Imperial Capital, Second Ring Road.
Erxian Bridge Villa District.
Inside a certain villa.
Tap—tap—tap—tap.
In the pitch-black villa, the sound of footsteps suddenly echoed.
Ruan Zhe walked step by step toward the depths of the villa.
"You're back?"
Inside a room deep within the villa, a middle-aged man sat quietly with his eyes closed.
Suddenly—
He opened his eyes, looked at Ruan Zhe who had just entered, and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"You're back?"
"Yes, Father. Your son has returned," Ruan Zhe replied, his voice echoing through the silent night.
"How did it go?" the middle-aged man asked. "Did that boy agree?"
"He agreed."
A vicious expression suddenly surfaced on Ruan Zhe's face as he said coldly, "He's already agreed to come to our house for dinner tomorrow night."
The moment the words fell, the room fell into silence.
After a while, the middle-aged man spoke again.
"Have you made up your mind? Are you certain you don't want a Logia-type Devil Fruit, and instead want the unknown Devil Fruit on Zhao Xuan—one suspected to be an Ancient Zoan?"
"You still have time to regret it. Once tomorrow night passes, there will be no turning back."
"Father, I believe in my choice," Ruan Zhe said firmly, his eyes flickering. "That guy's Devil Fruit is definitely not simple. I suspect it's far more than just an Ancient Zoan."
"Good," the middle-aged man said.
He closed his eyes again.
The villa returned to silence.
Ruan Zhe turned, preparing to leave—
Suddenly!
A vast and terrifying aura erupted violently from Ruan Tianba's body.
"Damn it!!!"
With a furious roar, Ruan Tianba leapt up, grabbed his precious son, smashed straight through the wall, and burst out of the villa.
The next instant—
BOOM!!!!
Towering flames descended from the sky, instantly engulfing the entire villa.
Ruan Tianba looked up and met Fang Tao's icy gaze.
"Damn it," he cursed under his breath.
Before he could react, Fang Tao had already charged at him with overwhelming momentum.
"Run!!!"
Ruan Tianba shouted, flinging Ruan Zhe dozens of meters away with a casual throw before turning to meet Fang Tao head-on.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In an instant—
The earth shook and the mountains trembled.
Even fourth-rank ability users like Zhao Xuan had caused tremendous destruction during the national examination. Now, with Fang Tao and Ruan Tianba—two eighth-rank Kings—clashing, the scale was incomparably greater.
Especially Fang Tao.
As a Logia-type Flame-Flame Fruit user, every movement he made unleashed towering infernos.
The entire sky was dyed red by raging flames.
The pitch-black night was illuminated as if it were day.
In truth—
Though both Fang Tao and Ruan Tianba were eighth-rank ability users, Fang Tao's combat power far surpassed Ruan Tianba's.
A Logia-type ability user was naturally much stronger than a special Zoan-type.
Moreover, Fang Tao's Flame-Flame Fruit perfectly countered Ruan Tianba's Puppet Insect Fruit.
Yes—
Puppet insects feared fire.
Coupled with the fact that Ruan Tianba had produced Puppet Insect eggs twice in a short period—leaving him severely weakened—
Under normal circumstances, Fang Tao could have killed him in minutes.
The premise, however, was that Fang Tao could fight without restraint.
But clearly—
That was impossible in the Imperial Capital's Second Ring Road.
If Fang Tao were to fully unleash his power here, the resulting destruction would be catastrophic.
Thus, he had no choice but to hold back, carefully restraining his attacks to minimize damage.
As a result—
Despite having superior strength and condition, Fang Tao was unable to suppress Ruan Tianba quickly.
At the same time—
Not far away.
Ruan Zhe, who was fleeing at full speed, was intercepted by Zhao Xuan, who had been waiting.
"Brother Ruan, didn't you invite me to your home as a guest?" Zhao Xuan said with a playful smile. "Now that I'm here, why are you leaving instead?"
Ruan Zhe snorted coldly, saying nothing.
The next second, he charged straight at Zhao Xuan.
Tap!
In the blink of an eye, he appeared right in front of Zhao Xuan.
Boom!!!
A punch blasted forward.
"Roar!!!"
Zhao Xuan showed not the slightest hint of carelessness.
After all, his Observation Haki had warned him multiple times because of Ruan Zhe.
Zhao Xuan never believed that Ruan Zhe's true strength was so weak that he couldn't even make the top ten of the national examination.
The moment Zhao Xuan entered his Dragon-Man form—
Ruan Zhe was already upon him.
A sharp fist wind howled.
Boom!
Zhao Xuan remained calm.
A fist wrapped in Armament Haki and crackling lightning slammed forward.
BOOM!!!
Their fists collided violently.
Tap—tap!
Tap—tap!
Both were forced back by the tremendous recoil.
Zhao Xuan retreated three steps.
Ruan Zhe retreated two.
What did this mean?
It meant—
Ruan Zhe's raw strength surpassed Zhao Xuan's Dragon-Man form.
"Hahahahahaha!"
"I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"
"I knew you weren't this simple! I knew you were hiding your strength!"
"Come! Again! Again!!!"
Instead of panicking, Zhao Xuan's face was filled with excitement, ecstasy, exhilaration, and madness.
The battle-hungry instincts within him were completely unleashed.
A torrential fighting intent swept through his entire body.
Laughing wildly, he charged at Ruan Zhe again.
"Perfect."
Ruan Zhe wasn't intimidated in the slightest.
As he looked at Zhao Xuan's half-dragon form, a bright gleam lit up his eyes—
A gleam called greed.
"There was a road to heaven you refused to take, yet you barged into hell yourself," Ruan Zhe muttered. "Zhao Xuan, you brought this upon yourself."
Boom!!!
Zhao Xuan's fist smashed down.
Ruan Zhe met it head-on.
Boom!
Both were forced back again.
The next instant—
They charged at each other simultaneously.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two were locked in a fierce melee.
The explosive collisions shook the air.
Ruan Zhe was truly powerful.
Without using any Devil Fruit ability, relying solely on physical techniques, he could evenly match Zhao Xuan in Dragon-Man form.
Among the Six Styles, three of his techniques—Shave, Rankyaku, and Iron Body—had reached Grandmaster level.
Not only that—
He had developed derivative techniques from all three and even combined them into powerful combo skills.
For example, combining Rankyaku with Shave allowed him to unleash rapid-fire kicks like the Foshan Shadowless Kick.
Combining Rankyaku with Iron Body created attacks that possessed both overwhelming hardness and cutting power.
On top of that—
Ruan Zhe's combat experience was extraordinarily rich.
It was as if he had grown up fighting.
His experience was far beyond that of an ordinary eighteen-year-old—more like a seasoned twenty-eight-year-old veteran.
Under his refined techniques and vast experience, Zhao Xuan was forced into a steady retreat.
He was struck repeatedly and even sent flying several times.
Within minutes, Zhao Xuan's body was already covered in wounds.
But—
Zhao Xuan was like a fearless honey badger.
Every time he was knocked away, he sprang back up immediately and charged again.
And yet—
He wasn't just recklessly charging.
He was like a leech, greedily absorbing Ruan Zhe's combat experience, learning and evolving through battle.
Again.
Again.
Again.
With each blow that sent him flying, Zhao Xuan's combat understanding surged.
Gradually—
He learned many advanced ways to apply the Six Styles.
BOOM!!!
Zhao Xuan threw a punch.
His fist was wrapped in dense Armament Haki and roaring lightning.
At first glance, it looked no different from his previous punches—
But it wasn't.
If one looked closely—
A faint golden glow shimmered within the blackened fist.
What did this mean?
It meant—
Zhao Xuan's mastery of Iron Body had reached an entirely new level.
Iron Body was no longer just a defensive technique.
He had developed its derivative form.
BOOM!!!
The two fists collided violently once more.
Tap—tap—tap—tap!
This time—
The situation reversed.
Zhao Xuan took a single step back.
Ruan Zhe staggered three to four steps before stopping.
"How is this possible?! How is this possible?!"
Ruan Zhe roared in disbelief.
Boom!!!
He charged again.
Another punch.
And again—
He was forced back.
"How is this possible?!"
Ruan Zhe stared at Zhao Xuan with bloodshot eyes.
"Just three days ago, your Iron Body was only at Master level—raw and crude! But in three days, you not only reached Grandmaster level, you even developed a derivative ability?! Why?! Why?!"
"Why?" Zhao Xuan sneered.
"Because—I'm a genius. A true genius."
The next instant, he was already in front of Ruan Zhe.
Boom!!!
Punch after punch rained down.
With Zhao Xuan's breakthrough, his strength surged dramatically.
Ruan Zhe was pushed back continuously.
In a flash—
After more than ten blows—
BOOM!!!
Zhao Xuan's fist smashed heavily into Ruan Zhe's chest.
"Urgh—!"
Ruan Zhe screamed and was sent flying, crashing into the ground more than ten meters away.
Zhao Xuan wasn't the kind of idiotic villain who gave enemies time to recover.
Beating someone while they were down was his specialty.
Tap!
The moment Ruan Zhe landed, Zhao Xuan used Shave and appeared in front of him.
BOOM!!!
Another punch.
Ruan Zhe was sent flying again.
Zhao Xuan chased relentlessly.
BOOM!!!
Another punch.
Again and again—
Ruan Zhe was battered like a volleyball, smashed repeatedly into the ground.
In moments, his body was riddled with torn wounds.
Blood streamed from his mouth.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
He finally realized—
If this continued, there was only one outcome: death.
BOOM!!!
As he desperately searched for a way out, Zhao Xuan's fist struck him yet again.
"PUFF!!!"
This time, he couldn't hold on.
Blood sprayed as his body flew backward and slammed into the sand.
Dust billowed.
In that instant—
He pulled out a glowing blue sphere.
A powerful spatial aura erupted.
Rustle—
Zhao Xuan stopped instantly and looked ahead.
A door of air appeared before Ruan Zhe.
Ruan Zhe, battered and frantic, dragged himself toward it.
"A portable spatial gate made by a Door-Door Fruit user?" Zhao Xuan muttered.
Before he could react, Ruan Zhe vanished into the gate.
The door trembled violently.
"Letting you escape like this would be embarrassing."
Without hesitation, Zhao Xuan charged forward—
And slammed headfirst into the collapsing gate.
Chaotic energy surged.
When his vision cleared—
He found himself on a lush, isolated island.
Before he could react—
Ruan Zhe's panicked voice rang out:
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Where is this?! I clearly set the coordinates to Sky Star Island! How did this happen?!"
"Sky Star Island?" Zhao Xuan frowned.
On the beach several dozen meters away, Ruan Zhe struggled to his feet.
Their eyes met.
Ruan Zhe froze.
Then his face turned deathly pale.
"It's you! You lunatic! Each spatial gate only allows one person! Two people cause spatial chaos!"
Realization struck him.
His face went completely white.
Whoosh!
He turned and ran without hesitation.
"Run?" Zhao Xuan scoffed.
In seconds, he caught up.
BOOM!!!
A punch smashed into Ruan Zhe's back.
"PUFF!!!"
Ruan Zhe crashed face-first into the sand.
Zhao Xuan walked forward, step by step.
He stomped on Ruan Zhe's back and asked coldly:
"Where is this place? And what is Sky Star Island?"
Ruan Zhe only coughed violently, blood spilling.
BOOM!!!
Zhao Xuan stomped down on his left leg.
"AAAHHH!!!"
"Answer me."
"Cough… cough… Zhao Xuan… you'll get nothing from me…"
His voice weakened rapidly.
Moments later—
His aura vanished completely.
He was dead.
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