As Zhao Xuan was still immersed in the immense harvest of this battle, overwhelmed with surprise—
Inside the stadium…
After a brief silence—
Roar!!
Uproar exploded.
"Hahahahaha— exhilarating! Absolutely exhilarating!"
"'Little Sword God'? Must've been pure hype! Such a glass heart. Being used as a sparring tool by our Kyushu genius is enough to make him commit seppuku?"
"Hmph. Their little island nation is nothing but a speck in the sea. Producing a swordsman like that is already impressive for them. Can't expect too much from such a tiny country."
"…."
On Kyushu's side—
Laughter and cheers erupted non-stop.
But on the foreigners' side—
A heavy cloud hung over them.
Every one of them wore a dark, gloomy face.
An inexplicable sense of dread slowly weighed down on all of them.
They couldn't help it.
The strength Zhao Xuan had displayed, the monstrous learning ability he showed—
It was too terrifying. Too shocking.
They were already beginning to fear…
Would Zhao Xuan wipe out all sixteen of their "geniuses" who came to participate in Kyushu's National Exam in one breath?
…
This battle had given Zhao Xuan enormous gains.
But…
It was also undeniable—
His mental power and stamina were nearly drained.
His mental strength wasn't even at 160 anymore, and his physique had dropped to nearly half.
Even so—
Zhao Xuan wasn't about to stop.
At this moment—
He was still burning with adrenaline.
He didn't want to miss any opponent.
After all—
The National Exam, gathering elites from all regions, geniuses from across the world—
Such an opportunity was once in a lifetime.
If he missed this chance, Zhao Xuan feared he might never encounter such perfect conditions again.
A chance to massively boost his mastery…
A chance to temper all his abilities…
A chance to gain real battle experience…
Zhao Xuan
Will. Not. Miss. It.
Gulp— gulp— gulp!!
Under the watchful eyes of all—
Zhao Xuan swiftly chugged two medium-grade energy packs, ate two Monkey King Fruits, drank about 100ml of Spirit Peak Honey, and swallowed two sixth-rank herbs he obtained from the old patriarch of the Li family.
His slightly weakened body began rapidly recovering.
"This kid… looks like he's sitting on quite a stash of cultivation resources."
"With that one mouthful alone, he just burned through what— over a hundred million?"
On Kyushu's spectator seats—
Two eighth-rank experts chuckled as they watched Zhao Xuan devour herbs like Zhu Bajie gobbling ginseng fruit.
"F*ck…"
Meanwhile, in the Kyushu candidates' rest area—
A chubby boy couldn't help cursing as he saw Zhao Xuan's wounds healing rapidly.
"This bastard Zhao Xuan… he's completely wasting precious herbs! Stuff like that needs hours of calm cultivation to fully absorb! He's throwing away at least half the medicinal power!"
"Peng Hu, is that really what you should be worried about right now?"
Beside him—
A burly, muscle-bound candidate frowned.
"That guy Zhao Xuan has already taken down twelve of them in a row. And from the looks of it, he intends to punch through the remaining four foreigners as well. He's hogging all the spotlight; we're not getting a single chance to show off!"
"Isn't that a good thing?"
Peng Hu laughed, his eyes narrowing.
"He's raising Kyushu's prestige!
And as for us not getting a chance…
Once he's done smashing those foreigners, we can all team up and beat him down afterward!"
"…Fair point."
The muscular candidate thought for a moment and nodded.
But his brows soon furrowed again as he stared at Zhao Xuan.
"Still… defeating him won't be easy."
…
On the stage—
After a few minutes of rest, Zhao Xuan's physique had recovered by a good seventy to eighty percent.
His mental energy, hard as it was to restore, had also recovered somewhat thanks to the Spirit Peak Honey.
Thus—
Zhao Xuan looked toward the seventh-rank referee.
"Referee, I want to continue challenging. This time I challenge the foreign 'friend' on Platform 4."
His gaze had already locked onto the No. 4 platform holder.
That candidate's face was pale.
Clearly—
He knew the difference in strength between himself and Zhao Xuan.
Both the Samsara Monk of Samarkand and the Little Sword God of the East had died by Zhao Xuan's hands…
So of course—
He understood.
Without a doubt—
He was not Zhao Xuan's match.
Even though his platform ranking was higher than the previous two…
As previously mentioned—
It was only day one of the National Exam.
The rankings were far from accurate.
…
Under countless watching eyes—
The man ascended the stage with a gloomy face.
The moment he steadied his stance—
Bweeeeeet!!
The whistle blew sharply.
"ROOOAAAR!!"
"Step— step— step—!"
Zhao Xuan entered his Dragon-Man Form instantly.
His aura erupted—
And in the next instant—
He was already in front of the foreign candidate.
Thunderous Eight-Trigrams • Iron Fist!!
BOOM!!
His fist crashed toward the man's face.
Zhao Xuan had vowed not to rely excessively on his Azure Dragon fruit abilities anymore.
But—
This opponent was the exception.
Because this man had previously attempted to kill a Kyushu female candidate—
A girl from the Xia Ning Province.
He had aimed to take her life.
He failed—
But judging from her injuries, she would be bedridden for months.
Even though Zhao Xuan had never met her—
They were both Kyushu people.
And Kyushu defends its own.
Vengeance was natural.
Therefore—
At the very start—
Zhao Xuan unleashed his full strength.
He would not give the man any chance to shout surrender.
But—
Unfortunately for the foreigner—
His strength, while below the monk of Samarkand and the Little Sword God,
Was still decent enough.
When Zhao Xuan struck—
He stumbled back while activating his fruit ability, quickly raising a molten lava shield before him.
At the same time, he shouted desperately:
"I surrender! I surrender! I surrender!!"
Zhao Xuan had anticipated it.
That was why—
The moment the man stepped back—
Before he could utter those surrendering words—
Thunderous Eight-Trigrams: Tempest Kick!!
Zhao Xuan swung.
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
The fist wrapped in Armament Haki and thunder smashed into the molten shield—
The Tempest Kick tore through from the side.
Under such overwhelming force—
CRAAAAACK!!!
The lava shield shattered instantly.
A heartbeat later—
Both the iron fist and tempest kick slammed into the foreigner's body.
The fist—
Struck his skull.
A dull, heavy crack rang out.
A terrifying impact blasted into his brain—
Blood erupted violently from his nose, mouth, eyes, and ears.
"AAAHHHHHH!!!"
His screams tore the air—
CRUNCH!!
The tempest kick struck his chest.
His ribs snapped loudly.
BOOOOOM!!!
His body flew tens of meters and crashed heavily, wailing on the ground.
"Shame… didn't die."
Zhao Xuan sighed.
Then—
He put on a "deeply apologetic" expression.
"Oh— oh no… I'm so sorry. I misjudged my strength. I didn't expect him to be this weak—
He couldn't even withstand two moves."
"I thought his strength would be at least close to the previous two…
If I knew he was this weak, I would've held back a little.
Really—
My bad!"
Zhao Xuan's insincere apology echoed across the stadium.
Instantly—
ROAR!!
The stadium erupted.
"Hahahahahahaha!!"
"So satisfying! So incredibly satisfying!"
Kyushu's experts burst into laughter, while the foreigners all wore faces like they had swallowed dung.
"Damn brat!!"
"Little bastard!"
"He's courting death! He's asking to die!"
Their eyes held only killing intent.
If looks could kill—
Zhao Xuan would've died hundreds of times.
But Zhao Xuan didn't care.
This was Kyushu.
Not a place where foreigners could run wild.
Kyushu was the strongest nation in the world—
With ten known Ninth-Rank Emperors.
And that was just the ones publicly acknowledged.
Kyushu never flaunted its power.
Many hid their true strength.
So in truth—
The real number might be double.
…
Ignoring the raging stares—
Zhao Xuan spoke again:
"Referee, I want to continue my challenge. This time, I challenge the foreign 'friend' on Platform 3."
"Swish!"
The muscular, dark-skinned candidate on Platform 3 stood up instantly.
Expression cold, he strode toward the stage.
A moment later—
Bweeeeeet!!
The whistle blew.
Instantly—
The black-skinned candidate waved both hands.
A tear in space opened before him.
From it—
Dark, black-skinned humanoids stepped out one after another.
In the end—
Seven six-rank grandmasters stood behind him.
All of them—
Wearing glowing green collars around their necks.
"Fruit of Beast Control?"
Seeing the seven grandmasters appear, the Kyushu audience frowned.
"This is trouble."
"He can contract two ranks above himself… and he's controlling seven sixth-rank grandmasters at once. That's not simple."
"With Zhao Xuan's strength, he can probably handle three sixth-rank grandmasters at the same time. But seven? That's going to be tough."
"…."
Foreigners, on the other hand, finally showed relief.
…
On stage—
"Attack!"
The beast-controller roared.
"SWISH SWISH SWISH!!"
All seven grandmasters charged at Zhao Xuan.
A wave of killing intent surged forth.
"How delightful."
Zhao Xuan wasn't afraid.
As they closed in from all sides—
He activated Dragon-Man Form—
And charged straight into one of them.
Even though he could crush an ordinary sixth-rank grandmaster in Dragon-Man Form…
Seven at once was different.
Two? Three? Even four?
He could overwhelm them.
But seven?
That was enough to form a true pack suppression.
A moment later—
Zhao Xuan struck the first grandmaster he reached—
BOOM!!
His punch sent the man flying.
He could pursue—
Finish him with another three blows.
But—
"SWISH!! SWISH!! SWISH!!"
The other six grandmasters closed in instantly.
If Zhao Xuan refused to defend—
He would take six simultaneous sixth-rank blows.
Even with 24,000 physique—
It would injure him.
He had no choice.
He used Paper Art, Iron Body, and evasive techniques to block and dodge.
Then—
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
He countered with four punches—
Sending two grandmasters flying.
But again—
The remaining five pushed in.
Every time Zhao Xuan tried to finish one—
The rest prevented it.
The fight fell into a deadlock.
Even Zhao Xuan's monstrous talent wasn't enough to break out quickly against seven coordinated enemies.
…
In the stands—
"Not good."
A Kyushu eighth-rank expert frowned.
"If this continues, Zhao Xuan will lose."
"His battle experience is too shallow."
Another eighth-rank sighed.
"He clearly has the power to break the formation—
But he hesitates."
"He's too young."
"But it might be a good thing.
Youngsters need setbacks.
Otherwise, like that little Sword God earlier, once defeated, their 'invincible belief' collapses and they fall apart."
"When this kid eventually runs out of stamina, we must step in and protect him. The foreigners are itching to kill him."
"…."
On the foreigners' side—
"Hahahahaha!"
"Good! Good!! Excellent!"
"Damn Kyushu brat! Damn yellow monkey! Taste despair!!"
A blond foreigner glanced at a black man with dreadlocks.
"Ambassador Marcus, that one— that elite fighting below… he's from your country, isn't he?"
Marcus grinned widely, showing white teeth against dark skin.
"Yes. He is the 189th prince of the Abygon Kingdom."
Everyone froze.
One hundred and eighty-nine…
How many children did their king have—??
"Ambassador Marcus… if I may ask… how many princes and princesses does your queen have…?"
"Just yesterday, Her Majesty the Queen gave birth to the 236th princess."
Silence.
Then twitching lips.
Their earlier gloom dissipated instantly as laughter and absurdity filled the air.
…
Back to the stage—
Zhao Xuan was still trapped.
Those seven grandmasters—
Average strength, middle-tier within the sixth rank.
Normally, Zhao Xuan could kill one in seconds.
But every time he tried—
The other six would rush in and force him to defend.
His stamina and mental strength rapidly drained.
Time passed.
Minutes went by.
"Not good!!"
Zhao Xuan panted.
"This won't work.
If this continues—
I'll lose."
"To break this…
There's only one path."
"I must kill one of them first."
"But…"
"Whenever I attempt it…
The other six interrupt!!"
A deadlock.
A complete deadlock.
Minutes passed again.
"Haah… haah…"
Zhao Xuan's breathing turned heavy.
"No more.
I can't keep this up."
His gaze sharpened.
"With my physique—
I can tank a few grandmaster-level blows."
A reckless plan formed in his mind.
Four words appeared—
Break to Rebuild.
A life for a life.
His eyes turned razor sharp.
Step—!!
He attacked.
His fist collided with a grandmaster—
Sending him flying.
And then—
As the six others surged toward him—
Zhao Xuan—
Did NOT defend.
Instead—
He lunged after the flying grandmaster.
Break to rebuild.
"A life for a life!"
Zhao Xuan roared inwardly.
With the six grandmasters' attacks closing in from all directions—
Zhao Xuan ignored them entirely.
Instead, he pushed his speed to the limit and pounced straight toward the grandmaster he had just knocked flying.
"He's going all in!"
"This kid!!"
Spectators gasped.
On the foreigners' side—
Smiles spread wildly across their faces.
"He's finished."
"He's gone mad."
"No one can take six sixth-rank grandmasters' direct hits!"
But in the Kyushu stands—
Shock, then admiration—
Then worry.
"He's forcing a breakthrough…"
"But this is too risky!"
"If he miscalculates even slightly… he'll die!"
…
On stage—
The six grandmasters struck simultaneously.
"BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!"
Six devastating blows slammed into Zhao Xuan's back, shoulders, ribs, and spine.
"PUH—!!"
A mouthful of blood exploded from his lips.
His body jerked violently—
Bones cracked in multiple places.
His Dragon-Man Form shuddered under the impact.
The beast-controller candidate widened his eyes in disbelief.
"He… he actually tanked it?"
He had expected Zhao Xuan to be smashed into the ground—
Not to remain standing.
But Zhao Xuan—
Even as his back split open and blood sprayed down his legs—
Even as pain surged through his nerves like wildfire—
Did not slow.
His speed increased.
He shot forward like a cannonball.
The grandmaster he had knocked flying earlier—
Had just barely stabilized his footing when—
A shadow descended.
"Thunderous Eight-Trigrams—
Iron Fist!"
BOOOOM!!!
Zhao Xuan's fist caved in the man's skull.
The grandmaster's head burst open like a crushed watermelon.
His body flew backward like a rag doll.
He died before he hit the ground.
The beast-controller froze.
The audience froze.
Even the foreigners who were just cheering—
Voices died in their throats.
Because…
Zhao Xuan didn't stop moving.
He turned around.
Blood dripped from his nose, mouth, and ears.
His back was torn open, exposing raw flesh.
He trembled slightly—
But his eyes were burning.
A beast's eyes.
Unyielding.
Burning.
Wild.
"One down.
Now it's six."
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
The six remaining grandmasters lowered their stances instinctively—
Their bodies reacting before their minds could.
The oppressive aura surging from Zhao Xuan—
Was terrifying.
…
In the Kyushu stands—
One of the eighth-rank experts suddenly stood.
"This little brat…"
"He's done it."
Another eighth-rank shook his head with a mixture of awe and exasperation.
"As reckless as a newborn calf…
But his will is terrifying."
"If he survives this battle—
He will soar to the heavens."
…
On the foreigners' side—
The beast-controller's face twisted.
"You— you lunatic!! How dare you!!"
He frantically tried to command his remaining six grandmasters—
But Zhao Xuan didn't give him time.
"Thunderous Eight-Trigrams…"
Zhao Xuan disappeared.
He re-appeared in front of another grandmaster—
"TEMP—"
The grandmaster swung—
"—EEST!!"
Zhao Xuan's kick split the air.
BOOM!!
The grandmaster smashed into the ground.
Another blow.
Another scream.
Another kill.
The foreigners' faces turned pale.
"Impossible!!"
"He was injured! He should be collapsing!!"
But Zhao Xuan—
Was getting faster.
His movements sharpening.
His aura rising.
Because in his mind—
There was no pain.
Only focus.
Only instinct.
Only battle.
Only clarity.
Break to rebuild.
A life for a life.
Even if he had to drag half of them into hell—
He would tear open a path.
…
The six grandmasters attacked in panic now—
But they were no longer coordinated.
Zhao Xuan, covered in blood, fought like a demon.
Every punch—
Every kick—
Every strike—
Destroyed bone.
Crushed flesh.
Silenced an enemy.
BOOM!!!
CRACK!!!
THUD!!!
The third died.
Then the fourth.
Then the fifth.
Screams melted into silence.
The stadium was dead quiet.
Only Zhao Xuan's ragged breathing remained—
And the sound of a body falling.
By the time the sixth grandmaster hit the ground—
The beast-controller's legs were shaking uncontrollably.
Zhao Xuan turned his head toward him.
Slowly.
Mechanically.
Like a reaper choosing his next soul.
"You're next."
"No— No— NO!!"
He tried to flee.
"Thunderous Eight-Trigrams—
Iron Fist."
BOOM!!!
Zhao Xuan's fist smashed into his chest.
Ribs shattered.
Body folded.
He hit the ground and didn't get up.
Silence.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOM!!!!
The stadium erupted.
"HE DID IT!!!"
"HE BROKE THE DEADLOCK!!!"
"HE TOOK ON SEVEN GRANDMASTERS AND WON!!!"
"THIS—
THIS IS A MONSTER!!!!"
Foreigners trembled.
Kyushu roared.
And Zhao Xuan—
Stood alone on the battlefield.
Bleeding.
Shaking.
But standing.
Alive.
Victorious.
Unbroken.
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