Swoosh...
Clang!!
Bang...
In the training room of the Isel, a towering and majestic Divine Shadow stood. Suddenly, a dark shadow darted out from his side and slashed at him with a sword. But the man simply raised his right hand and punched the shadow away. Looking down at the petite and delicate figure lying on the ground, he shook his head and said...
"Not enough, more..."
The man was Luo Chen, and the petite woman was Lulith, who had joined the group eager to become stronger. After deciding to give the fruit to George, Luo Chen began a series of training sessions for her.
If he had taught her the Six Powers, and Catherine had instructed her in swordsmanship, then at this moment, Lulith would only have a rough grasp of swordsmanship skills and some physical training. At this moment, Luo Chen was conducting relevant practical combat with her.
"..."
Lulith struggled to her feet again without saying anything, or rather, she had no right to speak at the moment. This was the path she had chosen, and no matter how tiring it was, she had to keep going. Gritting her teeth, she charged at him again.
Swoosh...
Clang!!
Lulith's blade struck Luo Chen's arm, which had been Hardening with Tekkai, without even leaving a white mark on his skin.
"Not enough, your strength and skill aren't up to par... Get down there again... Tekkai... Shattered Jade!!"
Luo Chen was still dissatisfied with her attack, shook his head and said, then Hardening his left hand and swung it down towards her abdomen.
Bang...
Lulith sensed a great danger signal and immediately withdrew her sword to block in front of her, but she still couldn't withstand his attack and was knocked away by a punch, crashing heavily into the wall and sliding down.
"So strong... I need to think of another way to avoid his punches..."
Lulith stood up, wiped the bloodstains from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, and looked at Luo Chen solemnly as she spoke.
"What's wrong Lulith? Didn't you say you wanted to get stronger? Is it really over like this? You won't improve your combat skills like this!"
The so-called becoming stronger is not something that can be achieved simply through cultivation. It also requires constantly challenging stronger opponents to hone oneself in battle and thus surpass one's limits. Right now, I'm just standing here with only 10% of my power, and you can't even make me move an inch by attacking me?
Seeing that she seemed to be thinking about a better way to force him to back down, Luo Chen had no choice but to provoke her by saying that his intention was for Lulith to hone her skills in the fight against him, not for her to use other methods.
"Hmph... I know that without you saying it..."
After hearing Luo Chen's words, Lulith snorted and then seemed to be really aroused, gripping the hilt of her knife again and charging forward.
Clang!!
Clang!!
... And so, the two continued their battle in the training room for a long time. Just before mealtime, Luo Chen seized the opportunity and delivered a precise punch to her stomach, sending her flying and ending their training session.
"Alright, that's enough sparring with Lulith for today. We should go eat..."
Seeing that she had picked up her sword again and stood up, seemingly wanting to rush up and fight him again, Luo Chen quickly raised his hand to stop her.
Clang...
Thump...
When Luo Chen said it was over, she couldn't even hold her sword steady and it fell to the floor with a clang. Then, she was covered in sweat and collapsed weakly to the ground.
"Phew... Is it finally over? I'm so tired!!"
She showed absolutely no trace of a big star, slumped on the ground, gasping for breath, and said...
"Okay, get up quickly, it's time to eat. Catherine will be instructing you on swordsmanship for lunch. After two days of training, you still can't even use the basic sword techniques. I'm really disappointed in you!!"
Luo Chen glanced at her exhausted appearance, frowned, and said with some disappointment.
"I understand, I will continue to improve. But if only I had Devil Fruit, I wouldn't have to train so hard like this."
Lulith knew that her performance had disappointed him, so she could only respond stammeringly. Then, thinking of George had just eaten the fruit and had been sitting there meditating all day, she said enviously.
"Hmm... How could you have such a thought? You should know that even if you were given Devil Fruit to eat, you still can't neglect physical training. All great strength comes from your own powerful body. You can't be unaware of that, can you?"
Seeing that Lulith seemed to have such negative thoughts, Luo Chen quickly interrupted her and scolded her.
"Huh?! I understand. I was just thinking about it; I'm not really going to give up physical training..."
Seeing that Luo Chen seemed about to continue scolding her, she quickly replied, not wanting Luo Chen and the others to be completely disappointed in her.
"Okay, that's good. Quickly tidy yourself up and come out to eat with me. Also, it's best not to tell Catherine what you just said. She's a staunch advocate of swordsmanship, not relying on any external power. Your idea of becoming stronger through fruits will probably disappoint her greatly..."
He's gone...
After finishing speaking, Luo Chen waved and went out first, followed by Lulith after she tidied her appearance.
At the dinner table, all the crew members gathered together to enjoy the food. After a while, Luo Chen swallowed the food in his mouth, downed a few swigs of wine, and then asked George a question.
" George, how's it going? How much longer until we reach the next island?!"
Luo Chen looked at George was silently eating his food across the table, and asked him.
Glug...
"It's probably less than half a day's Luo Chen. We should arrive around evening. Oh, by the way, the next island is called Macaron, a famous Capital of Gourmet Food. I went there once with my captain, and I must say the food there is countless and absolutely divine. We can go and try it together then."
After swallowing the food he was chewing, George answered Luo Chen's question and then described the local specialties to pique everyone's interest.
"Really? Capital of Gourmet Food? We really have to go and try it out. And it would be even better if we could find a great chef there to be our partner."
George's words whetted Luo Chen's appetite, making him look forward to the rest of the journey. He then patted his stomach and suggested...
"Yes, I agree with that..."
"Me too..."
"I don't care..."
After hearing Luo Chen's suggestion to find a chef as their future partner, Catherine was the first to agree, followed by Lulith. Singh himself was indifferent; he only needed to fill his stomach and have something to eat, so his requirements weren't that high. Catherine, on the other hand, hoped that the food could be improved. For the past few days, they had taken turns preparing the food. Apart from Luo Chen and Lulith, who were doing alright, the others' food was barely edible, not to mention it was worlds apart from the food at Marine Headquarters.
"Well, in that case, let's find a chef partner from Macaron's place. That way, it won't take up any of our time, and we can also improve our meals—a win-win situation..."
Luo Chen made the decision.
"Um..."
And naturally, no one objected to his decision; everyone agreed with it.
After enjoying their meal, the group resumed their respective itineraries. Soon it was evening, and Isel was sailing smoothly on the sea. At this time, an island slowly appeared in the distance, which was none other than the Capital of Gourmet Food of Macaron, which they were heading to.
"Captain Luo Chen, Captain Luo Chen, wake up! We're almost at Macaron..."
Luo Chen was sitting Fuza under the main mast, resting quietly. At that moment, George was training his abilities on the deck, suddenly saw the shadow of the island and realized that they were about to reach their destination. So he quickly ran to Luo Chen's side and gently shook his body, saying...
"Hmm... what's wrong?"
After being shaken a few times by George, Luo Chen slowly woke up, opened his eyes, and looked at George in front of him with a blurry vision, asking a question.
"Captain, we've arrived! Look there... Macaron is just ahead..."
George pointed ahead in reply.
"Ahead...?! Uh... finally we're here? I've been waiting for so long, we're finally almost there! This is great! Let's hurry and tell Catherine and the others the good news that we're about to reach Macaron..."
Luo Chen followed his finger and saw the island getting closer and closer to him. He jumped up excitedly and said.
"Yes..."
George received the order and hurriedly prepared to go and inform the others, but at that moment, a voice rang out.
"No need, we already know. That must be Macaron. It certainly looks fascinating from here..."
Catherine, Lulith, and the other two walked over together, gazing at the outline of the island ahead. She spoke softly.
Soon, the group boarded the Isel and sailed towards the port of Macaron. They arrived there quickly and disembarked together.