Chapter 122: The Bearing of a King
Rayleigh was standing very close to Ian, slightly behind and to the side, so he could naturally sense Ian's unusual state. He lowered his voice and whispered into Ian's ear: "Look at these people. They're just some who worship and imitate the Celestial Dragons. The real Celestial Dragons haven't shown up here today... Don't think about resisting. Imagine you're just an ordinary person right now, and feel that despair and helplessness."
Rayleigh's words echoed in Ian's ears like hypnotic magic, constantly fueling the anger burning in Ian's chest.
Ian's emotions naturally showed in his eyes. A nobleman dressed in fine clothes, who hadn't been participating in the auction, caught sight of Ian's gaze. His eyes lit up, and he suddenly shouted, "I bid two million Berries!"
This price instantly overpowered all other bidders, and the hall fell silent.
A noblewoman sitting beside him covered her mouth with a fan and asked in confusion, "Darling, a slave like that, with a burden in tow, isn't worth that much, is he?"
The nobleman said excitedly, "You don't understand. Look closely at his eyes. What a fantastic look! I want to gouge out those eyes and keep them as a collectible!"
Hearing this, the wealthy people around burst into laughter. One said, "Sir, your taste is truly unique!"
"Haha, I think so too! I can hardly wait!" the nobleman said, rubbing his hands together.
At that moment, Disco, the auctioneer, struck his gavel and confirmed the deal.
"Hurry! Bring him over!" the nobleman called out eagerly. "If that look in his eyes fades, it'll be a shame!"
The auction house generally didn't defy buyers' requests. Two clown-faced men immediately came over, grabbed Ian by the arms, and brought him before the nobleman.
The nobleman pulled out an ornate dagger from his pocket but realized he wasn't tall enough to reach Ian's eyes easily. So he ordered the two clowns, "Hold him down!"
The clowns quickly forced Ian's body lower. The nobleman grabbed Ian's chin, lifted his head, and brought the dagger close to his eyes, clicking his tongue in admiration. "How wonderful! Other slaves only have fear and numbness in their eyes. This is the first time I've seen such a furious gaze!"
Everyone knew what was about to happen. Among the bidders, the men watched eagerly for the spectacle, while the noblewomen and young ladies pretended to cover their faces in fear but actually peeked through their fingers, their excitement visible in their eyes if one looked closely.
What exactly were these people expecting?
Ian had been trying to follow Rayleigh's advice, forcing himself to feel everything as an ordinary person. His anger had been building up, and it was only a step away from bursting out.
When the dagger's tip came before his eyes, and his peripheral vision captured the ugliness of these people, Ian found he could no longer hold back.
What twisted hobbies! What distorted humanity! Everything here made Ian sick!
"Get away!!!"
With a sudden burst of strength in his arms, Ian broke free from the two clowns holding him down and straightened up. At the same time, with his roar, a massive shockwave erupted from his body!
It swept through the entire hall.
Everyone in the auction house, including Disco and the others, instantly rolled their eyes back, foamed at the mouth, and collapsed to the ground one after another.
"Hahaha!" Rayleigh, still standing on the stage, burst into loud laughter. "I didn't expect you to have the bearing of a king!"
Rayleigh's method had worked. Ian's Haki had finally awakened through his anger. And to Ian's own surprise, he possessed the potential for Conqueror's Haki!
When Ian came back to his senses and looked at the silent hall, he couldn't believe it as he stared at his clenched fist. He understood what had just happened. He could feel a power within his body, very similar to Psychic Power, which was undoubtedly true Haki.
Strange. Wasn't this body of his supposed to have poor talent? How had he awakened Conqueror's Haki?
Before Ian could figure it out, a series of prompts sounded in his mind from the system: "Detected the host has activated a power of the same origin. Merging with the Psychic Power system in progress..."
"Wait!" Ian panicked. Why didn't it give any warning before starting the merge? What was this merge about? It didn't say whether it was good or bad. Merge my ass!
But this time, the system didn't respond to his shouts. The system interface was temporarily blocked, leaving only a progress bar slowly ticking up in percentages.
Seeing the speed of the progress bar, Ian knew it wouldn't be completed anytime soon...
Just as he was feeling annoyed, Rayleigh walked over to him. Moving like lightning, he removed the collar from Ian's neck.
The collar actually contained explosives. If a slave tried to escape, it would explode around their neck. After Rayleigh removed it this way, he threw it away, and it exploded.
Ian watched grimly, unable to imagine what it would have been like if the collar had exploded around his own neck.
"Let's go. Get out of here first," Rayleigh said to Ian with a smile.
When they reached the backstage, Rayleigh saw the slaves who had been sold earlier. They were supposed to be handed over to their buyers after the auction, but Ian's Haki shockwave had knocked them out too. Rayleigh patted them to wake them up, then removed their collars one by one, telling them, "Run away quickly!"
These men and women, who had thought their lives were over, found themselves saved in a sudden turn of events. They were so moved that tears streamed down their faces. They knelt before Rayleigh and said, "Your great kindness will never be forgotten!"
"Haha, don't thank me!" Rayleigh pointed at Ian. "Thank him. He's the one who saved you!"
So they turned to Ian, expressing their endless gratitude. Ian watched them, looking like survivors after a disaster, and felt a bitter taste in his heart.
Leading the freed slaves, the two of them left the auction house through the back door. But when they stepped outside, they saw that even the guards outside had collapsed. Even Rayleigh was surprised!
It wasn't strange for Conqueror's Haki to knock out everyone inside the hall, but Ian's Haki shockwave had passed through the walls and affected the guards outside. Such intensity was astonishing!
Rayleigh had never seen anyone achieve this level of power on their first awakening!
Only Ian understood what had happened. When his Haki awakened, his Psychic Power from the system had also burst out. According to the system, that Psychic Power was originally of the same origin as Haki, which naturally amplified the shockwave.
Now the system was merging the two powers. Ian himself didn't know what the result would be. He could only wait.
With no guards around, Rayleigh told the freed slaves to escape quickly after they left the back door. Having experienced being sold once, they wouldn't be careless again.
Rayleigh and Ian chose a direction and left. When they were almost out of sight of the auction house, Ian turned back to look at the place and said to Rayleigh, "One day, I will destroy this place."
Rayleigh patted his shoulder without saying a word and led him back to the 34th Red Tree District.
Back at the tent, Ian changed back into his own clothes and re-equipped the Enma Sword, holding it in his hand. When he came out, he found Rayleigh drinking again.
Sitting down beside him, Ian asked in confusion, "Mr. Rayleigh, why did I awaken Conqueror's Haki? My talent should be very poor!"
"Don't get it wrong!" Rayleigh smiled at him. "Physical talent doesn't represent Haki talent. Conqueror's Haki is rare, but it's not unheard of. In the New World, many powerful people have it! So don't be too surprised. What you need to figure out now is which type of Haki you're best at using."
"What does that mean?" Ian asked, puzzled.
"Haki is a kind of power!" Rayleigh explained. "It's classified based on how it's used. After awakening Haki, through continuous training, you can harden it into an invisible, tough armor, enhancing defense and attack power. That's Armament Haki. Using it to sense and predict an opponent's attack path is Observation Haki. Most people's Haki quality doesn't reach the level of Conqueror's Haki, so they can only use the first two types."
"By the same logic, even though your Haki quality is high enough to be at the top level, you'll still lean toward one type of use," Rayleigh said. "That's what being good at it means."
Ian understood immediately. He guessed he would probably be better at using Armament Haki!
Because Psychic Power and Haki were of the same origin, when he first started using Psychic Power, he had been attaching and wrapping it around his sword blade to strengthen his weapon. Wasn't that exactly how Armament Haki was used?