Chapter 22: Armament Haki

Saint Saint Saiwen's days of cultivation on the Sky Island passed quite comfortably.

As the current God of the Sky Island, he need not taste the bitterness of hunger and cold; in his leisure, he could sit quietly atop the dome of Lei Shen Palace, watching the dawn pierce the sea of clouds and the sunset melt gold to dye the sky.

When night fell, he could even sleep with his head on the starry sky and the clear radiance of the Milky Way.

There was only one regret: the news was isolated.

The wings of the news birds could ultimately not cross the Bai Bai Sea ten thousand meters high.

The wind and waves rising on the sea surface were all blocked by the thick cloud layers, cutting him and the entire world off from connection.

Of course, this also allowed him to completely calm his mind and devote himself fully to training.

To fuse the Iron Balloon physique as quickly as possible.

Saint Saint Saiwen burned almost all his passion entirely into various trainings.

Sweating more now is always better than bleeding later.

Counting the true powerhouses standing at the very tip of the pyramid on the Grand Line, almost all are all-around monsters.

Whether it be the three colors of Haki, body techniques, Devil Fruit abilities, or the swordsmanship unique to Great Swordsmen, all are comprehensive, complementary, and indispensable.

Never relying on a single means to win, but rather melting all abilities into an impeccable combat system.

Only thus can one stand firm on the Grand Line and then pursue dreams.

The weak can only drift with the tide, losing the right to choose.

Having lived two lives, having experienced that powerlessness, Saint Saint Saiwen had long grown tired of the torment of hunger and cold.

Before he had no choice; now he must be the strongest.

Three months later.

Under the setting sun of the Golden City of Shandora, Saint Saint Saiwen stood before the Poneglyph stele, discarding all distracting thoughts.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Fist wind broke the air.

The dull impact sound echoed among the ruins.

The collision between fist and stele made Saint Saint Saiwen's arms numb, yet the force did not diminish.

Sweat dripped down his jaw, soaking his clothes, yet he was completely unaware, still driving his fists with will, punch after punch, repeatedly hammering.

The stele was silent, bearing the weight of history.

Crossing a thousand years of time, it became the best trial ground for Saint Saint Saiwen to attempt awakening Armament Haki.

Every impact was an extreme squeezing of the body; Saint Saint Saiwen forged his will into his knuckles, attempting to break through the shackles of the flesh, knocking open the door to Armament Haki awakening amidst the collision sounds.

Already cheating, why still endure such hardship?

Simply too poor.

Since Brother Warhammer, only four shells consigned on the trading platform had been sold; instead, posts begging to buy shells at low prices had become increasingly numerous.

Three months passed, and even the Iron Balloon was completely fused, yet Saint Saint Saiwen had only saved up 4,300 points.

He suspected: other world users might have guessed he occupied the Sky Island after buying Mengxiang Yixin from him with 88,888 tons of gold and then consigning Sky Island shells.

Thus they crazily drove down the prices.

Fortunately, Sky Island shells only exist in the One Piece world; as the God of the Sky Island, Saint Saint Saiwen held the pricing power.

Moreover, Saint Saint Saiwen had a need for points, yet not so strong that he had to lower the price.

He would rather not sell than lower the price.

Cheating was certainly excellent, but outwitting and outfighting other world users on the trading platform was even more addictive.

Logically, every world has unique items for sale, so the pricing power naturally lies in the hands of users from that world.

Actually, that is not so.

Because this involves priorities and urgency.

Like Saint Saint Saiwen, who was not in the least urgent; if he couldn't buy Armament Haki, he could cultivate it himself.

If he couldn't awaken Armament Haki, it didn't matter; the experience of cultivating Wu Xiang Yi Dao in his mind had not yet been fully fused.

Because he was not in a hurry, "buy if you want, don't if you don't," so the pricing power fell into his hands.

If Saint Saint Saiwen were very urgent to obtain points, he would have to accept—the prices set by those low-price buying posts.

Naturally losing the pricing power.

Only a rich guy like Brother Warhammer would not care about the price, buying whatever purely based on personal preference.

Only the platform rules could limit Brother Warhammer.

Regarding the price-driving-down behavior of platform users, Saint Saint Saiwen learned by example and also began posting to buy flying capes, body techniques, and other items at low prices.

Focusing on: my stuff won't drop in price, and I'll also buy your stuff at low prices.

Pfft~

Before the stele, a crisp sound rang out.

Saint Saint Saiwen's chest heaved constantly; those tense fists had turned black, as if covered by a layer of black glaze.

"Haa~"

"Finally awakened."

Although Saint Saint Saiwen had already mastered Conqueror's Haki coating, making basic Armament Haki seem somewhat low-class.

How to put it? Having it is better than not having it.

The 5,000 points saved could be used entirely to strengthen other abilities or to buy a flying cape.

Armament Haki—

Its core function is to strengthen attack and defense, and to touch the physical form of Logia-type Devil Fruit users.

It is divided into three manifestations: Hardening, Flowing External Emission, and Internal Destruction.

Hardening is the most common and basic method of use, namely covering the body or weapons with Armament Haki, significantly increasing defense and attack power.

Flowing outward means channeling Armament Haki to wrap around the hands or weapons, releasing shockwaves.

Internal Destruction is a method of using Flowing Outward; it projects Armament Haki through an object's surface to directly damage its interior.

Due to their flowing nature, Flowing Outward and Internal Destruction are called Ryuou in Wano Country.

In the New World, where Armament Haki is common, Saint Saint Saiwen's failure to awaken it before now shows just how poor his physique truly was.

Now, however.

With the support of Bottomless Stomach, Innate Godly Strength, and Iron Balloon, Saint Saint Saiwen has traded a musket for a star-destroying battleship; he is nearly a human giant and is incomparable to before.

Having successfully awakened Armament Haki, Saint Saint Saiwen, in high spirits, drew his blade, Mengxiang Yixin, and slashed upward at the top of the Poneglyph stele.

Crack~

As a smooth, neat cut appeared on the stele's top, Mengxiang Yixin cleanly severed a corner of the Poneglyph stele.

"It has to be you; you live up to the name of a divine artifact."

The Poneglyph stele, made of who knows what stone, had been pounded by Saint Saint Saiwen for three months without sustaining a single bit of damage.

It nearly made him think he had encountered a rare treasure.

But this is all it is?

Sheathing his blade, Saint Saint Saiwen transformed into Lei Ting and flashed instantly to Lei Shen Palace in a single breath.

A woman, about twenty years old, wearing a beige short skirt, with golden hair, long legs, a heaving chest, and small wings on her back, hurriedly bowed in greeting.

"My lord, Lei Shen."

The mere act of bowing seemed to evoke the fiercest waves upon the great sea.

Saint Saint Saiwen quickly averted his gaze: I am not Lei Shen; Xia Ni, you are the true Lei Shen!

As the God of the Sky Island, beautiful maids were naturally indispensable to Saint Saint Saiwen; even that fellow Gan Forr wanted his granddaughter to come.

His calculating beads were practically jumping into people's faces.

Unfortunately, Saint Saint Saiwen had grown accustomed to a life of poverty and truly wasn't used to being served, so only the two sisters, Xia Ni and Xia Lu, remained on rotation in Lei Shen Palace.

"My lord," Xia Ni said, keeping her head down.

"Because... because you returned earlier than usual today, the kitchen hasn't prepared dinner yet. What do you think..."

Saint Saint Saiwen waved his hand: "I'll go take a bath; just serve the meal at the usual time."

"Also, from now on, lift your head when speaking."

"I won't eat you."

Xia Ni pressed her lips together: Whether I'll be eaten is hard to say; you've been secretly looking at me several times.