Eust came to Caina Tang Island to learn more about the martial artists. Despite the previous encounter where the martial artist ignored them, Eust and his crew continued along the mountain path to investigate further.
After a while, they found a building, which they presumed to be the dojo of the martial artists. Right at the entrance, they saw the young man practicing with a spear earlier, now conversing with a middle-aged man.
After a brief introduction, they got to know each other better. Eust learned that the middle-aged man in charge was named Kong, responsible for external relations. The young man practicing spear techniques was Hao, Kong’s junior brother, who, due to some reasons, wasn’t good at communicating with strangers. This explained the awkward encounter earlier.
Despite Eust revealing he was a pirate hunter, Kong’s attitude remained warm and welcoming, which Eust appreciated.
Eust was aware that most people didn’t have a good opinion of pirate hunters, often viewing them as mercenaries who might do anything for money. He acknowledged there were rogue pirate hunters who bullied ordinary people, but that didn’t mean all pirate hunters were bad.
Eust prided himself on not harming innocents, but he and his crew still faced fear from some people due to their identity as pirate hunters.
“Damn it, I’m hunting pirates to protect you all, and this is how you treat me?” This was Eust’s true feeling.
Unless necessary, Eust wouldn’t hide their identity. Some people took pride in becoming Marines or pirates; Eust hoped more people would be proud of becoming pirate hunters.
Anyway, back to Eust and Kong’s conversation.
After introductions, Eust politely requested a sparring session, choosing Hao as his opponent.
Kong agreed happily, but Hao seemed reluctant. However, after Kong’s persuasion, Hao agreed to spar with Eust.
Eust, intending a friendly match, didn’t plan to hurt Hao and even doubted if he could win, hoping Hao would hold back. If he got beaten badly, where would his dignity as a captain go?
When they started sparring, Eust quickly noticed that Hao’s attacks were fierce, not reflecting his earlier demeanor. Within a few moves, Eust was already at a disadvantage, barely holding on.
Eust felt frustrated. Was this necessary? He had declared it a friendly match with no grudges, so why go all out?
Hao’s attacks were swift and relentless, and soon Eust was pushed back repeatedly, feeling “bullied.”
Realizing he couldn’t win, Eust decided to withdraw from the match, enduring Lila’s subtle look of disdain, which seemed to say, “Don’t show off, Eust. See how tough the young man is?”
Feeling down, Eust thought losing to Hao was one thing, but having his navigator look down on him was too much. He planned to “teach” Lila a lesson later but decided to forgive her for now.
After the match, Eust asked Kong why their martial artists had such extraordinary bursts of speed and strength.
Kong explained the concept of “Qi” and the two main categories of training: “Li” and “Qi.”
Eust quickly understood, relating it to traditional martial arts, where “Li” referred to external strength training and “Qi” to internal energy cultivation. “Li” involved strengthening the body, while “Qi” enhanced the power and speed of external techniques.
For a martial artist, both internal and external training were crucial. External training was the foundation and path, while internal training was the advancement and enhancement.
Eust, grasping the basics of Kong’s explanation, eagerly asked if he could learn the use of “Qi.”
Kong wasn’t surprised by the question, having dealt with such inquiries before. He explained that learning “Qi” required a certain aptitude. Without it, one couldn’t sense “Qi” and could only learn techniques related to “Li.”
Moreover, martial artists didn’t teach easily. Even with the aptitude for “Qi,” one needed a three-year assessment period to be recognized as worthy of learning “Qi.”
Hearing about the three-year assessment, Eust knew that learning “Qi” wasn’t suitable for him. With the help of Sonny’s task fruit, he could progress much faster in three years.
In roughly three months, his strength had increased at least tenfold, making dealing with ordinary pirates easy. Spending time waiting for an assessment didn’t seem worthwhile compared to what he could achieve with Sonny’s help.
Eust decided against learning “Qi” but remained interested in “Haki,” knowing its importance, especially in the second half of the Grand Line.
Though he gave up on learning “Qi,” Eust’s curiosity persisted. He asked Kong how they determined if someone had the aptitude for “Qi.”
Kong explained that a martial artist could help identify the aptitude by examining the body’s “meridians” using their own “Qi.”
Eust eagerly asked Kong to check his meridians, and Kong generously agreed.
The examination was quick. Kong placed his hand on Eust’s wrist for a while, checking his aptitude.
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