"Damn it!"
"He's seeking death!"
The red-haired foreigner had barely hit the ground.
Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!
One after another, every foreign ability-user in the viewing stands shot to their feet.
Their faces were twisted—
Nothing but rage, rage, and more rage.
This time, the red-haired candidate had indeed shouted "I surrender" after the whistle.
They all heard it clearly.
However—
Before they could open their mouths to accuse him, Zhao Xuan casually scratched his head and spoke up with a look of apology:
"Ohhh—my bad, my bad. I didn't hold back in time. I really didn't mean it. I just didn't expect him to be that weak—he couldn't even take one punch. Truly sorry."
He deliberately emphasized every word of "that weak."
His "apology" echoed throughout the stadium.
Instantly, expressions everywhere turned strange.
This scene… felt familiar.
Everyone subconsciously recalled an earlier moment—
A certain foreign candidate had beaten down a Jiuzhou examinee, watched him lose consciousness…
And then attacked again.
And his excuse?
He "didn't expect the opponent to be so weak."
So this was revenge?
Tit for tat?
"Hahaha! Good kid!"
In the Jiuzhou stands, many powerhouses burst into laughter.
Meanwhile, the foreign delegation was drowning in fury—
faces gloomy, expressions ugly, killing intent boiling.
As the red-haired candidate was carried away by medics, Zhao Xuan's voice rang out again:
"Judge, I want to continue my challenge. This time, number 8."
Upon hearing this—
The blond, blue-eyed candidate at the 8th platform seat jerked to his feet.
Under countless sharp gazes, he coldly strode onto the stage.
Beeeep!!
The whistle blew—
The battle began.
"I—!!"
He opened his mouth the instant the whistle sounded.
At that same moment—
Tap! Tap!
BOOM!!
Zhao Xuan exploded forward.
In an instant, he was already in front of him.
One brutal punch slammed into the blond candidate's left cheek.
"Ugh—!!"
Half his face caved in on the spot.
The words he had prepared were punched back down his throat.
His scream followed—
BOOM!
Zhao Xuan's second punch crashed into his chest.
Crack-crack-crack!
A dense string of rib fractures.
Immediately after, Zhao Xuan's leg swept sideways—
Crack!!
Both legs snapped like brittle wood.
But he didn't stop.
His fingers formed the shape of a gun—
"Shigan."
Whoosh!
The finger strike pierced straight into the blond candidate's left eye.
"Aaaaahhhhh!!"
His scream tore across the arena.
After finishing all of this—
Zhao Xuan lightly punched his abdomen.
Pfft!!
He vomited black blood and shot backward, landing dozens of meters away, writhing and convulsing in agony.
Yes—
Zhao Xuan didn't kill him.
Killing him would've been too merciful.
He simply returned to him exactly what he had done to the injured North Lake Province candidate earlier.
"Hmph. Trash."
Zhao Xuan looked at the sobbing, mangled blond foreigner and sneered:
"With strength like yours, you dared to spout arrogance earlier? Do you even know how to spell the word 'death'?"
He shifted his gaze back to the cluster of foreign candidates.
Facing their chilling, murderous stares, Zhao Xuan spoke again:
"Judge, I want to continue. Next, I challenge number 7."
Number 7 stood up slowly.
A monk—clothed in saffron robes.
"Everyone, leave that arrogant Jiuzhou brat to me."
He pressed his feet rapidly against the ground and appeared on the stage in an instant.
When he arrived—
The foreign delegation's eyes lit up.
"If I'm not mistaken, that one… is the grandson of your country's honored Buddha Lord, isn't he?"
the blond foreign powerhouse asked.
"Correct."
The Three A Countries' ambassador smiled.
"Rest assured—our Buddha Grandson once slew three Sixth-Tier Grandmasters with his Fourth-Tier cultivation. That Jiuzhou brat is dead."
Faces on the foreign side brightened at once.
Their gloomy mood instantly lifted.
They turned toward Zhao Xuan again—
eyes full of schadenfreude.
As if they were already imagining Zhao Xuan's corpse.
"Everyone!"
Suddenly, the ambassador continued:
"That Jiuzhou youth is one of their strongest geniuses this year. When our Buddha Grandson kills him, Jiuzhou will definitely intervene to save him."
"So—I propose:
If Jiuzhou intervenes, we act immediately. Block them. Give our Buddha Grandson a few seconds—enough time to finish him off."
Hearing this, the foreign representatives exchanged glances—
Then nodded one by one.
Meanwhile, on the stage—
The Seventh-Tier judge whispered urgently to Zhao Xuan:
"Be careful! This one is nothing like those weaklings before. He's the grandson of a Three A Country Emperor—his strength is terrifying. If you cannot win, retreat toward me. I may still save you."
Zhao Xuan nodded.
Soon—
The Buddha Grandson stepped onto the platform.
The judge looked deeply at Zhao Xuan—
then blew the whistle.
BEEEEEP!!
The sound had barely faded—
Tap!
Zhao Xuan vanished.
The next instant—
He appeared before the Buddha Grandson.
BOOM!!
A lightning-wreathed punch blasted forth.
The Buddha Grandson's expression did not change at all.
Calm. Unmoved. Fearless.
He punched as well.
BOOOM!!
Their fists collided.
A violent shockwave spread outward.
Wind roared.
Debris flew.
The Buddha Grandson was forced back dozens of steps before he stabilized.
A trace of surprise flickered in his eyes—
but no fear.
His confidence remained firm.
"BOOM!!"
Zhao Xuan attacked again.
Thunderclap Eight Trigrams — Iron Fist.
The Buddha Grandson didn't even punch this time.
He dropped into a horse stance.
A faint gold glow spread across his body.
BOOM!!
Zhao Xuan's fist struck his chest—
and only pushed him back a few steps.
"Grandmaster-level Tekkai!"
"No—"
Zhao Xuan's eyes sharpened.
"Great Grandmaster-level Tekkai!"
Unlike the original anime world—
Here, the Six Styles, once cultivated to Great Grandmaster level, emitted golden light due to condensed spiritual force.
This stage was called the "Golden Light Realm."
Around the arena—
Spectators shot to their feet.
"That—! That's…!"
"Great Grandmaster-level Tekkai!"
"Monstrous! He's only eighteen and already reached Great Grandmaster tier?!"
"This is bad! Zhao Xuan may not be able to break through that defense!"
Panic spread across Jiuzhou's viewing area.
Meanwhile, the foreign side was elated.
"As expected of the Buddha Lord's grandson!"
"Look at those Jiuzhou faces! Hahaha!"
But at that very moment—
Zhao Xuan's shoulders trembled.
Then—
"Hahahahahahahahaha!!"
A wild, ecstatic laugh exploded across the entire stadium.
"W-what?!"
"Is he insane?!"
Everyone turned.
Zhao Xuan was laughing hysterically—
Face flushed with exhilaration.
Eyes burning with battle madness.
Not a trace of fear.
Only—
Excitement.
Frenzy.
Raw, unfiltered battle lust.
"He's… lost it?"
Both Jiuzhou and foreign viewers thought the same thing.
Before they could process—
BOOM!!
Zhao Xuan charged again.
He couldn't be more excited.
He had waited over a month for this National Examination.
Prepared for over a month.
And yet every opponent so far had disappointed him.
But this—
THIS—
This was the worthy fight he had craved.
"BOOM!! BOOM!!"
Thunder surged—
Zhao Xuan's legs wrapped in purple-brown lightning.
He unleashed a devastating Rankyaku.
"Tekkai: Golden Bell!!"
The Buddha Grandson glowed gold, activating Great Grandmaster Tekkai again.
CLAAAANG!!
Zhao Xuan's Rankyaku struck, shattering the floor beneath the Buddha Grandson.
Zhao Xuan burst into insane laughter.
"Again! Again! Again!!"
He unleashed a flurry.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
Dozens of punches in seconds.
Wind howled.
Tiles shattered.
The stage cracked violently.
Within a minute, a massive tornado spiraled around them.
Dozens of punches.
Hundreds.
Eventually—
Even the Buddha Grandson's face darkened.
His stamina was fading.
Great Grandmaster Tekkai consumed an enormous amount of physical energy.
He realized—
If this continued—
He would die.
"Damn it!"
His aura exploded.
Golden light enveloped him.
And then—
He transformed.
A towering golden Buddha tens of meters high stood above the stage.
"It's your fault! I didn't want to use my fruit ability early! I was saving it for Alexander! Damn you! Damn you!!"
The golden Buddha's voice shook the heavens.
"Zoan Mythical Beast—Human-Human Fruit, Model: Great Buddha."
Zhao Xuan's eyes gleamed.
Instead of fear, he trembled with excitement.
"Hahahahahaha!!!"
"THIS—this is the National Examination I imagined!!"
The Jiuzhou stands paled instantly.
"That's the same fruit ability as their Ninth-Tier Emperor!"
"This is bad!!"
But—
At the same moment—
"ROOOOOOOAAARRR!!!"
A deafening dragon roar erupted.
Zhao Xuan transformed.
Dragon-Human form.
Tenfold boost.
His physique soared past 24,000.
He met the descending giant Buddha fist head-on.
BOOOM!!!!
A cataclysmic explosion shook the entire arena.
Shockwaves tore through the ground.
Sixth-tier judges were blown backward like rag dolls.
The great Buddha's fist—
Cracked.
Golden blood dripped.
Silence.
Then—
"Hahahahahahahahah!!"
Zhao Xuan exploded forward again—
And began hammering the golden Buddha without pause.
Punch after punch.
Crater after crater.
The golden giant shrank with each drop of blood spilled.
Until finally—
BOOOOM!!!
A final punch sent the Buddha Grandson blasting out of his transformation.
"PFFFT!"
He spat blood as he was flung across the arena.
The grandson of a Ninth-Tier Emperor—
the pride of the Three A Country's younger generation—
Defeated.
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