"Oiiink!!"
With an unwilling roar from the Ironhide Boar, Zhao Xuan's finger pierced straight through its throat, ending its sinful life once and for all.
Zhao Xuan was genuinely spooked.
He was afraid that if he let it escape again, the damn beast would go off and once more ruin the spiritual herbs inside the ruins.
"No, no, no—that's still not safe enough!"
Even after finishing off the Ironhide Boar, Zhao Xuan couldn't relax.
True, most Tier Two beasts didn't dare approach the ruins' entrance—mainly because this Tier Three Ironhide Boar had occupied the area for years.
But still…
This ruins' entrance wasn't far from the active zone of other Tier Three beasts.
What if another Tier Three creature wandered over, brushed against the entrance by accident, and entered the ruins?
It wasn't that Zhao Xuan was afraid of the beasts themselves—
He was terrified they'd be like that damn boar and destroy more Spiritual Cacti inside!
"I'll just clear the ruins' trail first. Once I get the Heart of the Ruins, I can close off that naturally formed entrance."
Having made up his mind, Zhao Xuan wasted no time. He left the ruins and reappeared outside.
Reaching into the hollow tree, he placed his hand once more on the orb hidden within.
A single thought—
And in the next instant, his figure vanished from the surface world, reappearing inside the ruins' trial space.
The first trial's guardian was a Tier Three Desert Statue—
the same type of stone creature that the Ironhide Boar had rammed itself to death against earlier.
"Hiss~"
Watching the statue lumber slowly toward him, Zhao Xuan frowned.
"If I'm not mistaken, there were five stone tablets outside, right? So the first trial's a Tier Three Desert Statue… Does that mean the fifth one will be Tier-4? Ugh, forget it. One step at a time."
Thump! Thump!
Zhao Xuan moved first, charging straight at the stone guardian head-on.
A mere Tier Three Desert Statue—nothing to be afraid of.
After all, he'd kicked a Ironhide Boar around like a soccer ball. Smashing a rock puppet wasn't going to be harder than that.
"Hah!!"
With a sharp, slicing sound, Zhao Xuan unleashed a Tempest Kick, cleaving through the air.
BOOM!
His attack landed squarely on the Desert Statue's chest.
The creature staggered several steps backward, then raised its massive stone arms and brought them down toward Zhao Xuan.
But Zhao Xuan's figure blurred—he vanished, easily dodging the sluggish strike.
"Tsk, its defense is pretty good. I didn't use my Azure Dragon Fruit ability, but even so, that kick should've been enough to crush most Tier Threes. And all I did was chip off a palm-sized bit?"
Zhao Xuan eyed the small crack in the statue's chest, his eyes gleaming.
"Well, that's fine too. Makes for a nice, tanky training dummy. Let's see how many kicks you can take, big guy!"
Muttering to himself, Zhao Xuan dashed forward again.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Kick after kick after kick after kick—
Finally—
Crackkkkk!
After nearly thirty consecutive strikes, the Desert Statue could take no more.
A deep fissure spread across its chest, widening rapidly until—
RUMBLE!
The massive figure collapsed, shattering into rubble.
"Ding! You've completed an excellent training session. Your understanding of Soru, Tempest Kick, and Armament Haki has improved. Skill proficiency +10!"
As the mechanical prompt sounded, a white light descended upon Zhao Xuan.
When the light faded, he was already in the second trial space.
This time, the guardians were three Tier Three Desert Statues.
"The first trial had one, the second had three… then the third and fourth must have six and nine. Damn, does that mean the fifth one really is a Tier-4 Desert Statue?"
As he frowned at the thought, the three statues began lumbering toward him in eerie synchronization.
They actually coordinated their movements—but even so…
They were slow.
Painfully slow.
Just three oversized moving targets.
Zhao Xuan didn't even bother using his Azure Dragon Fruit.
With only his Six Forms techniques and Armament Haki, he demolished all three without breaking a sweat.
The third trial was indeed six statues—just as Zhao Xuan expected.
Same method, same outcome: with his superior speed and mobility, he picked them off one by one.
The fourth trial was no different.
Nine statues this time—
and all nine met the same fate under Zhao Xuan's relentless assault.
Then—
He stepped into the fifth trial.
And there, standing in the center of the trial space, was a colossal Desert Statue, towering over ten meters high, radiating a terrifying aura.
"Cao!" Zhao Xuan cursed instinctively. "You've gotta be kidding me!"
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