153 Chapter 153: Persistence

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In the pitch-dark room, Abel sat cross-legged with his sword laying between his knees, concentrating with closed eyes.

He was using his mental power to consolidate his sword intent, attempting to grasp the process of this consolidation.

Although the progress was always faint and minimal, he believed that perseverance would undoubtedly provide significant help to his understanding of swordsmanship.

After an indeterminate amount of time, when his mental power was nearly depleted, a sword intent finally formed.

Abel then relaxed a little, opened his eyes, and lit for himself a [Filter Cigarette].

Not only did it refresh the mind and prevent diseases, it also quickly restored his energy.

Mental power was also a type of energy, or perhaps a part of it.

With a single puff, his eyes brightened up a bit.

Comfortable

While smoking, he didn't idle about; wearing the camouflaged turtle shell, he began his physical training.

Without realizing it, the [Custom Turtle Shell]'s maximum weight could no longer provide the best training effect.

But until his Gourmet Cells broke through another bottleneck, evolving again, it could still serve a certain auxiliary effect.

Once he finished his physical training for the day and his mental power was mostly restored, he began to consolidate another sword intent.

Until his mental power was drained once more, he took another rejuvenating drag of his cigarette.

This time Abel drew the [Bokuto Lake] wooden sword and commenced his sword technique training.

Moreover, the training took place entirely in the dark environment.

This was conducive to his comprehension of the power of darkness.

With the practice over time, he had become accustomed to training in such conditions.

He even acquired a 'night vision'-like ability.

This indicated that his understanding of the power of darkness was gradually deepening, and he was on the right path.

But do you think it ends here?

Not by a long shot!

Next was the dodging training with Observation Haki and the striking training with Armament Haki.

Even while eating, Abel would harness the activity of his Gourmet Cells to practice Combat/Guardian Fist, collecting and storing the bioenergy that would otherwise leak out of his body.

When it was late at night, Abel would dedicate his remaining physical and mental energy to increasing his skill proficiency until he was completely exhausted, only then he would rest and sleep.

Even in slumber, like instinct, he continually practiced the Technique of Darkness Breathing, continuously strengthening his cardiopulmonary functions.

Abel dared to say that not even across the whole sea could one find a person who worked harder than him.

For even if someone spent every moment except eating and sleeping on training and cultivation, they could not surpass a freak who was training and cultivating even while eating and sleeping!

These fulfilling days even made Abel reminisce about the time before he had crossed over, the days of studying materials day and night for his graduate exams.

No, it could be said to be even more arduous and hardworking than that period.

After all, this world lacked in entertainments, and there was barely anything that could pique his interest.

Moreover, the feeling of personally sensing oneself growing stronger, bit by bit, that sort of positive feedback was utterly addicting, giving him a tireless thrill.

If only he had that kind of feedback when doing practice exams back in the day, constantly inspiring him, perhaps he would have really gotten into Peking University.

Immersed in training, the days always flew by swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, three days passed.

The ship docked, and Abel, along with Baby-5, stepped ashore.

"Is this Romain Island? Where's the enemy? An enemy capable of calling for urgent backup from Senor Pink must be quite formidable."

Upon arriving at the island, Baby-5 immediately became anxious.

The reason was that not long ago, Abel received an urgent call for help from Senor Pink.

Initially, Abel felt the same tension as Baby-5, thinking that Senor Pink had encountered some troublesome enemy.

After all, with Senor Pink's tough guy reputation, he wouldn't contact anyone for help unless absolutely necessary, let alone send out an urgent distress call.

It was only when he was told to rush to Romain Island as quickly as possible that he sensed something was off.

The memories he associated with Romain Island were mainly of an amusement park, fireworks, and a woman!

Something was definitely amiss!

Even though Abel had his suspicions at the time, he knew he needed to see for himself since Senor Pink was insistent.

So, after dealing with a stubborn bunch that dared to compete with their family in business, he quickly made his way over with Baby-5.

But Baby-5, unaware of the situation, believed there to be genuine danger, which is why she was so visibly tense.

Seeing her like this, Abel couldn't help but tease her:

"I think you're right. You'll probably be shocked when you see the 'enemy.'"

"Does Abel already know who the enemy is?"

"I have a pretty good guess. If it's who I think it is, Senor Pink doesn't stand a chance against them in his lifetime."

"Ah?! An enemy that even Senor Pink can't defeat in his lifetime, can the two of us really handle it? Should we call in a few more executives to join forces?"

"That won't be necessary. An 'enemy' impossible for Senor Pink to beat doesn't seem that big of a deal to me. But let's wait until we see that guy to discuss further."

"Mmm~ Abel is the strongest!"

"Not bad, you can keep the compliments coming, I can handle it."

"Abel is the best, Abel is the coolest, Abel is the most, most"

The young lady was fumbling. With her already limited brain capacity, her CPU was overloading, almost burning out.

Abel was about to give her a hint, thinking, "With all my good traits, why can't she come up with more than three?"

Then, out of sudden ingenuity, the girl exclaimed, "Abel has the most endurance!"

"???"

Abel instinctively covered Baby-5's mouth. What kind of wild talk was that?

Wasn't she afraid of inciting the wrath of the internet's censorship, unleashing a 404 Armageddon-like spell?

"Stop talking nonsense. What do you mean by 'most endurance'? Who taught you that?"

The young lady broke free from his grasp, looking puzzled:"It's true, though. During training, Abel always lasts the longest, even when on the ship, never falling behind. Often he would spend the entire day unseen, secretly training in his room. Isn't that endurance?"

"That counts, it does, but I'm quite low-key, so you understand, right? There's no need to broadcast things like that loudly."

Abel wiped the sweat from his forehead and took a deep breath.

The misunderstanding was resolved, and the alert was called off.

The girl remained confused and somewhat clueless.

"Senor Pink really does make things difficult, calling for help but making us find our way on our own, not even coming out to greet us. We must give him a good talking to tonight!"

Abel subtly changed the subject while fully embracing his genuine thoughts.