Chapter 167

From the very beginning,

Sima Di had focused his cultivation on Robin; everyone else was merely there to accompany her in study.

The facts proved his decision was correct.

Robin heard the meaning in Sima Di's words and couldn't help but smile with alluring charm.

She really had chosen the right man!

This favoritism,

for Robin who had spent years hiding and suffering rebellion, was simply the most moving drug.

Haven't tried the training room yet; let's talk about it another day!

【Cleaned and renewed!】

Sima Di said solemnly: "I just thought about it. The characters might not be combinable due to issues like aptitude. Let's remove the short-term unsolvable ones and try the simple ones first."

"You already know the meaning just now; try again."

Robin smoothed her disheveled hair and gave Sima Di a beautiful, rolling glance.

You weren't so serious just now.

She immediately tested it, and her eyes couldn't help but brighten!

"Much more complete than before; the obstacles don't seem so great anymore... but it's still a bit short."

Hmm?

Is it because knowing the meaning of this character led to understanding, which led to progress?

Then...

"I will read these two characters now; remember my pronunciation."

"Okay!"

【《Mu! 》】

"Abba?"

【《Tun! 》】

"Abba abba?"

He recited them continuously a dozen times,

and Sima Di's Dragon Spirit Language fell into cooldown; he couldn't speak it again in the short term.

If he tried to speak the Dragon Spirit Language again, he would find his mouth opening but his vocal cords making absolutely no sound.

He gave himself a blessing.

Sima Di could only shrug at Robin: "No choice. I can't speak the Dragon Spirit Language anymore right now; I need to rest a bit."

Whether she can learn it next depends entirely on Robin's own fate.

"Truly magical characters," Robin sighed. "The historical characters of a vast kingdom are merely obscure and hard to understand; they don't carry all sorts of magical powers."

Sima Di didn't reply and walked outside.

Just in time for dinner, Sima Di was pleasantly surprised to find "Dongpo Pork" and "Braised Lion's Head Meatballs" on the table!

"Try it; I made this one-to-one according to the recipe you gave," Zoro invited.

Sima Di took a bite and gave Zoro a thumbs-up.

Delicious!

Seeing this, Zoro smiled.

"Robin-nee, how is your study going?" Nami leaned over and asked.

"I can roughly form the characters now; it's just that some conditions are still lacking, so I need to try again," Robin answered truthfully.

Everyone cast looks of "meeting a top scholar."

Truly, as expected of an archaeologist!

Such high-difficulty characters, and she can actually learn them?

Because Luffy, who loved to snatch food, wasn't there, the meal was very harmonious.

After the meal,

everyone went to cultivate on their own; those without Haki did research or exercised their bodies, while those with Haki found a spot to stand, sit, or lie down while Circulating Energy.

Sima Di went back to his room early to sleep.

As for night watch?

Originally, as the ship's strategist, he had to maintain his best condition as much as possible.

So everyone unanimously decided to cross him off the night watch list.

The same treatment applied to the navigator Nami, the coach Crocus, and the captain Luffy.

Now that Merry is here,

although she has taken human form, she is not truly human; all her actions and energy come from the core Rat Talisman.

So she needs no sleep and spontaneously took on the duty of night watch.

Even,

if encountering minor troubles, she doesn't need to disturb the Straw Hat Pirates; she can fire the cannons herself to solve them—the Going Merry, besides its main cannon the "Roaring Lion Cannon," has hundreds of small and large energy cannons.

With the Pluton power core providing infinite energy, it is just this luxurious.

It can be said,

with the Going Merry's firepower configuration, pirates with bounties below one hundred million Berries shouldn't even think about seeing the Straw Hat Pirates.

When Sima Di woke up from his sleep,

it was already noon the next day, with less than an hour remaining before Luffy and Zoro returned.

Sanji had once again prepared a table full of delicious food, mostly grilled meat, along with a large supply of fine wine.

The Straw Hat Pirates sat silently at the table, waiting with practiced harmony.

Finally!

The teleportation stone of the Time and Spirit Chamber lit up, and Luffy and Zoro were transported out.

Luffy's appearance startled everyone!

His face was yellow and his body emaciated; he had shrunk so much he looked like a refugee fleeing disaster.

"Wow! Meat!"

Luffy's eyes turned to meat; he swept a handful of it straight into his mouth and chewed with difficulty, satisfied.

Zoro lifted a jar of wine and gulped it down in one go, gurgling loudly.

Look how hungry those two kids were.

Since the two had returned on time, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Eat."

"I'm starting!"

"Wow! I've been hungry for so long!"

This time, with Luffy's live eating show as a performance, the scene was a bit chaotic, but it whetted everyone's appetite.

Sanji cooked three extra meals before finally satisfying everyone's hunger.

"Haa—what a tiring job," Sanji sighed deeply.

Upon hearing this, Brook stood up.

"Mr. Sanji, let me wash the dishes. As a skeleton, I won't get tired."

"Then I'll trouble you," Sanji nodded.

And then...

Everyone was sunbathing on the deck, ready to witness the results of Luffy and the other's year of cultivation.

When they heard—

"Clang-clatter—!"

Sanji rushed back to the kitchen in a panic, followed immediately by a cry of grief—

"The dishes I brought from the East Blue!!!"

Brook came slinking out, looking dejected.