While Zhao Xuan had transformed into a hyena and was relentlessly attacking the Desert Statue inside the ruins—
At the same time, in the Wutong Mountain Range—
At the entrance of the Lesser Mystic Bird RuinsDesert Statue
—
A figure emerged.
Lian Jie stepped out from within the ruins, ready to give a few instructions to his guild members.
Suddenly—
His gaze caught on something out of the corner of his eye.
His eyes flickered, and a sigh quietly escaped his lips.
"Young people… truly terrifying. Looks like I'm getting old," he murmured softly.
About a dozen meters away, the very spot where he had blocked Zhao Xuan's full-strength kick that morning—
The ground there was sunken ever so slightly lower than the surrounding area.
"President, what's wrong?" one of the guild staff asked curiously.
"It's nothing…"
Lian Jie shook his head and went on calmly discussing the subsequent development plans for the ruins.
Back inside the Desert Statue Ruins—
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The violent sounds of impact and tremor still echoed throughout the entire trial space.
Zhao Xuan had already lost count of how many times he'd killed this Tier-4 Desert Statue.
Fifty times?
Seventy?
A hundred?
Maybe even more.
At this point, his mind held no other thought—no strategy, no plan.
Only one burning obsession remained: kill the statue before him.
Through countless collisions, the crack on the Desert Statue's left leg grew wider and deeper.
No one knew how much time had passed.
Even the five pouches of concentrated energy fluid Zhao Xuan had exchanged for at the Ability Users' Guild before coming here were completely drained.
Finally—
BOOM!!!
A powerful Tempest Kick slammed right into the gaping wound on the Desert Statue's left leg.
It was the final straw that broke the camel's back.
Crackkkk!
The sharp sound of fracturing stone rang out.
A fissure appeared on the statue's leg—
Growing rapidly, spreading, crawling up like a web of cracks.
In the next moment—
The entire left leg shattered.
RUMBLE!
Losing balance, the Desert Statue toppled heavily to the ground.
"Hahahahahahahaha!!!"
Zhao Xuan burst into wild laughter.
"Again! Again! Again!"
His face twisted into a feral grin as he roared and charged at the fallen statue.
This time—
With one leg gone, the statue could barely lift itself. Zhao Xuan shifted his assault from its legs to its head.
Strike after strike after strike—relentless, furious, savage!
The Desert Statue, far slower than Zhao Xuan, had no chance to resist.
"ROAR! ROAR! ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
It could do nothing but hammer the ground in blind, impotent rage.
Time slipped away quietly—
Five minutes.
Ten minutes.
Fifteen minutes.
Twenty minutes.
One thing had to be said: this Tier-4 Desert Statue's head was ridiculously tough.
It took Zhao Xuan nearly twenty minutes of all-out attacks before he finally cracked open its skull.
By then, he was utterly exhausted—his body barely holding together after the prolonged high-intensity combat.
Huff… huff… huff… huff…
Almost at the exact moment the Desert Statue's life force faded, Zhao Xuan staggered backward four or five steps before collapsing onto the ground.
His face was pale, sweat pouring down in rivers as he gasped desperately for breath.
And then—
He tilted his head back, grinned wide, and burst into unrestrained, triumphant laughter.
"Hahahahahahahahaha!!"
"I did it! I won! I won!"
"Who said a third-tier can never defeat a Tier-4!?"
"Who said a Tier-4 can easily crush a pack of thirds!?"
Zhao Xuan's wild, unbridled laughter echoed again and again throughout the entire trial space.
Even he didn't realize it—
But at that very moment, a seed of invincibility had quietly taken root in his heart.
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