"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Inside the desert ruin!
Terrifying sonic booms rang out one after another, echoing through the sky.
Under Zhao Xuan's storm-like barrage of attacks, the Third Boss of the Black Shark Pirates had absolutely no chance to fight back.
In fact—
Even up to this moment, he still hadn't fully understood what was happening.
"Wuuuu—wuuuu—wuuuu!"
The violent gusts unleashed by his fists merged with the shockwaves, forming a terrifying hurricane.
For a time—
The entire desert ruin was engulfed in flying sand.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Zhao Xuan continued to swing his fists relentlessly at the Black Shark Third Boss.
Punch after punch!
A merciless beating of a defenseless enemy.
Not giving him the slightest chance to retaliate.
Five punches! Ten punches! Fifteen punches! Twenty punches! Twenty-five punches! Thirty punches! …
After nearly a hundred punches—
Crack—crack—crack—crack!
Amid the howling wind!
Amid the piercing sonic booms!
The crisp sound of bones shattering rang out.
"AAAHHHHHHH!!!"
The Third Boss let out a heart-rending scream.
"BOOM!!!"
Zhao Xuan's expression was icy.
His jet-black fist smashed down again—straight onto the man's chest, onto the chest where all the ribs had already been shattered.
Boundless force surged into his body.
With his ribs destroyed and no longer able to protect his organs, that terrifying power struck directly at his heart.
Under the crushing impact—
Pfft!
The Third Boss's heart exploded.
"PUFF!!!"
He spat out another mouthful of blood.
Then—
His aura rapidly weakened.
A few breaths later—
His life was extinguished.
At this moment—
Zhao Xuan finally stopped his frenzied assault.
"Huff… huff… huff… huff… huff…"
After all—
Throwing out a hundred full-power punches in succession placed an enormous burden on Zhao Xuan's stamina.
As his attacks ceased—
The raging winds hanging over the ruin gradually calmed.
The sand filling the air slowly settled.
"D-Did it stop?"
"Is it over?"
"T-The Third Boss… he won, right?"
"…"
As the seven or eight Black Shark lackeys near the ruin entrance muttered nervously—
Shashashasha!
A figure emerged from the distant curtain of sand.
They all widened their eyes, staring at the person walking out.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Their hearts began pounding wildly.
Recalling the scene before the sandstorm—when they had seen their Third Boss being utterly suppressed by Zhao Xuan—
An indescribable unease swept through them.
The next moment—
When they finally saw the face of the person emerging from the sand—
Whoosh!
The seven pirates' expressions changed drastically.
"H-How is this possible?!"
"It's… it's not the Third Boss?!"
"T-This… this… this can't be! It can't be!"
In panic-stricken screams—
The seven immediately turned and tried to flee the ruin.
However—
Only then did they realize—
The ruin entrance that had been open all along had silently closed at some point.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
They hurriedly turned back toward Zhao Xuan.
Seeing him striding toward them step by step, killing intent radiating from his body—
And remembering that even their seventh-tier Third Boss had died at his hands—
Their fear deepened.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
One of the pirates suddenly roared viciously,
"Let's go all out! We fight him to the death! This guy is still just a fourth-tier! He must be exhausted by now! Kill him!"
"Yes! Yes!"
"Kill him!"
In an instant—
The seven men, who had moments ago been pale with fear, were now twisted with ferocity.
Then—
Tap! Tap! Tap!
All seven charged toward Zhao Xuan at once.
A desperate final gamble.
"Hmph!"
Zhao Xuan's face was cold.
After taking a deep breath—
Tap!
He used Shave and charged straight at them.
"BOOM!!!"
A fist wrapped in Armament Haki and lightning smashed forward, colliding head-on with the punch of a sixth-tier Black Shark cultivator.
Under Zhao Xuan's terrifying strength—
Crack!
The moment their fists met, the sound of bones breaking rang out.
The sixth-tier pirate's arm shattered instantly.
Zhao Xuan's punch didn't slow in the slightest.
The next moment, it slammed into the man's torso.
"BOOM!!!"
With a single blow—
His chest was pierced clean through, leaving a bloody hole.
"Hah!"
After killing him, Zhao Xuan twisted his body and unleashed a sweeping Tempest Kick.
Bang! Bang!
It collided with the fists of two sixth-tier pirates attacking from the side.
"BOOM!!!"
The two men were sent flying as if struck by a speeding train.
Pff! Pff!
Each spat out a mouthful of blood as they crashed dozens of meters away, lying motionless.
At that moment—
The attacks of the remaining four sixth-tier pirates landed squarely on Zhao Xuan.
Golden light suddenly flashed across his body.
"A-A Grandmaster-level Iron Body?!"
"H-How is that possible?! He doesn't even look twenty yet!"
Under his 24,000-point physique and the golden-realm Iron Body—
Zhao Xuan stood unmoving after tanking the combined attacks of four sixth-tier Grandmasters.
"Now it's my turn."
He suddenly grinned at the sixth-tier Grandmaster in front of him.
Then—
"BOOM!!!"
A punch flew out.
In an instant, his fist smashed into the man's head.
Pop!
Blood and shattered bone sprayed into the air.
"BOOM!!!"
Zhao Xuan didn't pause.
Another punch crashed down onto the second sixth-tier Grandmaster's head.
Pop!
The familiar bursting sound rang out again.
The second man's head exploded.
This horrifying scene—
Instantly terrified the last two sixth-tier Grandmasters.
Almost simultaneously—
They turned and ran.
Fleeing toward the depths of the desert.
"Run? You think you can escape?"
Zhao Xuan's expression was icy.
Tap!
He instantly caught up to one of them.
"BOOM!"
His fist slammed down onto the man's back.
Thud!
The man spat blood and was sent flying dozens of meters, collapsing lifelessly.
Zhao Xuan then turned his gaze to the last one.
With a flash, he chased after him.
A few seconds later, he caught up.
"D-Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
The man's face was deathly pale.
"Y-You… don't come closer! Don't come closer!"
As he screamed—
Whoosh!
A gust of wind swept past.
The next moment—
Zhao Xuan grabbed him by the back of the neck.
This man had already been completely broken by fear.
He didn't dare fight back at all, struggling desperately to escape.
"Move again, and I'll smash your head just like the others—leave you as a headless corpse."
The moment those words were spoken—
The man shuddered violently, clearly recalling how his companions had died.
"Hmph."
Zhao Xuan casually threw him to the ground.
Looking down coldly, he asked,
"Speak. Who are you? How many of you came?"
"I-I… we're from the Black Shark Pirates… this time we came with three ships, about forty people total. The one leading us was our Third Boss…"
"Forty?"
Zhao Xuan frowned.
He quickly calculated.
Seven killed outside.
Seven killed just now.
Including this one, that was fifteen.
Meaning—
There were still twenty-five left.
"Where are the rest?" Zhao Xuan demanded.
"R-R-Roughly ten people are exploring deep inside the ruin… the others were sent by the Third Boss to load the herbs we found at the entrance onto the ships and return to Black Shark Island… they were also ordered to inform the First Boss and Second Boss…"
"That's troublesome."
Zhao Xuan's brow furrowed.
If all forty were still inside the ruin, it wouldn't be a problem.
He could just take the time to kill them one by one.
But now—
Some had already left the island.
As for delivering the message?
There was no need to guess.
They were definitely reporting the discovery of a massive spatial ruin.
After a brief silence, Zhao Xuan asked,
"What level are your First and Second Bosses? How many high-tier cultivators does your group have?"
"The First and Second Bosses are both seventh-tier… we originally had five bosses, all high-tier, but recently we clashed with the White Emperor Pirates over a ruin… the former Third and Fourth Bosses died. The one you killed was originally our Fifth Boss…"
"So you only have two high-tier cultivators left now?"
Killing intent surged in Zhao Xuan's eyes.
"Yes… yes."
"How do their strengths compare to the one I killed?" Zhao Xuan pressed.
"They're stronger… in Black Shark, strength determines rank…"
Zhao Xuan fell silent.
After a few breaths, he looked down at the man.
Under the pirate's terrified gaze—
Boom!
Boom!
Zhao Xuan stomped down twice.
"AAAHHHHH!"
The man screamed miserably.
"I can consider sparing your life," Zhao Xuan said coldly.
"But only if you behave."
"I will! I will! I'll do whatever you say!"
"Good. Then stay here obediently. Don't think about escaping. The entrance is closed, and your legs are broken."
After saying that—
Zhao Xuan glanced at the already-arrived golden rat nearby.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
He stomped the ground dozens of times.
The next moment—
Zhao Xuan vanished into the distant desert.
The golden rat hurried after him.
Soon, they arrived at a small sand dune deep in the desert.
Because the golden rat loved flower-type herbs, Zhao Xuan hadn't stored the cactus flowers in the desert ruin, but in another spatial ruin.
Thus—
The cactus flowers hadn't been taken by the Black Shark Pirates.
Zhao Xuan retrieved one cactus flower.
Under the golden rat's eager gaze, he said,
"Help me find the others inside the ruin, and this flower is yours."
"Chirp chirp! (Leave it to me!)"
The golden rat beat its chest confidently.
Then—
It sniffed the air.
"Chirp! (Follow me!)"
Turning into a streak of golden light, it darted into the desert.
Zhao Xuan followed without hesitation.
Soon, they found the first Black Shark scout.
"Who are you—AAAH!"
Before the man could react, Zhao Xuan smashed him dead with one punch.
"Chirp! (This way!)"
The golden rat cried again.
One after another—
Second target.
Boom!
One punch kill.
One.
Another.
Another.
In less than half an hour—
All ten remaining Black Shark pirates inside the ruin were dead.
"Well done."
Zhao Xuan praised the golden rat, then tossed the cactus flower to it.
"Here. As promised."
The golden rat caught it eagerly, inhaled deeply, then gestured excitedly.
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
"You mean… if there's work like this again, I can come to you? One flower per job?" Zhao Xuan asked.
"Chirp!"
The rat nodded vigorously.
"Alright."
Zhao Xuan nodded.
Just as he was about to head back—
He suddenly remembered something.
"By the way."
He looked at the rat, who was busy enjoying the flower.
"How far can your nose detect things?"
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
The rat puffed out its chest proudly.
"As far as you want?" Zhao Xuan narrowed his eyes.
"Chirp! (Yes!)"
Zhao Xuan's eyes flashed.
Soon after—
Outside the ruin.
On the small hill.
The entrance reopened.
Zhao Xuan stepped out, followed by the golden rat.
Looking at it expectantly, Zhao Xuan said,
"Same job as before. Help me find their companions—the ones who left. They should still carry the scent. If you can find them, I'll give you… no—two cactus flowers."
He raised two fingers.
The golden rat's eyes lit up.
It closed its eyes and sniffed the air intently.
After a while, it opened them—
Then shook its head.
"Too far already?" Zhao Xuan sighed.
"Chirp! Chirp! (No! No!)"
The rat shook its head vigorously.
"Hm? Then what?" Zhao Xuan asked.
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
The rat scratched the ground, drawing shapes.
Soon—
Three crooked cactus flowers appeared.
"You mean… three flowers, and you can find them?" Zhao Xuan asked.
"Chirp!"
The rat nodded.
Zhao Xuan's gaze sharpened.
He already knew the rat's sense of smell was powerful.
But he hadn't expected it to be this terrifying.
According to the pirate, those people had left nearly four hours ago.
Four hours of sailing—
That was over a hundred kilometers.
And yet the rat could still track them.
"What kind of creature did I even pick up…?"
Zhao Xuan couldn't help marveling.
Then—
He began bargaining.
Not because he was stingy.
Three cactus flowers were insignificant compared to the tens of billions he had lost.
But—
If he agreed too readily now—
The rat would surely demand more next time.
"That kind of bad habit can't be encouraged. Otherwise, one day, even one flower wouldn't be enough for it to work."
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