Within the endless desert ruins—
"ROARRRR!!!"
The furious bellow of the stone giant thundered across the wasteland.
The moment it saw Zhao Xuan return, the colossal Desert Statue raised its enormous stone arms high into the air, bringing them crashing down with overwhelming might.
Boom!
Boom!
The massive arms slammed into the sand, shaking the very ground.
Sand and dust erupted skyward in a golden storm.
"Hiss—"
Seeing the two massive craters left in the ground, Zhao Xuan couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.
He'd once entertained the idea that after his recent surge in strength, he might be able to take on a Tier-4 giant even without using his Azure Dragon Fruit abilities.
Now, that ridiculous thought was instantly thrown out the window.
Swoosh!
In a blur, Zhao Xuan flashed forward—appearing right before the towering Desert Statue.
And the instant he struck—
He went all out.
Armament Haki!
Azure Dragon Fruit!
Tempest Kick!
All three abilities burst forth at once.
BOOM!
His sweeping kick tore through the air with terrifying speed and force—so fast the atmosphere itself wailed in protest.
The blast of air hit like thunder, and his strike smashed straight into the chest of the Tier-4 Desert Statue—famed for its near-impenetrable defense.
BOOM!
Sand exploded outward in a violent shockwave.
When the dust settled, a deep fist-sized dent was visible in the statue's chest.
—He'd broken through its defense with a single blow!
"Hahahahahahahahaha!"
Zhao Xuan threw his head back and laughed wildly.
What did this mean?
It meant that he now truly possessed the power to wound a Tier-4 being head-on—without relying on countless precise hits or slow attrition to wear it down.
Boom!
The giant's massive arm swept down at him again.
Zhao Xuan sidestepped effortlessly, dodging the attack and countering with another fierce Tempest Kick.
Once!
Twice!
Again!
And again!
In the blink of an eye—
The Tier-4 Desert Statue's body was covered in fist-sized cracks and fractures.
"It's over!"
Dodging one final swing, Zhao Xuan spun and unleashed a devastating kick.
Crash!
A new fissure appeared—connecting with dozens of the smaller cracks across the statue's body.
Creak, crack, craaack!
Tiny fractures began to spread rapidly, widening with each passing second—
Until they were as thick as a finger.
Then, as thick as a wrist.
And finally—
BOOM!!!
The giant collapsed with an earth-shaking crash.
Ding! You've completed a cross-tier battle and won effortlessly.
Insight gained in Shave, Moon Step, Tempest Kick, Armament Haki, and Azure Dragon Fruit ability!
Proficiency +15!
"Only fifteen points?"
Zhao Xuan frowned, a hint of dissatisfaction flashing across his face.
He glanced down at his wristwatch and muttered, "Sure, the fight only lasted twelve minutes, but it was a cross-tier battle. Only fifteen points? Isn't that stingy? Hey, System, I'm talking to you!"
The system, as always, remained silent.
"Sigh, fine, fine—fifteen it is."
Zhao Xuan shook his head and turned his gaze toward the fallen giant's body.
"Now then… time to collect my spoils!"
Defeating the Tier-4 Desert Statue had taken him just twelve minutes.
But—
Dragging its massive corpse more than a hundred meters back to his little shelter took over half an hour.
The reason was simple—
The thing was absurdly heavy.
Not just a few tons heavy—this monster weighed at least twenty tons, by Zhao Xuan's rough estimate.
When he finally finished hauling it back, he downed a pouch of concentrated energy fluid, then set off once more.
After all, this ruin was enormous.
If he'd found one Tier-4 Desert Statue, there had to be more.
And to Zhao Xuan—
Every single Tier-4 Desert Statue was a walking bundle of experience and money!
One was worth three million credits, plus seventy-five total proficiency points.
That was way faster than doing bounty missions for the Ability Users' Guild!
And that three million was just from the Land King Crystal—not even counting the value of all the Cactus Spirit Herbs he collected along the way!
Sure enough—
As Zhao Xuan ventured deeper into the desert, he discovered several more Tier-4 Desert Statues.
"Whew…"
Standing atop the head of a newly-felled giant, Zhao Xuan looked out across the endless sands, his face flushed with excitement.
"Looks like I'll be staying here until the Provincial Exam starts," he murmured with a grin.
Muttering to himself, he took another long gulp from a pouch of concentrated energy fluid.
"But before I hole up here to wipe out the rest of the giants, I'd better make a supply run. The ten bags of energy fluid I bought yesterday are already down to two!"
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