Buzz...
Accompanied by the sound of ancient chimes, Gawain slowly awoke from his drowsiness.
Before he even opened his eyes, Gawain felt that the sounds around him were not right. He vaguely felt that he might have returned to the Xianyang Palace in his dream.
When Gawain opened his eyes, what he saw was indeed the ancient palace and the black and gold fur coat he was wearing.
"Call..."
With a soft sigh, Gawain narrowed his eyes knowingly.
It seems that my way back to this palace was not through sleep and dreams, but through unconsciousness!
After all, his previous battle with Garp was the second time Gawain had fallen into a coma due to serious injuries since arriving in the world of Pirate King.
However, Gawain felt that the way this person returned was somewhat unfriendly.
If the only way to return to the Xianyang Palace is to fall into a coma, then that's not very safe. Given Gawain's current status, frequent comas are not a good thing.
Thinking of this, Gawain looked around. He felt that since this palace had appeared again and again, it meant that it was not a dream, but something real that could help him.
Or rather, this is the cheat code he received after transmigrating, but because he has had such a smooth life, he has never been able to use it.
As for now, Gawain always felt that since it was a cheat code, the way to enter this palace shouldn't be so primitive.
It's probably because he knows too little about the Xianyang Palace!
With that in mind, Gawain looked around again, wanting to observe the surrounding environment first before continuing to study the imperial edict he had seen in the Xianyang Palace last time.
But the moment he looked around, Gawain froze!
At this moment, Gawain was truly stunned, because unlike last time, this time he wasn't the only one in the palace!
To his left and right, and all around him, countless figures were appearing and disappearing in the palace in the form of ethereal mist!
This wasn't the reason Gawain was stunned. His stunned state wasn't because there were any figures below him.
Instead, Gawain recognized all the figures below him!
At this very moment, to Gawain's left, countless people were lined up and heading downwards.
Standing at the very front of the left-hand queue was none other than Mr. Rayleigh, whom Gawain had always trusted implicitly!!!
Standing below Rayleigh is Issho, below Issho is Zephyr, below Zephyr is Shiryu, and below Shiryu is Kuma!
Indeed, most of the male officers on the Dark Bird Ship were standing to the left of Gawain. Their figures were as ethereal as clouds and mist, yet they were also vaguely clear like projections!
As for the group of women to Gawain's right below him, that was naturally Gion.
Men on the left, women on the right, the line was extremely orderly, which made Gawain instantly understand something!
Gawain did not see Crocodile among the crowd.
Neither Nami nor Nojiko appeared among the women.
Clearly, these shadows seem to represent that the people who appear here have, to some extent, made up their minds to completely follow him.
Regardless of whether these figures serve any other purpose, their mere presence has already given Gawain a way to exploit them.
Because of these shadows, Gawain could almost perfectly judge whether his subordinates were loyal or not!
Gawain has always been good at seizing opportunities; even if there are no opportunities, he will create them.
So when a useful clue appears, Gawain naturally won't let any opportunity slip by.
So, in just a moment, Gawain decided that after leaving Xianyang Palace, he would try to win back Sand Crocodile's heart.
If we still can't get him to appear in the Xianyang Palace after five or more attempts, well...
Without Gawain's assessment of the Sand Crocodile, he raised his eyes and continued to look around.
Since there are quite a few people standing in the ranks of the subjects below, there must be other people standing in this palace.
Sure enough, to the left of Gawain's throne, Lucci, standing respectfully, made Gawain smile slightly. It seemed that Lucci was regarded by Xianyang as his bodyguard, and the kind who would protect him closely.
Kalifa stood to the right of Gawain's throne, seemingly serving as a lady-in-waiting.
Thinking about it, it makes sense. Lucci and Kalifa were extremely loyal to the Celestial Dragon. After meeting Gawain, Lucci's attitude towards Gawain was indeed different from that of the people below who were his subjects.
It is uncertain how Xianyang Palace made such judgments about its subordinates, whether they were ministers or personal guards.
But Gawain had some understanding based on mere guesswork.
Subjects will obey your orders, but their obedience is conditional: they must not do anything that completely breaks the bottom line of a subject.
This is what a subject is like. Although a subject obeys the king, whether in China or abroad, the relationship between a subject and the king is closer to that of a collaborator, except that the king holds much more initiative in this collaboration.
As for the guards, they can be called the die-hard loyalists!
What if Gawain ordered Rayleigh to kill Ace or Shakky without cause?
Obviously, Rayleigh wouldn't obey orders.
But Kaku if Gawain ordered Lucci to kill Kalifa, or Lucci, or even the pigeon that was Lucci's only companion on his shoulder?
In short, people like Lucci and Kalifa are capable of accepting and carrying out any of Gawain's orders.
This is the difference between a loyal subject and a loyal servant.
Gawain wouldn't differentiate himself from others because of this, and he wouldn't Gawain dissatisfied with Sand Crocodile's absence, let alone the difference between a mere loyalist and a subordinate.
For Gawain, those who obeyed him could be used, and those who disobeyed him could also be used.
Loyal people can be exploited, but those who feign loyalty are even more easily exploited.
Even the enemy can be used, can't they?
With that thought in mind, Gawain stopped scrutinizing the many figures, lowered his head, and finally looked at the table in front of him.
Unlike last time, this time there was no postscript about the emperor who had died in the country on the table.
This time, all that appeared on Gawain's desk was a map that was shimmering with a faint light!
Upon seeing the map, Gawain's expression tightened slightly. He picked it up and began to examine it thoughtfully.
The map in his hand depicted the world of Pirate King, and Gawain clearly saw the Four Blues, the Gawain Grand Line, and the New World, which he had not yet visited.
Unfortunately, the maps of all the islands that Gawain had not visited were ambiguous at this time, lacking the detailed records that Gawain had hoped for.
Gawain's plan to use this map to pinpoint the geographical locations of the many islands in the Pirate World has completely failed.
However, on the map at this moment, all the islands that Gawain had passed through and planted flags on were now incredibly clear, even emitting a faint red glow!
The red light formed a line that stretched from the New World to the Four Blues before ending. After all, Gawain didn't plant a flag in the East Blue; he and the Five Elders only agreed on control of the Grand Line.
As for the islands and countries that Gawain planted his flag on, there are also many differences among them.
Islands like Long Ring Long Land, which have no country, or islands like Sky Island, which are completely ruled by Gawain in the name of a monarch.
As they emitted a red glow, small golden Dark Bird hovered and danced endlessly against the backdrop of those islands.
Apart from the islands directly ruled by Gawain, the other islands simply emitted a red glow.
After seeing the map clearly, Gawain's smile grew even brighter. This map was far more useful Koby the figures below.
So far, the only thing the figure can distinguish about is the loyalty of his subordinates. Regardless of their loyalty, Gawain is confident in his ability to control his men. Loyalty is not important to a qualified emperor.
But this map...
Gawain felt that if the differences between the Dark Bird and the islands without Dark Bird on this map could reveal the sentiments of the people in different regions.
Then this map truly deserves to be called a powerful tool for governing a country!
A monarch is not swayed by any single person.
Whether an individual is loyal or not should not be the primary concern of a monarch.
The will of the people in a city or region is the most useful metric for a ruler.
Whether government orders are effectively implemented, whether the people accept them, and whether anyone is inciting public sentiment—these are all things that Gawain can exploit.
Even so, Gawain still felt it wasn't enough!
After carefully examining the map, he spoke softly to it.
"Doesn't the Xianyang Palace have any other functions?"
Yes, he's still looking for instructions on how to use his cheat code.
As he spoke, the map in his hand suddenly changed; soon, the map disappeared from the scroll in his hand, replaced by three categories.
Gawain glanced at them; the three categories were...
"Territory"
"Portal"
"Monarch"
That's right, there are only these three options.
Gawain focused his gaze on the map, and suddenly, a new map, different from the one he had just seen, appeared.
This time, the map didn't show a sea, but a pitch-black void.
In that desolate corner, a lonely planet is slowly rotating.
Looking at that planet, Gawain's mind gave the command to observe.
Suddenly, the map of the One Pirate World reappeared in Gawain's eyes.
Gawain had come to understand the meaning of the map, and it was this understanding that made Gawain heart pound violently.
That's right, this map only covers a corner of the Pirate King world!
This is a map that could potentially be used to record all the myriad realms!
Since there's room for recording, then this Xianyang Palace shouldn't just end up at the end of the One Piece world!
In an instant, Gawain's eyes burned with intense passion. Although the Pirate World was already exciting enough, how could I not want more?!
In a flash, Gawain swiftly exited the map option and opened the subsequent portal option.
But after opening the portal option, Gawain only saw a single, solitary sentence.
"The monarch has not yet unified the current world, and the conditions for opening the portal are not yet met."
A simple sentence brought a meaningful smile to Gawain's lips. He gritted his teeth and took a long breath.
Unification? That makes perfect sense, after all, the palace I'm in is the famous Xianyang Palace!
Since the reforms of Duke Shang, every monarch who has reigned in the Xianyang Palace has harbored the ambition of unification.
If not for the conquest of the six states, how could there have been so many wise rulers throughout the ages, culminating in the First Emperor who carried on the legacy of seven generations!
After gritting his teeth, Gawain resolutely closed the portal. He shouldn't be reluctant to give up what he hadn't yet obtained; having a goal was enough!
To unify the entire ocean...
Just what I wanted!
After silently making a more resolute decision, Gawain finally looked toward the monarch's option.
Meeting Gawain's gaze, the scroll in his hand rapidly changed, eventually revealing five more columns of large text.
Monarch: Gawain
"Bloodline: Taihao"
"Talent: Royal Blood"
"Destiny: Dark Bird"
"Six Palaces: None available"
Looking at the options above, Gawain frowned slightly. The Taihao bloodline... that means... he's a descendant of the White Emperor?
The Heavenly Mandate Dark Bird could understand, but it didn't know that it was because it was a descendant of Taihao and also the Heavenly Mandate Dark Bird that it was able to possess this Xianyang Palace.
Or is it because he is a descendant of Taihao, the Heavenly Dark Bird Destiny, that his cheat ability shows up as the Xianyang Palace?
These two points seem similar, but they are worlds apart, and Gawain has no choice but to consider them.
And his own talent...
Gawain wondered, what did this "talent" mean, and what was the significance of "royal blood"?
Just as Gawain was thinking this, the two characters "Royal Blood" on the scroll rapidly expanded, and then transformed into a series of interpretations.
The explanation was lengthy, and after carefully reading it, Gawain drew his own conclusions.
The so-called royal blood refers to the king's instinct to command his subjects, much like blood itself.
This drive is not about making people bow down in worship, but rather about the king's ability, to a certain extent, to unite all his subjects as one!
That's right, the royal blood is the so-called talent of the king's ministers, which is transformed into blood and injected into the king's body so that the king can use and utilize it!
In other words, without Gawain's knowledge, he had inexplicably acquired the combined talents of all his subordinates!
This made Gawain breathe a heavy sigh of relief. No wonder the more subordinates he had, the better Gawain felt his training was going, to the point that his speed of becoming stronger far exceeded everyone's expectations.
Despite undergoing gravity training, while everyone else progressed slowly, Gawain had almost reached a level that even the Shichibukai would find difficult to defeat.
This is the talent that the royal blood bestowed upon Gawain —a talent that one cannot use without effort, but which allows one to quickly surpass the Heavenly Gate once one puts in the effort!
This was different from what Gawain had originally thought of as a natural talent.
Gawain believed that his talent should be used to manage his subordinates.
But was his talent used to strengthen himself?
Gawain seemed to understand something; it seemed that this was the kind of talent a king of the immortal kingdom should possess!
Controlling people's hearts is the lifeblood of emperors.
The king of the immortal kingdom should naturally transcend the mindset of mortals and aspire to become an immortal ancestor.
Thinking of this, Gawain let out a long sigh.
It seems that, besides unifying the Pirate World and opening the portals to all realms...
You can't slow down your training for a moment!
Because becoming stronger is the ultimate message this Xianyang Palace gives itself!!!