Caught completely off guard—
Before Li Jiangchang could even react—
The next instant!
That overwhelming force slammed into him, sending his whole body flying backward.
He tumbled through the air for four or five meters before crashing to the ground, rolling seven or eight times before finally coming to a stop.
Clatter!
The entire training hall erupted.
"W-what just happened?!"
"Li Jiangchang… lost?"
"B-but isn't Li Jiangchang a Logia user? How could this happen?"
"Maybe he's just recently obtained the Fruit power—he might not have full mastery over the Snow-Snow Fruit yet, so he can't maintain Elementalization for long!"
"That must be it, that must be it!"
"…"
As the chatter spread through the crowd, Li Jiangchang—who had just been kicked flying by Zhao Xuan—was trembling with rage, his face flushed crimson.
To think that he, a dignified Logia-type Devil Fruit user, had been defeated by a mere Zoan-type user—an unbearable mix of shame and fury consumed him.
When he saw Zhao Xuan turn around to leave, his anger finally boiled over.
"Zhao! Xuan!"
Li Jiangchang's face twisted with fury as he shrieked,
"We haven't settled this yet! Where do you think you're going?!"
At those words, Zhao Xuan stopped.
He turned, glanced at Li Jiangchang, and said calmly,
"You still haven't realized the gap between us, have you?"
"If I hadn't let my guard down earlier, you wouldn't have even touched me! I'm a Logia user, damn it!"
Li Jiangchang screamed, charging toward Zhao Xuan again.
Thud, thud!
Heavy footsteps echoed across the floor.
In the blink of an eye, Li Jiangchang was upon him once more.
The power of the Snow-Snow Fruit surged forth, and the temperature of the air around them plummeted.
Even the spectators, standing over ten meters away, shivered violently.
If they were this cold, then those standing at the very center of the Snow-Snow Fruit's range would have frozen stiff by now.
If it were anyone else, their body would already be trembling uncontrollably, their combat ability sharply reduced.
But Zhao Xuan's face remained perfectly calm.
Empowered by the Azure Dragon Fruit, his resistance to extreme conditions—whether heat or cold—was monstrous.
Li Jiangchang's icy aura couldn't affect him in the slightest.
As Li Jiangchang closed in once again, Zhao Xuan finally moved.
Under the technique of Iron Body, every muscle in his body tensed, his flesh hardening to steel.
The next instant—
Li Jiangchang's Tempest Kick slammed into him.
Both their skills—Iron Body and Tempest Kick—were only at the proficient level.
But!
With Zhao Xuan's physique already surpassing one hundred points, he took the blow head-on—without even flinching.
Meanwhile, Li Jiangchang was sent flying back again by the rebound force of his own attack.
And before he could recover from midair stiffness—
Zhao Xuan made his move.
Armament Haki quietly surged from his dantian, flowing down into his right leg.
Then—
He unleashed a sweeping kick straight toward Li Jiangchang's abdomen.
"Elementalization!"
Li Jiangchang frantically activated his Snow-Snow Fruit power once again, turning his body into snow.
Logia users were indeed immune to physical attacks.
But—
Armament Haki was the natural enemy of all Logia users.
A crushing impact exploded against his abdomen.
"How… how is this possible!!!"
Li Jiangchang's scream of disbelief tore through the air as he was blasted backward once more, his body tracing a perfect arc before crashing heavily into the ground.
As before, he rolled over and over—seven, eight times—before finally coming to a stop.
"You lost."
Zhao Xuan's tone was cool and detached. With that, he turned and walked away.
"Wh-why?!"
Li Jiangchang's hoarse voice rang out behind him, full of hysteria.
"I don't accept this! I don't accept this! I'm a Logia user—how could I lose to a Zoan user like you?! How could you hit me when I was Elementalized?!"
Zhao Xuan didn't even glance back as he replied,
"Because—I've already awakened Armament Haki."
With that, he strode off, leaving behind a hall full of stunned faces.
Moments later—
Clatter!
The entire training room erupted in uproar once more.
"He… he really lost! A Logia user just got crushed by a Zoan user!"
"Holy sh*t! Zhao Xuan's Awakened Armament Haki?!"
"Uh… what's Armament Haki? I've never heard of it!"
"Armament Haki's a power that strengthens both offense and defense!"
"It's a college-level course! My brother's a student at South River University—he told me that to awaken Armament Haki, your physique has to at least exceed a hundred points. But that's just the bare minimum—most people don't awaken it until they hit over a thousand!"
"Hiss~ That's insane…"
"Monstrous… he's an absolute monster!"
"Zhao Xuan's a total freak!"
"…"
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