Armament Haki

"Fifteen thousand."

The stall owner was a middle-aged man wearing straw sandals. He looked quite capable, and five or six pieces of high-end Rare-grade goods were displayed at his stall.

"Too expensive."

Though he had expected it, Lu Li still shook his head after hearing the price.

Techniques and Bloodlines could be used throughout an Explorer's growth, so such items were more expensive than ordinary equipment. Even so, Lu Li did not think this Armament Haki learning item was worth fifteen thousand.

More importantly, he only had 3,450 Doomsday Coins on him.

Seeing that the stall owner had stopped speaking, Lu Li asked, "Do you accept barter?"

The stall owner looked up at Lu Li as if assessing him, then spoke after a moment. "What can you offer?"

Lu Li took out a small Inheritance Crystal. "One of these, plus 3,000 Doomsday Coins. Deal?"

The stall owner's eyes lit up when Lu Li produced the Inheritance Crystal. Then his expression became somewhat strange. He could tell that Lu Li was no weakling and probably was not a newcomer who had just entered End Space, but why would a first-rank Explorer be willing to sell an Inheritance Crystal?

This was an excellent item for improving combat techniques. It could allow an ordinary office worker to wield weapons proficiently and master fighting skills. It could be called the lifeline of a first-rank Explorer.

"No. Even if Inheritance Crystals are Rare, that's only because few people are willing to sell them. It isn't worth twelve thousand on its own. You'll need to trade three."

The stall owner shook his head, probing with his words.

"How could I possibly have that many Inheritance Crystals? I only have two. Two small Inheritance Crystals for this item—are you trading or not? If not, I'll go enhance my specialization abilities instead."

Lu Li spoke without changing expression. He did have three small Inheritance Crystals, but he had sensed the stall owner's desire for them. There was no way he would agree immediately.

"Two..."

The stall owner frowned slightly. In terms of value, his Armament Haki was worth more than two small Inheritance Crystals. But he had been setting up here for over a week without selling it, and he truly needed Inheritance Crystals.

One of his important skills only needed two more small Inheritance Crystals to be upgraded.

"On second thought, it's safer to enhance my existing abilities..."

Before Lu Li could say the final "forget it," the stall owner interrupted him.

"Deal!"

The stall owner stood up, picked up the item, and directly sent a trade request.

A small window popped up in the menu before Lu Li.

'Whose Foot Odor Will I Smell' has sent you a trade request. Accept?

When Lu Li saw the stall owner's space nickname, his composure nearly collapsed. Still, he put on a reluctant expression and accepted the trade.

After the trade, a smile appeared on the stall owner's face as well. "To be honest, I really do have a skill that badly needs Inheritance Crystals. Otherwise, I wouldn't have accepted that price. Consider it making a friend."

"We each got what we needed. Can I ask where this thing came from?"

Lu Li pointed at the item in his hand.

"Ah, don't mention it. I fought like hell in the One Piece World, only to end up as a sergeant at Marine Headquarters. This thing was certified during settlement. Selling it to you at this price barely lets me break even."

Perhaps because he was in a good mood after completing the trade, the stall owner did not hide anything.

After exchanging a few more words, Lu Li finally left the stall. He had gained another piece of information: items that official Explorers obtained directly in mission worlds could be brought back to End Space by spending Doomsday Coins.

For example, the Armament Haki item in his hand had originally been a Marine Headquarters textbook about Armament Haki. After being certified by End Space, it had transformed into a technique-type item that could be directly used for learning.

Interestingly, the item was not actually a book, but a cube shaped like one. There was nothing inside it, and Lu Li could not directly read any theoretical knowledge about Armament Haki from it.

This was likely End Space's way of preventing Explorers from endlessly copying, transcribing, and distributing it after returning to the space.

Lu Li wandered around the trading market for a while longer. After spending 2,000 Doomsday Coins on a Rare-grade recovery item, he headed back.

He could not wait to see what Armament Haki was really like and whether it matched his expectations.

After returning to his residence, Lu Li made a request. "End Space, I want to learn Armament Haki."

Request received. Beginning Armament Haki awakening for Pioneer.

As End Space's notification sounded, the item in Lu Li's hand disappeared.

Then his vision went dark, and his consciousness grew hazy.

It was a strange sensation. He seemed to be floating in the void, communicating with the deepest layers of his consciousness and awakening the potential known as Haki.

As though drifting through boundless darkness, Lu Li did not know how much time passed. Then he heard the wails of souls by his ear. In his daze, he saw that Demon God-like figure in Hell again, staring at him across the abyss.

Lu Li opened his eyes and checked the clock on the wall, only to discover that five hours had passed.

He opened the menu and checked his newly acquired ability.

Armament Haki

Skill Rating: C+ (This skill's rating is affected by its level)

Skill Level: 3/40

Skill Type: Active

Cooldown: None

Details: Consumes a certain amount of Soul Source to activate Armament Haki, covering any part of the body. Consumption varies according to the area covered and duration maintained.

The defense of areas covered by Armament Haki will greatly increase, and they can also attack incorporeal spirit-type enemies.

Skill Evaluation: Please do not use it to cover strange parts.

"Haki..."

Ignoring End Space's mischievous evaluation, Lu Li raised his right arm, rolled up his sleeve, and activated Armament Haki.

A layer of grayish-black armor visibly covered his arm. Its surface gleamed with a metallic texture.

Lu Li tapped it with his other hand and found that it was indeed extremely hard. He then drew Prison Demon and lightly touched its blade against the arm wrapped in Armament Haki.

Clang—

The sound resembled metal striking metal. Lu Li looked at his arm. A white mark flashed across it before vanishing, quickly covered by the continuing Armament Haki.

"What a marvelous ability."

A smile appeared on Lu Li's face. He was very satisfied with Armament Haki's defensive power. Prison Demon was a Rare-grade main weapon with a perfect rating. Although he had not slashed hard, the blade's sharpness was no joke, yet it had failed to cut his arm.

Considering actual combat, he felt his current Armament Haki level was indeed a little low. If he used his own blade to slash himself, it would definitely be able to cut through.

But Lu Li was not a target who would obediently let enemies chop at him. He was very agile in battle and would not let an enemy's lethal attacks hit him. As for attacks lacking sufficient force, he could withstand them with Armament Haki, allowing him to employ more flexible tactics.

Most importantly, Armament Haki was not merely a turtle-shell skill. A hardened fist would certainly deal more damage when thrown, and Armament Haki could even extend outward to coat Prison Demon, further enhancing the blade's toughness and sharpness.

After actually learning this "technique," Lu Li felt that Haki was not some sort of hard-body training method, but a manifestation of one's essence, energy, and spirit.

He was not highly educated, but he had studied martial arts extensively, so he could only compare it to the ancient martial arts of legend. He felt it resembled a kind of "intent."

When he was young, he had heard Master say that in ancient times, martial arts masters at the pinnacle could kill from a hundred meters away with sword intent, while masters of fist intent could split mountains and shatter rocks. What they relied on was not merely physical strength, but a certain realm of intent they had comprehended—the power of the heart and will.

The original One Piece described Haki as an external manifestation of willpower, something vague and mysterious. Lu Li felt that it happened to align with his own guess.

In short, he felt this trade had not been a loss. Haki truly was a system with a very high ceiling.

It already possessed such power at only level three. If he could raise it to the maximum level, perhaps he really could become impervious to blades, bullets, water, and fire, with unrivaled offensive power as well.

Lu Li checked the requirements. Upgrading Haki now would require one small Inheritance Crystal and 400 Doomsday Coins.

He had enough on hand, but he did not plan to upgrade it immediately. He wanted to gain some personal insight first and see whether he could raise its level through training.