A surge!
Without a doubt, Zhao Xuan's strength had skyrocketed compared to just seven days ago.
In a mere week—
his physique had increased by nearly seventy points.
The four core techniques—Shave, Iron Body, Moonwalk, and Tempest Kick—had all advanced to the Master level.
But most crucial of all—
Zhao Xuan's Armament Haki had broken through to the next tier.
Even his Azure Dragon Fruit ability was only a little over a hundred proficiency points away from leveling up again.
Originally, Zhao Xuan had planned to push the Azure Dragon Fruit to the Proficient tier before leaving seclusion.
Unfortunately—
aside from the Spirit Cactus, he was running out of cultivation resources.
That's right.
The nearly twenty million credits' worth of resources Zhao Xuan had purchased seven days ago—
were now completely gone.
All that remained was the last pouch of Energy Fluid in his hand.
Everything else had been consumed—
down his stomach.
The reason behind Zhao Xuan's explosive growth wasn't hard to guess.
There were two main factors.
First: his sheer, relentless hard work.
Second: he was willing to spend—and spend big.
According to Fu Jieyan, spirit herbs that could enhance the growth of Armament Haki usually sold for around eight million for half a jin.
That meant one full jin cost sixteen million.
A single Spirit Cactus, including its skin and spines, weighed roughly one jin.
In these past seven days—
Zhao Xuan had eaten no fewer than fifty whole Spirit Cacti.
One cactus—16 million.
Fifty cacti—
That was eight hundred million.
Eight hundred million's worth of cultivation resources devoured in just one week.
Even a pig would grow stronger after eating that much!
Let alone Zhao Xuan—a hardworking, gifted young cultivator with monstrous talent.
——
After resting for several minutes, Zhao Xuan finally regained some strength with the help of the Energy Fluid.
BOOM!
With practiced precision, he dug the Land King Crystal out from the colossus's shattered head, then turned back toward his base, dragging his weary body through the sand.
As he walked, Zhao Xuan absentmindedly chewed on another Spirit Cactus.
A herb worth tens of millions—
in Zhao Xuan's hands, it was treated no differently than a cheap radish bought at a wet market.
Back at his base, Zhao Xuan casually tossed the newly obtained Land King Crystal onto a large pile of similar crystals stacked in the corner of his room.
Then he climbed onto his bed and collapsed.
Physical fatigue could be restored quickly with Energy Fluid—
but mental exhaustion couldn't.
Even if he took plenty of Spirit Fruits of Tranquility, recovery was slow.
The only real cure was sleep.
When he woke again, it was already the next morning.
"Almost time to head out. Tomorrow's the day the college entrance exam results come out!"
Stretching lazily, Zhao Xuan grabbed a large sack and dumped all the Tier 4 Land King Crystals into it.
Then he opened the relic gate and stepped out from the desert ruins where he had trained for seven straight days.
"Finally back!"
He breathed in the moist, fresh air with a look of nostalgia on his face.
"First stop—the Ability Users' Guild. Let's cash all this in!"
He set off immediately, heading straight for the Guild.
When he arrived, he tossed the massive sack of Land King Crystals in front of Xiao Liu, the clerk behind the counter.
Xiao Liu opened the bag—
and froze.
He stared blankly for several long seconds before finally stammering out,
"Z-Z-Z-Zhao… M-Mr. Zhao, p-p-please w-w-wait here… I-I-I'll… go get the Guildmaster… I'll h-have him personally handle this for you…"
The sheer volume of crystals had stunned him speechless.
"Go ahead," Zhao Xuan said with a grin, waving him off.
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Xiao Liu stumbled over his words again, then turned and sprinted off.
Moments later—
Tatatatatatata—!
A flurry of hurried footsteps echoed down the hall as Lian Jie, the Guildmaster of Tongcheng's Ability Users' Guild, arrived with Xiao Liu at his side.
The moment his eyes landed on Zhao Xuan, Lian Jie froze in place.
His expression changed instantly.
Because—
he could faintly feel something terrifying.
A trace of pressure, a threat, coming from Zhao Xuan—
a mere Tier 3 ability user.
What did that mean?
What could that possibly mean!?
Lian Jie didn't dare dwell on it.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward and greeted him respectfully.
"Zhao Xuan, my friend!"
After a polite nod, he continued,
"I heard from Xiao Liu that you've brought in a batch of Land King Crystals for sale?"
"That's right, Guildmaster Lian. Here."
Zhao Xuan nodded and handed him the massive sack.
Lian Jie looked at the bulging bag, his heartbeat quickening.
An absurd, almost impossible thought began to form in his mind.
Could this entire bag… really be filled with Land King Crystals?
He swallowed hard and carefully opened the sack.
One glance inside—
and his pupils constricted.
"Hissss…!"
He drew in a sharp breath of cold air.
"Zhao Xuan… my friend… what on earth have you been doing these past seven days!?"
Lian Jie stared in disbelief.
"Don't tell me… you've been fighting Tier 4 Land Kings every single day!?"
"Heh—hehehe."
Zhao Xuan didn't deny it; he simply scratched his head and gave an awkward laugh.
"Hissss…!"
Lian Jie sucked in another sharp breath, utterly stunned.
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