"Zhao Xuan, guess what kind of Devil Fruit I got from the Demon Space?"
Li Jiangchang's face gleamed red with pride as he spoke, excitement practically radiating from him.
It was obvious — he was here to show off.
Before Zhao Xuan could even respond, Li Jiangchang couldn't help but add,
"It's the Logia-type Snow-Snow Fruit!"
His expression was full of nothing but arrogance and self-satisfaction.
"Oh."
Zhao Xuan replied faintly, his tone indifferent, his face calm.
That calm, uninterested reaction immediately made Li Jiangchang's smile vanish.
He was completely infuriated by Zhao Xuan's detached attitude.
In his mind, Zhao Xuan should be like he once was — filled with envy and awe when he learned Zhao Xuan's spiritual power had reached thirty-seven points.
Zhao Xuan should be surrounding him with compliments, just like the other students, flattering him endlessly!
Instead—he simply stood there, calm as ever.
"Zhao Xuan, what's with that attitude!?"
"Yeah!"
"Li Jiangchang got a Logia Fruit—don't you even have the decency to congratulate him?"
Seeing Li Jiangchang's sour expression, a few classmates who usually weren't close to Zhao Xuan quickly joined in, trying to earn Li Jiangchang's favor.
Zhao Xuan gave them a sidelong glance, then said flatly,
"Congratulations, Li Jiangchang."
His voice was calm—too calm.
He's pretending!
He's totally pretending not to care!
He must be dying inside, regretting everything!
He's just jealous of me!
Li Jiangchang tried to convince himself of this, but the more he looked at Zhao Xuan's serene expression, the more irritated he became.
"Zhao Xuan," he suddenly said, "you remember our little agreement, don't you?"
Zhao Xuan's brows furrowed slightly.
He looked at Li Jiangchang for a moment, then replied,
"I remember. Don't tell me you want to fight right now?"
"What? Are you scared?" Li Jiangchang sneered.
Zhao Xuan shook his head.
"You sure you want to do this now? Not take a little time to get used to your Snow-Snow Fruit first?"
"No need," Li Jiangchang replied arrogantly. "It's more than enough to deal with you."
He had every reason to be confident.
Li Jiangchang's grades ranked near the top of both the class and the entire grade.
Now, by pure luck, he had obtained one of the most powerful abilities in existence—a Logia Fruit.
How could he not feel superior?
"Since you're so confident," Zhao Xuan said calmly, "then let's begin."
"Good! Let's head to the dueling arena!" Li Jiangchang said eagerly.
"No need," Zhao Xuan shook his head. "Right here is fine. It won't take long anyway—going there would just waste time."
"Fine by me."
Li Jiangchang nodded.
Soon enough, the news spread through the training hall like wildfire.
Two ability users—Zhao Xuan and Li Jiangchang—were about to fight.
Within minutes, a crowd gathered, forming a wide ring around them, leaving a large open space at the center.
Under countless eager gazes, the duel officially began.
"Zhao Xuan," Li Jiangchang smirked, "don't disappoint me now."
Tap! Tap!
He stomped on the ground several times in quick succession.
The rebound force launched him forward like a cannonball, charging straight toward Zhao Xuan.
But Zhao Xuan remained calm, eyes steady.
He released all tension from his body, becoming light as air, gliding effortlessly aside as Li Jiangchang's punch swept past him.
At the same time—
Whoosh!
Zhao Xuan countered with a sharp horizontal kick.
"Iron Body!"
Li Jiangchang's muscles instantly tightened, his body hardening like steel as he took the blow head-on.
But under the might of Zhao Xuan's over-100 physique, the strike was far beyond what Li Jiangchang could withstand.
"Ugh!!"
A muffled groan escaped his lips as his body was sent flying backward.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
He crashed to the ground, skidding back seven or eight steps before barely regaining balance.
A deep, dark footprint was imprinted across his chest.
"Hiss…"
Gasps echoed from the surrounding crowd.
"No way—Li Jiangchang's losing!?"
"Seriously?!"
"When did Zhao Xuan get so strong!?"
"He's not strong—it's just the Zoan Fruit effect! Animal-type fruits boost physical power the most early on!"
"Then does that mean Li Jiangchang's actually going to lose?"
"Impossible! He's a Logia user—he can just elementalize! Zhao Xuan's attacks will be useless!"
As the students whispered in excitement, Li Jiangchang's expression grew darker and darker.
He glanced down at the black mark on his chest, his face twisting in anger.
"Zhao Xuan, you short-sighted fool… I'll show you what a true Logia Fruit can do!"
He charged again, fury in his eyes.
Zhao Xuan dodged smoothly using Paper Art, then pivoted and delivered another sweeping kick.
But this time—
A mysterious fluctuation surged through Li Jiangchang's body.
In the next instant—
His body elementalized, transforming into swirling snow.
Zhao Xuan's leg swept through him harmlessly.
"Elementalization, huh?"
A faint gleam flickered in Zhao Xuan's eyes.
He struck again—another kick, another miss.
"It's useless! Completely useless!"
Li Jiangchang laughed wildly, standing there without moving an inch.
"This is the power of a Logia Fruit! This is what true power looks like!
Zhao Xuan, no matter what you do, you'll never touch me!
A Logia user's elementalization makes them immune to all physical att—UGH!!"
Before he could even finish his sentence—
a massive force slammed into his abdomen.
The sound of impact silenced the entire room.