Time flowed quietly.
While Zhao Xuan was deep in cultivation, he suddenly sensed something unusual.
He stopped his training and opened his eyes.
"Ding! You've spent some time developing your Azure Dragon Fruit ability.
Proficiency +5!"
At the system's chime, Zhao Xuan looked up—
and was greeted by a face red as a monkey's backside.
It was none other than our so-called "lucky genius," Li Jiangchang.
"Zhao Xuan, guess what kind of Fruit ability I got from the Demon Space?"
Li Jiangchang asked, his face glowing with excitement.
Clearly, he was here to brag.
Before Zhao Xuan could respond, Li Jiangchang proudly continued,
"It's a Logia-type—Snow-Snow Fruit! Pretty amazing, right?"
His expression was nothing short of smugness incarnate.
"Oh."
That was all Zhao Xuan said, flatly and without emotion.
His complete indifference instantly ignited Li Jiangchang's temper.
How dare Zhao Xuan stay calm?
In Li Jiangchang's mind, Zhao Xuan should be reacting the same way he had when he first learned Zhao Xuan's Spiritual Power was thirty-seven—
with jealousy, envy, awe.
He should be flattering him like the other classmates were!
"Zhao Xuan, what kind of attitude is that!?"
"Yeah!"
"Li Jiangchang was lucky enough to get a Logia-Type Devil Fruit! You're not even going to congratulate him?"
Noticing Li Jiangchang's darkening expression, a few classmates who were on neutral terms with Zhao Xuan quickly spoke up, hoping to curry favor.
"Congratulations, Li Jiangchang."
Zhao Xuan replied faintly, as calm as ever.
He's pretending!
He's definitely pretending!
He must be dying of regret inside!
He's just jealous!
Li Jiangchang repeated those words to himself, but the more he looked at Zhao Xuan's tranquil expression, the more it infuriated him.
"Zhao Xuan, you still remember our agreement, right?"
he suddenly asked.
Zhao Xuan frowned slightly, sizing him up.
"I remember. Don't tell me… you want to fight right now?"
"What? Are you scared?" Li Jiangchang sneered.
Zhao Xuan shook his head.
"Are you sure about that? You don't want to take a little time to get used to your new Snow-Snow Fruit powers first?"
"No need. You're not worth the wait!" Li Jiangchang declared proudly.
He had every reason to be confident.
His academic ranking was among the top in the class—
even the entire year.
Now, with the most powerful of the three Fruit types—the Logia-type—
His arrogance knew no bounds.
"In that case, let's do it," Zhao Xuan said calmly.
"Good! Let's head to the Duel Arena!" Li Jiangchang said impatiently.
"No need," Zhao Xuan shook his head. "Right here's fine. It won't take long anyway. Going all the way to the arena would just waste time."
"That works too."
Li Jiangchang nodded.
Soon, word spread—
Zhao Xuan and Li Jiangchang, two Devil Fruit users, were about to fight!
Students flooded into the training hall to watch.
They quickly cleared a wide space in the center,
leaving room for the duel to begin.
Under the crowd's eager gaze, the battle officially started.
"Zhao Xuan, I hope you won't disappoint me!" Li Jiangchang said, and—
Tap! Tap!
He stomped the floor several times, building momentum.
Then, using the rebound force, he shot toward Zhao Xuan like a cannonball.
Zhao Xuan remained utterly calm.
His body loosened,
and with fluid motion, as light as paper,
He effortlessly dodged Li Jiangchang's heavy punch.
At the same time—
he countered with a sharp side kick.
"Iron Body!"
Li Jiangchang's muscles tensed up, turning as hard as steel,
forcing himself to take Zhao Xuan's strike head-on.
But—
With over a hundred points in Physique backing him,
Zhao Xuan's power had already far surpassed Li Jiangchang's limits.
"Ugh!!"
With a muffled grunt, Li Jiangchang was sent flying!
Thud, thud, thud!
He staggered back seven or eight steps before barely managing to stop.
On his chest—
a deep, distinct footprint was clearly visible.
"Hiss—"
"No way… Li Jiangchang's losing?"
"Holy crap, seriously!?"
"When did Zhao Xuan get so strong?"
"It's not him—it's the Animal-Type Fruit effect! Among the three Fruit types, the Animal-Type shows the most immediate boost in the early stages. It directly enhances the user's physique!"
"Then… could Li Jiangchang actually lose?"
"Impossible! He's a Logia user! All he has to do is turned into an element, and Zhao Xuan's attacks will be useless!"
"Yeah, no way he loses!"
"..."
Listening to the chatter around him and looking down at the dark footprint on his chest, Li Jiangchang's face turned gloomy.
"Zhao Xuan, you short-sighted fool! I'll show you what a Logia-Type Devil Fruit really is!"
With a snarl, he charged again.
Zhao Xuan sidestepped effortlessly using Paper Art,
then swung another kick toward him.
But suddenly—
A strange energy wave rippled from Li Jiangchang's body.
The next instant—
his form began to dissolve.
His entire body turned into whirling snowflakes!
Zhao Xuan's kick passed clean through him—hitting nothing but air.
"So, elementalization, huh?" Zhao Xuan's eyes flashed.
He kicked again.
"Useless! Totally useless!" Li Jiangchang stood proudly, making no effort to dodge.
"This is the power of a Logia Fruit! The power of elementalization! Zhao Xuan, even if you wear yourself out, you can't hurt me at all! Because with elementalization, I'm immune to all physical att—"
Bam!
Before he could finish, a dull impact sounded from his abdomen.
Li Jiangchang's eyes went wide.
"Wh—what!? Impossible!!!"
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