Within the vast desert relic, a thunderous roar shattered the silence.
"ROOOOOAAAAR!!!"
The massive golem bellowed in rage, its stone voice echoing for miles across the dunes.
Seeing Zhao Xuan — that thieving intruder who dared to return — the colossus lifted its enormous arms high into the air, gathering overwhelming power before bringing them crashing down.
"BOOM! BOOM!"
The strikes smashed into the sand with earth-shaking force, sending waves of dust billowing through the air.
The entire ground trembled violently.
Zhao Xuan narrowed his eyes, watching the two enormous craters gouged into the desert floor. He couldn't help but let out a low whistle.
"Damn…" he muttered.
A moment ago, he had foolishly entertained the idea that with his newfound strength, he might be able to handle a Tier Four golem without using his Azure Dragon Fruit ability.
But that naive thought evaporated instantly.
"Yeah, no," he said flatly. "That's not happening."
"Whoosh!"
In a flash, Zhao Xuan's figure blurred, appearing right in front of the desert golem.
And this time—he didn't hold back.
Armament Haki!
Azure Dragon Fruit!
Tempest Kick!
All three erupted in perfect synchronization.
"BOOM!"
His leg swept out like a guillotine.
The speed—terrifying.
The force—immense.
Even the air itself screamed as his kick tore through it.
With a deafening crack, the strike slammed directly into the golem's stone chest.
Dust exploded outward.
When the smoke cleared, there was a fist-sized dent embedded deep into the creature's torso.
A single strike—
and he had broken through its defense.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
Zhao Xuan threw back his head and laughed wildly.
That small dent meant everything.
It meant that his attacks could now genuinely harm a Tier Four creature.
No more grinding away through dozens of blows. No more relying on precision and attrition.
He had achieved true, direct power.
"BOOM!"
The golem swung again, its titanic arm smashing toward him.
But Zhao Xuan sidestepped easily, vanishing and reappearing like a blur of lightning.
He retaliated instantly—another kick, another explosion of force.
Then another.
And another.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Within moments, the golem's massive body was covered in cracks—each one wide enough to fit a fist.
"Let's end this."
Zhao Xuan dodged one final swing, then unleashed a sweeping kick aimed straight at the center of its chest.
"DOOM!"
A thunderous impact followed.
Another fissure appeared—
and this one connected all the cracks across its torso into a single, spreading fracture.
"Krrrkkk—!"
Hairline cracks widened.
Fingers-width.
Wrist-width.
Then—
"CRAAASH!!!"
The entire colossus collapsed, crumbling into rubble that sent a wave of sand rolling outward.
Ding! You have successfully completed a cross-tier battle with ease.
Your understanding of Shave, Moon Step, Tempest Kick, Armament Haki, and Azure Dragon Fruit has deepened.
Proficiency +15.
"Only fifteen points?" Zhao Xuan frowned, pouting slightly.
He glanced at the timer on his wristband.
"Twelve minutes of real combat, and all I get is fifteen points? Come on, System—seriously?"
The system remained silent.
He sighed in defeat. "Fine, whatever. Fifteen points is fifteen points."
Shaking his head, Zhao Xuan turned his attention toward the fallen golem.
"Alright then—time for the real reward."
It had taken only twelve minutes to kill the creature.
But moving its corpse—that was another story.
It took him nearly half an hour just to drag it back a hundred meters to his base.
Why?
Because this thing was massive.
It wasn't ten tons. It wasn't even fifteen.
By Zhao Xuan's estimate, the golem easily weighed twenty tons or more.
Once the heavy lifting was finally done, Zhao Xuan gulped down another pouch of concentrated energy fluid, wiped the sweat from his brow, and set out again.
The relic's space was enormous—far larger than he'd imagined.
And if there was one Tier Four Desert Golem here, there had to be more.
To Zhao Xuan, every single one of those monsters was both a treasure trove of experience and a walking pile of money.
Each one meant another three million credits, plus roughly seventy-five proficiency points in total.
"Why bother doing bounty missions when this is way faster?" he smirked.
And that wasn't even counting the Spirit Cacti the golems guarded—those alone were worth a fortune.
Sure enough, as he ventured deeper into the desert relic, Zhao Xuan encountered several more Tier Four golems.
Each one fell before him like toppling statues.
"Phew…"
Standing atop the head of a freshly fallen golem, Zhao Xuan looked out across the endless desert, his expression glowing with satisfaction.
"Looks like I'll be camping out here until the Provincial Exam begins," he murmured.
He popped open another pouch of energy fluid and downed it in one go.
"But before I start grinding through the rest of these big guys," he muttered thoughtfully, "I should head back out for a bit—stock up on energy fluid."
He sighed, rubbing his neck.
"Bought ten packs yesterday. Now I've only got two left…"
--------------------------------------------------
Patreon Advance Chapters: [email protected] / KaiOynx