Under the cover of night, a massive warship lay anchored in the waters near the Goa Kingdom.
On the deck, Ivankov and several Revolutionary Army officers stood anxiously, all staring toward the direction of the kingdom.
Rain had already begun to fall from the darkened sky.
Yet their leader had still not returned.
Ivankov and the others were growing increasingly worried. If they didn't leave soon, it might interfere with their next plan.
Suddenly—
A bolt of lightning tore across the dark sky.
In the instant the lightning flashed,a figure in a green cloak emerged from the darkness and landed steadily on the deck.
It was Dragon.
Seeing their leader return, Ivankov and the others hurried forward.
"Ivan—save this child!"
Before Ivankov could even speak, Dragon pulled a child from beneath his cloak and handed him over.
The boy had already lost consciousness.
"This is…?"
Ivankov's eyes filled with confusion as he accepted the unconscious child.
"Mr. Xia Yu's vision… was no hallucination."
After handing over the boy, Dragon turned to look in the direction of Shimotsuki Village, his expression grave.
"He foresaw what was about to happen in Goa Kingdom."
Of course, In truth, Xia Yu didn't possess the ability to see the future.
He had simply deduced it based on the original storyline.
The great fire in Goa Kingdom likely occurred around the same time Dragon and the Revolutionary Army were gathering supplies in Shimotsuki Village.
But because there was no precise timeline, Xia Yu could only make a rough estimate.
So when Dragon was preparing to leave, Xia Yu casually mentioned seeing flames rising into the sky from the direction of Goa Kingdom.
What Xia Yu hadn't expected was that both Koushirou and Dragon interpreted his actions—saving Kuina and hinting about the flames—as proof that he possessed such an ability to predict the future.
Naturally, both Koushirou and Dragon understood abilities only within the framework of this world.
So in their minds, Xia Yu was not only a powerful swordsman but also someone whose Observation Haki had developed to the point where he could briefly glimpse the future.
…
Ten days later—
With Kuina and Zoro accompanying him, Xia Yu successfully completed the mission of learning about Shimotsuki Village's customs.
And he finally caught one hundred fish.
The moment he reeled in the hundredth fish, the system notification sounded.
[System Notification]
Congratulations to the host for completing the mission. Reward obtained: 1,000 Travel Points.
[System Notification]
Because the host completed the mission 20 days ahead of schedule, an additional reward has been granted:
Cooking Skill — "Ultimate Yangzhou Fried Rice Quick Mastery Manual."
"Hm?"
"A cooking skill…?"
"Ultimate Yangzhou Fried Rice Quick Mastery?"
"So… the next journey is about becoming a gourmet and selling fried rice?"
Xia Yu didn't show much reaction to the reward.
After spreading Confucian philosophy in Windmill Village and fishing in Shimotsuki Village, he could already guess that his next destination would likely revolve around food.
But—
What exactly was this Ultimate Yangzhou Fried Rice Quick Mastery Manual?
It's just fried rice.
Do you really need a manual for that?
Well… it's better than nothing.
Xia Yu accepted the strange cooking skill and opened his character panel.
With 1,000 Travel Points, he had several choices.
Upgrading combat experience to LV6 required only 100 points, but upgrading it to LV7 required 1,000.
Upgrading Swordsmanship to LV7 also required exactly 1,000 points.
After a brief hesitation, Xia Yu decisively invested all the points into swordsmanship.
[System Notification]
Congratulations! Swordsmanship upgraded to LV7. Integrating LV7 Swordsmanship…
As the notification sounded, countless new memories of sword mastery flooded into Xia Yu's mind once more.
When the integration finished, he could clearly feel that his swordsmanship had risen to an entirely new level.
His understanding of the sword became deeper.
And the Sword Intent he could perceive grew even more vast and powerful.
Because Xia Yu suddenly became quiet, Zoro and Kuina—who were helping collect fishing rods—also stopped and looked toward him.
The moment they saw him, both of their pupils contracted.
At that moment, Xia Yu seemed enveloped in an invisible aura of power.
That overwhelming presence made both Zoro and Kuina feel an almost irresistible urge to bow.
"S-So strong…"
Zoro swallowed hard, barely suppressing the strange impulse rising within him.
"Did Mr. Xia Yu… get stronger again from fishing?"
Hearing this, Kuina immediately raised her wooden sword and lightly tapped Zoro on the head.
She didn't believe that fishing could make someone stronger.
The only reason she hadn't exposed Xia Yu's nonsense was because she enjoyed going fishing with him.
After all, endless training could be incredibly boring.
Even though Kuina didn't believe fishing could increase strength, she was still very curious about Xia Yu's abilities.
"Zoro. Kuina."
Just as the two were lost in their thoughts, Xia Yu suddenly turned around and spoke calmly.
"I've already stayed in Shimotsuki Village for ten days. It's time for me to leave."
"Before I go, I'll teach you two a couple of sword techniques. They might help you in the future."
"L-Leave?"
Kuina's pupils shrank slightly.
"Mr. Xia Yu… you're leaving?"
"Yes."
Xia Yu smiled gently.
"I'm a traveler. I don't stay in one place for long."
"Besides, there is no banquet in this world that lasts forever. Even if I didn't leave now, I would eventually leave someday."
Xia Yu walked over to Kuina and gently patted her head.
"Kuina, never give up just because you're a girl."
"Believe in me… and believe in yourself. One day, your name will echo across the entire world."
"If someone uses their physical limits as an excuse to abandon their dreams, that's nothing but cowardice."
"Practicing with your body and sword is only the foundation."
"But once you grasp Sword Intent, the so-called limitations of the body will no longer bind you."
"And your training will no longer be confined to a single swing of the sword."
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