Tongcheng First High School.
Outside the duel grounds, the senior students waiting to take their practical combat exam stood in line, tense and uneasy.
The atmosphere was eerily quiet.
From time to time, students who had already completed their assessments walked out from within the dueling field—some with excitement on their faces, others confused or anxious.
The line moved quickly.
After all—
The examiners were all Third-Tier Cultivators, while most of the senior students weren't even First-Tier yet. The gap in strength was simply enormous.
Roughly an hour later, it was Zhao Xuan's turn.
Under the guidance of a supervising teacher, he stepped into the dueling grounds.
The vast field had been divided into twenty smaller arenas, each fenced off with special isolation nets.
Following the teacher's direction, Zhao Xuan strode toward one of the arenas.
Moments later, an examiner also stepped in—the one assigned to face him.
Once all twenty examinees and examiners were in position, a supervising teacher on the sidelines blew the whistle.
Bweeee!
With the sharp sound of the whistle, the exam officially began.
Tap, tap!
Zhao Xuan moved instantly.
After a rapid series of steps, he charged straight toward the examiner in front of him.
"So, I've been assigned a student who's quite confident in his own strength?"
Examiner Lu Sheng watched the charging Zhao Xuan with a calm, indifferent expression.
"Speed's not bad—proficient-level Soru (Shave). That's worth an extra two points."
He muttered to himself as his own feet began to blur.
Tap, tap!
He used Soru as well—
But his speed was clearly far greater than Zhao Xuan's.
In the blink of an eye, Lu Sheng's figure vanished from sight.
When he reappeared, he was already behind Zhao Xuan—causing Zhao Xuan's strike to completely miss its mark.
"My turn."
Lu Sheng's fingers straightened like a gun barrel.
He thrust forward.
Whoosh!
With a sharp whistle of air, the Shigan (Finger Pistol) shot straight toward Zhao Xuan's back.
The speed—
It was so fast that Zhao Xuan had no time to react.
Too fast even to activate Tekkai (Iron Body).
A split second later, Lu Sheng's Shigan landed squarely on Zhao Xuan's back.
But—
Zhao Xuan's Physique: 200+ wasn't for show.
The fierce blow that should have pierced through an average person's defenses did nothing but leave a faint red spot on his skin.
"Hmm?"
Lu Sheng's gaze sharpened.
He hadn't gone all out—only used about thirty percent of his strength.
But still—he was a Third-Tier Cultivator.
Even thirty percent of his power wasn't something an average student could withstand.
"Could this kid's physique be over a hundred?"
He was still puzzling over it when—
Whoosh!
A fierce gust of wind swept toward him.
Tap, tap!
Without thinking, Lu Sheng flickered several meters away, narrowly dodging Zhao Xuan's Rankyaku (Tempest Kick).
As expected... without using the Azure Dragon Fruit's power, it's impossible for me to defeat a Third-Tier Cultivator. I can't even touch him!
In that case—let's end this quickly.
As Zhao Xuan stared at the faintly smiling Lu Sheng, the power of the Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Beast Model: Azure Dragon quietly awakened within him.
In an instant—
His draconic transformation activated.
Under the fivefold boost, Zhao Xuan's physique broke past 1000!
A pressure like something out of an ancient myth swept across the arena.
"A special type of Devil Fruit ability?"
Lu Sheng's brows furrowed deeply. The calm, confident look he'd worn before vanished, replaced by full seriousness.
And at that moment—
Tap tap tap!!
Zhao Xuan moved again.
Once more, he used Soru—
But this time, it was on a completely different level.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared right in front of Lu Sheng.
At the same instant—
A Rankyaku carrying crushing power swept out horizontally.
"What—!?"
"How can he be this fast?!"
Lu Sheng's face changed drastically.
He hastily activated Tekkai, tensing every muscle in his body to the limit.
And then—
Zhao Xuan's Rankyaku slammed straight into him.
With his physique breaking a thousand and power beyond comprehension—
Lu Sheng felt as if he'd been hit by a speeding freight train.
"Ugh!"
With a muffled groan, he was blasted off his feet, flying several meters before crashing hard into the ground.
Crack—!
The impact shattered the specially reinforced blue bricks around the spot where he landed.
"Holy sht!!!"
"What the fck!!!"
"Are you kidding me?!"
"Mother—!!!"
"Wha—Wha—WHAT THE—!!!"
On the sidelines, several resting examiners jumped to their feet, eyes wide, curses tumbling from their mouths one after another.
Judging from their reactions—
It was clear just how utterly shocked they were.
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