Chapter 39: Lord of the Coast?! I Don't Need to Bet My Arm on the New World
Upon entering the assessment room, Chen Yu saw an oval-shaped object resembling a hibernation pod in the center of the room.
The pod was covered in complex patterns, looking like a mix of circuitry and magic arrays.
A staff member stepped forward.
"Please enter the simulation pod. Once the assessment begins, the simulator will generate a target. Defeat the target to pass."
Chen Yu nodded and nimbly lay down inside the pod.
With a slight vibration, the simulator activated. The surrounding scenery changed instantly.
He was standing on a beach.
Waves crashed against the shore. Out in the distant ocean, a massive shadow was slowly surfacing.
"A sea beast?" Chen Yu raised an eyebrow.
In his memory, sea beasts in this world were larger and stronger than land beasts of the same rank.
Soon, the sea began to surge, waves rolling backward.
A colossal sea beast breached the surface.
It resembled a giant moray eel, dozens of meters long, possessing sharp fangs and a thick body covered in scales.
Its dorsal fin was deep blue, and its body was encased in a hard shell.
A pair of ferocious, blood-red eyes stared fixedly at Chen Yu.
Chen Yu was stunned for a moment. "Holy crap?! Do I have this much clout? I can actually get you to make an appearance?"
The beast before him was the legendary creature that swallowed a Mountain Bandit King in one bite, took an arm from one of the Four Emperors, Red-Haired Shanks, and nearly ended One Piece right at the start based on raw durability.
The infamous Lord of the Coast!
Outside the assessment room, the large screen was broadcasting the feed in real-time.
When the crowd saw the Lord of the Coast appear in Chen Yu's simulation, they went into an uproar.
"Oh my god! A sea beast!"
"And it's the Lord of the Coast! That's ranked in the top three for difficulty in the simulator!"
"Why was Chen Yu assigned such a difficult target?"
"Even a Trainee (Low) Awakener would struggle to defeat the Lord of the Coast within the time limit, let alone a fellow Beginner (Peak)!"
"See, this is karma for doing bad deeds! Otherwise, why would he be so unlucky?"
"I think he's done for. He probably won't even pass the assessment. Let's see how he pretends in front of Ling Yue then!"
The noise grew louder. Chen Chen stood in the crowd, a smug smile on his face.
He knew Feng Kai would target Chen Yu, but he didn't expect Feng Kai to be this ruthless, assigning the Lord of the Coast directly.
In his view, Chen Yu was guaranteed to lose.
Feng Kai stood to the side with a faint smile.
Seemingly monitoring all rooms, his gaze was actually locked onto Chen Yu's screen, a sinister glint in his eyes.
He had been greatly surprised to see Chen Yu at the Beginner (Peak) realm today.
But that didn't affect the plan.
He just needed Chen Yu to be overwhelmed by the beast's ferocity, and then, coincidentally, have the simulation pod short-circuit.
If Chen Yu failed to exit the simulation in time, causing brain death... well, that would just be an accident.
So Feng Kai had pulled strings to make Chen Yu face the Lord of the Coast.
Even if he didn't die, he'd be skinned alive. Then, Feng Kai just had to wait for the short circuit.
Suddenly, the scene on the screen changed.
Facing the rapidly approaching Lord of the Coast, Chen Yu didn't panic. Instead, he slowly raised his hand.
"What is he doing? Does he want to clash head-on with the Lord of the Coast?" someone asked in confusion.
"Simply overestimating himself! The Lord of the Coast's skin is harder than steel. Even a Beginner (Peak) Awakener can't break its defense!"
"He probably froze up. As a top-tier predator, the Lord of the Coast's murderous aura is far more terrifying than ordinary beasts."
"Ordinary Awakeners can't even move their legs when they see it, let alone an F-Rank like Chen Yu."
Inside the simulation space.
Chen Yu smirked. "Sorry, pal. This isn't One Piece, and I don't need to bet my arm on the New World."
As soon as his voice fell.
A majestic aura suddenly erupted from Chen Yu. Black lightning flickered continuously.
Invisible Haki spread out like a tide, making the sea surface appear to boil.
The originally ferocious Lord of the Coast suddenly froze the moment it came into contact with the Conqueror's Haki.
Its pupils constricted. Terror filled its eyes, and its massive body actually began to tremble.
"Holy... why did it stop?" The crowd was dumbfounded, their faces full of disbelief.
Before they could react, Chen Yu's figure flashed, appearing instantly in front of the Lord of the Coast.
His fist was coated in Armament Haki.
"Six King Gun: Maximum Ring!"
BANG!!
The Lord of the Coast's massive body was sent flying by the punch, smashing heavily onto the beach.
It twitched a few times before falling still.
The simulation screen froze instantly, and the words "Assessment Passed" popped up.
The entire hall fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone stared at the screen slack-jawed, unable to believe their eyes.
"One... one punch? He killed the Lord of the Coast?"
"What was that power? It made the Lord of the Coast that scared?"
"Is this... F-Rank? I swear I didn't talk trash about him just now!"
Ling Yue remained expressionless. She knew Chen Yu's strength.
What he showed just now wasn't even a tenth of his full power.
While everyone was in shock, Chen Chen suddenly spoke up, his voice tinged with grievance: "Everyone, don't be fooled by him!"
"I think he definitely cheated! How could the Lord of the Coast be defeated so easily?"
"He must have used some trickery. Given how the Ling family head favors him, with his treacherous character, he probably convinced the Ling patriarch to give him some advantage!"
"That's the only way he could pass!"
These words were like a spark landing in gunpowder, instantly reigniting the crowd's suspicion.
"That's right!!"
"How could an Awakener of the same rank kill the Lord of the Coast in one punch?"
"Chen Yu is still an F-Rank. This has to be cheating!"
"I knew he wasn't that strong. Turns out he passed by cheating. Shameless!"
Feng Kai had been stunned, thinking his plan had failed miserably.
But Chen Chen single-handedly turned the tide. Feng Kai immediately thought of a backup plan.
As expected of Zhang Li's child! He's a damn genius!
Feng Kai secretly rejoiced but put on a mask of impartiality. He stepped forward and said, "Everyone, please calm down."
"Given that Student Chen Yu's assessment is indeed somewhat suspicious, although the simulator didn't detect any cheating traces..."
"For the sake of fairness, I have decided to give Chen Yu an additional test."
"He will face a real beast directly. As long as he can defeat the beast, he will be considered to have fully passed."
(To be Continued)