Ding!
You have experienced an exhilarating battle beyond your rank. Your understanding of all your abilities has reached unprecedented depths. All skill proficiencies +300!
Ding!
You have experienced an exhilarating cross-tier battle. In this fight, you repeatedly used Tempest Kick, Armament Haki, and your Azure Dragon Fruit. You have gained deeper insight into these three abilities. Tempest Kick, Armament Haki, and Azure Dragon Fruit proficiencies +200!
The moment Zhao Xuan twisted Zhao Shi's neck—
The ethereal system chime echoed in his mind.
At last, his body—tense and battered—relaxed completely.
Boom.
He collapsed into the massive crater, landing on his rear.
Moments later, Zhao Xuan withdrew from his dragon-human form.
Blood covered him from head to toe as he sat heavily against the crater wall, breathing raggedly.
"Huff… huff… huff…"
He gasped for air, chest heaving violently.
As his breathing steadied, his gaze fell upon Zhao Shi's cold corpse.
And then—
A smile crept across his lips.
It spread wider, and wider—
Until finally, Zhao Xuan threw his head back and laughed wildly.
"Hahahahahahahaha!"
It was a laugh of pure release.
A laugh filled with madness and triumph.
The sound echoed across the night sky, reverberating again and again.
Only after a long while did he finally stop.
He raised a trembling hand and opened his status panel.
[Heavenly Rewards Diligence System]
Name: Zhao Xuan
Age: 18
Spiritual Power: 23.86 / 173.98
Physique: 100.97 / 997.41
Abilities:
Shave (Master: 786 / 8000)
Tekkai (Master: 1445 / 8000)
Paper Art (Master: 365 / 8000)
Moon Step (Master: 872 / 8000)
Tempest Kick (Master: 2300 / 8000)
Finger Gun (Master: 199 / 8000)
Swordsmanship (Adept: 397 / 400)
Armament Haki (Adept: 2111 / 4000)
Azure Dragon Fruit (Adept: 1898 / 4000)
Staring at his newly strengthened stats, Zhao Xuan couldn't help but smile again.
After closing the panel, he pulled out several packs of energy fluid and drank them down in great gulps.
Once he had recovered a bit of stamina, Zhao Xuan climbed out of the crater and sprinted back toward the ruins of the hotel—
Rejoining the battle between the 757 Unit and the Cult of the Devil.
He hadn't recovered all of his strength,
But taking down Tier-4 opponents was still no problem.
His return instantly tipped the balance.
"Zhao Xuan! You're back!!"
"Thank heavens!!"
"Kill them! Kill the Cult scum!"
With one swift kick, Zhao Xuan crushed a Tier-4 Cultist—
And in that instant, the tide completely turned.
The morale of the Nanjiang officials soared,
While the Cult's morale plummeted into despair.
They had all seen Zhao Xuan's duel with Zhao Shi.
Now Zhao Xuan stood here alive—
But their Ninth Demon Son of the Cult had not returned.
That could mean only one thing.
Zhao Shi was dead.
Their Tier-5 Demon Son had fallen.
How could any of these lesser Third- and Tier-4s possibly stand against Zhao Xuan now?
Panic spread through the Cult's ranks.
In moments, they were routed.
The Nanjiang forces pressed forward relentlessly.
Soon, the cultists lay dead or fled in chaos.
Even so—
None of the officials relaxed.
Every face remained taut with tension.
Because they knew—
Their side's victory here didn't determine the war.
The true outcome rested with the three high-tier powerhouses still clashing on the eastern outskirts of Hang City.
"Don't worry, everyone."
Hearing the uneasy murmurs, Fatty Fu suddenly spoke up.
"Brother Fu, what do you mean by that?" Zhao Xuan asked, remembering his earlier suspicions about the man's background. "Could it be—you know something?"
At once, all eyes turned toward Fatty Fu.
"Heh heh… knew I couldn't hide it from you, Brother Zhao."
Facing everyone's sharp gazes, he nodded. "Old Master Jiang's strength is far greater than what he shows. Facing two Tier-7s is nothing. Even if a third appeared, he'd still have the power to fight!"
"What?!"
Everyone stared in shock.
"Old Master Jiang?"
"Yes," Fatty Fu explained, "the same Jiang who's fighting those two Tier-7 elders of the Cult in the east. He's the President of the Nanjiang Ability Users' Guild—and also the Chairman of the Hang City Guild."
"But… then why hasn't he finished them yet?" someone asked hesitantly.
Fatty Fu waved his hand. "Ah, you're wondering why he's still dragging things out, right? Well, yesterday my father and Old Master Jiang captured one of the Cult's core members. From him, they learned something shocking—there aren't three Cult Elders in Nanjiang this time… but four!"
A collective gasp swept through the group.
"That last one is a cautious bastard," Fatty Fu went on. "Utterly paranoid. He won't show himself unless he's absolutely certain of victory."
"That's why Old Master Jiang is holding back his true strength—
To lure that last one out and capture all four Elders in one sweep!"
At those words, everyone finally began to relax.
"Phew…"
"So that's the plan, huh?"
Relief rippled through the ranks—
All except Zhao Xuan.
He still frowned.
"What's wrong, Zhao Xuan?" Di Ruqing noticed his expression and asked softly.
The others turned to him as well.
Zhao Xuan hesitated, then said, "Brother Fu, are you sure it's okay to be saying all this out loud? That last Cult Elder still hasn't appeared. If he overheard your explanation, wouldn't that ruin the plan?"
The moment he said that—
Faces blanched.
Fatty Fu, however, only chuckled.
"Relax, Brother Zhao. That particular Cult Elder has a blood feud with Old Master Jiang. Ten years ago, Jiang kicked him so hard he lost his descendants forever. He's obsessed with revenge. No doubt he's lurking in the eastern suburbs right now, waiting for a chance to strike. He wouldn't be anywhere near us."
"Besides, even if he was here, do you think someone of the Seventh Tier would pay attention to a bunch of ants like us? He's probably more focused on Commander Niu's position at the East Wall."
"Commander Niu?" Zhao Xuan repeated.
"Yeah, the one leading the elite city guards against the Cult's core forces over there," Fatty Fu said with a grin.
"Ah… that explains it."
Everyone nodded in understanding.
Now that they realized the entire night raid was part of Nanjiang's grand trap—
Everyone's tension finally eased.
And only then did it hit them—
Zhao Xuan had just fought Zhao Shi, a Tier-5 Grandmaster.
And Zhao Xuan had returned alive.
Which meant—
"Wait a minute…"
A bold, almost absurd thought surfaced in everyone's minds.
Their gazes snapped toward Zhao Xuan.
"Cough, cough…" Fatty Fu cleared his throat. "So, Brother Zhao… about Zhao Shi. Where is he?"
All ears turned.
When Zhao Xuan had returned alone, they'd already guessed the truth—
But hearing it confirmed was something else entirely.
Facing their eager, trembling stares, Zhao Xuan couldn't help but feel a surge of pride.
After all—
A Tier-4 Lesser Grandmaster killing a Tier-5 Grandmaster…
That was almost unthinkable.
Suppressing his urge to boast, he cast a casual glance toward the crater where Zhao Shi's body lay and said, flatly:
"He's dead."
Silence.
Then—
An uproar.
"He—he's dead!?"
"Zhao Xuan, you're saying you killed him?"
"By yourself?!"
Zhao Xuan shook his head lightly and looked toward Di Ruqing beside him.
"If it weren't for Ruqing," he said gently, "I wouldn't have had time to break through. She bought me that window—I only finished him off."
Everyone fell quiet again.
Strictly speaking, Zhao Xuan wasn't wrong.
Without Di Ruqing holding Zhao Shi's attention, Zhao Xuan might never have completed his breakthrough.
Still—
They had all witnessed that fight.
Aside from a single lucky hit early on, Di Ruqing hadn't truly injured Zhao Shi.
Meaning—
The Zhao Shi that Zhao Xuan fought was nearly at full strength.
That realization made their silence even heavier.
And then—
From the eastern outskirts of Hang City came a peal of maniacal laughter.
"Jiehahaha! Old Ghost Jiang! Today is the day you die!"
A thunderous boom followed.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Zhao Xuan's eyes snapped toward the east—
Just in time to see a colossal pillar of violet-white lightning tear down from the heavens!
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
A scream of agony echoed beneath the storm.
"Damn you, Old Ghost Jiang! You—you're already at the Eighth Tier!?"
"Impossible! A trap—it's a trap! Damn it! This is all a trap!!!"
Another thunderclap roared.
"Jiang! If you kill me, you'll never find your precious son's remains—"
BOOOOOOM!
Lightning struck again.
And again.
And again.
Screams.
Thunder.
The sky itself trembled.
Zhao Xuan and the others exchanged looks.
"So… the last Cult Elder finally took the bait."
"Eighth Tier! Chairman Jiang is an Eighth-Tier King-level powerhouse!"
"Looks like this whole affair is about to end."
They were still whispering when—
A blinding bolt of lightning split the sky.
CRACK!
A charred figure was flung from the heavens, crashing into the ground barely fifty meters away.
BOOOOM!
The earth split, leaving a smoking crater.
Moments later, a blackened hand gripped the edge of the pit.
Under the wide-eyed stares of all present,
a burned, unrecognizable man dragged himself out—
stumbling, gasping, utterly broken.
"Huff… huff…"
He lifted his head—and when his scorched eyes fell upon Fatty Fu, they suddenly gleamed.
"Jie… jie… jie… Heaven truly leaves a path for me!"
His rasping laughter sent chills down everyone's spine.
Then he lunged forward, staggering but fast.
A Tier-4 city guard stepped up to block him—
And was instantly swatted aside like an insect.
Not even the faintest resistance.
Every pupil contracted in horror.
That strength—
Could it be—
One of the Three Elders of the Cult?!
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