In an instant—
The darkness of night was swallowed by blazing fire.
Half the sky burned crimson.
Amid the sea of flames—
shua—shua—
Two figures appeared at the explosion site.
"Is he dead?"
"Did we get him?"
Several black-cloaked, black-hatted men scanned the firestorm in confusion.
Suddenly—
BOOM!!!!
A terrifying force blasted out from within the flames and smoke.
And the next second—
A half-dragon, half-human Zhao Xuan burst out of the inferno.
His fists—wrapped in Armament Haki and explosive lightning—
came crashing down toward the nearest black-clad assassin.
Fast as lightning.
The wind of the punch howled—
"wu—wu—wu—"
sweeping flames upward.
Fire trailed behind his strike.
For an instant, it looked like the flames had taken the shape
of a monstrous dragon's head.
And then—
His fist smashed down.
POP!
Scarlet blood and white "tofu" matter exploded into the air.
The man's skull was obliterated on the spot.
"What!?"
"Damn it!"
"Courting death!"
The remaining assassins roared one after another.
"Kill!"
At the leader's command—
Five black-cloaked enemies attacked Zhao Xuan simultaneously.
Each one—
a Devil Fruit user.
"Demon Cult?"
Zhao Xuan's eyes turned icy.
"Scram."
He punched.
BOOM!!!
"Crack—crack—crack!!"
The terrifying force hit like a collapsing mountain.
In the blink of an eye—
It crushed into another assassin's chest.
"Crack—crack—!"
With ribs shattering, the man spewed a mouthful of pus-mixed blood
and was thrown brutally backward.
Immediately—
Zhao Xuan spun and launched another punch.
BOOM!!!!
His fist collided with the arm of an animal-type Demon Cult user who had attacked from behind.
With twenty-four thousand points of physique—
Zhao Xuan's raw power was monstrous.
Even a sixth-rank High-Grade bear-type Land King—famous for overwhelming strength—
couldn't handle a direct clash with Zhao Xuan.
Let alone a mere fifth-rank Demon Cult soldier.
His right arm snapped instantly.
Zhao Xuan's fist continued forward—
slamming into the man's shoulder.
BOOM!!!!
The entire shoulder detonated.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
At that moment—
The remaining three Demon Cultists struck from different directions.
Two were Paramecia fruit users.
The third—
a sixth-rank Natural-Type Lightning Fruit user.
But their attacks—
barely scratched Zhao Xuan.
The Paramecia users couldn't even break his skin.
Their hits felt like scratches on an itch.
As for the Lightning Fruit user—
his damage was much stronger.
But—
under Zhao Xuan's dragon-man transformation and absurd physique,
it only left a faint cut and a slight sting.
Like getting pricked by a needle at the hospital.
"This is impossible!!"
"How can this be!?"
"Isn't he only fourth-rank!?"
Shock erupted again and again.
"There's nothing impossible."
The next moment—
BOOM!!!
Zhao Xuan's fist crashed into another Demon Cultist's skull.
POP!
Another head exploded.
The last two panicked.
Their faces twisted—
they didn't even dare speak—
They turned and ran.
"Run?"
Zhao Xuan's expression was emotionless as his eyes locked on the sixth-rank enemy.
"Even if the Heavenly King came today—
you're not getting away."
The words had barely fallen—
tap—
Zhao Xuan vanished.
He appeared behind the fleeing sixth-rank Lightning Fruit user.
"H–How?!"
The man's expression distorted.
"RUMBLE—RUMBLE—!"
Desperately—
He activated his Lightning Fruit with full power.
In an instant—
Countless bolts of lightning condensed into a deadly thunder spear
that shot toward Zhao Xuan.
"Interesting."
Zhao Xuan's gaze remained cold.
He punched.
Thunder Eight Trigrams.
Lightning exploded around his fist as he brought it down.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!!!!
Thunder roared explosively.
Under Zhao Xuan's terrifying force—
The thunder spear was crushed instantly.
"This is impossible!!!"
The Demon Cult leader howled hysterically:
"You're only a fourth-rank Grandmaster! How can you block a full-power strike from a sixth-rank Grandmaster?! How can—POP!!!!"
His scream was cut short—
as Zhao Xuan's fist smashed directly into his forehead.
He was no seventh-rank.
Not even close.
He was a standard sixth-rank Grandmaster—
his skull completely untempered.
And so—
Under Zhao Xuan's monstrous blow—
His head burst apart like all the others.
A geyser of blood and brains sprayed through the night.
A fourth rank requires tempering the limbs.
A fifth rank requires tempering the internal organs.
A sixth rank requires tempering the skull.
The human skull is always the weakest spot.
Thus—
Crossing from sixth to seventh rank
is exceedingly difficult.
One mistake could destroy spiritual power
and cripple the brain.
That was the gulf between sixth and seventh.
But back to the point—
After killing the sixth-rank,
Zhao Xuan immediately chased the final fleeing assassin.
This last one had hidden well—
using the chaos and flames to slip away
into the thick smoke.
Before today—
Zhao Xuan might have missed him.
But now?
With Observation Haki—
The man had nowhere to hide.
tap—tap—tap—
Zhao Xuan walked slowly into the flames.
"Damn it!"
The Demon Cultist panicked and fled again.
But he could never outrun Zhao Xuan.
Zhao Xuan didn't kill him immediately.
One Rankyaku swept out—
shattering both of the man's legs.
Then—
Zhao Xuan grabbed him by the collar, lifting him effortlessly.
"Talk," he said coldly.
"Who set this ambush?"
"I—I… I don't know… ahh… Only… only our captain knew…"
The terrified man stuttered.
Zhao Xuan was about to question more—
when suddenly—
he sensed something.
His right hand tightened—
CRACK!!
He snapped the man's neck instantly.
Then—
Zhao Xuan released his dragon transformation
and struck his own internal organs with internal force.
"Cough—cough—PUH!"
Two mouthfuls of blood splattered out.
His face paled dramatically.
He looked meaningfully toward the south—
then sat down beside the burning flames.
Seconds later—
shua—shua—
Two figures arrived:
A plump, wealthy-looking middle-aged man—
and the elderly steward with white hair.
They were—
Li Yucheng, patriarch of the Li family,
and his old steward.
Seeing Zhao Xuan sitting by the fire, panting heavily,
both men revealed expressions of shock and suspicion.
Li Yucheng slowly approached.
"Mr. Zhao, what happened here?"
He walked closer, wearing a face full of 'confusion and grief.'
"My… my son? Mr. Zhao—where is my son?"
"Cough—cough…"
Zhao Xuan forced his voice to sound weak:
"Patriarch Li… cough… It was the Demon Cult.
Your son was escorting me back when they ambushed us.
There were energy-crystal bombs buried on the road.
Your son… died instantly."
"What!?"
Li Yucheng trembled violently as though struck by lightning.
"Mr. Zhao… You—
You're saying my son… he… he's dead!?"
He staggered toward Zhao Xuan.
"My condolences," Zhao Xuan said weakly.
"Mr. Zhao, are you alright?"
Li Yucheng asked carefully.
"You seem badly injured."
"I'll live… cough, cough…"
Zhao Xuan opened his relic gate and took out a bag of mid-grade energy fluid, drinking heavily.
"Give me a few days… and I'll recover."
"Good… good…"
Li Yucheng stared at Zhao Xuan's drinking motion—
eyes narrowing subtly.
Just then—
"Master! The City Guard is on the way! They'll arrive in about two minutes!"
The old steward shouted.
At that instant—
Zhao Xuan's and Li Yucheng's gazes changed simultaneously.
"Mr. Zhao, you heard him.
The City Guard is almost here.
You'll be safe soon."
Li Yucheng spoke—
And suddenly—
BOOM!!!!!!
Without warning—
He erupted with all his power.
A full-force punch slammed toward the still-seated Zhao Xuan.
"As expected."
Zhao Xuan was not surprised at all.
"ROAR!!!!"
He transformed instantly.
A dragon's bellow tore through the flames.
And then—
He counter-punched.
BOOOOOOM!!!!
Their fists collided.
A massive shockwave tore through the burning forest.
"What—!?"
Li Yucheng's eyes widened in disbelief
as his entire body was blown away.
tap-tap-tap-tap—
The ground shook violently as Zhao Xuan charged forward.
He burst out of the flames.
Li Yucheng landed hard.
In the blink of an eye—
Zhao Xuan stood before him.
BOOM!!!!
Another punch.
Li Yucheng desperately raised his Armament-coated arms to block.
THUD!!!
He slid backward dozens of steps
before he could stop.
But Zhao Xuan gave him no time to breathe.
tap—tap—
Zhao Xuan was already in front of him again.
"Wait—wait! Zhao Xuan! This is a misunderstanding!"
BOOM!!!!
Zhao Xuan ignored him completely.
A misunderstanding?
He actually dared to say that?
His fist crashed down again.
BOOM!!!!
Li Yucheng's body compressed like cotton candy.
Thanks to his Cotton Fruit—
he dispersed part of the force.
But Zhao Xuan's strength was monstrous.
Even half a punch was more than enough.
Li Yucheng shot through the air—
like a football kicked by a giant.
He crashed into the ground—
BOOOOOM!!!!
The earth cracked open into a crater.
tap—tap—tap—
Zhao Xuan rushed forward again.
"Damn! Damn it! Damn—!"
Li Yucheng had no time to dodge or breathe.
Blow after blow rained down—
One punch.
Two punches.
Three.
Four.
Five.
…
His Cotton Fruit softened the impact—
but it was nowhere near enough.
After seven or eight brutal punches—
Li Yucheng could no longer hold on.
"PUH!!!!"
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
And then—
Zhao Xuan lifted his right leg—
Lightning and Armament Haki swirling around it.
And stomped—
straight toward Li Yucheng's chest.
"Stop!!"
A thunderous roar came from the southern distance.
Hearing his father's voice—
Li Yucheng's face lit up in desperate joy.
"F-father! Save me—save—AHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
His scream tore through the night.
Zhao Xuan didn't stop.
His lightning-infused stomp crashed through the ribs—
CRACK—CRACK—CRACK!!!!
Then—
BOOM!!
A second stomp.
Without ribs to shield it—
Li Yucheng's chest collapsed entirely.
His heart burst.
He died instantly.
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