Early the next morning, Hogg and Luo Chen began another day of training.
"Tap! Tap! Tap!"
The sound of footsteps reached Luo Chen's ears. He concentrated and listened for a moment, then suddenly looked in one direction and attacked at great speed, saying,
"Over here, Soru! Shigan!"
"Too slow. I'm over here. Rankyaku: Amane Dachi!"
The moment the words left his mouth, a figure darted out from that direction and appeared beside Luo Chen, his right foot tracing a wind-blade slash through the air.
The slash came around like a boomerang and sent Luo Chen flying.
"Damn, Tekkai!"
In that critical moment, he had no time to dodge and could only use Tekkai to defend himself. The wind blade struck him head-on and sent him flying into the trunks of several large trees. He broke through three of them before finally coming to a stop.
"Whoosh!"
Before the haze had cleared, Luo Chen stood up again and vanished from where he stood. In a flash, he appeared before Hogg and swung his right leg up, stirring the air around it.
"Boom!!!"
"Rankyaku!"
As he spoke, a massive flying slash formed beneath his foot, and he swung his leg to send it at Hogg.
"Tekkai: Shatter Jade!"
Facing the enormous slash, Hogg did not dodge. He too used one of the Six Powers, instantly hardening his left hand and punching the flying slash.
"Bang!!!"
Hogg's fist collided with the flying slash with a resounding crash, and a shockwave rippled outward in every direction.
"Hah!"
Hogg exerted his strength and shattered the flying slash, sending another gust sweeping outward. Dust filled the air outside the two men's fighting area, but where they were exchanging blows
"You're still not good enough, Luo Chen."
"Shigan: Madara!"
With that, he flashed in front of Luo Chen and used an advanced Shigan technique against him.
"In that case, come on and try the new move I developed! Shigan: Storm!"
Faced with the relentless Shigan attacks, Luo Chen counterattacked frantically, using Shigan as well.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
"Bang, bang, bang!"
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Their Shigan attacks collided, producing a continuous roar. The occasional stray attack shattered nearby boulders, and the trees were not spared either.
"Smack!"
"Smack!"
As their attacks grew fiercer, the ground beneath both fighters could no longer hold and began to collapse. The area where they fought sank deeper and deeper.
"Whoosh!"
"Rankyaku: Great Wind Blade!"
During the exchange, Hogg took advantage of Luo Chen's haste to deal with his attacks, using Soru to flash in front of him again. With one kick, he whipped up a gigantic wind blade and sent him flying.
"Boom!!!"
Luo Chen slammed into a rock wall, and rubble buried him from head to toe, finally bringing the exchange to an end.
"Bang!!!"
He punched apart all the rubble burying him, stood up amid the dust, and patted himself off before walking over to Hogg.
"Whoosh!"
Hogg appeared before him in the blink of an eye and gave his assessment.
"Not bad. You've completely mastered the Six Powers, but they still lack power, so you need to train harder on your own. With that, my mission has come to an end for now. It's time for me to prepare to head there."
He nodded in approval of Luo Chen's performance over the past few days, then turned his piercing gaze toward a point in the sky. That was where Enel's temple stood.
"The people of Sky Island are still waiting for me to deal with them."
"Have you made up your mind? When are you leaving?"
Luo Chen walked over and asked him.
"I want to leave right away."
Hogg nodded, then spoke.
"Wait until tomorrow. Tonight, I'd like to cook you a meal to thank you for teaching me all this time."
Knowing he could not persuade Hogg otherwise, Luo Chen offered no further words of caution. Instead, he asked him to leave tomorrow and planned to invite him to sample a meal he had made that night, as a reward for all the help he had given him.
"Mm, all right. Then let me enjoy one last taste of a meal you've prepared with care!"
That evening, Luo Chen carefully prepared a lavish feast to express his gratitude to Hogg for teaching him with all his heart over the past half month.
After eating and drinking his fill, Luo Chen quickly fell asleep. Hogg alone sat by the campfire, taking out a pocket watch and opening it. He gazed tenderly at the beautiful figure inside.
Don't worry, little sister. Once this is settled, I'll come back. Just wait for me without worrying.
A moment later, Hogg said silently in his heart.
"Ugh... my head hurts! I shouldn't have drunk so much. I don't even know what time it is now. Hmm... where did Hogg go? Damn, could it be..."
In the blink of an eye, it was the next morning. Bright sunlight shone directly on Luo Chen's eyelids, slowly waking him. He looked around and suddenly realized what had happened.
"Just as I thought. He really went to find Enel."
After searching for a while, Luo Chen found a note Hogg had left behind. It read: "Luo Chen, by the time you see this note, I will already have gone to find Enel. Although we've only known each other for half a month, I still consider you a kindred spirit. I don't want to put you in a difficult position over this. If I really do fail, please take care of my sister."
After reading it, Luo Chen picked up the small object that had been weighing down the note. It was the pocket watch, and inside it were a picture of Hogg's sister and the location where she could be found.
"Alas! What am I supposed to do, Hogg? No, I have to get over there and see for myself. I hope I'm not too late!"
After reading the note, Luo Chen shook his head helplessly and spoke, then decided to go to the temple himself to witness the battle between them.
"Pfft! Even if you defeated us, you still can't beat Lord Enel. I'll wait here for news of your failure. Pfft!"
Directly below the temple, the priest Ohm spoke with difficulty. When he finished, he spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed, his face pale and haggard.
The other priests and dozens of divine soldiers lay on the ground beside him, their fates unknown.
"Huff! Huff! Huff! I've finally dealt with all the obstacles in my way. Now it's your turn, Enel. Wait for me! Geppo!"
Hogg panted urgently, sweat streaming down his face.
After resting briefly, he used Geppo to rush up to the temple above.
High above the giant beanstalk stood the temple, where Enel sat upright on his divine throne with his eyes closed, resting. Suddenly, he opened them, rose to his feet, and looked directly below, laughing aloud.
"Mm-hahahaha! Have you finally come? Just as I thought, I knew they couldn't stop you. Come, Marine from the Blue Sea! I, god, await your arrival here."
"Whoosh!"
"Enel, where are you? I'm here! Today I'm going to drag you down from your pedestal and free the people of Sky Island!"
Before long, Hogg used Geppo to reach the entrance of the temple and shouted inside.
"Eh-hahahaha! Come, Marine. I, god, accept your challenge."
Enel picked up the Golden Staff, rose, and walked toward the entrance as he spoke.
"Tekkai: Shatter!"
"Bang!"
He violently forced open the temple doors and strolled inside. Seeing Enel walking toward him, he studied it closely.
"Are you Enel, the god of Sky Island? The ability user who ate the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?"
After studying the unruly young man before him for a while, with four small drums on his back and a Golden Staff in his hand, he finally spoke.
"That's right. I am god. Blue Sea man, have you come to challenge me today?"
He first nodded in acknowledgment, then asked Hogg a question of his own.
"So you're the one who enslaved the people here, killed your own master, and even destroyed your homeland."
"Hahaha! It is their blessing to be enslaved by me, god. As for my feeble old master, I, god, showed him great mercy and let him sink along with that rotten land. What's wrong with that?"
Hearing the other man expose the sins he had committed, Enel spoke without a care.
"Looks like preaching is no use to you. Then let our fists do the talking. I'll defeat and arrest you, and give the innocent civilians you killed an answer, Enel!"
Seeing Enel's utterly unrepentant face, Hogg knew that only by relying on his true abilities could he make him admit defeat and acknowledge his crimes.
"What pointless preaching. You should have done this sooner. Let me, god, see what a Marine from the Blue Sea can do!"
Enel spoke dismissively of his preaching and challenged his strength.