"Ding-dong. You have just experienced a fierce and exhilarating battle. Your understanding and development of all your abilities have reached a new level. All ability proficiencies +200!"
With the crisp chime of the system notification,
the Provincial Examination officially came to an end.
Yes.
That's right.
The one standing tall at the center of the ruined arena—
the one unmoved despite the shattered stage beneath him—
The one who stood at 1.8 meters, sharp-browed and star-eyed, handsome as carved jade, bearing an air of nobility, elegance, and effortless charm—
Was none other than Zhao Xuan himself.
Swish—swish—swish—swish—swish!
In an instant,
every pair of eyes in the stadium converged upon him.
In their gazes were reverence, admiration, awe… and sheer astonishment.
For a long, long moment—
nothing but stunned silence.
Then—
Waaaah—!!!
Thunderous applause erupted, shaking the air itself.
Even though fewer than two hundred people had been qualified to watch the Provincial Examination in person…
At this moment—
The applause of those two hundred felt like the roaring cheers of thousands.
Amid the wave of fervent applause, Zhao Xuan slowly closed his eyes.
While basking in the attention and glory befitting the victor,
he once again attempted to use his spiritual power to stir that mysterious, forceful aura within his mind.
Just like before, even when exerting his full strength,
he could only move the faintest trace of it.
But—
This time, that "trace" was slightly… ever so slightly… larger than before.
"Battle! I need battle! I need more battles! Only then can I fully awaken it!"
Zhao Xuan quietly tightened his fist.
By now, he already understood what that domineering aura deep inside his mind truly was.
Conqueror's Haki.
Yes.
If nothing unexpected happened,
that mysterious energy had to be Conqueror's Haki.
He didn't know how others awakened theirs,
but he had already realized what he needed to do—
Through one exhilarating battle after another,
through defeating genius after genius,
he had to forge an unshakable belief in his own invincibility.
Only then would it awaken.
"The National Exam… is going to be exciting."
Zhao Xuan's anticipation surged ever stronger.
After the Provincial Exam ended and rankings were announced,
the people of Hang City—and no, not just Hang City—
The entire Southern River Province wasn't surprised in the slightest.
When the news spread,
there was far less shock and far more a sense of "of course."
Their reaction was almost… casual.
After all—
Two days earlier, after the incident with the Demon Cult,
everyone had already taken for granted that Zhao Xuan would take first place.
A fourth-tier defeating a fifth-tier.
This wasn't some figure of speech.
In both the Provincial and National Examinations,
all participants were prodigies—
monsters among their peers, with strength at the same level.
The fighting was always intense.
Which meant what?
Which meant they would inevitably unleash their trump cards and ultimate moves.
Thus, during such examinations,
the entire battleground was always sealed off.
No recordings.
No broadcasts.
No public viewing.
The purpose?
To prevent the combat styles, trump cards, and unique ultimate moves of these young prodigies from leaking out and being exploited—
which could easily lead to fatal consequences in the real world.
So, to show the public just how terrifying the next generation was,
the Governor's Office would normally release photos of the arena after the battles ended.
And so—
When images of the arena destroyed by Zhao Xuan and Fatty Fu appeared online—
The entire province was stunned.
"Hiss—!!"
"Holy crap! The entire arena was blown apart!"
"These… th-these are fourth-tier blue bricks! The entire arena was built from them! And most of them were pulverized!"
"This was… a fight between two fourth-tiers!?"
"…"
For a moment—
the whole of Southern River Province trembled in shock.
Of course—
Zhao Xuan knew none of this.
Because at this moment—
He was fully immersed in preparing for the National Exam.
Southern River Province was strong—
top tier among the thirty-four provinces of the Nine Regions.
But it was not the strongest.
The strongest was naturally the Imperial Capital.
Followed by Magic City.
Then Peng City.
…
If the Provincial Exam already produced so many strong opponents…
What about the National Exam?
Zhao Xuan didn't need to think to know the answer.
He would meet countless formidable adversaries.
He was confident in his own strength, yes—
But as the saying goes:
"The world is vast, and full of wonders."
He didn't believe that his current strength guaranteed victory over all the young geniuses of the nation.
He had a strong feeling—
If he could defeat every opponent in the National Exam
and seize the number one spot…
Then—
He would completely awaken his Conqueror's Haki.
This was Conqueror's Haki, after all!
He absolutely refused to let his own arrogance cost him that awakening.
So—
He had to race against time.
He had to train.
Hang City—Ability Users Guild, Training Chamber
"Ding-dong. You have trained diligently in a highly spiritual environment. You have gained new insights into: Tempest Kick, Armament Haki, and Azure Dragon Fruit ability. Proficiency +30 to all three abilities!"
[Heaven Rewards Diligence System]
Name: Zhao Xuan
Age: 18
Spirit: 186.58 / 186.58
Physique: 1001.45 / 1001.45
Abilities:
Shave (Master: 1886 / 8000)
Iron Body (Master: 2145 / 8000)
Paper Drawing (Master: 965 / 8000)
Moonwalk (Master: 1672 / 8000)
Tempest Kick (Master: 3154 / 8000)
Finger Gun (Master: 935 / 8000)
Swordsmanship (Master: 435 / 8000)
Armament Haki (Adept: 2972 / 4000)
Azure Dragon Fruit (Adept: 2698 / 4000)
Zhao Xuan looked at his status panel, brows slowly knitting together.
"No. No. No!"
He abruptly withdrew the fruit power and Haki coursing through his body, returning to his normal form.
"Even in such a high-spirit training chamber, this efficiency is too low. I trained a whole afternoon—over four hours—and my proficiencies increased by only this tiny bit."
"If I keep training like this, there's almost no chance I'll reach Master-level Armament Haki and Master-level Dragon Fruit abilities before the National Exam."
Thinking this, Zhao Xuan could no longer sit still.
To be honest—
If he didn't push those two abilities to Master level,
he really might get eliminated in the first round.
He had heard from Elder Jiang Youde back during the Provincial Exam finals—
this year's National Exam would be the most intense in history.
From what Elder Jiang knew—
including Zhao Xuan, there were already thirteen seed candidates who had broken through to the fourth tier.
"No. No. No! I can't keep training like this!"
With that thought, Zhao Xuan strode out of the training room, marched straight to the lobby, paid the one-million exam fee, and applied for the fourth-tier ability certification exam.
Soon after, he received a message—
His examiner had arrived.
He was to head to Duel Arena No. 019.
When Zhao Xuan arrived, a crowd had already gathered—
mostly third-tiers, with a handful of fourth-tiers mixed in.
Very different from tiny Tong City.
"Tong City really is a small place…"
He stepped past the onlookers and entered the arena.
Upon identity verification, he and the examiner both hopped onto the platform.
"Huh? So young, and already taking the fourth-tier exam?"
"He looks around eighteen, right?"
"Kids these days… just graduated high school and already fourth tier?"
"Times have changed! Didn't you see the news last night? The ambient spiritual energy this year is way higher—breaking through to fourth tier isn't as hard now."
"I wonder if he can pass. It's not like everyone is Zhao Xuan."
"…"
The referee blew the whistle.
Tap!
In the next instant—
Zhao Xuan was already in front of the examiner.
A single Tempest Kick!
Sweeping out viciously!
"So fast!!!"
Before the examiner could even react,
a massive force slammed into his stomach.
With a muffled grunt,
he was sent flying off the platform, crashing onto the ground.
Silence.
Everyone stared, dumbfounded.
"Referee, that counts as passing, right?" Zhao Xuan asked calmly.
The referee glanced toward the examiner—
who lay sprawled across shattered blue bricks—
swallowed hard, and stammered, "P-passed!"
"Good."
Zhao Xuan hopped off the platform and left.
Only after he was long gone did the arena erupt in chaos.
"What the— what the— WHAT THE—?!"
"What just happened!?"
"One move!? ONE MOVE!?"
"I remember now! I know why he looked familiar! That kid— that young man— he's Zhao Xuan!"
"What!? That Zhao Xuan!? The one who broke through to fourth tier and immediately killed a fifth-tier monster!?"
"Yes! That monster!"
"No wonder!"
"…"
Meanwhile, Zhao Xuan had already reached the Mission Hall.
Tong City's manual booths were nothing compared to Hang City.
Here, everything was automated—mission terminals replaced the clerks.
He approached one and began browsing fourth-tier missions.
Just as he was about to accept one—
He suddenly remembered something important.
"Wait. With my current strength, even without fruit abilities, just my physique and martial arts are comparable to a standard fourth-tier. If I enter semi-dragon mode, I can fight most fourth-tiers. If I enter full dragon-man form, even regular fifth-tiers aren't my match."
"So why didn't I just take the fifth-tier exam?"
"Fourth-tier missions have no challenge. Easy money, yes—
but almost no proficiency growth."
"Money isn't important. Strength is. If I gain strength, money will follow!"
He lifted his hands from the mission terminal.
Turned around.
And walked away.
Soon, he was back in the lobby.
Fourth-to-fifth-tier exam fee: three million.
He paid.
A message soon arrived.
"Hey—isn't that Zhao Xuan?"
"He's back!?"
"Is he taking the fifth-tier exam? I think I saw Master Mei arrive earlier!"
"…"
The crowd followed Zhao Xuan to Arena No. 009.
"Master Mei is here!!!"
"It's true! It's true!"
"Today's our lucky day! We get to witness a fight involving a fifth-tier master!"
"…"
Excitement filled the air.
Both stepped onto the platform.
The whistle blew.
The opponent—
a true fifth-tier master.
Zhao Xuan had defeated a fifth-tier before, yes—
but that opponent was only eighteen.
Talented, but young.
Inexperienced.
Master Mei was different.
A woman in her late thirties.
Her experience alone made her terrifying.
"This will definitely be an exhilarating battle! Absolutely!"
Zhao Xuan felt his blood boiling.
War intent surged like a tidal wave.
Master Mei's gaze hardened.
She could feel that overwhelming fighting spirit.
"Oh no… This three million exam fee is going to be hard to earn…"
Then—
"ROOOOAR!!!"
A monstrous roar shook the entire arena.
A suffocating, instinct-piercing pressure exploded outward.
Several third-tier spectators stumbled backward under the sheer intimidation.
Zhao Xuan had transformed—
Dragon-Man Form.
Facing a real fifth-tier master,
he had no intention of holding back.
He released everything.
He didn't fear exposing his trump cards.
Because he knew—
He was advancing so fast that any trap set based on today's strength
would be useless by the time his enemies deployed it.
And when that time came?
Anyone attempting to trap him…
Would only be throwing their lives away.
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