At the gates of Life City—
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Dozens of fierce, terrifying auras shot into the sky.
Under the pressure of these auras, even the air around the gates seemed to freeze.
Within a radius of five to six hundred meters, everything felt suffocating.
Oppressive.
Unbearably oppressive.
It felt like being stranded alone on a deserted island… and suddenly seeing dark storm clouds gathering over the distant sea as a catastrophic hurricane approached.
Oppression.
Utter oppression.
Amidst this pressure, Zhao Xuan, who had been sitting quietly at the gate, slowly opened his eyes.
"Oh? You really think highly of me. Using limit secret techniques right from the start?"
Facing Neps and the others charging toward him in full force, Zhao Xuan showed no signs of panic.
On the contrary—
Excitement flashed across his face.
Why?
Because—
He was only 100 proficiency points away.
Just 100 points from advancing the Azure Dragon Fruit to Master level.
Every breakthrough of this ability brought a massive boost to his physique.
This time would be no exception.
"I hope you people can put in a good effort… and help me get those 100 points."
The Azure Dragon Fruit activated.
But Zhao Xuan did not enter dragon-man form.
He only entered minor dragonization.
Why?
Because in dragon-man form, he was simply too strong.
Far too strong.
If he used that form, Neps and the others—whose strength only barely reached Eighth Rank low-tier even with limit secret arts—would be crushed instantly.
And if the fight ended too easily—
He wouldn't get the proficiency he needed.
"Come… come… come!"
With a crazed smile, Zhao Xuan stepped forward using Soru and charged at them first.
"Courting death!"
"That damned brat!"
Seeing Zhao Xuan's excited expression, Neps and the others immediately understood.
They knew exactly what he was doing.
Rage exploded inside them.
They were geniuses from nations and organizations across the world.
Prideful.
Arrogant.
And now—
They were being treated like stepping stones.
Kill him!
Kill him!
Kill him!
Even in minor dragonization, Zhao Xuan's physique had reached 25,000 points.
What did that mean?
Explosive power.
"BOOM!"
With a terrifying sonic boom, Zhao Xuan appeared before the front five.
His fist, wrapped in Armament Haki and crackling lightning, smashed forward.
The five instantly felt their hair stand on end.
Fear surged through them.
They reacted within 0.01 seconds, striking back.
"BOOM!!!!"
The collision sounded like an explosion.
A violent shockwave burst outward, slicing across faces like blades.
The five staggered back seven or eight steps before stabilizing.
Their faces were pale, covered in cuts from the shockwave.
"How… how is this possible?!"
"We… we got pushed back by one punch?!"
Before they could recover—
Zhao Xuan was already upon them again.
He might be farming them for experience, but he wouldn't waste such an opening.
"BOOM!"
Another punch.
Their defense collapsed instantly.
"Puh! Puh! Puh! Puh! Puh!"
All five were sent flying like they'd been struck by high-speed trains, crashing into the ground dozens of meters away and creating massive craters.
This all happened in less than half a second.
The remaining thirty-two were stunned.
Too fast.
Ridiculously fast.
It felt like Zhao Xuan had just swatted aside five nobodies.
Zhao Xuan looked up, his face filled with wild excitement and joy.
That expression etched itself into their minds.
Fear spread through them.
Two days ago, Zhao Xuan struggled to deal with six or seven people.
Now—
Two moves.
Five people down.
His growth speed was terrifying.
They became desperate.
"Kill him!!!" Neps roared. "If we don't kill him, we're all dead!"
They charged together.
Zhao Xuan burst into loud laughter.
"Good! Good! GOOD!"
He met them head-on.
"BOOM!"
One punch collided with Neps and seven others.
Their bodies shook violently.
Zhao Xuan didn't move an inch.
They were truly afraid now.
The others finally closed in from all directions.
Just as Neps's group tried to stabilize—
Zhao Xuan ignored all the incoming attacks.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Three punches.
Neps and the seven behind him spat blood and were sent flying.
At the same time—
The attacks from the other teams finally hit Zhao Xuan.
"BOOM!"
He was blasted into the city wall.
But in the next instant—
The life energy stored in his bones erupted.
He returned to peak condition instantly.
"BOOM!"
He appeared before another team.
Punch after punch after punch—
Within seconds, the entire team was down.
Then the next.
Then the next.
One team after another.
Half a minute?
No.
Fifteen seconds?
Not even.
In about ten seconds—
All thirty-seven geniuses from around the world lay on the ground.
Zhao Xuan looked around at the fallen crowd.
And for a moment—
A feeling of loneliness at the top rose in his heart.
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