"AHHH!!!"
As the scream rang out, the black man's aura instantly vanished.
"Trouble."
Zhao Xuan frowned, turned around, and swiftly rushed toward the other black man—the one he had previously smashed straight into the wall with his fist.
Throughout the entire process, Zhao Xuan's expression remained grim.
Very quickly, he arrived in front of the man who had been "embedded" in the wall.
At this moment, the man had already freed himself.
Pale-faced, weak, and trembling, he was desperately fleeing into the distance.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind swept past as Zhao Xuan instantly caught up.
One sweeping kick smashed straight into the man's legs.
Bang!
Under the force of that kick, the man dropped heavily to his knees.
Even worse—
Due to the terrifying impact and inertia, the moment his knees hit the ground, his upper body slammed forward as well.
Thud!
His head struck the ground heavily.
Zhao Xuan wasted no words.
He planted one foot on the man's back, pinning him firmly to the ground, and spoke coldly:
"I ask. You answer. If you answer honestly, I'll give you a quick death."
"Haah… haah… haah…"
This man was clearly stubborn.
No—
That wasn't quite right.
He simply hadn't yet realized how cruel Zhao Xuan truly was.
Panting heavily, he rasped out:
"Z-Zhao Xuan… you… you can forget it… you'll never get any information from me… I won't tell you anything… heh heh heh—!"
Before his laughter could finish—
BOOM!!!
Zhao Xuan suddenly lifted his left foot—
And stomped down hard on the man's left hand.
With a single stomp, the entire palm was crushed into a bloody pulp.
"This is only the beginning."
Amid the man's screams, Zhao Xuan's icy voice echoed down the silent ancient street:
"Next, I'll crush your left forearm.
Then your upper arm.
Then your right hand.
Right forearm.
Right upper arm…"
His voice was cold and hoarse—
Like a devil whispering in the dark.
Anyone who heard it felt their scalp go numb.
Before he could finish—
The man's entire body began to tremble violently.
Fear flooded his face and eyes.
"I—I'll talk! I'll cooperate! I'll tell you everything!"
He shouted in terror.
"Very good."
Zhao Xuan smiled faintly.
Then, he asked him the same questions he had asked the previous one.
This man was utterly terrified.
Every question was answered immediately.
As for why these men all spoke the Kyushu language—
No need to ask.
If one had to explain it—
Kyushu was the undisputed number-one superpower in the world.
Economy. Military. Everything.
Because Kyushu controlled countless special ruins across the Endless Sea, it opened some of them to the world, earning immense global goodwill.
Many nations even began promoting the Kyushu language decades ago to strengthen ties—some with ambitions of eventually joining Kyushu altogether.
Over time, Kyushu speech became the world's dominant universal language.
Back to the matter at hand—
Life City Ruin.
Outer City. Residential district.
After answering Zhao Xuan's final question, the man shakily raised his head, eyes filled with desperate hope.
"Since you didn't lie—your wish is granted."
Zhao Xuan was just about to finish him—
Suddenly—
Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!
Heavy, synchronized footsteps echoed from the distance.
In the blink of an eye, they were close.
Zhao Xuan looked up.
From the western street, a squad of about fifteen ancient guards clad in silver armor, wielding halberds, charged toward him with killing intent.
They were fast.
Extremely fast.
Over a hundred meters vanished in moments.
The man beneath Zhao Xuan's foot also noticed them.
Recalling Zhao Xuan's earlier questions—
His despair instantly turned into manic joy.
"Hahahaha! Heaven hasn't abandoned me!"
"No wonder you asked what happens if the guards escape!"
"So you really didn't kill them all!"
His excitement came from one rule of Life City:
In this ruin, patrol guards constantly roam the streets.
If you hide before being discovered, nothing happens.
If discovered, you can still flee—
as long as you don't attack them.
But once you do—
You must kill every single one immediately.
If even one escapes, or if you fail to wipe them out within ten minutes—
A squad of Silver-Armored Guards will be dispatched.
Silver Armor Guards—all seventh rank.
If you wipe them out within ten minutes—
You gain thirty minutes of peace.
Fail again—
Gold-Armored Guards arrive.
Two eighth-rank Gold-Armored Generals, plus thirteen Silver Guards.
Survive three such cycles—
And the city stops hunting you.
Fail—
And you die.
That was why the man was ecstatic.
The Silver Guards meant Zhao Xuan was on a timer.
Which meant—
He might escape in the chaos.
With that thought, he suddenly burst out with the last of his strength.
BOOM!!!
He tore himself free from Zhao Xuan's foot and sprinted away—
straight away from the Silver Guards.
Laughing madly as he ran:
"Hahahaha! Come chase me, Zhao Xuan!
Come on!"
He wasn't bluffing.
If Zhao Xuan chased him, the timer would run out.
Gold-Armored Guards would arrive.
"Then you're dead for sure!"
He shouted again:
"If you don't kill me now, I'll tell Hackins everything!
And I'll harass you during the Silver Guard fight!"
"Hahahahaha!"
His laughter grew more frenzied by the second.
"Truly—"
"—Ignorant of what's good for you."
"—Actively courting death."
In that instant—
Zhao Xuan's killing intent exploded.
A terrifying aura burst from his body.
BOOM!
With a deafening sonic boom—
Zhao Xuan vanished.
In the next moment, he appeared behind the still-laughing man, more than a hundred meters away.
The man didn't even notice.
His face was still twisted in arrogant delight.
Then—
BOOM!!!
A fist wrapped in Armament Haki and roaring lightning smashed into his back.
CRACK—!
His spine shattered audibly.
BOOM!!!!!
His body flew dozens of meters and crashed into the ground, forming a massive crater in the black stone pavement.
The ground within a thousand meters trembled violently.
"H-How… how is your speed—?!"
The question died with him.
His aura faded.
Gone.
At the same time—
Zhao Xuan's face turned pale.
His once steady aura became unstable.
He had used an extreme secret art.
Not one that burned lifespan—
But the One-Second Technique he had obtained from the Black Shark pirates.
For one second, his power surged by over thirty percent.
That was why his speed exceeded sound itself.
Before the sonic boom reached the man's ears—
Zhao Xuan was already behind him.
One punch shattered both spine and heart.
"Hmph. Ignorant trash."
Zhao Xuan snorted, then turned toward the approaching Silver Guards.
He was just about to take out the divine medicinal stone bamboo shoot—
When suddenly—
A surge of rich life energy burst from within his body.
In an instant, it flowed through him—
Restoring him to peak condition.
"What?"
Zhao Xuan froze.
He checked himself.
Then his eyes widened.
"My bones…?"
"The life energy is coming from my bones?"
Recalling his breakthrough to sixth-rank Grandmaster—
His eyes lit up.
"That's it. It has to be."
"Which means—"
"Until this stored life energy runs out…"
"I can ignore the backlash of extreme techniques?!"
Zhao Xuan burst into wild laughter.
"HAHAHAHA!"
At that moment—
The Silver Guards arrived.
"I was worried I couldn't finish you in ten minutes…"
"But now—no need to worry."
Tap!
His feet struck the ground repeatedly.
In the next instant—
Zhao Xuan vanished and reappeared before the fifteen Silver Guards.
Capture the leader first!
BOOM!!!
One punch slammed into the leading guard—
Conqueror's Haki exploded outward.
The guard froze—
Then was blasted away.
Fourteen halberds stabbed forward simultaneously.
Zhao Xuan didn't dodge.
One-Second Technique—activated again.
Golden light erupted from his body.
Dragon Fruit.
One-Second Technique.
Grandmaster Iron Body.
Threefold reinforcement.
His body was no longer stone—
It was adamantine.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The spears struck him like steel on steel.
Only a tiny red mark appeared.
Then—
Zhao Xuan reached the leader again.
BOOM!!!
One punch.
The Silver Captain's head exploded.
The One-Second state ended.
Zhao Xuan slumped briefly—
Then life energy surged again.
"Invincible! Absolutely invincible!"
Laughing, he charged the remaining guards.
Minutes later—
Only two remained.
They fled in panic.
Zhao Xuan chased one—
Then suddenly turned his head.
In the distance—
Two figures were running toward him.
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Read Chapters ahead: [email protected] / KaiOynx