"BOOM!!!"
Caught completely off guard, the burly man had no time to dodge.
In that desperate instant, he could only force his Tekkai and Armament Haki into defensive mode.
The next moment—
That slicing Rankyaku strike slammed mercilessly into his chest.
"Gahhh!!!"
A terrifying surge of power tore through his body. The man was sent flying backward, tracing an arc through the air before crashing heavily into a flowerbed dozens of meters away.
Crash!
The flowerbed shattered into pieces.
The immense impact gouged out a sizable crater beneath him.
And at that very moment—
Zhao Xuan, who had rushed over from Tongcheng First High, appeared right before the curled-up Di Ruqing.
"Are you alright?"
As he spoke, Zhao Xuan deftly pulled out two pouches of energy fluid. He downed one himself, replenishing the stamina he'd burned through while sprinting at full speed. Then he tore open the second pouch and held it to Di Ruqing's lips.
With the help of the energy fluid, Di Ruqing's weak breathing gradually began to steady and strengthen.
Just as things seemed to be turning for the better—
"You little brat—are you looking for death!?"
A roar of rage erupted behind Zhao Xuan.
Then—
Whoosh!
A violent gust of wind blasted toward him from behind.
In his partial dragonized state, with his current physique and speed, Zhao Xuan could have easily dodged the enraged punch of the Tier-4 Cultist.
But he knew—
If he evaded now, there was no doubt that this punch, carrying nearly ninety percent of its full strength, would land squarely on the wounded Di Ruqing.
And with her current condition, there was absolutely no way she could withstand a full-force blow from a Tier-4 ability user.
Even in her best form, she wouldn't stand a chance.
Thinking this, Zhao Xuan abandoned all thoughts of dodging.
"Perfect timing… Let's see just how tough Master-Level Tekkai and Advanced Armament Haki really are!"
The next instant—
Master-level Tekkai. Advanced-level Armament Haki.
Both burst forth simultaneously.
Zhao Xuan's back muscles tensed like coiled steel cables, hard as iron.
Moments later, his Armament Haki flowed over them, coating that steel-like flesh in a shadowy sheen.
If one were to tear open the fabric of his shirt right now, they'd see that his entire back was pitch-black.
Half a second later—
The burly man's furious punch crashed into Zhao Xuan's back.
THOOM!
Zhao Xuan felt as if he'd been struck by a speeding locomotive. His entire body lurched violently, stumbling forward from the immense impact before dropping to one knee with a thunderous boom.
Two deep craters sank into the ground beneath his knees.
"A mere Third-Tier brat dares to play the hero?!" the man sneered viciously. "Guess you don't know how to spell the word 'death!'"
Muttering, he raised his foot high—ready to stomp down on Zhao Xuan's back.
However—
At that exact moment, a terrifying aura erupted from Zhao Xuan's body.
The man froze.
Before his eyes, Zhao Xuan's figure suddenly began to grow.
Two jagged horns sprouted from the top of his head.
His clothing tore apart as deep azure scales rippled across his expanding body.
In the blink of an eye—
The human Zhao Xuan had transformed into a massive, half-human, half-dragon creature.
He now stood three to four meters tall, his body easily two or three times larger than before.
A suffocating sense of pressure radiated from him, and faint arcs of lightning crackled along his scaled form.
"An Animal-Type fruit transformation!?" the burly man muttered in disbelief.
But before he could react, he lashed out again, swinging his leg in another kick.
Yet—
The next instant, something utterly unimaginable happened.
The dragon-man Zhao Xuan suddenly straightened, turned, and reached out—
Moving faster than lightning.
In one motion, he caught the man's kicking leg in his clawed hand.
"Wh-what!? Impossible!!"
The man's face twisted in shock. Looking up at Zhao Xuan's ferocious dragon visage, a wave of primal dread swept through him.
He struggled violently, trying to wrench his leg free.
But Zhao Xuan's grip barely trembled.
"The strength of a Tier-4 ability user… is nothing special!"
As the words fell—
BOOM!!!
Zhao Xuan swung the man up into the air—then slammed him down.
Again. And again. And again!
Just like the Hulk smashing a car in The Avengers, Zhao Xuan pounded him into the ground over and over, shaking the earth with each blow.
Within moments, the ground beneath them had caved in, forming a massive crater.
Finally—
Zhao Xuan lifted the man by his left leg high above his head.
"ROAAAAAR!!!"
He bellowed, then brought him down with a thunderous crash.
BOOOOM!!!
The entire ground trembled.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
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