"Monster! He's an absolute monster!"
"Holy sh*t, this guy called Zhao Xuan—he's just as freakish as that insane high schooler from Nanjiang First High, right?"
"Absolutely!"
"Unbelievable!"
Off to the side, the examiners who had just finished their shifts, as well as those whose tests were already over, had gathered together.
All of them were staring at Zhao Xuan and Lu Sheng's violent clash with looks of astonishment.
"That kid Zhao Xuan—his learning ability is downright terrifying, don't you think?"
"Yeah. If this deadlock keeps up, Lu Sheng's going to get caught eventually! Of course, that's assuming Zhao Xuan can keep up that explosive output of his."
"..."
"Haah!!!"
A powerful gust swept through the arena.
Lu Sheng barely dodged Zhao Xuan's counterattack. But instead of darting around and attacking from all directions like before, he quickly retreated four or five steps, opening up the distance between them.
No. No, no! I can't keep this up. I have to end this fast!
This guy's learning ability is way too freakish! If this continues, I'm going to get caught. And that would be way too humiliating!
As Lu Sheng muttered to himself, a strange wave of energy began to spread out from his body.
He was finally activating his Devil Fruit power.
In an instant, his frame bulked up, and coarse black-brown bristles sprouted rapidly, covering him from head to toe. At the same time, sharp claws extended from his hands.
It was clear—Lu Sheng was also a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user.
And then—he moved.
After activating his power, Lu Sheng's speed didn't increase much, meaning his fruit wasn't of the Agility type.
Facing Lu Sheng's straight-on charge, Zhao Xuan didn't retreat an inch.
"Come on!"
He grinned wide and charged in headfirst.
A punch!
Another punch!
And another!
The scene looked less like an exam hall and more like a boxing ring.
Neither of them used Shave or Moon Step to dodge anymore—they simply traded blows, flesh against flesh.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fist met fist.
First met flesh.
Each impact resounded like thunder.
Everyone watching felt their blood boil at the sight.
The shockwaves from their strikes rippled outward—
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The reinforced blue bricks beneath their feet shattered one after another.
"Insane! Totally insane!"
"Holy sh*t!"
"Zhao Xuan actually forced Lu Sheng to use his Devil Fruit ability!"
"Is this still the college entrance exam, or have we wandered into the National Martial Arts Tournament?!"
"So damn intense! I swear I haven't seen Lu Sheng use his fruit power in over half a year, and now a high school senior's forced him into it!"
"'There are no weak Devil Fruits, only weak users.' Guess that saying still holds true!"
"Here it comes—here it comes! Lu Sheng's signature move!"
In the arena, Lu Sheng—who had been trading furious punches with Zhao Xuan—suddenly stopped swinging.
As Zhao Xuan's fist came at him, Lu Sheng lowered his head and rammed forward like a battering ram.
He smashed forward again and again, forcing Zhao Xuan back step by step.
If there were two words to describe Lu Sheng right now, they would be—feral madness.
"The Honey Badger Fruit—its reputation is well earned!"
"He's gone completely wild!"
"I remember the time he knocked me out cold with just a headbutt!"
"..."
That's right.
Lu Sheng's Devil Fruit was the Zoan-type Honey Badger Fruit.
The honey badger—also known as the fearless "Brother Flathead"—was infamous for its sheer courage and iron-headed recklessness.
No matter what creature it faced—even lions or tigers—it would charge in without hesitation.
That's why almost no one liked fighting honey badger users.
The reason was simple—
The Honey Badger Fruit had a terrifying trait: the more intense the battle, the stronger its user became.
As a result, plenty of fighters who were normally far stronger ended up getting overturned when fighting a honey badger user.
And there was another reason, too—
even if you managed to beat a honey badger user, you'd never walk away unscathed.
Because the headstrong, death-defying honey badger users loved one fighting style above all others—
trading life for life.
In the center of the arena, Zhao Xuan and Lu Sheng continued to collide violently.
For most Zoan-type users, such an intense battle would've drained their stamina long ago, forcing them out of their partial transformation.
But Zhao Xuan's Devil Fruit was the Azure Dragon Fruit.
In his minor draconic form, his regeneration was five times that of a normal person.
That meant he could sustain the transformation—and keep fighting—for far longer.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Punch after punch.
Headbutt after headbutt.
The sound of their blows grew louder and louder, shaking the entire hall.
But in the end—
Zhao Xuan was the first to collapse, his stamina finally spent.
Yet Lu Sheng didn't last much longer either.
Just moments after Zhao Xuan fell, there was a heavy thud! as Lu Sheng also crumpled face-first to the ground.
The entire audience—fell silent.
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