The days flew by in monotonous repetition.
In the blink of an eye, more than a year had passed since Ye Chuan enrolled.
He had grown considerably taller. Although he still looked somewhat thin, his years of exercise had begun to give his muscles definition, and he no longer had the utterly beanpole-like build he once did.
More importantly, after over a year of relentless daily training, his inheritance progress had reached 9.0%!
Of course, his daily missions had not remained unchanged throughout that year.
About six months earlier, when his inheritance progress reached roughly 5%, his daily missions had upgraded again!
[Daily missions:] [1. Swing a blade 2,000 times (0/2000)] [2. Run 10 kilometers daily (0/10)] [3. Do 100 push-ups (0/100), 100 sit-ups (0/100), and 100 squats (0/100)]
The number of blade swings had doubled to two thousand, with three hundred additional repetitions of basic physical exercises!
The maximum experience he could earn each day had also increased to 4 points.
For a child only a little over seven years old, that workload was nothing short of hellish.
If I hadn't learned that technique... Ye Chuan felt fortunate.
Fortunately, after studying basic chakra theory at the Ninja Academy and combining it with his adult capacity for understanding,
he had secretly mastered that practically game-breaking ninjutsu-the Shadow Clone Technique!
The Shadow Clone Technique was an advanced B-rank ninjutsu. Unlike the ordinary Clone Technique, it created physical clones.
The memories, experience, and even fatigue a clone accumulated would all return to the original when it was dispelled.
It demanded a great deal of chakra; even ordinary Genin struggled to maintain more than a few.
But Ye Chuan discovered that, perhaps because of his powerful soul, his total chakra reserves seemed considerably greater than those of his peers. Combined with his precise chakra control, he could just barely create one shadow clone to help him train.
And so, his daily training routine had become:
His original body handled the ten-kilometer run and the three hundred push-ups, sit-ups, and squats.
Meanwhile, his shadow clone tirelessly repeated two thousand blade swings in the clearing behind the house.
This way, although his original body still had to endure enormous physical exertion and the fatigue transmitted back when the shadow clone disappeared, he could at least barely complete all his daily missions.
His efficiency had doubled outright!
Now, the glow of the setting sun bathed the clearing.
Ye Chuan had just finished his last properly executed push-up when the shadow clone beside him, identical in every way, precisely completed its two-thousandth downward swing.
Poof!
The shadow clone vanished in a puff of white smoke.
Instantly, the muscle memory, subtle insights, and corresponding fatigue from two thousand blade swings flooded Ye Chuan's mind together.
He gave a muffled grunt and shook his head, adjusting to the impact.
[Daily mission: Swing a blade 2,000 times (2000/2000). Completed.] [Daily mission: Run 10 kilometers daily (10/10). Completed.] [Daily mission: Do 100 push-ups (100/100). Completed.] [Daily mission: Do 100 sit-ups (100/100). Completed.] [Daily mission: Do 100 squats (100/100). Completed.] [Inheritance experience gained: +4]
"Whew... finally finished today's missions."
Ye Chuan sat cross-legged. Rather than resting immediately, he closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into that familiar mental inheritance space, beginning to absorb today's inheritance experience.
Within the mental world, Hawkeye was no longer the naive child he had been at the beginning, but a youth whose aloof bearing was beginning to emerge.
The battles he experienced had also grown increasingly brutal. Blades flashed and blood sprayed; every encounter was a true struggle to the death.
But this time, something was different.
Over the past month, the scene Ye Chuan saw each time he entered the mental space had been almost identical.
The young Hawkeye stood in a clearing, staring motionlessly at an ordinary wooden post before him.
He would stare for a very, very long time.
Ye Chuan could only be patient and watch along with him for a month.
Today, just as Ye Chuan thought he would be watching the post again, the young Hawkeye in the mental world finally moved!
Without any warning, he simply drew the sword at his waist calmly.
Swish!
A cold gleam flashed.
The wooden post he had stared at for a month silently split in two through the middle, its cut surface as smooth as a mirror!
It was as though that slash had struck Ye Chuan's consciousness hard!
In that instant, he clearly "heard" the wooden post's "breathing" and "saw" the "line" running all the way through it!
Young Hawkeye's slash had not relied on brute force. Instead, it had followed the principle inherent in the wooden post itself, achieving the most perfect result with the least effort!
"This... this is..."
Ye Chuan abruptly broke free of the mental world, his entire body drenched in cold sweat and his heart pounding fiercely.
The impact of that slash had been far too powerful!
Forcing down his excitement, he immediately stood, returned inside, and found another thin sheet of white paper.
Then he picked up the wooden sword in the corner.
Taking a deep breath, Ye Chuan closed his eyes and tried hard to recall the feeling of that slash.
After a long while, his eyes snapped open.
He swung!
It was still a simple downward slash, still the same blunt, unwieldy wooden sword.
But this time-
Rip!
With a soft sound, the edge of the wooden sword actually sliced that flimsy sheet of white paper neatly down the middle. Though the cut was not as smooth as one made by a real sharp blade, it was clearly visible!
He had succeeded! With an unsharpened wooden sword, he had cut through paper!
[Ding! Congratulations on grasping the rudiments of the 'Principle of Cutting'!] [Reward: +100 inheritance experience points!] [Current inheritance progress: 10.04%] [Inheritance progress detected exceeding 10%. Novice period concluded. Novice reward unlocked!] [Congratulations on obtaining the Novice Weapon: Wado Ichimonji!]
The succession of system notifications left Ye Chuan momentarily stunned.
Immediately afterward, a flash of white light appeared out of nowhere, and a katana with a white scabbard and hilt quietly appeared before him, emanating a pure aura.
"Wado Ichimonji?!" Ye Chuan's eyes instantly lit up.
He knew this sword all too well!
One of Zoro's swords in the original story, one of the Twenty-One Great Grade Swords!
"The system... really is generous!" Ye Chuan could not help exclaiming. His novice reward was one of the Twenty-One Great Grade Swords outright.
He reached out and gently grasped Wado Ichimonji's hilt.
It felt slightly cool to the touch, yet fit his palm perfectly, as though it were alive.
Shing!
He slowly drew the sword from its scabbard.
The blade shone bright as snow, its cold gleam biting, without a trace of impurity. Its edge glinted with astonishing sharpness.
Merely holding it, Ye Chuan could sense a keenness far beyond that of ordinary blades.
He tried a few gentle swings. The sword followed his intent, light and swift, with an indescribable sense of harmony.
It was as though this sword had been meant to belong to him.
"What a fine sword!"
Just as Ye Chuan was immersed in the joy his new weapon brought him, a soft knock suddenly sounded at the door.
"Ye Chuan, are you home?" came a timid girl's voice.
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