Rosy light spilled across the sea like molten gold.
A lone seagull cut through the frosty sky.
Standing barefoot on the soft sand, the salty sea breeze hitting his face, Guan Yi gazed toward the endless horizon, then up at the blue sky and white clouds of the Pirate World.
His mood… could not quite be called "wonderful."
The moment he was engulfed by the golden glow of the secret-realm portal, the booklet in his mind — "Secret Realms Change Fate: The Assistance-and-Ascension Program" — flipped open by itself, its pages wiping clean and rewriting with new text.
[Assisted Party: Guan Yi]
[Target Realm: One Piece]
[Assisting Realm: Kengan Ashura]
[Project Vision: Through targeted assistance from the Kengan Ashura realm, fundamentally raise the assisted party's strength, enabling completion of the One Piece realm strategy.]
[Wealth: 0]
[Fate Points: 0
(Note: Events that significantly alter the future trajectory of the target realm will grant Fate Points. These are used to conduct assistance operations.)]
[Assistance Measures]
[1. Foundational Development:
A Kengan master will be assigned to give Guan Yi intensive martial arts training.
First year free; tuition increases annually thereafter.
(During foundational development, your consciousness enters the Kengan realm; time in the One Piece realm is frozen.)]
[2. Combat Sparring:
Unlocked after three years of foundational development.
Suitable opponents will be provided for sparring.
First match free; subsequent matches require Wealth and Fate Points.]
[3. Star-Level Interaction:
Unlocked after winning ten sparring matches.
Consume a large amount of Fate Points to spar with star-tier opponents.]
[4. Forge a Legend:
Unlocked after defeating a star-tier opponent and consuming an immense amount of Fate Points.
Enter an epiphany state and create your own martial arts style.]
[Sparring, Star Interaction, and Forge-a-Legend are currently unavailable.]
[Foundational Development is available. Proceed?]
It sounded grand.
Time remained frozen outside during training — that alone was incredible.
But why…
Why Kengan Ashura?
Guan Yi remembered this anime from his previous life, too.
If he recalled correctly, Kengan was… a fighting manga, right?
At best, the strongest characters smashed big rocks.
Help him conquer One Piece?
That power scale could help him conquer Don Krieg, maybe!
"…Fine. Something is better than nothing.
Besides, learning real martial arts and combat techniques will help me survive in this world."
He quickly came to terms with it.
Let's try. Begin foundational development!
[Foundational Development in progress]
**[Choose instructor and martial arts style:
Wenyun Shen — Master of Xingyi Quan
Hisayasu Takemoto — Master of the Takemoto Style
Darren Sack — Master of Barton Combat Arts]**
The last two… he vaguely remembered the names, but not the details.
Better choose Xingyi Quan.
That couldn't go wrong.
The scene before him shifted—
Stars spun.
Heaven and earth changed.
"I had already decided never to take disciples again.
But since an old friend asked, I cannot refuse.
I will personally teach you for one year.
How much you learn depends on your own mental comprehension."
"Eighteen years old — past the best time to build foundations.
Not too late, but you must work harder than others."
"To learn Xingyi, the priority is stance training.
You may have heard of the 'Three-Body Posture,'
But for a first-time martial artist, you will begin with something even more basic:
Wuji Posture and Eight Absolute Hands.
Wuji is for changing power —
You must alter your habitual way of generating force.
Distinguish clearly between solid and empty throughout your body.
Now follow my lead—"
"…Hmm? Still looking around?!"
The stern shout snapped Guan Yi back to reality. A light breeze carried falling peach blossoms overhead.
Before him stood an elderly man with graying hair, a neat mustache, an ageless, dignified face — Xingyi master Wenyun Shen.
"…Yes, Shifu."
Seeing Wenyun Shen's expression darken, Guan Yi immediately mimicked the Wuji stance.
Only then did Wenyun Shen nod slightly. He stepped forward and tapped Guan Yi's shoulder:
"Straighten up. Use empty strength. Relax the body.
Tighten waist and legs slightly — but don't go rigid.
Feet naturally apart. That's enough."
Guan Yi adjusted carefully.
Wenyun Shen observed him up and down, pleased.
"You have some foundation. It seems you trained your body beforehand."
Naturally, in his last life, Guan Yi had been a professional athlete.
In this life, knowing he intended to enter secret realms, he'd been training scientifically for years.
PA—!
A burning pain exploded across his backside — Wenyun Shen had produced a wooden switch out of nowhere and struck him cleanly.
"Don't relax! Where is your solid?!"
Holy— this old man swings hard!
Guan Yi hissed, immediately correcting himself.
This stance looked simple but demanded extreme relaxation while maintaining perfect distinction between solid and empty — several times harder than he expected.
Even with his trained physique, his legs began trembling in only half an hour.
PA!
"Where is your empty?!"
Ten seconds later—
PA!
"Where is your solid?!"
PA! PA!
"Solid? Empty? Which is it?!"
The entire morning passed like this.
By the final hour, Guan Yi was functioning on pure instinct. Even the words "solid" and "empty" were beginning to blur.
When Wenyun Shen finally said, "That's all," Guan Yi collapsed onto the ground. His sweat had soaked the earth beneath him.
Wenyun Shen, however, looked satisfied.
He turned to a disciple peeking around the courtyard wall:
"Go fetch him a meal. More meat."
"A-ah! Yes, Shifu!"
One minute later—
Guan Yi's nose twitched.
White rice… and beef potato stew?!
His hollowed-out body surged with hunger.
He sprang up, muttered a quick "thanks, senior brother," and devoured the meal like a starving wolf.
Two minutes later, the box was empty — and he was still hungry.
"Shifu… can I have half a portion more?"
"Come inside to eat.
Do not overfill yourself — you still have Eight Absolute Hands training this afternoon."
Wenyun Shen's home was a traditional BJ courtyard house — he certainly wouldn't run out of food.
Inside, Guan Yi met five senior brothers and two senior sisters.
The oldest was over forty. Everyone was curious why Shifu, who had sworn off disciples, had taken another one — but they were all kind.
"Here, junior brother, sit with me!"
"No, sit by your senior sister."
"…Thank you, senior sister!"
Time flowed.
Every dawn, Guan Yi practiced the Wuji stance.
Every afternoon, Eight Absolute Hands.
His muscles constantly ached — but he pushed through.
Willpower carried him when his body hit its limit.
And, more importantly, Wenyun Shen's wooden switch hurt like hell.
It was torture at first.
Then he adapted.
Wenyun Shen never praised him, but after two months, he began allowing Guan Yi more contact with the others during meals.
His Eight Absolute Hands had reached basic proficiency; he could now spar lightly with the senior brothers and sisters.
Despite its name, Eight Absolute Hands consisted essentially of four transitions — receiving, advancing step, entering, and switching hand — which combined into the eight variations.
It looked simple.
But in truth, it was deep, every decision determining victory or defeat.
At first, he couldn't survive three moves.
After a month, he could exchange simple sequences.
He still lost, but no longer got slammed into the dirt instantly.
At that point, he was finally allowed to learn the Three-Body Posture.
"The Three-Body Posture is the foundation of all Xingyi forms, and far stricter than Wuji."
Same courtyard.
But autumn had stripped the peach trees bare.
Wenyun Shen demonstrated:
"Both feet bear weight. Never place weight on only one.
Not that one foot is raised — rather, the front foot may be empty or solid,
but the rear foot bears true weight—"
Guan Yi paused for two seconds.
"Shifu… could you speak in modern Chinese?
My classical Chinese is average."
He'd been a sports student in his last life.
No classical Chinese in this one either.
Wenyun Shen also paused for two seconds.
Then he turned away, calmly picked up the wooden switch again:
"Just hold the posture.
You'll understand once you stand long enough."
Guan Yi winced.
From next door came the muffled laughter of a senior sister.
Another three months passed.
While learning the Three-Body Posture, Guan Yi was also taught the Twenty-Four Adjustments, refining precise control over every part of his body — a prerequisite to true Xingyi.
He felt like a puppet, constantly being twisted, pushed, and corrected.
Embarrassing at times…
But eventually—
He discovered he could control every muscle with precision.
"You may begin learning the Five Element Fists."
Those words from Wenyun Shen made Guan Yi unable to sleep half the night.
Six months of grinding —
And he finally touched the heart of Xingyi Quan.
Splitting! Drilling! Crushing! Pounding! Crossing!
"Xingyi is both extremely easy and extremely difficult.
Its forms are simple — too simple.
One may grow bored of its plainness and lack of visual flair…"
Wenyun Shen still spoke with ancient elegance,
But Guan Yi now understood every word.
Xingyi didn't just train the body —
It refined the mind.
Sometimes, at dawn, practicing alone, Guan Yi could feel that state Shifu described —
"empty within, neither having nor not having."
He was completely immersed in the beauty of the fist.
Until one day, Wenyun Shen came to him and said:
"One year is up.
Walk your path from here.
Do not disgrace the name of Xingyi."
Behind him, his senior brothers and sisters looked on with reluctance.
[Foundational Development (One-Year Term) Completed]
[Extend for one more year by paying 100,000 Beli.]
…Oh.
Right.
He had almost forgotten where he actually was.
Had a year already passed?
Extend for 100,000 Beli?
That wasn't even a large sum in One Piece.
But currently, he didn't have a single Beli.
Before he could even say goodbye, the roar of waves filled his ears.
The long-lost beach appeared again — waves rushing endlessly.
Though only an instant had passed outside, it felt like a lifetime.
Guan Yi clenched his fists.
His spirit had transformed.
Now—
He could take on ten men!
"The endless sea… where can I not go?"
Half an hour later, at the port—
Guan Yi pointed at the cargo.
"This stuff — 80 Beli per bag to load onto the ship, right?"
The merchant officer nodded. "Right."
Guan Yi grabbed two giant sacks with one hand each, hoisted them onto his shoulders, and walked toward the ship.
The officer blanched.
H-hey! Careful! If you drop that, you'll have to pay!
Relax.
I practice Xingyi Quan.
Guan Yi waved lazily without turning around.
Oh…
The officer stared, dazed.
After a long moment, he frowned.
…What the heck is 'Xingyi Quan'?
Is it powerful?