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nTranslator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

n“Got shocked. Passive Points 1.”

nXu Xiaoshou abruptly sprang up, looked around, and realized that he was in the waiting area. He touched his face and looked indignantly at the attendant. “Why did you hit me?”

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nThe attendant gave him an innocent look, and then gradually started to look confused.

nXu Xiaoshou looked at the attendant’s hand. “Oh, there’s no pill bottles?” he thought.

n“It’s your turn to battle!” the attendant said coldly.

nOnly then did Xu Xiaoshou realize that he’d been dreaming before and embarrassedly walked out of the waiting area.

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n“Xu Xiaoshou, good luck!”

n“Xu Xiaoshou, hang in there!”

n“Xu Xiaoshou, champion!”

nHe was shocked by the crowd’s cheers. The moment he walked out of the waiting area, he saw the entire crowd standing and cheering for him.

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nHe froze. Of course, some people had cheered for him in the past, but a lot of people had put him down too. “Why is everyone cheering so hard for me today?” he thought.

n“They didn’t even sleep well…”

nHe didn’t know that his consecutive victories over the rank-seven Wen Chong and the rank-four Zhou Tianshen, as well as his Acquired-stage Sword Will and Innate-stage physical body, had made him the favorite to win the entire competition.

n“Got encouraged. Passive Points 442.”

n“Got cheered for. Passive Points 665.”

n“…”

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nThe notification panel in his mind constantly refreshed, and Xu Xiaoshou happily waved his hands and slowly made his way into the arena.

n“Passive Points: 44820.”

n“Passive Points: 45611.”

n“Passive Points: 46002.”

nXu Xiaoshou was smiling so wide that his eyes had narrowed to slits. Even though the process of refining the Infernal Fire Seed last night was arduous, he’d been greatly rewarded for it in the last few hours. It had given him nearly 20000 Passive Points.

nAnd his Passive Points were still rising.

n“Xu Xiaoshou, walk faster!” Xiao Qixiu said in an unfriendly tone.

nXu Xiaoshou immediately quickened his footsteps, and when he entered the barrier, it was silent and peaceful.

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nHe now had a good idea why a barrier was needed during the Windcloud Competition.

nOn the other side of the arena was a girl wearing a pale yellow dress who looked rather delicate. She had a tightly-combed head of hair, and the corners of her eyes were curved upward. She was wielding a soft bone whip and was striking it against the ground with every step she took. She looked extremely energetic.

nLi Cenjing, Spiritual Cultivation Level Ten.

nAs usual, Xu Xiaoshou wanted to say something, but he didn’t expect the young lady to interrupt him. She said mischievously, “Giving up before the battle is a great disrespect to your opponent. Running away without battling…

n“Oh, what comes after that…

n“Forget it.”

nLi Cenjing curled up her soft bone whip and tapped her head as she said, “Xu Xiaoshou, I’ve seen you battle. You are very impressive!

n“Can I get your autograph later?”

n“Got admired. Passive Points 1.”

nXu Xiaoshou rubbed a hand over his head, embarrassed. He didn’t expect there to be a fan amongst his opponents. He quickly swallowed the sarcastic comment that he’d been about to say and nodded in agreement.

nLi Cenjing’s expression immediately turned cheerful, and she chuckled.

nXiao Qixiu expressionlessly waved his hand. “Battle, start!”

nXu Xiaoshou played the gentleman and signaled for his opponent to attack him first. He didn’t expect Li Cenjing to raise her hand and blink her large eyes.

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n“I admit defeat!”

nXu Xiaoshou’s expression darkened. “You stole my line just now, and now you’re going to admit defeat?” he thought. “What kind of fan are you? Don’t you know what I really need is Passive Points?”

nLi Cenjing saw the change in his expression and quickly explained, “Zhang Fei is still lying down in the Spiritual Medical Division and can’t even fight in the placement battles. I don’t want to fight you. I want to fight in the placement battles!”

nXiao Qixiu didn’t even have time to finish swallowing the mouthful of water in his mouth. He hurriedly raised his hand and announced, “The battle is over. Xu Xiaoshou is the victor!”

nThe spectators instantly started murmuring amongst themselves. They hadn’t expected someone to give up during a top-16 battle. Wasn’t that the same as giving up on the rewards that were to come?

n“How boring. Why didn’t she fight properly? I wanted to see Xu Xiaoshou’s performance!”

n“I think Li Cenjing is rather wise. She’s only Level Ten. She wouldn’t have been able to defeat the Level Seven Xu Xiaoshou. Conserving her strength now for the placement matches later is quite smart.”

n“Puu, listen to the nonsense you’re spouting…”

nLi Cenjing, who’d just admitted defeat, scampered over to Xu Xiaoshou and handed him a spiritual pen. “Autograph!” she said excitedly.

nXu Xiaoshou was speechless.

n“Huff!

n“Hold it in, she’s a fan!” he warned himself.

n“Where do I sign?” Xu Xiaoshou’s said gently.

nLi Cenjing generously extended her hand with her palm facing upward. Her fingers were slender. She said, “Oh, here!”

nShe deviously glanced in the direction of the spectator seats. The crowd seemed to be in an uproar, but the two of them couldn’t hear anything in the arena.

nOutside, a girl sitting in a front-row seat was manically roaring, “Stop it right there, Li Cenjing! Xu Xiaoshou is mine!”

n“Kekeke!”

nLi Cenjing shot her friend an ugly look, a smug expression on her face. “Hmph, see what happens when you don’t train properly?” she thought. “All you can do is stay outside and be envious of me.

nXu Xiaoshou wasn’t shy. He grabbed her hand. It was soft and warm.

nHe finished his autograph in a few strokes and said, “Don’t admit defeat when you encounter anyone else in the future. It’s very disadvantageous.”

n“Yes, yes, it’s not disadvantageous.”

nEven though Li Cenjing was usually rather brazen, she couldn’t help but blush when Xu Xiaoshou grabbed her hand in front of all these spectators. She was, after all, only a 16 to 17-year-old teenage girl.

nThe numb, itchy feeling his skin gave her almost made her pull her hand back, but she fought the impulse and answered softly, “Thank you!”

nThe young lady turned to run after she got the autograph, as if she were escaping.

n“Hey, your spiritual pen…” Xu Xiaoshou immediately called out.

nThe young lady didn’t even look back. “You can have it!”

nXu Xiaoshou glanced at Xiao Qixiu. The middle-aged man was repeatedly shaking his head, his eyes filled with emotion as he thought back on past memories. He didn’t even rush Xu Xiaoshou out of the arena.

nAll Xu Xiaoshou could do was put the spiritual pen in the ring hanging around his neck.

nOutside, the girl sitting in the front-row seat went crazy when she saw this. She rushed toward Li Cenjing, who’d just gotten out of the arena, with red eyes. Even the attendants couldn’t stop her in time.

n“Li Cenjing, today is your death day!”

n“Look at my otherworldly flying kick!”

n“Don’t. Look, are you still going to kick me?”

n“Hng hng hng, I’m so envious. Chop off your hand and give it to me!”

n“…” Xu Xiaoshou walked out of the barrier and glanced at the notification panel. He couldn’t help but feel faint.

n“Got despised. Passive Points 333.”

n“Got despised. Passive Points 333.”

n“What’s going on?” he thought.

n“Even though no blood was drawn, shouldn’t they be praising and encouraging me for winning the battle?

n“What happened to all of you? You were still cheering me on before I got into the arena, and then the next instant you dislike me?

n“Heh, humans!”

nXu Xiaoshou forced a smile onto his face and waved at the crowd in an attempt to salvage the situation.

n“Got despised. Passive Points 886.”

nXu Xiaoshou was speechless.

nIn the waiting area.

nXu Xiaoshou squatted on the resting chair. The atmosphere outside was intense. He could no longer sleep.

nAt this point in the competition, he’d already successfully placed in the top eight.

nAccording to the schedule, he still had one battle to fight today, and if he was victorious, he would compete for the championship tomorrow.

n“Will I become champion…” he thought.

nXu Xiaoshou wasn’t so sure.

nHe might’ve felt more confident of becoming champion if he hadn’t encountered Zhou Tianshen yesterday. Zhou Tianshen, who was at the peak of the Acquired-stage, already had such terrifying battle capabilities, so there was no telling how strong the Innate-stage fighters would be.

nXu Xiaoshou twirled the cup in his hands, a little dazed.

nThe Innate Stage was a general title.

nIt consisted of three levels: Origin Court, Occupied Void, and Upper Spirit.

nAfter the first ten levels of the Spiritual Cultivation process, a Spiritual Cultivator would gain an understanding of the natural laws and open up an Origin Court near where the deities resided. If successful, they would awaken their Innate Elemental Power. That was the Innate-stage.

nAs for what the Innate Elemental Power was exactly, there was an infinite variety of them, and they differed from person to person.

nIt could be one of the five basic elements, or it could be a concept. For example, the stream of ice that Zhao Qingteng conjured with his sword, or Zhou Tianshen’s Blade Will…

nWhat Xu Xiaoshou was afraid of most was this:

nEven though his passive skills could be used as Innate-stage Spiritual Techniques, they had their limitations.

nAt the very least, he didn’t have the Innate Elemental Power, which meant he didn’t have a strong guarantee to win compared to the true favorites to win the competition.

nXu Xiaoshou looked at his energy reserve and couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

nThe spiritual strength in his energy reserve was pitch-black and saturated with scorching energy. This was the reward he’d gotten from fighting for his life yesterday night. However, it was still lacking compared to a real Innate Elemental Power.

n“Sigh!”

nXu Xiaoshou let out a frustrated sigh. He had wanted to use his strength to achieve the top spot during this competition. Now, it looked like his dream was too unrealistic.

nHe looked into his mind again.

n“Passive Points: 48226.”

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