Hao Xian managed to leap backward, his boots skidding across the arena floor.
Creating a desperate distance after Shen Xiao's initial physical strike.
His chest heaved, his lungs burning as if he had swallowed hot coals.
"This is insane—!!"
He panted heavily, staring at Shen Xiao with a gaze that flickered between terror and utter denial.
He had spent years climbing the ranks, suppressing others with his brute strength.
But in a matter of seconds, his reality had been shattered.
"Wait a minute... what the hell are you, you freak?!!"
Hao Xian's voice was a jagged rasp.
"Weren't you a strength-type user? Since when? How can you discharge lightning?!"
Shen Xiao stood there, looking like a man taking a casual stroll in a park rather than a warrior in a life-or-death duel.
He slowly raised his hand, letting brilliant blue electrical sparks dance between his fingertips with an audible crackle.
The light reflected in his cold, dark eyes, making him look like a young deity of storms.
"Huh...?"
Shen Xiao shrugged, his tone dripping with mock indifference.
"So what? Dual-element users are rare, but they exist. Maybe you're just too uneducated or too busy bullying the weak to notice how big the world is."
"Impossible!" Hao Xian roared, his face twisting. "People usually awaken two elements simultaneously during their first Awakening! You've been known as a physical-strength type for months! Everyone called you a genius, sure, but a single-element genius!"
"Hmmmm.... And.... Why should I care about what 'everyone' thinks?"
Shen Xiao replied, his voice dropping an octave.
Hao Xian fell into a stunned silence.
Theoretically, there were legendary cases in the hidden archives, tales of 'Monster Geniuses' in the Federation's capital who awakened a second element when their spiritual core underwent a sudden, violent evolution.
But those were myths, people who appeared once every century.
How could this brat standing in a provincial academy be one of them?
"Is it possible...?" Hao Xian muttered to himself, his mind racing.
"Luck changes every four months, Hao the Dog," Shen Xiao mocked, his smirk widening into something dangerous.
"In fact, you should take the credit. Your constant harassment and your disgusting choice to hurt a defenseless girl... that rage triggered this."
"I should be thanking you, shouldn't I?"
"You... don't get cocky!"
Hao Xian tried to regain his composure, gripping his shaking fists.
"The lightning element is notorious for being unstable. It takes decades to master. You just awakened it, your control must be a mess! You're probably just leaking energy like a broken battery!"
Hao Xian lunged forward, his muscles bulging as he poured every ounce of his Rank 2 spiritual energy into his legs.
He was a veteran of close-quarters combat.
He reasoned that if he could get inside Shen Xiao's guard, the lightning wouldn't have the space to travel.
It was a sound tactical choice, or so he thought.
However, he had made a fatal error in judgment.
He was treating Shen Xiao like a typical mage.
He forgot that Shen Xiao's physical strength hadn't vanished, it had only been amplified.
"Too slow," Shen Xiao whispered, a sound like dry leaves skittering in the wind.
Hao Xian swung a desperate haymaker, his fist whistling through the air.
But Shen Xiao moved with a grace that was almost insulting.
He swayed back just enough for the fist to graze his shirt, then lunged forward.
"Feel this! Million Volt Strike—!" Shen Xiao shouted.
The crowd gasped.
The name sounded like a finishing move from a high-tier manual.
Hao Xian winced, closing his eyes and bracing for a thunderclap that would tear him apart.
But there was no thunder.
Instead, there was a soft flick.
FLICK!
Shen Xiao's index finger tapped Hao Xian's forehead.
It looked like a gesture you'd use on a misbehaving child.
But that finger was coated in high-frequency static electricity.
Hao Xian's eyes rolled back.
His brain felt like it had been put into a microwave for a split second.
His nervous system misfired, sending conflicting signals to his limbs.
He stumbled back, his legs turning to jelly, his head spinning so violently the world became a blur of grey and blue.
"Damn it! Where's the million volts?! You just... you just flicked me!"
Hao Xian screamed, clutching his forehead which was now glowing a bright, angry red.
"I was joking~! You actually believed that?" Shen Xiao laughed, the sound echoing through the hushed arena.
"You really are a simpleton. But... I'm not joking about this one. The real deal."
ZAPPP—
A concentrated bolt of lightning, the size of a spear, struck Hao Xian's chest.
This time, there was no mercy.
His body convulsed in a rhythmic, grotesque dance.
His skin began to char, the smell of burnt ozone filling the air.
Small wisps of smoke puffed out of his ears as his hair began to sizzle.
Shen Xiao watched with a cold, calculating gaze.
With his 100% proficiency from the system, he could have fried Hao Xian's heart instantly.
He could have turned him into a corpse before he hit the ground.
But that wasn't the goal.
The goal was entertainment, and justice.
"Hao Xian, you look pathetic. I haven't even broken a sweat, and you're already smoking," Shen Xiao taunted.
"Bastard! Give me a weapon!"
Hao Xian screamed at his subordinates.
"Anything! Now!"
A panicked club member threw a high-quality alloy longsword into the ring.
Hao Xian caught it mid-air, a manic glint returning to his eyes.
The cold steel gave him a false sense of security.
"With this weapon, I will carve—"
ZAPPP!
"AAAAKKHH!"
The metal sword acted as a perfect conductor.
The moment his hand gripped the hilt, a fresh surge of electricity traveled up his arm and into his spine.
He stood there, vibrating like a tuning fork, his mouth open in a silent scream.
"I will... kill..."
Hao Xian managed to croak out.
His pride the only thing keeping him standing.
ZAPPP-!
Another bolt.
Black smoke billowed from his nose.
Hao Xian had lost his dignity, his status, and his sanity.
He began to swing the sword blindly, using the "Rainbow Piercing the Sun" technique.
It was a beautiful, high-level move that created a vacuum of wind, capable of slicing through stone.
But to Shen Xiao, it was pathetic.
He moved like a shadow, dancing around the clumsy arcs of the blade, tossing small, stinging lightning balls at Hao Xian's joints like he was playing a game of marbles.
In the stands, the silence had long since broken.
The students, many of whom had lived in fear of Hao Xian's "Dog" persona, were now in hysterics.
"Look at his hair! It looks like a burnt bird's nest!"
"Hahaha—!! I've never seen a Rank 2 look so much like a roasted pig!"
"Someone please record this! I need this as my live wallpaper!"
Ding!
[Received Favorability from Li Tiezhu. Fate Ticket +0.05]
Ding!
[Received Favorability from Sun Fei. Fate Ticket +0.1]
The system was singing.
It was a symphony of petty rewards.
Shen Xiao realized that by humiliating a bully, he was garnering the favor of everyone the bully had ever wronged.
It was a gold mine.
But his attention shifted when a specific, high-pitched notification chimed.
Ding!
[Received Favorability from Lu Qingyue. Fate Ticket +100]
Shen Xiao's heart skipped a beat.
He risked a glance toward the edge of the arena.
Lu Qingyue was no longer the broken girl he had found earlier.
She was sitting up, her hand over her mouth, her eyes crinkling at the corners.
Despite the bruises and the blood, she was laughing.
'Finally...'
Shen Xiao's smirk softened into a genuine, albeit dark, smile of satisfaction.
"Hao Xian, do you hear that?"
Shen Xiao's voice was like a cold blade.
"My teammate is laughing. She thinks you're the funniest clown in the academy."
He stepped closer, the ground beneath his feet charring with every step.
He remembered the sight of Lu Qingyue's mangled arm, the way she had tried to hide her tears.
Every time Hao Xian had landed a hit on her, Shen Xiao felt a phantom pain in his own chest.
"You like hitting people who can't fight back? You like feeling powerful?"
Shen Xiao growled, his hand glowing with a blinding white light.
"Every single zap is interest on the debt you owe her."
"Every scream is a payment for the blood you spilled!"
ZAPPP—!
ZAPPP—!
ZAPPP—!
The arena had transformed.
It was no longer an examination or a duel.
It was a ritual of retribution.
To the crowd, it was a comedy.
To Hao Xian, it was a living nightmare.
But to Shen Xiao, it was simply the best way to earn the tickets he needed to save his future wife.
Every scream from Hao Xian was like the sound of a jackpot hitting at a casino.
And Shen Xiao was just getting started.