At those words, a flicker of surprise flashed through Rayleigh's eyes. Then he burst into hearty laughter, even more open and cheerful than before.
"Good lad. To have such courage and ambition at such a young age is rare—truly rare!"
His smile faded, and his gaze instantly sharpened. The aura around him grew increasingly immense, fully revealing the pressure befitting the Dark King.
"Since you want to witness it so badly, then I'll let you."
The grass on the ground bent flat beneath an invisible wave of force. Branches in the distance trembled faintly, and even the air seemed to freeze under that pressure.
The pressure alone before this serious strike was enough to make it hard to breathe.
Beiyuan Heng slowly closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, doing his best to calm the excitement and restlessness in his heart and suppress the surging blood within him.
When he opened his eyes again, the exhaustion and pain in them had faded, replaced by blazing battle intent.
His mind had become clearer than ever, free of all distracting thoughts.
He stared fixedly at Rayleigh, pushing his senses to their limit and not daring to miss even the slightest movement.
Even the twitch of a fingertip or the rise and fall of Rayleigh's aura was firmly captured in his sight.
He knew that the next strike would surely be breathtaking—and would surely bring him unprecedented pressure.
"I'm making my move."
Rayleigh spoke softly, his tone calm.
Before his words had even faded, he flipped his right hand, and a long sword was already in his grasp. The aura around him instantly condensed.
The next second, he stomped down hard. The ground shook violently, dirt flew everywhere, and a shallow crater instantly formed beneath his feet.
With Beiyuan Heng's current strength, he simply could not catch any of Rayleigh's movements. He only saw a blur before Rayleigh seemed to vanish into thin air.
That speed had long surpassed anything he could comprehend.
In the instant Beiyuan Heng was still reeling in shock, an immense aura suddenly appeared before him. Rayleigh was already standing there steadily.
The long sword in his hand had turned pitch-black, densely coated in Armament Haki that radiated a heavy, razor-sharp presence.
At the same time, dark-red lightning continuously writhed and coiled around the blade.
That was Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki.
Armament Haki coating, reinforced with Conqueror's Haki coating!
The two supreme forms of Haki intertwined, forming a world-destroying pressure that swept toward Beiyuan Heng and made his breathing stop.
"Other Shore Blade!"
Rayleigh swung his long sword down fiercely. There was no flashy technique, yet the strike contained all of his strength.
The blade flashed. Wrapped in pitch-black power streaked with dark-red lightning, it descended toward Beiyuan Heng with unstoppable force.
In Beiyuan Heng's eyes, time seemed to have been slowed down at that moment. Everything around him became sluggish.
He could even clearly see the trace left as the sword aura tore through the air. He could feel the suffocating Haki rushing toward him, yet he could not make a single move to resist.
His body seemed bound by an invisible force. He did not even have the strength to raise his hand and block, and could only watch helplessly as that lightning-fast slash came down upon him.
Before the slash had even truly fallen, Beiyuan Heng had already felt its dizzying, overwhelming Haki. His throat tightened, and he nearly spat out blood.
At that moment, a trace of regret flashed through Beiyuan Heng's heart. Damn it. I pushed it too far.
But in the very next instant, the pressure and sword aura that seemed capable of splitting heaven and earth vanished without a trace.
Beiyuan Heng froze and slowly opened his eyes.
Rayleigh's long sword had already been returned to the sheath at his waist. His expression remained calm and composed, as though that world-destroying strike had never happened.
Beiyuan Heng stood there blankly, his eyes vacant. He had yet to recover from that soul-stirring slash. The image of the sword aura cutting toward him replayed over and over in his mind, while his heart still pounded violently, unable to settle for a long while.
Only after quite some time did he slowly blink and let out a long breath. His tightly wound body instantly relaxed.
As he gradually came back to his senses, he realized that his palms and face were already covered in cold sweat.
Seeing that Beiyuan Heng had recovered in only a moment, Rayleigh's eyes flashed with obvious surprise. He then nodded, his tone carrying a hint of praise.
"Your will is impressive. You recovered that quickly. Anyone else would have been frightened unconscious long ago."
Rayleigh inwardly marveled. Given the boy's current strength, he had originally thought that Beiyuan Heng would need at least five or six minutes to recover from the impact of that slash.
After all, he had truly used his full strength in that strike. His Armament Haki, Conqueror's Haki, and swordsmanship had all fused together perfectly within it.
He had not used that move in a very long time.
If it had been an ordinary strong fighter, or even some famous Supernovas, they would likely have been intimidated unconscious by the Conqueror's Haki wrapped around his weapon before his slash had even fully come down. They would never have had the chance to witness the strike in its entirety.
It seemed the Marines had produced a talent with the "potential of a king."
Rayleigh was indeed right. If this had happened not long ago, Beiyuan Heng would not even have had the chance to see that strike. He likely would have lost consciousness beneath the pressure of Conqueror's Haki long before then.
And all of that was thanks to the seemingly unremarkable "Calm" trait on his panel.
Though it was only a white trait, offering neither a powerful attack bonus nor a formidable defensive boost, the benefit it provided him was unparalleled.
It was precisely this "Calm" trait that allowed him to maintain consciousness under the terrifying pressure of Conqueror's Haki and avoid fainting for the time being.
Meanwhile, Shakky and the three Gorgon sisters watching from nearby were not in much better condition.
At the moment Rayleigh unleashed Other Shore Blade, Hancock's two younger sisters' legs had gone weak, and they had collapsed to the ground.
They had never expected that Mr. Rayleigh, who seemed so kind and approachable, could emit such a terrifying aura at this moment.
Hancock, meanwhile, looked at Beiyuan Heng, who was still standing in the distance, her eyes filled with complicated emotions.
She had never imagined that this man, a Marine, would sincerely help her.
In her understanding, all Marines were the Celestial Dragons' lapdogs—people who oppressed them and aided evil.
What was more, he was a man.
And this man named Beiyuan Heng had not even been tempted by her beauty.
Before you continue