"By the way, Zhao Xuan, my young friend—"
Lian Jie carefully stored away the Heart of the Relic, then turned toward him with a faint smile.
"I'm listening, Guildmaster," Zhao Xuan replied, glancing over.
"Since you've successfully passed the relic trials and retrieved the Heart of the Relic, it's only right that I honor my promise."
He clasped his hands behind his back as he explained,
"I promised you ten million worth of cultivation resources. Now, I can't decide what those should be for you—you'll have to choose that yourself. So before you came out, I had the Guild prepare your reward. They've already transferred ten million resource points into your association account. You can spend them however you like to exchange for cultivation materials."
Zhao Xuan's face lit up with excitement.
"Thank you, Guildmaster!"
Lian Jie nodded approvingly.
"Oh, and one more thing—I've upgraded your clearance within the Tongcheng Ability Users' Guild. You now have Level 4 access, which means you're allowed to redeem resources normally restricted to Tier 4 ability users."
Seeing Zhao Xuan's pleased expression, he added with a chuckle,
"But keep in mind, those Tier 4 resources are extremely expensive. The cheapest ones start at several million each. And since their energy content far exceeds what a Tier 3 user can handle, most of that energy would probably go to waste."
Zhao Xuan: "…"
His expression darkened, black lines forming across his forehead.
"Hahahahaha!"
Lian Jie burst into laughter, unable to contain himself.
Zhao Xuan's expression grew even darker.
Just then—
"Shh-shh-shh…"
The sound of light footsteps came from nearby.
The young woman who had been standing silently off to the side now strode forward, her steps confident yet graceful.
She stopped directly in front of Zhao Xuan.
"This time, I admit defeat," she said firmly. "But during the Provincial Exam, I'll take that victory back!"
Leaving those words behind, she turned on her heel and walked away.
Zhao Xuan blinked, utterly confused.
"...Huh???"
Who was that supposed to be?
What's going on here?
"Why? Zhao Xuan, my young friend—don't you recognize her?"
Lian Jie's amused voice came from beside him.
Zhao Xuan shook his head honestly.
"No idea, Guildmaster. Who is she?"
"That's Di Ruqing, daughter of Tongcheng's military governor, Di Wenbin!"
"Oh—her?"
Lian Jie smiled knowingly. "I thought you two might've known each other, since you're both recent high school graduates—and both geniuses, no less."
Zhao Xuan scratched his head.
"I've heard of her, but I'd never seen her in person. This was the first time."
"Ah, that explains it."
The Guildmaster's tone softened.
"That girl's not weak, you know. She reached Tier 2 back in her second year of high school, and now she's awakened the Natural-Type Magma Fruit. She'll definitely be one of your strongest rivals for a national exam spot. So when the time comes, don't go easy on her just because she's a pretty girl."
Zhao Xuan crossed his arms, expression dead serious.
"Don't worry, Guildmaster. Women only slow the draw of my sword.
And besides—she's flat as a board."
He hadn't even finished the sentence when—
BOOM!!
A wave of searing heat burst through the air.
Zhao Xuan's instincts screamed—he darted to the side, barely avoiding the blast.
When he looked back, a patch of ground several meters behind him was now smoldering with molten rock.
And standing ahead of him—
was a very red-faced Di Ruqing, glaring daggers at him, her eyes blazing hotter than her magma.
"Cough… cough…"
Zhao Xuan's face twisted in embarrassment.
A suffocating awkwardness filled the air.
"Heh… h-hey there…"
He scratched his head, giving her a sheepish grin.
"Hmph!"
Di Ruqing held his gaze for several tense seconds,
then snorted coldly,
retracting the magma sphere in her hand before turning away once again.
Only after she vanished into the distance did Zhao Xuan finally let out a long breath.
When he looked up again, he caught sight of Lian Jie—
the Guildmaster was smiling faintly, eyes gleaming with amusement.
"Cough… cough…"
Zhao Xuan cleared his throat, embarrassed.
"Well, Guildmaster, since the relic matter's been resolved, I'll take my leave now."
"Wait a moment, Zhao Xuan," Lian Jie interrupted, raising a hand.
"Huh?" Zhao Xuan blinked.
"Have you forgotten something?" the Guildmaster asked, smiling.
"You said earlier you wanted to experience the strength of a Tier 4 Ability User, didn't you?"
"Oh! Right, right!"
Zhao Xuan suddenly remembered and grinned.
"When would you be free, Guildmaster?"
Lian Jie chuckled. "Anytime. Even now."
"Then let's do it!"
Zhao Xuan's expression turned serious in an instant.
"You may strike first," Lian Jie said calmly.
The moment he finished speaking—
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Zhao Xuan's body blurred as he used Soru (Shave),
closing the distance in a heartbeat.
At the same time—
He unleashed his Azure Dragon Fruit powers.
His Armament Haki flared to life.
He swept his leg out, launching a razor-sharp Rankyaku (Tempest Kick) straight at the Guildmaster.
The air cracked with power.
But Lian Jie didn't even move.
Facing Zhao Xuan's full-strength attack, he simply activated Tekkai (Iron Body).
BOOM!
The strike hit dead-on.
Lian Jie didn't budge an inch—
but Zhao Xuan was blasted backward, sliding several meters before regaining his footing.
He stared wide-eyed.
"So this… this is the strength of a Tier 4 Ability User?"
For a moment, he stood silent—then clenched his fists tightly.
A determined fire lit up in his eyes.
"As I thought… Compared to a true powerhouse, I'm still far too weak.
I need to train harder—much harder!"
Quietly, Zhao Xuan's fists tightened,
his will burning brighter than ever.
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