Staring at the towering desert golem before him—a hulking stone giant that loomed like a mountain—Zhao Xuan's mind went completely blank for a second.
Then came the outburst.
"What the actual—!"
He couldn't help but curse aloud.
Sure, he had already guessed back in the fourth stage—after facing nine Tier 3 golems—that the final guardian might very well be a Tier 4 creature.
But even so…
Now that he was actually seeing it with his own eyes, standing there like a living fortress, he still couldn't suppress his disbelief.
"This is insane! Absolutely insane!"
"How the hell does a low-tier relic end up with a Tier 4 boss!?"
"There's a literal gap—a species gap—between Tier 3 and Tier 4!"
He ranted silently in his head, his heart sinking as memories of his brief battle with Lian Jie, the city guild president, flashed through his mind.
That enormous, suffocating power… the complete lack of resistance he'd felt…
A wave of helplessness washed over him.
And then—
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The massive desert golem began to move.
Each step thundered across the ground, shaking the entire trial space.
Its heavy, crushing footsteps sent sand and dust rippling outward, every vibration pounding against Zhao Xuan's chest like a drumbeat.
The sheer weight and pressure it exuded screamed of unstoppable power.
"...Huh?"
But instead of backing away—Zhao Xuan's dull gaze suddenly sharpened.
"Wait... wait a second!"
He narrowed his eyes, watching the giant advance.
"Yeah, it's powerful—but its speed..."
A grin spread slowly across his face.
"...isn't that fast, is it?"
The realization hit him like lightning.
His expression shifted—from tense, to calm, to something dangerously close to excited madness.
"Everyone says a Tier 3 can't beat a Tier 4."
"That we're separated by an unbridgeable chasm."
"But who decided that?"
"Who said a Tier 3 can't take down a Tier 4?"
"Not me."
Zhao Xuan's fists clenched tight, his blood boiling.
"No more running. No more fear."
"It's just a giant rock."
He grinned wide, his teeth flashing.
"Let's see how many punches it takes to turn you into rubble!"
Then—
BOOM!
He launched forward, vanishing from sight.
A heartbeat later, the golem's enormous fist smashed into the ground where he had just stood—
KA-THOOM!
The entire arena shook. Dust exploded into the air, scattering in all directions.
But Zhao Xuan was already above it—leaping through the air using Moon Step.
In a blur, he appeared right before the giant's chest.
The Azure Dragon Fruit's power flared to life.
Scales shimmered faintly across his skin—his muscles tensed, veins glowing with energy.
Minor Dragon Form—activated.
Fivefold increase to strength.
Fivefold increase to endurance.
And then—
His Armament Haki surged forth, black and red energy crackling along his leg.
"Rankyaku!"
He swung.
SWOOSH!
The air split apart as the compressed shockwave slammed into the golem's leg.
BOOM!!!
The impact sent a shockwave rolling through the chamber—Zhao Xuan was blasted backward from the recoil, tumbling several meters before skidding to a stop, boots carving lines into the sand.
He steadied himself, panting slightly.
The golem hadn't moved.
Not even an inch.
It just stood there, massive and silent, like a mountain.
But Zhao Xuan's eyes were glued to one spot—
—a faint indentation on its left leg.
His lips curled upward.
"Heh…"
Then wider.
"Ha… hahaha…"
"It worked!"
The mark was small—barely a dent—but it was there.
And that tiny dent meant one thing:
His attack hurt it.
He could damage a Tier 4.
That was all he needed to know.
"If I can hurt it… I can kill it."
Zhao Xuan's eyes burned with fierce determination.
He pulled out a small energy pack from his belt—a pouch filled with high-grade condensed energy fluid—and downed it in a single gulp.
"Gulp, gulp, gulp—ahhh!"
Energy exploded through his veins.
He wiped his mouth, then grinned madly.
"Alright, big guy."
"Let's see who breaks first."
Then he charged.
Over and over.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM!
Each impact shook the air, a relentless storm of sound and fury.
The golem swung its fists, but Zhao Xuan darted between its attacks like lightning, countering with blow after blow.
Time blurred.
The ground cracked.
Dust filled the air.
And finally—
CRACK!
A fist-sized hole appeared in the golem's leg.
Zhao Xuan froze for a second—then burst into wild laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
He tilted his head back, laughing madly to the sky.
In that moment, there was no fear left in him—only the thrill of combat, of defiance, of proving the impossible wrong.
Then, roaring with exhilaration, Zhao Xuan dashed forward once again—
like a mad wolf unleashed, his strikes raining down endlessly upon the towering giant.
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