Multiverse Skill System

Page 40

"Even if the three-sword style is really stronger than the one-sword style, I still won't learn it. Biting the sword hilt with your mouth is too low-class. The two-sword style, however, is worth considering." Yi Shuihan looked at Zoro using the three-sword style now and became more determined in his mind.

Using the three-sword style did cause some difficulties for Kuina, who was unfamiliar with Zoro's fighting methods, and she even gained the upper hand at the beginning.

However, Kuina's talent in swordsmanship was astonishing. She quickly became familiar with the three-sword style, gradually found her footing in battle, and slowly turned the tide.

"How could this be? Even with three swords, he can't beat her?" Zoro thought anxiously, but there was nothing he could do.

The two had been fighting for a while, and the other disciples were all dumbfounded. Today, both Kuina and Zoro displayed too much fighting power, making them, ordinary people, feel like they were in a dream.

"It's sword energy! Did you guys see it?"

"They move so fast, my eyes can't keep up."

"They all learned their skills in the same place, so how come there's such a big difference? Even the master of the martial arts school isn't this good!"

Zoro's attack speed is fast, but Kuina is even faster. She uses one sword, but it seems to transform into three, each time perfectly blocking Zoro's attacks and launching a counterattack.

Sword light, sword energy, sword skills—although neither of them are even sword masters, just watching their battle makes you not think they are weak. At their age, having such strength, their talent in swordsmanship can no longer be explained by mere genius.

"I must persevere. After all, my senior sister is a girl, and her physical strength is not as good as mine. Once she is weak, I will definitely be able to win." Zoro, who had no other way to defeat Kuina, inevitably had this thought in his mind.

Although he felt it might be a little unfair to Kuina, he was too eager for victory. Having lost to Kuina for so long, it was impossible for him not to have any thoughts about it. Therefore, even if the victory was obtained in this way, he still wanted it.

"Do you want to wear me down?" Kuina understood Zoro's plan, but she also knew that it was unavoidable.

The thought that girls can be stronger than boys fueled Kuina's even greater confidence.

"What?!" came a gasp. It turned out that Kuina had actually shattered Zoro's sword, and then, taking advantage of the unexpected turn of events, successfully placed the tip of the sword against Zoro's throat.

"You lost." His chest heaved, clearly a sign of exhaustion, but Kuina's expression was full of joy. Her father's words proved that she was no less capable than the boys!

Kuina turned to look at her father, but did not see the scene she wanted. Koushirou's brows were furrowed, as if he was dissatisfied with the battle.

How could this be? Overwhelmed with resentment, Kuina threw down her wooden sword and ran outside.

"I lost!" Zoro's eyes were glazed over, as if he couldn't believe it. This blow was greater than any before. After all, in his mind, he had cultivated for so long in the environment created by Yi Shui Han, while Kuina had only cultivated in an ordinary way. The difference between them was immeasurable.

He had been confident of defeating Kuina a month ago, but to be on the safe side, he dragged it out for two months. He was 100% certain of victory before the fight, but he still lost.

Suddenly everything went black, and Zoro instinctively looked up.

"Master!" Zoro's expression wasn't one of disappointment, but rather encouragement, which only made him feel more guilty towards Koushirou.

"Don't worry about it. There's something I haven't told you. Actually, Kuina goes to the place where you train every day, but you just haven't noticed."

"really?"

This news gave Zoro a jolt. If they were in the same training environment, losing today wouldn't be a big deal. Moreover, he felt that if he hadn't been careless at the beginning of the battle, he might have won. This proved that the gap between them had narrowed considerably. Give him some more time, and he would definitely win next time.

"That's right, so don't worry about this defeat. She'll soon be no match for you."

After his inner conflict was resolved, Zoro began to care about Kuina. "She seemed very sad just now."

"Don't worry about her, she'll understand in time."

Seeing Koushirou's nonchalant attitude, Zoro didn't know how to say what he wanted to say.

"How did I end up here?" Looking at the familiar wooden house not far away, Guina was a little surprised. It turned out that she had unknowingly come to the place where she usually cultivated. The wooden house was Yi Shuihan's residence.

"It seems like no one's here. Should we go in and take a look?" Guina's curiosity suddenly piqued. Finding that she didn't see Yi Shuihan, she quietly went to the outside of the wooden house.

No, how can I enter someone else's house without greeting the owner? But I'm really curious about what that senior's residence is like. It looks like an ordinary wooden house from the outside, but it must be different inside! After all, it's the place where a master lives.

"I can't go in, I can't, I can't resist." Her hand seemed to move towards the door on its own.

No lock!

The door creaked open with a gentle push.

"Entering my room without permission is not something a good child should do, am I right?" Yi Shuihan's voice came from behind, startling Guina.

Chapter 103, Punishment: Becoming a Maid

"You... how did you get here?" After saying that, Guina realized she had said the wrong thing. This was his home, and it was not normal for him to be here. On the contrary, it was strange for her to be here.

He looked at Kuina with a half-smile, making Kuina blush. In the end, she lowered her head, looking as if she had admitted her mistake.

He passed by Kuina and went straight into his own wooden house.

"Come in if you want!"

Upon hearing this, Kuina hesitated for a moment, but finally took small steps into the house.

The furnishings inside were simple: a table, a chair, and a bed. The table was made of stone, the chair was made of wood, and the bed was a large, soft bed that Yi Shuihan had specially made. It had always been kept in his personal space and carried with him, and was finally placed here.

No matter how tough the living conditions are, you still need to get a good night's sleep, right? After all, you spend a third of your life sleeping, so you can't neglect yourself!

Yi Shuihan sat in the only chair, so Gu Yina naturally had no seat left. She was too embarrassed to sit on the bed.

Seeing that Guina was in a difficult situation, Yi Shuihan waved his hand, and a chair appeared in front of him.

"Sit," he said, pointing to the chair.

Upon hearing this, Guina obediently sat down, but she sat very straight and her body was stiff. She looked at Yi Shuihan with the same cautiousness a student would show to a teacher.

Oh no, what do I do? How did I get in here? I was trying to sneak into someone else's house, and I've already been discovered.

Feeling helpless and panicked, that's how Guina is right now.

"What's wrong? Didn't you win the fight against Zoro? Why do you look so unhappy now?"

How could he know? He looked up and stared at Yi Shuihan in surprise.

"Although I won, Father..." A hint of sadness inevitably crept into her voice as she spoke, for she still desperately wanted recognition from others, especially her father.

"Heh," Yi Shuihan chuckled, uttering these words amidst Guina's somewhat annoyed gaze.

"In my opinion, swordsmanship training is not divided by gender. Men have their advantages, but women are no less. As long as you put your heart into it, both men and women can become swordsmen. You have always been ahead of Zoro, which is proof of that."

"Saying that women are definitely inferior to men in the later stages is utter nonsense. It is true that men have better innate conditions than women, such as better physical strength and stronger bodies, but these are not decisive factors. Swordsmanship is not about these things. When you reach a certain level, physical strength becomes irrelevant. What matters is the understanding of swordsmanship and the level of attainment."

"You don't need to care about what other people think. Just follow your own path. As long as you persevere, it's possible that you'll become a sword master, or even the number one swordsman."

Yi Shuihan's words delighted Guina, as if she had met a kindred spirit and felt a strong resonance with him.

"Really? You really think so?"

"of course."

Even this senior said so, so my persistence was not wrong. Father, the mistake was not mine, but yours. I will definitely become a sword master, or even the number one swordsman.

"That's enough with the words of comfort. Now we can talk about other things. You've been training here without saying hello for three months now, haven't you?"

A sudden remark jolted Guina out of her reverie, and she stared in astonishment at Yi Shuihan.

So he already knew? Well, it's not surprising that he would find out about me, no matter how clever he is. But why didn't he say anything before?

Remaining silent, Kuina didn't know how to begin. Could she say, "You found out on your own, but I didn't say anything. I thought you wouldn't mind?" Kuina couldn't bring herself to say such a thing.

"Of course I don't mean to pursue this, since you haven't bothered me anyway."

Whew, she breathed a sigh of relief, but Kuina was puzzled. What exactly did he want to express?

"However, it is true that you tried to sneak into my house today. Although you did not succeed in the end, my house is not a place that just anyone can enter."

"I'm sorry, I was just curious."

"If apologies were enough, what would be the point of having a navy?"

She didn't have time to think about the specific meaning behind the connection between the navy and the apology, but she could tell that Yi Shuihan wanted to punish her.

"Alright then, I'll punish you by making you my maid for six months."

"Ah!" Guina exclaimed in surprise. She was extremely unwilling to be a maid, but since she had made a mistake, she deserved to be punished.

"What? You don't want to?" Yi Shuihan's tone remained unchanged, but Gu Yina's heart skipped a beat, as if she were being watched by something.

Gritting her teeth, Kuina said with a wronged expression, "No, I'm willing."

Consider it compensation for the three months I secretly cultivated here. Besides, now that I've become his maid, I can cultivate here openly and honestly, and I can ask him for advice on any cultivation problems I encounter.

Thinking about it this way, Guina even felt that having a maid was a good thing.

As for taking care of Yi Shuihan as a maid, Gu Yina was quite confident that it wouldn't be difficult for her.

"Okay, it's settled then. From now on, I'll call you Xiao Nana. Go back and tell her what's going on today, and start working here tomorrow!"

"Ok."

She readily agreed, but Kuina was still thinking about how to tell her father. She could imagine that her father would absolutely not want her to be someone's maid. Although her father believed that boys had a better future in swordsmanship, he was a good father in other aspects, loved her very much, and would not let her suffer any grievances.

That evening, Kuina found Koushirou and told him about her desire to become Yi Shuihan's maid. She thought her father would not agree and might even take her to cause trouble for Yi Shuihan, but to her surprise, Koushirou agreed immediately, saying it was her good fortune.

"Go! Treat that gentleman well, as you would treat me. Do whatever he asks of you," Koushirou instructed.

It was clear that her father was very pleased with this, which puzzled Guina greatly.

Little did he know that Koushirou thought this was just an excuse for Yi Shuihan to train Kuina, and naturally, he would wholeheartedly agree if it was beneficial to Kuina.

Chapter 104, Go Kill

"What are you doing here?" Zoro was speechless with shock when he saw Kuina obediently massaging Yi Shuihan.

"Why can't I be here? I'm your maid now." Although being a maid isn't something to brag about, seeing Zoro's incredulous expression, Kuina felt a strange sense of joy.

Now I can be here openly and honestly. Let's see how you surpass me in the future.

Kuina also had her opinions about Zoro's concealment of his training at Yi Shui Han, but she didn't show it because she later trained in the vicinity as well. In fact, she was a little envious. Although she was now a maid of Yi Shui Han, she felt a different kind of joy at being able to appear here openly. She felt proud and relaxed.

"That's good. She'll be here for the next six months, so you should get along well," Yi Shuihan said with a smile, feeling particularly pleased to see Zoro's somewhat sullen face.

Zoro is indeed a little frustrated, but he feels a greater sense of urgency. Now that Kuina is in the same training environment as him, it will be much more difficult for him to surpass her.

Moreover, although Kuina is a maid, her relationship with her senior might be better than his own. If her senior gives him some pointers, he'll be left far behind.

The senior didn't teach me cultivation, but I improved so quickly just by cultivating by his side. If he had given me some pointers, I would have been even more amazing.

No, I have to think of a way to build a good relationship with the senior. If he can teach Kuina, I must ask for the same guidance.

Thinking this, Zoro's gaze toward Yi Shuihan became more attentive.

Are you thirsty, senior?

"Are you tired, senior?"

"Senior, you..."

Zoro stopped his training and started circling around Yi Shui Han, as if he wanted to replace Kuina as her maid.

"Hey, that's enough! Get out of here! I'm the real maid!" Kuina retorted, her gaze towards Zoro turning somewhat unpleasant.

"Tch, I was just concerned about my senior, what's it to you?" Zoro retorted stubbornly, but didn't continue.

Yi Shuihan naturally wouldn't speak up for Zoro, and just silently watched them, acting as if nothing was of his business.

Seeing this, Zoro could only resume his daily training, and Kuina, seeing Zoro training, also found a spot to train herself.

"Huh?" Zoro, who was training, suddenly felt something was wrong, and then he found that the surrounding mist had disappeared. It turned out that Yi Shuihan had ended his training of Haki ahead of time.

What's going on? It's not usually at this time.

Zoro was puzzled, but he didn't ask.

"You two come here." Yi Shuihan's voice rang out, causing Zoro and Kuina to stop their respective cultivation.

"While self-cultivation can certainly lead to improvement, it's not enough to just work behind closed doors. Real combat is the best way to enhance your strength. You will each spar for one hour every day. Yes, use real swords." With a wave of his hand, four gleaming swords appeared on the ground. Although these two swords were not famous swords, they were not ordinary either, and were only one step away from being famous swords.

"Real sword!" Zoro and Kuina were both startled, as fighting with real swords was too risky, especially since their strengths were not too far apart.

Seeing their hesitation, Yi Shuihan snorted and said, "If you don't even dare to use a real sword, what kind of sword practice are you? You want to become a sword master? Dream on!"

Upon hearing Yi Shuihan's words, the two exchanged a glance and picked up their swords from the ground.

"let's start!"

After a moment's hesitation, the two began to fight, but since they were using real swords, they were somewhat restrained and their movements were not as fluid as when they used wooden swords.

"If you continue like this, don't come here again." Yi Shuihan's icy voice rang out once more.

"Come on! Don't hold back!" Zoro shouted, finally going all out. Giving up cultivating with Yi Shuihan was worse than death for him. After enjoying such a fast cultivation speed, he would go crazy if it suddenly returned to normal speed.

Kuina had the same thought, and seeing that Zoro had made up his mind, she tightened her grip and got serious.

"That's more like it!" Seeing the two fighting back and forth without holding back, Yi Shuihan nodded.

Ten minutes later, Zoro suddenly slipped, revealing an opening that Kuina seized upon and defeated on the spot.

"You also need to pay attention to your surroundings during combat, Kuina, you found the opening well." After giving a brief comment, he let the two continue.