Not long after Zhao Xuan left—
Swish! Swish!
Two figures leapt over the high walls of Fengming High School and landed inside the campus.
Seeing his daughter Di Ruqing standing dazed in the middle of the school plaza, Di Wenbin immediately rushed over.
"Qing'er! I heard there were Cultists from the Demon Sect who broke into the school! Weren't you saying one of them was a Tier-4 Cultist? Where is he?"
"He's… he's dead…"
Di Ruqing's voice trembled as she stammered the words out, her eyes still vacant.
"Dead?"
"Dead!?"
Both Di Wenbin and Lian Jie were stunned.
"Qing'er, who's dead? What happened? Tell us exactly what happened?"
Di Wenbin's face was full of anxiety as he gripped his daughter's shoulders.
"Zhao… Zhao Xuan… he's dead… he… died… the Tier-4 Demon Cultist…"
Still not fully recovered from the shock, Di Ruqing muttered incoherently to herself.
At that, Lian Jie's expression instantly changed.
"Ruqing, my niece, what exactly happened? How is this related to Zhao Xuan now? And what's going on with that Demon Sect lunatic?"
He pressed urgently.
"Qing'er? Qing'er! Qing'er!!"
Seeing his daughter still trapped in that same dazed, empty state, Di Wenbin couldn't hold back anymore. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her gently, calling her name over and over.
That finally snapped Di Ruqing back to reality.
"Ah? Ah! F-Father? Uncle Lian? When… when did you get back?"
She blinked, still a little disoriented.
"Qing'er, what happened?" Di Wenbin asked quickly. "That Tier-4 Demon Cultist—where is he? And just now, you said Zhao Xuan was dead—what did you mean by that?"
"No, no, no!" Di Ruqing shook her head rapidly. "It's not Zhao Xuan who died—I mean the Tier-4 Cultist. He was killed by Zhao Xuan!"
The moment those words fell—
Both Di Wenbin and Lian Jie gasped in shock.
"What!?"
"What did you just say!?"
Their eyes went wide in utter disbelief.
"Ruqing, my niece," Lian Jie asked, inhaling sharply, "you're saying Zhao Xuan killed that Tier-4 Demon Cultist?"
"Yes, Uncle Lian," Di Ruqing confirmed with a nod.
"T-This… how is that possible!?"
Lian Jie's voice faltered, his face full of disbelief. "Those Demon Cultists are all ruthless, desperate maniacs! Even though that kid Zhao Xuan can handle Tier-4 Desert Statues with ease, a statue and a human ability user are not the same thing! The gap between a Third Tier and a Fourth Tier isn't something that can be crossed easily…"
He trailed off mid-sentence. Suddenly, his eyes widened.
"Wait a second…!"
He turned to Di Ruqing, his voice trembling. "Could it be—Zhao Xuan broke through to the Fourth Tier!?"
"No, Uncle Lian," Di Ruqing quickly denied. "He's still a Third-Tier ability user, I'm sure of it. But he completely overwhelmed that Tier-4 Cultist before killing him."
"But… a Third-Tier beating a Tier-4, that's impossible…"
Before he could finish, Di Ruqing interrupted softly: "If you don't believe me, Uncle Lian, you can go look for yourself. The Cultist's corpse is lying in the crater outside."
"Old Di, stay here with Qing'er. I'll go check the body."
"Alright, go."
Lian Jie quickly left.
A short while later, he returned.
"Well?" Di Wenbin asked immediately.
"It's indeed the body of a Tier-4 ability user," Lian Jie said grimly. "Both hands are charred—should be from Qing'er's Magma Fruit ability. The left arm is severed, and all the ribs around the chest are crushed. The organs beneath have been turned into mush from a massive impact."
He looked at Di Ruqing. "Ruqing, can you tell us exactly what happened?"
"Mm."
Di Ruqing nodded and began recounting everything in detail.
When she spoke of Zhao Xuan arriving at the last possible moment to save her, a faint, inexplicable light flashed in her eyes. A soft look of admiration and nostalgia appeared on her beautiful face.
Neither Di Wenbin nor Lian Jie noticed her expression—they were fully engrossed in her account.
When they heard how Zhao Xuan transformed into a half-dragon form, grabbing the Tier-4 Cultist and slamming him repeatedly into the ground like a rag doll, both men were stunned into silence.
And when she described Zhao Xuan's lightning-fast kick that caved in the Cultist's chest, their faces filled with pure astonishment.
When Di Ruqing finally finished her retelling, silence filled the air.
It took a long moment before Di Wenbin and Lian Jie exchanged glances—each seeing the same shock mirrored in the other's eyes.
"Incredible… truly incredible," Lian Jie sighed. "To defeat a Tier-4 while still Third-Tier… astonishing!"
"Indeed. A hero born in youth," Di Wenbin murmured with pride.
——
Meanwhile, back at Tongcheng First High—
Zhao Xuan entered the classroom under the watchful eyes of his classmates.
He'd thought the exam results would already have been posted, but due to the Demon Sect's attack, all the teachers had been too busy calming the terrified students to bother announcing them.
After some time, the homeroom teacher, Zhong Jianguo, rushed in, linked the official scoring system, and began reading the results aloud.
"Li Jiangchang—Cultural: 195, Six Forms: 506, Combat: 165. Total: 866."
"Mei Youbing—Cultural: 186, Six Forms: 470, Combat: 132. Total: 788."
"…."
One by one, he read through the names.
Finally, only Zhao Xuan remained.
"Zhao Xuan—!"
The instant his name was called, every gaze turned toward him—curious, respectful, almost reverent.
The memory of Zhao Xuan killing a Demon Cultist with a single kick was still vivid in everyone's mind.
"Zhao Xuan—Cultural: 183, Six Forms: 586, Combat: 200, plus 10 bonus points for defeating the examiner. Total score—979!"
The moment that number hit the air—
Whaaa!
The classroom exploded in noise.
"Holy—! 979!? Is that even humanly possible!?"
"If Zhao God's cultural score weren't so low, he'd break a thousand easily! The written exam was considered easy this year too!"
Excitement spread through the class. More and more, they looked at Zhao Xuan not as a peer—but as a legend.
Where once they called him simply "Zhao Xuan," now many began calling him "Zhao God."
In this world, strength was everything—and people naturally revered the strong.
Though his cultural score wasn't impressive compared to the true top students, his mastery of the Six Forms and his perfect combat score more than made up for it.
Even without the extra ten points, he was still first place in the entire Tongcheng First High.
"Not bad," Zhao Xuan thought. "With last year's provincial cutoff, this should just squeeze me into the top ten for the Provincial Exam."
He exhaled in relief.
That afternoon, after returning home, he dove into the Desert Ruins, finding several Tier-4 Desert Statues to "celebrate" his excitement with.
When they heard the news, the statues practically cracked with joy, begging Zhao Xuan to take their Land King Crystals as congratulatory gifts.
Zhao Xuan didn't know that while he was "singing and dancing" with the Desert Statues—
The story of him, a mere Third-Tier, killing a Tier-4 Demon Cultist, had already spread throughout Tong City like wildfire.
"Hiss—! A Third-Tier killing a Tier-4? Is that guy even human!?"
"No way! That's impossible! The gap between Third and Fourth is huge!"
"Must be fake. Probably that Tier-4 was already worn down fighting Di Ruqing first. Otherwise, how could a mere Animal-Type ability user cross that gap?"
The city buzzed with debate and disbelief.
To be fair, it was understandable.
The leap between Third and Fourth Tier was immense—and the Animal-Type fruit, though powerful, was considered the weakest among the three types.
——
By evening, the provincial exam list was released.
Both Zhao Xuan and Di Ruqing made it.
Di Ruqing ranked first, scoring an astounding 1009 points, nearly perfect.
Zhao Xuan ranked seventeenth.
For the Nanjiang Province, this year's Provincial Exam was a major event, drawing attention from all sides.
The next day at noon, under the escort of a mid-tier Gate Fruit ability user from the Provincial Education Bureau, Zhao Xuan and Di Ruqing arrived in the Nanjiang capital—Hang City.
Settled into their lodgings, Zhao Xuan glanced out the window at the patrols of armed city guards passing by. His brows furrowed slightly.
From the moment he set foot in Hang City, he'd felt something was off.
The air was thick with tension.
The whole city felt… heavy, like the calm before a storm.
Though quiet, it was an oppressive quiet—enough to make anyone uneasy.
"What's going on here?"
Unable to hold back, Zhao Xuan stopped a city guard and asked.
The guard hesitated, then shook his head. "No comment."
Just then—
"Zhao Xuan! Brother Zhao Xuan!"
A familiar voice called out.
Turning, Zhao Xuan saw a chubby figure hurrying over with a grin.
"Brother Fu Jieyan!" Zhao Xuan greeted.
The chubby man's face darkened instantly. "Brother Zhao! How many times have I told you—just call me Brother Fu!"
"Oh, right, right—Brother Fu!" Zhao Xuan corrected quickly.
"That's better."
Fu Jieyan nodded in satisfaction, then leaned closer, lowering his voice. "This isn't a place to talk. Come to my room—I've got something big to tell you."
Zhao Xuan's eyes gleamed. "Alright."
Moments later, the two were inside Fu Jieyan's room.
"Now can you tell me what this is about?" Zhao Xuan asked.
"Brother Zhao, haven't you noticed how tense Hang City feels?" Fu whispered.
"Yeah. Why?"
"I heard… it's because of the Demon Sect!" Fu Jieyan said, voice barely above a whisper. "One of their High Elders appeared outside Hang City yesterday—wiped out an entire patrol of city guards, and left a message challenging the Governor-General. He swore he wouldn't let Nanjiang Province's exam proceed smoothly!"
"The Demon Sect… a High Elder…" Zhao Xuan's brows tightened.
"But don't worry too much," Fu said quickly. "The Governor's already laid a massive trap for them. If those lunatics dare show up, they're as good as dead!"
He leaned even closer. "Brother Zhao, this is top secret—heaven knows, earth knows, you and I know. Don't spread it around, or it could cause panic."
"Got it," Zhao Xuan nodded.
After leaving Fu Jieyan's room, Zhao Xuan returned to his own, munched on a few spirit cacti and mind-nourishing fruits, then sat cross-legged to meditate.
Time passed quietly. Night fell.
Suddenly—
Knock knock knock!
A rapid knocking broke his concentration.
"Who is it?"
"It's me," came Di Ruqing's voice.
Zhao Xuan stood, opened the door.
Di Ruqing slipped inside, shutting it behind her. Her face was serious. "Zhao Xuan, there's something urgent I need to tell you."
"What is it?"
"Have you noticed how oppressive the atmosphere is in Hang City?" she asked.
Zhao Xuan blinked, then nodded.
"It's the Demon Sect," she said gravely. "One of their High Elders challenged the Governor's Mansion—vowed the Provincial Exam wouldn't proceed. That's why the city's so tense."
Zhao Xuan's expression twisted slightly.
…Why did that sound so familiar?
"Oh, and Zhao Xuan," Di Ruqing added quickly, "don't tell anyone about this. It could cause unnecessary panic."
Zhao Xuan's face grew stranger by the second.
He couldn't hold it in anymore. "Where'd you hear that from?"
"From a chubby guy named Fu Yanjie," Di Ruqing replied.
"It's Fu Jieyan," Zhao Xuan corrected dryly.
"Right, right—Fu Jieyan." She nodded, then suddenly froze. "Wait—how do you know that?"
"Because…" Zhao Xuan sighed, "that same fat guy told me the exact same thing. Word for word. Including that 'heaven knows, earth knows, you and I know' nonsense."
Di Ruqing stiffened. "He… he said that to me too."
"…"
Silence blanketed the room.
After a long pause, Zhao Xuan asked, "So… anything else?"
"Well…" Di Ruqing hesitated, cheeks turning red. "Zhao Xuan… could I… stay here tonight?"
"Eh?!" Zhao Xuan blinked.
Girl, this… isn't what it looks like, right?
Under his increasingly awkward gaze, Di Ruqing's face flushed deeper. "N-not like that! I just… I'm just… a little scared…"
As she spoke, her complexion paled, as if recalling something terrifying.
"Did the Demon Sect attack yesterday?" Zhao Xuan guessed, frowning.
Your mentality's too fragile, girl, he thought. But fine, we're from the same province. I'll be generous once.
"Alright," Zhao Xuan said finally. "You take the bed—I'll sleep on the couch."
He walked over and sat down heavily.
Di Ruqing stood frozen for a moment, then quietly moved deeper into the room.
——
The night passed swiftly.
At dawn—
Knock knock knock!
A loud, frantic knocking jolted Zhao Xuan awake.
"Who is it?"
Opening the door, he was greeted by the flustered face of Fu Jieyan.
"Brother Zhao! Bad news! Something terrible's happened!"
"What happened?" Zhao Xuan asked sharply, now fully awake.
"Your fellow townsman—Di Ruqing—is missing—!!!"
Before he could finish the sentence, Fu Jieyan's eyes widened as he froze mid-speech.
"Zhao Xuan, what's going on?"
A sleepy Di Ruqing stepped out from behind Zhao Xuan, rubbing her eyes.
"You—you—you two…" Fu Jieyan stammered for a long moment before a knowing grin spread across his face.
"Brother Zhao… passion's fine and all, but moderation, my friend—moderation."
And with that, he bolted down the hall, leaving Zhao Xuan and Di Ruqing standing there… completely dumbfounded.
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