Then—
Cao Hu began gesturing wildly, vividly reenacting Zhao Xuan's heroic feats from the previous day.
Just look at that expression on his face! That proud, smug look of his!
If someone didn't know better, they might've thought the person who had completed fourteen Tier-3 bounty missions in a single day was him!
The moment Cao Hu finished his dramatic retelling, the crowd erupted again.
"Hiss~~~"
"What a monster! Fourteen bounty missions in one day? That's insane!"
"A high schooler? You're telling me that guy just graduated high school?"
"The youth these days are terrifying. I thought the Di family's young miss was a one-of-a-kind genius, but now there's another—Zhao Xuan!"
"No, no, no—Zhao Xuan's even more impressive! The Di family's young miss is the daughter of Tongcheng's military governor—born with a silver spoon, raised on pills and elixirs. It's no surprise she's strong. But Zhao Xuan? He's just an ordinary kid! His parents vanished years ago, and he's been living alone ever since. His family background doesn't even reach the city's average standard!"
"When you put it like that… you're right!"
Just as everyone was chattering excitedly—
Suddenly!
One of the ability users in the crowd glanced at the distant stone tablets and shouted, "It's starting! Zhao Xuan's cleared the first stage!"
Before anyone could even react, the same man yelled again, "Holy crap! The second tablet just lit up too!"
Shua, shua, shua!
Everyone's heads snapped toward the eight massive stone tablets standing outside the ruin.
But before they could even take in the sight—
"The third's lit up! The fourth too!" the observer shouted again, voice breaking in disbelief.
Only then did everyone finally focus on the tablets.
The first three were already glowing with brilliant golden light.
And in the very next second—
The fourth tablet burst into radiance as well.
"He cleared the fourth stage already!?"
"What kind of speed is that!?"
"Monster! Absolute monster!"
"…!"
While the crowd murmured in shock outside, Zhao Xuan had already stepped into the fifth trial within the assessment space.
The moment he entered—
Whoosh!!
A sharp gust of wind sliced toward him.
Zhao Xuan immediately used Tekkai (Iron Body) to block, barely managing to withstand the strike from a Tier-3 Mystic Bird.
"Hiss… that's some serious damage!"
Glancing down at the crimson claw mark across his chest, Zhao Xuan inhaled sharply. "If I hadn't used Tekkai instantly, I'd be bleeding out right now!"
"The Tier-3 Mystic Bird is way faster than the Tier-2 version… and its attack power's much higher too. There's metallic energy in those strikes—no wonder even with 200 physique and Tekkai, I can barely block it. No surprise the Tongcheng Ability Users' Guild hasn't managed to claim the Heart of the Ruin yet!"
Indeed—
Zhao Xuan wasn't using the power of his Azure Dragon Fruit right now.
Because to him, that would be far too boring—there'd be no challenge, no way to gain proficiency for his other techniques.
So, after instantly obliterating the fourth-stage flock of Tier-2 Mystic Birds with Dragon's Might, he'd immediately canceled his partial-dragon transformation.
Otherwise, even the sharpest feathers of the Tier-3 Mystic Birds couldn't possibly harm his draconic body, whose physique exceeded a thousand points.
As Zhao Xuan muttered to himself, the Mystic Bird lunged again with a piercing shriek.
"Tap, tap!"
Zhao Xuan's steps blurred, his figure vanishing from sight.
He tried dodging the incoming assault—
But the bird was just too fast.
Even though he reacted instantly, he couldn't fully evade, and another bloody gash appeared across his arm.
"Chirp!"
The Mystic Bird let out another cry as it swooped down once more.
"Tap, tap!"
This time—Zhao Xuan didn't dodge.
Since he knew his speed couldn't match the bird's, there was no point in wasting effort avoiding its strikes.
He dropped all pretense of defense—
and charged straight into the oncoming assault!
His fingers formed into a spear—Shigan (Finger Pistol)—and he thrust it directly at the charging Mystic Bird.
"Chiiiiiirp!!!"
The creature screeched, flapping its wings violently.
A storm of razor-sharp feathers—like blades of steel—shot toward Zhao Xuan at high speed.
But Zhao Xuan didn't flinch.
He braced himself, enduring the barrage head-on with Tekkai, and in the next instant, he was upon the bird—his finger-spear driving hard into its body.
"Chirp!!"
The Mystic Bird let out a final, pitiful cry before being blown backward, crashing to the ground and quickly dissolving into light.
"Classic type—high attack, high speed, low defense," Zhao Xuan muttered.
As he spoke, a beam of white light enveloped him.
Fifth Stage—Cleared.
At the same moment—
Outside the ruin, the fifth stone tablet flared to life.
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