Chapter 9: New Badge and Physique Enhancement

"Check crew members' potential?"

Gao Wen blinked in surprise, then turned to look at the pirate beside him—a brand-new interface appeared before his eyes:

【Name—Huaen】

【Potential—Black Iron】

【Rating—Black Iron: A weakling who learned basic sword techniques.】

Gao Wen then shifted his gaze to several other pirates; the system interface switched in real time, displaying each of their potentials and ratings.

Without exception, all were Black Iron.

Gao Wen was not surprised by this result.

After all, even he himself, with his sword technique awakened to the Swift keyword and his physique upgraded by one level, still carried a Black Iron rating by the system’s standards.

The pirates on this ship, even combined, couldn’t match him—the gap was bigger than that between a dog and a human.

"So I can directly check my crew’s potential to screen for talent?!"

Gao Wen finally understood the correct use of this badge.

But for now, he couldn’t use it—after all, he was still at sea.

"I might as well take a look—aside from those three, are there any more usable Jiucai in the East Blue?"

"Those with top-tier talent can reach the peak within just a few years."

"Which also inversely proves that the gap between people is bigger than that between a dog and a human."

Gao Wen shook his head, then checked each pirate’s potential one by one, ultimately having to reluctantly confirm that every single person on this ship was a Black Iron weakling.

But.

Even weaklings, when numerous enough, become an Bukehushi patch of Jiucai .

Moreover, Gao Wen’s physique had reached the brink of breakthrough.

He had a hunch: once his physique improved further, his combat power would undergo a transformation, and he could truly shed the label of Black Iron weakling.

Gao Wen left a small portion of men to handle the warship’s navigation and scout nearby intelligence, then gathered the rest on deck to continue instructing them in sword cultivation.

Naturally, no one dared to object.

Gao Wen had already established absolute authority in their eyes; no one on this ship dared defy him.

After all.

The last one who resisted had been completely eaten.

"Hey!"

"Hah!"

……

On deck.

Roars echoed, accompanied by the clashing of metal.

Under the blazing sun, the crew began another grueling training session.

……

Time slipped by; the sun set and the moon rose.

A cool breeze blew across the sea; the exhausted pirates collapsed on the deck, letting the wind carry away their fatigue.

Gao Wen stood nearby, nodding in satisfaction—this was precisely their greatest value to him.

If they couldn’t even fulfill the most basic function of experience gains, keeping them around was less a help and more a burden.

With training concluded,

Gao Wen gained 12 physique experience points and 15 sword technique experience points.

Physique-LV-4: 791/800 → Physique-LV-5: 1/1600

Sword Technique-LV-5: 803/1600 → Sword Technique-LV-5: 818/1600

His physique, already at its limit, broke through to LV-5.

Gao Wen instantly felt the change in his body.

The muscles beneath his leather armor swelled visibly; his bones emitted a series of popping sounds, like beans exploding.

That was the sound of bones rapidly growing and pressing against each other.

Within just a few breaths,

Gao Wen’s stature shot upward; his formerly loose leather armor now clung tightly to him, his pant legs exposing his ankles.

His entire frame had grown a full circle wider.

"My physique is stronger!"

"Strength increased by fifty percent; I haven’t tested my durability yet, but it’s undoubtedly far superior to before!"

"I wonder what would happen if I took Monka’s axe head-on now."

Gao Wen smiled faintly, then raised his hand and clenched it Xuwo …

Crack!

The air exploded, drawing glances from the surrounding pirates.

"Huh?"

"Has the captain’s build changed? I swear he wasn’t this tall before."

One pirate rubbed his eyes, feeling Gao Wen looked unfamiliar—something had shifted.

"The captain’s aura is even stronger now—stronger than when he killed Monka!"

"Imagination?"

The pirate with the mohawk patted his shoulder weakly:

"You probably idolize the captain too much."

"Really?"

"That’s it!"

……

The crew, barely recovered, began aimless small talk.

Gao Wen walked silently toward the captain’s cabin—this change was merely an appetizer; greater enhancements lay ahead.

Thud!

After locking the cabin door from the inside, Gao Wen checked the information in his mind:

"Detected: Host’s physique upgraded to LV-5. Choose one of the following branch abilities:"

"Super Strength, Agility, Toughness, Balanced."

After brief thought, Gao Wen fixed his gaze on the final option.

These four branch abilities clearly represented four stat-allocation styles: extreme strength, agility, constitution, or balanced distribution.

But reality wasn’t a game—overly extreme allocations often failed to deliver their full potential due to underdeveloped secondary stats.

Great strength requires equal constitution to support it; blinding speed without matching power to break defenses is just scratching; pure constitution stacking makes you nothing but a punching bag.

Moreover,

In the pirate world, every Qiangzhe who reached the pyramid’s peak possessed extreme physique, strength, and speed.

The Marines had Garp and Sakazuki; the pirates had Kaido and Whitebeard—figures with balanced attributes and no glaring weaknesses.

Even balanced allocation might lead to a late-game state where you seem to have everything but actually lack everything.

But Gao Wen had confidence—through the efforts of his… subordinates—he could stack his way into a hexagonal warrior!

"I choose Balanced!"

In the next instant,

Gao Wen’s body grew hot again; torrents of scorching, magma-like blood surged from his heart, flooding every organ.

The internal burning pain made him break into a cold sweat; he bent over, face flushed crimson, teeth grinding until his gums bled:

"Ugh—!"

Amid the agony within, his body underwent astonishing transformation.

Every pore on his skin exuded foul-smelling sweat, but before it could drip, the extreme heat instantly dried it.

When the transformation ended,

Gao Wen was utterly drained, lying on his back, gasping for breath.

"Ha~"

A few seconds later,

Gao Wen came to his senses and noticed a thick layer of grime coating his skin—touching it lightly caused it to crack open, revealing fresh new skin beneath.

"This…"

"Could this be some form of bone-cleansing and marrow-renewal?"

Gao Wen smiled faintly, then felt the changes in his body.

"Wait!"

"My body feels so light!"

"Like I’ve been freed from chains I didn’t even realize I was wearing."

"Every part of me feels utterly effortless!"

He moved slightly, sensing boundless vitality radiating from every cell—even the old injuries from his youth’s sword training had vanished completely.

This body felt as if it had returned to its most primal, purest state!

"Wait!"

"If I can see others' potential, can I see my own?!"

(End of Chapter)