Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
The furious collision of fists against skull echoed like thunder across the night.
The sound did not cease.
Everyone stood frozen, stunned by the madness unfolding before them.
One punch. Two punches. Three punches. Four punches…
In the blink of an eye—
Zhao Xuan had already hammered dozens of blows into the seventh-rank Demon Cultist's head.
Finally—
Pop.
A crisp, horrifying sound.
And then—
Right under countless shocked gazes—
The seventh-rank Demon Cultist's head finally reached its limit.
It burst open.
Like a watermelon smashed open by a sledgehammer.
Blood and "brain tofu" sprayed through the air.
In that moment—
The entire battlefield froze.
Everyone—
The National Exam candidates, the Demon Cult members still fighting, the city guards, the Kyushu seventh-rankers watching…
All of them—
Stopped moving.
Their eyes locked on Zhao Xuan's blood-soaked figure.
And on the headless corpse of the seventh-rank expert he had just killed.
Silence.
A silence so heavy that the barking of a dog hundreds of meters away rang clear in everyone's ears.
But Zhao Xuan's mind was anything but silent.
Because—
The system notifications were ringing non-stop.
Ding! You have experienced a cross-realm battle and slain an enemy vastly superior to you. Your soul feels elevated. All ability proficiencies +3000!
Ding! You have slain an opponent three realms above your own. You have gained unprecedented comprehension of Conqueror's Haki. Conqueror's Haki proficiency +10000!
The translucent attribute panel appeared before him.
[Heaven Rewards Diligence System]
Name: Zhao Xuan
Age: 18
Mental Power: 189.23 / 405.13
Physique: 1747.15 / 2433.45
Abilities:
Shave (Master: 10163 / 16000)
Iron Body (Grandmaster: 604 / 32000 → now Grandmaster)
Paper Drawing (Master: 10700 / 16000)
Moon Step (Master: 10030 / 16000)
Tempest Kick (Master: 11663 / 16000)
Finger Gun (Master: 10135 / 16000)
Swordsmanship (Master: 1935 / 16000)
Observation Haki (Expert: 23323 / 80000)
Armament Haki (Expert: 17831 / 80000)
Conqueror's Haki (Expert: 13500 / 80000)
Azure Dragon Fruit (Expert: 14956 / 80000)
Seeing his stats—
Seeing Iron Body break into the Grandmaster tier—
Zhao Xuan grinned.
Then—
He burst out laughing.
"Hahahahahahahahaha!"
His laughter echoed across the battlefield—
Unrestrained.
Wild.
Filled with exhilaration and triumph.
As Zhao Xuan laughed, those who had been stunned by the sight of him punching a seventh-rank expert's head apart with his bare fists finally snapped back to reality.
"Holy—! Holy—! What the—!?!!!"
"He killed—he really killed him! Those four fourth-ranks actually crossed three whole realms and killed a seventh-rank!!!"
"This—this—THIS—!!"
The city guards and Kyushu seventh-rankers felt massive waves crashing through their hearts.
Especially the seventh-rank experts.
They, more than anyone, understood—
Just how terrifyingly powerful a seventh-rank truly was.
Yet a fourth-rank had killed one.
Before the shock could fade—
Step. Step.
Zhao Xuan, still covered in blood, charged again toward the remaining two to three dozen Demon Cultists who were still resisting.
He rampaged through them like an unstoppable beast.
Under his Grandmaster-level Iron Body—
Under the tenfold physique boost from the Azure Dragon Fruit—
His defense was monstrous.
Even Demon Cult Grandmasters boosted by Extreme Secret Arts—
Couldn't leave a single red mark on his skin.
And Zhao Xuan needed only two or three punches to kill each one.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three punches.
Another sixth-rank dead.
Zhao Xuan moved on—
"Damn! Damn! Damn!!"
One sixth-ranker trembled violently under Zhao Xuan's gaze.
"He fought the Elder just now! He must be low on stamina! He must be at his limit! Kill him!
Kill him and we'll profit even if we all die!"
At his shout, four or five sixth-rankers abandoned their opponents and charged Zhao Xuan together.
Zhao Xuan didn't dodge.
He glowed with radiant golden light.
"G-G-Grandmaster-level Iron Body!?"
"No way!"
"He's really only eighteen!?"
Gasps arose from the city guards and seventh-ranks.
Then—
The sixth-rankers' attacks landed on Zhao Xuan—
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Zhao Xuan only took two steps backward due to the impact.
That was all.
Not a bruise.
Not even a mark from blood circulation.
The sixth-rankers stared in disbelief.
"How—how is this possible!?"
"Why is his defense so monstrous!?"
"That golden light… Grandmaster Iron Body!!"
Before they could regain their senses—
"It's my turn."
Zhao Xuan grinned.
"Damn it!!"
"No—!!"
A cold sense of dread washed over them—
And then—
BOOM!!
Zhao Xuan's fist smashed into the first Grandmaster's skull.
Then the second punch—
Bang!
His head caved in.
Third punch—
Pop.
It burst.
One dead.
Two dead.
Three dead.
In the span of seconds—
Three sixth-rank Grandmasters died like pigs at slaughter.
The remaining two nearly collapsed from terror.
"He's—he's not human! This thing isn't human!!"
"No—no—NO! Don't come any closer! Stay back!!"
The two fled, screaming.
"Run?"
Zhao Xuan's voice was ice.
"You think you can?"
He vanished.
Step!
He caught up instantly.
BOOM!!
One punch to the back.
Bones shattered.
Blood sprayed.
The sixth-ranker flew like a ragdoll into the ground, forming a crater.
Zhao Xuan rushed to the last one—
Who was so terrified he tripped himself and slammed face-first into the dirt.
He even—
peed himself.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
A sour smell filled the air.
"Trash."
Zhao Xuan smashed his skull.
The five sixth-ranks who charged him—
Were all dead within thirty seconds.
Not even a full minute.
Zhao Xuan had gone completely berserk.
As if sixth-ranks were nothing but cabbages—
Killed whenever he pleased.
The thought echoed in the minds of every National Exam candidate:
"He is like a demon-slaying god descended from heaven…
A calamity spirit walking the mortal world."
…
After Zhao Xuan's slaughter—
The remaining ten or so Demon Cultists lost all will to fight.
Their fighting spirit evaporated.
Within moments—
With screams and wails, they too fell and became corpses on the ground.
With that—
The purge of the Demon Cult stronghold was complete.
As for the other five or six seventh-rank Demon Elders?
The city guards' hidden elites had already killed them.
Everyone's gaze shifted to Zhao Xuan.
"Is he even human…?"
"This guy is a monster!"
"With his strength—he could probably fight a weak seventh-rank one-on-one for a while!"
"He broke through mid-fight!? He actually advanced Iron Body WHILE FIGHTING!?"
The candidates gathered around Zhao Xuan.
Shock and awe filled their expressions.
This world respected strength—
And Zhao Xuan stood at the top.
Soon—
Fang Tao arrived with several seventh-ranks.
"Next, I will announce the National Exam results."
He swept his gaze across the crowd.
"Contribution rewards:
Slaying a seventh-rank: +100 points
Slaying a sixth-rank: +10
Slaying a fifth-rank: +2
Slaying a fourth-rank: +1"
He began reading:
"Zhao Xuan —
Participated in killing one seventh-rank.
Killed fourteen sixth-ranks.
Five fifth-ranks.
One fourth-rank.
Total: 251 points."
"Peng Hu —
Participated in killing one seventh-rank.
Killed five sixth-ranks.
Seven fifth-ranks.
Two fourth-ranks.
Total: 166 points."
"Zhuang Liu —
Participated in killing one seventh-rank.
Killed five sixth-ranks.
Six fifth-ranks.
Three fourth-ranks.
Total: 165 points."
After announcing everyone's scores, Fang Tao asked:
"Is there anyone who disagrees with the results?"
Silence.
"Good.
If there are no objections—
I hereby declare this year's Kyushu National Exam complete."
"The top ten remain.
Everyone else is dismissed."
No ceremony.
No speeches.
Just simple, direct closure—
The Kyushu way.
In this world, ability users solved everything with strength—
No one had patience for empty formalities.
Thus—
The National Exam ended.
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