"Only if my Spirit reaches 30…"
A terrifying light erupted in Ronan's eyes.
All this time, Spirit had been the hardest attribute to improve—so difficult that there was practically no conventional way to train it.
Yet now he finally understood.
Only through prolonged death battles—by repeatedly standing on the boundary between life and death—could one truly shake open the gate that led to kingship.
"BOOM—!!!"
As the tenfold cultivation multiplier activated, Ronan felt as if a volcano had ignited inside his body.
This was no longer warmth.
It was molten magma.
His blood grew heavy like liquid metal, surging through his veins with a roaring whoosh. Each beat of his heart sounded like a war drum, pumping boundless strength into every limb.
The eight-foot iron spear in his hands suddenly felt as light as a feather.
"Since that's the case…"
Ronan drew in a deep breath, his chest swelling, then let out a long roar. The sound was like a dragon's chant and a tiger's howl, overpowering even the countless roars of the dragons in the sky.
"Then you'll be my sacrifice!"
The rock beneath his feet shattered. Ronan became a streak of black lightning, ignoring all surrounding attacks as he charged straight toward the massive Thousand-Year Dragon King with brutal, unstoppable momentum.
Xingyi Spear · Turning Three Talents Stance!
Ronan rushed to the dragon king's flank, gripping the spear's butt with his right hand. His body sank sharply, spine coiling like a fully drawn bow.
He twisted ninety degrees to the left—waist, hips, and arms uniting as one.
Borrowing the centrifugal force of the rotation, he swung the hundred-pound iron spear like a crude iron staff, smashing it straight into the dragon king's abdomen!
There was no flourish.
Only violence distilled to its purest form.
Compared to Ronan at this moment, the dragon king's massive body was simply too slow.
BOOM—!!!
A bone-grinding explosion rang out.
Steel slammed into bone.
Ronan's strike landed squarely on the dragon king's belly—the same spot already damaged by earlier attacks from Ronan and Zoro.
CRACK! CRACK!
The deep-blue scales, harder than steel, finally gave way, exploding into fragments.
The dragon king let out a shrill scream as its mountain-like body staggered backward, nearly collapsing.
"Now!!"
"Collier Shot!!"
Sanji seized the opening.
Like a phantom, he appeared beside the dragon king, his right leg blazing with heat from extreme friction as he slammed it into the shattered, bloody abdomen.
"ROOOAAAR—!!"
The pain drove the dragon king into madness.
This was sacred ground—the birthplace of its kind. As the leader, it could not retreat!
"ROAR!!"
Eyes blazing red, the dragon king ignored its wounds and violently flapped its wings.
BANG!
Sanji, still airborne after his kick, was smashed away like a cannonball and embedded deep into a distant cliff.
The dragon king followed up instantly—its massive claw, capable of shredding warship decks, tore through the air toward Ronan's head with a shrill screech.
Facing a blow that could crush him into paste, Ronan remained terrifyingly calm.
Through Observation Haki, every twitch of the claw and every contraction of muscle was perfectly clear.
"Too slow."
He shifted half a step to the right.
WHOOSH—!
The claw grazed past his nose and smashed into the ground behind him.
In that instant, Ronan moved.
Both hands clenched the spear. His dantian tightened as he let out a thunderous grunt.
"HNNGH!!"
Xingyi Spear · Thunder from Flat Ground!
Power surged into his right arm—the spear shot forward like a dragon bursting from the sea!
This strike carried all of Ronan's essence, perfectly aimed at the dragon king's exposed, scale-less wound.
SCHLUK—!!
With no scales to block it, the spear pierced straight through, sinking in to the hilt!
"Not done yet!!"
Ronan's veins bulged as he abandoned long-range technique, channeling short-strike principles into spearwork.
PUFF! PUFF! PUFF! PUFF!
Cold flashes rained down like pear blossoms in a storm.
In a single second, Ronan unleashed dozens of rapid thrusts into the same wound!
Each strike drew boiling dragon blood. Each one deepened the devastation.
The dragon king's abdomen was reduced to a sieve. Blood poured out like a waterfall, drenching Ronan head to toe.
"ROOOAAAR—!!!"
A death scream echoed across the battlefield.
The dragon king thrashed wildly, its other claw sweeping toward Ronan with terrifying force.
"Get lost!"
Ronan tried to pull his spear back and block.
CLANG!
The spear smashed against the claw—
Then—
KRAK—
A crisp snapping sound rang out.
The ordinary steel spear, after countless high-intensity clashes and brutal recoil, finally reached its limit.
BANG!
The spear shattered in half, fragments spinning through the air.
Only half a shaft remained in Ronan's hand.
Weapon gone.
The claw still came.
For anyone else, this would have been the end.
But at that exact moment—under the relentless tenfold multiplier, at the critical threshold of erupting vitality—
[Ding! Host's Physique "has surpassed 20!"]
[Body strength reached critical level. Will and vitality unified.]
[Congratulations! Awakening "Armament Haki (Beginner)"!]
Time seemed to stop.
Ronan did not panic.
Instead, an unprecedented sense of control over every inch of his body surged forth.
He dropped the broken spear.
Facing the sweeping claw, Ronan slowly clenched his right fist.
With a single thought—
An invisible yet tangible power surged from his dantian and wrapped around his fist.
It was… armor made of will.
Though it had not yet turned black, Ronan felt it clearly—his fist had become as unbreakable as black iron.
Xingyi · Crushing Fist!!!
Ronan threw his punch.
A human fist collided head-on with a colossal dragon claw.
BOOOOM—!!!
The air exploded in visible shockwaves.
An unbelievable sight followed.
Ronan did not move an inch.
The dragon king shrieked as its claw was blasted backward, bones bending at grotesque angles.
The shock traveled through its entire body. Combined with the fatal wounds, the aerial tyrant finally collapsed, slamming into the ground in a cloud of dust.
Silence fell.
Ronan stood there alone—soaked in blood, unmoving, like a war god.
He slowly drew back his fist, staring at his uninjured knuckles, a feverish smile spreading across his face.
"So this is… Armament Haki."
The system panel appeared in his mind:
[Perseverance System]
[Rule: As long as you keep training, your strength will grow without limit]
Host: Ronan
Strength: 18
Speed: 17
Physique: 20
Spirit: 12
Skills:
Xingyi Thirteen Spears: MasteryThirteen Guardians Iron Body: Stage Two – Bronze Skin, Iron BonesObservation Haki (Beginner 86/100): Enhanced PerceptionArmament Haki (Beginner 1/100): Coating, Proto-Hardening
Overall Combat Rating: Overlord of East Blue
(You can now walk sideways across the weakest sea.)
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