Zhao Xuan had just left Fengming High when—
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Two figures vaulted over the school wall, landing swiftly within the courtyard.
Seeing his daughter, Di Ruqing, standing in a daze at the center of the school plaza, Di Wenbin rushed over immediately.
"Qing'er! Didn't you say a Demon Cult member broke into the school? You said it was a Fourth-Tier cultist—where is he now!?"
"He's… dead…"
Di Ruqing's voice trembled, her mind still clouded by the chaos.
"Dead?"
"Dead."
Both Di Wenbin and Lian Jie, who stood beside him, froze at her words.
"Qing'er, who died? What happened here?" Di Wenbin pressed anxiously, worry etched across his face.
"Z-Zhao Xuan… dead… he's dead… the Fourth-Tier Demon Cultist…"
Still in shock, Di Ruqing stammered incoherently.
Lian Jie's expression hardened instantly.
"Ruqing, what do you mean? How is Zhao Xuan involved in this? And that Demon Cultist—what happened?"
"Qing'er?"
"Qing'er!"
"QING'ER!"
When his daughter didn't respond, still staring blankly ahead, Di Wenbin finally grabbed her shoulders and shook her lightly, calling her name over and over.
That finally snapped her out of her daze.
"Huh? F-Father… Uncle Lian? When did you get back?"
"Qing'er," Di Wenbin said quickly, "what's going on? The Demon Cultist—where is he? And what's this about Zhao Xuan being killed?"
"N-no!" she shook her head rapidly. "It's not Zhao Xuan who was killed—it was the Fourth-Tier Cultist! Zhao Xuan killed him!"
Her words dropped like thunder.
Di Wenbin and Lian Jie both went rigid.
"What!?"
"You said WHAT!?"
Their eyes widened, disbelief flooding their faces.
"Ruqing," Lian Jie said after taking a deep breath, "did you just say Zhao Xuan killed the Fourth-Tier Demon Cultist?"
"Yes, Uncle Lian," she nodded firmly.
"This—this is impossible!" Lian Jie muttered, shock plain on his face. "The Demon Cult's elites are ruthless killers! Even though Zhao Xuan could defeat a Fourth-Tier Desert Golem, fighting a human is a completely different story! The gap between Third-Tier and Fourth-Tier isn't something you just cross!"
His voice trailed off.
Suddenly, realization dawned in his eyes.
"Wait… could it be—" he turned sharply toward Di Ruqing, voice trembling, "Did Zhao Xuan somehow break through to the Fourth Tier!?"
"No, Uncle Lian," she said immediately, dashing his assumption. "Zhao Xuan is still a Third-Tier ability user—but he completely crushed that Fourth-Tier cultist."
"Impossible… a Third-Tier crossing the boundary like that…" Lian Jie began, but she interrupted softly.
"If you don't believe me, you can check for yourself. The corpse is still in the crater outside the wall."
Di Wenbin nodded to Lian Jie. "Stay here and look after Ruqing. I'll go confirm."
"Go," Di Wenbin said.
Moments later, Lian Jie returned, his face unreadable.
"Well?" Di Wenbin asked.
"It's real," Lian Jie said grimly. "A Fourth-Tier corpse. Both hands are burned black—clearly by Ruqing's magma ability. His left arm's broken, ribs shattered, internal organs crushed into pulp. The fatal wounds were from sheer physical force."
He turned to Di Ruqing. "Ruqing, tell us everything."
She nodded and began recounting everything that had happened—
the attack, her desperate struggle, Zhao Xuan's timely arrival, his terrifying transformation, and the one-sided slaughter that followed.
When she spoke of Zhao Xuan shielding her from a fatal blow, her eyes softened, a faint light glimmering in them. Her delicate face carried a trace of warmth… and something else.
Neither Di Wenbin nor Lian Jie noticed.
They listened intently, completely focused on her words.
By the time she finished describing how Zhao Xuan transformed into a half-dragon and smashed the Fourth-Tier cultist into the ground, both men were utterly stunned.
When she mentioned Zhao Xuan's final thunderous kick that crushed the cultist's chest, their jaws practically dropped.
When she finally stopped speaking, silence fell over the courtyard.
After a long moment, Di Wenbin and Lian Jie exchanged glances.
The same emotion flickered in both their eyes—
shock, followed by deep admiration.
"Incredible," Lian Jie finally muttered. "A Third-Tier defeating a Fourth-Tier… truly incredible."
"Indeed," Di Wenbin said, exhaling slowly. "A hero… and so young."
Meanwhile, at Tongcheng First High, Zhao Xuan entered his classroom under the intense gazes of his classmates.
He'd expected the results to be out by now, but the morning's chaos had delayed everything—teachers were too busy calming terrified students to care about exam rankings.
After a while, their homeroom teacher, Zhong Jianguo, finally arrived.
He logged into the government education system and began reading scores aloud.
"Li Jiangchang: Cultural 195, Six Styles 506, Combat 165—Total 866."
"Mei Youbing: Cultural 186, Six Styles 470, Combat 132—Total 788."
"…"
As the names went on, tension grew.
Until—
"Zhao Xuan."
The room went silent.
Every eye turned toward him—
curious, admiring, awestruck.
They all still remembered him taking down the Demon Cultist with one kick.
Zhong Jianguo cleared his throat.
"Zhao Xuan—Cultural 183, Six Styles 586, Combat 200. Additional 10 points for defeating the examiner. Total: 979 points!"
The room erupted.
"Holy—!!"
"979!? Is that even human!?"
"If his cultural score weren't so low, he could've gone even higher!"
Excitement and respect filled every face.
In an instant, "Zhao Xuan" became "Zhao God."
In a world ruled by strength, admiration for power came naturally.
Even if his academic score wasn't top-tier, his combat and Six Styles marks were record-breaking.
With that bonus ten points, Zhao Xuan had claimed first place in Tongcheng First High—
undisputedly.
"Not bad," he thought, exhaling. "That should be enough to land me in the top ten for the provincial rankings."
That afternoon, back home, Zhao Xuan entered the Desert Relic once again.
He shared his excitement with several Fourth-Tier Desert Golems, who responded with roaring laughter—
so happy, in fact, they insisted he take their Land King Crystals as congratulatory gifts.
He had no idea that, as he celebrated, news of his Third-Tier slaying a Fourth-Tier had already spread throughout Tongcheng.
"W-what? A Third-Tier killed a Fourth-Tier?"
"No way, that's impossible!"
"I heard it was true—he helped the Governor's daughter, Di Ruqing!"
"Then maybe the cultist was already worn out from fighting her…"
Rumors flooded every street.
Most people doubted the story.
And they had reasons—
One, the gap between the Third and Fourth Tiers was nearly insurmountable.
Two, Zhao Xuan's Beast-type fruit was considered the weakest among the three classes of Devil Fruits.
Still, the tale spread like wildfire.
By evening, the Provincial Exam roster was released.
Both Zhao Xuan and Di Ruqing made the list.
Di Ruqing ranked first with an astounding 1009 points,
while Zhao Xuan ranked seventeenth.
The entire Nanjiang Province was buzzing with anticipation.
The next day at noon,
escorted by provincial officers—including a mid-tier Gate-Gate Fruit user—Zhao Xuan and Di Ruqing arrived at Hang City, where the provincial exam would be held.
From the moment they stepped foot in the city, Zhao Xuan felt it.
Something was wrong.
The air was thick.
The sky hung low with a suffocating layer of gray.
The city was too quiet.
It was that kind of eerie calm—
the silence before a storm.
"Something's off…" Zhao Xuan muttered, frowning.
He stopped a patrolling guard. "What's happening here?"
The guard hesitated, then shook his head. "No comment."
Just then—
"Zhao Xuan! Brother Zhao Xuan!"
A familiar voice called out.
Zhao Xuan turned to see a round-faced, cheerful figure hurrying toward him.
"Brother Fu Jieyan!" Zhao Xuan greeted.
"Hey now," the fat man frowned. "Didn't I tell you to just call me Brother Fu?"
"Oh, right, Brother Fu!" Zhao Xuan corrected quickly.
"That's better!"
Fu Jieyan grinned, then glanced around suspiciously.
"Zhao Xuan, not here. Come to my room. I've got big news."
Zhao Xuan's eyes narrowed slightly. "Alright."
Moments later, they were in Fu Jieyan's quarters.
Fu lowered his voice. "You've noticed it too, haven't you—the tension around the city?"
Zhao Xuan nodded. "Yeah. Why?"
"Because of the Demon Cult," Fu said grimly.
"One of their high-ranking elders appeared outside the city yesterday—massacred a squad of guards. Left a message saying he won't let Nanjiang's provincial exam proceed."
Zhao Xuan's eyes darkened. "A high elder…"
"But don't worry!" Fu added quickly. "The governor's forces have set up an inescapable net. If those bastards come, they're signing their own death warrants!"
He leaned in closer.
"But keep this quiet, alright? Only you, me, and heaven know this. Don't spread it. Panic's the last thing we need."
"Got it," Zhao Xuan said with a nod.
After leaving Fu's room, Zhao Xuan returned to his quarters, ate a few spiritual fruits, and began meditating.
Night fell quietly.
Then—
Knock, knock, knock.
"Who is it?" Zhao Xuan opened his eyes.
"It's me—Di Ruqing."
He rose and opened the door.
She stepped inside, closing it behind her, her expression serious.
"Zhao Xuan, there's something urgent I need to tell you."
"What is it?"
"Have you noticed how… oppressive the atmosphere in Hang City is?"
He nodded.
"It's the Demon Cult," she said coldly.
"One of their high elders challenged the Governor directly—swore the provincial exam wouldn't happen."
Zhao Xuan blinked. "…That sounds oddly familiar."
"And keep this quiet," she added quickly. "It could cause unnecessary panic."
Zhao Xuan's face twitched. "Where did you hear that?"
"From someone named Fu… Fu Yanji or something?"
"Fu Jieyan," Zhao Xuan corrected dryly.
"Yes, that! Wait—how do you know?"
"Because," Zhao Xuan said, expression deadpan, "that same fat guy told me the exact same thing. Even said, 'Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, I know.'"
Ruqing froze, eyes wide. "He… he said the same to me too."
The room went silent.
After a long pause, Zhao Xuan finally asked, "So… anything else?"
"Um…" she hesitated, biting her lip. "Zhao Xuan… can I… stay here tonight?"
"…Huh?"
Girl, that's suspicious behavior.
Her face flushed instantly. "N-not like that! I'm just… a little scared…"
Zhao Xuan frowned slightly. Still shaken from the attack, huh?
He sighed. "Fine. You take the bed, I'll take the couch."
"Okay…"
She hesitated for a moment before stepping deeper into the room.
Morning came too soon.
Knock, knock, knock!
Zhao Xuan groaned, rubbing his eyes.
"Who is it?"
He opened the door—
and was met with Fu Jieyan's round, panicked face.
"Zhao Xuan! Bad news! Something happened—"
He stopped mid-sentence, eyes widening.
"W-what happened?" Zhao Xuan asked.
"Your hometown girl, Di Ruqing, she's—"
Before he could finish, a sleepy voice called from behind Zhao Xuan.
"What's going on?"
Fu Jieyan froze.
There she was—Di Ruqing, standing in the doorway, yawning softly.
He looked from her… to Zhao Xuan… and back again.
Then his face twisted into a sly grin.
"Brother Zhao… the night may be long, but moderation is key, eh?"
And before Zhao Xuan could react—
Fu Jieyan bolted.
Leaving Zhao Xuan and Di Ruqing staring at each other in speechless silence.
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