The moment the Arbiter announced that the national exam would continue—
Zhao Xuan had already been preparing to step onto the stage.
He truly couldn't keep watching.
He couldn't stand to see these foreign barbarians flaunt their arrogance any longer.
And not just him—
Many of the Kyushu provincial champions, those who had purposely held back during the room-number competition, choosing lower-numbered rooms to conceal their strength—
these geniuses among geniuses—
were all seething and ready to explode.
But—
Zhao Xuan acted a step too late.
Just as he shifted forward to stand—
SHWIP—!
A contestant from the so-called Sun-Never-Sets Empire leaped down from the waiting seats, arriving beneath the platform ahead of him.
The Arbiter glanced at him coldly.
"Which platform will you challenge?"
"I will challenge Platform 2—
the Kyushu contestant."
The foreigner spoke as he turned toward the contestants' seats.
His pale green eyes gleamed with amusement, provocation—
aggression—
and unrestrained wildness.
"Hmph."
Platform 2 belonged to a dark-skinned, short, chubby young man.
Unremarkable in looks; the type you'd pass by on the street without a second glance.
Yet this seemingly ordinary youth came from—
The famed Spirit Crystal Mining Province: Dongshan Province.
(Author note: Correction from Chapter 84 — the mining province should be Dongshan, not Xishan.)
Spirit Crystals were energy crystals similar to King-Beast Crystals.
Thus—
Their use was obvious:
Most Spirit Crystals were refined into energy liquids.
The higher-quality ones were used to produce energy bombs.
And both were extremely expensive.
Back to the match—
Meeting the foreigner's provoking stare,
the Dongshan contestant rose silently, face ice-cold.
A few steps later, he stood atop the arena.
BWOOOOOO—!!
With the whistle,
the fourth match began.
Both fighters moved at once.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions shook the stadium.
Though both were only fourth-rank Small Grandmasters—
Their unleashed power—
was absolutely on par with sixth-rank Grandmasters.
"NOW this is more like it.
Now THIS is a proper fight."
On the waiting seats, Zhao Xuan finally smiled.
To be honest—
Just now, aside from anger, he was worried.
Not worried that he might lose.
He was worried…
that he wouldn't find a single opponent in this exam
capable of surviving even one of his full-power blows.
But—
Seeing these two—
Zhao Xuan relaxed.
Their strength wasn't enough to truly challenge him,
but strong enough to make him use his Azure Dragon Fruit.
And this was still only the first day of the national exam.
Kyushu people never liked showing off too soon.
Zhao Xuan was certain—
absolutely certain—
Among the remaining twenty-nine Kyushu contestants,
several were hiding their real power.
Especially those from the three greatest cities:
The Imperial Capital, Magic City, and Peng City—
cities rumored to have "sixth-ranks everywhere, seventh-ranks walking the streets."
There was NO WAY
the geniuses from those three cities were weak.
Impossible.
One hundred percent impossible.
"I hope those three show up soon.
I really want a proper fight…"
Zhao Xuan silently anticipated.
Meanwhile, on the arena—
The battle raged on.
The Dongshan contestant was definitely one of the top-tier talents of his generation.
But—
Since the foreigner dared challenge him,
he clearly had hidden cards of his own.
Within moments—
They exchanged nearly a hundred blows.
The sixth-grade blue-brick platform cracked beneath their feet.
Gradually—
The Dongshan contestant began to suppress the foreigner.
His aura was faltering.
His stance unsteady.
The suffocating gloom hanging over the stadium began to lift.
Kyushu spectators showed faint smiles.
But then—
The tide abruptly turned.
The foreigner's power exploded—
multiplying several-fold,
as if he used some kind of forbidden secret art.
BOOM!!
The Dongshan contestant was caught off guard.
A devastating punch smashed into the side of his skull—
His right cranial bone collapsed inward.
Blood gushed from all seven orifices.
His aura vanished instantly.
A transparent orb drifted out of his fallen body and clinked onto the floor.
CLANG.
The Dongshan contestant crumpled lifelessly.
The stadium froze.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Silence.
Then—
The foreigner sneered in broken Kyushu language:
"Dead already?
What trash.
Kyushu people…
are no more than this!
The top ten slots of the national exam
belong to us foreigners!
Hahahahahaha!"
He threw back his head and laughed arrogantly.
His fourteen foreign companions all turned toward Zhao Xuan and the others—
Grinning—
mocking—
taunting.
A suffocating pressure filled the stadium.
Every Kyushu citizen clenched their fists.
"You asked for this."
Zhao Xuan stared at the laughing foreigner—
and at the group gathered behind him—
His killing intent surged to the heavens.
After several minutes,
the seventh-rank Arbiter finally moved.
Face pale with fury, he ordered the body carried away.
"Challenge successful.
National exam continues."
His words had barely fallen when—
SHWIP SHWIP SHWIP SHWIP—
Kyushu contestants—
including Zhao Xuan—
all stood up at once.
But Zhao Xuan was faster.
He stepped onto the platform first.
"You want to challenge me?"
The red-haired foreigner who killed the Dongshan contestant hadn't left yet.
Seeing Zhao Xuan appear, he grinned sinisterly.
Zhao Xuan ignored him.
He turned to the Arbiter.
"I challenge Platform 25."
The red-haired brute clicked his tongue regretfully but stepped down.
As he passed the blond foreigner who was Platform 25's owner, he snickered:
"Hey bro, you know what to do."
The blond foreigner gave a cruel smile.
Zhao Xuan stood silently in the center of the platform.
The Arbiter leaned close and murmured:
"If you think you can't win, just surrender.
These foreign bastards came prepared."
Zhao Xuan only smiled faintly.
Soon—
The blond foreigner climbed onto the stage, looking relaxed.
BWOOOOOO—!!
The whistle blew.
The instant it sounded—
STEP—!!
Zhao Xuan vanished.
Reappearing right before the blond foreigner.
BOOM!!!!
A punch.
Straight toward his skull.
The foreigner didn't hold back—
activating his Devil Fruit immediately.
He intended to kill Zhao Xuan—
Zhao Xuan felt the murderous intent clearly.
The foreigner smirked—
and unleashed a trembling punch—
A Vibration Fruit (Quake Fruit) ability.
Their fists collided.
STEP STEP STEP STEP—
Zhao Xuan slid backward seven or eight steps.
The blond foreigner rushed in again:
"A Kyushu trash like you dares challenge me? You couldn't even take a single punch!"
He sneered—
and launched another quake-infused blow.
But—
Zhao Xuan's expression remained calm.
His thoughts were simple:
Without Dragon Fruit, I'm only at fifth-rank power.
Good enough for normal fourth or fifth-ranks—
but not for top geniuses like these.
He had taken the blow without using the Azure Dragon Fruit.
Only physical skills.
Now—
CRACK!!
Lightning flashed.
The blond foreigner's last thought was confusion—
and fear.
Because—
His chest suddenly caved inward.
His ribs shattered.
His heart ruptured.
He flew dozens of meters—
and died instantly.
One-punch kill.
The stadium erupted.
Cheers exploded like thunder.
"HAHAAHAHAHA!"
"Good!! Good!! Good!!"
"Beautiful!!"
"What's his name? Which province sent him!?"
Relief washed through the Kyushu crowd.
The foreigners' faces—
darkened instantly.
The Arbiter spoke:
"Challenge successful.
National exam continues."
Before anyone else could move—
Zhao Xuan raised his voice:
"Referee, I want to continue challenging."
The Arbiter blinked—
then smiled brightly.
"Of course.
But only contestants with lower platform numbers."
"Good."
Zhao Xuan turned toward the cluster of foreign contestants—
His voice cold:
"I challenge Platform 22."
Gasps.
Shouts.
The stadium roared.
Another foreigner—
another blond brute—
stepped onto the stage.
The whistle sounded.
He charged.
His fists ignited into flames.
But Zhao Xuan—
calmly entered Minor Dragon Form.
A fivefold increase to all physical attributes.
His physique—
exceeded 12,000.
Their fists collided.
CRACK CRACK CRACK—
The foreigner's right arm—
shattered from fingers to shoulder.
He didn't even have time to scream.
Zhao Xuan's next punch crushed his chest—
ruptured heart—
sent him flying.
Dead.
Cheers erupted again.
Foreigners' faces turned corpse-like.
But Zhao Xuan wasn't done.
"Referee, I challenge Platform 19."
Another uproar.
Platform 19—
a foreign woman.
She stood with hesitation.
The blond number-1 foreigner suddenly spoke:
"Alice, his strength is far beyond yours.
Surrender immediately."
"But—"
"No buts.
He's at least mid-sixth-rank in combat strength.
If you don't surrender instantly,
you'll die like the others."
Fear crushed Alice's unwillingness.
She stepped onto the stage.
BWOOO—!!
Zhao Xuan appeared before her instantly.
"I—"
She tried to say I surrender—
BOOM!!!!
His punch slammed into her face—
Her surrender swallowed back down her throat.
Her nose collapsed inward.
Her teeth shattered—
several were driven through her skull and out her neck.
She died instantly.
At that moment—
BOOM—!!!
A murderous aura erupted from Platform 1.
The blond foreign contestant glared at Zhao Xuan—
eyes bloodshot.
"Good…
Very good…"
His killing intent soared.
Zhao Xuan slowly turned and met his gaze.
Then smiled coldly.
The foreigner trembled with grief—
whispering:
"Alice…
I'll avenge you.
You won't wait long."
But Zhao Xuan had already turned away.
"Referee, I continue.
My next challenge is Platform 17."
A dark-skinned foreigner stepped up.
The whistle blew—
His eyes turned red.
Hair bleached white.
Wrinkles spread across his face—
He used a forbidden life-burning technique.
"Hmph.
Kyushu boy, your luck ends here!"
He lunged.
Zhao Xuan met him head-on—
Punch after punch—
dozens exchanged in seconds.
But the foreigner's berserk boost quickly faded—
and his aura faltered.
He tried to speak:
"I—"
But—
CRACK!!!
A thunderous sound.
Lightning roared.
Zhao Xuan unleashed Thunderclap Eight Trigrams · Tempest Kick.
Thanks to his Azure Dragon Fruit reaching master level—
he no longer needed full dragon form to invoke lightning.
Now—
even in minor dragon form—
he could call thunder.
And that meant—
He could use the full Thunderclap Eight Trigrams combos.
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