obi-Wan had witnessed Aeneas's physical talent—though in reality, it was the effect of Aeneas using the Essence Breathing Technique, which was why he formulated such a heavy training schedule.

However, with such a massive consumption, Obi-Wan would also take charge of Aeneas's diet, absolutely refusing to let Aeneas's nutritional intake drop. Therefore, almost every meal prepared a variety of nutritious dishes, and at least ten adult portions worth—guaranteed to fill him up!

Thus, the first stage of training officially began.

Every morning, Aeneas's first task was none other than this.

"System, draw!"
"Congratulations to the host for drawing a Bronze-tier reward, artifact category, Annie's Tavern Playing Cards."

"Awesome!"

Aeneas slapped the table in admiration, then directly began his day's training.

Waking up promptly at five in the morning, Aeneas first ran laps around White Claw Beach, running at eighty percent of his speed—after all, it was still the first day, and he still needed to slowly figure out his limits and whether the training volume was appropriate.

Although Aeneas was only eight years old, after using the Essence Breathing Technique for the first time, his physical fitness had already reached the standard of an adult.

In fact, in the world of One Piece, the standard for adults really wasn't high—didn't Luffy, Ace, and Sabo all chase down crowds of adults to beat them up when they were kids?

However, Aeneas had not undergone specialized training. Regardless of his stride frequency or breathing rhythm, it completely fell apart after one thousand meters. Although he finished the first thousand meters in a mere three minutes, the remaining nine thousand meters could not be resolved within twenty-seven minutes; instead, he grew slower and slower, and Aeneas's entire aura was thoroughly disordered.

Fortunately, Aeneas completed the task right at the one-hour mark, and the time had come to a little past six.

The temperature had not yet risen, but Aeneas was already covered in sweat.

"How did I forget?" Aeneas realized his problem the moment he got his first stitch. "Clearly I haven't been running at full speed, yet I can't stabilize my own rhythm and pace."

While Obi-Wan watched from the sidelines, he didn't say much else to Aeneas, merely telling him to rest for twenty minutes before going to eat breakfast.

Aeneas had run that hour out of breath. Clearly, there was nothing in his stomach, yet he felt a wave of nausea.

"Ah—" Aeneas was extremely annoyed. "How can this affect my speed of devouring meals?"

Then, Aeneas sat cross-legged directly on the beach, facing the rising sun in the distance, and began to circulate his Essence Breathing Technique.

As the rhythm of his breathing gradually grew smooth and steady, Aeneas also quieted down.

"This Essence Breathing Technique is really convenient; it can even help me regulate my vital energy, blood, and breathing." Aeneas, whose face had been flushed red just a moment ago, also returned to normal.

"Gurgle—"

Once he had recovered sufficiently, Aeneas felt a wave of hunger wash over him.

"Time to eat, time to eat!"

Cooking smoke rose. In the small cabin, Obi-Wan had already prepared a big meal, and little Rami had also woken up.

However, Rami could only eat some light food—because her body did not allow her to gorge herself indiscriminately; those high-calorie, high-fat things had a hundred harms for her and not a single benefit.

Fortunately, Rami was very sensible, simply eating her healthy breakfast in an orderly manner while secretly glancing at Aeneas's training regimen.

"Even eating a meal requires me to rush against a time limit?" Aeneas was truly gorging himself wildly, because Obi-Wan made him finish all of his breakfast within ten minutes; whatever he couldn't finish could no longer be eaten.

At this, Aeneas frantically crammed the food, and Rami even poured him several cups of water from the side.

"Oh, right, Rami, you were still running a fever yesterday. Why did you get up so early? Go back and rest," Aeneas said to Rami after taking a cup of water and hurriedly swallowing down the last bite that had just choked him. "The sea breeze outside is so strong, it will ruin your health."

Rami shook her head and acted coquettishly. "No! I want to watch Aeni-giki do his exercises!"

Aeneas affectionately rubbed Rami's head, then thought for a moment and said, "Then little Rami, go inside the house and watch through the window, okay? Big Brother will be right in front of the door, so you have to cheer me on!"

"Mm-mm!" Rami smiled brightly. "Cheer up, Aeni-giki!"

Rami returned inside the house. Obi-Wan looked at Aeneas with a gratified smile, then proceeded to the next item of training.

"Next, we'll do sword-swinging training. You already know the key points of the technique—keep it simple yet refined!" Obi-Wan tossed Aeneas a wooden sword that fit comfortably in his hand. "From now on, you'll use this. Later on, you can replace it with something else."

Aeneas nodded, then began his career of swinging the sword.

The morning passed quickly. With the Essence Breathing Technique, Aeneas could rest for a brief moment to adjust the muscle soreness. As his sword-swings grew more and more effortless, this time Aeneas completed eight thousand sword-swings in a mere six hours.

"This is already your limit speed. Don't pursue finishing the task all at once; eight thousand times is already very well done!" Obi-Wan was not stingy with his encouragement. "Next, eat lunch, and then continue with strength training."

After devouring his meal heartily, Obi-Wan put Aeneas through heavy kicking and pushing training for his legs.

"A person's lower stance must be steady. If you can't even stand steadily, how can you steady the blade in your hand? How can you steady your own heart?" Obi-Wan looked at Aeneas, who weighed less than seventy pounds, as he pushed a two-hundred-pound stone. "Today is the thighs and calves, tomorrow is the waist and abdomen, and the day after targets the upper limbs and neck..."

"Cheer up, Aeni-giki!" Every time she saw Aeneas completely exhausted, little Rami would call out sweetly, her flushed face incredibly cute.

And Aeneas did not let little Rami down either. Up to now, he had persisted through all the training without slackening for even a single time!

Training for reaction speed was also gradually underway. Obi-Wan threw several stones almost entirely within Aeneas's line of sight.

Part of the reason Aeneas ran until he got a stitch was due to Obi-Wan's interference—yet Aeneas was entirely willing; he couldn't blame Obi-Wan, it was simply that his own hard strength wasn't strong enough!

As dusk approached, Aeneas returned to the house to read books with Rami.

Having a companion to accompany Aeneas in reading kept him from feeling lonely.

Although little Rami wasn't very old, she was full of interest in books, so it was actually Aeneas who frequently lost focus and always needed Rami to remind him.

The grueling two hours passed, and the terrifying part was that Obi-Wan actually wanted to dictate-test Aeneas on the content he had just read!

"What the fuck, no way?" Aeneas directly blurted out a vulgarity. "How is there still this step?"

"What the fuck?" Little Rami revealed an innocent and naive expression, tilting her head to voice her question. "What is 'what the fuck'?"

"Smack!" Seeing this, veins bulged on Obi-Wan's forehead, and he struck Aeneas on the head with a fist. "Lord Aeni, you come from a noble background after all; please use civilized language, or else I'll have to add etiquette lessons to your schedule!"

"Wuwu—"

Having finished the dictation, Aeneas continued his remaining sword-swinging training. Once it ended, he was so exhausted that he collapsed onto the bed and fell fast asleep—the Essence Breathing Technique could not eliminate mental fatigue, and when bedtime arrived, one still had to sleep.

A fulfilling day after day began just like this, and Aeneas's heart to become a strong person took root and sprouted right here!