Chapter 26

"Huh?"

Sanji's heart jolted.

"This is my first time seeing Father and Luo En seriously duel—I heard Luo En himself brought it up."

Kuina gazed at the black-haired boy in the arena and said seriously, "Perhaps today we'll see his true strength."

"Huh? Didn't he use his true strength when he fought you before?"

Sanji couldn't help asking.

"Idiot, when he fought me, he was serious, but he definitely didn't use his full strength."

Kuina snapped bitterly.

"Before today's duel, even my father probably doesn't know how strong this guy really is."

Sanji couldn't help swallowing hard.

He gained a new understanding of Luo En's power.

Then he widened his eyes, staring fixedly at the arena, afraid to miss a single moment.

18, True Blade Duel with Koushirou (3/5)

Inside the arena.

Koushirou, holding a real blade, smiled at the black-haired boy across from him: "Luo En, shall we begin?"

Luo En said nothing, but suddenly opened his eyes wide.

He stamped his foot—and vanished from his spot in an instant!

"Gone?!"

Sanji jumped in shock.

"No, it's just too fast!"

Kuina's expression turned grave as she focused intently on the arena.

Luo En appeared before Koushirou, still in his forward lunge posture.

His black hair fluttered, his eyes locked on Koushirou, his face utterly focused.

Shuuu!

Lei Qie drew, carving a stunning arc as it slashed toward Koushirou.

Zizizi!

Flames curled around the blade, lightning flickering across its surface.

Koushirou instantly drew his own blade and blocked the strike.

Keng!

A powerful gust erupted from the clash of the two blades, spreading outward.

Kuina and Sanji both felt their hearts tighten.

After his first strike was blocked, Luo En, wielding the long blade Lei Qie—nearly as tall as himself—launched a storm of attacks upon Koushirou.

The flames and lightning on his blade grew denser by the second.

Koushirou held his blade in one hand and its scabbard in the other, defending flawlessly.

"It's like a waterfall crashing against a boulder…"

Kuina murmured.

Sanji was utterly stunned, staring blankly at the duel.

Flames and lightning… on Luo En's blade?!

Luo En flipped midair, swinging his long blade in a full arc downward toward Koushirou.

The force of this slash was immense—even as Koushirou blocked it, the sheer power drove him backward several steps.

As soon as Luo En landed, he kicked off the ground and surged toward Koushirou with blinding speed:

"Flame Dance!"

His long blade blazed like a blade of fire.

Where the blade swept, flames surged like flowing ribbons of crimson, wrapping around Luo En as he charged at Koushirou.

"Is this… a cutting sword art?"

Koushirou's eyes sparkled with awe, then hardened—he summoned a layer of blue qi along his blade.

"One Mind Slash, Flowing Water!"

He swung his blade.

Flames and water crashed violently together.

A violent shockwave blasted outward, shaking the trees around them.

Kuina and Sanji both raised their arms to shield their faces.

After the storm passed.

They hurriedly looked into the arena.

Luo En knelt on one knee, gasping for breath, his long blade Lei Qie planted in the ground nearby.

Koushirou's long blade had snapped clean in half, leaving only a fragment.

Kuina and Sanji stared, eyes wide, mouths agape, jaws nearly dropping to the ground.

"Luo En… cut through Father's (the headmaster's) blade?!!"

"That was a magnificent slash."

Koushirou looked at Luo En with approval.

"In swordsmanship, I am afraid I have little left to teach you."

Circulating Sun Breathing, Luo En recovered his stamina in an instant, and upon hearing the words, felt a little embarrassed.

"It's mainly because you, Hall Master, held back, and also because of my blade…"

Koshiro shook his head and said: "No, the reason my blade broke wasn't mainly because your blade was better, but because every time you struck the same spot."

He looked at Luo En, stroked his beard, and smiled: "I imagine this wasn't just coincidence, was it?"

Luo En embarrassedly turned his face away.

Koshiro gazed at the extremely young black-haired boy before him, and could not help sighing inwardly: "Only five months learning swordsmanship, yet he could already force me to use a strike of the Momentum Realm… Truly a little monster."

"How long will it take him to reach the Sword Master realm? Does he have a chance to touch that Great Sword Master realm?"

Koshiro could not help thinking.

After Luo En picked up Lei Qie and sheathed it, Koshiro spoke: "Luo En, want to see a Sword Master's strike?"

Luo En was first stunned, then overjoyed: "Can I?"

Koshiro nodded.

"Follow me."

The two walked into the mountain forest one after the other.

Only then did Kuina and Zoro recover from their shock.

"So this is Luo En's true strength…"

Kuina lowered her head to look at her palm; her hand was trembling.

"Amazing…"

Zoro was trembling all over even more, "A swordsman… can actually reach such an amazing level?"

"Kuina, the Hall Master and Luo En… they probably aren't the world's most amazing swordsmen yet, right?"

"Of course."

Kuina clenched her fist, "This isn't the peak of a swordsman. The peak of a swordsman is even higher! Higher than the sky!"

"Higher than the sky — that's the peak of a swordsman…"

At this moment, Zoro seemed to feel something.

He looked at Kuina, his gaze incomparably resolute, and said:

"Kuina, I will definitely surpass you! Surpass Luo En! Surpass the Hall Master! Surpass everyone, and reach that peak!!"

"No, the one who will reach that peak will be me!"

Kuina's eyes were also full of resolve.

The two locked gazes.

Kuina gazed at the utterly serious and resolute Zoro, suddenly smiled, then raised her fist under his puzzled gaze: