At Tongcheng First High—
Outside the dueling arena, rows of nervous seniors stood in line, waiting for their turn to take the Combat Assessment.
The atmosphere was tense.
No one spoke.
From time to time, students who had already finished their test would emerge from the arena—
some with excitement, some with blank expressions, others pale with anxiety.
The queue moved quickly.
After all, every examiner was a third-tier cultivator,
while most of the seniors taking the test weren't even first-tier yet.
The difference in power was colossal.
An hour later, it was finally Zhao Xuan's turn.
Following the instructions of an invigilating teacher, Zhao Xuan walked toward the dueling ground.
The arena had been divided into twenty enclosed test zones, each surrounded by reinforced safety nets.
Under the teacher's direction, Zhao Xuan strode confidently toward one of them.
A few moments later, his assigned examiner entered from the opposite side—
a tall man with a composed expression.
When all twenty arenas were ready, a supervising teacher blew a sharp whistle.
With that piercing sound—
the combat test officially began.
"Tap-tap-tap!"
Zhao Xuan moved first.
His feet struck the ground in rapid succession as he launched forward like an arrow toward his examiner.
"Huh? Looks like I got a confident one,"
the examiner, Lu Sheng, thought to himself,
a faint smile playing on his lips.
"Good speed. A proficient-level Shave—
I'll give him two extra points for initiative."
Murmuring inwardly, Lu Sheng pressed his own feet against the ground.
Tap-tap!
The same technique—Shave—
but his speed was leagues faster.
In an instant, he vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already behind Zhao Xuan.
Naturally, Zhao Xuan's attack missed completely.
"Now then…"
Lu Sheng's voice was calm but sharp.
"My turn."
He raised a hand, fingers pointed like a spear—
Finger Gun!
Whoosh!
The air cracked as his strike shot forward,
aiming straight at Zhao Xuan's back.
It was so fast—
so sudden—
that Zhao Xuan didn't even have time to react.
Not even enough time to activate Iron Body.
The next moment, Lu Sheng's Finger Gun struck him squarely between the shoulders.
But—
Zhao Xuan's 200+ physique wasn't for show.
The attack that could have crippled most students barely left a faint red mark on his back.
"Hm?"
Lu Sheng's eyes narrowed.
He hadn't gone all out—only used about thirty percent of his strength.
But still—
as a third-tier cultivator,
even that much power was enough to shatter reinforced targets.
Yet this student—
this eighteen-year-old kid—
had just taken it head-on without even flinching.
"Don't tell me… his physique has already surpassed 100?"
Just as the thought flashed through his mind—
Whoosh!
A sharp gust of wind came at him.
Tap-tap!
His instincts kicked in, and he flashed to the side.
Zhao Xuan's Storm Kick cut through the air where he'd just been standing.
Lu Sheng smirked faintly.
"Fast reaction, but still predictable."
Zhao Xuan steadied himself.
"With my current base strength, there's no way I can defeat a third-tier examiner without using my fruit's power," he thought grimly.
"I can't even touch him like this."
He clenched his fists.
"In that case—let's finish this quickly."
His eyes sharpened.
Deep within, his Azure Dragon Fruit power surged to life.
A ripple of ancient energy radiated from his body.
Dragon Force—Activate!
The ground trembled faintly.
Under the mythical beast's blessing,
his physique skyrocketed—
his stats multiplied fivefold.
For a brief moment, the entire arena was engulfed in an aura that felt older than time itself—
as if something divine had awakened.
Lu Sheng's face hardened instantly.
"This aura… a special Devil Fruit ability?"
Gone was the examiner's earlier calm.
For the first time, he stood on guard, his expression grave.
And then—
Tap-tap-tap-tap!!
Zhao Xuan moved.
Again, it was Shave—
but this was no ordinary Shave.
In the blink of an eye,
Zhao Xuan was already in front of him.
His leg arced upward,
crackling with monstrous power—
Storm Kick!
"What—!?"
"How can he be this fast!?"
Lu Sheng's face twisted in disbelief.
He instantly activated Iron Body,
his muscles locking up like steel plates.
A moment later—
BOOM!!!
Zhao Xuan's kick collided with him full force.
Under the crushing might of a physique exceeding 1,000 points,
the impact was cataclysmic.
Lu Sheng felt as if a freight train had slammed into him.
He let out a guttural grunt before his body was sent hurtling across the arena,
smashing into the ground several meters away.
CRASH!!!
The reinforced blue bricks beneath him shattered on impact,
fragments flying everywhere.
"Holy sh*t!!!"
"WHAT THE HELL!?"
"Did that kid just—kick the examiner!?"
"NO WAY!"
"Bro… BRO! He blasted a third-tier cultivator!!"
A few examiners on break nearby had jumped to their feet, eyes wide in disbelief,
their mouths firing off curses one after another.
And that alone was enough to show—
just how utterly shocked they all were at what they'd just witnessed.
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