On the arena stage.
The moment the Eastern Island candidate heard Zhaoxuan's words, his expression instantly darkened.
"Hmph."
He let out a cold snort, and said icily, "So what if you've seen through it? Let's see whether you can dodge faster than my sword can strike."
The instant he finished speaking—
Shhk! Shhk! Shhk! Shhk! Shhk!
He swung his blades again.
Invisible sword aura shot skyward.
Simultaneously, his Devil Fruit ability enveloped the sword aura he released.
A flicker.
A shift.
In a blink—
Those dozen sword auras crossed dozens of meters instantly and appeared right in front of Zhaoxuan.
At this moment—
Zhaoxuan had already closed his eyes once more.
He was still channeling his Observation Haki with full focus.
But—
This time was different.
This time, Zhaoxuan was no longer spreading his Observation Haki outward.
Instead—
He wrapped it tightly around his own body.
And then—
His Observation Haki sensed it.
Those sword auras—
All appeared around Zhaoxuan at the same time.
They did not travel across the arena from the distant swordsman.
Therefore—
That was why Zhaoxuan couldn't track their trajectory earlier.
Because—
There was no trajectory at all.
Those sword strikes vanished from this world the instant they were launched.
Then, a fraction of a second later, they reappeared—
Right beside him.
It became obvious.
That Eastern Island swordsman…
was a Spatial-type Devil Fruit user.
His ability allowed his sword aura to instantly "skip" through space and materialize directly beside his opponent.
Without any trace.
A true—
Sword Without Path.
But—
Clearly, this ability had limitations.
He couldn't send the sword aura into an enemy's body directly.
Zhaoxuan guessed—
The ability could only place attacks within the user's own field of vision.
Because—
Although sword aura appeared from Zhaoxuan's left, right, and front—
None appeared from behind him.
Under the tenfold body-strength amplification of his Dragon Form—
Zhaoxuan's reaction speed had reached an astonishing level.
Even though the sword aura appeared a meter or two from him—
He still slipped past at least half of them.
Yes—
Only half.
But—
A moment ago he could only dodge two.
"Not enough. Not enough. Not enough!"
Even after dodging half, Zhaoxuan wasn't satisfied.
His brows furrowed tightly.
"With my Dragon Form reaction speed, I should be able to dodge all of them. But my Paper Art technique… I've barely ever used it. Even though the system has boosted it to Master-level—almost Grandmaster-level—I haven't practiced enough to use it at true Master-level."
"System abilities are strong—but the system cannot instantly grant technique mastery. It can't grant skillful control or technique mechanics."
This was normal.
Skill level did not equal technique mastery.
Zhaoxuan's Six Styles were all at Master, with some at Grandmaster.
But he still couldn't develop a single derivative technique like those CP9 agents in the anime.
His raw stats far surpassed CP9…
But his finesse and understanding were worlds apart.
"Hahahahahaha!"
As he understood this—
Zhaoxuan suddenly laughed.
"This national exam trip was worth it!"
"Not only did it make me realize I've been relying too much on my Devil Fruit… it even revealed how poor my mastery of Six Styles truly is!"
"A blessing. A huge blessing!"
He laughed wildly in his heart.
And then—
Shhk! Shhk! Shhk! Shhk!
More sword aura came slicing toward him.
"This is a perfect chance. A perfect chance to push my Paper Art mastery upward!"
He immediately began switching rapidly between Paper Art and Iron Body.
Because switching between two opposite abilities in quick succession was extremely difficult—
Zhaoxuan's movements instantly became stiff.
His earlier success rate dropped sharply.
He could barely dodge one-third of the sword aura.
The blades rained down.
Blood flowed again.
Time passed quietly.
Minutes slipped by.
As wound after wound opened on Zhaoxuan's body—
His switching became smoother, quicker.
From half a second—
To a quarter—
To a tenth—
To a fraction.
Gradually—
He could dodge half the sword aura again.
And the half he couldn't dodge—
Most of it was now defended with Iron Body.
The Eastern Island swordsman's expression grew uglier and uglier.
After all—
In his homeland, he was a prodigy.
A genius.
A "Young Sword God."
Feared. Worshipped.
Invincible among his peers.
And now—
During a lethal duel…
He was being used as a training dummy.
A mere whetstone.
Who wouldn't be furious?
And he wasn't just furious—
He was beyond furious.
He didn't even notice—
That his sword aura barely harmed Zhaoxuan anymore.
He pushed his sword aura to maximum power, layered it with his Devil Fruit…
But under Dragon Form—
Zhaoxuan's defense had reached absurd levels.
The swordsman's aura might have grown stronger—
But Zhaoxuan's defense was also rising.
And his Iron Body mastery was improving rapidly.
In the beginning—
Sword aura left deep, thick wounds.
Now—
Not even half as deep.
Not even a quarter.
Zhaoxuan was bleeding—
But the blood was shallow, superficial.
And with his insane vitality—
Wounds closed almost as quickly as they opened.
Meanwhile—
His Observation Haki and Paper Art mastery skyrocketed.
He could now dodge two-thirds.
But intentionally kept it around half.
Why?
Simple.
If he dodged everything…
The Eastern Island swordsman would stop attacking.
And then—
Where would Zhaoxuan find such a hardworking, passionate, unpaid training partner?
Hiring a real one from the Ability Guild would cost millions, tens of millions—
And high-level experts cost even more.
This free one was priceless.
So he hid his true improvement.
Yet—
Everyone watching understood.
Every ability user in the arena—
Domestic or foreign—had already realized Zhaoxuan's intention.
And the entire Kyushu side…
Wore the same expression:
Barely suppressed laughter + immense admiration.
This kid was too monstrous.
His growth speed too insane.
His talent too terrifying.
Foreign ability users, however, had faces darker than coal.
Especially the Eastern Island representative who had previously bragged about their swordsman—
His face was practically green.
Finally—
After a long while…
The Eastern Island swordsman sensed something was wrong.
He stared at Zhaoxuan slipping through his sword aura like a slimy loach.
He saw Zhaoxuan's wounds fading rapidly.
He saw his sword aura leaving only tiny scratches.
And suddenly—
The truth hit him.
"No. No. No. No…!"
His mind refused to accept it.
"It's impossible! Impossible!! Impossible!!!"
"It's fake! Fake! Fake!!!"
His eyes reddened.
His face twisted into madness.
He screamed hysterically.
Zhaoxuan narrowed his eyes and watched him calmly.
"Oh? You noticed this quickly? What a pity. You were such a good training tool…"
He even felt regret.
And then—
The Eastern Island swordsman snapped entirely.
He swung wildly.
Twenty, thirty sword auras slashed out at once.
He stared desperately at Zhaoxuan—
Trying to verify the truth.
Zhaoxuan exhaled lightly.
"Since you've realized it, I won't play anymore."
He lowered his stance.
His entire body loosened.
And then—
Swish!Swish!Swish!Swish!Swish!
Zhaoxuan moved like a drifting leaf.
A slight lean left—
He dodged one sword aura.
A subtle backward tilt—
He slipped past the second.
And then—
Third.
Fourth.
Fifth.
His body swayed over twenty times in a single breath.
Each movement just enough.
Perfect.
Every sword aura missed.
Like a sci-fi action scene.
"No. No. No. No. No. NO!!!"
The swordsman collapsed mentally.
"It's impossible!! Absolutely impossible!! FAKE!! IT'S FAKE!!"
He screamed like a broken puppet.
Then he attacked again.
Wildly. Frantically.
But Zhaoxuan dodged every strike with ease.
The swordsman's will shattered.
He no longer attacked.
He simply stood there.
Staring blankly.
Muttering:
"Impossible… impossible… fake… it's fake…"
His invincible faith—
His pride—
His identity as a genius—
All shattered the moment he realized he had been used as a training tool.
The collapse of belief—
Was always more lethal than physical wounds.
Step… step… step…
Footsteps approached him.
Slowly.
He raised his head.
Zhaoxuan stood before him—expression calm, eyes cold.
"No… no… no… this isn't real…"
"There's nothing impossible about it," Zhaoxuan said coldly.
"W-why…" he whispered weakly.
"Because—"
Zhaoxuan's voice was icy:
"You're too weak.
You're nothing but trash."
"I'm trash… I'm trash… I'm trash…"
"I'm weak… I'm worthless…"
His mind fully collapsed.
Memories of the geniuses he once defeated—
The ones who killed themselves after losing to him—
Flashed before him.
Suddenly—
His gaze hardened.
Before Zhaoxuan…
Before the entire arena…
He raised his katana.
"Zhaoxuan… my senior brother will avenge me."
Then—
"STOP!!!!"
A furious voice shouted—
But it was too late.
Shhk!!
The katana plunged into his abdomen.
Sword aura exploded internally.
His organs shredded instantly.
Thud.
The Eastern Island swordsman fell lifelessly to the ground.
Blood spread across the arena.
The stadium went dead silent.
Not a single sound.
And then—
A chime echoed in Zhaoxuan's mind.
Ding!
"You have experienced an exhilarating battle. During this battle, you skillfully used Iron Body, Paper Art, Observation Haki, and Armament Haki. Your understanding of these four abilities has deepened.
Observation Haki +2000
Armament Haki +1000
Paper Art +1500
Iron Body +1500
All remaining abilities +500."
Ding!
"You have defeated a swordsman of great mastery. Through this battle, your understanding of Swordsmanship has greatly increased.
Swordsmanship +3000."
Zhaoxuan froze.
Then—
His joy exploded.
This harvest…
Was massive.
Far beyond expectations.
He opened his status panel immediately.
[Heaven Rewards the Diligent System]
Name: Zhao Xuan
Age: 18
Spirit: 158.23 / 396.35
Physique: 1246.39 / 2412.68
Abilities:
• Shave (Master: 6963 / 8000)
• Iron Body (Grandmaster: 2104 / 16000)
• Paper Art (Master: 7200 / 8000)
• Moonstep (Master: 6530 / 8000)
• Tempest Kick (Grandmaster: 163 / 816000)
• Finger Gun (Master: 5635 / 8000)
• Swordsmanship (Master: 3935 / 8000)
• Observation Haki (Master: 1823 / 80000)
• Armament Haki (Master: 6331 / 80000)
• Azure Dragon Fruit (Master: 2956 / 80000)
Zhaoxuan grinned.
Then grinned wider.
Then laughed wildly.
A huge harvest.
A monstrous harvest.
A complete, overwhelming harvest.
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