Ding-dong! You have experienced a special battle. In this battle, you leaped across three tiers and slew your enemy. Your spiritual power has undergone an unprecedented rise. You sense a mysterious energy within your mind. Spiritual Power +10!
The system notification fell.
The scene fell into utter silence.
Zhao Xuan remained motionless, standing where he was, eyes tightly shut—
as if he had grasped some profound realization.
Qi.
A strand of qi buried deep within his mind.
It was completely different from Armament Haki—
not only in its nature,
but in its sheer volume.
Compared to this qi, the Armament Haki within Zhao Xuan's body…
was like a thin stream beside a vast ocean.
Yet no matter how he tried to move this qi with his spiritual power,
he could only stir the tiniest fraction.
It was like possessing a mountain of treasure,
yet being barred from entering.
Over and over, Zhao Xuan tried.
His already-limited spiritual power rapidly exhausted itself—
yet every attempt yielded the same result.
He could only move a tiny sliver of that qi.
Not one-thousandth.
No…
Not even one-ten-thousandth.
What he could touch was merely the tip of the iceberg.
Footsteps approached.
Tap… tap… tap…
The sound dragged Zhao Xuan out from his state of realization.
He opened his eyes to see Fatty Fu standing beside him without him noticing.
"Z-Zhao bro?" Fatty Fu called carefully.
"Brother Fu," Zhao Xuan nodded.
"That guy… he's really dead now?"
Fatty Fu stared warily at the mangled corpse of the Demonic Sect elder.
"Mm. He's dead."
"Really dead!?" Fatty Fu didn't dare believe.
"Don't worry," Zhao Xuan repeated. "This time it's real."
"Whew—!"
Fatty Fu finally exhaled in relief.
He waved toward the others.
Instantly—
Everyone rushed forward.
"He's dead!?"
"We really killed him!?"
"Hahahahaha! We actually killed a seventh-tier Venerable!?"
The crowd erupted.
Faces flushed with excitement, voices trembling—
their shouts practically shook the night sky.
In the middle of their excitement, Fatty Fu suddenly frowned.
"Z-Zhao bro… if I remember right… didn't that guy… die from sheer anger at the end?"
The group froze.
Their expressions slowly turned strange.
Every gaze subtly shifted toward Zhao Xuan.
Under their bright, unblinking stares, Zhao Xuan awkwardly nodded.
"…Seems like it."
For a moment—
Silence.
Then—
"HOLY—!!!"
"WHAT THE—!!"
"NO WAY!!!"
"WE—WE ACTUALLY ANGERED A SEVENTH-TIER VENERABLE TO DEATH!?!?!"
The night sky almost cracked from the shouts.
Killing a seventh-tier Venerable was already absurd.
But causing one to die from rage?
That was an achievement enough to go in textbooks.
Just then—
A figure descended from the sky, landing beside the corpse.
An old man with white hair, but immeasurably vigorous.
Jiang Youde.
He glanced at the mangled corpse and raised a brow.
Then his gaze swept toward the crowd.
"Grandpa Jiang!" Fatty Fu called.
"Lord Jiang!"
"Chairman Jiang!"
Everyone hurried to greet him.
"Little Fu, what happened here? These wounds… don't tell me you all…?"
"Eheheh!"
Fatty Fu puffed out his chest proudly.
"You guessed right, Grandpa Jiang! We killed him!"
Jiang Youde knocked him on the head.
"Speak properly."
Fatty Fu then recounted the entire battle in detail.
When Jiang Youde finished listening, his expression turned… strange.
He stared deeply at Zhao Xuan…
Then looked at the corpse again.
After a long moment—
He suddenly burst out laughing.
"Hahahahaha! Interesting! Too interesting! A mighty Demonic Sect elder… angered to death by a bunch of third- and fourth-tier brats! HAHAHAHA!"
This outrageous story spread like wildfire.
"Did you hear!?"
"The Demonic Sect's seventh-tier elder was angered to death—by high schoolers!"
"No way—"
"It's true!!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
All of Hangzhou exploded with laughter.
But beyond laughter—
another story spread even faster:
Zhao Xuan and Di Ruqing breaking through to fourth tier.
Zhao Xuan defeating Zhao Shi, the Demonic Sect's fifth-tier prodigy.
And Zhao Xuan killing the seventh-tier elder…
Directly or indirectly.
One night passed.
The next morning—
All of Hangzhou was boiling.
Not just Hangzhou.
Not just Nanjing Province.
The entire nation trembled.
Zhao Xuan's name became known everywhere.
Zhao Xuan himself didn't care much.
Being too famous wasn't always good.
As the saying goes:
"Man fears fame the way a pig fears growing fat."
The Demonic Sect would undoubtedly target him now.
But he wasn't afraid.
"Let them come," Zhao Xuan smiled coldly.
"The more that come, the more proficiency I gain."
What truly reassured him…
Was the life-saving jade talisman Jiang Youde gave him—
containing a full-power attack from an eighth-tier King.
Capable of injuring eighth tier and killing seventh tier.
And according to Jiang Youde—
The Demonic Sect had NO eighth-tier powerhouses left.
Meaning—
Anyone the Demonic Sect sent to kill Zhao Xuan…
Would simply be delivering their own heads.
The Provincial Exam Resumes
After the chaos subsided, the exam continued.
Because Zhao Shi died, the top 5 became 4:
Zhao Xuan, Di Ruqing, Fatty Fu, and Wang Defa.
Zhao Xuan's opponent was Wang Defa.
Wang Defa was strong—
a third-tier capable of fighting fourth-tier.
But unfortunately…
His opponent was Zhao Xuan.
Within minutes, Zhao Xuan crushed him while only in Mini Dragon Form.
Next—
Di Ruqing vs. Fatty Fu.
Logic said that a fourth-tier Logia user like Di Ruqing should win.
But unexpectedly—
she lost.
Fatty Fu's dual-blade martial arts and newly mastered Armament Haki overwhelmed her.
Yes.
Fatty Fu now had Master-level Armament Haki.
He didn't even use his fruit ability.
After winning, he immediately stared at Zhao Xuan—
burning with fighting spirit.
Zhao Xuan grinned.
This was exactly what he wanted.
The Final Battle
The entire Hangzhou gymnasium was packed.
The government even rebuilt the whole arena overnight with expensive fourth-tier stone bricks.
The referee blew the whistle—
The final began.
Neither moved.
They calmly stared at each other.
Fatty Fu spoke first:
"Zhao bro… from the moment I saw you in the dream space, I knew this day would come."
Then—
His aura erupted.
A black-purple mist enveloped him—
When it cleared, a terrifying eight-armed, four-meter-tall humanoid monster stood on the stage.
Eight-Armed Asura.
Fatty Fu was a Zoan—
the Human-Human Fruit, Asura Model.
A Mythical Zoan in all but name.
Zhao Xuan immediately activated Mini Dragon Form—
then upgraded to Dragon-Man Form.
Fivefold physique boost.
Threat level neutralized.
What followed was a clash that shook heaven and earth.
Fatty Fu unleashed:
Eight-Sword Style: Heaven-Splitting Slash!
Eight-Sword Style: Thousand Blades!
Eight-Sword Style: Asura!
Each move stronger than the last.
Zhao Xuan countered with:
Thunderous Eight-Trigrams!
A punch wrapped in crackling violet lightning and Armament Haki—
Kaidō-style.
Sword qi and thunder roared.
Shockwaves annihilated the arena.
Fourth-tier bricks shattered like tofu.
If several sixth-tier experts hadn't raised a barrier,
the stadium would have collapsed.
The Final Strike
Panting, Fatty Fu rasped:
"Zhao bro… one move.
One move to decide the winner!"
Eight arms moved.
The heavens trembled.
A colossal Asura phantom descended, gripping a world-breaking sword qi.
Eight-Sword Style: ASURA!!!
Zhao Xuan's eyes blazed.
"Change as you wish—"
His fist drew back.
Lightning wrapped around his arm in wild spirals.
"I—
BREAK YOU WITH PURE STRENGTH!"
He punched.
BOOOOOOOM!!!
The collision produced a force approaching sixth tier.
Shockwaves slammed against the barrier relentlessly.
Dust exploded skyward.
The audience held its breath.
Everything fell silent.
Slowly—
the dust settled.
A tall figure stepped out.
One meter eighty.
Sword-like brows.
Bright eyes.
Handsome beyond words.
Radiating heroism.
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