I Am Loaded With Passive Skills

by Stayrr

Outer yard disciple of the Tiansang Spirit Palace, Xu Xiaoshou, had average talent. However, after coming out of his death seclusion, he realized that everything had changed. He had received a Passive System with many strange, miraculous passive skills: He would become stronger with every breath. He would become stronger when he got attacked. He would become stronger when he got m

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Read I Am Loaded with Passive Skills Chapter 61 - The House is Gone Again online for free - AllNovelFull

Chapter 61: The House is Gone Again

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Infernal Heavens!"

One could light up the air with that Invisible Heaven Flames, and then burn everything within one's vicinity within one's control.

This was the most difficult step illustrated in the jade scroll.

The practitioner had to risk their lives finishing all the prerequisites, and then develop a sense of the spirits of all things around them before he could ignite something remotely.

Xu Xiaoshou closed his eyes and attempted to find that spirit inherent in all things.

He opened his eyes the very next second.

"What's happening?" he thought.

"I've finished the parts that require one to 'risk one's life,' yet why…"

"Is this 'sense the spirits in all things' so d*mn easy as well?"

He didn't even need to use Sense. He could easily perceive the spirit in all things in a fifty-meter radius just by using the sword intent needed to use "All Things are Swords."

He caressed his chin and wondered if things were really just that simple.

"That would be improbable. How could the jade scroll be wrong, eh?

"There were also the experiences of two prior practitioners recorded in it. Although I don't know who they are, they shouldn't have gotten this part wrong.

"They worked at it for months, so regardless of how much a genius I am, there's no way I could get it right in just one second, right?"

He shook his head and closed his eyes, extending his senses.

He tried using the second way—the Passive Skill: Sense.

He opened his eyes again a second later.

"Gosh, this is strange. Why do I have the illusion that I've done it again?"

He cast away his doubts and skipped over the sensing part, getting to the last step recorded in the jade scroll.

He condensed the Infernal Spiritual Source inside him, bent over, then sprung hard. From afar, he looked as if he were about to self-destruct.

It went without saying that he wouldn't just explode. The invisible Infernal Heavenly Flames would be released along with the burst, latching onto the spirits in all things.

Voom!

The shockwave spread all over the place.

He then looked around him and saw that nothing had changed.

"Failed, as expected eh?…" he thought.

He was exasperated, but just when he was about to try again, he heard that familiar sound again.

Puk, puk.

"So, umm…

"I did it after all?"

He looked around him, and found that everything seemed to be rather hazy—a sign of the Infernal Heavenly Flames at work.

He was immediately elated, yet what happened next wiped all that elation away.

Crack, crack, crack.

Bits of white flames began to dance in the building all around him, and crackling sounds were heard everywhere.

He was able to sense their presence, even if they were just sparks lighting up, and the flames covered everything in his place.

Unlike usual flames, which just combusted and burned away, his flames exploded as soon as they appeared.

The table, the windows, and even that bed which he had been reluctant to sleep on…

Everything cracked and then exploded to pieces.

White spots then appeared on every single broken piece, and invisible sparks were ignited, burning everything down so completely that not even ash was left behind.

"Oh my gosh, holy sh*!"

He staggered and almost fell to the ground, but he steeled himself and immediately crawled out of his room.

Boooom!

Explosions were heard again as soon as he left the building, and the place exploded. Everything was in ruins.

Puk, puk, puk.

Vague white flames appeared on the broken pieces. There wasn't even the color or shape of fire to be seen anywhere, yet his place was already completely gone.

Drip, drip, drip…

It began to drizzle outside, and he felt miserable.

He watched everything with a dazed look on his face, and could only feel his heart ache.

"This was a new house. Godd*amnit!"

It hadn't been that long ago when the Spiritual Affairs Division had issued a mission and he spent a great many Spirit Crystal to build that house of his. But now it was all gone. Just like that.

His hair was completely drenched by the rain. Whatever bits of bloodstains that had still been left after training were all washed away, and bloodied water began to pool at his feet.

He sensed that his bodily injuries had all healed, yet he still felt a very noticeable pain.

He grabbed his chest and fell to the ground.

"My house, I'm very sorry!

"I promise that there will be no next time!"

He felt like crying, yet he had no tears to spare. If he'd known this would happen, he would have refined the seeds on his bed.

He'd thought that he would get to sleep on the bed sometime in the future. Little had he thought that the eternal farewell would come so quickly.

Puk, puk.

The house before him was burned until nothing was left. The rain wasn't heavy enough to extinguish that terrifying Infernal Heavenly Flames of his.

This utterly scared Xu Xiaoshou. If it hadn't been for his meticulous sense, he wouldn't have been able to tell that there were invisible flames burning. All he would have seen was the place being quickly burned down to the ground.

"Not even ashes left, huh…"

He insisted on staying around until the very last second, and was thoroughly frightened, as there really was nothing left.

The place before him was completely barren, without even charred marks suggesting that the place had been burned. It looked like the house had never existed in the first place.

"If I were to throw this onto an enemy…"

He shuddered in the rain, feeling a chill run down his spine.

Even he, the practitioner, was terrified.

That spiritual technique was nothing short of terrifying.

He let the rain falling from above slap him on the face before pointing his finger angrily at the night sky.

"You stupid thing up there! Give me back my house!"

Fzzzz!

As soon as he finished this line, the puddle in his place vaporized in an instant. The drizzle in the night had been rather cool, yet now the air felt scorching all of a sudden.

Arrrggghhhh!

He shouted at the top of his lungs at the sky. The raindrops, which had yet to fall to the ground, were evaporated while they were still airborne.

The young man in the compound stopped doing anything stupid, seemingly stunned by what had just happened. The drizzle in the air mingled with the rising mist, making the place look like some sort of paradise.

"Man, this is awesome…"

He clenched his fist, feeling utterly overwhelmed.

He had seen scenes like that in hot-blooded anime when he was younger, where one could cause the weather to change just by being angry.

Boooom!

Streaks of lightning flashed in the pitch-black night sky as thunder rumbled. He was utterly frightened.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's my fault…"

He curled up and ran into an adjacent guest room.

Crack, crack!

Infernal Spiritual Source flared, drying his clothes and hair in an instant.

Xu Xiaoshou grabbed at his clothes and commented in astonishment, "Man, this is convenient."

His only regret was that there were still some bloodstains left behind on his clothes from when he'd internalized the seeds. The rain couldn't get everything off.

He grabbed his collar and sniffed, finding a rather mild stink emanating from himself.

"Seems like I need to take a bath after all."

He looked around him and exasperatedly slumped onto a wooden bench.

The guest room was cramped, with only a dilapidated wooden bed without even a mattress on it taking over half of the space.

The only other things in the room were a small wooden bench and a short table with a corner missing.

Such a place naturally didn't have a private bathroom. Having to wash himself meant that he had to fetch water from the well near the spirit pool in the compound.

He started to miss his own house terribly and swore to never act on impulse again.

He made it a point that if he were to ever again need to train and test things that he was unsure of, he would do so in the compound instead.

Nah, not the compound. Better do it at Goose Lake instead…

He recalled the time a while back when he'd trained at Goose Lake and broken the white jade fence around the lake. Yet, the next day, he'd found that it had been miraculously repaired.

"So long as I don't get caught, that place will really be a free training ground."

He tapped his fingers on the table, finding it to be a feasible option. He then wondered if he should actually take a bath right then and there.

He looked at the night sky. It was still raining out there, and sunrise was around the corner.

While a bath was imperative, he deemed that there was something else more solemn and important that needed to be done before he went to wash himself.

He rubbed his hands, looking forward to it. Then he saw the red interface in his mind.

Passive Points: 81032.

Chapter 62: High Spirits

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Over 80 thousand Passive Points!

Refining those two Infernal Fire Seeds had alone given him over 40 thousand Passive Points each.

Xu Xiaoshuo was utterly baffled. If not for the fact that leaving the seeds in his body would cause him too much pain, he would have liked to be burned for days and nights on end.

"But I'm not a… well, umm… masochist…" he thought.

One way or another, he was fully capable of pretending to be beaten up by 40 to 50 people while actually enjoying the process, as if he were being given a full-body massage. He had no problem doing this. But then again, this was a lot different from leaving time bombs in his body that would explode at random.

"Let's just leave it at that," he thought.

"It's just too difficult to pull something like that off, after all."

He cherished his life very much. He then realized that he could easily trade the points for 50 Passive Keys.

That's right! Fifty Passive Keys!

With the two he'd gotten from the previous draw, he now had a total number of 52 Passive Keys.

He smirked like an idiot, feeling as if he'd gotten a swelled head.

There had been a time when he'd had to be cautious, even when trading for just several such keys, yet at present, he had gotten to the point where he could trade 50 keys without batting an eye.

"All that hard work just for this moment, eh?

"As for why I left 30 thousand Passive Points behind…

"Well, people need to have dreams, don't they?

"I remember that I hit a double kill last time. If I were to get a triple kill this time, then convert 30 thousand Passive Points to Skill Points, oh boy, that would be insane…

"Six plus three equals nine Innate-level Passive Skills, man!"

"Hehe, hahahahaha…."

He started gleefully imagining his future. He got so excited he slammed his hand down on the table, which he almost ended up wrecking due to almost having failed to control his strength.

"Let's get to it."

His expression turned solemn as his will came above that red wheel. Then he dumped 10 keys into it without a moment's hesitation.

"Hah!"

"RNGesus bless me!!"

The cramped guest room echoed with the loony young man's shot. Xu Xiaoshou then pressed his hands together in prayer, acting devout as he took a look at the Information Bar.

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

You got one key!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

"Go*amnit!

"One key out of 10 draws? That's it?

"Damn you…" He clenched his fists, so frustrated he almost made to break something.

"Okay, calm down."

"Now's not the time to get angry, at least not yet. Forty more draws to go, after all."

He looked like he'd expected this to happen.

"This d*mned System is really getting ridiculous, and the rates are really dropping like nobody's business. Worse still, the wheel is still covered in grey mist, and I have no idea how this thing works."

He calmed himself, reminding himself that he was a man with a big heart who could stay unfazed in the midst of a storm.

With a boom, the table broke, and Xu Xiaoshou leapt up from his chair.

"Hah!"

"RNGesus bless me!"

Without giving any prior warning, he went on to make 10 more draws, thinking to catch the System by surprise.

Thank you for your patronage!

You got one key!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

You got one key!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

You got one key!

"D*mn you, d*mn you, d*mn you!"

His face immediately turned pale, and he felt cold all over. He looked like he was struggling to even stand.

"Twenty draws and only four keys?

"Do you have to play me like that?"

"Couldn't you have at least pitied me for having gone through all that pain from refining the seeds?

"Okay. Maybe it's because the room has bad Feng Shui."

He took a deep breath and opened the door and windows, then stood at a different place inside the room. He felt his mind become a lot clearer.

"Alright! Maybe luck will finally come to me after doing this.

"On to the next 10 draws!"

He leaned on the board near the window, pretending to be calm as he looked at the Information Bar.

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Fundamental Passive Skill acquired: High Spirits

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Crack!

He shuddered when he read these lines and ended up tearing the board away from the window, causing it to be wedged between his waist and the wall.

"There's finally something!?"

He rubbed his eyes hard, and found that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

He'd actually gotten something, but not only that. That something was a Fundamental Passive Skill no less.

"This is awesome!" He drew the piece of board behind him and smacked it out of reflex, reducing it to pieces.

Despite doing this, he still was unable to calm himself just yet.

That Fundamental Passive Skill that he'd last drawn—Eternal Vitality—was a godlike skill in his eyes. That skill had saved his life more times than he could bother counting.

That one skill alone had enabled him to extend his combat duration, refine the fire seeds, and more.

It had gotten to the point where he no longer needed Red Gold Pills, and at the moment, he'd gotten yet another Fundamental Passive Skill.

"High Spirits.

"That's quite a name," he thought, pondering what the name could mean.

Then he came to a sudden realization.

"Spirits, huh?"

He extended his will to observe his entire body, especially his energy reserves.

Fundamental Passive Skills would usually appear in his body somewhere, and the name of that skill suggested that it might very well be something for regenerating spiritual source.

"Just as expected…" The smile on his face couldn't have been any brighter.

It was just as he'd expected. The spiritual source regeneration rate in his energy reserves had been considerably amplified.

Having acquired Infernal Spiritual Source, the nature of his spiritual strength had seen a fundamental transformation, which naturally meant a drastic decrease in the rate of regeneration.

That one burst of Infernal Heavens hadn't just burned his house down. It had drained a considerable portion of his spiritual source.

Yet, that vicious spiritual source saw an increase in its natural rate of regeneration, returning to a point comparable to what it'd been before with his spiritual strength.

"H*ll, this is really gonna allow me to fight for a very, very long time."

He recalled his battle with Mo Mo.

He recalled that he'd almost been able to win near the middle of the match. The only thing that had prevented him from winning was him not being able to execute the third Blade-draw Technique due to low spiritual power.

If he'd had one such Passive Skill back then, he might have actually ended the battle right then and there, which would have prevented all that had happened after that, including being scalded by lava and such.

"This is really one godlike skill, man…" He mumbled to himself.

While the rate of regeneration still wasn't apparent at the moment, there was still room for growth.

He continued playing with the pieces in his hand, and his laughter drifted out of the room through the windows and door, becoming a part of the dark night.

"Breathing Technique, Eternal Vitality, High Spirits…

"Auto-training, HP recovery, MP recovery…

"Now that I've gathered all three godlike skills, I wonder if anyone will be able to stop me."

He couldn't help the smirk that came onto his face, making him look like an idiot.

He imagined himself charging into an army, his enemies all trying to overwhelm him with superior numbers, only to find after fighting several rounds that his HP and MP were all still full, baffling everyone around, causing them to eventually have no choice but to surrender and give him Passive Points as tribute.

This scene kept playing in his mind.

"Huh, huh, huh…

"Huhh, hahaha…

"Hahahahahhaha!"

He laughed at the top of his lungs, sounding very arrogant. "No one can stop me, for I'm now a god!

"Time's up."

He returned to his usual calm, looking like nothing happened before.

He activated his spiritual source, causing the board to spark, then threw the board out into the rain outside.

Hehehe.

He gave a sheepish grin. "Twenty more draws to go."

Report chapter

Chapter 63: The Mystics of Drawing. Does it have Anything to do with Poses?

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Hah!"

"RNGesus bless me!"

Xu Xiaoshou continued shouting in the same spot, which he deemed his Feng Shui sweet spot.

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

You got one key!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

"I knew it…"

He read the Information Bar in silence, yet he wasn't sad.

Truth be told, getting just one Fundamental Passive Skill from 50 draws was already quite a bargain, but it still hurt to not get anything more.

After all, after getting something once, who wouldn't want another?

"Maybe I should change how I'm standing?

"Hmm… no.

"It's more like luck doesn't strike the same place twice."

He looked around the place, pondering what to do next.

"There's nowhere else to stand in here!

"This place is really a wreck."

He looked outside the window, thinking that maybe drawing in the rain would bring him greater luck.

But wouldn't that look a little stupid?

"Whatever," he figured as he climbed over the window and got to the compound.

Patter, patter.

The rain kept falling.

He then swept the floor with a low kick, kicking up quite a bit of the water that had collected on the ground and splashing it into the air.

"Hah!"

"RNGesus bless me!"

In the midst of such a beautiful scene, he clapped his hands together, sucking in all the luck brought by the rain.

You got one key!

You got one key!

Extended Passive Skill acquired: Recoil!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

"Holy sh*!

"I really got something!"

Shocked, he read the Information Bar, and was completely stunned for the moment.

"Something from all first three attempts and now a passive skill?

"Gosh, could I be any luckier?

"Okay, this is getting scary. Does one's pose really have any effect on the draw?"

He felt like laughing like a maniac again. That passive skill was his second, which meant that he'd scored a double kill.

Taking into consideration that the two passive skills hadn't appeared at once, and considering that it got harder and harder to draw something from the system, he wouldn't get any luckier than drawing two passive skills in just 50 draws.

"Recoil.

"Something of great use once it's leveled up."

He could more or less tell what the skill could do from the name alone.

"When playing a game, one isn't afraid of running into the enemy's tank but of the injuries hitting said tank could cause.

"Now that I have both 'Strengthen' and 'Recoil,' I've just made myself into a literal meat tank.

"Coupled with 'Sharpness' and 'Sword Technique Expertise'…

"I'll have no problems attacking and defending, and now I could even give anyone attacking me a headache.

"This is dope." The smirk on his face was so big and bright it twisted his face.

"Just who the h*ll could take me on, eh?"

He clenched his fists and hit them together at 30 percent strength.

There was a slight boom, and both fists bounced off of each other, just like if they'd just hit some spring invisible to the naked eye.

"Something isn't right…"

He deliberated for a bit and found that Recoil wasn't what he'd initially thought.

He figured that the effect that he'd expected was more akin to "backlash," but Recoil was more about "shock."

The recoil effect caused both fists to bounce far from each other, even though he'd used very little force.

"There really are ways one could make good use of this."

He was more overjoyed than disappointed. Compared to what he'd expected, the Recoil skill would actually be able to do a lot more to catch an enemy off-guard when aptly used.

He could just imagine. If his opponent threw a punch at him, he could just puff his chest out a bit, and his opponent would be sent flying uncontrollably. That would surely catch them off-guard.

If he were to throw the Sword Web Style at such a moment…

"Sheeesh!"

He was frightened by what he had in mind, finding what would happen to be terrifying.

He then wondered just why his skills would look so disgusting and annoying despite their very hero-like names.

Shouldn't they be skills of a hero?

He finished all 50 draws. Despite not being able to score a triple skill, being able to bag a double skill still made him very pleased with himself.

Huh?

"Why are there 10 more keys around?"

He read what was written below the red interface. It was stated very clearly.

Passive Keys: 10.

He was stunned, but he then recalled having got "you got one key" many times in that 50 draws.

"Take care of the pence, and the pounds will take care of themselves, eh?

"Haha, d*mn, really?

"Ten free draws after 50 draws?"

He was very gleeful. He wiped the rainwater off his face and looked around, then went on to squat on that decorative mountain nearby.

"With my back against a mountain and my front facing water, this has to be a place where ultimate luck flows!

"Hah!

"RNGesus bless me!"

He slammed his hands on the ground, thinking it was a pity an array of any kind didn't appear, as that might've heightened his chances.

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

You got one key!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

He was baffled.

"Sh*!"

Ten keys reduced to one. That highly anticipated third kill just wouldn't happen.

He squatted below that fake mountain and read what was below the Information Bar.

"Thirty thousand Passive Points…

"Have to leave 20 thousand for level-ups. This is my capital, and I can't afford to waste it!

"Ten thousand more…

"Okay, whatever, let's go!"

He then traded his points for nine more keys, gathering enough for 10 more draws.

He thought about leaving 10 thousand more behind, yet given that his skills and levels were already full, there was no need to leave that 10 thousand lying around. As such, he thought it would just be better to put them all into drawing while his luck was still good.

He'd made his decision. "Let's do this!"

The 10 draws resulting from the acquisition of Recoil confirmed his conclusion that drawing was a mystical thing that had more or less something to do with how one went about it.

"Right. Feng Shui spot, check."

He then glanced around the place. This was his compound, so there was naturally no one else there.

He laid low on the ground on all fours.

"Well, this should do it.

"But man, it sure looks embarrassing.

"Good thing that there's no one around.

"Just this once…

"No next time!"

He narrowed his eyes and didn't look around, thinking that doing so would keep people from noticing what he was doing.

He also did his best to keep himself hidden under the shadows of that fake mountain, as he thought the place was definitely some powerful spot.

He felt for sure that the System not throwing something his way definitely had something to do with his posture.

He was feeling so thoroughly embarrassed that he shouted "RNGesus bless me!" inwardly instead of out loud before dumping all ten keys into the wheel.

This was how the Information Bar looked like next:

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Thank you for your patronage!

Pfftt!

He spitted blood right then and there when he saw this, and felt like he was about to pass out. He didn't think the System would deal him such a fatal blow in the end.

All 10 draws and nothing!

Not even a single "You got one key!"

"So, the story has to end in a tragedy forever, eh?"

He wiped something off of his face, not quite sure if it was rainwater or tears, before dejectedly getting up.

Passive Points: 21008.

His eyes lit up. There were still 1000 points extra, and he wondered if he would score a miracle with just a single draw.

He traded the 1000 points for a key and dumped it into the wheel without a moment's hesitation.

Thank you for your patronage!

Boom, boom, boom.

Explosions were immediately heard in the compound, and several craters were seen in the ground.

Passive Points: 20008.

Passive Points: 8

High Spirits (Innate, level 1)

Recoil (Innate, level 1)

He dusted his hands and nodded with satisfaction. While it might look like he had lost everything in that one night, things were actually the opposite.

Eight major passive skills! All eight at Innate levels!

"This is perfect!" He immediately stood up and walked into the room. He was all drenched.

"Time to wash up.

"And head to bed!"

Chapter 64: Visitors in the Rainy Night

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Fat geese patrolled the lake as the winds blew, and the rain drizzled, creating a hazy mist as two men walked in the night.

"Hey, Kong, dun ya think that we should be lying in bed with butiful gals?

"Ze weather, ze weather, makes people sleepy, man…"

Two men in black cloaks were walking along Goose Lake. One with the hood up and one with the hood down.

Shao Yi wore his hood tight around his face as he took another mouthful of booze from his gourd then clasped his stomach as he belched.

Blurgghh!

Feng Kong took a look at the weather. The rainy night was blocking the sunrise, yet first light would come soon nonetheless.

"Times like these are when people are least guarded."

He focused and leapt far away, advising his partner, "Don't drink before you kill. It'll affect your judgment."

Shao Yi paused what he was doing with his hands, yet he maintained his speed and kept up with him.

"Oh, relax. It be fine.

"Dis no problem. I was about to tell ya to put your hood up. Rain wud get in the way of your sight, you know? That wud get in the way of you killing."

Feng Kong wiped the cold rainwater off his face and said, "The rain is cold. It wakes me up."

Shao Yi clapped his gourd and twitched an eyebrow.

"You see. Difwent people, difwent taste…

"I like dwinking, you like rain. We got what we both want. Nice, right?"

The corners of Feng Kong's mouth twitched. He stayed silent for quite a while before saying, "No problem with dwin… drinking. Could you at least speak like a normal person?"

Ptuih!

Noting that his speech was getting affected by that of his partner, Feng Kong decided to just shut up.

"Hehe…" Shao Yi was enjoying himself. "Ya dun like what ya hear?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I dun like your cold a* face too, looking like a saint or sumfing."

Feng Kong stopped, looking very annoyed.

"What? Let's go!" Shao Yi was exasperated.

"Do you know what you're saying?" Feng Kong's tone of voice plummeted, making him sound like some emissary of some icy hell.

"I know. We sud go back to sleep!"

Feng Kong took a deep breath. His partner must be really drunk.

"Forget it. No point being petty with him," he thought. "There's still business to take care of."

He took flight again.

Shao Yi tipped his hood back a little with a shaky hand. Even though his face hadn't been drenched by the rain, it was still drenched in a cold sweat.

"Holy sh, what did I just say? Am I looking to die?

"That guy is Feng Kong, the Bloody Hands man!

"Good thing I managed to blow it over. Kong probably won't kill me after this."

His partner's low, icy tone after his slip of the tongue had immediately rendered him sober, and he'd simply decided to play around and play dumb after realizing that he'd said something wrong.

The consequences would've been disastrous otherwise.

Shao Yi wiped all that cold sweat off of his face and adjusted his expression, immediately following after his partner.

The rain kept falling, and seemed to have gotten even heavier.

The geese at the lake huddled together as they gathered around the jade fence, trying to take shelter from the rain.

Well…

Nice try, though.

The speed at which the two moved along that winding path slowed considerably.

"Dis way, right?"

Shao Yi looked around him, and, truth be told, it had been quite a while since he'd last gone to the Outer Yard. In fact, it'd been such a long time that he almost forgot his way around. It was fortunate that the place had hardly changed. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to somewhat find his way around.

He then saw someone in the woods, and was quite surprised.

"Are disciples of the Outer Yard so hudwoking? Raining and still working?

"Well, back den I stayed in that common house for a year. There were so many people in there and training was just impossible, so I had to come out…

"Inner Yard is a nice pwace, I hub my own pwace, and gals…"

Shao Yi reminisced as he continued drinking, totally oblivious to the fact that Feng Kong was getting increasingly annoyed.

He took a gulp and went inside an empty compound.

The compound was covered with an array, and only rainwater could get inside. There was also a huge field before that barrier, which was huge and could fit many people inside for training.

"Tsk, rich kid, huh!

"Back den, I…"

"Shut up!" Feng Kong cut him off. "The target's right in front of us, and you still wanna yap away? Did you forget what I taught you?"

Gulp… Shao Yi scratched his head sheepishly. He opened his mouth to answer the question, then shut up the next moment.

He took another gulp to steel himself and added, "Kong, just let me do this one, and you stay behind and watch. You dun need to do this in the first pwace, so…"

Feng Kong shot him a look, causing Shao Yi to immediately shut up and pretend to zip his mouth shut.

"Get going.

"Be mindful of how you do it. Get it done with a single hit."

Shao Yi nodded, and the gourd in his hand disappeared. He brandished two short swords, which he held in a reverse grip, and hid the blade in his sleeves before walking up to the place.

He lifted his hand.

Then he knocked on the door.

The skin before him was so supple and had such a nice glow. Even though Xu Xiaoshou was unable to see the face clearly, he no longer cared.

He reached out and was about to touch said skin…

Dum, dum, dum!

When rushed knocks came from the front door.

"Oh, d*mn you!"

The supple body disappeared before his eyes, and he lunged at it in an attempt to catch it.

Crack!

Noise was heard from the bed, and he somehow lost his balance, like he'd missed a step, and then fell hard onto the ground.

His eyes flew open, his heart still racing. His eyes were full of displeasure.

"Just one more step!"

Dum, dum, dum!

The knocking was heard again.

He then looked at the door, feeling very, very annoyed.

"Just who the h*ll is so damn senseless, huh?" he thought. "What are they doing showing up at such a time?

"As*ole. Can't you just let me sleep?

"Why do you wanna get in the way of me sleeping?

He put on his shoes and slowly walked to the living room. He put up his spiritual source to serve as an umbrella and shield himself from the rain.

He'd just washed himself not too long ago, yet had been waken up by all that noise not long after lying down. He couldn't afford to get himself drenched.

He rubbed his drowsy eyes and walked past the compound before long. He put a hand on the handle.

The wind blew and seemed to wake him up. He halted.

"Hold on!

"Just who the h*ll is sick enough to come look for me at such a time?"

He started to become suspicious. He had hardly any friends in the Outer Yard, and had only gone to the library with the staff back in the afternoon the day before. That meant that there was just no reason for anyone to come looking for him.

He'd even prepared to give himself a few days off.

"Staff members looking for me at such a time?"

He felt that his turn of events was rather ridiculous. As such, he focused and extended his Sense through the barrier to check out what was going on out there.

A man wearing a black cloak, his face concealed under the hood, was standing outside. Despite the dark of night, he was still able to clearly make out the man's expression.

The man looked plain, and seemed to behave very courteously, as he didn't keep banging on the door.

Huh?

Another one right behind him?

"Sh, is this guy sick or what. It's raining, and he's already wearing something with a hood, yet he took to revealing his face and standing with his arms crossed in front of his chest?

"What's with all this pretense?

"Who the h*ll would bother looking at you during the night?"

He sensed that something was off, yet he was unable to place what exactly was wrong.

More importantly, he didn't know either of these two people, and he wondered why they were here in the first place.

Furthermore, he wondered why they'd showed up at such a time.

The sound of the rain seemed to have gotten louder than before.

His hand remained resting on the handle, yet he didn't just pull the door open, nor did he pull his hand back. His heart rate quickened somewhat as he took a look at the night sky.

"A rainy night…

"Someone's here to kill me?"

He felt his skin crawl, yet he found the thought rather ridiculous. He must've read too many novels. Why would someone come to kill him without good reason?

He felt that his social life was rather decent and that he had never made any enemies.

All three of them were patient. All three of them were quiet. All three of them didn't move.

He sensed that the man outside the door was still courteously waiting.

The night was silent again all of a sudden. There was a wooden door, and three figures standing around it.

The rain, on the other hand, was loud. It resounded far and wide along with the knocks on the door, and through the noise a familiar song could be heard:

"Little pig, little pig, let me in…

"Dum, dum, dum."

Chapter 65: You've finally Found Me

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Shao Yi frowned.

"He isn't home?"

He'd been waiting for quite some time now, yet there were no movements from inside. Someone would've answered the door by now if there was actually someone home.

Being woken up in the middle of the night like that, anyone would have at least been irritable enough to check who was at the door.

He looked at the barrier wrapping the wooden door. It was entirely impossible to break through it with sheer force alone, and doing so would definitely cause some noise.

But then again, dawn would soon come. He couldn't just keep waiting.

"Whatever," he thought. "Just do it, then."

He drew his short swords from his sleeve and was about to attack when another hand pressed his hands down.

Feng Kong's voice pierced right through the barrier.

"Xiao Qixiu of the Spiritual Law Division here."

"Open the door."

On the other side of the door.

Xu Xiaoshou was immediately alarmed and wanted nothing more than to just run, but he stopped himself nonetheless.

The man mimicked Xiao Qixiu's voice so well that if his Sense hadn't told him what the two outside looked like, he would have actually opened the door right then and there.

At the moment, the man knocking on the door was holding two short swords.

If at this moment Xu Xiaoshou still hadn't been able to guess what these two outside were up to, he'd be better off dead.

"What the h*ll is happening?"

"Why are there people here to kill me?"

He was flustered and broke out in a cold sweat. He wracked his brains, yet was unable to find a way out.

He extended Sense to its greatest range, yet the two at the door still looked like they were common folk and seemed to have no powers at all.

However, he was able to tell that these two were at least at Innate Level, and they were anything but common, even among those at Innate Level.

Being at Spiritual Cultivation Level meant that he was able to detect a specific mystical aura signature unique to those at Innate Level, making it easy to tell them apart.

These two were well-guarded that it was obvious they were trained in some kind of powers for concealing their powers.

It was entirely possible that these two were professional killers.

Dread was written all over his face.

The spirit place was protected by a massive array, which made it impossible for those outside to get in without permission unless they were exceptionally and unbelievably powerful.

He was able to immediately rule that out, judging from the age of those two.

As such, there was the question of where such powerful Innate Level fighters could be from.

There was only one answer to that question.

The Inner Yard.

He immediately shuddered all over, wondering why the h*ll someone from the Inner Yard would want to kill him.

He wracked his brains looking for a solution, but his neurons felt as if they were dying en masse at the moment, as his brain simply refused to come up with a possible reason behind this.

But he knew that if he didn't make it through the night, this place would be his grave.

The harder he wracked his brains, the more afraid he became.

According to what he knew, the only one from the last batch who'd joined the Inner Yard was Su Qianqian, and no one else had joined the batch before hers. He knew next to nothing about the batches before that.

Yet, that information was more than enough.

If those people were truly from the Inner Yard, then they would have already reached Innate Level two to three years ago.

"What the f*k?" he thought.

"What kind of a joke is this?

"What have I done to warrant the two of you coming after my head?

"And since when have I done anything to offend the two of you?"

He was so terrified that he almost fell to his knees. He extended his Sense at those two after developing some early speculations.

"The one nearest to the door seems to have some bit of Innate presence, yet the one behind him…

"Sh*!

"At the very least, one is at the peak of Origin Court level, and the other is at Voidness Level or maybe even higher."

His heart sank right then and there.

Even at early and middle sub-levels after breaking into the Innate Stage, there would still be such a large gap between them that even someone at Spiritual Cultivation Level 10 wouldn't stand a chance at fighting them.

Worse still, the two outsides' cultivation level was far higher than those early and middle sub-levels.

The way he saw it, the two standing outside weren't just Inner Yard fighters; they were reapers coming to claim his life.

He wasn't arrogant enough to think that just because he'd managed to draw two Innate Level passive skills and had acquired Infernal Heavens that he was capable enough to fight against those at Innate levels.

He certainly wasn't about to think that he could fight two of such beings.

If he were to do such a thing, it'd be the same as handing his head over on a silver platter.

"How should I go about this?

"Running is impossible. No way I could escape from these two.

"But if I just stay around…"

He gulped, feeling very frustrated. The chances of him dying were so staggeringly high that he felt that he'd reached the end of his journey.

On the other side of the door.

The two looked at each other. They basically knew what was going on.

Either no one was inside, or their target knew who they were.

Although the latter was unlikely, it was nonetheless a possibility.

According to intelligence, the champion of the Wind and Cloud Contest from the Outer Yard, despite being known to only be of Spiritual Cultivation Level Eight, had Innate-level physique and Innate Sword Will, so there was no telling what else their target was capable of.

"Let's move!"

Feng Kong tilted his head, and Shao Yi's aura burst right then and there, coalescing raging spiritual source on his short swords. He looked like he was about ready to cleave a mountain.

Creak.

The barrier parted, and the wooden door opened.

"Sh*!"

Shao Yi immediately pulled his aura back, but the attack had such a massive amount of energy in it that cutting it off in the middle almost caused him to spit blood.

The two of them looked at each other and saw the cautious look in each other's eyes. Each immediately put his guard up.

Something was definitely wrong!

They were professional killers, and Feng Kong had almost been able to get the red hunter token of "three joss sticks," which meant he was naturally sensitive to danger. He knew full well that one had to give one's all, even if one only had to kill an ant.

Feng Kong wouldn't have tagged along on this mission otherwise.

"Get inside."

Both of them cautiously headed into the compound, and the next second, they were stunned by what they saw.

The ground…

Why were there so many craters inside?

Had a war been going on in here?

While having one's own compound among those of the Outer Yard was considered quite an achievement, the quality of such establishments was nonetheless far below that in the Inner Yard. They looked around and felt the place to be rather empty.

It seemed that the place was even larger than their own.

"No, hold on.

"It feels like… Something is missing in here?" Shao Yi thought.

He took a look in the adjacent wooden shack to the side and found the place to be rather shabby.

"Why live in such a broken hut? Are you telling me that Xu Xiaoshou could afford a compound, yet not a house?

"No, that's not it.

"This is probably the guest room!"

Shao Yi seemed to recall something as he looked at the side of the shack and found only a huge, empty space.

"Shouldn't there be a main house over here? What happened to it?"

It turned out that the empty, vast feeling they'd sensed before was basically due to private compounds found within the spirit palace that basically consisted of a main house and a guest house.

Yet, this place, which should have had a main house on it, was vacant.

"What's the meaning of this?

"What the h*ll just happened here!?"

Shao Yi was frightened.

Checking out terrain was a necessary skill for any killer, and surveying the terrain was something that they could almost finish in less than a second.

Furthermore, Shao Yi seemed to immediately realize something after seeing the odd way things were placed and all the craters on the ground.

He wondered if there had been a huge battle fought in the compound.

"Who goes there!?" Feng Kong, who was right beside him, shouted. Shao Yi was startled, and he turned around, finding a lean figure standing on top of that fake mountain in the hazy rain in the night.

Xu Xiaoshou?

No!

Not necessarily him. Maybe the other guy from that huge battle.

Shao Yi wasn't the only one speculating this. Feng Kong's speculation was basically the same. Both of them thought that there was more going on here than what they'd expected.

The assassination attempt, which they'd initially thought would be an easy job that they could finish as soon as Xu Xiaoshou opened the door, had become something of an enigma instead. Even after entering this place, they felt that a lot was at play here.

That figure on the fake mountain never turned around. He simply hung his head low and sighed eerily. A croaky voice was then heard.

"You've finally found me, huh? That's rather unexpected…"

"You're being slow."

The pupils of the two assassins contracted. They wondered what he meant.

"What the h*ll…: they thought.

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Chapter 66: Is He Xu Xiaoshou or Not!?

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"He's Xu Xiaoshou!" Shao Yi said telepathically. His tone was utterly serious.

"He's not Xu Xiaoshou!" Feng Kong glared at that figure on top of that fake mountain. "Xu Xiaoshou was at level eight. This one is at level nine."

"He made a breakthrough!"

"Hehe, is there such a coincidence?"

"He doesn't dare to turn around! His silhouette matches Xu Xiaoshou's description almost entirely! His level of powers is definitely not at Innate level! He's wearing white clothes, and no assassin would be stupid enough to wear white!"

Shao Yi bombarded his partner with all that information, which he knew that Feng Kong would be able to process within a breath's time. Feng Kong would able to even speculate more than what he put forth.

Yet, he deemed it necessary to word his opinion nonetheless. He needed his partner to give him the greenlight.

Even if said greenlight would have plunged Shao Yi into a whole lot of trouble in just an instant, it would nonetheless allow Feng Kong to escape.

"Could it be truly as simple as it looks?"

Feng hesitated. He had to admit that he was stunned.

He was frozen in place, even if that man before him had a 99 percent chance of being Xu Xiaoshou.

Yet, he couldn't help but wonder what if that wasn't his target.

All the crater on the ground, a main house that was nowhere to be found, and someone was clearly in the compound yet no one answered the door.

He wondered what caused all of that.

Shao Yi was totally fine having Feng Kong throwing him into the fire and risk it, yet he wondered if he should or could be so cold-blooded.

If that man before them was not Xu Xiaoshou, then he would most probably be some terrifying figure who was even more capable than he was at concealing his powers, possibly even some among those 33 from the Inner Yard who had disappeared for a long time.

If he were to keep his hands to himself, catching sight of that silhouette would nonetheless allow him to live.

If he were to make a move, it would have given that man a reason to end them both right there and then.

He wondered if that was a fair price to pay for someone like Xu Xiaoshou.

Shao Yi was getting restless, after not hearing anything from his partner.

Feng Kong is hesitating!

He was stunned to find that his partner was actually hesitating.

It was worth noting that hesitation on the job was something terrifying to a professional killer.

Booom!

Flashes of lightning were seen in the sky and the rain became even heavier.

The compound was all silent, with only rustling noises were heard.

The man on that fake mountain remained silent, and the two who were puzzled as to what they got themselves into were silent as well. Both parties probably had a lot of questions going on in their minds, yet both parties knew one thing very well.

The first one to speak first, loses.

Doubted, Passive Points 1.

Doubted, Passive Points 1.

Doubted, Passive Points 1.

The Information Bar had lines rolling over and over. Hundreds of messages were actually seen in less than a minute.

Who is that mysterious guy standing on top of that fake mountain…

Do you even need to ask?

That's Xu Xiaoshou, of course!

His reason for being dressed in white? He couldn't get changed in time!

Why wouldn't he turn around? That's because he's Xu Xiaoshou!

Yet, why did he dare to stand before both of us?

Well, that's because he couldn't do anything else!

Xu Xiaoshou's legs were actually wobbling at the moment. If the two of them were to attack right away, he probably wouldn't be able to evade in time.

Yet, from what he could tell from his earlier observations, those two were…

Very patient, meticulous, and wouldn't act before making sure of things.

All of that being signs that they were trained killers.

At the same time, both of them were definitely capable of complex thoughts. At the very least, he could tell that the one at the rear was around, forcing both of them to speculate even more.

They definitely would speculate more. That's just how it'd be!

It was rather ironic that his compound was in such a state because he was being impudent with testing his attacks before, yet that state of things around was the thing that saved him at the moment.

He wondered if he could have them think what he wanted them to think, having them think what he let them think about what they were thinking or not thinking, and then think more on what to think, so as cause them to think even more and then confuse their thinking…

Xu Xiaoshou was feeling rather dizzy.

He knew very well that he had to think, for that was his only way out of this predicament at the moment.

One way or another, the two of them were very smart and very, very highly trained fighters. Fighting such people head on would be akin to throwing eggs at a stone wall. As such, he had to resort to smarts.

The question whether he could remain alive would be dependent on how much of his brains that he could use.

His strategy was to intimidate them so as to be able to firmly be on the offense, to have them think that he was someone else, based on bits of information that he fed them one way or another.

He was doing so as to have them ask themselves.

Who is he actually? If he's Xu Xiaoshou, why would he dare to stand before both of us? What causes the compound to look like this?

If he isn't Xu Xiaoshou, then he would be someone here to kill Xu Xiaoshou, which explains what happens in the compound. But we ran into him somehow and his powers are far above us, yet why isn't he killing us to silence us right away?

Xu Xiaoshou was feeling himself shaking inside out.

He had to keep his identity constantly shifting between the two at all times, so to prevent them from getting an affirmative answer. That was the only way to keep them speculating, and then keep being confused.

He wondered if he could really speculate what both of them were thinking without error.

That would be impossible.

As such, he kept quiet as well, so as to prevent giving his true identity off.

He saw that at times, giving possibilities to rule out when dealing with clever people, would bring about unexpected results instead.

As such, he simply said some enigmatic sounding things, and that was enough to cause the information in his mind to refresh like crazy. He knew that he partially succeeded in what he was trying to do.

Even if his chances of being able to intimidate them into inaction were 99 percent, if they were to try to attack him instead, he would definitely be doomed.

As such, he had to think about what to do next.

Truth to be told though…

He didn't know what else to do.

While he was having his back against them, his Sense allowed him to clearly perceive their facial expression, which served as his greatest weapon at the moment.

The silence between both parties continued. All three of them had their own agenda. Both parties were waiting for the other to speak first.

The 'doubted' lines in his mind dwindled considerably and he was getting very anxious.

Those two assassins were clearly more patient than he imagined, so much so that he was unable to find any way to misdirect them further.

This can't go on any longer. I have to say something. If I wait any longer, it'd be them going on their second round to verify who I am instead.

But… what should I say?

He knew that what he was about to say next would determine if he would live or die, and he hesitated.

"Heh, so you two are here to kill Xu Xiaoshou as well?" He lowered his voice.

"It's a pity that you came late." The line was enigmatic.

What the hell was that?

I'm practically telling them that I've just killed the guy myself! Gosh, only idiots would do that.

Feng Kong kept his gaze locked on that man on the fake mountain, not letting any bit of information slip past him.

Sweat and rainwater drenched the back of his head. He was shivering from inside out.

He was still in his belief that the man before them was Xu Xiaoshou, yet despite their steely performance, he wondered why nonetheless.

Why is that guy still able to keep himself up like that!?

He gave a very subtle look at his partner, who accepted the message right away.

Move!

"Hah?"

A sarcastic snicker that was very flighty, yet it stopped Shao Yi from moving nonetheless. The man on that fake mountain then lowered his head and mumbled, "you're running out of patience then…"

Both of them were able to hear what he just said, yet the sarcasm in his tone was unmistakable.

He acted like he was playing a game of cat and mouse with them, that their fates were sealed and that he simply enjoyed watching his prey struggle.

Feng Kong's pupils contracted and he was shivering all over.

He is able to see!

That guy hasn't even turn around yet. Just how is he able to tell that extremely subtle communication between me and Shao Yi?

"Are we going to get him or what?" Shao Yi was going crazy.

He could an oaf and still be able to tell that both of them were playing psychological games, yet it was a game that he couldn't be a part of, so he could only wait for Feng Kong's signal.

At present.

That signal was lost again.

Oh, for the sake of the heavens!

Shao Yi was at the edge of going nuts.

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Chapter 67: Keep Guessing

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Feng Kong hadn't yet given Shao Yi an answer when the man on the fake mountain just snickered, his tone utterly cold.

"You wanna run?

"You've had your chance…"

The air around them seemed to heat up as these words fell, so much so that even the rainwater started to fizzle and immediately evaporate.

Shao Yi was shocked, but it wasn't what was happening in their surroundings after the man's words that shocked him. What shocked him was what the man said.

"Run?" he thought.

"Who the h*ll is trying to run here?

"I'm not even thinking of running!

"Wait, no…

"Oh, don't tell me…"

He then looked at Feng Kong in fright, unable to believe his eyes that his partner, who was usually so confident, was so frightened that he wanted to run.

Feng Kong turned to meet his gaze, and Shao Yi was shocked to find that there was a different look in his eyes.

"Wait, he's getting scared?"

A killer running out of confidence right before the fight. What kind of a fight could there be anymore?

Shao Yi, who'd been composed this whole time, was now utterly terrified.

"Shao Yi's getting scared? He's thinking of running?" This was Feng Kong's inner thoughts.

He turned to look at his partner, and found that the terror in his eyes had grown. He knew right then and there that the situation had gotten completely out of control.

"Shao Yi is being led on!" he thought.

"He might've gotten intimidated, or it could be because of me…

"If it's the latter, boy, that guy over there really is something." Feng Kong was feeling unsettled.

One way or another, no fight could be had at the moment anymore.

The man on the fake mountain was simply too sure of himself and had just the right handle on how to play mind games. The time he'd given the two of them was only enough to unsettle them for a brief moment. It wasn't enough to give them more time to think.

It'd even gotten to the point where he and his partner were now mentally desynchronized.

Just when he was figuring out what to do, he caught the man on the fake mountain flap his sleeve, then shroud his hand with fire elemental spiritual source.

"Spiritual source?"

Feng Kong felt like his soul had practically left his body and like he'd been cast in some icy hell.

"Spiritual source!"

"He's not Xu Xiaoshou!" Shao Yi's telepathic message was one of utter, unconcealed terror.

Xu Xiaoshou might have been able to immediately make a breakthrough into Spiritual Cultivation Level Nine right after the matches were over, yet regardless of how much of a genius he might be, there was utterly no way that he could then make yet another breakthrough into level 10 right after that and even break into Innate Stage.

That man before them, whom they guessed to be at level nine of powers, was actually able to conjure fire elemental spiritual source. That meant that he was definitely someone at Innate Stage who had concealed his powers.

He fooled both of us!

He definitely isn't Xu Xiaoshou!

"Run," Feng Kong lowered his tone and said.

Shao Yi immediately retreated and caught up with his partner.

"Do you really think you can run away?" the man on the fake mountain chuckled. Both of them felt that everything around them was shaking before they could even get out of the compound, so much so that even rainwater from the sky seemed to be suspended midair, making the scene utterly harrowing.

Crack, crack, crack!

A vortex was seen on the water collected on the ground. Bubbles popped one after another. The water was actually boiling.

Xu Xiaoshou wanted nothing more than to have them run as far as they could. It'd be best if they could run all the way to the ends of the world and never return, yet he had to do something to make sure that they stayed around.

If he were to simply stop attacking right after the two of them ran, it would blow his cover.

Furthermore, he somehow felt that the cunning one among the two was setting him up by running.

He couldn't afford to give the other party a chance to do something.

As such, he had to make a move, yet it couldn't be something that would make them unable to run away.

That was because everything he'd done before was actually just pointless bluffs.

He pulled Infernal Heavens on them by heightening the temperature around them, adding to the pressure, to make them mistake him for someone powerful enough to affect the weather whenever he got angry.

He then pulled All Things are Swords on them, causing everything around to shake, so as to create a harrowing scene that said "I'm about to hit you" without exposing his sword will.

"So…

"Was all that enough to scare them off?"

Xu Xiaoshou extended the range of his Sense to the limit. His heart was beating so fast that it felt like it was about to leap out of his chest, but it eventually calmed down instead.

He saw that the cunning one that wasn't wearing the hood had halted the other one's movements right after the both of them had gotten to the door, stopping in place.

"My cover's blown?" he thought.

"Did I do something wrong?"

He immediately stiffened.

Doubted, Passive Points 1.

Doubted, Passive Points 1.

Lines rolled over and over on his Information Bar again. Something was definitely amiss.

He wracked his brains and processed the hundreds of possibilities abound, and was still unable to find the problem.

At that moment, he felt his skin crawl.

"He set me up!

"He was bluffing!" Feng Kong thought.

Feng Kong didn't care for the puzzled look in Shao Yi's eyes. His mind came back to work yet again.

The man on that fake mountain looked terrifying and had managed to make the scene as terrifying as he could. Yet, the most puzzling thing was that he was still trying to scare them, even when they were about to run.

But then again, there was one thing that was the most puzzling of all.

He still wouldn't turn around.

Feng Kong smirked. "Hah! Got you now!"

His act of taking Shao Yi and running was in itself a ruse. The fact that the other man wasn't doing anything to attack him, who had already slowed down, was a sign that something was amiss.

All the doubt he'd had before was immediately dispelled. He could now say with certainty that this man was Xu Xiaoshou.

Feng Kong then told his partner telepathically, "Shao Yi, keep up with my rhythm, we first…"

"Have both of you forgotten that this is my turf?" An eerie voice was heard, cutting off Feng Kong.

Vooom!

The array in the compound was activated. The barrier shrouded the entire place, and the door snapped shut.

Feng Kong got tongue-tied right there and then. He looked at the barrier, which was well within reach, and felt his mind twist into knots.

"Isn't he Xu Xiaoshou?" he thought.

According to his judgment, that man was indeed Xu Xiaoshou.

Yet, he wondered why that man would dare to trap both of them inside if he were indeed Xu Xiaoshou.

Shutting the door after invaders had gotten inside was one surefire way of getting oneself killed.

Feng Kong was dumbfounded, and tried his best to think.

"Can it be…"

"That he isn't Xu Xiaoshou?

"Or that…

"He's Xu Xiaoshou, but he managed to guess what I guess what he guessed what I guessed?

"This is ridiculous!

"Who the h*ll would go about guessing like that in such a stressful environment?"

Feng Kong was completely thrown into disarray. The activation of that array had truly messed up his thoughts.

"There are still ways around this, so long as we umm… stay focused!" Feng Kong's eyes were filled with nothing but visible tension.

Shao Yi was totally oblivious just how many thoughts were zipping through his partner's mind in that instant and simply got excited after hearing his partner tell him to keep up.

Kong finally regained his composure. "This is great!" he thought.

He immediately asked telepathically, "Kong, what do you mean rhythm? You…"

"Shut the f*k up!" Feng Kong shouted in a rage.

Shao Yi was completely dumbfounded, wondering what had just happened.

Feng Kong turned his head, and his eyes were completely bloodshot. He had almost been able to streamline his thoughts again, making sense of what that man on the fake mountain was trying to do.

Yet, that one line from Shao Yi had trashed everything so badly, that there was simply no recovering his thoughts again.

"It's over."

"We're done for."

All that was seen in Feng Kong's eyes were panic. He had lost it.

He'd lost all sense of judgment.

Before Feng Kong could process what was going on, the voice behind him came so near that he felt like it was right beside his ear.

"Turn around. Look at me."

Feng Kong's heart almost immediately stopped beating, and he wondered if he knew what he was thinking.

That was the only thing that Feng Kong felt sure of—that the man on that fake mountain wouldn't dare to turn around. That was the only thing that he relied on.

Yet, the other man had seen right through him just when he was in a mess.

He wondered if that man had actually been able to pinpoint his thoughts all along.

Feng Kong wanted to turn around, yet his neck seemed to have stiffened, as he was unable to move at all.

After all…

To a killer…

Being seen meant death.

Chapter 68: Help

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Shao Yi didn't think that much. The less one thought, the better one's life was his motto. He turned around to look at the fake mountain.

"Huh?" he thought.

"No one's around?"

He caught a silhouette in his periphery not far away, causing him to immediately turn around.

He saw a man in white clothes with his hair messily draped over his shoulder. His arms were behind his back.

This was the man who was standing on that fake mountain.

He came to stand right in front of Shao Yi.

Shao Yi's pupils contracted. The man had his head hung low, obscuring his face, yet the clothing he was wearing was noticeably tattered.

That man's clothes seemed to have been torn by a sword, and the exposed skin was all bruised and battered.

There were also vague bloodstains on said clothes that had almost all been washed away by the rain.

Shao Yi wasn't stupid. While he was unable to keep up with the terrifying thought processes exhibited by those other two, he still had basic judgment.

Judging from the extent of the man's injuries, gashes from sword attacks, and bruises…

Coupled with the fact that Xu Xiaoshou had Innate sword will and Innate Level physique…

Shao Yi could tell that the man wasn't Xu Xiaoshou.

Yet, the man had fought Xu Xiaoshou.

So the real Xu Xiaoshou…

Was dead!

"What th…"

The rain was heavy, and he dared not even turn his head around, so Shao Yi just simply stared at that man in white in the rain, feeling the scene to be rather eerie for some reason.

Brrooooom!

A rumble of thunder was heard, and the man in white lifted his head all of a sudden.

"Holy sh*!"

Shao Yi was so frightened that he kept backing away from the man until his back hit the wall. "Xu Xiaoshou!?" he uttered in fright.

"What kind of insanity is this?" he thought.

He'd just speculated that the man before his eyes wasn't Xu Xiaoshou, yet when the man had looked up, he'd shown a face with features completely identical to Xu Xiaoshou's.

"Now I see why Kong was so scared. Thinking is a frightening thing indeed."

"He's Xu Xiaoshou!" he shouted.

Feng Kong couldn't help but turn around when he heard Shao Yi's shout.

Lightning flashed across the night sky, and glimmers of silver light were seen on the man in white's face.

Both of them looked at the messy-looking man at the same time and grinned, yet their grins were anything but sincere, as that face before them felt like it belonged to someone else, and everything felt wrong.

They felt their skin crawl.

This was so d*mn terrifying.

Feng Kong was so confused that he lost all his powers of judgment. Even Shao Yi, who had just learned to think, felt like his brain was frying.

Was this guy Xu Xiaoshou or not? That was the question that came to each of their minds at almost exactly the same time.

"I'm Xu Xiaoshou."

The man in white seemed to have read their thoughts and grinned again.

Oh, they weren't going to buy that!

That crawling feeling became more intense. The two of them looked at each other, and the fear in each other's eyes was a clear as day.

Even if this man was indeed Xu Xiaoshou, they still wouldn't be able to attack him.

The scene was utterly harrowing.

"Run!"

"Run!"

They each said at almost exactly the same time. Shao Yi held his short sword in reverse grip and cut open the barrier. A rumble was heard as a fissure was torn right there and then.

"Just stay behind and rest if you're tired of playing. What's the use running anyway?" Xu Xiaoshou said coldly.

The lines on his Information Bar were no longer refreshing, but that didn't mean the two had confirmed his identity. On the contrary, he'd finally been able to confuse the two of them.

He was Xu Xiaoshou, yet he was not.

The fear of the unknown was what struck fear in the minds of those two. As for whether he was actually Xu Xiaoshou or not, that was beside the point.

Yeah…

To them at least.

Although he would've very much liked to just let them go, he had to keep playing along.

This might just be another one of the guy's scheming tricks, no?"

He couldn't afford to take chances.

Seeing the two of them getting ready to leave from that fissure in the barrier, he drew the finger blade behind his back and almost turned that eerie smile of his into the real thing, just for the sake of playing along.

Blood splattered with the snap of a finger.

"Infernal Heavens."

He did nothing but tilt his head, and invisible fire suddenly burst from Shao Yi's body. The sound of something burning was heard.

In Xu Xiaoshou's eyes, this spiritual technique of unknown level was his only weapon at the moment. All the others were just too telling, or were used at too far a distance to cause significant damage.

Drawing Hiding Pain was definitely out of the question, as there was no way those two wouldn't recognize the sword.

Yes, the only technique he could use now was Infernal Heavens. Terrifying might, yet unknown to anyone.

As expected, dread was written all over Shao Yi's face when that invisible flame began to burn. Shao Yi summoned spiritual source to defend himself, yet the flames burned his spiritual source all the same.

He panicked. "What the h*ll is this!?"

By then, he'd already come to see the man by the name of Xu Xiaoshou as a living manifestation of terror and malice. He suffered a psychological breakdown as soon as the "ghostly flames" began to burn.

"Shao Yi!"

The fissure in the barrier wasn't that large, but Feng Kong had already gotten through. After seeing that Shao Yi was still on the other side, he shouted, "Run, I'll cover you!"

Shao Yi tried his best to resist the eerie flames on him. To the naked eye, nothing appeared to be wrong with him at the moment, as Infernal Heavenly Flames were completely invisible.

"You know what I mean!" Shao Yi said something puzzling. Xu Xiaoshou then saw the man outside immediately bolt.

"What's happening?" he thought.

"Some kind of code?"

Feng Kong, who was running as fast as he could at the moment, was the only one who knew that Shao Yi was proficient in seven escape techniques, while he, on the other hand, only knew Blood Escape. As such, Shao Yi was the one who covered him whenever things went south during missions.

Yet, Shao Yi would quickly catch up before long every time, running before Feng Kong with his wine container, drinking as he shouted at Feng Kong with his weird voice, telling Feng Kong to run faster.

Pfft!

Feng Kong couldn't help but snicker at the thought.

He was very confident of Shao Yi's proficiency in escape techniques. The way he saw it, no one could keep up with someone proficient in seven escape techniques.

He'd never expected this mission tonight to turn so weird, and he wondered if someone else had been assigned by Brother He to kill Xu Xiaoshou.

He could've told the both of them!

"It's okay that he doesn't trust a lunatic like Shao Yi, but he doesn't trust me as well?" he thought.

"H*ll!"

"Sawwy, Kong."

"Maybwe I won be going back dis time…"

Shao Yi was feeling bitter. He was at the peak of Innate stage, and yet he was utterly incapable of resisting the "ghostly flames."

Was this some kind of demonic art?

He'd never seen such eerie spiritual technique at work before.

The flames seemed like they could burn down just about anything, and it took them mere moments to chew through over half of his spiritual source. He figured that he would be doomed by the time his spiritual source finally ran out.

Shao Yi looked at the man in white in the rain and tightened his grip around the short sword in his hand.

"Why isn't he attacking?" he thought.

"Does he wanna see me burn to death?

"Some twisted way to enjoy himself…

"Maybe, in the eyes of such formidable ones, this bit of power of mine makes me little more than an ant, eh?

"Whatever, I'll just keep buying time then.

"Kong, don't ever, ever come back…"

Doubted, Passive Points 1.

Belittled, Passive Points 1.

Ridiculed, Passive Points 1.

Cursed, Passive Points 1.

Xu Xiaoshou had no idea what the other guy was thinking. He simply kept up his unfazed façade, trying to make the scene as harrowing as possible.

He tried his best to vaporize the rainwater falling from the sky, stirring up vortexes on the ground and shaking the fauna all around them.

That was all.

He couldn't afford to attack.

Once he did so, the truth of him still being at level nine would be completely exposed.

He deemed that he would then be pummeled by that man before him.

He knew that despite the man looking stupid, that man was still at the peak of Innate Stage.

Xu Xiaoshou was actually panicking deep down.

"What should I do? What should I do?" he thought.

"Can someone at Spiritual Cultivation Level nine beat someone at the peak of Innate Stage?

"Someone help me!

"Help…"

Chapter 69: Exposure

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Crack, crack, crack…

The invisible Infernal Heavenly Flames kept burning, and Shao Yi was visibly struggling.

Despite being protected by spiritual source, after being exposed to such scorching power of such a peculiar nature for such a long time, his body had been burned red hot all the same.

A faint steam could be seen rising, and there was the smell of burned flesh in the air.

"Judging by the time, Kong should be a long way away by now…"

Shao Yi struggled to keep himself together as he resisted the pain. He had little spiritual source left at the moment, and if he were to stay around any longer, he probably wouldn't be able to run.

"Thinking that you've bought enough time and that it's time to run, eh?"

That cold voice was heard once again, sending shivers down Shao Yi's spine.

"Is this guy really human?" he thought. "How is it possible that he always knows what I'm thinking?"

Xu Xiaoshou kept up his nonchalant façade. He turned his gaze to the seemingly endless rain, yet his Sense allowed him to observe every muscle in Shao Yi's body.

His observation had gotten so keen that he could know if Shao Yi was about to take a p*ss or a dump from the clenching of his butt muscles.

Shao Yi's spiritual source had almost run out, yet being able to stay behind to cover his partner meant that he must have something up his sleeve.

Xu Xiaoshou figured that the man either had some surreal, high-level technique for escaping or had truly thought of staying behind to fight to his death.

If it was the former, that would be entirely okay. But if his intention was the latter, Xu Xiaoshou would be in deep trouble.

As such, Xu Xiaoshou had no choice but to keep encouraging thoughts of running away in the other man through his words.

Yet, at the same time, he was also afraid that after escaping the man might find something amiss and then come back with the other one.

He'd really be done for if that happened.

As such, Xu Xiaoshou made up his mind. Though he would have liked very much for that man to just leave, he knew that the man had to stay behind.

The man had to stay behind as a dead body.

As for how to go about reducing him to a dead body…

Xu Xiaoshou saw that to be quite a problem…

Shao Yi was utterly terrified, yet he was unable to delay any longer. The longer he stayed, the worse his condition would become; he had to leave right away.

However, the man spoke again just when he was about to escape.

"Do you really that you're the one buying time here?

"I'm buying time as well…"

Shao Yi's body stiffened. He wondered what that man was getting at.

He wondered if the man had sustained some kind of injury when fighting Xu Xiaoshou before and was recuperating at the moment.

Seeing that Shao Yi wasn't saying anything, Xu Xiaoshou kept talking just to buy more time. "Do you really think your friend can escape?

He spouted whatever came to mind. "You're not the only one who's going to stay behind tonight. That guy won't be out there for long."

Shao Yi was terrified, and he checked his soul and aura all over, yet was unable to find a mark on him.

"Impossubu!"

"You dun even know us. How cud you leave a mark on us?"

Xu Xiaoshou was dumbfounded. First, because of the man's peculiar accent. And second, because of the mark he was talking about.

"What mark?" he thought.

"This guy really has one h*ll of an imagination!

"Whatever. Better some response than nothing at all. So long as I keep at it, I'll have no problems delaying the guy.

"The longer he burns, the less spiritual source he'll have left in him, and I bet he doesn't have any spiritual techniques like 'High Spirits.'"

"So," Xu Xiaoshou continued calmly. "You think you're combusting all on your own all of a sudden?"

"What does he mean?" he thought.

"Combusting on my own?"

Shao Yi's heart skipped a beat as he suddenly recalled that the man in white had never even touched him, yet he'd immediately ignited with those "ghostly flames."

This guy…

Was utterly terrifying!

"No, I can't stay here any longer," Shao Yi thought to himself. "If I stay around, who knows what else will hit me. If I can't run…

"Then instead of just sitting around, I should do something!"

Xu Xiaoshou, at that moment, was totally oblivious that his attempt at delaying that man had had the opposite effect, and kept droning on. "Let's play a game…"

Swoop!

A beam of black light was shot at him, immediately cutting him off mid-sentence.

Xu Xiaoshou's Sense never stopped. When Shao Yi shot the short sword in his sleeve like a bolt of lightning at him, he simply flicked his finger condescendingly, acting like some really, really powerful warrior.

Clang!

The work of Recoil coupled with Sharpness deflected the blade, which was tens of meters away, right then and there, and it flew into the wall, getting lodged there.

He was completely baffled the next second. Two of his fingers seemed to have gotten plastered together midair, and he couldn't pull them back.

"Sh*!" he thought.

"D*mn. What have I done? Why did I flick the blade away with my fingers?

"Why couldn't I have just doged it instead?

"Help!"

Shao Yi was also dumbfounded. He'd initially thought of throwing the short sword, finding an opening, and running.

Yet, after seeing what happened, both of his legs felt like molten lead had been poured into them, preventing him from moving.

His eyes were filled with disbelief, and even his voice became shaky as he said, "I-Innate Level physique?"

"No…" Xu Xiaoshou took a deep breath. "That's incorrect."

"Huh?"

"That was actually '10 Sections of the Finger Sword.'"

"Huh!?"

Shao Yi was feeling as if the world were falling down around him, and he was no longer able to think at all.

"This guy is Xu Xiaoshou!" he thought.

Yet, how could he be Xu Xiaoshou??

But that Innate Level physique…

None of the 33 in the Inner Yard had something like that!

This was definitely Xu Xiaoshou!

Shao Yi felt like his eyes were about to pop out of his sockets and like his brain were about to explode, as he found the revelation utterly unacceptable.

If this man were indeed Xu Xiaoshou, then his level of powers were simply that of someone who had just made a breakthrough into Spiritual Cultivation Level Nine, which would make him little more than an insect in Shao Yi's eyes.

"Both of us actually got played like that for so d*mn long?" he thought.

"And he actually scared Kong so much that he bolted?"

Doubted, Passive Points 1.

Doubted, Passive Points 1.

The lines kept popping up on the Information Bar in his mind. Xu Xiaoshou knew that he wouldn't be able to keep that under wraps for long.

He was exasperated that all the effort he'd put into pretending to be bigger than he actually was had all been for naught because of that one flick of the finger. No one would think that he was really just doing such a thing out of habit.

One's habits could really bring about one's doom.

"Sorry for lying. I'm Xu Xiaoshou.

"You're a good person…"

Shao Yi was fuming. He was so enraged that he was about to suffer internal hemorrhaging.

He siphoned his spiritual source and was about to attack, when he found that he had little to spare by then.

"You have no spiritual source left, which means that you won't be able to beat me."

Xu Xiaoshou knew that man's condition like the back of his own hand and advised, "Leave now and I'll pretend that you were never here, and I'll just go back to sleep?"

"You'll be sleeping in a coffin, because I'm going to make sure you're dead!" Shao Yi rushed at him with a short sword in his hand.

It was frustrating enough being duped and seeing one's beliefs crumble before one's eyes, and worse still, Xu Xiaoshou had taunted him like he was all high and mighty, and that was something Shao Yi wasn't going to take lying down.

Berated, Passive Points 1.

Nice!

Xu Xiaoshou leapt and quickly retreated.

He'd been afraid that the man before him would actually cool down and run away just to call his friend.

He totally didn't expect the man to lose his cool so much that he'd choose to fight instead.

"Even though a Spiritual Cultivator at the peak of Origin Court level is very powerful, do you seriously think you can fight when you've no spiritual source left?

"You really think that that frail body of yours will be of any use?"

Despite his thoughts, Xu Xiaoshou was still running as fast as he could.

Although it was fun jeering at his enemy, if that man had somehow retained even a bit of spiritual source, it would be enough to take him out.

"I can't afford to give him any chances," he thought.

"I need to make sure that all of his spiritual source is burned away before I can make a move."

Pursued, Passive Points 1.

"Huh?" he thought.

"What the h*ll?"

Chapter 70: Wearing Him Down to Nothing Right Then and There

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The longer Shao Yi chased after Xu Xiaoshou, the angrier he got. He had come to firmly believe that this man was Xu Xiaoshou.

He wondered just how cautious Xu Xiaoshou was for not daring to fight him, even when he was already in such a miserable state.

He regretted everything.

He thought that he should have just blasted that pretentious idiot down as soon as he'd gotten the chance back then instead of wasting time trying to figure him out.

If he had attacked just once, Xu Xiaoshou's cover would have been completely blown.

But then again, he was also curious as to just how Xu Xiaoshou had managed to mess that compound up in such a short period of time.

There was simply no way anyone would have been able to do that, conventionally speaking.

Furthermore, being able to make such a huge mess could also mean that Xu Xiaoshou knew that they were coming before they came, and Shao Yi wondered how that was possible.

That kid was only at Spiritual Cultivation level eight or nine, man!

Shao Yi shuddered to find that Xu Xiaoshou was already at level nine.

That meant that he had also coincidentally made a breakthrough in his training.

He became increasingly confused about everything, and wondered just how Xu Xiaoshou had managed to do all of that in such a short period of time.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

Shao Yi glared at the man before him, who was evidently very good at running, before eventually running out of patience and shouting, "If you're a man, stay where you are!"

Xu Xiaoshou was amused. "You're here to kill me and you're telling me to stop running?" he thought. "What do you want me to do? Roll over, put my neck to your sword, and really make it easy for you to kill me?"

"Catch me if you can!" he shouted.

Shao Yi took a deep breath and stopped. He was already at his limit.

If it wasn't for those "ghostly flames" burning him, he could have had the kid kneel before him. The flames were just too troublesome. If he were to keep chasing, it would only be a matter of time before his spiritual source was depleted, which meant that he could really just die on the spot.

He realized that he had to run.

"You wanna run? H*ll no!"

Before he could manage to turn around and bolt, Xu Xiaoshou, who was running in front of him, turned around and pounced at him with clenched fists.

Shao Yi was going crazy. "What is wrong with this kid?"

"Does he, like, have eyes on the back of his head?" he thought. "Eyes that can read minds, even?"

He wondered just how Xu Xiaoshou was able to read his every move with utter precision.

"Let's go, then!"

Seeing Xu Xiaoshou charging at him, Shao Yi immediately summoned his short sword from the wall and waited for the chance to strike.

"Huh? You're not running away now?"

Xu Xiaoshou stopped, then ran again.

Shao Yi: "What the f*k?"

"Godd*mn you!

"Oh, this kid really knows how to play tricks."

At that moment, it didn't just feel like the world was crashing down around him. It felt like death was imminent. He was about to be torn to pieces!

At that moment, Xu Xiaoshou stopped and slowly turned around, smirking like a demon as he walked up to Shao Yi.

"I'm guessing… that you've run out of spiritual source?"

Shao Yi's heart sank. He checked his energy reserve and found that his spiritual source was indeed about to be depleted.

"That as*ole…" he thought.

"He's buying time!"

A that moment Shao Yi full realized that despite looking like a lunatic, Xu Xiaoshou was actually wearing him down with the "ghost flames," and he knew that he would definitely be worn down to nothing if the situation continued.

"Calm down!" he thought.

"I can't afford to be infuriated."

He realized that he'd made a fatal mistake that no professional killer should've made. He immediately calmed himself down and sneered, "Do you really think you can take me down with your ghost flames?"

"What else, then?" Xu Xiaoshou slowly walked up to him.

Shao Yi chuckled. Had this kid gone crazy? He really didn't think he could just replenish his spiritual source?

He flipped his hand, and a pill appeared on his palm. He looked like he was about to throw into his mouth.

Yet, Xu Xiaoshou, who was still walking up to Shao Yi, must've predicted this from the start, because he sucked hard, and the pill disappeared, disintegrating into a fine mist that hovered over him.

He only took one-tenth of the pill's power, and let the rest scatter into the air.

Shao Yi was completely baffled.

Just what kind of demonic art was this?

He then took out yet another pill, not believing that Xu Xiaoshou could pull the same trick again, yet despite trying as hard as he could to hold onto the pill, it still took Xu Xiaoshou only one sucking breath to draw all that spiritual energy away.

Shao Yi fell to his knees, suddenly feeling as if the world before him had gone dark.

Despite being at the peak of Origin Court level, this was his first time feeling like death was imminent, even though he was only fighting an insect who was at Spiritual Cultivation level nine.

"Thank you for your pills. Anything else?"

Xu Xiaoshou only shuddered slightly and showed no other signs of wavering.

He was controlling the might of Breathing Technique, enabling him to suck in only the right amount of spiritual energy needed.

Those weren't his own pills, and he deemed that it was enough to take just a whiff. The rush of taking in more would cause him to go out of control, and he wasn't about to give that man who was out to kill him any chances.

Crackle, crackle.

Shao Yi was evidently unable to resist the terrifying might of the Infernal Heavenly Flames now that his spiritual source was near empty. His face immediately twisted.

He knew that he had nowhere to run. His physical body wasn't all that strong, and his spiritual source was almost gone, making escape impossible.

"I just wanna know right now if you really are at Spiritual Cultivation Level nine," Shao Yi asked disparingly.

There was no way he'd believe that Xu Xiaoshou had only that bit of powers. He deemed that the kid had duped everyone from the Outer Yard.

Xu Xiaoshou seemd to relax his guard. "Oh, conventional powers are not my forte," he said.

Shao Yi hung his head low in silence, gritting his teeth as he resisted the flames, which had almost charred his entire body.

"Can I ask you a question?" Xu Xiaoshou asked.

Shao Yi looked up at him.

"What level are you at?"

Shao Yi had been prepared to stay mum or take everything he knew to the grave. He totally didn't expect Xu Xiaoshou to ask this instead, and he wondered what his level had to do with the assassination attempt.

"Origin Court level. Peak." Shao Yi didn't conceal the fact.

"Peak at Origin Court level?" Xu Xiaoshou repeated the line and stayed silent for a bit before uttering, "So weak…"

Shao Yi was completely baffled.

Blood was seeping out of the corners of his eyes and spurting from his mouth. He clenched his fists tight all of a sudden, yet then quickly released them.

Oh ho?

He was already done for, then?

Xu Xiaoshou had long been aware of this from Sense, yet he just kept yapping away. "So, your friend. He's at Voidness level?"

"Yeah."

"Your name?"

"Feng Jia."

"Your friend's?"

"Shao Kong."

"Hehe, like I'd buy that."

"Why the f*k did you bother asking then!?" he thought.

Shao Yi was so p*ssed he was speechless. His entire body started spasming. The Infernal Heavenly Flames had shrouded his entire body by this point, and he looked like he would be reduced to dust the next second.

"Any last words? Spill."

Xu Xiaoshou never let his guard down. Despite looking high and mighty, as if death didn't concern him, he was extremely tense at that moment.

"He's nearing his end, eh?" he thought.

"Self-destruct?

"Or is he gonna teleport out of here?"

Xu Xiaoshou had no idea what would happen next, yet he'd already inwardly listed out all the possible tricks the man might have up his sleeve, determined not to give that man any chance at escape.

Bloody mist burst from Shao Yi as Xu Xiaoshou continued to ponder. All of Shao Yi's soul and power was amplified in an instant and charged at him with a thrust of his sword.

"Die!"

"I knew it…" Xi Xiaoshou thought.

Caught off-guard, he fell back, yet when the two were about to touch each other, a black beam shot out from his chest, punching through the bloody figure.

Pfftt!

Despite having put his hand up to block it in the nick of time, Xu Xiaoshou's chest was nonetheless pierced by Shao Yi's short sword.

A mysterious force deflected both parties away, and the next sword attack from Shao Yi missed, punching only through the air.

Which was where Xu Xiaoshou's heart should've been.

"How can this be?" Shao Yi's expression was that of shock.

"Reverse Sword Style"

Before Shao Yi could get himself together after being sent flying, the sound of a sword slicing through the air was heard, and Hiding Pain shot out and cleanly sliced his head off.

Blood sprayed everywhere.

The kill was as clean as could be.

---

Read I Am Loaded with Passive Skills Chapter 71 - One More online for free - AllNovelFull

Chapter 71: One More

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

A headless body dropped to the ground, splashing water everywhere. There was still a puzzled expression on the now-severed head of Shao Yi.

He was thinking, "Didn't the kid already let his guard down? How was he able to react in time?"

He was thinking, "Why would a sword shoot out of a person's chest?"

He was thinking, "The kid was completely unable to resist even that one attack of mine, so why was I sent flying?"

Thump.

Water splashed as the head bobbed in the puddle.

Xu Xiaoshou clenched the muscles in his chest as he rose from the ground. He pulled the sword out of his chest and took a look at the hole there, which almost went straight through him to his back.

"Sh, this hurts…"

Innate Level Physique, Sharpness, spiritual source shielding. All three of these added together, and still that man had been able to punch a hole right through him.

"The peak of Origin Court level really is insanely powerful!" he noted to himself.

The injuries all over his body were almost completely done healing.

He waved his head and burned the dead body away, leaving only that head with a puzzled look on its face behind.

"Puzzled, huh?

"You should be.

"If you'd been able to figure everything out, I'd be lying on the ground now instead…"

Xu Xiaoshou was still reeling from shock and fright. If it hadn't been for Recoil coming into effect at the very last moment, he would have probably suffered yet another stab.

If one of his vital organs had been hit, he thought that not even Eternal Vitality would have been able to heal him.

He touched his chest. Deep down, he was impressed.

"Innate Level Recoil sure is something. The more damaging the opponent's attack, the further away they'll be sent flying."

That meant if anyone out there wasn't able to kill him with one shot, that first shot would widen the distance between them.

And when he apparently had more information than the other, he would definitely be able to buy more time to get prepared, just like with the Reverse Style he'd just pulled.

That was simply no way out of such a predicament.

Furthermore, with both Eternal Vitality and High Spirits at work, no one would be able to fight a war of attrition against him, so long as his opponent didn't manage to score a one-hit kill.

He rescinded the Infernal Spiritual Source, which was wrecking the place, after High Spirits came to mind. The rain was no longer vaporizing, and was able to fall normally.

"That Fundamental Passive Skill sure is terrifying," he thought.

It had enabled him to maintain the harrowing mood throughout the entire ordeal all on his own, and had even burned that assassin almost to a crisp with the Infernal Heavenly Flames.

When he checked on his energy reserve, he found there was only a small bit of spiritual source left.

Yet, that bit was regenerating at a rate visible to the naked eye.

"Who would be able to withstand something like this, eh…"

Xu Xiaoshou mourned his future enemies, as those three major Fundamental Passive Skills of his were utterly insane.

Even Breathing Technique had been converted into a method of attack.

He wondered just how dejected that man had felt when he'd sucked the pill dry right then and there.

He shook his head. His face was drenched by rainwater, which cooled him down somewhat.

Peak of Origin Court level…

Despite the fact that someone at such a level was very powerful, they were still weaker than what he'd expected.

He wondered if that perception had anything to do with the fact that the man he'd fought had only been able to pull one effective attack on him from start to finish.

After that battle, he'd become fully aware that the huge gap between himself and those Innate Level veterans wasn't so big that he couldn't close it as he was.

This made sense. Conventional powers were indeed not his forte. In fact, one could even say that they were his greatest weakness.

Yet, conventional wisdom dictated that one's powers were the basic determining factor that decided how well one could do in combat.

This explained the fact why, despite knowing his situation and knowing that he had more up his sleeve, people would nonetheless somehow underestimate him one way or another.

He deemed that so long as he could make good use of this, he could bring enemies far stronger than him down all the same.

The rain kept falling, and he stood under it in silence, sorting out all the thoughts in his head.

Soon, he forcibly suppressed his thoughts and came back to his senses.

"There's one more…

"The battle may not be over yet."

Xu Xiaoshou looked at the ground. The only loot he'd gotten from the battle was two short swords and a head, as he'd burned the rest.

Interrogating the man hadn't been very useful. Even though the man had willingly answered all of his questions, he didn't dare to believe any of what he'd said.

The only thing he knew with certainty was that the man who'd run away was probably of a level higher than the one who'd died.

Worse still, that man might come back.

He was more inclined to believe that people were cold-blooded, and more so in the case of those two, given that they were killers. There was no certainty that the one who'd run would come back to retrieve his partner.

But then again, what if he did?

In actual fact, a lot of what-ifs that he'd speculated in that battle had come true. The cunning one who'd run was the truly meticulous and calculative one—the type to fight with their brains.

Huff…

Xu Xiaoshou exhaled heavily, feeling worn inside and out.

Yet, he had to keep alert all the same, as that other man might just be waiting for him to let his guard down.

"How should I go about this?

"Pre-emptive strike, wait for the assassin to come, or trap him?"

In a split second, dozens of thoughts raced through his head, yet he rejected them all.

If he were unable to bear overwhelming force down on that assassin and kill said assassin before he was able to react, then these thoughts would've been for nothing.

Furthermore, the one who'd escaped was still nonetheless at Voidness Level.

That was two whole levels higher than the level he was at.

Xu Xiaoshou was exasperated. He wondered who exactly he'd offended to warrant them sending such terrifying assassins at him.

Furthermore, according to his experience, the assassins sent at him should've only been a little stronger than he was, and he could've then used them as stepping stones to facilitate further growth.

"This really isn't working as it should. How should I go about it, then?

He started pondering. If the one who'd escaped were to return, what should he do in order to kill him?

Developing powers were out of the question.

Innate Level Physique…

"Yeah, this may be of some use," he thought.

But, when fighting up close and personal, one or the other would definitely end up killed. Too risky.

"Well then, that leaves Infernal Heavenly Flames and Innate Sword Will…"

He could afford to splurge with the former, yet he definitely couldn't use it as his main attack, as it would simply take too much time.

As for Innate Sword Will…

Xu Xiaoshou wracked his brains. He would be able to win.

Only something like that would enable one to kill someone of a higher level, no?

Acquired Sword Will could already take on those at Innate Level, so with his sword will now at Innate Level, it wouldn't be preposterous to think that it could kill someone at Voidness Level.

"Very possible indeed.

"I can't afford to get close, yet I have to score a one-hit kill…"

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes lit up. "Blade-draw!"

"Indeed.

"Only the fourth style, Blade-draw, that I've created would allow me to do that!"

However, he quickly became dejected again.

After making it into Innate Level, the spiritual source it would cause to use that technique was simply too terrifying. That battle with Mo Mo had ended up with him depleting his energy reserve with just two such moves. Useless, then?

He guessed that not even High Spirits would allow him to instantly recover from such a splurge.

"And what if the guy survives after me using that move twice?" he thought. "Am I gonna just fight him barehanded, then?

"Well, it's not like it's not an option.

"I guess that guy probably doesn't have some Innate Elemental power as ridiculous as Sealing Power right?

"No, no, no. Too dangerous."

Xu Xiaoshou shook his head, thinking that unless he had a great deal of spiritual source that he could field in an instant, he would otherwise…

"Huh?

"Hold on!

"Recovering large amounts of spiritual source in an instant?

"That seems possible, no?"

He then shuddered, and his legs wobbled, as he came up with this terrifying thought.

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Chapter 72: The Woods

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Swoop!

A short sword sliced through the air, and Xu Xiaoshou caught it.

Even though he was using someone else's spiritual sword, he was still able to use his own Innate Sword Will to execute the Reverse Sword Style.

"The experiment was a success!

"Well, this should settle it…"

He clasped the short sword in his hand, and the blade immediately snapped in half.

Without an infusion of spiritual source, the spiritual sword was completely unable to resist his Sharpness.

He picked up the other short sword and the head on the ground, thought for a moment, then walked out of the door of his place.

"What would I do if I was the one running away?" He tried to put himself in the assassin's shoes.

"Run!

"Run as far as I could and never turn back!

"Cough, cough…

"Okay, that seems a little too idealistic.

"Now, if I were the one running away and I had to turn back somehow. What would I do?" he asked himself, caressing his chin.

"First of all, I'd most probably check things out from afar using skills similar to Sense, and, if things weren't in my favor, turn around and run. If things were in my favor, continue moving in with caution.

"Regardless of how powerful that guy's Sense-like skills are, they're no match to mine. That much was already proven back in that battle in the compound. So, if he were to find somewhere to check things out…"

He peered at that field before his compound and found a winding road before him with two patches of woods on either side of it.

"That's a really long road. They must've taken that road to get to my place.

"Even if his sensory powers are indeed very powerful, he'd need to get over halfway inside the woods. If he were to set up an ambush anywhere, this place would be the best choice," he commented confidently.

Clang!

He dumped the sword he'd cut in half onto the ground.

"If that guy were here to see this, he'd definitely start panicking."

He then counted the number of Spiritual Cultivation Pills in his ring. After claiming his reward for becoming champion, he now had tens of bottles left in his ring.

"More than enough." He then walked into the woods.

If that guy didn't turn around tonight, he would just leave him be. This bit of rain wasn't that much of a problem.

But, if he were to dare turn around…

Hmph, they would never be able to go home.

"Wait… no," he thought.

"What if I just anticipated what he thought, and he anticipated what I've anticipated that he thought?"

He felt his skin crawl, finding that to be very possible.

He immediately turned around, picked up the broken pieces of the sword, then headed straight into the woods.

Every second counts!

Swoop!

The sound of something slicing through the air rang out in the rain, and a crimson beam was seen shooting out from the Inner Yard.

Feng Kong was filled with uncontrollable rage and indignation.

Xu Xiaoshou!

That really was Xu Xiaoshou!

If it hadn't been for that far-range telepathic message that Shao Yi sent him before dying, he would have kept waiting at the entrance of the Inner Yard instead.

Because of his hesitation and the time he'd spent waiting around, Shao Yi had bit the dust.

That guy had killed him!

"He shouldn't have died…" Feng Kong was gritting his teeth so hard that his gums started to bleed. The rage he felt was uncontainable.

And when he recalled how Xu Xiaoshou had managed to play them for fools back at the compound, his rage went off the charts.

"A puny level niner actually managed to scare me away like this, and then wear down Shao Yi, who was at the peak of Origin Court Level, until he died. This is unforgivable!

"You'd better pray that you can run…"

"But then again, you shall spend the rest of your life living in fear!"

Feng Kong was behaving as though he were possessed. His expression was completely twisted as he moved at blitzing speeds. It took him mere moments to go all the way from the Inner Yard to somewhere near Goose Lake.

It all looked the same as before. The only difference was that now there was no longer anyone at his side.

That was indeed ironic.

The rain continued to patter on the surface of the lake, spreading ripples with every drop. The geese and fishes were startled by the terrifying killing intent from Feng Kong, and scattered all over the lake.

Bubble, bubble.

Several bubbles on the lake popped, and Feng Kong leapt over Goose Lake, then stood on the jade fence.

"Calm down!" The rainwater made him come back to his senses, and he calmed his rage.

Even though his partner had ended up dead because of his misjudgment, he didn't see that as any reason to lose his cool.

Being a professional killer for years had given him a clear mind, and he steadied himself as he started to think.

"Xu Xiaoshou…

"The kid isn't strong because of his powers. He's strong because of his thought patterns, which are equal to mine."

That much had been verified from the psychological game they'd played back in that compound, yet Feng Kong had yet to admit that he'd actually lost in that game.

He deemed that he'd only been frightened due to what he'd seen back then, which had given his enemy an advantage to exploit.

At the moment, having distanced himself from that game, and now observing it from the outside, he deemed that Xu Xiaoshou had pulled little more than petty tricks.

"He indeed has smarts, yet he lacks the power to back up said smarts. At the end of the day, he's still just an insect."

Despite this, though, Feng Kong had to take said insect seriously. "If I were Xu Xiaoshou, how would I get out of such a predicament?

"Run!

"Run as far as I could, leaving behind that compound altogether."

But Feng Kong shook his head, knowing that Xu Xiaoshou would never do that. In the first place, Xu Xiaoshou couldn't escape the Spirit Palace. And even if he did leave the Spirit Palace, he would run into more people after his life.

"The kid is clever. He definitely knows that he could run for the time being, just not for the rest of his life.

"So… ambush then?"

Feng Kong was feeling rather uncertain. He wondered if the kid actually had what it took to pull off an ambush.

Yet, he recalled what happened to Shao Yi.

That guy had been at the peak of Origin Court Level, and he alone would have been enough to finish the mission.

"Yet, after I ran… umm, I got away for mere moments, the kid actually managed to kill Shao Yi.

"Just how did he die?"

Feng Kong was unable to truly believe any of it. He couldn't believe that Xu Xiaoshou, even if said kid did have many tricks up his sleeve, a mere level niner, had what it took to kill Shao Yi.

Yet, he had to believe the facts at hand.

He didn't dwell on the minor details for long, and simply went on speculating. "If he does have what it takes to kill me, and he set up an ambush, what would he do?"

The rainy night was all quiet again.

As he pondered, his killing intent lessened. The geese on the lake started to cry again, and the lake water bubbled, as if there were fishes blowing bubbles inside.

"If I were Xu Xiaoshou…" Feng Kong tilted his head and frowned. Then, his eyes lit up. "I would deduce my thoughts!

"That's it! That's how he would do it!

"That guy's forte is anticipating the thoughts of others. That much was proven back in the compound when he managed to see through all of my plans and tricks.

"If he set up an ambush, he probably thought things through from my angle…"

Feng Kong nodded solemnly, feeling that he finally knew what he would be heading into.

"He has no idea what I'm capable of, so he could probably only resort to guesses, and he definitely doesn't know that I already know who he is right now."

"So, let's say he deduced that I would come back to kill him. He probably wouldn't anticipate me going all the way to his place to kill him. He'd probably think what I would think. I would take it slow, searching meticulously and checking things out back in the compound…

"With Shao Yi already dead right now, if he's smart enough he'd know I'd be a sitting duck if I remained back in the compound.

"There's also only one road leading to that compound. The winding, long road in the woods…"

Feng Kong then realized something. "The woods?

"Very possible.

"If I'd gone through with what I planned beforehand, regardless of whether I went all the way or was more cautious, Xu Xiaoshou only would've needed to set up an ambush in the woods, and I'd have walked right into it without even thinking of the possibility.

"And the result…"

He couldn't help but shudder at the thought, finding it terrifying.

He considered himself lucky for having seen through the situation before making a move. Now there was little else to worry about.

Vengeance was seen in Feng Kong's eyes. He'd initially been out to kill this person because of a mission, but now he had another reason for doing it.

To vent his rage.

"The woods, huh…"

"Xu Xiaoshou, prepare to meet your doom, then."

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Chapter 73: You Were So Bad…

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

A storm was brewing, and clouds were gathering.

Feng Kong had made up his mind. Thus, without hesitation, off he went with the wind.

However, he didn't expect the tree before him to shake and drop an object after being blown by the wind.

Klink Klank!

Feng Kong glanced at it indifferently, but when he saw it, he was shocked and almost fell from the sky.

"A broken sword?" he thought.

"No, this is…

"Shao Yi's sword!"

Feng Kong was trembling all over, and his pupils contracted. Although he already knew that Shao Yi had died, seeing the remains of his relics still made him feel tremendously shocked, as if he'd been hit by a tsunami.

"Xu Xiaoshou!"

Feng Kong squeezed through his teeth, deeply aggrieved. He couldn't help but walk towards the sword, but then something suddenly dawned on him.

How could Shao Yi's sword have dropped here?

Could it be that he'd already escaped the courtyard and had run to Goose Lake but still ended up getting aggressively slashed by that Xu Xiaoshou here?

If that was the case…

Xu Xiaoshou, where art thou?

Feng Kong started to become suspicious, as he'd just deduced that Xu Xiaoshou was in the woods, and the scene before him had deeply affected him.

Ring!

Before he could think further, the broken sword on the ground started to vibrate. Feng Kong thought that this was bad and immediately retreated backward.

It was too late!

The broken sword exploded suddenly, and a wave of invisible aura instantly spread out.

"Fire!"

Feng Kong was affected in a blink of an eye. Even though his mind was paralyzed from shock, he saw that his body was being burned by an invisible flame.

It was an extreme pain!

He subconsciously used his spiritual source to guard his body, but his spiritual source also ended up getting burned.

"What the h*ll is this…"

Feng Kong was completely dumbfounded, as he'd never seen invisible flames like this before, but this didn't stop him from confirming one fact!

Xu Xiaoshou was right here at this location!

But how was this possible?

The area before him was wide and open. Where was Xu Xiaoshou hiding?

If he was somewhere in the distance, then how was he able to control this broken sword from afar?

"He must be here!" Feng Kong was knocked back to the white jade railing by the explosion, and he suddenly realized something when he landed on his feet on the ground.

"If he's not in front of me…" he thought.

"Then could it be that he's behind me?

"But I flew by Goose Lake. How is it possible that I didn't discover him?

"That's not right!"

He trembled again all of a sudden and looked over to the surface of the lake with a look of disbelief.

Xu Xiaoshou…

Was at the bottom of the lake???

It seemed that his suspicion was right, as there were bubbles coming off the lake surface, creating splashes. A black shadow then emerged from a water pillar.

Feng Kong didn't have time to turn around, as he'd just come to a halt. He was feeling stiff from switching force, and could only slash at the shadow without thinking.

Feng Kong's bloody hand mercilessly slashed at the black shadow.

"Slice!"

A crisp sound was immediately heard, and the black shadow was cut in half. At this time, Feng Kong finally saw what the item really was.

It was a head!

Shao Yi's head!

"Ah ah ah!"

Feng Kong was sent into hysterics. He…

Cut his teammate's head in half?

"Xu! Xiao! Shou!"

"I will kill you!!!"

Feng Kong was consumed by the flame of anger and completely lost his composure. He slashed with his bloody red arms again and threw out two crimson slashes right at the location the head had flown out from.

"I, I am here," a shaky voice came from the other end of the lake. Xu Xiaoshou had shifted his position the moment he threw out the head.

Feng Kong looked over suddenly and saw that Xu Xiaoshou was shivering and that his eyes were all white. His legs were bending inward, and, standing on the railing not far away, he looked so frail that he might fall at any moment.

However, his right hand was resting on the sword sheath on his left hip. It contained such a jaw-dropping amount of sword will that he went numb looking at him.

"Innate Sword Will?"

Feng Kong felt his head ache. He was shocked at the incredible level of Innate Sword Will Xu Xiaoshou had.

How much energy had he compressed into the sword sheath? If he were to release everything, even an upper spiritual level wouldn't be able to stop it.

Feng Kong suddenly understood how Shao Yi had died.

A thick cloud of deadly aura enshrouded him, and he felt a chill go up him from his feet all the way to his head. Without any hesitation, he retreated backward again.

"It's, it's too late…"

Xu Xiaoshou's mouth and teeth were still trembling and chattering, as he had swallowed ten Spiritual Cultivation Pills and compressed the Innate Sword Aura under the lake for more than a quarter of an hour. There was no way this guy could dodge it so easily.

Even if Feng Kong were standing in the woods, let alone in close proximity, he still might not be able to dodge it.

Xu Xiaoshou bent over slightly, positioning himself lower.

"Blade-draw Technique!"

He didn't draw the sword, but the leaves flew all the same.

The willow trees by the lake were completely chopped in half, and a few huge waves were created on the lake. Rain was falling in the woods, and blood was spilling in the sky.

"Ah!"

Feng Kong had nowhere to run as he roared in pain.

When he caught a glimpse of the white sword aura, half of his body and an ear was blown away, and the extreme pain almost instantly knocked him out!

"Demon!"

"This is a demon!"

Feng Kong's eyes were full of fear, and he completely lost the will to fight.

Xu Xiaoshou's fighting strength had nothing to do with his cultivation level. He could fight an upper spiritual level with this sword and maybe even the thirty-three people from the inner yard.

The problem was…

Why had he waited until now to strike?

Why didn't he do this in the courtyard?

Feng Kong was knocked out of his mind, and he started to use his spiritual source to heal himself. If he hadn't subconsciously tilted his head at the critical moment, it would've been cracked open!

"I missed…"

On the other side, Xu Xiaoshou's lips twitched as he stared at the half of Feng Kong's body that had been cut away, feeling helpless.

He had actually screwed up at the final moment due to the pleasant sensation. If not for that, he would have slashed Feng Kong in half, not just a big portion of his body!

Even so, he was surprised by his sword.

How could it be that strong?

It shouldn't be the case!

Even Mo Mo had been able to take the sword barehanded on that day and swallow one more slash. Although he'd done that without the enhancement from ten Spiritual Cultivation Pills, the power between those slashes and this one shouldn't have been that different.

Without much thought, Xu Xiaoshou withdrew his sword again, as he still had some remaining spiritual source.

The giant waves on the lake never once subsided, and they actually started raging upward again. The water in the woods was sent into the sky before flowing back to the lake.

Feng Kong's injured body had instincitvely evaded a ray of sword aura, but a second wave of sword aura arrived before he could react.

"Slice!"

Another arm was sent flying to the sky.

The rainy night was silent as death, and blood was spilled all over the blue sky.

The light in Feng Kong's eyes had gone out. He'd never expected to lose so completely just because of his momentary carelessness.

Just because he had wrongly estimated where Xu Xiaoshou's ambush was it, he'd lost the opportunity to strike first. And now he wouldn't even be able to use any of his skills before perishing.

He stood in the same spot in despair and gave up struggling.

He was used to hunting, but now he had become the prey.

He had already expected this outcome when he'd chosen to be a killer. The only thing that hadn't cross his mind was that he would die at the hands of the like of Xu Xiaoshou.

"I can't believe this…"

Feng Kong was spurting blood. As gaunt as a pillar, he stood still, staring at Xu Xiaoshou with his empty eyes…

"Hmm?" he thought.

"He's not gonna execute me? Is he out of spiritual source?"

He saw that Xu Xiaoshou had let go of his sword. Had he decided to let him go alive?

Feng Kong was wild with joy, and he turned to leave.

"Swoosh!"

A blue light flashed before him and instantly impaled his head.

Ugh…

What the f*ck was that?

Feng Kong collapsed. He was still confused as his consciousness slowly dissipated. It wasn't until the very final moment of his life that he then realized:

Shao Yi's… sword?

But nobody would answer him anymore.

Under the sunlight, there wasn't even a single bone left.

"I thought you were good, but I was wrong…

"When you slashed the head in half, still not realizing the existence of the sword, that was when you lost. Even if you had dodged my "Blade-drawing Technique" later on…

"But you couldn't even dodge Blade-drawing Technique.

Xu Xiaoshou walked by slowly and picked up the sword, then turned to Goose Lake.

"You were so bad…"

Chapter 74: The Night is Beautiful

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Were they really that bad?

Actually, they were doing okay.

However, Xu Xiaoshou realized that he had severely overestimated those two because of their strengths.

For a real life-and-death battle, the factors that determined survival consisted of more than just one's cultivation level, unless one were up against two complete idiots.

An arena battle was completely different. Factors that determined survival included timing, location, and personal agency…

He couldn't do without any of them.

He'd been able to realize their intentions because of Sense, which had also caused him to misjudge their true strengths due to the cultivation level and the accidental geographical changes resulting from the lucky draw. As such, he'd had to make a series of guesses.

Of course, it was undeniable that his adaptability had saved his life.

Hmm…

To be frank, he was just smart!

Xu Xiaoshou was a little scared, because if he hadn't managed to intimidate those two, leading them to initiate the battle first, the end result could've been vastly different.

Yet again, after this battle, he felt that even if the two of them had stuck together, they still wouldn't have been able to defeat him.

"I'm getting a little too cocky…" Xu Xiaoshou patted himself on the head.

j

Staring at Goose Lake's misty rain, Xu Xiaoshou fell into deep silence.

The first rain he had witnessed in this world had taken two lives away.

Including Wenchong, he'd already claimed three lives.

As he'd expected, the world he was in now was completely different from the previous world he'd lived in. If he couldn't adapt well to the rules of survival here, he might be the next one to die.

"Hmm?" he thought.

"Wen Chong?

"These two, were they here to seek vengeance for Wen Chong?"

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly remembered that although he couldn't be held accountable for the battle in the arena, and that Wen Chong was the one who'd assaulted him first, there was no evidence to suggest that Wen Chong didn't have companions.

It totally made sense that there were people seeking revenge for him after his death!

"Er…"

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned, as he'd just realized that he was at a disadvantage because of his orphan status. He hadn't at all thought that people would seek revenge for their companions.

Looking at it from this perspective, this made sense.

Two assassins had been killed today, and he expected there to be more tomorrow…

"Oh my god, is this a never-ending nightmare!" Xu Xiaoshou hugged his head.

"That's right!

Who were these two?

Some mere killers?

Could they be?

Since they were able to move through the Spirit Palace so freely, they must be a part of the inner palace, which was to say they were a part of them.

However, it didn't make sense to categorize them as Inner Yard disciples. He would've bought this at the start, but definitely not now.

They were so weak. Could they really be the disciples who had cultivated inside the Inner Yard for more than two years?

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly felt that something was wrong here. Could it be that it wasn't that they were too weak…

But that he was too powerful?

"I am really getting too cocky…" Xu Xiaoshou slapped himself again.

The only thing he was curious about was if that dull guy could really take his sword skill…

"He's at least of Voidness Level. He shouldn't be so weak…"

Xu Xiaoshou could declare that even after swallowing ten Spiritual Cultivation Pills, his Blade-draw Technique had indeed strengthened, but not to the point of doubling the power.

"How is it possible that…

"He couldn't even block it?!

"Even Mo Mo could take one sword!

"Could it be that Mo Mo was actually stronger than that dude?" Xu Xiaoshou thought.

He was dumbfounded, but then he suddenly remembered Mo Mo's right hand and her mystical sealed power.

To his knowledge, nobody but her possessed such an eerie power.

Even for the two he'd just fought, he could barely deduce their Innate Elemental power.

The first one should be metal element, which was similar to his own Sharpness. All he did was one strike.

The second one was most likely blood element, his blood hand…

Hmm, he couldn't even land an effective hit!

"Sealing Technique…"

Xu Xiaoshou was thinking vigorously. Perhaps, maybe there were some people out there who were as talented as him!

"I've got to ask Elder Qiao sometime…"

He wasn't too bothered, as the world was huge and there were many interesting things. His Innate Level physique was probably a miracle in others' eyes too.

He'd ended up acquiring Innate sword will too…

"Heheh!"

Xu Xiaoshou calmed down. This battle had definitely made him more conscious of his battle capability.

He had unknowingly acquired ranged attacks, and it was a very powerful instant cutting skill. After swallowing the pills, it seemed like even the powerful individuals from Voidness Level couldn't block it.

Hmm, except for some special people.

Close combat…

That was supposed to be his forte, but he had saved it as a last resort tonight and ended up not using it.

From the dude's attack in the courtyard, he could tell that with his Recoil skill, not many people could instantly kill him.

So his close combat skills were probably invincible, as he also had the great eight innate passive skills…

"There's only one conclusion: what doesn't kill me only makes me stronger.

"Hmm, and that disgusting Infernal Heavenly Flame…"

Actually, it should be counted as Infernal Heavens, but it was pure Spiritual skill. Since his cultivation level was stuck, he couldn't use it at all. It would be pretty lucky to just burn at least one target.

The fires could burn a radius of ten thousand miles.

"Hmm, let's go back to sleep. Who knows what will come in my dreams.

"Still got to cultivate properly!

"If my strength could allow me to thrash around brainlessly, then fighting wouldn't be so tiring. It's actually wasting my brain cells…"

Xu Xiaoshou stretched and yawned, consumed by endless exhaustion.

The night was…

He was thoroughly tortured by Infernal Flame Seed, and then experienced a dozen rounds of extreme mood swings. Before he could finish his wet dream, he was abruptly interrupted and had to waste countless brain cells killing two people…

It was indeed phenomenal!

"Better go back to sleep, lest there be more troubles."

Xu Xiaoshou was about to turn around when the information bar in his brain suddenly updated.

Gazed, Passive Points, 1

"F*ck!"

Xu Xiaoshou was completely stunned and didn't know whether to turn around or not.

"What's going on?" he thought.

"I was only thinking about it. I didn't say anything out loud, so I didn't say anything bad!"

What, now the thoughts in his brain could be manifested automatically?

Xu Xiaoshou was terrified. He repeatedly activated Sense but couldn't sense anyone around him.

He swallowed his saliva, and greeted with much difficulty, "Elder Sang?"

Nobody answered.

Xu Xiaoshou was going crazy, as he realized that the information bar was a terrifying existence. A random line of words could very well shock him to death.

No words could describe his urge to erase the word "gazed" from his dictionary and never see them again.

Who could it be?

If it wasn't Elder Sang, then who had the sick hobby of gazing at him?

Could it be the third killer?

This wasn't important, but the fact that he could gaze at him without being sensed suggested that this person was of at least Elder Sang's level!

Xu Xiaoshou didn't dare to move an inch, so he inched back to the white jade railing and leaned on it. "It's so beautiful…

"The night is beautiful!

"The rain is also beautiful…

"So so so beautiful!"

He tried to enlarge the sensing area and finally discovered a shadowy figure at the end of the road in the direction of the woods.

So far?

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned and was no longer afraid. He turned around, wanting to get a better look.

A pair of pitch-black eyes abruptly appeared in his line of sight.

They were as close as a few punches away.

"What the heck!"

Xu Xiaoshou's heart almost leapt out of his throat, and a black sword shot out of his chest.

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Chapter 75: I just Wanted to Ask for Directions!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The rain was pitter-pattering, and it didn't seem like it was going to subside anytime soon.

Before him stood a masked person covered in black. His whole body was so tightly covered that even his fingers were enveloped by a pair of thick gloves.

The only party of him exposed, a pair of eyes, was so murky that it looked like only shades of dusks resided within.

If he were to see this pair of eyes again in the future in a sea of people, he wouldn't be able to recognize them.

They belonged to an ordinary person!

But could this dude really be an ordinary person?

Xu Xiaoshou stared at Hiding Pain, which was stuck between them. In one quick moment, it sprung toward him, and yet he was able to react to it.

The sword came extremely close to the masked person's heart, but he directly stopped it with two fingers.

Xu Xiaoshou was completely puzzled.

This was a ninth-grade spiritual sword that had cost him thousands of spiritual crystals. On top of that, it also carried a powerful innate sword will with it when it'd sprung at him, yet this man had easily blocked it.

And, looking at his next move, it looked like if he were to cross his fingers, the sword would simply break in half.

"Hey, don't!"

Xu Xiaoshou closed the gap between them in a flash and grabbed the masked man's fingers. "Don't break it," he said, a look of shock on his face. "This is my life. If you break it, who will I cry to?"

The masked person was really shocked. Xu Xiaoshou's reaction was…

"He's not scared of me?" he thought.

"I'm not going to break it. Take your hands off me…

"Hmm? And your legs too!"

His expression turned serious, although this wasn't visible to the others, as he was covered in a black rag.

But this boy…

He had actually encircled him with his arms within such a short moment and now he couldn't move either of his hands.

At the same time, both of his legs had also crawled up on his own thighs, making the lower half of his body unsteady and exposing its instability, making it prone to attacks.

That was a very powerful body manipulating technique…

A human lock?

Was his zodiac sign the octopus?

1

"Let go!"

"I just wanted to ask for directions!"

Xu Xiaoshou listened to this coarse voice that was like a saw on his ears, and got goosebumps. His eardrums were experiencing hell.

Was this a voice of a human? It was so disgusting!

However, judging from the voice, the masked man was probably quite old, at least of a middle-aged uncle level.

Xu Xiaoshou increased his strength for his human lock. "No, who the h*ll would ask for directions in such wee hours of the morning?

"And it's raining heavily. Are you a psycho!?"

The masked man let out a deep sigh. "Don't you think you'd already be dead right now if I wanted to kill you?"

"Ho!" Xu Xiaoshou laughed coldly. "Or maybe the only reason why I'm alive right now is because I have you locked up like this."

The masked man was completely p*ssed. What the h*ll was that? He was definitely toxic!

"Let go!"

"No!"

"Are you sure?"

Xu Xiaoshou kept quiet for a moment, then he took advantage of the masked man's momentary relaxation to push the black sword into his heart with his chest.

"Ugh!"

The masked man's eyes widened with disbelief and shock.

Even with his black mask on, Xu Xiaoshou could smell the blood. After ensuring that he was safe, he finally asked, "Okay, what did you want to ask me?"

Cursed, Passive point, 1.

Spited, Passive Point, 1.

Marked, Passive Point, 1.

Hoho, he'd been marked?

Did that mean the man was planning on killing him someday in the future?

Xu Xiaoshou became murderous suddenly and continued to thrust the sword forward to impale the masked man.

"Ha!"

At this time, his palm felt a painful sensation, and he involuntarily released his fingers. The masked man flicked his finger, and the black sword was sent flying.

Bang!

Not letting go of the opportunity, the masked man clashed head-on with Xu Xiaoshou's head, intending to knock him back.

However, the next moment he clutched his forehead and moaned instead.

"What the…

"Are you made of iron?!"

Xu Xiaoshou's legs were still on his thighs, and he immediately bounced back to lock him up. Now the masked man couldn't even move his head.

After doing all this, Xu Xiaoshou felt a little scared.

What did this guy do just now? How could he pierce his palm with just two fingers?

To be frank, Xu Xiaoshou's body was enhanced with the eight great innate passive skills…

This masked uncle felt odd!

Xu Xiaoshou glanced over and caught a glimpse of the fading sword will on the tip of his fingers.

Sword will?

What a weak sword will!

If it wasn't for his highly sensitive Sense, he wouldn't have even detected it.

So here was the question: if this man could pierce through his palm, then why did he feel pain from a headbutt?

It was weird. This man was really weird!

He wanted to take off the black mask that covered the masked man's hair but was afraid that he'd be killed for knowing that man's real identity.

This strength of this masked man was a mystery.

"If you don't belong to Tiansang Spirit Palace, then how did you get in?" Xu Xiaoshou probed.

The masked man fell silent and didn't talk. After a while, he finally let out a cough, which made Xu Xiaoshou realize that he was choking him.

He relaxed his grip on the man's throat.

"Ugh! Cough cough…"

The masked man declared naturally, "I am!"

"Cheated, Passive Point, 1."

Xu Xiaoshou was a little speechless. He wanted to laugh but couldn't.

Although this man was shameless, it meant that he'd come in from outside the spirit palace, since he had lied blatantly.

So…

Xu Xiaoshou was a little panicky. The spirit palace was guarded by a powerful array. The two he'd just killed were probably from within the palace.

With their strength, they probably hadn't entered from the outside.

However, this masked man had really come in from the outside? Didn't that mean he was an expert among experts?

But why was he so weak?

This didn't match up with his actual strength.

"Who the heck are you…" But Xu Xiaoshou abruptly stopped mid-way through saying this, thinking it could be problematic for him to learn the masked man's identity, so he changed the question. "What do you want?"

"To ask for directions!" the masked man yelled.

"To heaven?"

"Cursed, Passive Points, 1."

Ha, his psychological activity was still abundant!

Xu Xiaoshou tightened his grip. "Spit it!"

"Cough cough! Let go…" The masked man struggled violently, and his two fingers made to project a faint sword will. This startled Xu Xiaoshou, so he let go slightly.

"Phew…"

The masked man panted heavily and suppressed the desire to attack, telling himself that Xu Xiaoshou was an irrelevant small fry and he shouldn't startle more people.

After resting for a long time, he asked slowly, "The inner yard, where is it?"

Xu Xiaoshou: "???"

"Just that?"

All this time just to ask where the Inner Yard was?

Why didn't he just say so earlier?!

This provoked the masked man again, but he managed to suppress his anger and nodded in response.

This was probably the most ridiculous thing that had ever happened to him in his few decades of life. All he'd wanted to do was ask for directions and had ended up injured and even gotten stabbed in the heart instead.

And worse still, he'd gotten a sarcastic reply after asking…

Frustrating!!

Chapter 76: Good Luck Takes Turns

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"The Inner Yard is over there."

Xu Xiaoshou pointed in the direction of the Inner Yard with his back facing the man.

There were three paths at the corner of the small forest. One lead to his own yard, and another one led to the Outer Yard. It was a straight path that led right to the Chuyun Platform, where the Windcloud Competition took place.

The third path led to Goose Lake. By following this path, one could enter the Inner Yard and reach the Spiritual Library Division after turning a corner.

"Why do you want to go to the Inner Yard? Do you intend to steal books there?" Xu Xiaoshou asked curiously.

This man was wrapped from head to toe, and only his eyes were visible. He indeed looked like a thief, or even a robber.

However, if he was a thief, he wouldn't have come here so recklessly without knowing how to get around the place.

"This isn't something you should know," the masked man sternly replied.

"I'm just curious."

"But curiosity killed the cat."

"Oh, you go ahead then," Xu Xiaoshou said casually.

The masked man asked through gritted teeth, "So, can you get off of me now?"

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry."

As a matter of fact, Xu Xiaoshou didn't dare to get off his body; but it definitely wasn't a good idea to continue riding him. At least, he didn't want to get brought along while this man stole; otherwise, he'd become the man's accomplice.

He forcefully bumped his stomach against the man's back and a powerful counterforce made the two of them bounce in opposite directions, instantly separating them by dozens of meters.

Xu Xiaoshou dashed forward with his head lowered for a long while, but he found there was no commotion behind him and couldn't help but feel surprised.

He turned his head and saw the masked man pull himself up with difficulty by leaning against a tree trunk from a pool of water on the forest path.

Xu Xiaoshou, "…"

"You're so weak," he thought. "How can you have the courage to be a thief?

"Did you really come here from outside of the Spirit Palace?

"I suspect that you're playing me."

The masked man didn't pay Xu Xiaoshou any attention. It seemed that in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes, the only reason for his existence was to ask his ordinary inquiries.

Yet, after walking toward the Inner Yard for a while, the masked man discovered that Xu Xiaoshou kept on peeking at him clandestinely while curled up underneath the white jade railing, like a thief stealing a bell with his ears covered.

The man halted in his tracks and said with a sigh, "You fought pretty well earlier; but your sword style was a bit off. You should fix that as soon as possible."

With arched eyebrows, Xu Xiaoshou realized that his man had witnessed the process of him killing those two men.

The thought of killing the man to shut him up once again crossed his mind, but the problem was whether he could beat the man or not.

This man was way too weird!

"My sword style was the idea of one of my genius friends. You're too clueless to understand it," said Xu Xiaoshou in an attempt to test the man.

"Your path has been trodden by too many people before you." The masked man didn't stay around and walked straight away.

Xu Xiaoshou felt disturbed as he gazed at the man's receding back.

"Is he trying to trick me?" he thought.

"Or, has somebody already tried the path of the pure sword will fighting style he's pursuing right now?

"It's impossible!

"I've merely used the 'blade-draw technique.' How did this man find out about his style?

"His sword will is so weak. How dare he criticize others!

"It's preposterous!"

"My style was the idea of a genius!" shouted Xu Xiaoshou furiously.

The masked man didn't respond.

"Ridiculed, passive point, 1."

Xu Xiaoshou clenched his fists and shouted again, "Ten Sections of the Finger Sword!"

He expected the man to twist his body or halt in his tracks, but he did none of these things.

Xu Xiaoshou watched the man disappear at the end of the path.

"I guessed wrong?" he wondered, but wasn't so sure.

The sword technique the man had used earlier to injure him had looked a lot like the Finger Blessed with Sword Will.

Yet, that was rather impossible, because he'd just seen the sword technique of Heavenly Horse Traversing in the Sky in the Spiritual Library Division not long ago, so how would someone have started using it already?

"My mind must've been playing tricks on me…"

Xu Xiaoshou shook his head, trying to shake off such a ridiculous idea, then decided to leave the place.

What the man was intending to steal or how he would do it had nothing to do with him as long he didn't expose the matter of him killing someone, Xu Xiaoshou thought to himself.

Judging by the man's temperament, he probably wouldn't tell anyone about the incident.

On the other hand, no one would believe a thief who'd snuck into the Spirit Palace on a rainy night anyway, even if he did tell them that he'd killed someone.

Xu Xiaoshou thought the man was quite eccentric and that he might get involved in some kind of serious trouble, so he had no intention of having himself implicated.

"I'd better go back to sleep!

"I hope he doesn't reappear…

"Bah! Shut up!"

Xu Xiaoshou slapped himself on the face and decided to leave after turning around, but he halted in his tracks.

He saw the masked man come back from the end of the path, and he looked rather uneasy as he was running.

Xu Xiaoshou turned around without a second thought and ran away as fast as his legs could carry him.

Because he'd spotted a group of law enforcers from the Spiritual Law Division right on the man's heels.

"It's truly too convenient!"

There was no way the law enforcers could've discovered the masked man so quickly. The only explanation was that the sound of his fighting earlier was so loud that they'd been drawn by it.

Though the assassination of him had occurred before he'd killed the assassins, he had nonetheless killed someone. As such, Xu Xiaoshou felt quite nervous.

"Hi!"

A shadow swept by and blocked Xu Xiaoshou.

It was the masked man!

How did he move so fast?! Maybe he was playing him.

Xu Xiaoshou couldn't stop his momentum in time and bumped into the masked man, but the man wasn't knocked flying away. Instead, the man took the opportunity to lift Xu Xiaoshou up and hold him around his waist.

"I'm not going to kill you, but I need you to stage a show. I'll let you go after I get out of the Spirit Palace." The hoarse voice, which sounded like grating sandpaper, rang out again.

"I would be a fool to believe you," he thought.

He struggled to get free, but the man unexpectedly pointed one of his fingers at his waist. The formidable sword energy instantly assaulted the interior of his body, breaking his inner energy into pieces.

"Hmm?" he thought. "He's actually quite outstanding since he has such a powerful energy."

The masked man noticed something and made the sword energy more scattered and frequent, passing through Xu Xiaoshou's flesh like a great many tiny razors. As a result, even the recovery power of "Eternal Vitality" was suppressed.

"Attacked, passive point, 1."

"Attacked, passive point, 1."

The information bar came back to life from its downtime and started to work at once.

"Poof!" Xu Xiaoshou spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and lost complete control of his body.

His expression darkened. Had he fallen into the tiger's den after just getting out of the dragon's den?

The man was indeed playing him. The control power of the sword will was too formidable, and was many times more so than his own.

Xu Xiaoshou was almost in tears. Why did he always meet opponents of the elder status?

Elder Sang was an exception because he was nevertheless a friend. Even though Xu Xiaoshou was often tormented by Elder Sang, their encounters always brought some benefits for him at the same time.

Judging by his cultivation of the sword will, this masked man, who'd come out of nowhere, was as powerful as any other masters.

"Let go of me."

"No."

Xu Xiaoshou was startled. This situation felt familiar. Did that mean good luck took turns?

"If you let go of me, I'll help you get out of the Spirit Palace," Xu Xiaoshou genuinely promised.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"I don't believe you!"

Xu Xiaoshou: "…"

It was so frustrating!

Yet, he could do nothing about it.

Xu Xiaoshou held his breath. In fact, the pain in his body was tolerable, as he was used to it. However, his body was being restrained by the masked man. He couldn't move an inch. It was all he could do to move his mouth.

Xu Xiaoshou continued tricking the man. "I tell you that you'd better put me down because I know many people. Do you know Qiao Qianzhi, the Elder of the Spiritual Affairs Division…

"No, you don't know him? It's okay that you don't know him. But what about Xiao Qixiu? He's the Chief Elder of the Spiritual Law Division…

"You haven't heard of him? What about Elder Sang…"

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly calmed down and realized that he was using the same threatening words as those used by the villains after they were captured. What he was doing was no different than courting death!

Unexpectedly, the masked man paused when he heard Elder Sang's name mentioned. "Did he come back?"

"Who?" Xu Xiaoshou responded quickly after a jolt.

"Elder Sang!"

"I don't know him," Xu Xiaoshou calmly answered.

The masked man: "…"

"Cursed, passive point, 1."

Chapter 77: The Masked Man's First Strike

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The masked man moved extremely fast. Even though he had Xu Xiaoshou in a chokehold, this had no effect on his speed.

Yet, the law enforcers of the Spirit Law Division were equally capable. They were keeping pace and weren't that far behind.

Goose Lake was rather large, but the masked man crossed it in a few steps.

It was just then that a group of law enforcers appeared in front of the two of them. The masked man wasn't the only one who was stunned. Xu Xiaoshou was also puzzled.

He wondered if this group of law enforcers had come over after hearing the noise from his fighting. But it seemed more likely that they'd been planning an ambush on them all along…

Well!

Perhaps, they hadn't been drawn by the noise but had been lying in ambush this whole time.

Xu Xiaoshou looked at the masked man in surprise, wondering who this man was and why so many law enforcers of the Spirit Law Division had come out to ambush him.

Though his fight from earlier had been earth-shattering, it hadn't interrupted the plans of the Spirit Law Division. No one had bothered to come out to stop him from killing his opponents.

Xu Xiaoshou felt unimportant at the moment.

It turned out that he wasn't a part of their plans and that he might have actually disrupted the plans of the Spirit Palace.

The masked man stopped in his tracks and turned around. At that moment, many heads could be seen on the other two edges of Goose Lake.

Xu Xiaoshou felt his heart go cold as he realized it was true…

These law enforcers had been waiting here all along!

"Are you the 'Saint Servant' Elder Sang mentioned? We've been waiting for you for a few days. You'd better surrender yourself." Xiao Qixiu walked out from the forest with a long sword on his back while looking sideways at the masked man.

"He has come back…" Xu Xiaoshou was probably the only one who could hear the masked man's whisper. The man suddenly lowered his head and asked, "Rascal, do you know Elder Sang?"

"No, I don't!"

Xu Xiaoshou was almost in tears. He wished he'd minded his mouth. The situation had turned against him. His careless words had put him in a perilous situation now.

He looked at Xiao Qixiu and shouted, "Master Judge, help me. This guy just killed two disciples of the Spirit Palace. I don't want to be the third!"

Xiao Qixiu: "…"

"This lad must think I'm blind," he thought. "We've been waiting here for a long time and didn't see the man kill anyone."

Xiao Qixiu didn't want anything to stand in the way of the more important matter at hand. This evening, he would seize everyone who made trouble and send them to the punishment platform.

Despised, passive point, 1.

The masked man was puzzled when he heard what Xu Xiaoshou said.

He wondered when he'd killed someone. It was obvious that this lad was throwing mud at him with no shame at all.

Cursed, passive point, 1.

"You rascal…"

As the masked man made to increase the intensity of his sword energy to make Xu Xiaoshou suffer more, he heard the lad at his waist say, "Calm down. Don't be witless.

"If you admitt that you killed two people, I'll guarantee your safe departure from the Spirit Palace."

The masked man was amused by this remark. What would a lad like him with such a low cultivation level be able to do?

Xu Xiaoshou realized his trick wasn't working and came up with another lie. "I guess you must be a member of an evil…bah, a righteous organization.

"As a matter of fact, I can't stand this Spirit Palace anymore. They're all too hypocritical. I've wanted to join you guys for a long time now.

"You'll follow my instructions later since I know a secret passage…"

"You've wanted to join us?" the masked man interrupted him.

Xu Xiaoshou was startled. The man seemed to be more interested in this matter than the mention of the secret passage, which was what he should've been interested in.

He was a bit worried that what he'd said was true and that this man was a member of an evil organization.

"This isn't that important. What is important is the secret passage…"

"Do you really want to join us?" the masked man interrupted him once more.

Xu Xiaoshou felt like crying again. "Yes, I've set my heart on it!"

"What's your name?"

"Wen Chong," Xu Xiaoshou said, making up the name without a second thought. "Wen as in the phrase 'never heard of,' and Chong as in 'recharging money.'"

"What's 'recharging money?'"

"It's recharging Q…" Xu Xiaoshou trailed in the middle of his sentence and waved his hand. "You wouldn't understand it no matter how I explained it…"

"Is it the 'Chong' as in surfing?"

"What surfing?"

Xu Xiaoshou had to admit that he was indeed a bit nervous, but he tried his best to stay calm.

"It's the 'Ming' as in being clever."

"Oh, 'Ming' as in clever…"

There was a hint of mockery in the masked man's eyes. "So your name is Wen Ming?"

Xu Xiaoshou felt like crying. Why did he have to go and behave so badly tonight and make so many mistakes with his choice of words?

"My name is Wen Chong!" he said weakly.

The masked man didn't respond, as Xiao Qixiu had drawn near.

The man shook his body a little and flew to a high elevation over Goose Lake. The raindrops seemed to be colder at such a height.

Xu Xiaoshou looked down at the shrunken Goose Lake below. The hundreds of law enforcers looked like a thin thread, and he started to feel scared.

Even when he was on his sword, he didn't dare to fly this high. If he fell from such a height, his innate flesh physique would turn into a pile of flesh mud.

"You have to hold me tightly!" Xu Xiaoshou pressed deeper into the masked man's bosom. At the moment he was very timid.

The masked man was amused. The man pulled out his finger that was behind Xu Xiaoshou's back and hoisted him instead. "If you stay motionless, you won't fall."

Xu Xiaoshou grew more anxious. Though the pain in his body was gone, he felt considerably less safe.

He thought about it and said, "You'd better put your finger in my back again. I don't feel safe this way."

The masked man: "…"

This lad must be mentally challenged!

Without a second thought, the masked man put his finger back into Xu Xiaoshou's back to make him spit out a mouthful of fresh blood with a puff.

"D*mn it. You took my words literally!

"Take your finger out, quickly. I was just kidding."

Xu Xiaoshou felt uneasy. This man didn't behave like a normal person.

The masked man pulled his finger out. But before Xu Xiaoshou could feel relief, he found his body was thrown higher in the sky.

The whooshing wind almost scared him to death.

"Help me!"

"Shut up and watch out!" the masked man yelled harshly.

Though his eyes were assaulted by the wind and rain and he had a hard time keeping his eyes open, Xu Xiaoshou could clearly Sense his surroundings.

He Sensed Xiao Qixiu on the ground reach out his hand, and the long sword on his back tore apart a green path in the night sky as he headed toward the masked man like a shooting star.

The sword will contained in the striking sword was equivalent to a violent wild beast. As such, the raindrops in the sky turned into nothingness whereever the sword passed.

Xu Xiaoshou now understood why the masked man had thrown him high up in the sky.

If the man hadn't thrown him so far away, Xu Xiaoshou figured that he would have been torn into oblivion like the raindrops turning into smoke before the sword drew near.

Yet, the masked man wasn't affected at all.

Moreover, Xu Xiaoshou vaguely heard the masked man's mocking remark:

"Among those who have dared to attack me, you're the weakest…"

Xu Xiaoshou felt troubled. This man was truly shameless.

He was indeed a showman…

Xu Xiaoshou thought his former reckless behavior in the competition arena couldn't hold a candle to this man.

Before Xu Xiaoshou could complain further, his eyes widened the next moment.

The masked man didn't move an inch. All he was doing was staring at the longsword heading his way, a slight sword will still on his body.

Yet, the longsword shuddered for no obvious reason and gave out a wailing sound. It seemed that the sword was under tremendous pressure, and it turned around and shot at Xiao Qixiu.

Xiao Qixiu was stunned. It was hard for him to fathom why the sword that had been with him for decades would intend to destroy its own master.

Unfortunately, Xiao Qixiu didn't have enough time to reflect on this. The returning longsword traveled faster than the speed of his control.

As Xiao Qixiu made to move, the sword energy in his body suddenly exploded, throwing everyone around him onto the ground. At the same time, Xiao Qixiu was confined on the spot by the sword energy.

Poo!

The longsword passed through Xiao Qixiu's body.

"Puff!"

Xiao Qixiu's eyes were filled with disbelief as blood poured out from every orifice in his body.

Xu Xiaoshou was so horrified his eyeballs almost jumped out of their sockets.

The masked man slowly lifted his head and looked at Xu Xiaoshou, his cloudy eyes showing a hint of motion.

"If I'm right…"

"This is the path of the sword will you are on right now."

Report chapter

Chapter 78: Continuous Suppression with Ease

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Xu Xiaoshou was back in the hands of the masked man again. This time he behaved as amiably as a cat.

"Well stop torturing me! I'm not that formidable at all!" Xu Xiaoshou said weakly.

A hint of a smile appeared in the cloudy eyes of the masked man. The man started to say something, but then he began to cough violently.

"Cough, cough…puff!"

Xu Xiaoshou was nervous to hear this coughing sound, and he wondered if the man would accidentally drop him since he was coughing blood.

He'd figured out why the masked man was so weak at the moment—employing a powerful strike could also injure one's body.

"Was that move just now 'All Things are Swords'?" Xu Xiaoshou asked.

The masked man nodded. "The Innate Level 'All Things are Swords.'"

Xu Xiaoshou: "…"

"Like I'd believe that," he thought. "I am innate sword will myself, so I very well know the magnitude of the innateness. Who are you trying to fool?"

The masked man was aware that Xu Xiaoshou didn't believe him, but he muttered to himself, "The true sword will has no level and is not related to the form. It utilizes the assault of the opponent to attack the opponent.

"As long as you master the essence of the sword, nobody will dare to attack you with their swords. It's because…"

"Your sword becomes my sword?" Xu Xiaoshou chimed in.

The masked man froze for a moment and didn't give a definite answer. "It can be described this way, but…"

The man paused and turned his eyes to the ground below.

"This path has been already trodden too many times by the others. It's a dead-end. Your sword will is pretty good, so you should give it up as soon as possible."

Xu Xiaoshou seemed to see dark spots floating before his eyes.

Your sword will is pretty good, so you should give it up as soon as possible…

What nonsense this was!

"I've just started to walk on the path, and you probably haven't reached the end of your path yet," Xu Xiaoshou said eloquently.

He figured he wouldn't achieve anything if he couldn't take this path.

His talent for cultivation was obvious. It would be better for him to do nothing if he had to learn the spirit technique; at least he could come up to an understanding of "appreciating time" in the end by doing so.

The masked man ignored him. There was a commotion below.

Xiao Qixiu had lost the ability to fight after being injured by the shooting sword. The law enforcers were all stunned.

Even though Elder Sang had warned them that the enemy was a bit strong this time, nobody had expected him to be so powerful.

After one strike, Xiao Qixiu, a swordsman in the throne status, had lost the ability to fight back.

Their opponent was a bit too powerful.

It was then that another person walked out on the forest path. The law enforcers, who'd been anxious, pushed their chests forward and held their heads up high when they saw this person, and they angrily stared at the two people in the sky. It seemed like they'd gotten their spines back.

The person walking out was dressed like a young Daoist with white hair and a beard, giving off the aura of a fairy man.

The only thing that spoiled this impression was his height.

When he stood on the ground, he looked like he only came up to the waist of most men.

It could be said that he was as tall as Su Qianqian…

Fortunately, he was drifting in the air.

"Ye Xiaotian…" the masked man murmured, a grim look in his eyes.

Xu Xiaoshou was startled to find out that this short man was the legendary Chief of the Inner Yard.

Ye Xiaotian drifted to the front of Xiao Qixiu and checked his injury, then he disappeared after pulling the longsword out of Xiao Qixiu's body.

Xu Xiaoshou lifted his head in surprise and saw the white-haired young Daoist right in front of the two of them.

Ye Xiaotian inserted one of his hands into the empty space in front of him, and a cloud of mysterious darkness rolled up and down, giving off a horrific power. It seemed like he could pull down the sky with his hand.

"This is called the 'Hand of Ripping Heaven,' which is Ye Xiaotian's special technique. He can pull down a piece of space and use it to crush his opponent to death," the masked man explained.

Xu Xiaoshou was dumbfounded.

"What…

"What level has this master achieved?

"Why did I get involved in this fight in the first place?" he thought.

Those two damned assassins were to blame. He wasn't sorry that they were dead. He wished they would come back to life again so that he could cut them into pieces a second time to vent his anger.

The three of them hovered high in the night sky. The air was quite cold here.

Ye Xiaotian didn't say anything. He stared straight at the masked man with his hand inserted in the empty space. He didn't seem to pay any attention to Xu Xiaoshou.

The masked man muttered to himself, "To escape from Ye Xiaotian is futile. Usually, the only thing people can do is chitchat about what their last words will be.

"This guy has a rare spatial quality. I heard that he was able to fight against a swordsman a half-step into Master Level as soon as he achieved innateness."

"I can't hold a candle to you. You're innate enough to defeat the masters," Ye Xiaotian finally spoke. His voice sounded like a tender child's.

"I don't have such a talent. You must have mistaken me for someone else."

"I hope so." There was a hint of coldness in Ye Xiaotian's childish voice that was unfitting for a child.

Listening to the compliments the two men offered each other, Xu Xiaoshou felt dizzy and almost fell down from the sky.

What weirdos!

Xu Xiaoshou had thought himself rather formidable after cultivating ninth spirit level and killing Origin Court and Occupied Void; but now he'd found out that he was nothing in comparison to these true geniuses.

"Is this spatial quality a power of innateness," he thought. "But it sounds very horrific!

"And who is this masked man? What kind of weirdo is he? The Master Chief of the Inner Yard is about to attack, but he still has enough leisure time to talk.

"Well?

"Why does this guy explain so much to me?"

Xu Xiaoshou felt sick as he thought all of this over.

"Master Chief, I'm not with him. You go ahead and fight him, but don't involve me in your fight!"

A hint of a smile appeared in the corners of the masked man's eyes. "Didn't you say that you would like to join us?"

"I…"

Xu Xiaoshou froze, and his face turned white. "Sorry to bother you, but please put me down on the ground. I'd like to bid my goodbyes now."

Ye Xiaotian turned his attention to the young man at the masked man's waist. He was surprised that this young lad dared to joke around when he was between two powerful swordsmen.

He was definitely very brazen.

He was none other than a person who had intervened in the scheme tonight and distracted his own colleagues.

Click, click!

Cracks appeared in the night sky, and it seemed like the sky would strike down the next moment.

As time passed, the right hand Ye Xiaotian had used to insert into the empty space grew stronger, and the breath of death enveloped the two men on the other side.

The masked man lifted his head to look at the night sky. The falling raindrops were swallowed by the dark crack, unable to reach him.

The masked man laughed gently, "If you strike, the nine others lying in ambush won't survive.

"Well, adding the one here, there are ten."

Before Xu Xiaoshou could feel astonished at this, the sound of several explosions below sent nine columns of sword energy up into the sky from the ground.

Each sword energy was bound to a white-haired elder. Seeing the elders, who were hung by the sword energy, Xu Xiaoshou couldn't help but recall Mo Mo in the arena of the final competition the other day.

This scene looked exactly the same!

Xu Xiaoshou looked at the masked man in surprise and recalled the remark he'd made: "Your path has been trodden by too many people."

"Which means he's been on the path that I'm taking now. But why does he advise me against taking the same path?" he thought. "It's obviously very powerful."

"All Things are Swords?" he asked.

"Yeah," the masked man nodded. "It's the Innate Level All Things are Swords."

Xu Xiaoshou was speechless, and he wondered why the masked man had emphasized the "Innate Level." Did he think he hadn't belittled the others enough?

The law enforcers on the ground, on the contrary, were so surprised that their jaws almost dropped to the ground when they saw the nine elders hung high up in the air by the sword energy.

"Nine elders?"

"It's impossible!"

"How could these elders be sneak-attacked by that masked man all at once? They are none other than the elders!"

"The nine throne level masters are being hung by the sword will alone. This is…. Am I dreaming?"

"These nine elders are the oldest and most qualified in the Inner Yard, and are above the masters!"

"I'm dumbfounded. 'Saint Servant'…"

"Is he really so powerful?"

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Chapter 79: The Value of Xu Xiaoshou

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes had been opened.

It turned out that this was how the fairies fought each other.

With great ease, the masked man had severely injured Xiao Qixiu with one strike of the sword and hung the nine elders in the air with his sword will. Because of the hostage situation, Ye Xiaotian was subdued.

Stealing a glance at the nine elders hung in the air, Ye Xiaotian couldn't help but curse in a low voice, "They're a bunch of useless helpers!"

In Elder Sang and Ye Xiaotian's original plans they'd designed, these old guys weren't meant to be employed, but they'd insisted on helping out in an attempt to prove the value of their existence.

Did they really think it was a piece of cake to capture "Saint Servant?"

"Click, click!"

Ye Xiaotian grew angrier. As a result, a large crack appeared in the space. Before the masked man could respond, Xu Xiaoshou hastened to say, "Don't be so emotional. Impulse is the devil!"

Ye Xiaotian: "…"

The masked man: "…"

The nine elders hung in the air looked rather ashamed, but they weren't very strong-willed by nature and were well-behaved. At the moment, they couldn't escape the masked man's long-distance control.

"Don't worry about us. 'Saint Servant' should be killed by all. Capture him and bring him to the Holy Divine Palace. Doing so will benefit all human beings!" one of the elders said.

Hearing this, the masked man's eyes turned cold. "Should be killed by all? Do I know you? Did I kill your whole family?"

As the masked man waved his hand, the sword energy came out from the endless rain droplets and passed through the body of the elder who'd spoken, turning him into a bloody person.

Ye Xiaotian's eyelids twitched.

"You…" Another elder became upset and said sternly, "If you're so powerful…"

"Too noisy!"

The masked man turned his head toward the speaking elder. All of a sudden, the rain droplets turned into a sword and pierced through the elder, turning him into a second bloody person.

Nobody dared to speak now. Besides the seven elders hung in the air, the law enforcers on the ground fell silent as well.

There was a hint of mockery in the cloudy eyes of the masked man as he said slowly, "I shouldn't fail to take care of the others."

He waved his hand one more time. The rainy swords whizzed in the sky, turning the remaining seven elders into bloody men.

Xu Xiaoshou was dumbfounded. This masked man really was brazen…

This was reckless! What he was doing was reckless!

"You…" Ye Xiaotian couldn't stand it any longer and was about to act, but the masked man quickly spun his head around and took a step back.

"Don't be so emotional," he said. "Impulse is the devil!"

And he added, "I have ten hostages."

Ye Xiaotian: "…"

He shot Xu Xiaoshou a stern look.

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned. Why was he being stared at? He wasn't the attacker.

More importantly, he couldn't act on impulse at the moment, Xu Xiaoshou thought to himself. The deaths of those old men weren't a big deal, and the masked man had allowed him to live this long, so he shouldn't die.

Xu Xiaoshou wanted to complain again but chose to shut up instead when he recalled the masked man's comment that he was "too noisy."

The masked man glanced at him and smiled. "You're very interesting. You can speak."

"I don't want to talk," Xu Xiaoshou responded crossly. "You'd better let me go, like a fart you keep holding in.

"You masters are fighting each other. I'm of no value to you."

The masked man patted his head and said, "Don't belittle yourself. Actually, you're quite valuable."

"Praised, passive point, 1."

Xu Xiaoshou nearly went mad. He had no intention of getting involved, and he had no idea what value he had.

He wanted to go back to sleep.

And if he couldn't go back to sleep, he'd like to go back to building his house.

But here…

He looked down at Goose Lake, which, from this height, was but a dot.

It was very high, cold, and scary up here.

"What on earth do you want?" Ye Xiaotian stared at the masked man, trying his hardest to suppress his anger. He was afraid he might pull down a large patch of sky if he let his emotions get out of control.

"All I want is to take an object. I'll leave afterward."

"Nothing in the Spirit Palace belongs to you!"

The masked man laughed. "The object I want will be mine."

Ye Xiaotian took a deep breath.

The masked man raised up the young man in his hand. "This person is very interesting. Can you give him to me?"

Xu Xiaoshou felt sick to his stomach.

He wasn't an object! He was a person. He couldn't be given away.

And he had no intention of leaving the Spirit Palace. He'd just won the title of champion and hadn't left a legacy here yet.

Ye Xiaotian glanced at the young man and said, "I can give this person to you, but you have to let the other nine go, and you must promise that you won't come to the Tiansang Spirit Palace again."

Xu Xiaoshou: "? ? ?"

The look in the masked man's eyes seemed to suggest he was considering this offer.

But before the masked man could respond, an angry swear echoed through the heavens and across the earth.

"Ye Xiaotian, shut your d*mned mouth!"

After this remark, the sun seemed to become hotter, the rain stopped falling, and the empty space was warped.

The accumulated water pools on the ground evaporated in the blink of an eye, and the forest path turned dry and cracked.

The horrifying hot atmosphere surrounded the whole area, and the law enforcers around Goose Lake felt horrified, their foreheads breaking out in a cold, warm sweat.

An old man holding a conical hat appeared in front of the three of them in the sky. His eyes ringed with dark circles were fixated on Xu Xiaoshou.

"Elder Sang?"

Except for Xu Xiaoshou, the other two men looked like they'd expected this result.

Ye Xiaotian imperceptibly rolled his eyeballs. This guy had finally been forced to come out.

"Don't tell me any more nonsense."

Elder Sang pointed at the young man in the hands of the masked man. "This person has to be given back to me. You can kill the nine others if you want to. After the killing, we can negotiate the next step."

Nine elders?

Xu Xiaoshou was so moved that tears almost fell from his eyes.

He'd thought this old man had a strange, self-centered and desolate personality, but now he found his eyes ringed with dark circles rather amiable.

What he'd said was more decent and virtuous than what Ye Xiaotian had said.

His stance was different from the Chief of the Inner Yard's. The Chief of the Inner Yard wanted to give the champion of the Outer Yard away.

As Xu Xiaoshou thought about all this, he found that the masked man was holding him more tightly, and he heard a terrifying voice say, "You're valuable as I thought."

Xu Xiaoshou felt his heart tremble. He shot Elder Sang a look that yelled "help me."

Elder Sang looked at Xu Xiaoshou and gave a familiar grin. "Relax. As long as you have a breath left in you, this old man will save you."

Seeing the grin, Xu Xiaoshou instinctively felt concerned. What did this old man have on his mind?

Don't act too recklessly!

The masked man retreated as he heard those words.

"Want to flee?"

The corners of Elder Sang's curled up, and he reached out his hand. The retreating masked man stopped moving and started to tremble violently.

"Infernal Heavens?"

Xu Xiaoshou's pupils shrank as he felt a hot energy flow into his own body through the body of the masked man.

Boom!

The hotness exploded inside his body, and then started to burn fiercely. The pain was one hundred times more painful than what he'd experienced when cultivating the Infernal Fire Seed.

"Cough, couch!"

It felt like his throat was on fire. The blood in his mouth evaporated before he could even spit it out.

His skin cracked, and the water in his body dried up. Xu Xiaoshou sensed that his life was rapidly leaving him, and his vision was going black.

Was this the "Infernal Heavens?"

The "Burning People Alive" he employed seemed like mere house-play in comparison…

His consciousness grew blurrier and blurrier. In the end, Xu Xiaoshou seemed to hear the slightly panicked voice of the masked man say:

"I can give you the lad, but take back the fire!"

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Chapter 80: Where Can One Get a Makeover?

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

He felt himself thrown into the air once again, but this time he landed against a skinny bosom. It felt as if he'd bumped into a skeleton.

A magic pill with a strong medicinal flavor landed in his mouth and instantly melted. Xu Xiaoshou completely recovered from his injury.

He opened his eyes, a cold sweat on his forehead, and discovered that he was in the bosom of Elder Sang.

"Haha, you rascal, this old man didn't lie to you. As I said, as long as you have a breath left in you, I'll save you."

Xu Xiaoshou felt like punching him in the face. He'd had one foot in h*ll just a moment earlier.

Save him? More like almost let him get killed!

If he'd been a bit slower to act…

At that moment, the situation completely changed.

The masked man, after throwing Xu Xiaoshou into the air, lost total control of the "Restricting Sword Energy" on the nine elders because of the effect of the "Infernal Heavens."

Nobody missed this window of opportunity.

"Do it!"

The nine white-haired old men freed themselves from the sword energy and flew away with a whizz. The spiritual source filled the air, causing a few cracks to appear in the empty space.

As Elder Sang was giving the magical pill to Xu Xiaoshou, Ye Xiaotian pulled down a piece of space and smashed it at the masked man, no longer able to restrain himself.

A large hole appeared in the sky, but it automatically repaired itself.

Yet, in the brief moment that the hole was open, Xu Xiaoshou was nearly sucked in by the suction and might've been finished if not for Elder Sang pulling him back.

"Stop!" Elder Sang shouted.

Xu Xiaoshou was flabbergasted. Why was Elder Sang trying to stop the attack? This was obviously the best opportunity to attack together.

And the power of the "Hand of Ripping Heaven"…

Xu Xiaoshou swore that it was the most astounding spiritual technique he'd ever witnessed.

Nobody paid attention to Elder Sang. Ye Xiaotian's "Hand of Ripping Heaven" had instantaneously appeared in front of the masked man and was bearing down on his head.

Bah!

The masked man leisurely stuck out one of his fingers. This time Xu Xiaoshou saw it clearly. It was indeed the Finger Blessed with Sword Will, but the move looked rather weak.

Yet, the next moment, a flash of white light passed through the pierced space and through the figure of Ye Xiaotian.

The expected spilling of blood didn't occur, as it was only Ye Xiaotian's afterimage.

"Boom!"

The torn space struck down. The empty space turned completely into powders, and a large black hole appeared.

Xu Xiaoshou's jaw almost dropped to the ground. How could anyone survive this attack?

It wasn't possible!

He lifted his head and sensed that the masked man, who'd been struck by the torn space, was also just an afterimage.

A figure appeared in the sky before Ye Xiaotian could steady himself, and two fingers were thrust into his throat.

"Whoa!"

Fresh blood poured out, reddening Ye Xiaotian's white hair. His eyes were full of astonishment.

The masked man materialized in front of Ye Xiaotian and jeered, "Your spatial quality isn't bad, but your fighting will is a bit weak. I guessed it would be…"

The masked man twisted Ye Xiaotian's arms behind his back and looked down at the nine elders below. "If you do anything, he dies," he said coldly.

"You…" one of the elders began, but the masked man ran his two fingers across and one of Ye Xiaotian's arms fell off into the empty space.

"The same will happen to the speaker."

It was deadly quiet!

At that moment, time seemed to freeze. Nobody dared to breathe loudly, let alone speak. They were all afraid that the Tiansang Spirit Palace would lose its Chief of the Inner Yard if they made a wrong move.

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes were full of terror. He tightly clenched his fists, feeling his blood boil.

Perhaps this man was indeed a member of an evil organization. However, he'd never witnessed a swordsman suppress a whole arena all on his own before until now.

Cultivation master, for him at the moment, was the highest level for cultivation.

But he was certain that none of the nine elders was below the Master Level.

Including Xiao Qixiu, who had lost the ability to fight, and Ye Xiaotian, who was a hostage at the moment, and Elder Sang, who was holding him, Xu Xiaoshou believed their cultivation levels were certainly higher than Master Level.

Yet, all these cultivators together couldn't even graze the masked man.

He was a true swordsman, and indeed reckless!

As long as one achieved a high cultivation level, one could definitely enter any inner yard and care less about assassination attempts from the innateness. They would all be rubbish…

"Pah!"

Elder Sang slapped Xu Xiaoshou on the head, making him snap out of his dizziness.

"What are you thinking at such a young age?

"Don't learn from such a person, who will die earlier than the others!"

Xu Xiaoshou" "…"

He uttered an "oh" before falling silent, but he had a vague dea brewing in his head.

Elder Sang sighed. He was fully aware of what this young man had on his mind.

Looking at the masked man, Elder Sang fell silent as well.

He was indeed someone who had dominated an era. Therefore, his reappearance had attracted others' admiration.

"I wish it wasn't you who'd come tonight," Elder Sang said.

"If it weren't for me, you would have already caught the person," the masked man looked at Elder Sang.

Elder Sang sighed, "You take your leave, and I won't stop you."

The nine elders were upset, but they couldn't utter a single word when they saw Ye Xiaotian in pain.

Well, what could they do if they didn't let him go?

The Tiansang Spirit Palace was quite big, but not enough.

All the members of the palace had come out in order to capture the masked man. The foundation of the palace would be harmed if they kept on fighting.

It was evident that the masked man had no intention of leaving. While holding Ye Xiaotian he said, "I just want to take an object. I won't hurt anybody."

"With this old man here, you won't be able to take away a blade of grass from the Tiansang Spirit Palace, let alone a sword." Elder Sang was furious.

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly realized that the masked man wanted to take a sword.

What kind of sword was worth the protection from all of the Tiansang Spirit Palace?

Xu Xiaoshou was curious, but it was obvious that he couldn't ask. He knew very well that he shouldn't joke around in such a serious situation.

The masked man flashed a grin. "Do you think you can guard it all the time?"

"Are you threatening me?" Elder Sang was so angry that the conical hat over his head seemed to raise up. "The Tiansang Spirit Palace is my second home. Where would I be but here to guard it?"

Xu Xiaoshou wanted to ask where his first home was, but he thought better of it and reminded himself that he shouldn't behave too impishly.

The masked man didn't respond. Then, he suddenly turned to Xu Xiaoshou and said, "Give this lad to me, and I'll leave without looking back."

Xu Xiaoshou: "? ? ?"

"D*mn," he thought. "Didn't you come here for the sword? So why are you focused on me?

"Is this world sick? Everybody focuses on me.

"I don't think I'm so outstanding."

Elder Sang became furious, as if he'd been rubbed the wrong way. "You must have a death wish!"

In a split second, the air filled with white smoke, and the empty space warped, as if it were being burned by scorching temperatures.

"Hahaha!"

The masked man's laughter alone was very eerie, but coupled with his hoarse voice, the sound could torture one's soul.

"You're Wen Ming, right? Wait for me. I'll be back for you." The masked man broke through the empty space with his two fingers and disappeared without a trace.

Wen Ming?

Xu Xiaoshou was startled for a second and then madly nodded his head.

"Yes, yes, yes!" he thought.

"My name is Wen Ming, and you must come back to find me!

"The name is also the code. You must remember it right and don't forget it!"

"Even though your name is not the correct one," the masked man said, "I will remember your face…"

As his voice gradually faded away, Xu Xiaoshou found himself in a daze.

"D*mn it!" he thought.

"Why do you also have to remember my face? Just remember my name."

"Who is Wen Ming?" Elder Sang asked with lowered head as he watched the masked man disappear into the horizon.

"That isn't important!" Xu Xiaoshou wildly waved his hands and hastily said, "Where can one get a makeover? I'll be back."

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Read I Am Loaded with Passive Skills Chapter 81 - The Meaning of Respect online for free - AllNovelFull

Chapter 81: The Meaning of Respect

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The skies gradually cleared.

The rain had stopped some time ago.

It might have ceased because of Elder Sang's Infernal Heavens, which had vaporized the storm clouds entirely, or because of the gaping black hole that Ye Xiaotian had ripped in the skies, devouring everything in sight.

Regardless of what they had done, no one could stop the masked stranger from leaving if the latter desired so.

The nine founding elders felt slightly disheartened. They had done little tonight.

They'd been of no help to anyone but the masked figure, who had used them to keep Ye Xiaotian in check. They'd only contributed the rain and a little sprinkle of their own blood to the fight.

"We've gotten old."

"That's right. We're old. We can't deny the truth."

They sighed heavily. The extent of their injuries was something that they could handle on their own.

They immediately departed, vanishing without a trace, knowing very well that prolonging their presence at Goose Lake would only bring them further embarrassment.

Just as Ye Xiaotian had predicted, these old fellows were long past the age for battle.

Their place was behind the scenes, issuing orders that might be slightly obsolete and not in keeping with the times.

Let the new generation of leaders in the Spirit Palace unleash their abilities and prove themselves.

The dean of the Inner Yard and representative of the Spirit Palace's leadership, Ye Xiaotian, held onto his broken arm as he landed on the banks of Goose Lake. Elder Sang grabbed Xu Xiaoshou by the collar and landed on the banks as well.

"Dean!"

"Vice Dean!"

The law enforcers around them appeared nervous as they greeted Ye Xiaotian and Elder Sang with the utmost deference.

Their greetings startled Xu Xiaoshou.

Vice Dean?

Elder Sang was a vice dean?

He searched his mind, and after piecing together the fragmented memories inside his head, he finally made a connection between them and the old man next to him.

He had heard rumors of a vice dean in the Spirit Palace who was away from the palace most of the time and hardly drew anyone's attention at all.

If it weren't for people mentioning him, no one would've remembered that he existed.

But it would've been impossible for anyone to completely forget that he existed.

After all, the Tiansang Spirit Palace had been named after its two founders.

The "tian" in Tiansang had been taken from Ye Xiaotian's name and "sang" from Elder Sang.

In addition, the Outer Yard hosted Windcloud Competition annually at the Chuyun Platform.

How had the Chuyun Platform been formed?

During the construction of the Tiansang Spirit Palace, Vice Dean and Elder Sang had cast Chuyun Peak in fire, melted down half of the peak, and forged a platform that could seat ten thousand people.

Grab any Outer Yard disciple, and he or she would be able to recite this tale from heart.

"So he's the one…"

Things had finally clicked.

Elder Sang's eccentric personality had prevented Xu Xiaoshou from piecing everything together sooner.

That old man hadn't displayed the slightest semblance of a man of stature and rank at all.

He was an eccentric loner who always did whatever he wanted, getting up to strange and bizarre antics and flagrantly flouting the rules.

This could be seen from the way he had forced the Infernal Fire Seed down Xu Xiaoshou's throat and how he had chosen to attack despite the predicament his allies were in.

Xu Xiaoshou recalled the scorching heat that he had experienced at the beginning of the advancement round during the Windcloud Competition and how he had barged into the arena to beg Xiao Qixiu for aid.

When the judge had realized that Elder Sang had been the one who had caused Xu Xiaoshou's predicament, he had appeared reluctant to interfere with the matter, as if he couldn't afford to offend Elder Sang.

"That's right, I should've realized it sooner."

Xu Xiaoshou felt distressed. How could this old man be a vice dean?

Hold on a second.

He should look at it another way—the man was stuck being a vice dean and nothing more because of his personality!

Xu Xiaoshou observed the look in the law enforcers' eyes. Despite Ye Xiaotian's broken arm, he continued to garner looks of respect.

As for Elder Sang…

No one dared to look at him at all.

The few who dared to sneak a look at him were the younger ones, and their eyes were full of fear.

Respect?

There wasn't the slightest hint of it in their eyes.

Xiao Qixiu was still resting among the others. The sword had pierced right through him, and he had sustained quite a serious injury from that attack.

Xu Xiaoshou had never seen him in such a bad state before.

In the past, his impression of Xiao Qixiu was that he was a free-spirited deity adrift in the heavens. Yet, when the fight had broken out…

He had completely overturned Xu Xiaoshou's impression of him.

Xu Xiaoshou had caught the look in his eyes when the middle-aged man had been severely injured. Instead of showing weakness, his eyes had gleamed with a strange excitement.

"Is he a masochist?" Xu Xiaoshou muttered to himself.

Xiao Qixiu got to his feet. Before he could say a word, Elder Sang cut him off with a wave of his arm. "You may all go now!"

The eyes of every law enforcer fell upon Xiao Qixiu. He waved his arm.

"Go!"

Whoosh.

An area that had been slightly dim became bright and spacious once more as hundreds of men instantly vanished in shockingly simultaneous concert.

The sight of such pure efficiency left Xu Xiaoshou in awe.

He hurriedly bailed as well.

While not as swift as the law enforcers, he wasn't slow.

Elder Sang nearly rolled his eyes when he caught Xu Xiaoshou sneaking off. "Where do you think you're going?"

Upon hearing the exasperated voice from behind him, Xu Xiaoshou felt the vice dean's grip clamp around his throat and yank him back to where he'd been standing.

He stared at the three powerful men before him and felt his legs go weak.

Before him stood the Chief Elder of the Spiritual Law Division and the Dean and Vice Dean of the Inner Yard.

He had a feeling that he didn't deserve to be in the same space as these three while they were talking.

"Aren't we supposed to leave?" Xu Xiaoshou asked meekly. "I'm in a rush. I have to rebuild my house."

The other three men were silent.

"Rebuild his house?" they thought.

"The Spirit Palace just survived a crisis, and the first thing he wants to do now that the crisis is over is rebuild his house?"

"Did you kill someone?" Xiao Qixiu immediately asked when he realized that Xu Xiaoshou had been dragged back.

Xu Xiaoshou panicked.

This was why he had tried to run. This was what he had feared!

The Outer Yard had rules. One shall not kill their own. He had a feeling that those two fellows had come from the Inner Yard and not the Outer Yard, but that didn't matter. He was just a nobody from the Outer Yard, after all.

The Spiritual Law Division could have him executed for murder!

"Actually, it's the masked figure."

Xiao Qixiu mercilessly cut him off before he could finish his sentence. "I staked out the entire night. Do you think I'm blind?"

Xu Xiaoshou's face fell. "They tried to kill me first!"

"I have no idea what I did to offend them. They were going to kill me. I couldn't just stand there and do nothing!"

"If you'd been watching the whole time, shouldn't you have shown yourself sooner and stopped them?"

"That's two human lives we're talking about, after all."

Xiao Qixiu was dumbfounded.

What was going on here?

The young man had killed someone. Why was he acting as if he were the one who had just undergone a hardship?

Sensing that there appeared to be wiggle room, Xu Xiaoshou added, "I killed in self-defense. I shouldn't be punished for that."

Xiao Qixiu could feel a headache coming on. He gave Elder Sang a look. The message was clear. Elder Sang had given the orders. He should deal with this.

Elder Sang smacked Xu Xiaoshou on the head with his palm. "Well done!"

What did he just say?

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't the only one who was baffled. Similar looks of bewilderment appeared on the faces of the other two men present.

The look on Ye Xiaotian's face darkened. He was the dean of the Inner Yard. How could Elder Sang praise an Outer Yard disciple for killing Inner Yard disciples when he was standing right there?

Elder Sang seemed oblivious to the stormy look on Ye Xiaotian's face and went on talking.

"I'll be honest with you. We set this whole thing up a few days ago when I returned to the Spirit Palace."

"It doesn't matter if the people who tried to kill you were two nobodies from the Inner Yard or someone with a higher office. No one would have saved you."

"That's the truth. Even I couldn't have done anything that would've affected the plan."

"But I'm very glad that you managed to kill those two fellows."

Elder Sang's eyes glimmered brightly. The look of unconcealed approval shot straight to Xu Xiaoshou's heart. "I'd hoped that you would."

Xu Xiaoshou did not say a word. The guesses he'd come up with after finding out about the plan had been right.

Did he resent them for what they'd done?

Of course.

Anyone who had just realized that he or she had been marked as an easy sacrificial pawn naturally would've felt resentment upon this discovery.

But when he thought about it from another angle, he realized that no one alive would've chosen to ruin the greater plan for a small fight between a few insignificant disciples. In fact, he should be grateful that he hadn't been killed for creating unnecessary trouble.

There was really no reasonable cause for anger.

He had not warranted sufficient regard because the power that he possessed didn't command such respect.

The same rule applied in this world as it had in others.

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Chapter 82: Let Me Tell You a Story

That was the kind of man Elder Sang was. If he didn't approve of you, he couldn't care less if you lived or died.

But if he did approve of you, he would regard you as a precious treasure, and he wouldn't allow anyone to take you away from him.

In his eyes, therein lay the difference in worth between the nine founding elders and Xu Xiaoshou…

They were worlds apart.

He eyed the silent young man, then turned to Xiao Qixiu with his straw hat in hand. "Our plan to capture the masked figure tonight failed. We underestimated his strength. He killed two Inner Yard disciples before escaping with ease."

After a slight pause, he added. "That's what we'll announce to the others."

Xiao Qixiu was stupefied. He gave Ye Xiaotian a look.

Ye Xiaotian was staring at Elder Sang in astonishment. It appeared that he was still in shock from the old man's bewildering antics.

Elder Sang grinned cheekily. "If you still want that arm of yours, you should nod and agree."

Ye Xiaotian remained silent.

He clutched his broken arm. The wound had stopped bleeding, but without an accomplished alchemist, it might not heal. Ye Xiaotian sank into deep contemplation.

A long moment later, Xu Xiaoshou watched as the snowy-haired child hovering in midair nodded lightly.

"Alright."

Xiao Qixiu nodded sullenly as well.

Xu Xiaoshou was flabbergasted. The Chief Elder of the Spiritual Law Division, who was renowned for his impartiality, had given in because of a few words from the Elder Sang?

Was this the power that authority and status granted?

He could die from sheer happiness!

Xu Xiaoshou was overjoyed when he realized that they were simply going to let go of the fact that he'd killed someone tonight.

It made sense. He would've had grounds for an argument if it had come to that.

Of course, he'd rather avoid having to go through the trouble of doing that in the first place. No sane person would want to be tried by the Spiritual Law Division!

Xiao Qixiu didn't allow his attention to linger on such a small matter. His eyes started to glimmer with a familiar excitement as he stared at Elder Sang.

"So…

"About that masked figure…"

Elder Sang eyed the tender skin that had regrown on Xiao Qixiu's chest. "You've had a taste, haven't you? Why do you ask when you already know the answer?"

"Is it really him?"

"Yup."

The two men were speaking in riddles and confusing Xu Xiaoshou. His curiosity was piqued. "Who is he?"

Three pairs of piercing eyes turned to stare at him, and Xu Xiaoshou slowly inched away from the trio.

"You're the ones who told me to stay. Sure, keep your gossip to yourself. But why are you ostracizing me…" he protested weakly.

The other three men were baffled. What gossip?

Elder Sang patted Xu Xiaoshou on the shoulder. "Focus on your cultivation. This isn't something you should get yourself involved in right now."

"Okay."

That only served to amplify his curiosity. Who was this masked figure?

He was obviously a swordsman who had once tried to battle purely with his Sword Will. But…

Xu Xiaoshou recalled what the swordsman had said at first. His words of advice had seemed earnest. The journey to battle purely with one's Sword Will appeared to end in a dead-end.

Yet, how could a dead end give one such power?

He had taken on the whole Tiansang Spirit Palace alone.

Xu Xiaoshou felt an unbearable itch niggling at him. The key to unlocking the puzzle that was confounding him was right in front of him. But no one was willing to let him have it.

D*mnit!

"Alright, let's go."

Elder Sang shook his head and gazed heavenward. The skies had brightened. The air was crisp after the rain.

Xiao Qixiu took his leave. Ye Xiaotian wouldn't stop staring at Xu Xiaoshou. Xu Xiaoshou had no clue why he was looking at him like that.

From the air, his childlike voice chimed, "You are the current champion of the Windcloud Competition."

Xu Xiaoshou nodded dumbly. He didn't know what Ye Xiaotian wanted from him.

"You may join the Inner Yard."

What?

What was going on?

He'd fought tooth and nail and had even gone to h*ll and back to earn himself a place in the Inner Yard, yet failed. Now it turned out all he'd needed to get in was a few words from Ye Xiaotian?

Elder Sang rolled his eyes and gave Ye Xiaotian a loud smack on the head. The snowy-haired child glared at him sullenly.

"What are you talking about? Tell those old geezers that Xu Xiaoshou doesn't need to join the Inner Yard!"

"But I do!" Xu Xiaoshou moaned inwardly. He was still a little confused though, so he decided to hold his tongue and watch how things played out.

The snowy-haired child simply glared at Elder Sang, then left.

He left…

He simply upped and left…

Xu Xiaoshou staggered backward. What did that mean? Did he have a place in the Inner Yard or not?

Couldn't someone just give him a straight answer?

The uncertainty was driving him nuts!

"Ye Xiaotian, be more decisive in the future. How many times have I told you? Never hesitate to break things off when you have to!" Elder Sang hollered at the snowy-haired child as the latter flew away.

As a reminder to Elder Sang to not forget about treating his arm, Ye Xiaotian waved the severed limb in the air before disappearing into the distance.

Xu Xiaoshou withdrew his gaze. It was then that he realized he was now alone with Elder Sang.

He could feel a headache coming on.

He was at Goose Lake. With this old geezer. Again.

Memories of pain and suffering came flooding back once more.

"I suppose I'll be on my way, then," he said tentatively.

"You can't leave yet."

The creepy smile that usually graced Elder Sang's face vanished without a trace and was replaced by a solemn look. "Let me tell you a story."

He walked away. Xu Xiaoshou took a deep breath and suppressed his terrible urge to run away, then jogged toward the old man.

"The Shengshen Continent is divided into five regions. In the remote central region, the Holy Divine Land, lies the Holy Palace, the holy land for all alchemists in the continent," said Elder Sang with his hands folded behind his back and a faraway look in his eyes.

Xu Xiaoshou nodded. All he knew was that the land that he was standing upon belonged to the eastern region, the Holy Sword Land. A significant number of swordsmen resided in the Holy Sword Land.

He knew little about the other four regions of the continent.

In fact, he'd never heard of the Holy Palace.

"In the Holy Palace lies a lake. It looks like the Goose Lake before us, but is three times its size."

Elder Sang pointed at the Goose Lake that lay beyond the snowy jade rails. A significant share of its waters had been turned into vapor. He said slowly. "It's called the Greater Goose Lake."

Xu Xiaoshou was speechless.

"There was a young lad who often appeared at the banks of the Greater Goose Lake. He was around your age, and he enjoyed training next to the lake because it was tranquil and quiet.

"One day, he attained Innate Level Physique."

Xu Xiaoshou froze in his tracks. He stared at the silhouette of the old man and his straw hat. A piece of the puzzle was slowly shifting into place.

"The young lad was overjoyed. Not long after that, on a particular night, an old geezer appeared and forced an Infernal Fire Seed down his throat.

"That's right. The young man resisted eating the seed then."

Xu Xiaoshou's face darkened. Was the old man talking about him?

Had the old geezer been force-fed an Infernal Fire Seed when he was a young man? Was that why he'd done the same thing to Xu Xiaoshou? As some misguised attempt at vengenance?

Xu Xiaoshou continued listening as Elder Sang told his story.

"A month later, the young lad's Innate Level Physique was scorched to the core and ruined beyond repair.

"The old geezer appeared once again and fed him another Infernal Fire Seed. He gave the young lad a third Infernal Fire Seed and the manual to a technique."

"Was it the Infernal Heavens?" Xu Xiaoshou clenched his fists. That young man had been put through a great deal more hardship than Xu Xiaoshou had. He'd been fed another Infernal Fire Seed after his Innate Level Physique had been irreparably damaged. That must have eventually killed him!

"That's right!" Elder Sang nodded. "The old geezer said to the young lad, 'Do you hate me? If you do, then master this technique so that you can defeat me.'

"The young lad had no other choice. With hatred burning in his heart, he began practicing the technique. He poured everything he had into it. Within a year, he regained his Innate Level Physique.

"After another three days, he advanced to the Master Stage!"

"That was when he realized that he had shattered the myth that had persisted throughout the continent, the myth that an Innate Level Physique couldn't break through to the Master Stage.

"It'd taken him only a year to do that.

Xu Xiaoshou's jaw dropped. He hadn't expected the story to unfold in this manner.

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Chapter 83: Dawn

"The end of the story was completely beyond what the young lad had expected. But at that point, even an idiot would have learned something from it.

Sang paused momentarily before adding, "But he wasn't an idiot. In fact, he was incredibly smart. He was the smartest person that had ever been and would ever be."

Xu Xiaoshou was speechless.

The old man was shameless!

"It was then that the old geezer appeared again.

"The young lad asked him…"

Sang turned and gave Xu Xiaoshou a look. "What do you think he asked him?"

Xu Xiaoshou scratched his head before looking Sang in the eye. "Why do you have such dark eyebags?"

Sang froze momentarily.

Then, he blew up.

He gave the young man a hard smack on the head. "Be serious!"

"But I am…" Xu Xiaoshou wanted to say, but he swallowed the words instead. He wasn't going to joke around. His life was precious.

"Why did you force feed me the Infernal Fire Seed?" he asked.

Sang raised one finger. "That's the first question.

"The old geezer said he did it because he enjoyed doing it."

Xu Xiaoshou's eyelids twitched, and he suppressed his sudden urge to beat the old man up.

He wasn't the old man's match. He shouldn't even try.

Sang raised a second finger.

Xu Xiaoshou knew that this was the old man's eccentric way of getting him to ask questions. He stopped asking questions like he were the young lad in the story and instead voiced his own.

"Did it ever cross that ugly d*mn geezer's mind that maybe no one wanted the fortuitous opportunity he was granting and the pain and suffering that came with it?"

Sang's lips twitched. They were alone right now. What was the point of throwing shade at him when there was no audience to appreciate the subtlety of his jabs?

"Mind those unnecessary adjectives of yours!" he scoffed unhappily.

"The old geezer said that men who have no ambition or will to better themselves belong in the secular world. Only those who desire to improve themselves will end up at the Holy Palace.

"You already knew the answer to that question."

Xu Xiaoshou was ready to retort when Sang cut him off. "The young lad agreed. If given another chance, he might have chosen to take the Infernal Fire Seed anyway. But the thought of the pain that he would have to suffer…

"Without the thirst for vengeance, he might not have suffered the process during which his Innate Level Physique was destroyed and then rebuilt, and his subsequent advance to the Master stage."

Sang gave Xu Xiaoshou a deliberate look, which only served to baffle Xu Xiaoshou.

What was the meaning of this?

The old man wouldn't let him speak, wouldn't let him ask any questions, and was now putting words into his mouth.

He suspected that the old man was trying to brainwash him, and he had the evidence to prove it.

But he did kind of grudgingly agree with what the old man said at the end though…

Hold on a second.

That wasn't right.

The brainwashing had nearly worked!

Xu Xiaoshou leveled a murderous glare at the old man to express his disgruntlement.

"One last question." Sang raised a third finger.

The last one?

He would have to make it count…

Xu Xiaoshou thought for a long moment before slowly saying, "Who was the masked figure?"

His eyes were filled with curiosity.

A vein throbbed visibly on Sang's forehead. He was barely holding himself back.

There was something seriously wrong with this young man!

He wondered, suddenly, if he had chosen the wrong man.

"Stop fooling around!"

"Erm." Xu Xiaoshou got serious. "Why me?"

Sang smoothened his sparse eyebrow and nodded with satisfaction. "Now, that's the kind of question a normal person would ask."

A solemn expression settled on his face. "I need to be honest with you. The Infernal Heavens is known for having stripped a man of his Innate Level Physique.

"What it's not known for is its death count, which has exceeded a hundred deaths."

The look on Xu Xiaoshou's face implied that he'd expected that. Sang hadn't expected this reaction, and continued talking.

"I've tried it on a dozen others before you came along. They were prodigies who weren't from the Spirit Palace. All of them died.

"I didn't harbor much hope for you at first. I was simply giving it a shot. After all, what's the worst that could happen, I thought."

"Another man dead. That's all."

He glanced at Xu Xiaoshou and caught the look of composure on the young man's face. He had no idea if the young man was putting up an act.

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't feigning composure. He had gotten used to Sang's antics. He would've been surprised if Sang had said he cared for a nobody he'd never met before.

In fact, the old geezer had spoken the truth, which was more than he'd expected from him.

"Back to the story," Sang said. "The young lad asked the same question. The old geezer replied the same way I did, and more."

As he went on, he seemed to assume the mannerisms of the character in his story.

"The world is an enormous cage, and everyone is seeking freedom.

"Everyone begins as a nobody. When you're insignificant and small, no one sees the potential in you.

"You strive hard and reach a certain level in life. That is when others discover your potential. But you are still not free then.

"You are still a pawn, a tool that others use to pursue their own freedom. Your life rests in the hands of the person who discovered your potential, not your own."

He pointed at Xu Xiaoshou. "That's who you are right now."

Xu Xiaoshou understood what Sang was trying to tell him. The old man went on talking.

"You continue to strive hard and finally free yourself from the shackles of being a pawn. You earn the right to pursue your own freedom. You cultivate and groom your own pawns and successfully unlock the door to the enormous cage.

"You walk out of that world and discover the skies beyond the cage. You think this is freedom. The next moment, you realize that this is just a larger cage."

He pointed at Goose Lake. The surface of the lake was as smooth as a mirror. Within it was the reflection of the blue skies dappled with white clouds. The calm lake seemed to have taken on a strange quality.

"You're still trapped. How do you break out?"

Xu Xiaoshou squatted momentarily, then stood up. A pebble landed in the lake, instantly shattering the pristine skies. "It's broken now, isn't it?"

Sang was speechless.

He had to control himself.

He must!

"Alright. You're out now. You look up and see the real sky…" Sang jerked Xu Xiaoshou's stubborn head upward. "You're looking at the real sky right now. How do you break out?

"Even if you do, you'll just be greeted with another layer of sky."

Xu Xiaoshou nearly choked. It felt terrible. He barely got his words out. "No infinite regressions allowed!"

Sang paused. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Erm, nothing." Xu Xiaoshou yanked his head down again. He asked confusedly, "You talk a lot. What are you trying to tell me?"

Sang clutched Xu Xiaoshou's head and said slowly, "That's just how the world is. It's filled with malice and danger. You'll see when you leave the Spirit Palace.

"Of those who discover your potential, not every one of them will use you well. You may end up being sacrificed, like the others whom I've tested.

"That's why you should play your part dutifully and be a good pawn when you've not yet acquired true and complete power.

"At the very least, you should make sure these folks who discover your potential view you as just a pawn!"

Xu Xiaoshou froze. Honestly, he seemed to understand what the old man was saying, yet at the same time, he didn't.

He'd already known how terrible the world could be. But the old man had spoken of its dangers as infinite layers of regressions, which was something that he hadn't yet experienced personally…

"Don't worry. I'll break out of every one of those cages," he said earnestly.

Sang smiled. The wrinkled creases on his face unfolded like the many petals of a blossoming flower. "That's what I said then too…"

Xu Xiaoshou looked up. "So you're the young lad in the story. Is the ugly old geezer your master?"

Slap!

Sang smacked him again.

"What ugly old geezer are you talking about?

"That's your grandmaster you're talking about!"

Xu Xiaoshou was dumbstruck.

"At the end of the story, the old geezer said, 'I've taught you the first lesson. Do you wish to take me as your master?'"

Sang pulled himself out of his memories and repeated himself. "Do you wish to take me as your master?"

"Are you going to be nice to me?" A pitiful look instantly appeared on Xu Xiaoshou's face.

Sang was rendered speechless.

This was hardly the time to fool around!

The young man before him fell to his knees before he could yell at him.

"Master, please allow your disciple to pay his respect!"

Xu Xiaoshou might have harbored some resentment towards the old man in the past, but those sentiments had vanished without a trace after he discovered that mastering the Infernal Heavens required his physical form to be destroyed and then rebuilt.

Besides, without Sang's intervention tonight, he would have ended up being cast aside by Ye Xiaotian or kidnapped by the masked figure.

Sang might be a terrifying and eccentric loner, but he had shown genuine concern during his attempt to rescue Xu Xiaoshou. He couldn't have feigned that.

In any case, Sang had made his intentions extremely clear. Xu Xiaoshou didn't exactly have a choice.

He didn't receive a response for a long time. When he looked up, it was to the sight of an old face under the brim of a straw hat, all scrunched up, and to eyes that seemed to gleam and ripple with tears.

Xu Xiaoshou was momentarily dazed.

Behind the old man was the sun, which was steadily rising over the eastern horizon, and with it, a spill of violet light.

A tiny stream of faint light fell over the silent old man and youth.

Goose Lake stirred awake as the new day dawned. The wind arrived, stirring cicadas and geese into song, streaming down fissures in a wounded earth and brushing against fallen bodies of weeping willows. From a ravaged land blossomed hope for new life.

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Chapter 84: Xu Xiaoshou's Got No Connections

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In the Inner Yard.

Inside one of its residences.

Slam!

With a hard smack, Zhang Xinxiong sent a flagon to the floor, shattering it into many shards of silver and jade. The fragrance of wine instantly filled the air.

He stared furiously at the woman before him. "I told you. The men you sent were supposed to simply keep an eye on Xu Xiaoshou. Look at what happened. Look at what you've done.

"They tried to kill him. Alright. I was fine with that. They couldn't kill him. Fine. They couldn't escape. Still fine. But did you have to choose that particular time to kill him…

"Did you have to attempt an assassination while everyone was watching?

"You might as well have served those men's heads up on a platter!

"Do you really have a functioning brain at all?"

Lan Xinzi's strapless dress left her lovely, fair shoulders bare.

She proudly stuck her chest out in the face of the man's furious yelling, and said, "I don't!"

Zhang Xinxiong was momentarily rendered speechless.

Lan Xinzi eyed the shattered remains of her flagon with a sorrowful look. The flagon had arrived at her residence after a journey through the night. And now, after barely existing for a day, it had met its untimely end at the hands of Zhang Xinxiong.

The man probably had no clue that the last flagon had been replaced with a new one.

"What are your plans?" asked Zhang Xinxiong after he'd calmed down. What was done was done. There was nothing to be done about it.

"We didn't kill him the last time, so we'll just have to keep trying, I guess.

"Your father was the one who assigned this mission. Let me do the job if you're not interested in getting it done.

"Besides, I'm in a foul mood. Killing someone will cheer me up. Everything will work out." Lan Xinzi didn't seem to care much about the mission at all.

"You…

"Women!"

Lan Xinzi was driving Zhang Xinxiong up the wall. She must have been dropped on the head as a child!

Xu Xiaoshou couldn't keep himself cooped up in the Spirit Palace forever.

She could have bided her time and waited for him to leave the Spirit Palace. It would have been a piece of cake to have him killed then. Why was she trying to sabotage herself?

She had instructed an Inner Yard disciple to kill an Outer Yard disciple. She wasn't going to be let off easily if the Spiritual Law Division found out about her involvement.

"Don't you dare make another move. Do that and you can forget about ever leaving this house," threatened Zhang Xinxiong fiercely.

Lan Xinzi's eyes lit up. "Are you going to imprison me?"

Zhang Xinxiong was speechless.

She was driving him crazy. He thundered, "Make a move and I'll make sure you never walk again!"

"Is that so?"

The doors of the residence slid open. A quiet voice drifted in.

"Do that and I'll make sure you don't walk again."

Zhang Xinxiong turned around. In strode a man with a well-proportioned build and a sword hanging from his waist. His dark unfeeling eyes stared out from beneath a pair of arched eyebrows.

"He Yuxing?"

It dawned on Zhang Xinxiong instantly. "You were the one who gave Feng Kong his orders."

He Yuxing nodded.

Zhang Xinxiong scoffed and pointed at Lan Xinzi. Derision dripped heavily from his words. "Do you simply do whatever she tells you to? Can't you think for yourself?"

"I like it," He Yuxing said coolly. His eyes fell on Zhang Xinxiong's finger. "Put that down or you'll lose it in a second."

Boom!

Zhang Xinxiong instantly blew up. He appeared perfectly still as the floor beneath his feet abruptly sank. A crack appeared in the ground, and the dark jagged line lengthened rapidly as it sped toward the man standing in the doorway.

Ping!

He Yuxing placed his sword lightly on the ground. The growing fissure splintered into two, branching off sideways instead.

With a loud explosion, the towering walls on both sides of the house collapsed, and shattered rocks fell through the crevices in the ground while clouds of dust rose everywhere.

Cough! Cough!

A sudden hacking cough resounded in the air. Zhang Xinxiong, He Yuxing, and Lan Xinzi turned their eyes toward the collapsed wall and were greeted with the sight of a man dressed in black, squatting on the wall.

He was chewing on a blade of leaf and had one hand placed lightly over his mouth and nose. The look in his eyes was that of impudence.

"Young Master Zhang, He the Crazed, the Fair Maiden Lan…you're all here!

"That's great. I'll need all of you to make a trip to the Spiritual Law Division with me."

The trio was startled. That was quick. It hadn't taken the law enforcers much time to come knocking on their door.

They were displaying extraordinary efficiency this time.

"Zhao Xidong, what is the meaning of this?" Zhang Xinxiong frowned.

"Hah!" Zhao Xidong spat the leaf in his mouth out and snorted.

"I'm quite sure you know what's going on."

"This isn't your first time facing trial. If you want to do something bad, either make sure you don't get caught or don't even bother hiding the fact that you did it in the first place."

The mention of a trial made looks of alarm appear on the trio's faces. Zhang Xinxiong tried to feign composure while protesting his ignorance. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Hah!" Zhao Xidong looked away and laughed. He didn't attempt to hide the derision in his voice at all. The image of that bizarre young man appeared in his head.

As a graduate of the Inner Yard and the former leader of its thirty-three disciples, this was the first time he'd properly donned his judge's uniform since his graduation and the first time he'd made up his mind to do his job as he should.

He had been assigned to arena number 12 during the Outer Yard's Windcloud Competition, which was where his nightmare had begun.

The first round of the competition had been all right. Besides being utterly bored all the time, he hadn't had much trouble.

During the preliminaries, he'd made history by becoming the judge to witness the first historic death in the Windcloud Competition.

He'd just stepped out of the Tribunal mere moments ago…

The thought of the Tribunal sent shivers down his spine.

The sudden chill made him recall the young man who would break out into occasional shivers for no rhyme or reason.

"It's Xu Xiaoshou. Does that ring any bells?" He shrugged. "I'm not the one who's out to get you. This time, I have orders from Boss Xiao himself."

Xiao Qixiu?

Alarm flickered in the trio's eyes. Why would the Chief Elder of the Spiritual Law Division poke his nose into such a trivial matter? Was he bored out of his mind?

That was impossible!

There was only one explanation for this. Xu Xiaoshou had connections in the Spirit Palace.

But he was just an Outer Yard disciple. What kind of connection could he possibly have with Xiao Qixiu?

A deep crease furrowed Lan Xinzi's brow. She was coming to realize the recklessness of her actions.

But she had done a background check on Xu Xiaoshou. He was your average orphan. What kind of connections could he possess?

"So…

"Are you going to head for the Tribunal and turn yourself in? Or am I going to have to make you?" Zhao Xidong seemed to be buzzing with anticipation.

He Yuxing stepped forward. "I was the one who gave the orders. Show me the evidence you have that proves my guilt and I'll go with you willingly." He paused for a moment. "Otherwise, you should be looking for Feng Kong and Shao Yi."

Zhao Xidong slapped his palm against his forehead. That was practically a confession, wasn't it?

He knew there was no way he could reason with the idiot, though. He ignored what He Yuxing said and instead grinned cheekily. "Were you cooped up somewhere training with your sword? You haven't heard the news, have you?

"Feng Kong and Shao Yi are dead."

He Yuxing arched an eyebrow. Dead?

"Was Xu Xiaoshou the one who killed them?"

"Yup."

"Fine. I'll go with you."

He sheathed his sword and stood at attention. Then, he turned to Lan Xinzi. "This has nothing to do with you. I'll take care of everything."

Lan Xinzi's eyelids twitched. It wouldn't have had anything to do with her if he'd kept quiet, but he had opened his big mouth. Now, she couldn't be sure.

Zhao Xidong seemed to have something to say, but He Yuxing curtly cut him off.

"You only need one. I'll do."

The law enforcer looked past He Yuxing and eyed the two persons standing behind him curiously.

Zhang Xinxiong wasn't going to say a word. He hadn't done anything, after all.

Lan Xinzi was silent. She didn't say a single word.

Well, that was interesting.

Zhao Xidong got to his feet, brushed his hands together, and leapt off the collapsed wall.

"Sure. Follow me, then."

It was then that a tremor rippled through the house, and everything started to violently shake.

The glint of a blade sped through the doorway and past the four persons, ripping a deep fissure in the ground and cleaving the peaceful abode into two.

"Zhang Xinxiong! Come out right now and meet your death!" A young, sweet voice pierced the air.

Zhang Xinxiong, He Yuxing, and Lan Xinzi were dumbstruck.

Zhao Xidong was utterly floored.

What was going on?

Who would dare openly attack someone in the presence of a law enforcer from the Spiritual Law Division?

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Chapter 85: None of You Are Going Anywhere

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The huge doors and the towering walls had been ripped apart by the force of the blade. The barriers hadn't managed to stop the attack at all. Zhang Xinxiong turned around. He could see exactly what was going on outside the house.

A dozen Inner Yard disciples with nothing better to do had gathered in the distance and formed a circle around the house. They were squatting or perched on their bums on stools, nibbling on nuts or spitting out seeds as they snacked on fruits…

They were clearly bored out of their minds. Nevertheless, these were just ordinary Inner Yard disciples, hardly the Inner Yard Thirty-Three. They weren't the ones who had openly issued the challenge.

His eyes fell on a young woman in a red dress who was slowly making her way toward them. He tore his gaze from her slender, shapely legs and stepped forward. His voice was soft as he asked, "Rao Yinyin?"

Lan Xinzi curled her fingers into fists. This man never usually spoke to her in such a gentle manner.

Rao Yinyin smiled sweetly, then shook her head slightly. She reached her hand behind her and pulled.

A young girl in white appeared. She barely reached Rao Yinyin's chest.

She scrunched her adorable nose and stabbed her huge white sword into the ground. The blade was enveloped in a threatening Sword Will that showed no signs of receding.

Zhang Xinxiong's face darkened. "Su Qianqian, are you crazy? What are you doing?"

"Killing someone!"

Zhao Xidong tripped over thin air. He stepped forward and grabbed the girl.

"Young lady, please don't cause a scene. I'm standing right here. Can't you at least wait for me to be gone before you do anything?"

She was putting him in a terrible spot.

She couldn't simply do whatever she wanted just because she was Boss Xiao's favorite disciple!

Did Boss Xiao know that she was on a rampage?

This just wasn't turning out to be his day. He couldn't voice his protests, though. Some things were meant to be kept private, destined to languish in the recesses of his mind.

Su Qianqian's eyes lit up when her gaze landed on Zhao Xidong.

"Brother Xidong, help me guard the backdoor! Make sure he doesn't escape!"

Zhao Xidong's face darkened. He thundered. "Stop fooling around!"

The smile on Su Qianqian's face dimmed. She pulled a dark red token out. "Elder Xiao has issued his orders. Zhang Xinxiong has committed a grievous crime, for which he is to be executed!"

Silence descended upon them all.

Smash!

One of the disciples, who'd been munching on nuts, fell off his stool.

"I can't believe it. Su Qianqian stole the token so that she could kill someone."

"Why are you so sure she stole it?"

"You must be new here. Su Qianqian's done plenty of such things."

Zhou Tianshen scratched his head. A huge golden sword was hanging off his back. He hadn't expected to be seen through that quickly.

He'd been passing by when he'd discovered a commotion and had been instinctively drawn towards it.

"Honestly, what's going on? I know the Inner Yard doesn't forbid fights to the death, but don't you have to hold your fights in the Ring of Life and Death?" asked Zhou Tianshen.

"I knew it. You're new to the place…"

The disciple picked his stool up, grabbed Zhou Tianshan, and put some distance between them and the house. He whispered in a hushed tone, "Haven't you heard of what happened yesterday?"

"What happened?" Zhou Tianshen asked stupidly. He'd had a restful, dreamless sleep in his new quarters in the Inner Yard. He had absolutely no clue what had happened.

He had been distracted by the incredibly rich and nourishing spiritual energies all around him. With the powerful soundproofing array activated, he could sleep through an earthquake.

"Are you an idiot? That happens to all newbies, I guess. They sleep like the dead."

"What happened?"

"I heard that the upper echelons of the Inner Yard set up an ambush at Goose Lake to catch a masked man. They failed, though."

Zhou Tianshen was shocked. "Is Zhang Xinxiong the masked man?"

There was a momentary silence.

"No, you idiot!"

The other disciple nearly swallowed the entire fruit, seed and all. He rolled his eyes. "While they were busy trying to catch the guy, Feng Kong and his sidekick went to the Outer Yard to kill someone!"

"Kong Feng? An Inner Yard disciple?" Zhou Tianshen was utterly bewildered. "Is he stupid? Even if he killed his victim successfully, he'd still have the Spiritual Law Division hot on his tail. He won't escape capture."

"He failed to make it into the Inner Yard Thirty-Three, so he wanted to make a quick buck before leaving the Spirit Palace for good," the other disciple scoffed. "I've seen plenty like him over the years."

Zhou Tianshen carefully considered this. He'd heard that the audition for the Inner Yard Thirty-Three had ended before the Outer Yard's Windcloud Competition.

But he'd only found out about this after entering the Inner Yard.

"What's that got to do with what's going on now?" Zhou Tianshen was baffled.

He stared at the scene unfolding before him. Everyone had known from the moment Su Qianqian pulled out that token that she'd stolen it. But no one had dared to do anything about it without considering the potential consequences.

"Heh! It's got everything to do with it!" The eyes of the disciple lit up. That was the look of a gossip.

"I heard that Zhang Xinxiong was the one who sent Feng Kong to kill the Outer Yard disciple. I also heard that their target shares a secret relationship with Su Qianqian."

"Look, she's come knocking at his door!"

"The Inner Yard seems to be rife with politics," Zhou Tianshen thought to himself. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the person whom Zhang Xinxiong wanted dead.

"Is she seeking vengeance, then?" he asked.

"Vengeance?" The other disciple shook his head. There was a hint of awe in his eyes. "Not at all. Feng Kong and his sidekick ended up being killed by their target…"

Zhou Tianshen was dumbstruck. An Outer Yard disciple had somehow managed to kill an Inner Yard disciple?

"That's impossible! Who killed them?"

"What's his name again…" The other disciple's eyes glazed over as he tried to recall the name. Then, he said tentatively, "I heard Su Qianqian call him…"

"Brother Little Beast?"

For his ineptitude as a gossip, he received a look of scorn from another disciple next to him nibbling on melon seeds. "It's Xu Xiaoshou!" the latter said snidely.

"Xu Xiaoshou…" Zhou Tianshen pursed his lips. Why did that name sound so familiar?

Hold on a minute.

"Xu Xiaoshou?" His eyes widened suddenly. "Which Xu Xiaoshou?"

"You just arrived from the Outer Yard, right? You should know him. He's the champion of the Windcloud Competition."

Zhou Tianshen fell from his stool. He was stupefied.

Was it truly him?

That guy…

How was this possible?

Shock and disbelief coursed through him.

Zhou Tianshen had put on his best behavior after entering the Inner Yard and had taken every care not to cause offense to anyone important in the Inner Yard.

Xu Xiaoshou, on the other hand, who was still stuck in the Outer Yard, had managed to kill two disciples.

This…

He truly deserved his title as the champion!

Zhou Tianshen grew excited. He had dogged the footsteps of the champion and gotten his hands on the scroll. He had benefited greatly from that.

Even though he had now entered the Inner Yard, it appeared that he had to continue dogging the footsteps of this champion!

He was confident that he would be rewarded with more pleasant surprises!

His eyes gleamed with anticipation as he eyed the scene before him and the stalemate that had arisen because of the appearance of a token.

Kill him!

His name was Zhang Xinxiong, wasn't it? He had the guts to mess with the man who was his lighthouse and beacon. He must die!

Everyone's eyes fell on Zhao Xidong. The smart ones knew that he was the one who would decide whether a fight broke out or not.

Zhao Xidong's jaw clenched. He decided that he couldn't let Su Qianqian do whatever she wanted. Otherwise, he would have to make another trip to the Tribunal.

"Su Qianqian, put your weapon away. This matter isn't as simple as you think it is."

He pointed at He Yuxing. "He's the mastermind behind everything."

Su Qianqian eyed He Yuxing suspiciously. Why would he get himself involved?

Was he trying to play the hero and shoulder the blame for Zhang Xinxiong?

That couldn't be right. He Yuxing and Zhang Xinxiong didn't get along. Besides, he wasn't acquainted with the Wen family at all. Only the Zhang family would attempt to avenge Wen Chong's death.

"Sister Rao?" She stared at the young woman in the red dress with a look of mild puzzlement on her face.

Rao Yinyin patted her on the head indulgently. "It's really simple, isn't it? There're other people in this house too."

Su Qianqian froze momentarily. Her eyes fell on Lan Xinzi…

Then, they turned toward Zhang Xinxiong and He Yuxing before realization struck her.

"I see!"

The young woman's lovely face was flushed with fury. She tugged her huge white sword out of the ground. "So, there's three of you. Well, none of you will be going anywhere!"

Thud!

Zhao Xidong collapsed onto the ground.

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Chapter 86: Famed Sword

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Su Qianqian, put down the sword!"

Zhao Xidong's scolding seemed rather useless to the crowd.

That was because Su Qianqian didn't even bother listening to him after knowing that they were on the same side. She simply called in a subdued tone, "Sister Rao."

Rao Yinyin knew what that meant. Su Qianqian was about to make a move, and she looked at Zhao Xidong.

"Enforcer Zhao…"

An alluring, mesmerizing voice sounded directly in Zhao Xidong's ears, and for some reason, he was compelled to turn around and look at the woman in the red dress.

The very moment their eyes met, Zhao Xidong only felt a rumbling in his mind, and soft, pinkish colors blossomed, making everything look misty.

His expression turned strange in that very instant, and he looked seemingly content yet shy.

Eventually, he couldn't help but lunge forward, but only grabbed thin air. He then slumped to the ground, looking very drunk.

"So huge."

Zhou Tianshen, who was watching from behind, was completely stunned. "What kind of demonic art is this?" he thought.

That woman in the red dress had only glanced at him, and he just slumped to the ground just like that?

That was an enforcer, man!

From what he could tell, the enforcers from the Spiritual Law Division were at least powerful enough to serve as referees in the Wind and Cloud Contest.

Zhou Tianshen on the other hand…

Was merely someone among the 32 strongest.

That comparison made the differences between them glaringly obvious, yet one such powerful law enforcer had just dropped to the ground from one look in the eye.

A spectator off to the side who was eating baked seeds, looked on with envy and quipped, "Well, that really is Sister Rao's 'Mesmeric Art' for you, something capable of taking on any man."

"I heard that it's a paradise in that illusion. D*mn, I wonder if I'll ever get the chance to experience that…"

"You?" The one who was biting on the seeds sounded sarcastic and pointed at his bench. "You're only fit for daydreaming on a bench!"

"At least I dare to dream. That's more than what you can do."

"Hehe, dream? What's the use daydreaming? If you dare…"

Rao Yinyin turned around all of a sudden, causing the two of them to gasp in fright.

Zhou Tianshen looked elsewhere, seemingly saying that none of that had anything to do with him.

Back in the battle.

As soon as Zhao Xidong dropped to the ground, Su Qianqian started dragging her massive sword along the ground, kicking up sparks, as she charged at Zhang Xinxiong.

"She's actually doing it?" Everyone was stunned.

The crowd had initially thought she was just putting up a show, not expecting her to actually make good on her word.

Zhang Xinxiong drew a thick, long, black iron stick from his ring and lightly tapped it on the ground, causing the ground to immediately crack.

He deemed that if Su Qianqian dared to actually attack him, then he would have nothing to fear.

There was a law enforcer present, and he was on the defensive in the first place, which meant that he was always the one with the advantage.

As for that girl's powers…

"You've got to be kidding me," he thought. "While she is indeed one of the 33 in the Inner Yard, that girl's only been there for like a year or two, right?

"Does she really think she can take a veteran of five to six years like me on?:

Zhang Xinxiong was very tall—nine feet in height—and extraordinarily dashing.

Su Qianqian only reached up to his midsection, yet the girl leapt to a height of well over three meters when she was getting near.

As soon as that snow-white massive sword was lifted up, terrifying sword will was brought to bear as it came crashing down on him.

Zhang Xinxiong was immediately stunned.

The way he saw it, that white, massive sword was like a giant tombstone blocking out the sky as it came down on him.

A shuddering cold crept into his soul, and boundless fear washed over him. The tombstone got increasingly closer, and there was no running away.

"Something is wrong with the sword…"

He dared to say that Su Qianqian was definitely incapable of bringing such powerful swordplay to bear on him.

The only thing about her that was making him feel so much pressure was definitely that white, massive sword she was holding in her hand.

So that sword was an heirloom in the Su family, then?

The 21st among the famed swords.

Epitaph of City Snow.

"Open." Zhang Xinxiong's expression was one of weariness, and a bit of bloody light seeped over the black staff. The length of the staff grew exponentially and became as thick as a tree trunk.

Given that there was no evading it, he would simply take the attack head-on. Zhang Xinxiong's forte was sheer power, which meant that he wasn't about to lose to one such famed sword.

The massive sword came crashing down while that black iron trunk stood in its way.

A deafening rumble echoed.

The few who were involved in the fight were all fine. It was the surrounding crowd that was sent flying instead.

Zhou Tianshen was completely stunned. Despite being in midair, his gaze was still fixed on the two who were going at it.

The girl in white bringing the sword down looked frail, yet Zhang Xinxiong, who'd just blocked the attack, looked sinister instead.

"Hah!" Su Qianqian gritted her teeth as she bore down on him with her sword.

Boom!

The ground exploded, and a crater appeared. Zhang Xinxiong, however…

Was still seen standing in the middle of the crater.

"It's still too early for you to compete with me in terms of strength."

Zhang Xinxiong took a sarcastic jab at her, and then intended to make his next move. Su Qianqian, who was right above him, however, wasn't going to give him the chance. A shout was then heard.

"Heavy Tomb!"

Yet another entity came crashing down from the sky, which was then infused into that white, massive blade.

To Zhang Xinxiong, it looked like yet another tombstone was coming crashing down on him.

Who the h*ll could take this?

He was unable to react before the heavy force of those two tombstones caused his arms to be dislocated.

Booooom!

The ones involved in the fight quickly retreated, and that crater on the ground spread even further.

As soon as Zhou Tianshen dropped to the ground, yet another rumbling energy washed over them, but he wasn't sent flying this time, as he'd been prepared for it.

"Some impact indeed!"

His fighting spirit was high, and he felt his blood boil. He then grabbed the golden domineering blade on his back, feeling that the blade was getting as excited as he was.

This was what he sought:

One slash that would cleave right through flesh and bones, leaving nothing behind.

"Wait, something is off," he thought.

"Where's Zhang Xinxiong?

"Where is that guy?

"Don't tell me that he was reduced to mush!" he thought.

Clang!

Two sections of the staff dropped from the sky into that deep crater, and this scene shocked all the spectators around.

"Holy sh*! The 'Black Shark' is broken?"

"That thing is a sixth-grade spiritual weapon, no? A Master Level weapon, yet…"

"It's actually broken?"

Zhou Tianshen was dumbfounded, and he wondered if that thing really was a sixth-grade spiritual weapon.

That golden domineering blade of his was only ninth-grade.

His blade wasn't even at Innate Level.

Su Qianqian's mouth twitched, and she tsked satisfactorily before putting that massive blade of hers back on her back.

"Consider that broken stick a lesson to you, then."

She tilted her head and looked at Lan Xinzi's back, saying seriously, "if you dare mess with Brother Xiaoshou ever again, someone's gonna die."

Gulp. Everyone around gulped at that moment.

That girl still looked cute even when she was being serious, which meant that her words hardly had any weight.

Yet, if one were to consider what she just did…

Somehow, Lan Xinzi was terrified deep down. She wondered how it was possible for Zhang Xinxiong to be stuck underground like that.

"Isn't this Su Qianqian a little too ridiculous?" she thought.

If she'd been in Su Qianqian's shoes, she would've had a hard time taking that one punch, even if Zhang Xinxiong had yet to use his bloodline power. Furthermore, he had fielded the Black Shark.

In the end, however, Black Shark broke in two.

She wondered if that girl was truly someone who had been in the Inner Yard for a year or two.

"Su, Qian, qian!"

A voice full of suppressed anger was heard from underground. Zhang Xinxiong shot out of the crater and threw a punch at Su Qianqian, who was walking away.

Zhou Tianshen's eyes flew open, and he couldn't help but alert her. "Look out!"

The person next to him immediately slapped a hand over Zhou Tianshen's mouth, trying to muffle his voice.

"Do you have a death wish or something? What the hell are you shouting like that for in the middle of a show? You could die, you know!"

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Chapter 87: Knocks on the Door Again

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Whoosh!

His fist was as quick as the wind, and Zhang Xinxiong's sudden attack startled all of the spectators around.

There was no way that Su Qianqian, who was at Upper Spiritual Level as well, wouldn't see that attack coming. Yet, she unexpectedly didn't do anything about it, looking as if she really didn't notice that an ambush was coming for her.

"Zhang Xinxiong, you're so dead!"

All of a sudden, Zhao Xidong's voice was heard from the side. Zhang Xinxiong was startled, and he turned around.

The man, who should've still been on the ground, giggling lecherously, had actually gotten to his feet somehow and was now throwing a fist at him.

Zhang Xinxiong immediately opened his hand and swatted at Zhao Xidong like a beast swatting at a fly.

Zhao Xidong didn't take the attack and instead parried it, sliding off of Zhang Xinxiong's wrist.

Boom!

A rumble was heard, and it was like Zhang Xinxiong was oblivious of everything else as he turned around and closed his hands, which he then cleaved downward.

That attack would send Zhao Xidong's head flying if it were to hit his neck.

"You dare?" Zhao Xidong only glared at him. "I'm the law enforcer!"

Zhang Xinxiong finally came to his senses after hearing this, and his hands stopped right before the man's black clothes.

There was the sound of clothes billowing, and then there was utter silence.

Everyone was relieved to see that a fight with a law enforcer wasn't going to break out.

Yet, they found it to be a pity all the same, and the mood became rather sullen after the fight was abruptly halted.

Su Qianqian snickered and said, "Brother Xidong, he's about to beat me up."

"Why you!"

"You really thought I didn't see what you did just because I dropped to the ground?" Zhao Xidong thought.

He was extremely furious, yet he glared at Rao Yinyin instead, who was outside the battlefield.

He'd never thought that this girl, who had pretty much just kept to herself when she first joined the Inner Yard, would actually able to mesmerize him like that.

Rao Yinyin shrugged, and then explained, "I didn't do anything."

"Yeah, sure!" Zhao Xidong rolled his eyes, and then glared at Su Qianqian, feeling extremely furious. "Return your master's token at once!'

"Alright." Su Qianqian immediately ran off.

"You still wanna fight?" He turned to look at Zhang Xinxiong again.

Fight, you say?

Zhang Xinxiong undoubtedly wanted to continue fighting. There was no way he wouldn't want to after having his Black Shark snapped just like that.

"Could I, though?" he thought.

Zhao Xidong or not, the presence of any law enforcer alone would make it impossible for a fight to be had.

"So, what about my Black Shark, then?" he thought.

"What about that sixth-grade spiritual weapon of mine that was just snapped like that, then?"

Zhang Xinxiong's eyes narrowed to slits, and were full of extreme anger. Yet, when he took a look at that woman in the red dress, he simply swallowed it down.

He picked up the broken sections of his staff and dusted them off before casting a glance at Su Qianqian.

"You did what you did, and that was the price," Su Qianqian said.

Rao Yinyin came over and put herself in front of her to block her. Zhang Xinxiong took a deep breath and said, "Alright, you win."

This line was actually directed at Rao Yinyin.

Rao Yinyin didn't reply. She simply patted Su Qianqian's head, and Zhang Xinxiong looked behind him.

His place had been cleaved in half by the attack before.

"No need to worry about that. I've given an order to the Spiritual Affairs Division, and they're going to send someone to fix this."

Su Qianqian jerked her head out, paused, and then added, "I've paid the required Spirit Crystals."

Zhang Xinxiong looked like he was shuddering.

The spectators were all baffled.

"My gosh. He actually just swallowed it like that? Boy, Master Zhang really, really has a thing for Sister Rao, then."

"You can say that again. 'He-Lan-Zhang-Rao-Su', everyone knew that winding line of infatuation after all. You think Sister Rao would spare anyone who did anything to Su Qianqian, eh?"

"Tsk, tsk, you have a point."

Zhou Tianshen scratched his head, puzzled, being totally oblivious to what those people were talking about. The only thing he could say was that the Inner Yard was truly a messy place.

"Let's go, Sister Rao." Su Qianqian then walked off with the woman in red.

Zhao Xidong thought for a bit, but didn't stop the two of them from walking away.

"Alright," he thought. "Consider this a favor to Big Brother Xiao, then. Just pretend that I didn't see this."

His eyes narrowed as he savored the paradise that he was steeped in before turning around to look at He Yuxing, yet he found that the man was staring at the girl's massive sword instead.

That guy sure is crazy…

"Let's go."

He Yuxing withdrew his gaze, looking somewhat disappointed. Then he picked up his sword and caught up with Zhao Xidong.

"Alright, show's over."

The spectators packed up their benches, and all of them left before long.

While it was fine to catch a show, the thought of facing off against the 33 of the Inner Yard all alone when said show was over was rather harrowing.

Zhou Tianshen was about to leave when he heard someone called out from behind,

"You're from the Zhou family?"

He turned around to see Zhang Xinxiong looking at him, and he grinned and asked instead, "You're from the Zhang family?"

"Some guts you've got there. Powers need working though."

Zhang Xinxiong walked up to Zhou Tianshen and lowered his head to look at him.

Zhou Tianshen was already a very tall and stout man, yet when he was in front of Zhang Xinxiong, he was still an entire head shorter nonetheless. Yet, his head remained high, and he didn't balk at all.

"How is Old Man Zhou doing these days?"

"He's doing very fine. Thanks for the concern." Zhou Tianshen snickered and added, "So, you've got someone to look at that right arm of yours?"

Zhang Xinxiong glanced at him but didn't say anything. He then snickered and walked past Zhou Tianshen.

"Let's go."

Lan Xinzi immediately followed him.

All of a sudden, Zhou Tianshen felt like his feet were stuck to the ground. He shuddered, hardly able to move.

An aura that looked like some monster that was almost about to swallow him whole didn't recede after Zhang Xinxiong left. Instead, the aura seemed to grow even more terrifying, the pressure looming over him and almost choking him.

His knees bent, and he looked like he was about to fall on his knees.

Boom!

Zhou Tianshen's legs punched through the ground and started bleeding profusely.

His entire body became as straight as a javelin.

Huff…

The crowd had dispersed, and he was the only one left there. His back was drenched by sweat, and he deemed that he had finally made it through.

He then uprooted himself from the ground and looked in the direction the two had disappeared. He then clenched his fists.

"One year!"

It was a very cramped guest room.

Due to having overworked himself the night before, he was able to sleep on that hard wooden bed like a log.

His dreams got exciting.

He twisted around, his expression becoming increasingly lewd. His hands could be seen reaching out into the air.

Dum, dum, dum!

Slow and steady knocks on the door that sounded all too familiar.

Due to that ordeal that he had just gone through, he was frightened enough to bolt upright, not even noticing that his dream girl was now gone, and extended his Sense to cover his entire place.

"No one's inside yet."

Having rested well, his mental condition had returned to its peak. He sleazily walked to the door.

He focused and extended his Sense past the barrier to check out what was going on outside.

A petite, frail-looking girl wearing a white dress and carrying a massive sword. She was straightening out her skirts.

"Su Qianqian?"

Xu Xiaoshou was relieved, and silently noted that he'd been too on edge.

"What's she doing here though?" he thought.

He searched his memory as best as he could and recalled a favor that he had done for her.

He'd taken care of her as a brother-in-training for about a month, and the girl was accepted into the Inner Yard.

"Yeah, that's quite frustrating. Better not think about it," he thought.

"Well, she has the goods, though nowhere near huge."

The two of them had practically never met since. The Wind and Cloud Contest, when the little girl came to cheer for him, could be considered the last time he'd seen her.

"Heh, I guess you could say she's quite a friend."

These were the thoughts going through his head when he opened the door.

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Chapter 88: Chapter 88 Come. I'll Teach you Sword Moves

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Brother Xiaoshou!"

As soon as he opened the door, Su Qianqian leaned forward, grabbing her sleeves, and sweetly called out to him. She didn't look anything like someone who'd just fought someone.

"Hey, nice of you to come visit your Brother Xiaoshou, eh?" Xu Xiaoshou was also happy to see the little girl before him, yet he nonetheless mercilessly quipped, "And there I was thinking that you'd completely forgotten about me after joining the Inner Yard."

"No way!" Su Qianqian was flustered and immediately added, "I've been following what you've been doing all the time. I went to see you at the contest, and I was there when you became champion!"

"Sure, sure…"

Xu Xiaoshou took a look at that little girl, who only managed to reach the height of his chest despite being on tip-toe. He couldn't help but pat her head. It felt just like he'd remembered.

The little girl frowned, seemingly displeased that her hairdo was now messed up.

"You're still that short…"

"What!?"

"Uh, umm, I mean, yeah… are you here to celebrate the fact that I've become champion?" Xu Xiaoshou immediately changed the subject.

"Hmph!" Su Qianqian pouted. "I was, but I no longer am."

An awkward grin appeared on Xu Xiaoshou's face, and he inwardly chastised himself for having blurted out his inner thoughts just like that.

That girl was no longer his lackey after all, and at the moment she was his guest, so he saw fit to at least act like a proper host.

He waved and said, "Come on in, then."

Yet, when he turned around, the unsightliness of his place almost blinded him. All the craters on the ground were still around.

He was exasperated. How would he be able to play the host in a place like this?

His main house was gone. There was only a bench in his guest room, and he wasn't about to have the two of them sit on the bed chatting away.

"Well… that seems like a feasible idea nonetheless!" he thought.

"But then again, when you chat, you get thirsty, no? Yet this dump's reservoir contents are all completely evaporated. Am I gonna have us drink from the pond, which is practically the fishs' bathwater?"

"What's wrong?"

Su Qianqian noted Xu Xiaoshou's courtesy, yet he remained stuck in the doorway, not going inside, causing her to halt as well.

"Well, Qianqian, I just thought that since it's been a while since we last met, there's no point staying cooped in my place. I was just thinking of going outside, so care to join me?"

He didn't even wait for her to reply. He went on to lock the door and pushed her outside.

"Oh, sure!" Su Qianqian was completely fine with it. She bit the tip of her finger and yelled in excitement, "How about Goose Lake, then? It's been a while since I've been there."

Xu Xiaoshou almost tripped over and fell flat on the ground.

"Goose Lake huh…" he thought.

"Goose Lake again!

"My gosh, that dump is the place of nightmares!"

He'd just escaped certain death the night before, and that memory was still fresh in his mind, making him reluctant to refresh the memory.

But, having been pushed to the front, Su Qianqian was naturally oblivious to Xu Xiaoshou's expression, and she simply kept yapping. "I remember how you took me there to practice sword techniques…

"Oh, right! You kept telling me that I still needed to work on the first move of the White Cloud Sword Techniques, yet when I asked my master about it, he said that I was already doing fine. You have to teach me the second move this time!"

Su Qianqian didn't even need to turn around, as she was already able to stare at Xu Xiaoshou with her huge eyes and that persistent look on her face just by looking up.

The corners of his mouth twitched. He would very much like to teach her if possible.

"But with that talent of yours, you managed to learn the first move in less than two hours after I taught you, while that was the only move I managed to master despite working at it for three years. How the h*ll am I gonna teach you more?" he thought.

He sighed, and, looking like he knew what he was doing, said, "Well, forget about the White Cloud Sword Techniques. Outdated stuff anyway… How about I teach you something of higher levels?"

Su Qianqian's eyes immediately lit up. "Higher-level stuff?"

"Hehe." Xu Xiaoshou looked confident. "Sword Soaring Technique."

Su Qianqian's lips parted somewhat, and her expression seemed to say "I know this one." She flipped away and shot that massive sword on her back to the sky, moving fluidly like a dragon swimming in the sky.

"Like this?" she turned around and asked.

Xu Xiaoshou was completely dumbfounded.

"Okay, your Sword Soaring Technique is wayyyy better than mine," he thought. "What's there to even teach, then?"

Yet, he was unable to just throw away his big brother façade, so he just nodded and said, "Doing fine.

"But that's not what I'm about to teach you. What I'm about to teach you is the legendary 'Riding Sword Flight.'"

Su Qianqian looked like she'd just realized something, and her expression seemed to say "I know this one too." Then she leapt and lightly landed on her sword.

Her white attire billowed as she zipped about riding her massive sword, looking like some female sword fairy.

Xu Xiaoshou was completely dumbfounded again.

"So, I was the one who was holding her back, then?" he thought.

"That girl learned nothing but a single move of the White Cloud Sword Techniques after following me around for a month. How come, after not seeing her for a little more than a year, it seems like she's learned everything?"

"Very well. Nice progress." He kept himself calm and then said, "But what I'm about to teach you is nothing so simple as that."

"Oh?" Su Qianqian hopped down from her sword. This was simple?

She remembered having worked at it for almost half a day to pick it up.

"So, what is it, then?"

Xu Xiaoshou wore a mysterious smirk and blurted every single word out slowly: "Reverse Sword Subduing!"

"Reverse Sword Subduing?" Su Qianqian couldn't help but wonder what that was. She noted that it sounded awesome and that it wasn't something even her master had brought up before.

"Well, I bet you don't know this one, no?" Xu Xiaoshou looked pleased with himself.

"Yeah."

"You wanna learn it? I don't just teach anyone, you know…"

"I wanna learn this!"

"Alright. Greet me first, then."

"Brother Xiaoshou!"

Xu Xiaoshou nodded satisfactorily, and his expression seemed to suggest that he'd found himself a good student. "To learn 'Reverse Sword Subduing,' we shall first learn the 'Reverse Sword Style.'"

"Huh? What is 'Reverse Sword Style?'"

"Hehe, here's the tricky thing about it."

"This is the supreme technique that your Brother Xiaoshou here personally created after witnessing the 'Fleeting White Clouds' at work. With this technique, I carved my way through the contest, reigning supreme over all, to finally become the champion of the contest!"

"You personally created this?" Su Qianqian's eyes flew open, her curiosity piqued. It was apparent that she was aware of his emphasis on the move.

He… created his own spiritual technique?

That was something only the likes of masters could pull off!

"Not that much of a big deal, actually." Xu Xiaoshou nodded humbly. "I see that you can't wait. Let's get to it, then."

The two of them, one tall and one short, drew their own swords at the front of the compound and started to work at it.

"Well then, come here. We'll first turn our swords around…"

"Umm, why do we have to do that?"

"Of course it's because… well umm, I'm not gonna answer something so simple. Put your brains to work for a little bit and think about it."

"Why? Can't you sense the sword's sentience without turning it around?"

"Nope, you have to turn the sword around. That's the essence of the move."

"Alright, I give up. Throw the sword out now and summon it back after you've thrown it extremely far… d*mn, how can you control the direction of its return?"

"No! You have to aim it at yourself!"

"Don't ask. It's just the essence of how it works."

Moments later, Xu Xiaoshou looked up at the sky, feeling exasperated. He wondered if this was what the difference between talent and mediocrity looked like.

It'd taken him one whole night back then to finally figure something like this out, yet it'd only taken the little girl a little while to figure it out.

See…

The girl was already having her sword fly in the reverse direction up in the sky…

Su Qianqian was having fun up there. The move had indeed opened up her mind quite a bit, yet it didn't take long for her to start feeling a little dizzy.

"Brother Xiaoshou, why am I feeling dizzy up here?"

Xu Xiaoshou took a deep breath and suppressed his frustration and the feeling like his heart was in pieces. Then he answered casually, "That's something to train your will.

"If you can't even get over sword-sickness, how are you gonna fight someone in the sky in the future?"

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Chapter 89: Heatstroke

It was warm in the afternoon. Two figures were seen slowly flying across the sky, catching people's attention.

"Look, what's that?"

"Xu Xiaoshou?"

"Seems like him. And Reverse Sword Subduing?"

Some people got very excited. Xu Xiaoshou was a huge figure among the ones from the Outer Yard. He was still the champion after all, and his antics never failed to baffle others. As such, there were a lot of people who knew him.

"Who is that next to him? The sword is so huge I can't make out who's riding it."

"Looks like Su Qianqian from the Inner Yard, but that can't be right. My eyes must be playing tricks on me. No way Su Qianqian would go on the streets like that with Xu Xiaoshou."

"Yeah, you got that right, but I'm surprised she knows 'Reverse Sword Subduing' too. Man, this is something!"

"This is something? Seems dizzying to me…"

In the sky, Su Qianqian was indeed feeling rather dizzy, yet she managed to suppress the motion sickness. "Brother Xiaoshou, why are we flying so slow?"

Xu Xiaoshou glared at her and said, "Slow? This is steady!"

"If there's one thing wrong with you, it's that you get too anxious over everything. Steadiness is important, you know?"

"Okay." Su Qianqian listened without objecting to anything.

Xu Xiaoshou then glanced at the Information Bar.

Envied, Passive Points 32.

Envied, Passive Points 4.

Envied, Passive Points 122.

"This is some reward indeed," he thought. "Why the well would I wanna fly fast, then?"

Furthermore, one had to be capable of flying fast in order to do so, and his current speed was pretty much his very limit.

His remaining Passive Points had been reduced to single-digits after he finished his drawings, yet having his body encroached by that masked person's sword aura had enabled him to earn over 1000 Passive Points.

But then again, such a way of earning points was nowhere near as comfortable as what he was doing now.

"See? I've already managed to earn this much just by flying from my place to Goose Lake. All done simply by taking in bits after bits. Many a little makes a mickle, as they say… and look, I'm almost at 2000 Passive Points earned already."

Xu Xiaoshou felt like he'd just discovered a new way of making money.

With the contest over and no safe fights to be had, he deemed that taking a stroll every day from then on out would earn him a number of Passive Points comparable to fighting someone while enabling him to take a breather and relax as well.

And, if he happened to do it at peak hours…

Hehe. Xu Xiaoshou felt like he was about to salivate.

Both of them flew to Goose Lake, and Su Qianqian finally decided to stop playing. She then asked solemnly, "Brother Xiaoshou, was someone trying to kill you last night?"

Xu Xiaoshou came to his senses, astonished at how quickly news traveled. He wondered if that was the real reason why Su Qianqian had come looking for him.

"Elder Xiao told you about it?"

Su Qianqian shook her head. "My master doesn't tell me things like that."

"Actually, the reason why I came here, other than to congratulate you, was to tell you to beware of several people from the Inner Yard."

"Those people had something to do with the assassin last night?" He raised his eyebrows.

Su Qianqian nodded. "And they may also have something to do with more assassins coming your way in the future too."

His art at controlling his blade, which was actually far from steady, caused him to almost trip when he heard this. He wobbled for a bit before steadying himself yet again.

"So it's just like what I speculated, then? That was just the beginning."

"Wen Chong?" he probed.

A look of surprise appeared in Su Qianqian's eyes. "You knew?"

"I guessed…" His expression then turned glum. The matter had indeed taken a turn for the worst possible direction. "Tell me more, then."

Su Qianqian sorted out her thoughts and continued, "You know anything about the 'Inner Yard Thirty-Three?'"

Xu Xiaoshou nodded, then shook his head. He knew next to nothing at all.

She then elaborated, "Per its namesake, the 'Inner Yard Thirty-Three' naturally denotes the 33 most powerful people among the hundred or so from the Inner Yard.

"It's also a ranking that reshuffles every year, basically right before the Wind and Cloud Contest takes place in the Outer Yard."

Xu Xiaoshou nodded. He hadn't known this.

Su Qianqian then continued, "Few disciples join the Inner Yard every year, and some years none get in. Yet, the number of those who fight to become one of the 33 yet fail to remains abundant.

"Many among these people fight for many years but still fail to make the cut.

"Continuous shocks, seeing their potential run out, basically no longer getting any resources from the Inner Yard, and knowing that they'll probably be surpassed by some geniuses who just joined the Inner Yard.

"As such, most of these people choose to just leave the spirit palace to seek their fortunes outside.

She then paused and looked at Xu Xiaoshou. "Some choose to earn quite a bit of cash before leaving. Then they leave in secret and never return."

Xu Xiaoshou realized something by this point.

He'd speculated that those two whom he'd clashed against last night were among such people. Now he realized why they'd dared to make a move in the spirit palace as members of the Inner Yard and tried to kill a puny disciple from the Outer Yard.

"So, all of those who are connected with Wen Chong are sending people to kill me just because I killed Wen Chong?" He had enough perspective to get the gist of the issue.

"Indeed." Su Qianqian then tapped her head. "The assassins are but lackeys, so they don't matter much. The truly troublesome one is the one behind the scenes."

Xu Xiaoshou then wobbled again. "Wait, lackeys…" he thought.

"Gosh, you almost scared me to death back there!"

He repeated her last few words. "The one behind the scenes?"

There was a wary look in her eyes as she continued, "Zhang Xinxiong."

That was a name Xu Xiaoshou had never heard before. He was rather baffled. "He's related to Wen Chong in some way?"

"Yeah, they're relatives."

"The young master of Tiansang Prefecture. He has a tall, stout build and is bestowed with the bloodline powers of his family. He joined the Inner Yard five years ago, and his powers are formidable."

"Five years ago?" he thought.

"Holy sh*. Who could fight someone like this?"

He was no longer able to keep himself steady, and immediately fell from the sky.

It was fortunate that they hadn't been flying high to begin with. He then knelt on the ground, dusted himself off, and straightened his clothes before waving to Su Qianqian, who was still up in the sky.

"Come down and talk. It's rather chilly up there."

Su Qianqian titled her head and looked at the huge, vibrant sun up there, wondering if it was actually chilly.

"It's a hot day and there's no wind to be had since we're flying so slow. So what do you mean chilly?" she thought.

She nonetheless did as she was told and scratched her head for a bit before leaping off of her sword.

Xu Xiaoshou then walked up to her as he kept playing with the name "Zhang Xinxiong" in his head. Then he asked, "Upper Spiritual Level?"

Su Qianqian nodded. "The peak."

He staggered.

Su Qianqian pondered for a bit and added, "He was already at the peak of Upper Spiritual Level a year ago. He's been suppressing his level so he can join the match at Dongtianwang City in half a year."

His legs gave out from under him, and he quickly grabbed onto the white jade fence to steady himself, preventing him from dropping to the floor.

"Good heavens!" he thought.

"What the f*k?

"Are you telling me that the guy who's trying to kill me could've already reached Master Level if he'd wanted to?

"What have I done to deserve this?"

He felt like crying on the spot. Wouldn't someone so powerful feel that they were cheapening themselves for even bothering to get rid of someone like him?

Power levels aside, there was a gap between someone of the Inner Yard and Outer Yard, man!

"The ones who came to kill you, their names are Feng Kong and Shao Yi. I've asked around, and it seems that they weren't sent by Zhang Xinxiong."

A hopeful look appeared in his eyes. "They weren't?" he thought.

"That's great news!"

Yet, what Su Qianqian went on to say shocked him further. "They were probably sent by He Yuxing, and he probably did so because Lan Xinzi said so, and Lan Xinzi was probably doing it because Zhang Xinxiong said so…

"Hmm, come to think about it, I guess you could say that Zhang Xinxiong was the one who sent them…"

Xu Xiaoshou was already feeling rather dizzy. "Who are those two, then?"

Su Qianqian then answered, "They are both of the 33."

Thump!

He was unable to even steady himself by holding the fence, and he immediately dropped to the ground head-first.

Su Qianqian immediately became flustered.

"What's going on, Brother Xiaoshou?

"Are you getting heatstroke?"

Chapter 90: Epitaph of City Snow

The intelligence that Su Qianqian had given him definitely wasn't unremarkable.

Xu Xiaoshou had learned all of a sudden that his enemy was more than just the likes of Feng Kong and Shao Yi; he had to contend with the likes of the Inner Yard Thirty-three.

Worse still, that was how things were in the spirit palace. If he were to go outside, he would probably have to deal with the Zhang and Wen family of Tiansang Prefecture.

He felt as if his head were about to split open. He'd never thought that a single match would end up giving him such a massive problem.

"That d*mned Wen Chong is to blame for all of this…" He put his head in his arms and seemed to space out.

Su Qianqian looked concerned. Xu Xiaoshou thought for a bit and saw that he had no choice but to put the matter aside.

What would come, would come, and he'd have to deal with those problems sooner or later. There might be further trials and tribulations waiting for him as he grew more.

"I'm alright."

After assuring Su Qianqian that he was fine, he glanced at the massive sword she was carrying on her back and recalled the masked person from last night and what Elder Sang had said.

"Do you mind letting me have a look at your sword?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Without any hesitation, Su Qianqian took the sword in her hand before handing it over and saying, "This thing has its own preference with people and it may not like you."

"Oh?" Xu Xiaoshou put his hand on it, and the blade trembled violently all of a sudden, which caused him to jerk his had back as if he'd been electrocuted. "Yeesh, that's eerie."

Su Qianqian then grinned and continued, "That's how sentience works. The more powerful a sword is, the more sentient it is."

He pondered this, then pulled out Hiding Pain. He said with a grin, "I guess you could say that my sword has sentience as well."

That immediately piqued her interest. She knew that his black sword was no more than ninth-grade.

Could a ninth-grade sword have sentience?

"Take a look."

Xu Xiaoshou turned his sword around and pointed it at himself. The black sword immediately started trembling, despite the fact that he'd done nothing else than point it in his direction.

Vooom!

He then turned the sword around, and the trembling diminished.

Voom!

She was puzzled. The sword's sentience was peculiar.

Doubted, Passive Points 1.

"Don't believe me?" Xu Xiaoshou then snorted. "You don't get out much, do you?"

He turned the black sword around.

Vooom!

Voom…

Voooom!

Voom…

She was baffled, not knowing what to make of this. "What the…" she thought.

Doubted, Passive Points 16.

Doubted, Passive Points 37.

It was his turn to be startled. Why had he earned so many Passive Points?

He glanced around him and saw that the two of them had caught the attention of everyone who was training nearby.

Some among them had already recognized Su Qianqian. The champion of the Outer Yard visiting Goose Lake with Su Qianqian of the Inner Yard was considered huge news.

Word had spread like wildfire, and the number of people gathering around had gradually increased.

Su Qianqian was unfettered, for she had long gotten used to having people surrounding her and staring at her. Geniuses would attract attention wherever they went, after all.

Xu Xiaoshou also wasn't that uncomfortable, for having more people around meant bagging more Passive Points.

He paid no mind to those people and forcibly took the trembling massive sword in his hand.

Yet, before he was able to take a good look at it, the sword shot into the air all of a sudden and returned to its scabbard strapped to Su Qianqian's back.

He was completely dumbfounded for a moment. He looked at his Hiding Pain, wishing that his sword could be something more.

"Just look at that sword, will you?" he thought to himself. "Now that's sentience. All you have is a tendency to give your wielder trouble!"

Su Qianqian grinned. She pulled the massive sword out again and handed it over to Xu Xiaoshou.

"Be good now."

The sword was just about to tremble again, but when it heard her say this, it quieted down all of a sudden.

Xu Xiaoshou was utterly impressed by what he was seeing, and he took a good look at the sword.

The entire blade was snow-white, and it was unusually thick and heavy. It was totally different from other large swords in that it was more like a thick piece of tablet.

Despite having an Innate Level Physique, he was actually able to feel its weight.

"What a nice sword," he complimented. This massive blade in his hand was leaps and bounds better than his Hiding Pain.

No. The two couldn't even be compared in the first place.

As he took a good look at the sword, he was able to sense misery and sorrow from the quieted snow-white massive blade.

He couldn't help but be pulled in by it, and he seemed to see a massive gravestone, one that looked like it'd been standing since ancient times, on a vast, boundless swath of wasteland covered in snow that had never seen change for thousands of years.

Loneliness and sorrow flooded him.

His vision then blurred, and the image disappeared suddenly, leaving only the sword before his eyes.

Xu Xiaoshou shook his head for a bit before looking up.

Doubted, Passive Points 64.

Revered, Passive Points 89.

"Huh?" he thought.

"What just happened?"

Then, in his periphery, he saw that Goose Lake was covered with a layer of frost.

"What the f*k?

"It's summer now and the sun is hanging high above, man!"

He was gradually called back to his senses by the anxious, concerned voice of Su Qianqian calling out to him, "Brother Xiaoshou?"

However, it was more the chattering noises from everyone around them that filled his ears.

"Holy sh*! Why was there a chill all of a sudden? It felt like my soul was about to be frozen over!"

"Look, the lake froze!"

"Well, something so peculiar could've only come from Xu Xiaoshou. Just what the hell happened?"

"Is there anyone knowledgeable enough to enlighten me? I'm so d*mn confused!"

No one replied. They were all puzzled, and Xu Xiaoshou was just as puzzled as they were.

Su Qianqian was the only one who was filled with shock. "You could see it?"

She then realized something all of a sudden. "Oh, right. You have Innate Sword Will too."

Xu Xiaoshou struggled to hide the roiling shock that he was feeling inside. So, this was what famed swords were like?

One look and it could drag people into its world?

"Epitaph of City Snow… a gravestone?"

"Yeah." Su Qianqian didn't deny it.

"Could you tell me its story?" Xu Xiaoshou felt that the sword definitely had a story of its own.

Su Qianqian then giggled gleefully, not expecting that someone other than her grandfather would like to hear her tell a story.

She took the sword over and caressed it. The sword then hummed with pleasure, looking like it was very much enjoying it.

"In ancient times, there was a sword saint named Chengxue.

"He had a very good friend who was also a sword saint. This friend was into the killing arts, and as such, was known as the Killer Sword Saint.

"He succumbed to demonic tendencies one day and accidentally killed Chengxue. The Killer Sword Saint was in pain and regretted it when he came to, so he set Chengxue's sword up as a gravestone to weather the ages."

Xu Xiaoshou waited for quite a bit, but Su Qianqian didn't continue.

"You're done?"

"Yeah." Su Qianqian then looked up with a puzzled look on her face. "That's the story of the Epitaph of City Snow. Did I miss anything?"

Xu Xiaoshou was feeling rather flustered by this point. Yeah, the story was straightforward and got to the point, but somehow he felt…

Shouldn't there be more to the story than that?

What happened to the details?

Shouldn't the death of a sword saint be sorrowful yet epic at the same time?

What was she thinking by skimping on the details like that? She couldn't have told a more simpler story if she'd tried.

"Nice one."

"Simple and to the point."

He couldn't help but feel impressed, and then asked, "Are there swords more precious than this in the Tiansang Spirit Palace?"

Su Qianqian flashed a beaming smile after hearing his compliments. Then she shook her head casually. "None."

"Think hard and serious. There's yet another sword more powerful than this one!" Xu Xiaoshou said seriously.

Su Qianqian's smile froze, and she tilted her head and pondered this, then answered seriously. "None."

"For real?"

"Yep."

His heart sank right away. He'd figured that was the case, yet it just couldn't be.

If there were indeed none, then the sword that the masked person was looking for would be none other than Su Qianqian's Epitaph of City Snow.

That guy was someone even those big shots in the Tiansang Spirit Palace couldn't take out. If he were to set his sights on Su Qianqian, what would become of her?

"Sh*." Xu Xiaoshou was feeling anxious.

Su Qianqian glanced at him, then seemed to realize something. "Brother Xiaoshou, are you concerned about that masked guy from last night?"

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Read I Am Loaded with Passive Skills Chapter 91 - Sword and Karma online for free - AllNovelFull

Chapter 91: Sword and Karma

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Huh? How did you know?"

Xu Xiaoshou was rather surprised, but when he recalled how quickly Su Qianqian had been able to come to him, he realized that she definitely knew everything.

"That guy came for me last night." What she said surprised him.

He was flabbergasted. "You already knew he came for you and yet you're still all smiles?" he thought.

However, he was stunned at the same time. He figured that the Tiansang Spirit Palace was actually mobilizing the powers of the entire place just to keep this girl before him safe.

Su Qianqian's expression seemed to say "relax." She raised her hand and patted his shoulder for a bit to comfort him.

"There are 21 famed swords on the continent. With the exception of those lost ones, all are pretty much protected by certain sword wielders."

"The previous wielder of Epitaph of City Snow was my grandfather."

"When I was young, three waves of assassins would come to my place every night on average, all of them there for the sword. But then again, as expected, all of them were dead."

"I've gotten used to situations like this." She looked totally unconcerned.

Xu Xiaoshou was shocked. This was the first time he'd heard the little girl talk about such things.

Su Qianqian put her hands behind her back, acting like an old person. It was obvious that she was doing an impression of her grandfather.

"My grandfather fell ill when I was 10. Everyone at home started touching the sword, as famed swords pick their next wielder.

"Everyone had high hopes for my father, as he'd been preparing for that day for decades.

"Yet, a year later, it was I who earned its recognition, and I became its wielder when I was 11."

Xu Xiaoshou caught the underlying bitterness in the otherwise cheerful tone in which she elaborated her story. He then asked, "The number of intruders skyrocketed, then?"

"Yeah." Su Qianqian nodded, and her eyes reddened. "My father, he died fighting…"

"If it'd been him carrying the sword, he wouldn't have died. He had prepared for so long…"

The sword then hummed, and the surrounding temperature dropped sharply. Xu Xiaoshou then patted her on the head to comfort her.

"Everyone has their own encounters, be they good or bad.

"The sword has chosen you, so you're destined to bear more on your shoulders. Don't get saddened over it."

He was overcome with emotion.

Such is the workings of fate. Whether you're prepared or not, when it comes, it comes.

There's no point dwelling in the past.

Whether you can endure and survive it and make it into something that will benefit you is what should occupy your thoughts.

The same thing had happened to him and to Su Qianqian.

He wondered if the others would catch, dissect, or study him if they ever discovered this thing in his mind or somehow realized that something was off with him.

Xu Xiaoshou then shuddered and thought about Elder Sang and that masked man.

The pattern was already there!

However, the thing in his head was still concealed, in a manner of speaking, and even if someone did detect that something was wrong with him, he could still brush the anomalies over with words like "genius," "hard work," or whatnot.

Yet things were different with Su Qianqian.

The wielders of famed swords…

That was an identity that would forever remain known to the public. What she had to face and take on was the greed of the entire world of spiritual cultivation.

Perhaps, instead of being called "fate," this should be called "karma" instead.

Some people were indeed fated from birth to carry certain things on their shoulders.

Xu Xiaoshou then hugged the girl to comfort her, but this meant something else in the eyes of the spectators.

"Sh*! Xu Xiaoshou… you animal!"

"Su Qianqian is still a child! How could you do this to her!?"

"No, Xu Xiaoshou, stop! You're not a member of the Inner Yard yet! How could you do such a thing to a female disciple of the Inner Yard?"

"Arrggghh! I wanna be hugged like that too…"

Xu Xiaoshou then awkwardly let go of her, and she also blushed.

"Well, let's get to the skies. Those mortals…"

He waved and put the Reverse Sword Subduing to work and took to the skies.

Everyone watched as the two of them flew higher and higher. They were all left feeling puzzled.

"You're dissing us because we can't fly, huh?" they thought.

"D*mn you, Xu Xiaoshou!"

Cursed, Passive Points 112.

Resented, Passive Points 69.

Both of them chatted as they flew, and it didn't take long for them to almost reach the Inner Yard.

Su Qianqian then left. She had fulfilled the goal of her trip—telling her Brother Xiaoshou to beware of the ones from the Inner Yard—after all.

The Passive Points accumulated in his mind had already exceeded the 5000 mark by the time he sent her away.

He gleefully landed on the ground.

He realized that this was definitely quite a way of earning points. Although he wouldn't have much of any fight to fight in the future, he could still get to the streets to earn points.

His being able to fly alone had already earned the envy of a good number of people from the Outer Yard.

Because none of them knew how to fly.

He thought of something else and stood looking at the gate of the Inner Yard for a long time.

Nothing was extraordinary about that gate. It had no barriers, and no one was guarding it, as there was simply no need to.

The law had it that disciples of the Outer Yard weren't allowed inside, and any who was discovered doing so would suffer harsh penalties.

Yet, Xu Xiaoshou stepped inside all the same.

That one step made him felt like he'd crossed into a different world. The concentration of spiritual energy was very high. But, having upgraded his Breathing Technique to Innate level, it didn't phase him.

Instead, he felt ticklish all over.

It felt comfortable yet uncomfortable at the same time.

That was the very reason why he was extremely reluctant to upgrade the Breathing Technique, as a change in his living space meant having to get used to everything all over again.

However, he deemed that it was important to accept all of it.

He clenched his fists and did his best to hang on.

Ahh~

He still was unable to bear with it.

He immediately felt a lot better after he moaned and released his tension.

He relaxed, and he recalled the scene when he'd bowed to Elder Sang as his master, the sun rising in the east in the background.

It felt dreamy and unreal.

Elder Sang lived up to his reputation as an extremely peculiar person. Right after the ritual, the elder had set up rules.

First, Xu Xiaoshou was forbidden to call him "master."

Second, he wasn't allowed to tell anyone else about the relationship between the two of them.

Third, he had to look for Elder Sang once at the Spiritual Library Division within three days.

Xu Xiaoshou was completely fine with the first two rules, but it was the third one that was giving him a headache.

He started to get restless as soon as he thought of having to see that old fart on his own accord, even though Elder Sang had become his master.

Yet, said old fart had made that a rule nonetheless, which spoke volumes of its importance.

However, if Xu Xiaoshou were to just do according to his own wishes, hiding in his place to build his house in secret, said old fart would come looking for him and that would be the end of him.

"Whatever. The sooner I get it done, the sooner I can put it behind me. I'll make the order at the Spiritual Affairs Division after I see Elder Sang."

He quickened his steps as he thought about this, and it took him mere moments to reach that unassuming, rustic three-storied building.

The Spiritual Library Division.

The barrier had already been opened by the time he got close, and the door was wide open.

Xu Xiaoshou was feeling rather impressed. "You knew I was here without having to see for yourself, huh?" he thought.

He steeled himself and walked into the place.

There were the familiar shelves as soon as he walked onto the first floor.

He touched them as he walked past.

"Get to the third floor," an exasperated voice was heard in his mind.

Third floor?

Xu Xiaoshou took a book out and shook it for a bit. As expected, there was nothing.

He recalled how, the last time he was there, Xiao Qixiu had emphasized that they were not allowed to go to the third floor, which made the third floor very mysterious to him.

He'd initially thought that the place held Master Level spiritual techniques, but from the looks of things, he wondered if that was where Elder Sang lived.

"Well, a floor reserved specifically for the caretaker doesn't seem like a big deal," he thought.

Tap, tap, tap.

He walked briskly up to the second floor and was immediately attracted by the halos.

During his last visit, he was so obedient that he'd stayed on the first floor and hadn't so much as even batted an eye at the second floor.

As such, he totally didn't expect the place to look like this.

No more shelves and only halos instead then…

"What are these by the way?" he thought.

He walked up to them out of curiosity.

"Third floor!" the voice in his head firmly rang out again.

Xu Xiaoshou was baffled.

"What's the rush, man?" he thought. "Like it's time for reincarnation on the third floor or what?

"The rules said to look for you in three days.

"Couldn't you let me read the books for two days before that instead?

"I've been a human in two lives, and this is the only time I've been so studious."

It went without saying that he didn't dare to say any of this out loud.

He quickly walked to the third floor afterward.

"Coming up now!"

Chapter 92: This is an Alchemy Cauldron!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Old man?"

He poked his head around the door of the third floor. He wanted to call said "old man" something else, but didn't dare to do so.

"Come in."

He then walked inside.

"It's really cool in here," was the first thing that came to mind when he walked inside the third floor. It felt completely different from the scorching hot day outside after the rain. The room was so cool that he felt like he was in an air-conditioned room.

He looked up.

That was a huge red pearl embedded on the top of the third floor. It could also be seen from the outside.

It was only then that he understood that the pearl was meant for absorbing heat. The very reason why the third floor was so cool was due to that pearl's presence.

The coolness in the air had a faint fragrance to it.

He refocused his sight and saw that there was a super-sized bathtub in the very center of the third floor. It had a very polished exterior and was so big that it could easily accommodate ten people inside of it.

It was also so tall that he figured that he wasn't even half as tall as the tub. A bad feeling washed all over him as he looked at the tub.

He wanted very much to just turn around and run, yet he didn't dare to do so.

It was due to his Sense that he saw that Elder Sang was actually sitting cross-legged and hovering midair on the other side of the tub.

He scratched his head. What was the old man doing?

It was then that he saw the old man pick up a bunch of fauna with high spiritual content and dump them all into the tub.

Yeah, over a dozen berries or whatnot as well, with the branches still attached and all.

Crackle, crackle.

He heard this very familiar sound.

Infernal Heavenly Flames? He seemed to realize something.

It was only after he did his best to Sense it that he was just barely able to make out the silhouette of a massive bonfire right beneath the bathtub.

"Just what kind of Infernal Heavenly Flames is this?" he thought. "Why couldn't I immediately detect its presence? Gosh, this is horrifying.

"But, well, the fire is just cooking the bathtub without any water in it, so it couldn't be used for bathing, right?

"The old man is still dumping ingredients into it. Just what is he trying to do here?"

"Elder Sang?" He called.

"Shut up and just watch." Elder Sang's eyes remained closed, and he was very focused.

Xu Xiaoshou couldn't help but carefully observe what he was doing. He wondered if this was a test of some kind and if he would be quizzed at the end of it.

The possibility was high!

Bosses love doing weird stuff just to scare people, after all.

He was very experienced with such ways of doing things, as he did the exact same thing to scare Su Qianqian.

"But, um…" he thought.

"Why does something feel wrong about all this?"

He was able to Sense that all of the fauna was immediately cooked and burned to nothing by the super high temperatures of the Infernal Heavenly Flames as soon as the old man dumped them inside, yet several drops of extracts of some kind remained behind nonetheless.

Just how precise did one's control have to be to be able to do such a thing?

Someone could actually extract such condensed energies when using flames as unforgiving as the Infernal Heavenly Flames?

Xu Xiaoshou figured that if he were in Elder Sang's place, he probably would've burned the entire library building down, let alone extract the essence of those things.

As more and more fauna were dumped into the tub, the amount of extracts accumulating in the tub increased, yet they remained separated.

The space inside was so huge that they would never get clumped together.

Hold on!

The extracts were actually beginning to fuse. Such a huge blob of liquid…

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes flew open. He found the situation to be both wrong yet somewhat familiar.

Boooom!

A rumble was heard as the bathtub trembled. The blob of liquid, which was somewhat bigger than a head, instantly solidified, turning into a greyish black ball.

Crack!

The black ball cracked, and a thick herbal fragrance filled the room. He instantly shuddered and almost failed to shut it out and suck all of it in.

He covered his nose and mouth, as well as shut all of his pores, right away.

Brrooooom.

Pills started to pour all over the bathtub and roll over to an opening at the bottom, getting inside a huge bottle that had been attached beforehand.

From the sound of it, there were more than ten of them.

Xu Xiaoshou was shocked to the core.

Alchemy at work here?

He looked at the super-sized tub and then at the three legs below the tub, and his jaw almost dropped to the floor as realization dawned on him.

A-an alchemy cauldron?

Elder Sang opened his eyes and looked at the young man before him, who was inexplicably covering his nose. Then he took out a pill and smelled it.

"It doesn't stink. What are you covering your nose for?"

"Oh, well, that's nothing." Xu Xiaoshou put his hands down and adjusted his posture.

"Luckily I didn't suck it all in," he thought. "Just an impulse and all those 30 or so pills would have…"

He shuddered at the thought.

Elder Sang packed up the pills and asked, "So, what did you learn?"

Xu Xiaoshou took a deep breath. His tone was full of nothing but disbelief as he asked, "You're doing alchemy here?"

Elder Sang stopped what he was doing, then gave the young man a disbelieving look. "You stood there watching for so long and that's all you were able to tell?" he asked in shock.

"I was asking you about the method of alchemy, man!" he thought. "What were you looking at all this time, old man?"

"That's not all, of course!" he quickly added.

That one line from Xu Xiaoshou made the old man wearing a conical hat somewhat relieved.

He then looked at Xu Xiaoshou with anticipation.

The way he saw it, that young man before his eyes was talented, resilient, so excellent in all aspects that he could even be deemed exceptional.

While his talents weren't exceedingly rare, they were nonetheless still very, very rare.

Someone who was capable of developing Innate Sword Will couldn't fail to see what he was doing here.

However, Xu Xiaoshou just went on to point at that cauldron before his eyes and declared loudly, "This is actually an alchemy cauldron!"

Thump!

Clangggg.

Elder Sang was caught off-guard and dropped to the ground, knocking over several smaller bottles on the ground and causing the pills to spill all over.

"Are you blind? What else could it be but an alchemy cauldron!?" Elder Sang yelled.

Xu Xiaoshou immediately shirked back. "But how would anyone be able to tell that just by looking at it?" he thought. "Do such ginormous and weird alchemy cauldrons even exist in the first place?

"It's so tall and so big…

"Forget, I just take it that you have special preferences and you like these types.

"But just take a look at the outside of the cauldron. So white, so smooth…

"Where did you buy such a cauldron in the first place? What made you buy such a thing?

"There isn't even a single carving on this thing! This is but a super bathtub with three legs on it, okay? Gosh, this is hilarious!

Despite his ill thoughts about the cauldron, he didn't dare to say anything out loud, nonetheless. He simply replied weakly, "I initially thought that this was a bathtub…"

"A bathtub?"

Elder Sang was already fuming by this point.

"You good-for-nothing of a student!" he thought. "Are you trying to p*ss me off to death on the very first day of your lessons?"

He suppressed his anger and took a look at the cauldron. The more he looked at it, the more he found the kid's description to be apt.

Ptuih!

"This is the special cauldron required for us of the Infernal lineage to perform alchemy. We cast away all the unnecessary flamboyance and crafted it using the most heat-resistant rocks."

"You should've realized the power of the Infernal Heavenly Flames by now. Not even the Spirit Crystals were able to last for a second under its might. If this cauldron had been made out of anything else, it would have melted before the pills were completed.

"By the way, the cauldron may be ugly, yet it would cost over 10 times the price of a cauldron of similar sizes." Elder Sang felt rather exhausted as he explained.

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes lit up. "That awesome, huh?"

"Of course!" Pride was heard in Elder Sang's tone again.

Xu Xiaoshou then touched the wall of the cauldron, feeling impressed that despite the session having ended mere moments ago, its temperatures had completely returned to normal.

He then knocked on the cauldron. The clangs were thick and sturdy—a sign that the cauldron was indeed sturdy.

He was still wearing an awed expression when he turned around and asked, "I guess

dropping such a sturdy cauldron on someone would hurt like h*ll, right?"

Elder Sang was baffled.

He stared at the young man in puzzlement briefly, before the vein in his forehead started to bulge out.

"Xu Xiaoshou!"

"Shut the f*k up!"

Xu Xiaoshou was shocked, and he wondered why the old man was so riled up.

Andropause?

Requested, Passive Points 1.

Chapter 93: Meeting Gift

Xu Xiaoshou obediently shut his mouth.

Why were people these days so prone to anger?

Elder Sang glowered at him before picking up the overturned bottle, the pills spilling all over the floor, before packing them inside the bottle. He then pushed the bottle to Xu Xiaoshou.

"Consider this a meeting gift."

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes widened, and he asked with a puzzled look, "For me?"

"You see anyone else in the room?" Elder Sang rolled his eyes. "36 Origin Court Pills, fitting the number of heavenly spirits. Quite an auspicious number."

"Origin Court Pills?"

"You don't know them?" Elder Sang noted the puzzled look on the kid's face and then asked, "You at least know the Spiritual Cultivation Pill, right?"

"Every single major level has a corresponding medicine for speeding up training. The pills are basically the most precious thing in said levels. Spiritual Cultivation Pills are meant for those still in the ten Spiritual Cultivation levels."

"And one more thing. Two grades make up one major level. Spiritual Cultivation Pills are considered at Acquired Level, which places them at ninth grade."

Xu Xiaoshou then pointed at the bottles on the ground. "So these are…"

"Innate level ones. Seventh-grade."

Xu Xiaoshou's jaw almost dropped to the floor.

Elder Sang chuckled and said, "Oh, don't mind me, I'm just…"

But before he was able to finish, the young man before him bowed, and his necklace appeared. The bottles on the ground were gone in an instant. "Thank you very much!"

Elder Sang was baffled. "Well…" he thought.

"This kid really is…"

"And here I was naïve enough to think that he'd actually be reluctant."

He was definitely naïve to think that.

There was just no way Xu Xiaoshou would've been reluctant to accept it. He'd simply been shocked earlier. That was all.

He'd been shocked to find that seventh-grade pills were actually crafted en masse. Didn't it cost money to make these things?

He felt like he was in a dream.

He figured that all the Spiritual Cultivation Pills stockpiled in his ring were worth less than a single Origin Pill.

Seventh-grade pills, man…

"I only got one single Innate Pill after becoming the champion of the Wind and Cloud Contest, and that thing was just an eighth-grade pill," he thought to himself.

Elder Sang didn't seem to mind. So long as he had enough ingredients to spare, it would only take him mere hours to cook up more.

"Those should last you for quite some time," he said. "Remember, though. Try not to use them before reaching Innate Level. They might overwhelm you."

"But, hmm, you have Innate Level Physique. Whatever, you figure it out yourself."

He waved. "Come and get more when you've run out."

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned.

"Come and get more when I've run out?" he thought.

"Such extravagance!"

"Me likey!"

Elder Sang saw the greedy look on Xu Xiaoshou's face and couldn't help but add, "No need to be surprised. If there's one thing Alchemists are never lacking in, it's medicine. It'll be the same for you one day, so get used to it."

Xu Xiaoshou nodded, his face deadpan.

Truth be told, he'd had little interest in alchemy before, but Elder Sang prompting him to pick it up had motivated him.

"This is one h*ll of a way to get rich!" he thought.

"Passive Points are important, but no way would I skimp out on gaining material wealth!"

"Furthermore, those two things seem to go hand in hand anyway."

He imagined just how many looks of awe and admiration he would receive if he was able to whip out tens of bottles of pills just like that one day in the future.

Tsk, tsk!

He felt like he was about to salivate.

However, it didn't take him long to realize one key problem—"I don't actually have much talent. Will I be able to master alchemy?"

Elder Sang then answered dismissively, "You don't actually need to learn much. Your talents are enough for you to master it soon enough."

Someone capable of developing Innate Sword Will being of inferior talents?

Elder Sang chuckled and thought just how pretentious this disciple of his was.

Xu Xiaoshou, "….."

He had no idea why the old man had so much confidence in him, but Elder Sang was a veteran, which meant he definitely saw something in him that he'd never noticed himself.

Yeah.

That was definitely it!

Xu Xiaoshou clenched his fists and said, "I can't wait. Let's get to it!"

Elder Sang was pleased to see that his disciple was so motivated. He nodded and added, "Before we begin, there's still one more thing."

"Alchemy of the Infernal lineage is different from that of other alchemists, which is something I'm sure you're already aware of."

"Due to the overbearing power of the Infernal Heavenly Flames, we're just as violent and uncaring them with the processes of our alchemy, so much so that you could say that we have no techniques at all. The only thing to be mindful of is precise control of the flames."

Xu Xiaoshou gestured that he understood.

Earlier, he'd watched as Elder Sang dumped the herbs in such large batches that he didn't even bother dumping the berries in one by one when performing alchemy.

Anyone who wasn't in the know would've wondered if the elder was trying to make soup.

Any of the other alchemists would've immediately shouted in frustration.

But the elder controlled the flames with impeccable precision, which enabled him to instantly separate the ingredients yet cook them all at the same time.

This alone allowed him to drastically reduce the time needed for extracting the essences, which also affected the number of pills he could craft in one go.

The number was incredibly high.

Elder Sang put his hands behind his back and walked to the side of the window before adding sincerely and seriously, "Alchemy is but a side job. It can bring you immense wealth, but remember never to be engrossed in it."

"Spiritual Cultivation training is the main path you need to walk in the future. That much should never, ever change."

He turned around and stared at Xu Xiaoshou with his dark-circled eyes. "If your powers are unable to keep up, the better your alchemy gets, and the worse your life will become. Never forget that!"

Xu Xiaoshou couldn't help but recall their first lesson when the two of them officially became master and disciple. "The cage again?"

"Indeed."

Elder Sang nodded and added, "If such a thing were to happen, unless you were able to stay hidden, you'd be reduced to a mere tool doing alchemy for some huge cultivation forces out there—meaning, you'd completely lose your freedom."

"Understood!"

Xu Xiaoshou shuddered somewhat. What kinds of things had the old man gone through for him to have such in-depth knowledge of the world's brutal reality?

"So you're staying hidden now?" he then asked.

Elder Sang choked and glared at him in exasperation, yet he didn't retort. "I roam everywhere so as to keep myself from getting caught."

Xu Xiaoshou had only asked it out of a whim, not expecting that there really were some forces out there that truly had their sights set on this old man wearing a conical hat. He became rather flustered.

"So I'm in danger now because you became my master?"

Elder Sang was baffled.

Belittled, Passive Points 1.

"At the level you're at now, you're not even fit for becoming a pawn! You're being afraid for nothing!" Elder Sang realized that he needed nerves of steel to talk to this kid.

Ridiculed, Passive Points 1.

Xu Xiaoshou patted his chest and sighed in relief instead. "That's good to hear…"

Elder Sang touched the huge bathtub and said, "Use this thing for now."

"Remember. Alchemy of the Infernal lineage is overwhelmingly powerful. Alchemists of other lineages might not be able to put up a fight, but not us."

"Alchemy is only a secondary goal. The main goal is to have you hone your control of the Infernal Heavenly Flames to perfection through the process of practicing alchemy so that if you ever run into any powerful enemies, you'll just see them as pills to be cooked."

Xu Xiaoshou's jaw almost dropped to the floor, and after quite some time, the only thing he was able to get out was, "This is awesome."

Elder Sang threw a ring at him. "When you go about extracting the essences later, put all of your focus into controlling the flames. No need to think about anything else."

"Your next goal is to use up all the ingredients in this ring to extract just a single drop of essence."

"There is a jade scroll, on which is all the common knowledge of alchemy. Remember to check that out first."

"All right. I'll be off, then. Take your time."

Xu Xiaoshou was about to say something else, but Elder Sang disappeared from where he was standing.

He looked at the massive tub, feeling speechless.

"So I'm all on my own now?" he thought.

"You let me watch you do it once and then thought I was good to do it all on my own?"

"You really think that I'm some kind of genius?"

He took a look at the ring and immediately slumped to the floor.

The number of herbs pilling up like mountains inside it was extremely overwhelming, and he wondered if that many herbs could've filled the entire first floor of the library.

He realized why the elder would leave him to work at it.

If he were to finish using up what was inside the ring, he'd probably master all he needed to master.

Xu Xiaoshou was lacking in many things, but tenacity wasn't one of them. He gritted his teeth and looked at the massive tub.

"Let's get to it!"

Chapter 94: Explosions, Beginning from Alchemy

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

A purple jade scroll sat quietly atop the pile of grass in the ring.

"Looks rather simple…"

While there was a lot of common alchemical knowledge elaborated in the jade scroll, more of the contents were about techniques for controlling the flames.

Xu Xiaoshou opened his hand and compressed the spiritual source on his palm, causing crackling sounds to erupt.

If he didn't have Sense, that bit of invisible flames would've been incredibly difficult for him to control.

"Compress the flames as much as possible to about ten times its original size, condensing all of the energy at the center. If it explodes, it'll bring about terrifying damage…"

"Umm, the latter part probably isn't the main point. The main point should be using the energy of the weakened flames on the outer layer to perform alchemy…"

He recalled the contents of the jade scroll and felt rather intimidated.

The Infernal Heavenly Flames were simply too overbearing to be used for alchemy in the first place. He had no idea what the founder was thinking when he'd thought to use something so terrifying for alchemical purposes.

Failing to control it would cause it to explode…

He glanced at the massive red pearl above his head. The jade scroll said that the pearl was capable of absorbing heat energy, which he speculated should be able to withstand explosions as well.

"Let's try it out, then."

Under the thrall of his will, the flames in his palm no longer spread their energy outwards. Instead, the energy turned inwards, gradually forming a ball about the size of a human head.

But, nonetheless, the scorching heat energy leaked outside, and the ball seemed to grow even more reckless.

He clenched his teeth and continued to exert his power over it.

Puk!

A slight crackle was heard as the ball-shaped bundle of flames the size of a human head was condensed even further and reduced to the size of a fist.

Terrifying high temperatures spread, causing the space around it to warp. He was thoroughly baffled.

"What's going on?

"Shouldn't the energy be turned to the innermost core? Why is the temperature so high?"

He looked at the ball-shaped thing in his hand with a confused look, then focused and willed it to move. The ball then spun at high speeds.

R-Rasengan?

"Damn it, no! This is not the direction I should be taking it!" Xu Xiaoshou's expression turned glum.

According to the jade scroll, if he could collapse that thing into to the size of a fingernail, all the heat energy would turn inward and become an "extreme flame," with whatever was left forming a layer called the "residual flame."

The residual flame, which was of considerably lower temperature, was what was required, as it could be used for alchemy.

But that wasn't all.

Not only did one need to keep the residual flame at a suitable temperature throughout the entire process of alchemy, but one also needed to be wary of that extreme flame condensed to the size of a fingernail.

A mishap would result in failing the process and killing the user.

He looked at that ball in his hand, feeling like he'd gotten himself into trouble. He was already barely able to keep the ball together, even after condensing it to such a size.

His forehead started to break out in beads of sweat, but he clenched his teeth and soldiered through. That ball-shaped flame in his hand flickered twice and instantly collapsed into the size of a fingernail.

He was able to tell from his Sense that slivers of formless mist were leaking from it, forming an external layer.

Residual flames!

I did it!

He was overjoyed, but his smile froze the next second.

That condensed flame in his hand shuddered unstably twice before stopping altogether.

"Well, that was close…

"Wait, no!

"The energy inside is still fluctuating!

"I can't keep it down anymore!"

His pupils contracted, and his hairs stood on end, and he felt a sense of impending death.

He looked up at the red pearl above and wondered if he would end up blowing the library up if he were to fail to keep this thing under control.

"Can't wait to see if that happens!"

He went to the window and threw the thing into the sky outside.

Boom!

An explosive rumble was heard in midair. Raging, majestic and scorching energy rippled out, thoroughly bombing the air above the library.

The currents shot up, and in the fluctuations, he was able to see a vague, near undetectable super mushroom cloud forming.

"What the f*!"

Xu Xiaoshou was baffled. "You call this alchemy?

"This is a super attack like no other!

"Have I just created yet another terrifying spiritual technique after the four moves of Fleeting White Clouds?

"Worse still, this is large area-of-effect damage that would attack anyone indiscriminately."

He immediately got excited. While it was extremely difficult to keep such a compressed fire seed stable, making it unstable was, on the other hand, as easy as could be.

He then checked his energy reserve, finding that the compressed bit of flames of the size of a fingernail had actually drained about 30 percent of his reserves.

However, his High Spirits enabled him to regenerate the depleted spiritual source to about 80 percent, and he deemed that his reserve would be full again in a matter of minutes.

"How about going wild for a bit, eh?"

He opened both of his hands, drained about half of his spiritual source, and conjured two balls of formless flames on his hands.

Crackle, crackle!

Compress, compress even more…

Without breaking a sweat, he condensed the flames into a ball the size of a fingernail.

However, the energy within was even more raging than the one before, as he no longer bothered to keep them controlled.

Swoop!

Swoop!

He flung his hands, and the two formless bits of flames shot to the skies and rammed into each other.

Boooom!

The explosive effect was more than just the culmination of the two bits. He was already able to see the protective barrier around the library materializing, seemingly being out to nullify the raging, scorching energies.

That was just the aftershock!

If he were to throw several of these at the library…

"Ehem, no, no, no, can't afford to think like that," he thought.

But just imagine…

If he were surrounded by a massive army, yet just casually rose riding his sword and then kept compressing this thing using High Spirits, then threw one out one after another…

Would that make him a living bomber, then?

Just how much admiration and resentment would he learn from that alone?

"Ohohoho…"

His eyes narrowed to slits. He'd initially come here to learn to make pills, yet now he seemed to have ended up creating an extremely terrifying attack instead.

"Right, I have to name it."

"All four moves of the Fleeting White Clouds have names, so I couldn't just call this thing 'compressed fire seed,' right?

"It's small, it's condensed from a ball, it's of fire element…

"Well then, I'll just call it the 'Lesser Fireball,' then! Perfect!"

He then pulled himself away from the window, dusted his hands off with satisfaction, and then looked at that massive tub standing on three legs.

"Sigh, gone off-course again. Alchemy, get back to alchemy…"

Zhao Xidong had a blade of grass in his mouth as he cradled the back of his head with both hands and leisurely took a stroll.

After sending He Yuxing to the Tribunal, he had nothing else to do.

As for Su Qianqian carving a place inside the Inner Yard…

Well, he guessed that scuffles like that didn't matter in the Inner Yard so long as no one died. He'd turn a blind eye to it, and the whole thing would blow over.

A rumble was heard in the sky at that moment.

Boom!

A wave of terrifying heat energy exploded in the sky not far away. His pupils contracted.

That was…

The library!

He recalled the case of the masked invader from the previous night and got a bad feeling about things.

Booom!

An explosion greater than the one before was heard from afar, yet his will allowed him to see that even the barrier protecting the library had materialized.

Someone was attacking the library in broad daylight!

Just how reckless would one need to be to do such a thing!?

He felt very uneasy at that moment. He then took to the skies and shouted,

"Intruder!!"

Chapter 95: Surrounded

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Swearing to himself that he would never again deviate from the work at hand, Xu Xiaoshou went back to sit in front of that massive tub and dedicated himself to making alchemy work.

"Since I couldn't control that compressed fire seed the size of a fingernail, I guess I'll have to resort to the next best thing: using rasen… ehem, a fireball for doing alchemy."

He grasped, and a ball-shaped flame appeared on his hand, which he then threw into the tub.

It took mere seconds for that milky white tub to turn red hot and the temperature to rise exponentially

He then recalled how Elder Sang had dumped the herbs into the tub earlier like they cost nothing. As such, he went on to grab a bunch of herbs from the ring and dumped them into the tub.

Fzzzz!

All of the herbs were reduced to dust while they were still midair. There was no extract to be had. Not even ash was left!

Xu Xiaoshou was speechless.

"Sure enough, the temperature is too high.

"These are flames capable of outright evaporating spirit crystals, after all.

"Furthermore, I lack the prowess of the elder, who was capable of separating the herbs.

"Guess I'll have to do it one by one, then."

He willed for the flames to be at a level that he could control before compressing.

A bundle was thrown inside.

Fzzz.

"Still won't do, eh?"

He didn't continue doing this. He wasn't impulsive. While the supply of herbs was massive, simply dumping them without a care would be too wasteful, so he needed to come to some other conclusion.

Well…

There was no conclusion to be had. The temperature of the flames was still too high, after all.

"How should I go about lowering its temperature?"

He stroked his chin and furrowed his brown before suddenly coming to a realization.

"If the temperature is still too high, how about I just suck it up with Breathing Technique, then?

"I'm so smart!"

He high-fived himself. Such a way of doing things was workable, as exhalation from Breathing Technique could be used for more than just training.

He opened his pores, and the heat was sucked into his body. That ball-shaped flame beneath the tub no longer looked as menacing.

He Sensed heat rising and started to sweat all over, but it was still well within his limits.

Unlike when he'd refined the Infernal Fire Seed, this little spike in temperature didn't even manage to cause his Information Bar to pop up with a message saying that he was being attacked.

He then threw another bundle into the tub.

The next one landed perfectly inside. It hovered in the tub per the effects of the spiritual source, yet it took less than a second for the bundle to be reduced to nothing.

Hmm…

He stopped what he was doing, finding his method to be unsustainable.

He realized that he'd never be able to keep the heat energy he was sucking into his body at a constant rate. The temperature of the flames would always fluctuate. Such temperatures could never be used for alchemy.

However, given that he couldn't do anything else, he had to just keep trying.

"Practice makes perfect.

"Alchemy is indeed about precision, and that old fart's right. I could indeed become able to control my powers with precision throughout the process."

He took out a bundle, but a message popped up in his Information bar before he was able to throw it in the tub.

Surrounded, Passive Points 1.

"Huh?

"Surrounded?"

He was momentarily startled, and checked his surroundings, but found no one to be around.

"Wait, outside then?

"Someone's surrounded the library?"

He recalled that masked figure from last night, and his skin crawled. It left him wondering if someone was trying to attack the library in broad daylight.

How did they manage to get inside the Tiansang Spirit Palace?

He then put the herbs away and took two ball-shaped flames in his hand, getting ready to throw the 'Lesser Fireball.' He sneaked to the window and peeked outside.

Sh*!

So many of them!

Xu Xiaoshou was shocked.

A massive number of personnel clad in black stretched as far as the eye could see, completely surrounding the library in three inner layers and three outer layers.

"Hold on…

"Black attire?

"Aren't these people the enforcers from the Spiritual Law Division?"

He was rather exasperated. He pushed the window open and saw someone step out of the group.

That person looked rather familiar.

That referee from that group match back then?

He opened his eyes wide and rubbed them, then looked outside again, immediately meeting the man's gaze.

"It's you?"

"It's you?"

Both of them uttered at the same time.

Zhao Xidong was completely baffled, and he realized that all the plans he'd made were now null and void.

Xu Xiaoshou?

How could it be him?

Wait, no, how did this guy manage to get inside the library?

"No, no, no," he thought. "Isn't he still a disciple of the Outer Yard? I should say, how dare he sneak inside the Inner Yard.

"And wait… the explosions. He had something to do with those too?

"Impossible!

"That's Xu Xiaoshou for you, man!"

Doubted, Passive Points 1.

Doubted, Passive Points 1.

Doubted, Passive Points 1.

Xu Xiaoshou was pleased. He looked at the referee without saying anything, yet he kept asking him to say more deep down.

"Come on, put that imagination of yours to work.

"I don't know what's going on inside your head, but I'm not gonna stop you from thinking.

"Thinking is what enables humans to progress."

Zhao Xidong saw that the young man was all silent. He then recalled that said young man had also killed Feng Kong and Shao Yi, as well as the unexpected results of the matches.

Was he really the cause of the explosions?

He wasn't the only one who was confused. Every enforcer present was just as confused as he was.

A good number of them knew Xu Xiaoshou, not just because of his peculiar performances back in the Wind and Cloud Contest but, more importantly, from that fight last night. That young man was the only one there at Acquired Level training, yet he was the focus of the whole ordeal.

Doubted, Passive Points 169

Doubted, Passive Points 112

Doubted, Passive Points 84

Awesome!

Xu Xiaoshou stood at the window, clenching his fists a little. Just that one meeting of their eyes had enabled his accumulated points to reach almost 6000.

Zhao Xidong was tired of waiting and asked, "You were the one responsible for that explosion back there?"

"Yeah." Xu Xiaoshou nodded. He supported his chin with both hands as he rested his elbows on the window sill. "Relax. The library is fine. You can all leave."

"Huh?"

Everyone was dumbfounded. It was fine when he wasn't saying anything! What he said flustered them.

Doubted, Passive Points 266.

Xu Xiaoshou was pleased. He found that for some reason, every time he told the truth, no one believed him, which meant there was no need for him to lie.

"Why are you in the library, and on the third floor at that?"

Zhao Xidong was flustered. "That's off-limits to you! Get down here at once! It's already a grave enough offense for a disciple of the Outer Yard to enter the Inner Yard without permission, and you… you dare to trespass in the library?"

"Elder Sang summoned me," Xu Xiaoshou answered.

Doubted, Passive Points 266.

Everyone immediately doubted this, yet when they recalled that Elder Sang had indeed saved him the previous night, they all of a sudden thought it was indeed possible.

Whatever. The Passive Points were in.

"Why did Elder Sang summon you?" Zhao Xidong was curious.

"Alchemy."

Doubted, Passive Points 267.

Xu Xiaoshou was amused. He saw yet another enforcer come onto the scene, joining the army of point-givers.

Zhao Xidong then chuckled out of frustration. "Alchemy, you say?" he thought.

"Sh, you think I'm gonna buy that! I can't believe you actually said Elder Sang summoned you!

"Furthermore, is alchemy really something a guy at level nine like you should be doing?

"You don't even have an Innate Elemental Trait! What are you gonna do alchemy with, huh?

Woodfire?

"What a joke!"

Chapter 96: Xu Xiaoshou's Been Kidnapped!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Zhao Xidong couldn't be bothered wasting time talking to Xu Xiaoshou and running around in circles. The good news was he didn't understand what the other man was talking about.

But this wasn't Xu Xiaoshou's problem. It was Zhao Xidong's.

He decided to cut to the chase. "Spill it. What caused the explosion?"

Xu Xiaoshou lightly tapped his finger on the windowsill, his face emotionless.

"An experiment."

Zhao Xidong's lips twitched. His face darkened, then paled, then darkened again.

An experiment? So Xu Xiaoshou was the one who'd caused the explosion, then.

"What kind of experiment?" Zhao Xidong asked.

"An experiment on Lesser Fireball."

Xu Xiaoshou eyed the two fireballs on his palm before quietly extinguishing them. He wasn't going to need them, after all.

Everyone else was stupefied.

…a Lesser Fireball?

Did Xu Xiaoshou really just tell them that a Lesser Fireball had caused that terrible explosion?

Did he think they were idiots?

Suspected, Passive Points 275.

Zhao Xidong took a deep breath and suppressed the agitation that was bubbling inside him. "Get down here," he huffed. "We need to talk."

They were talking right now, weren't they?

Xu Xiaoshou ignored Zhao Xidong's orders. He could faintly sense the murderous rage coming from them.

He had killed three men, after all.

"Does that mean…you can't get in?" At that moment, it hit Xu Xiaoshou that this was the Spiritual Library Division. They might be law enforcers, but they probably didn't have the authority to force their way into the Spiritual Library Division.

In fact, they couldn't have forced their way in if they'd wanted to.

The Spiritual Library Division was the foundation upon which the Tiansang Spirit Palace rested. Its security measures could probably keep powerful men like the masked figure out. It wasn't a place that the average law enforcer could barge into.

Elder Sang had let him in, which was how he'd been able to enter the Spiritual Library Division in the first place.

"It was just a small experiment…" Xu Xiaoshou eyed the look of hostility in the men's eyes and attempted to appease them. "Don't panic. It's not a big deal."

The look on Zhao Xidong's face was absolutely stormy.

If this were anyone else, he wouldn't have been worried. But this was Xu Xiaoshou they were talking about!

It was Xu Xiaoshou!

An absolute troublemaker!

How could he not be worried?

"Why don't you get down here first…"

These men didn't seem convinced by Xu Xiaoshou's words, and they weren't giving him any Passive Points at all. Xu Xiaoshou lost all desire to continue the conversation.

They were preventing him from cultivating his pills and were wasting his precious time.

He went back into the room and rummaged around. This was Elder Sang's private quarters, and it was filled with plenty of stuff that wasn't exactly valuable or important.

"I found it!"

It didn't take Xu Xiaoshou long to locate a dark red token. This should grant him the necessary authority.

He walked back to the window and raised the token. "By the orders of Elder Sang, you are hereby dismissed!"

Zhao Xidong stared at the young man. The image of Su Qianqian brandishing the same token popped up in his head. They were cut from the same cloth!

"You…" he paused suddenly.

Hold on a second.

That fellow had been behaving oddly since the beginning, going on about an experiment and playing with the Lesser Fireball…

He wouldn't be joking with them without a reason.

That explosion hadn't been an illusion. It had happened. Pill cultivation couldn't have led to such a huge explosion.

Something wasn't right.

Besides, Xu Xiaoshou was only at Level Nine. He shouldn't be able to cultivate pills at all!

Zhao Xidong's pupils contracted. Xu Xiaoshou had been trying to tell them something right from the start…

That must be it.

He hadn't caused the explosion. Someone else had.

Xu Xiaoshou…

…was being held captive!

His kidnapper was the one who had unleashed that terrible attack!

The thought of it was terrifying!

Zhao Xidong extended his spiritual senses but failed to identify anything suspicious in the vicinity. His eyes fell on the Spiritual Library Division again.

The answer was staring them right in the face.

The kidnapper was also in the Spiritual Library Division.

In fact, he might be hiding behind Xu Xiaoshou right now, threatening and terrorizing the latter into convincing Zhao Xidong and the others to leave.

"That's it…

"That's why Xu Xiaoshou's desperately trying to send us away…"

Zhao Xidong was convinced that he was right, and everything else that had been bothering him now made perfect sense.

"Suspected, Passive Points 1."

"Suspected, Passive Points 1."

"Suspected, Passive Points 1."

Xu Xiaoshou stared dumbly at Zhao Xidong and wondered what crazy thoughts were going through that man's head right now.

He was rewarded with a series of strange gestures.

He stared as Zhao Xidong stuck one finger out, wiggled it, then raised his other hand and placed it behind the first…

The man blinked and gave him a questioning look.

What did he want? Xu Xiaoshou was baffled.

He didn't understand any of Zhao Xidong's gestures. As for that blink…

…he had no idea what that meant either.

That didn't stop him from blinking back. "Leave right now!"

He didn't expect a look of dawning realization to appear on Zhao Xidong's face…

What was going on?

Zhao Xidong seemed to be staring at his back.

"Let's go!"

Before Xu Xiaoshou could comprehend what was going on, the former judge flicked his wrist. Everyone around him stilled suddenly, then vanished the next moment…

What the h*ll was going on?

Xu Xiaoshou was utterly bewildered.

He wasn't the only one who was confused. The majority of the law enforcers who had left also had no idea why Zhao Xidong had issued the order for a retreat.

"I thought there was an attack. Why are we leaving?" someone asked.

Zhao Xidong seemed to be in a hurry. "Hurry up. I need you to find Boss Xiao while I locate Elder Sang. We need the both of them. We have to move quickly if we want to save him!"

"Save who?"

Zhao Xidong came to a stop, then tilted his head and stared at the man who had voiced the question.

"Haven't you realized?

"Someone's kidnapped Xu Xiaoshou. He's being held captive!"

Slam!

Xu Xiaoshou shut the windows.

He walked back to the bathtub, sat down, and ground his teeth in frustration.

He should have expected this. As soon as one had the slightest intention to work hard on something, trouble would come knocking at one's door and attempt to ruin everything.

"I can't be distracted. I have to focus on cultivating my pills!"

He got his herbs out and repeated what he'd done previously, attempting repeatedly to fuse his Breathing Technique with the burning ball of flames.

Poof!

Poof!

Poof…

His consecutive failed attempts doused the excitement that had been burning inside him. Xu Xiaoshou wondered if Elder Sang had made a mistake. Perhaps he didn't have the gift for it.

He should have known…

He was still the guy who had taken three years to learn the first move of the White Cloud Sword Technique…

"That's not exactly true. This probably has something to do with my cultivation level."

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't giving up just yet. He wasn't the sort who gave up that easily.

He had acquired Innate Level abilities while his cultivation level was still stuck at the Acquired Stage. While he possessed great power, his control of it was incomplete and flawed.

His cultivation level wasn't up to par. As a result, he couldn't wield the power he possessed as effortlessly or freely as he should've been able to.

Xu Xiaoshou fell onto his back and lay down on the floor sullenly. He let his thoughts wander. A red screen appeared in his head.

Passive Points: 6442.

He had accumulated more than six thousand points…

Wouldn't it be great if he somehow managed to draw a skill that granted him expertise on fire?

Xu Xiaoshou was seriously tempted, but then he remembered his increasingly dismal success rate and decided to abandon the idea.

He only had six thousand Passive Points. Honestly, the system would devour everything in a single go and still ask for more.

He yanked his thoughts back to the present.

The rays of the setting sun spilled through the window. As he gazed at the sunset, Xu Xiaoshou could feel his spirits lifting slightly.

"It's been a while since I got to unwind and spend time alone with myself…"

During moments of tranquil solitude, one was often seized by the sudden impulse to do something.

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't thinking when he traded his Passive Points for a Passive Key and slotted the latter in the wheel.

With the number of Passive Points that he had right now, he couldn't level up any skills. It seemed like such a waste to not use them. After all, he might get lucky.

He sat up suddenly.

He couldn't see anything.

What was going on?

Chapter 97: A Fire in the Spiritual Library Division!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Legend had it there was an enormous sacred tree that was rooted in the heavens and grew downward, earthward—the Ashvattha.

The laws of the natural world formed the soil from which it drew its nutrients, and the souls of all living creatures were the nourishment it needed to bear fruit.

The Ashvattha flowered only once every ninety thousand years, and it bore fruit only once every ninety thousand years.

The flesh of the fruit would split wide open, releasing a seed that had the potential to become the next Sun.

When Xu Xiaoshou opened his eyes, he found himself in a world of scorching red lava. It was a massive world with no end in sight, and it was unbearably hot.

The sight of lava bubbling furiously at his feet sent shock coursing through his veins.

Before him was a huge, ancient tree hanging upside down with skyward roots and groundward branches.

"Is that the Ashvattha?"

Xu Xiaoshou reeled back in shock, unable to believe his eyes. He was staring at something that belonged in myths and legends.

Within a blink of an eye, the sacred tree before him flowered and bore fruit. The fruit shriveled, and its flesh wrinkled, peeling away to reveal a seed.

Then, with a soft explosion, a white sun suddenly appeared, was enveloped by a near-invisible shimmer, then plunged to the earth and right inside Xu Xiaoshou.

"Ah!"

Waves of scorching energy flooded his energy reserve, their sheer heat vaporizing the blood in his body. He screamed in agony.

Why?

How could a mere illusion cause him such pain?

It shouldn't. It hadn't the last time!

He didn't have time to think at all before he was seized by a sudden revelation. Xu Xiaoshou's eyes fell shut. When he opened them and gazed upon the world again, he was greeted with the sight of countless red specks of lights hovering in midair.

"The fire element?"

His fingers curled into tight fists. Could it be true?

Had his wish been answered?

Had he acquired Flame Expertise?

Suddenly, he heard the sound of chanting. It was as if the gods themselves were murmuring Sanskrit scriptures into his ear, except these whispers rumbled like deafening thunder, filling his head.

Xu Xiaoshou tried to parse the chanting into words, only to realize that his mind had gone completely blank. After a moment's struggle, he gave up.

Out rushed all thoughts and desires, and suddenly, the voice in his head sounded as clear as day.

"…the world maketh the cauldron whilst fortune maketh the craft; from yin and yang, firewood for burning, from all things living, iron for smithing…"

Boom!

Those words struck Xu Xiaoshou like a bolt of lightning. He could hear nothing else after that.

Was the voice suggesting that he treat the world as his cauldron and that everything between this heaven and earth could be cultivated?

What a terrifying thought!

A burst of light suddenly erupted from the lava, and a magical-looking herb floated before Xu Xiaoshou's eyes.

This was the first time he'd laid eyes on such a herb, yet he instantly knew everything about it.

"Nona-Revival Mustard. An ancient mythical herb. Can be used to revive the dead and regenerate flesh. Extremely spicy. Masks fishy odors well. Can be taken with meat."

Xu Xiaoshou was dumbstruck.

What the h*ll was going on?

A huge black bird flew across the skies, darkening the heavens with its massive shadow. Xu Xiaoshou had never seen such a bird before, yet he instantly knew everything about it.

"Divine Black Strix. An ancient mythical monster. Infused with divinity. Delicious. Extremely springy."

Xu Xiaoshou was speechless.

What the h*ll?

The introductory profile to both magical herb and creature had started off fine before going down this strange, descriptive path…

The illusory world had appeared so grand and breathtaking. Yet, the sudden appearance of the magical mustard and winged beast had somehow killed the mood.

It was then that the Divine Black Strix swooped down on the Nona-Revival Mustard, and Xu Xiaoshou inexplicably reached out his hand…

He had no idea why he stuck out his hand. He simply thought that he should…

Boom!

Invisible Infernal Heavenly Flames shot down from the heavens as the Divine Black Strix clamped its beak shut around the Nona-Revival Mustard. The flames engulfed the divine beast and instantly turned it into dust. A strange fragrance filled the air, and before he knew it, the illusory world started falling apart.

"What just happened?" Xu Xiaoshou was utterly bewildered.

The last time he entered the illusory realm, a revelation had seized him, granting him some understanding of swordsmanship. This epiphany had clued him into the kind of Passive Skill he'd gotten then. But this time…

Initially, he'd suspected that his new Passive Skill had something to do with fire, but now he wasn't so sure.

The words "extremely spicy" and "delicious" popped into his head…

They were like demons hounding him. He just couldn't be rid of them.

He immediately looked at the Information Bar.

"Expertise Passive Skill acquired: Cooking Expert!"

What?

A look of utter confusion appeared on Xu Xiaoshou's face.

Cooking?

His eyes widened in disbelief, and his jaw dropped, nearly dislocating his jaw.

He'd been spirited away to a magnificent world of molten lava and treated to the sight of the mythical Ashvattha and the birth of a sun. He'd thought that he had hit the jackpot, that he would be rewarded with the Flame Expertise…

But instead…

…he had acquired culinary skills.

What a fine system this was indeed! It was just absolutely fantastic!

Xu Xiaoshou fell to his knees with a loud thud, then collapsed into a heap on the floor in a daze, his eyes glazed over.

He had waited so long to acquire another Passive Skill only to get this in the end. A lousy skill that wasn't going to do him any good.

"Hah! Cooking Expert…"

Hold on a minute.

Something wasn't right.

Why did the floor feel warm?

Xu Xiaoshou pulled his thoughts back to the present and sat up. The bathtub had been turned over.

He surveyed the room and found it in an utter mess. Its two windows were shattered, as if they'd been blown out by a storm.

What was going on?

His pupils contracted. He remembered lifting his hand up to summon the sun in his illusion…

Had he caused a similar explosion in reality too?

Crack! Crack!

Xu Xiaoshou unleased Sense upon hearing a familiar sound, and that was when he saw the invisible flames surrounding him.

"What the h*ll!?" he thought. "Did I set the Spiritual Law Division on fire?

Xu Xiaoshou hastily deployed his Breathing Technique and sucked the room clean of fire. He patted his chest and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Luckily it's not that big a…"

Crack! Crack!

Something sputtered faintly in the distance. Xu Xiaoshou felt his scalp prickle. His hair stood on end.

He clambered to his feet, then looked down and stared at the floorboards.

Were the first and second floors on fire too?

"Oh my god!"

Xu Xiaoshou charged downstairs without a second thought.

He couldn't let the place burn.

Not when it was filled with manuals of spiritual techniques!

He wasn't ready to die!

Somebody, save him!

Meanwhile, outside the Spiritual Library Division.

A man dressed in black was hiding in the bushes.

Zhao Xidong had assigned him the duty of sentry. He was to keep his eyes on the Spiritual Library Division at all times and inform everyone if he caught sight of Xu Xiaoshou's kidnapper.

Yawn…

The law enforcer yawned. Honestly, he didn't see how the kidnapper could've sneaked his way into the Spiritual Library Division, but one could never be too careful.

His assignment might seem absurd and pointless, but nevertheless, he continued to keep a lookout for anything amiss around the Spiritual Library Division.

He felt a sudden rising heat in the air.

"What's going on?"

He looked up and stared at the darkening sky. The sun had set. The temperature should be dipping. What was going on?

He didn't have the luxury for leisurely contemplation. The Spiritual Library Division suddenly quaked violently, and the protective barrier around the building lost its cloak of invisibility as it shimmered and rippled angrily.

Boom!

An explosion louder than the one they had just experienced erupted. The sentry's face turned pale.

He watched as two windows on the third level of the Spiritual Library Division shattered. Shards of splintered wood sprayed into the air while a terrifying, scorching heat surged outward and began to flood the area.

The law enforcer was dumbstruck. Had a kidnapper really been hiding in the Spiritual Library Division all along?

Was he trying to blow up the Spiritual Library Division?

Was he trying to destroy the foundation of the Tiansang Spirit Palace?

Crack! Crack!

The sound of crackling sputtered all around the law enforcer while grass transformed into scorched earth in a blink of an eye. He was seized by a sharp streak of pain. His spiritual senses instantly unfurled, and he was abruptly greeted by the sight of invisible fire burning all around him.

"There's been an attack!" he yelled frantically at the top of his voice.

It hit him then. This was why Zhao Xidong had been immediately made the leader of their team upon his graduation from the Inner Yard while he was still stuck with sentry duty despite years of service at the Spiritual Law Division.

Zhao Xidong now saw what he'd missed.

Look!

Zhao Xidong had managed to piece everything together from the little that Xu Xiaoshou had said. He, on the other hand, had had to see the Spiritual Law Division blow up with his very own eyes before finally believing what Zhao Xidong had said.

Fortunately, Zhao Xidong had already gone to seek reinforcements.

It was then that the law enforcer saw, to his horror, the protective barrier around the Spiritual Law Division burning as well.

He cried out a second time, his voice filled with panic and fear.

"The Spiritual Library Division's on fire!"

"We have to put the fire out!"

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Chapter 98: Don't Worry. This Isn't a Big Deal

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In a small room, around a round wooden table, sat four men.

The tip of Xiao Qixiu's sword rested on the floor. Xiao Qixiu frowned at Elder Sang as his fingers stroked his sword's hilt. "Are you really going to take Xu Xiaoshou as your disciple?"

"That's right," said Elder Sang after taking a sip of wine. "The fates willed it so. It was decided when he ate the first Infernal Fire Seed and lived. You knew then, didn't you?"

Elder Sang was talking about the Windcloud Competition's preliminaries, when Xu Xiaoshou had barged into the arena and begged Xiao Qixiu to save him.

Xiao Qixiu fell silent.

He'd been tempted to take Xu Xiaoshou as his disciple when the latter had revealed his Innate Stage Sword Will.

But, when he recalled the young man's eccentric and bizarre antics, as well as the way he spoke, which was absolutely infuriating…

He'd concluded that there was every chance that Xu Xiaoshou might turn out to be an absolute disaster and danger to the rest of humankind. He couldn't give in to impulse and risk that.

He hadn't expected Elder Sang to take the young man as his disciple!

"Xu Xiaoshou…" he trailed off, deliberating for a long moment before settling on a particular description. "…is quite the character."

"Are you worried?" Elder Sang scratched his head. When he remembered his huge bathtub, his lips twitched.

"It's good to have character. Anyway, he's not going to cause any trouble on my watch."

"He's not going to be a problem."

Qiao Qianzhi burst into laughter, and he smacked Xiao Qixiu on the shoulder. "Didn't I tell you to make your move before it was too late? Look, someone got ahead of you!"

Xiao Qixiu snorted. "I have no intention of taking him as my disciple. I've got my hands full with Su Qianqian."

"Honestly, Xu Xiaoshou's not that bad. Why don't you like him?"

Qiao Qianzhi tried to recall what he knew of the young man. The memories that came to mind were of a young man, always alone, training with his sword by Goose Lake.

Two or three years ago, every time he'd gone to Goose Lake to pick up his fat geese to prepare a good meal, he would see the young lad training diligently.

That was how they'd gotten to know each other. He had treated the young man to cooked goose!

Qiao Qianzhi gave everyone in the Spiritual Affairs Division a taste of his caustic wit—everyone but Xu Xiaoshou. That was because he knew how hard the young man worked.

His diligence and hard work had paid off.

After three years of training that had led to little progress in his swordsmanship, Xu Xiaoshou had acquired an Innate Stage Sword Will and clinched the championship in the Windcloud Competition. There was no question that his achievements had everything to do with the hard work that he'd poured into his training!

But, if he were being honest,

Qiao Qianzhi had watched two of Xu Xiaoshou's matches. His fighting style had become flashier…

He was unpredictable and excitable. But one could attribute those qualities of his to his adorable, lively personality!

At this thought, Qiao Qianzhi burst into laughter again. What he wouldn't give to be young again!

"Hahahahahahaha!"

"Come on, let's drink!" Qiao Qianzhi raised his cup, but Elder Sang was the only one to return his toast. He eyed Ye Xiaotian. Why did the latter look so worried?

"Why aren't you drinking?"

He understood why Xiao Qixiu didn't drink. The man was a swordsman. But why was Ye Xiaotian pretending that he couldn't drink?

Ye Xiaotian glanced at him unhappily. A man of few words, he didn't say anything as he patted his arm.

Elder Sang laughed. "He just got that reattached. He has to stay away from alcohol."

"Hahahaha!" Qiao Qianzhi gave Ye Xiaotian's arm a hard pinch. "That's karma for you!"

Ye Xiaotian jumped in pain and yanked his arm back. He watched the two men drink. He could still hear the deafening thunder of the two explosions that had gone off in his head. "Are you really sure that everything is alright?"

Elder Sang grabbed a slice of roasted goose, shoved it into his mouth, and began to chew loudly. "Don't worry about that. It's just Xu Xiaoshou cultivating the Infernal Fire Seed. He should be in the middle of refining it."

"Don't panic. I've done this before. I know how this goes!"

"Come on, cheers!"

Qiao Qianzhi was the only one who raised his cup…

Ye Xiaotian stared at the liquid in his own cup, swallowed hard, and resisted the temptation to drink it.

Xiao Qixiu was unmoved. Watching them drink was akin to an exercise in strengthening his own willpower.

As the rims of two cups collided lightly with each other…

Boom!

In the small room, whose walls even telepathic communication could not pass, the sound of an explosion rumbled deafeningly like thunder. One could only imagine how loud the explosion would've been without the protection of these walls!

Ye Xiaotian turned and stared dumbly at Elder Sang. "Is that Xu Xiaoshou cultivating the Infernal Fire Seed too?"

Elder Sang's heart skipped a beat. He had a bad feeling about this.

Then, he remembered the array protecting the Spiritual Law Division and concluded that everything should be fine. He stubbornly replied to the other man. "Don't worry. It's nothing serious…I think."

Xiao Qixiu couldn't sit still any longer. He was the Chief Elder of the Spiritual Law Division. That had sounded like a huge explosion. His men were probably looking for him right now.

"I'm going to take a look!"

Knock, knock, knock!

Someone was urgently pounding on the door.

The four men exchanged looks with one another and caught the look of alarm in one another's eyes. No one would come knocking on the door of this room unless some calamity had struck.

Xiao Qixiu rushed towards the door and pulled it open.

Standing at the doorway was Zhao Xidong, panting heavily. His eyes fell on the four men in the room. "You're all here. That's great!"

"Look at you, all flustered and in a panic!" Xiao Qixiu frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Of course I'm in a panic…" Zhao Xidong blurted out frantically. "We're under attack!"

The other three men in the room instantly rose to their feet. An attack? When the sun had just set and night had barely arrived?

Ye Xiaotian and Qiao Qianzhi pulled a token out suddenly. It vibrated incessantly in their hand as messages came flooding in.

They extended their spiritual senses and understood immediately what was going on.

Zhao Xidong pulled out his token, then. Ye Xiaotian, Qiao Qianzhi, and Xiao Qixiu glanced at the token before reeling back in shock and blurting out in unison, "The Spiritual Law Division's on fire?"

Everyone stared at Elder Sang. His face had gone white. Just moments ago, he had reassured them that everything was fine and told them not to panic, and now…

Had Xu Xiaoshou really gone and landed himself in trouble?

Elder Sang's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't deny that that was a very real possibility.

Ye Xiaotian's expression darkened. "What about your tokens? Why aren't you receiving any messages after something so serious has happened?"

Elder Sang froze. "I usually leave mine in the Spiritual Law Division…"

Xiao Qixiu stared dumbly at Ye Xiaotian. "I lent mine to someone…"

Qiao Qianzhi nearly stomped his foot in fury. "Why are we still talking? We need to get to the Spiritual Law Division immediately and find out what's going on!"

Whooosh!

The four men vanished instantly.

Elder Qiao went back to the table, squatted on the stool, and grabbed a piece of roasted goose with his chopsticks. He took a bite. It was tasteless. He threw his chopsticks down and dashed out of the room.

Slam!

A moment later, he ran back and pulled the door shut.

"Huff!"

"Huff!"

Somewhere in the first level of the Spiritual Law Division, Xu Xiaoshou was unleashing his Breathing Technique without restraint. With his every inhalation, he sucked in the Infernal Heavenly Flames that were burning all around him, extinguishing flames everywhere he passed.

He had killed the fire on the second floor. But the fire on the first floor was causing him real grief.

He had stopped thinking about the pain. All he prayed for was for the fire to stop and for the place to not burn down. He couldn't afford to think about anything else.

He continued breathing in the flames as he silently and desperately uttered his apologies for the grave crime that he had committed.

He didn't do it on purpose!

How could he have known that the attack he unleashed in the illusory world would be mirrored in reality too? Something wasn't right. Everything should have been an illusion.

Fortunately, the techniques housed in the Spiritual Law Division were all protected by a defensive barrier. His feeble attack had clearly failed to breach their defenses.

As for the shelves…

They looked a terrible sight!

"Surrounded, Passive Point 1."

Heavens! They weren't wasting any time at all, were they?

Xu Xiaoshou was seized by panic. He was still in the middle of putting out the fire on the first level…

Whooosh!

His face twitched violently as he sucked in another deep breath. Then, suddenly, he heard something behind him.

He turned around to the sight of four pairs of eyes staring right at him.

It was Elder Sang, Ye Xiaotian, Xiao Qixiu, and the judge from the first round of the Windcloud Competition…

Xu Xiaoshou's legs turned to jelly.

Whooosh!

A shadow fell over him. Qiao Qianzhi had silently landed in front of him.

Loudly and with some difficulty, Xu Xiaoshou gulped.

Somebody, say something!

Why wouldn't anybody say something? The silence was driving him mad with panic…

"Haha…" Xu Xiaoshou mustered a faint smile on his face and said earnestly, "This isn't what you think it is. Don't worry, it's really nothing serious…"

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Chapter 99: The Most Dangerous Enemy is the One You Can't See

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Elder Sang's hands were hidden in his sleeve. He curled his fingers and effortlessly sealed the invisible raging fire away.

Elder Qiao was the first to speak. "Where's the enemy, Xu Xiaoshou?"

What enemy?

Xu Xiaoshou was puzzled. Had the Spirit Palace been infiltrated by yet another enemy? What was going on?

Hovering in midair, Ye Xiaotian looked as tall as the rest. He glared at Elder Qiao. They should have let Xu Xiaoshou speak first.

If what he said aligned with what they knew, that would mean that there was nothing wrong with him. But they would have a problem on their hands if it didn't.

Speaking first was akin to giving Xu Xiaoshou a chance to weasel out of the precarious spot that he was in right now.

Elder Qiao glared back fearlessly.

It was clear what Elder Qiao thought about that. Who subjected to the appraising looks of four men would be able to withstand that kind of pressure?

Xu Xiaoshou was just a kid!

Now that Elder Qiao had spoken, Zhao Xidong naturally no longer restrained himself. "We communicated via a series of hand signals just now. Didn't you tell me you were being held hostage by a kidnapper?"

Hand signals?

Xu Xiaoshou was stupefied. What hand signal?

When had he ever communicated with Zhao Xidong via a series of hand signals?

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't an idiot. He'd managed to learn a great deal of important information from the little the two men had just said. He had half a mind to use the clues that he'd been given and play along. Surely that would enable him to escape the blame for what he'd just done…

…wouldn't it?

As his eyes flickered between Elder Qiao and Zhao Xidong, his Sense caught every minute detail of everyone's reactions.

Despite his stern look, Xiao Qixiu was still a familiar face. He could be persuaded as long as Elder Qiao was around.

Elder Sang was his master. He might not have said anything yet, but it was clear that they were on the same side.

Ye Xiaotian, the snowy-haired child, was the only person whom he'd only met but once. The only impression he had of the child was of his reticence.

But Xu Xiaoshou had known right from the start that this was a shrewd man. A man who had the capabilities to assume the role of dean of the Inner Yard wasn't someone to be trifled with.

Besides, he didn't know him very well. He couldn't afford to act rashly.

Xu Xiaoshou was a man guided by reason. He was very astute and rarely reckless.

He might have caused a minor explosion in the Spiritual Law Division, but the damages had been minimal. They had only lost a few hundred bookshelves and many, many tables and chairs…

Well, tables and chairs that had looked like they would cost an arm and a leg.

If he admitted to his wrongdoing, he would only suffer a monetary loss. But if he tried to hide the fact that he'd caused the explosion, he would lose a moral battle.

"There were no enemies, no intruders, no kidnappers," Xu Xiaoshou said calmly.

"Suspected, Passive Points 5."

Xu Xiaoshou froze momentarily.

What was going on? He was telling the absolute truth!

He wasn't lying!

"Are you playing me for a fool?" Zhao Xidong couldn't take it anymore and said what was on everyone's mind. "If there's no one else in the building, are you saying that you were the one who caused the explosion?"

"That's right." Xu Xiaoshou nodded.

"Suspected, Passive Points 4."

Hmm?

Four?

Xu Xiaoshou caught the slight curl of Elder Sang's lips. The old man seemed to have caught onto something. He yanked his straw hat down and kept his silence.

That was right.

The old man was the one who'd taught him how to refine the Infernal Fire Seed. He was probably the only one who believed what Xu Xiaoshou was saying…

"What nonsense!"

Elder Qiao gave Xu Xiaoshou a hard smack on the shoulder. "Kid, you don't have to be afraid. The most powerful warriors in the Tiansang Spirit Palace are standing right before you. If there's someone trying to threaten you, just tell us. You don't have to worry at all."

Well…

Something about this conversation struck Xu Xiaoshou as vaguely familiar, and he got the feeling that he'd heard it before. He subconsciously looked at Xiao Qixiu.

Xiao Qixiu gave him an encouraging look. "No crime will go unpunished. Sooner or later, justice will be served. Tell us!"

"Encouraged, Passive Point 1."

Xu Xiaoshou was dumbstruck. Why was he waxing lyrical about justice? He realized why the conversation sounded so familiar.

The same conversation had taken place the first time he'd drawn Sword Technique Expertise. These two men had tried tirelessly to make him spill the whereabouts of a person who didn't exist.

He was on the verge of tears. In another place and another time, he might have pointed them in a random direction to get them off his back. But Ye Xiaotian was right there. He dared not act rashly. "I swear, there wasn't anyone…"

Elder Sang abruptly cut him off.

"Judging from the force of the explosion, the impact must have hit all three levels of the Spiritual Law Division. But the damages appear to be minimal. I've looked through our inventory of spiritual techniques. None were lost or damaged. We're only missing a few miscellaneous items.

"Here's my preliminary assessment: we have an intruder who is at the Master Stage and wields the fire element. But we can't eliminate the possibility of the intruder suppressing his cultivation level in an attempt to mislead us, so let's assume that he is at the Sovereign Stage!"

Ye Xiaotian frowned. Nothing about this matter seemed certain, yet here Elder Sang was drawing a conclusion. Something wasn't quite right.

He didn't raise his suspicions though. The man had just reattached his arm for him, after all.

Meanwhile, listening to what Elder Sang said, Xu Xiaoshou grew increasingly baffled.

An intruder?

At the Sovereign Stage?

Then, something clicked suddenly, and, in an instant, he realized that this was Elder Sang trying to let him off the hook.

He knew he'd guessed it correctly when the old man asked sternly the next moment, "Where did the intruder go?"

Xu Xiaoshou lifted a trembling finger and pointed in a random direction…

Why?

Why was he constantly being forced to lie?

Elder Sang issued his orders with a second's hesitation. "Zhao Xidong, gather your men and search the grounds. Qiao Qianzhi, Xiao Qixiu, follow the intruder's trail and track him down. Ye Xiaotian…"

He gave the snowy-haired child a look. Ye Xiaotian stared back at him, a doubtful look on his face.

"You're going as well! Team up with Xiao Qixiu!" Elder Sang said firmly. One couldn't tell at all from the look on his face that he was lying. "This could be the work of the Holy Vassal. We can't let our guards down!"

All traces of doubt fled from Ye Xiaotian's mind when he heard the mention of the Holy Vassal. His expression turned solemn.

"We don't know if they're trying to draw us away from the Spirit Palace. I'll hold the fort while you track the intruder down. Let's move!" Elder Sang said decisively in a tone that brooked no argument.

"Yes, sir!" the men around him answered in unison before dashing away.

Xu Xiaoshou stared dumbly at the old man before him, his heart swelling with awe.

That was amazing!

With a few words, the old man had handled and dealt with everything. His argument had been sound, leaving no room for any refutation.

He was incredible!

The look that he gave Elder Sang was filled with open flattery and adoration.

The old man took a deep breath. His expression darkened as he stared unblinkingly at Xu Xiaoshou. "I was only away for a short while. Didn't I tell you to focus on cultivating the Infernal Fire Seed? Look at what you did instead!"

Xu Xiaoshou knew it. The old man knew everything…

Xu Xiaoshou scratched his head sheepishly. He didn't know what to say.

He was as frustrated as Elder Sang was!

All he'd wanted to do was cultivate the Infernal Fire Seed too. He hadn't expected the series of mishaps to befall him!

Elder Sang glared at him. Fortunately, little damage had been done and no spiritual techniques had been lost in the fire. Otherwise, this could have been a devastating blunder.

"I've distracted everyone and sent them away, but you still owe me an explanation. Explain yourself right now, or else…"

Xu Xiaoshou could feel his hair stand on end. He felt like he was being hunted by a ferocious beast, and terror rippled through his body.

He plastered a weak smile on his face. Flattery wasn't going to help him now.

"I do have an explanation, but I'm not sure if I should say it…"

Elder Sang grabbed him and dragged him up to the third floor.

The array was activated. A barrier slammed down between the space they were residing in and the rest of the world. The old man lifted his straw hat then and finally saw the state that his room was in. He was so shocked he nearly puked blood.

The huge bathtub had been flung aside and now lay overturned on the floor. There was a huge dent in the wall that marked the bathtub's collision with the latter.

The rows of bottles and jars that had lined the room neatly were now scattered all over the place, as if a storm had broken into the room and sent them flying.

Some of the bottles had been shattered, their pills sprawled across the floor like the pale, naked forms of young girls, hapless and exposed.

The panes to his windows were gone. A cool wind breezed into the room. How refreshing indeed!

Elder Sang wondered if he had taken a disciple at all.

He suspected he had brought home a beast that had then gone on to tear his home down!

He was livid. He scrunched his sparse eyebrows and glared murderously at Xu Xiaoshou. Anybody else would have been dead by now.

Xu Xiaoshou trembled, then said in a faint, subdued voice. "I was trying to put out the fire just now. I didn't have time to clean up the mess in the room…"

"To h*ll with that! I want an explanation right now!" thundered Elder Sang.

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Chapter 100: Seeds on All Five Fingers

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

An explanation…

Xu Xiaoshou had no explanation for him. He'd been cultivating pills!

But he couldn't tell the old man that. He was clearly livid, and who knew if he could still be reasoned with. What he needed to do right now was to get him to calm down.

"Don't get worked up…"

Xu Xiaoshou gave the old man a light push. Elder Sang's eyelids started to twitch violently, and the sight of it nearly made Xu Xiaoshou's heart stop. "I succeeded!" he hastily added.

Elder Sang froze suddenly. "At what?"

At tricking the old man, obviously…

Xu Xiaoshou exhaled a soft sigh of relief. If he'd drawn the Passive Skill of Flame Expertise, he would have confidently declared that he had succeeded in refining the Infernal Fire Seed.

But he had acquired the damn Cooking Expert…

Alright, he wasn't going to harp on that anymore. It would only make him cry.

"Take a look!"

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't sure if this was going to work at all. He laid his palm out flat, and in the middle of his palm, Infernal Heavenly Flames flickered into life.

Crackle! Pop!

He was seized by a strange feeling. It was as if…

…he could feel the excitement that the flames on his palm were feeling.

"There's something different about this!" Something hit him then. He recalled the scorching heat that he'd awoken to in the illusory realm.

Cooking Expert…

One needed fire to cook, didn't they?

Fire?

He supposed his newly acquired skill did have something to do with fire after all.

Xu Xiaoshou's lips twitched. He couldn't help but find the entire thing ridiculous…

"That's it?" Elder Sang frowned as he stared at Xu Xiaoshou's palm.

Xu Xiaoshou gave him a look that said "be patient." Then, he pooled his full attention on the fire in his palm. The flames shrank.

Pop! Crackle!

A fireball spun rapidly in the middle of his palm, releasing waves of heat that distorted the air above the flames.

Elder Sang was silent. The extent of compression that Xu Xiaoshou had managed to achieve during his brief absence was impressive.

But his progress didn't explain the last explosion at all.

He gave Xu Xiaoshou a look that indicated the latter could move on now.

Beads of sweat appeared on Xu Xiaoshou's forehead. He could sense another strange bond unfolding between him and the fireball on his palm. But this…

…wasn't enough!

He still had more than five thousand Passive Points.

"Should I use them all?" he thought.

Xu Xiaoshou hesitated. If Cooking Expert were an Expertise Passive Skill meant for combat, the thought of leveling up the skill with every Passive Point he currently had never would've crossed his mind. Instead, he would've deliberately timed his leveling up, like he had for Sword Technique Expertise.

He was completely talentless. If he tried to learn too many spiritual techniques, he would never progress beyond the first move of the White Cloud Sword Technique.

But if he were to level up his skills during battle, the sudden surge of knowledge might lead him to an epiphany and grant him a new technique.

That was how he'd acquired the Modified Sword Style and the Blade-draw Technique.

This strategy was based on his experience with Expertise Passive Skills, and he'd developed it to acquire more spiritual techniques. He knew that he was exploiting a loophole in the system, but honestly, it worked very well.

He lacked talent, so he had to make up for that with a few additional skills.

Well, Cooking Expert…

…didn't seem like a name someone would give a skill that was meant for combat.

He had no idea if his strategy would work…

He saw the sullen look on Elder Sang's face and had a terrible suspicion that his future would be grim if he didn't survive his current predicament.

"So be it!"

After some thought, he decided to trade all his Passive Points for Skill Points and use all of the latter on Cooking Expert.

"Cooking Expert (Acquired Lv. 6)."

A deluge of knowledge instantly flooded his mind. This was the first time Xu Xiaoshou had attempted to level up an Expertise Passive Skill five consecutive times. He could feel his mind bending under the weight of all that knowledge.

His head was killing him!

The fireball in the center of his palm wavered, and Elder Sang's face involuntarily twitched at the sight.

"You mean you can't even master control over such a small fireball?"

Xu Xiaoshou didn't answer him. His brain was flooded with a sudden torrent of information on an array of ingredients, recipes, and various cooking techniques.

"That's it!" His eyes lit up.

Simmering, baking, sautéing…

All kinds of weird trivia popped into his head. But he didn't care!

What did care about was the clear and growing bond between him and the flames burning on his palm. This didn't feel like a skill that he had recently acquired. It felt as if he'd had it for years.

It was as if he had complete mastery over it!

Xu Xiaoshou grinned as he stuck his palm out. Before Elder Sang could voice his confusion, he heard a soft pop, then watched as the fireball on Xu Xiaoshou's palm expanded and grew to a size that a man could comfortably wrap his arms around.

Waves of heat erupted from the fireball, ripping the old man's straw hat from his head while sending Xu Xiaoshou's clothes flapping furiously.

Elder Sang was blown away. He couldn't believe the mastery that Xu Xiaoshou had gained over the Infernal Heavenly Flames within his brief absence.

But…

"I told you to shrink it, not expand it!

"What's all that about…" he huffed in annoyance. "How are you going to cultivate anything with that? That'll melt the hardiest cauldron!"

Xu Xiaoshou shook his head. "Can't you tell? This is…

"…ehem, it's Sautéing!"

He grinned cheekily. With a twist of his fingers, the enormous fireball disappeared and was replaced by a small, quiet flame in the center of his palm.

Gone was the furious, wild fire. Like a tamed beast, the flame licked quietly at the center of Xu Xiaoshou's palm, burning steadily.

He'd had no need to employ his Breathing Technique this time. Instead, he'd relied on his mastery over heat and fire to accomplish the daunting feat that he'd tried and failed to achieve so many times before.

So…

Simmering!

The thought left him caught between laughter and tears.

He'd expected Cooking Expert to be a useless skill. In fact, he'd had half a mind to cast aside the irrelevant trivia crowding his brain and only retain the knowledge that gave him mastery over fire. With the latter, it would be the same as achieving his dream of wielding the Flame Expertise. He would be able to do nearly everything that he could possibly do with the Flame Expertise.

Yet, the more he thought about it…

…the more he realized that Cooking Expert was so much better than Flame Expertise. With the former, he could whip up a meal for himself when he had nothing better to do…

Xu Xiaoshou could feel a toothache coming on. D*mn. This was getting ridiculous.

Elder Sang was blown away. He couldn't believe it. Xu Xiaoshou had actually managed to refine the Infernal Fire Seed in the brief period he'd been away.

But he'd counted the explosions. There had only been three of them!

He had taken an entire day to refine that d*mn thing, and, during the process, had blown himself up numerous times. In fact, his skin had turned brown and cracked by the end of it all while his insides had turned out soft and tender.

Xu Xiaoshou, on the other hand…

…had emerged unscathed, but the Spiritual Law Division had ended up been destroyed.

"This…"

Elder Sang got a grip on his emotions and said slowly, "So, that last explosion. Were you the one who caused it?"

It didn't matter that this young rascal had managed to master the technique of refining an Infernal Fire Seed within such a short period of time. Elder Sang wasn't convinced that a Level 9 Spirit Cultivator could unleash a power so destructive and immense that even the Spiritual Law Division couldn't contain it.

Xu Xiaoshou started to panic.

He wasn't the one who'd blown up the Spiritual Law Division, but there was no way he was going to tell Elder Sang everything that had happened in his illusion.

His will over the flame wavered, and the Infernal Fire Seed on his palm flickered unsteadily.

"I was testing out my new technique, Lesser Fireball!

"Lesser Fireball?" Doubt flickered in Elder Sang's eyes.

The fireball resting in Xu Xiaoshou's palm brimmed with power. Elder Sang could be persuaded to believe that it was powerful enough to breach the Spiritual Law Division's protective barriers, but how had it managed to blow out his windows?

"Suspected, Passive Points 1."

He knew it…

Xu Xiaoshou didn't spare the old man a single glance as he muttered to himself, "That's just for starters."

"Is that so?" Elder Sang picked his straw hat off the ground. "Are you saying that you managed to come up with a more powerful move within such a short period of time?"

"That's right!" Xu Xiaoshou smiled smugly. "It's the Seeds on All Five Fingers!"

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