There was no doubt about it—
This time, Zhao Xuan's strength had skyrocketed for real.
His spirit had surged by two hundred points in one breath—
More than doubling.
His physique had also doubled—
From the original 1,200 to a monstrous 2,400.
And that number…
That number meant one thing:
When stacked with his Dragonman form's ten-fold amplification—
Zhao Xuan now possessed over 24,000 physique.
If anyone heard that—
They would be stunned speechless.
No one would believe it.
Because it was simply too exaggerated.
Even seventh-rank Sovereign-class ability users didn't necessarily reach such a level.
No—
To be precise—
Most seventh-rank Sovereigns couldn't reach that physique.
Only special cases, like beast-type abilities or those with naturally extreme physical talents, might break twenty thousand.
But what delighted Zhao Xuan the most—
Was something else entirely.
He had awakened Observation Haki…
In his sleep.
Just opened his eyes—
and it was suddenly there.
Not only that—
Its proficiency had jumped directly into the Skilled level.
He stared at his stats panel for a long, long time before his excitement finally settled.
"Sigh… what a pity."
He suddenly exhaled.
"Even though my spirit skyrocketed, the gap between my spirit and physique is still more than six-fold."
"I didn't expect the Azure Dragon Fruit breaking through to Master level to directly double my physique…"
"If my spirit hadn't risen at the same time, the ratio of spirit to physique might've exceeded ten!"
After sighing for a while, Zhao Xuan stood up.
He stretched a little, then quickly returned to his ruined temporary base.
After searching through the debris for a while—
He finally found his phone.
The screen was shattered, but it could still turn on.
He glanced at it—
And froze.
He had been unconscious for nine full days.
Only three days remained before the National Examination.
"She must be worried sick…"
For some reason—
An exquisitely beautiful face full of worry flashed across his mind.
"Alright… time to go back."
Zhao Xuan waved his hand, opening the relic entrance.
"And I should send a certain someone down to reunite with his friends."
Leaving the relic—
He instantly activated his Dragonman form.
The next moment—
"ROOOOOAAAAAARRR!!!"
A furious roar thundered at his ears.
Then—
"WHOOSH!"
A violent gust of wind slashed toward him.
Zhao Xuan looked up—
And met the Berserk Bear's blazing, enraged eyes.
"Oh right, I almost forgot about you. Nine days ago, you beat me up pretty badly. Now—"
"…it's my turn."
He murmured—
Then burst forward.
BOOM!!!
His punch collided with the bear's massive claw.
The shockwave blasted outward.
The entire cavern trembled.
Rocks clattered down like rain.
BOOM! BOOM!
A physique of 24,000 was not for show.
Zhao Xuan's power now exceeded the bear's.
So—
From that single punch—
Zhao Xuan only staggered slightly.
The massive Berserk Bear, however, stumbled back several heavy steps.
A reversal.
A complete reversal.
"ROOOAAAAARRRRR!!!"
Feeling numbness shoot through its massive paw, the bear froze.
It couldn't comprehend it.
The tiny insect it had swatted around nine days ago…
Now knocked it back in one punch.
Impossible. Impossible. Impossible. This was impossible!
The bear roared again and slammed another giant claw downward.
"Haven't figured out the difference between us yet?"
Zhao Xuan snorted coldly.
BOOM!!
His Armament-coated, lightning-infused fist smashed out.
BOOM!!
Dark iron fist met colossal claw.
BOOM! BOOM!
The bear staggered back again.
"ROOOAAARRRR!!!"
It refused to accept the truth.
It shrieked and charged once more.
The cavern shook violently—
As if it would collapse at any moment.
"Get. LOST!"
Only then did Zhao Xuan remember—
They were inside the belly of a mountain thousands of meters tall.
If the cavern collapsed—
He doubted even he could survive millions of tons of earth crushing down.
So anger surged through him.
BOOM! BOOM!
He unleashed twin punches—
Sending the Berserk Bear hurtling into the cavern wall.
BOOMMMMM!!!
The entire cavern shook violently.
Dirt and rocks poured down like a collapsing dam.
The whole underground structure trembled.
"It's collapsing!"
Zhao Xuan sprinted toward the exit without hesitation.
The Berserk Bear realized the same thing—
It bolted desperately behind him.
Moments later—
BOOOOOOOM!!!
The cavern gave way.
Earth and stone poured down like an avalanche.
Fortunately—
Zhao Xuan had already escaped.
The bear barely escaped as well—
stumbling out just a second before the cavern sealed shut.
But before it could even catch its breath—
BOOM!!!
Zhao Xuan's fist was already flying at it.
BOOM!!!
The punch slammed into the bear's abdomen—
"AWOOOOOO—!!!"
The beast howled in agony, flung across the rocky valley.
It crashed into a cliff several meters away.
BOOM—
The cliff shook violently.
A massive bear-shaped dent formed on the rock surface.
Before it could rise—
TAP TAP!
Zhao Xuan used Shave to appear before it—
Fist already descending.
The Berserk Bear lifted both arms to block—
Barely stopping the blow.
"Still pretty tough, huh?"
Zhao Xuan sneered—
Then punched again.
BOOM!!
One punch.
Another.
Another.
After a dozen blows—
The bear finally couldn't withstand it.
It staggered up and bolted in panic.
"Oh? You think you can run? Think I'll let you?"
Zhao Xuan chased immediately—
Punching relentlessly.
Fist after fist, pounding flesh, cracking bone—
Under the relentless barrage—
The Berserk Bear finally let out a dying moan and collapsed.
Barely breathing.
"Rustle…"
Zhao Xuan stepped up onto its massive head.
Under its weak, pleading gaze—
He raised his fist.
"Begging won't save you."
"You've killed plenty of humans."
His face was ice cold.
He remembered his own miserable state nine days ago.
He remembered the map he bought from the Ability Users' Guild—
which mentioned dozens of people dying in this valley while trying to map it.
BOOM!!
His fist smashed down.
"AWOO—!!"
BOOM!!
"AWOO—!!"
BOOM!!
"AWOO—!!"
Blow after blow rained down.
The bear's skull was extremely hard.
It took more than ten heavy punches before it finally died.
All across the valley—
Silence.
The Land King beasts hid in their dens, trembling.
"Done."
Zhao Xuan looked at the corpse with a satisfied smile.
He didn't leave immediately.
Instead, he searched the valley.
Soon—
He found a massive Spirit Bee hive, half the size of the Berserk Bear itself.
Tens of thousands of Spirit Bees surrounded it.
"BUZZZZZZZZZ!!!"
Their buzzing filled the mountains.
They clearly knew about the earlier battle.
Spirit Bees weren't Land King beasts—
Six-crystal Spirit Bees could produce sixth-rank elixirs—
But they themselves were only third-rank creatures.
If they were sixth-rank Land Kings—
They wouldn't need the Berserk Bear's protection.
They would be the ones ruling the valley.
A swarm of third-rank creatures?
Zhao Xuan didn't take them seriously.
With a roar, he entered Dragonman form—
And strode toward the hive.
Under the pressure of his draconic aura,
the Spirit Bees didn't dare get close.
Easily—
Zhao Xuan reached the hive.
He pulled out the empty containers he prepared—
And began harvesting honey.
But…
After working for quite a while—
He only managed to collect about 350ml.
No matter how he tried afterward—
Not a single drop came out.
"…Only this much?"
He shook the bottle, displeased.
Sensing this—
"Shasha…"
A Spirit Bee Queen—significantly larger than the others—crawled out of the hive.
She bowed her head submissively.
Behind her—
Two Spirit Bees flew out—
Each carrying a bead-sized, crystal-clear droplet in their mouths.
Under Zhao Xuan's gaze, they wobbled toward him—
"…Could it be?"
He extended his palm.
The two Spirit Bees placed their crystalline beads on it.
The moment he felt the overwhelming energy contained inside—
Zhao Xuan's eyes lit up.
"This is… sixth-rank Royal Jelly!?"
He looked down at the trembling Queen Bee.
She remained bowed, refusing to raise her head.
"You want me to be your protector?"
Zhao Xuan chuckled.
He gave her a deep look—
Then turned away.
He knew the danger of destroying something completely.
Leaving the valley—
He rushed straight toward Hang City.
Barreling through mountains—
Terrifying countless beasts along the way.
They scattered in fear—
Because Zhao Xuan was still covered in Berserk Bear blood.
After over an hour—
He finally exited the Lingyin Mountain Range and entered Hang City's controlled boundary.
The moment he crossed over—
His phone chimed repeatedly.
"Ding ding ding ding—"
Still walking, he checked it.
Good lord—
Dozens of missed calls.
Dozens of unread messages.
Almost all from Di Ruqing.
Warmth spread through his chest.
He quickly replied:
I'm back.
Immediately—
Her reply came.
Just two simple words:
Good.
Zhao Xuan smiled and put his phone away—
Then hurried toward Hang City.
When he approached the city gates—
He saw a slender figure standing there, waiting.
Warmth bloomed in his chest again.
"Zhao Xuan! Are you okay!? Where have you been these days? Why didn't you send any message? We… we thought… you…"
Di Ruqing rushed to him—
Her face full of worry.
Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
"It's okay, I'm here now."
Zhao Xuan said softly.
"Mm… mm…"
She nodded repeatedly.
With her beside him, he returned to the hotel arranged by the Provincial Governor's Office for the Provincial Exam talents.
Most had already left—
Only four or five remained.
The hotel was silent.
Zhao Xuan showered—
Then ordered a mountain of food and devoured it.
Mid-meal—
Tap tap tap—
Footsteps approached.
Fatty Fu rushed into the room.
"Brother Zhao! You're finally back!"
He exclaimed, "Nine days! Nine whole days without news! We thought something happened! Even your girl cried—"
BOOM!
A loud impact echoed beside them.
They turned—
To see Di Ruqing glaring furiously at him, fist clenched.
The wall behind her—
Now had a huge fist-shaped dent.
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