A Kneel That Shook the Heavens

What? He wanted him to kneel?

Ye Chen stared blankly at Golden Lion. Seeing that Golden Lion was not joking, he could hardly believe what he had heard. He had saved him, yet he was being so heartless and ungrateful. But he quickly calmed down.

A man had to bow his head when under another's roof!

Without Golden Lion's help, Ye Chen knew he would never escape Impel Down.

Gripping the iron bars, Olvia desperately shook her head at Ye Chen. "Don't agree to him! Don't agree to him! I don't want you to kneel."

Olvia knew that Ye Chen was a strong boy. He would not easily bow his head to anyone.

These past days, Ye Chen had trained desperately for her every day, constantly fighting War Wolves. His body was always drenched in blood and covered in wounds, yet he had never given up.

For her, his life faced the test of death every moment. But he was only six years old. His young shoulders bore far too much, burdens he should never have had to bear.

For a man, dignity was more important than anything. Olvia would not allow Ye Chen to grow up with an indelible shadow left upon his path!

Olvia shouted desperately, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face. She wanted to stop Ye Chen, but his expression was strangely calm. As his bright black eyes looked at Olvia, they even carried a trace of a smile.

"Golden Lion, do you really want me to kneel before you?"

Ye Chen turned to Golden Lion. A faint, indifferent sneer curled across his wickedly charming lips, but a cold glint suddenly shot from his eyes, utterly undisguised.

No matter who it was, everyone who saw Golden Lion would feel fear rise in their hearts. Yet Ye Chen not only showed no weakness in bearing, but even dared to let killing intent flash in his eyes.

"Ye Chen, do you not value your life? Hurry and agree to him, or Golden Lion will kill you!" Basan hurriedly warned, afraid that Ye Chen would anger Golden Lion.

"Then let me ask you: will you kneel or not?"

Ye Chen's reaction caught Golden Lion slightly by surprise. Facing him, he was actually this stubborn. The more he acted this way, the more interested Golden Lion became in him.

Golden Lion despised most those cowardly people who would wag their tails, beg for mercy, nod, and bow whenever they saw someone stronger.

From the moment Golden Lion had unleashed Conqueror's Haki, Ye Chen's performance had already caught his attention.

To Golden Lion, saving someone was merely a matter of lifting a hand. But now, he wanted even more to see how Ye Chen would act next.

"If it were only for myself, I would never kneel before you. But for my friend, for the promise I made to an eight-year-old girl, I can kneel. But I advise you to kill me now. Otherwise, I will surely avenge today's humiliation someday."

With that, Ye Chen glared furiously at Golden Lion, clenched his teeth, and dropped heavily to his knees.

The humiliation in his heart instantly turned into towering rage. The moment he knelt, those bright black eyes suddenly blazed with light, and violent killing intent surged forth.

Boom!

A soaring blast of air suddenly erupted from the ground, and the surrounding currents began to ripple strangely. Wind and snow whipped wildly around Ye Chen as waves of air rolled and churned, as though a powerful hurricane had appeared out of nowhere.

This astonishing sight shocked everyone. Basan stared blankly at Ye Chen and cried out in disbelief, "Could this be... the legendary Conqueror's Haki?!"

Only Golden Lion smiled inwardly in satisfaction!

Golden Lion kept his word. He strode before Olvia, casually swung his sword to sever the cell door, then headed straight for the gate leading out of this level.

Ye Chen glanced at the frozen Saul, then looked apologetically at Basan and the others. He knew Golden Lion would not care whether these people lived or died.

"Basan, don't worry. I will definitely come back to save you!"

Whether they believed him or not, Ye Chen clenched his fists tightly. He would keep every promise he made to himself. This time, he relied on Golden Lion; next time, he would rely on himself!

Watching Ye Chen's resolute figure disappear into the distance, Basan nodded in relief. "This old man will wait for that day!"

Upon reaching the fourth level, they found Magellan prepared not far ahead. His huge, burly body was like a mountain, blocking Golden Lion's path.

Golden Lion puffed on his cigar and sneered. "What, Shiryu of the Rain couldn't even stop me. Do you think you can?"

Magellan glared furiously at Golden Lion, his eyes seeming to burn with roaring flames.

"I only know that I am the deputy warden of Impel Down, while you are a prisoner attempting to escape!"

With that, Magellan took the lead and strode toward Golden Lion. Ye Chen saw that Magellan moved like a huge, clumsy bear—slow and lumbering, yet his presence was suffocating. Especially as he breathed heavily, purple poison gas continuously spewed from his nostrils, stinging Ye Chen's eyes and making him cough uncontrollably. Before long, even breathing became extremely difficult.

The guards all wore gas masks, so they seemed completely unaffected.

Golden Lion suddenly let out a wild laugh, his voice booming like a great bell and carrying irresistible majesty. He fiercely reached out and struck the stone wall beside him.

What happened next was shocking. Lion's Might: Ground Roll!

Not only did the stone walls move, but even the ground beneath their feet and the beams overhead began to move. Amid a lion's roar that seemed to swallow heaven and earth, everything around them shook violently. The earth rumbled and mountains seemed to tremble. Before the terrified eyes of the guards, everything within several hundred meters seemed to come alive. Dust and sand flew everywhere, smoke filled the air, and soon several savage roaring stone lions appeared before them. The surrounding stone walls and corridors had vanished entirely. There was no need to ask—those enormous stone lions had transformed from them. Even the prisoners in the nearby cells had disappeared; perhaps they too had become part of the stone lions.

"Venom Dragon!" Magellan's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly raised a hand and unleashed his attack. A purple divine dragon suddenly flew out from behind him and charged Golden Lion like a raging flood beast. But amid a thunderous collision that seemed to split the earth, Magellan's Venom Dragon was completely swallowed by the stone lions Golden Lion had summoned before it could even reach him.

The stone lions did not slow, ruthlessly slamming into Magellan. Magellan immediately vomited blood and flew backward. Even the guards behind him suffered along with him, crushed until they wailed like ghosts and howled like wolves. Some had their ribs shattered, some were flattened, and some were even worse off, turned completely into meat paste.

Golden Lion gave a cold laugh and swung his sword again, releasing a fierce slash. Magellan could not dodge in time, and sword energy instantly wounded his chest, making blood gush forth!