For the entire afternoon, Zhao Xuan sat on the cold bench, watching other candidates fight on the arena.
They were fighting to their hearts' content—
but Zhao Xuan, stuck watching from the sidelines, was absolutely not content.
Yes, observing battles could deepen experience.
But Zhao Xuan was a man of action.
Compared to watching others—
He preferred to fight personally.
However, because his platform number was No. 1, the rules of the competition only allowed those behind him to challenge forward.
Meaning—
If no one challenged Zhao Xuan,
He would be stuck sitting on the bench for the entire remaining seven days.
And why did no one challenge him?
Did that even need to be asked?
Obviously—
It was because two days ago, he had been too ruthless with those foreign "friends."
Too brutal.
His performance had been so overwhelming that it crushed the hearts of every remaining candidate.
Just as Zhao Xuan was preparing to close his eyes and meditate—
Suddenly—
On the arena, the previous battle ended.
A burly, heavily muscled man jumped onto the stage and loudly declared:
"Referee, I challenge No. 1!"
The moment those words fell—
Silence.
Smooth, instant silence.
Every eye in the stadium turned toward him.
And then—
Every gaze swung toward Zhao Xuan.
At that moment—
Zhao Xuan's eyes flew wide open.
The moment he heard those words, he snapped out of meditation, his face lighting up with pure joy and excitement.
The next second—
Tap, tap!
His footsteps echoed—
And he vanished from the waiting area and appeared on the ring.
His entire face—
Glowing.
Thrilled.
Overjoyed.
Eager.
Practically vibrating with impatience.
He stared at the muscled challenger with burning intensity—
If someone didn't know better,
They would think Zhao Xuan was staring at a peerless beauty stepping out of a bath.
"Th-this maniac…"
On the opposite side—
Shangguan Yingjie shuddered under Zhao Xuan's fiery gaze.
Images of Zhao Xuan butchering sixteen arrogant foreign candidates flashed through his mind—
And for a brief moment—
He regretted everything.
But soon—
His regret faded.
His eyes sharpened.
Normally—
The referee should blow the whistle and start the match now.
But the seventh-rank referee did not.
Instead, he looked at Zhao Xuan—who was practically trembling with excitement—and said with a blackened expression:
"Ahem… Everyone here is from Kyushu. There's no need for Kyushu citizens to fight to the death, you understand?"
It was directed at Zhao Xuan.
But clearly—
Zhao Xuan heard none of it.
His attention was completely locked on Shangguan Yingjie.
"Ahem!"
The referee coughed louder.
Only then did Zhao Xuan snap out of his battle-high.
He turned, puzzled:
"Referee, do you have a cold? Why are you coughing so much?"
The referee's face stiffened.
Then he repeated, word for word:
"Zhao Xuan, everyone here is from Kyushu. There's no need for us to kill each other. Understand?"
"Mm—mm—mm—yes—yes—yes—got it got it got it. So referee, can we start now?"
The referee stared blankly at Zhao Xuan's impatient face.
"…Did this kid even listen?"
"Forget it. He should know his limits."
He rolled his eyes, sighed internally, and finally blew the whistle.
BEEP!!
As soon as the whistle sounded—
Tap!
Shangguan Yingjie launched forward using Shave, charging straight at Zhao Xuan.
His speed—
Very fast!
Not inferior to the top foreign candidates from two days ago.
Which was expected—
Anyone confident enough to challenge Zhao Xuan after witnessing his one-vs-sixteen massacre could not possibly be weak.
Zhao Xuan immediately entered his partial dragon-transformation state.
Observation Haki and Grandmaster-level Paper Art activated.
Sensing the incoming Tempest Kick, Zhao Xuan leaned slightly left and easily dodged.
The moment he avoided it—
His body rebounded instantly.
BOOM!!
His punch exploded forward.
But—
Despite Shangguan Yingjie's huge, muscular appearance—
He was fast.
Very fast.
His reaction speed and movement speed were top-tier.
Zhao Xuan even suspected he'd awakened Observation Haki as well.
He dodged Zhao Xuan's punch the very instant it was thrown.
Then—
He launched his own attack.
Instead of continuing to fight physically—
He activated his Devil Fruit.
A massive lava sphere formed in his hand.
Then—
He hurled it.
It roared through the air toward Zhao Xuan.
Zhao Xuan focused.
Then—
BOOM!
He counterpunched.
His Armament-infused, lightning-charged fist tore into the lava sphere.
BOOOOOOM!!
The lava sphere exploded—
Molten droplets showering everywhere.
Under Shangguan Yingjie's control, the falling lava instantly reshaped into dozens, then hundreds of small lava balls—
And surged toward Zhao Xuan.
"Interesting."
Zhao Xuan muttered.
Then—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
He punched into the sky repeatedly.
Terrifying fist winds tore through the air.
Most of the lava balls were extinguished instantly—
The remainder shattered in the shockwaves.
Tap!
Zhao Xuan used Shave—
And charged toward him.
But before he reached the muscled man—
Shangguan Yingjie suddenly retreated—
And raised his hands.
"Stop! Zhao Xuan brother, I surrender! I surrender!!"
Zhao Xuan froze.
"…What?"
Then—
His eyes widened in frustration:
"Surrender? Already?! We just started! How can you give up?!"
"I don't want to! But I have no choice…"
Shangguan Yingjie shrugged helplessly.
"That was my trump card. If you can casually blow away my killer move, what's the point of continuing?"
"That was your trump card?!"
Zhao Xuan squinted suspiciously.
"No way! There's no way that was your full strength!"
"It was my trump card—well, a part of it."
Shangguan Yingjie sighed.
"I can fire more than ten lava giant spheres in a row. Each giant sphere breaks into a hundred smaller ones. Since you easily blocked one, you'll definitely block all of them. So why fight?"
"You don't know until you try!!!"
Zhao Xuan argued desperately.
"What if I can't block all of them?"
Clearly—
He was trying to salvage this precious chance to fight.
But Shangguan Yingjie was firm.
"Bullshit! Total bullshit! You're a monster! A complete monster! Of course you can block all of it! No matter what you say—I'm not fighting!!"
Zhao Xuan: "…"
In that moment—
He suddenly regretted.
Regretted being too brutal two days ago.
Regretted not holding back a little.
Regretted becoming so terrifying that no one dared fight him properly.
A lonely song echoed in his mind—
Being invincible is just… too lonely…
He had walked up with excitement—
And walked back with his head hanging low.
Seeing this—
The audience burst out laughing.
"Hahahahahaha!"
"He finally got rekt!"
"Serves him right! Zhao Xuan thought he would enjoy a good fight, but nope—instant surrender!"
"Shangguan Yingjie really has the same personality as his old man! He never forces fights he can't win!"
The matches continued.
And once again—
Zhao Xuan sat back on the bench.
Meditation became his only way to kill time.
Time passed quietly.
Soon, dusk arrived.
Zhao Xuan was in deep meditation when—
A gentle voice suddenly rang through the arena:
"Referee, I would like to challenge No. 1, Zhao Xuan."
Zhao Xuan opened his eyes instantly.
On the stage—
Stood a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses—
Gentle, scholarly, refined.
The moment their eyes met—
Zhao Xuan's Observation Haki flared violently.
Warning.
Warning.
Strong enemy.
This man—
Was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
An overwhelming sense of threat surged through Zhao Xuan's body.
Excitement.
Battle intent.
Elation.
All erupted inside him.
He shot to his feet instantly.
"That one… Is he the provincial top scorer from Nanyun Province?"
"Yes, his name is Ruan Zhe."
"Damn… Anyone who can make Zhao Xuan react like THAT must be terrifying."
The experienced candidates—Peng Hu, Shangguan Yingjie, and others—stared seriously at the man on the platform.
Zhao Xuan walked toward the arena—
And the closer he got—
The stronger the warning from his Observation Haki became.
A sense of dread, of looming disaster—
Spread through his chest.
"Is this guy really that strong…?"
On the platform—
Zhao Xuan stared tightly at Ruan Zhe.
BEEP!!!
The whistle blew.
And instantly—
Tap!
Ruan Zhe charged forward using Shave.
His speed—
Not slow.
But not extremely fast either.
Definitely not at a level that should trigger such intense Observation warnings.
Zhao Xuan didn't dare underestimate him.
ROAR!!!
He immediately transformed into his dragon-man state.
"What?!"
"Why is Zhao Xuan going all out instantly?!"
"Is that guy really THAT strong?!"
The waiting candidates' faces changed drastically.
Ruan Zhe reached Zhao Xuan—
And punched.
A strong punch.
Good power.
About the level of a sixth-rank grandmaster.
Zhao Xuan frowned.
If this was his real strength—
Then why was Observation Haki screaming?!
He prepared to dodge—
When suddenly—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!
A horrifying aura erupted from Ruan Zhe's chest.
At that instant—
Zhao Xuan's Observation Haki went berserk.
Insane warning.
Fatal threat.
A crisis like nothing before rushed over him.
In the audience stands—
Several eighth-rank kings stood up instantly—
Faces twisted with rage.
"Damn it!!!"
"Stop!!!"
"Someone's trying to kill him!!"
They flashed toward the stage.
But—
Before they reached—
A hideous, fist-sized insect burst out of Ruan Zhe's chest.
A horrifying force exploded from its body.
Before the eighth-rank kings could intervene—
The attack had already arrived in front of Zhao Xuan.
If not for Zhao Xuan's earlier vigilance—
If not for his pre-emptive guard—
If not for his Observation Haki being the rare future-sight type—
If not for his instantaneous evasive movement—
Right now—
That monstrous insect's attack
would have blown a hole straight through his body.
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