A Serious Strike, Other Shore Blade

Hearing this, Rayleigh's eyes flashed with surprise. Then he burst into even heartier laughter.

"Good kid! To have such courage and ambition at such a young age—rare, truly rare!"

His smile faded, and his gaze instantly sharpened. The aura around him grew ever more imposing, fully revealing the pressure that belonged to 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 blast of air. Distant branches trembled faintly, and even the air seemed to freeze under that pressure.

The sheer pressure before this serious strike alone 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 agitation in his heart and suppress the surging blood within his body.

When he opened his eyes again, the exhaustion and pain had vanished from them, replaced by fervent fighting spirit.

His mind became clearer than ever, entirely free of distractions.

He stared fixedly at Rayleigh, pushing his senses to their limits, not daring to miss even the slightest movement Rayleigh made.

Even the twitch of a fingertip or the fluctuation of his breath was firmly captured in his sight.

He knew that the next strike would surely be shocking—and would surely make him feel pressure unlike anything he had ever experienced.

"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 grip. The aura around him instantly condensed.

The next second, he drove his foot down hard. The ground shook violently, dirt sprayed into the air, and a shallow crater appeared in an instant.

With Beiyuan Heng's current strength, he could not catch any of Rayleigh's movements at all. He only felt his vision blur, as though Rayleigh had vanished into thin air.

That speed had long surpassed his understanding.

In the very next instant, as Beiyuan Heng reeled in shock, a vast aura abruptly appeared before him. Rayleigh was already standing there steadily.

The long sword in his hand had turned pitch-black, thick Armament Haki tightly coiling around the blade and radiating a heavy yet razor-sharp presence.

At the same time, dark crimson lightning continuously danced and twisted around the blade.

That was Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki.

Armament Haki coating, enhanced 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 breath catch.

"Other Shore Blade!"

Rayleigh swung his long sword down fiercely. There were no flashy techniques, but the strike contained all of his strength.

The blade flashed. Wrapped in black and streaked with dark crimson lightning, it came crashing 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 traces left as the blade's force cut through the air and feel the suffocating Haki rushing toward him, yet he could not make any 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 descended upon him.

Even before the slash truly fell, Beiyuan Heng could already feel its dizzying, overwhelming Haki. His throat tightened, and he nearly coughed up blood.

At that moment, regret flashed through Beiyuan Heng's heart. It's over. I pushed it too far.

But in the next instant, the pressure and blade force that seemed capable of splitting heaven and earth abruptly 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 if that world-destroying strike had never happened.

Beiyuan Heng stood there blankly, his gaze vacant. He had yet to recover from that terrifying slash, while the image of the blade force crashing toward him replayed over and over in his mind. His heart still pounded violently, refusing to settle.

Only after a long while did he slowly blink and let out a long breath. His taut body instantly relaxed.

As he gradually came back to himself, he realized that his palms and face were already covered in dense cold sweat.

Seeing that Beiyuan Heng had recovered in only a moment, Rayleigh's eyes flashed with obvious surprise. Then he nodded, his tone carrying a hint of praise.

"Your will is impressive. You recovered so quickly. Anyone else would have fainted from fright already."

Rayleigh secretly marveled. Given the kid's current strength, he had originally thought it would take him at least five or six minutes to recover from the impact of that slash.

After all, he had truly used all his strength in that strike. Armament Haki, Conqueror's Haki, and swordsmanship had all been perfectly fused into it.

It had been a long time since he had used this move.

If it had been an ordinary strong fighter, or even some renowned Supernovas, they would probably have been intimidated by the Conqueror's Haki wrapped around his weapon and fainted before he could even fully swing the blade. They would never have had the chance to see the full extent of that strike.

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.

And all of this was thanks to the seemingly unremarkable "Calm" trait on his panel.

Though it was only a white trait, with no powerful attack boost or formidable defense increase, the benefit it gave him was incomparable.

It was precisely this "Calm" trait that allowed him to remain conscious beneath the terrifying pressure of Conqueror's Haki and avoid fainting for the time being.

Meanwhile, Shakky and the three Gorgon sisters, who were watching from nearby, were not in good shape either.

The instant Rayleigh unleashed "Other Shore Blade," Hancock's two younger sisters' legs went weak, and they collapsed to the ground.

They had never imagined that Mr. Rayleigh, who appeared so kind and approachable, could give off such a horrifying aura.

Hancock, however, looked at Beiyuan Heng, who was still standing in the distance, her eyes filled with complicated emotions.

She had never expected this man, a Marine, to genuinely want to help her.

In her understanding, all Marines were lackeys of the Celestial Dragons—people who oppressed them and aided evil.

What was more, he was a man.

And this man named Beiyuan Heng had not even been seduced by her beauty.