"Wow, you're amazing!" After seeing Bai Chuan defeat Akda, Katherine Lin ran out in excitement. Like she was joking around, she lightly punched Bai Chuan in the chest. It did not hurt at all.
"Of course. Who do you think I am?" Bai Chuan flicked his hair and struck a pose he clearly thought was handsome.
"But you really made this scene pretty bloody." Katherine Lin glanced at Akda's corpse and felt her stomach churn. The nausea refused to settle.
It really was gruesome. Akda had been split straight down the middle, an extremely bloody sight that practically needed a thick mosaic over it.
"But it's also weird. Your clothes don't have even a speck of blood on them. What kind of material is that? Introduce it to me someday."
"Hehe. That's talent. You can't buy it."
"Bai Chuan, that move just now was so cool. What's it called?" Shanks walked up too, still replaying that heaven-descending strike in his mind.
"How about calling it the Rulai Divine Sword?"
"I can't agree with that name." The moment Shanks heard it, he felt it was absurd. The awe of that strike collapsed on the spot.
"Haha, I'm messing with you. I named it Falling Geese. How about it, not bad, right?" Seeing Shanks's constipated expression made Bai Chuan want to laugh. Maybe Shanks had some strange preferences.
"Falling Geese… that name is acceptable. But I saw you drop down, and you weren't even that fast. Why couldn't Akda dodge? And the way he looked just now, it was like something heavy was pressing him down."
"Want to try it?" Bai Chuan raised an eyebrow at Shanks, looking eager.
"Sure. I want to see what secrets your swordsmanship is hiding." Shanks drew his blade halfway, his eyes full of fighting spirit.
Seeing Shanks so fired up, Bai Chuan smiled mysteriously. Suddenly, Shanks felt his body become unbelievably heavy.
"What's going on?" Shanks was completely stunned by the gravity. He nearly collapsed face-first, but he managed to hold on, though his expression turned strained and ugly.
"Hey, Shanks, what's wrong?" Seeing Shanks's terrifying face, Buggy got nervous and asked with genuine concern.
"He's fine. Can't you see he's enjoying it?"
Bai Chuan gestured for Buggy not to worry. Shanks looked miserable, but Bai Chuan could clearly sense excitement in Shanks's heart.
"Bai Chuan, what's happening to Shanks?"
"It's nothing. Buggy, how about you try too?"
"No way." Buggy shook his head immediately and backed far away from Bai Chuan.
"Relax. I'm not charging money."
Bai Chuan showed a mischievous grin. The instant Buggy saw that smile, he had a bad feeling. Before he could even refuse again, the gravity had already descended.
Buggy slammed flat onto the ground. He could not even lift his head.
Seeing how惨 Buggy looked, Bai Chuan quickly withdrew the gravity and shook his head. "Looks like the gap between Buggy and Shanks is getting wider and wider."
"Hey, what was that just now?" Buggy recovered and instantly questioned Bai Chuan.
"Secret." Bai Chuan did not explain.
At this point, even Shanks was starting to break. He was drenched in sweat, soaked from head to toe. Seeing that, Bai Chuan also withdrew the gravity pressing on Shanks.
The moment the gravity vanished, Shanks felt his breathing become much easier. Exhausted, he dropped to one knee, yet his expression looked oddly satisfied.
Shanks rolled over and sat up. After resting for a long while, he finally said, "You were controlling gravity just now, right?"
"As expected of Shanks. You really do know a lot, unlike Buggy, who's still completely lost."
Hearing Bai Chuan call him out like that, Buggy's face turned bright red. He was embarrassed, but Bai Chuan was telling the truth, so Buggy had nothing to argue back.
"Buggy tried it too? Then how long did Buggy last?"
Seeing the curious, studious look in Shanks's eyes, Bai Chuan did not want to crush Buggy's confidence.
"He lasted only a tiny bit shorter than you." Bai Chuan scratched his cheek and looked away.
Buggy, who had already braced himself to be mocked by Shanks, instantly felt like he'd found a savior. He looked at Bai Chuan with gratitude.
"Bai Chuan, you're truly my good brother. For the rest of my life, I'll never forget your great kindness!"
Feeling Buggy's gaze, Bai Chuan broke out in goosebumps all over. He felt uncomfortable from head to toe.
"Is that so? Buggy, you're really impressive."
Shanks even praised Buggy. Originally, he thought Buggy would not last long at all, but he did not expect Bai Chuan to lie to him.
"Hehehe." Katherine Lin covered her mouth and laughed quietly from the side. She had seen everything that happened.
"Damn, I forgot about this little girl." Hearing that laugh, Buggy finally realized there was still a witness.
He looked at Katherine Lin. Katherine Lin blinked, then mischievously made an OK gesture.
Seeing that gesture, Buggy felt relieved.
"What were you laughing at?" Shanks asked Katherine Lin, confused.
"I feel like my mother will give birth to a little brother for me today, so I'm very happy." After saying that, she burst out laughing again.
"Oh, then congratulations." The key point was that Shanks actually believed her.
Hearing that lie, even Bai Chuan almost could not hold it in. Being able to come up with an excuse like that was really something. She was seventeen or eighteen. Her mother had to be in her forties at least. It reminded Bai Chuan of a scene from a movie in his previous life.
In the end, Bai Chuan still held it in.
"Alright. After we rest, we keep moving. The road ahead is still very long."
It was his first time traveling for so long, and Bai Chuan was actually looking forward to it, looking forward to what weird things might happen along the way, what weird experiences he might run into.
"Then let's go." Shanks knew these people were waiting on him, so he quickly regulated his breathing, recovered some strength, and spoke to them.
"Then let's go."
After walking for several days, Bai Chuan was getting sick of it, because Shanks kept asking Bai Chuan to put gravity on him.
"Now I finally know why your strength grew so fast. So you actually have a cheat like this."
After trying it for days, Shanks noticed his strength had improved a little, and only then did he suddenly realize it and say this to Bai Chuan.
"You're only figuring it out now? I thought you'd understand the first time I put gravity on you." Bai Chuan was truly annoyed. He did not want to talk with Shanks any more than necessary.
He was starting to regret it. Why did he bring Shanks along in a moment of impulsiveness?
As for Buggy, he was very well-behaved on the road. Maybe he did not want to attract attention, or maybe he just did not want to experience that feeling again.
/-\
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