Chapter 51: Reading makes me happy (×), kicking the door makes me happy (√)

The cold panel did not answer Adrian's doubts.

After some brief thought, Adrian did not intend to return to Ohara immediately.

Although Ohara had chance to go to the Tree of Knowledge Library, which was said to be "storing all the knowledge in the world", and also possessed a number of books and scrolls that recorded the knowledge of swordsmanship, but the most sumptuous delicacies were often saved for the last, so as to make it more flavorful.

After a lot of effort, Adrian found the self-made boat that had been lost by the aftermath of the battle. According to the map instructions, he slowly sailed towards the nearest island.

Swordsmanship schools are almost a "must-have building" that every island will not lack, especially in the West Blue where gangs are rampant.

In this sea full of danger, most people are eager to have self-defense skills, even if they can only learn three or two moves.

Demand creates the market.

...

In front of him is a not-so-big swordsmanship school. The door is open, and there is a plain wooden plaque hanging on it, with the words "Uesugi Dojo" written neatly.

This is the third dojo Adrian has encountered along the way.

As Adrian stepped into the dojo, he was greeted by a small courtyard about 100 square meters in size. Inside, there were over a dozen young children in black training robes, sweating profusely as they practiced their swordplay. A few older young men were standing by, giving them pointers and correcting their movements.

Before Adrian had taken two steps, one of the young men noticed him and hurried over, greeting him warmly. "Hello," he said. "Are you here to sign up for sword lessons?"

"I'm sorry," Adrian said, hesitating for a moment. "I'm here to, um..." He finally said politely, "I'm here to challenge your dojo."

The young man was taken aback. He had seen his share of challengers, but he had never seen one who was so polite.

"If you don't mind," Adrian continued, "would you please ask your teacher to come out?"

"Oh, oh, sure," the young man said, nodding dumbly. He turned to leave, then suddenly realized what a fool he was being.

"Hey!" he turned back and shouted. "If you want to challenge Master Uesugi, you'll have to get past me first! My name is..."

CLANG

Sharp sword was held horizontally across the neck of the young man, who had not yet had time to report his name, scaring him so much that his forehead was sweating.

"This young man, you should not be my opponent." Adrian sheathed his sword. "Please do me a favor and call out your teacher."

The young man with cold sweat dripping from his forehead waved to his other companions, signaling that he was fine, and then led Adrian through the courtyard to a traditional Japanese house.

He knocked lightly on the wooden sliding door and said respectfully, "Sensei Uesugi, someone has come to challenge us."

A steady middle-aged man's voice came from inside: "Hmm? Bring the challenger in."

Adrian followed the young man inside.

This was a very spacious room similar to a training ground, with a middle-aged long-haired man sitting in the deepest part. He was wearing a simple gray kimono, with his long hair tied in a single braid behind his back. His face was calm, giving off a very stable feeling.

The middle-aged man opened his eyes, looked at Adrian, who was wearing a suit, and said, "I am the owner of this dojo, Uesugi Sogaku. Is this gentleman the challenger? What an unusual outfit."

"In fact, my real intention is to borrow one of your dojo's treasured sword scrolls." Adrian said. "However, considering that saying that would make a simple matter complicated, I chose to challenge you directly. As the winner, it is only natural that I can demand a [spoils] from the loser, right?"

Uesugi Sogaku smiled gently, unconcerned. "That's a very strange reason."

He pondered for a moment, then beckoned to his disciple. "Yoshitsugu, take the guest to the library. He may read any of the materials there."

"Master!" the young man named Yoshitsugu exclaimed.

Uesugi Sogaku shook his head at his disciple, his expression growing serious. "Yoshitsugu, don't forget the principles of our Uesugi dojo! No fighting, no killing!"

Adrian watched the exchange between the master and disciple with interest. In the two previous dojos he had visited, the people there were mostly rigid-minded hard-liners. None of them had agreed to let him borrow books from the dojo, only wanting to fight.

This was the first time he had encountered a dojo like the Uesugi dojo, which had taken the initiative to bring him to the library.

Adrian was happy to avoid a fight.

After being warned, Yoshitsugu reluctantly obeyed his master's orders. He glared at Adrian with anger, and if he hadn't known that he was no match for him, he would have drawn his sword right then and there.

"Follow me," Yoshitsugu said gruffly. He quickly left the house, as if he was trying to shake Adrian off.

Adrian couldn't help but laugh out loud. The young man named 'Yoshitsugu' was really quite interesting.

"Master Uesugi," Adrian said to Uesugi Sogaku as he was leaving the house, "I don't know if I should say this, but in this sea, the ideal of non-violence is certainly admirable, but it is a luxury that only the strong can afford."

"I understand your words," Uesugi Sogaku said with a serious expression. "However, non-violence is the core philosophy of the Uesugi Dojo. Without it, there would be no Uesugi Dojo."

Adrian shook his head slightly and did not argue. He was just going to read in peace.

When it was late in the day, Adrian walked out of the Uesugi Dojo's library.

With his high intelligence stat, he was able to read through the scrolls of sword art accumulated by the Uesugi Dojo in just a short half day. A large amount of basic sword art knowledge passed through his mind, constantly filling in the gaps in his foundation of sword art cultivation.

Adrian declined Uesugi Sogaku's invitation to dinner and said goodbye to the Uesugi Dojo. He felt a sense of excitement in his heart.

Although Adrian's main occupation was a swordsman, his sword art experience had all been obtained through system. Aside from the few skills on his panel, his understanding of swordsmanship was still quite shallow. He could not compare to those swordsmen who had undergone sword art training since childhood.

Adrian began to understand the true meaning of the "Sword Path of a Hundred Schools" upgrade quest. It was to allow him to fill in the gaps in his previous sword art knowledge and deepen his accumulation for future advancement to higher levels.

Thinking of this, Adrian was even more enthusiastic about completing the quest!

However, there were only a few dojos like the Uesugi Dojo that were willing to share their sword skills voluntarily. The vast majority of dojos would immediately get hot-blooded and start swinging their swords as soon as they heard that Adrian wanted to challenge them.

Forced by circumstances, Adrian had no choice but to draw his sword and fight back.

Without using his signature Devil Fruit ability, Adrian easily defeated those who wanted to teach him a lesson, and in the process he gained a lot of experience in swordplay against opponents.

As he had explained to Uesugi Sogaku earlier, as the winner of a challenge, he naturally had the right to demand spoils from the loser. Whether those dojos were willing or not, they ultimately still contributed their treasured sword scrolls to Adrian.

It was simply unpredictable how a perfectly good [Reading Mission] could turn into a [Challenge Mission]

Over time, Adrian challenged more and more dojos, and even unlocked a new title.

West Blue, Legend title: Evil Swordsman – Patience is a virtue, but it has its limits. When a sharp sword blade overrides a polite lie, the spoils will always belong to the evil victor. When he notices you, you are in danger. Plunder is underway, and no one can escape.