Unfortunately, the Night Guardian’s passionate speech did not sway many in the crowd.

The masses were still in the ripples of shock after the news he had brought to them.

If it was only restricted to those residing in the regions around White Cave or the swordman of the Eastern Region to take part in the resistance. They would be of a completely different level from the others.

One would have overestimated the situation in that circumstance.

The Red Coat Night Guardian’s news would have spread through the entire continent, from south to north, when morning arrived.

It was not possible that the information he had shared would be successfully contained in this venue.

The only upper hand the people of the banquet hall had was that they were in closer proximity to White Cave.

If White Cave opened a few days earlier, they would take the opportunity to go before the others arrived and caught the word promised for the early bird.

…

Banquet table…

Mu Zixi could finally understand what the conversation was about.

She was at a loss when Xu Xiaoshou mentioned the Source of the World. From the looks of the current situation and the horrific recoil she was still experiencing after she had swallowed the object…

Could it be that whatever she had swallowed was not an object of a similar name but the actual White Cave Source of the World?

“What is going on, Xu Xiaoshou?” she asked via telepathic communication.

At this moment, Xu Xiaoshou was surprised like everyone else in the banquet hall, but his surprise had greatly differed from those around him. Xu Xiaoshou was still dwelling on the announcement made by Fu Xing in the beginning and was unable to move on.

‘Spiritual Cultivation, Way of the Sword, Art of Alchemy, Art of Spiritual Array…’

‘Is Fu Xing doing this on purpose? Does he want me to take all of the White Cave quotas for this category?’

‘This is… It’s a bit too much. It’s a bit too embarrassing!’

The more Xu Xiaoshou thought about it, the more unlikely he thought it was.

He was certain Fu Xing did not witness his Weaving Technique as his father had.

In that case…

Why would he be so good toward him?

“Xu, Xiao, Shou!”

Mu Zixi looked at Xu Xiaoshou’s dazed expression and could not help but let out a yell.

Stunned, Passive Points, 1.

Xu Xiaoshou shook slightly and finally gained his attention.

“What’s wrong?”

Mu Zixi puffed up her cheeks. “What is this about the Source of the World?”

“It’s the one you swallowed!”

Xu Xiaoshou matter-of-factly delivered his words, but it gave Mu Zixi a scare. This fella did not reply telepathically but spoke out loud…

With many others around him as well.

Therefore, was whatever she had swallowed the real Source of the World after all?

What if someone had found out about her?

“Don’t worry, no one knows what you ate.”

Xu Xiaoshou gestured his hands with a smile. “Even if you tell someone, they probably won’t believe you.”

The others around Xu Xiaoshou were greatly confused upon hearing his one-sided conversation with himself.

However, Mu Zixi’s gums were in pain from anger.

Cursed, Passive Points, 1.

She turned toward the young men that were around her and spoke telepathically again. “Could you shoo these guys away?”

Xu Xiaoshou was amused by the scene.

The young men had noticed Mu Zixi was sitting at a table on her own with no other elders around her. All of them approached her excitedly from the Competition Platform.

However, despite their attempts at conversation and the long period Xu Xiaoshou spent observing them, none of them seemed to catch the attention of Mu Zixi.

All of them were anxious like monkeys as they stood scratching heads unsure about what to do.

“I say…”

Xu Xiaoshou stood up and made himself the center of attention. He spoke up in a steady voice, “All of your forms are wrong. If you want to approach someone, you need to study the techniques properly.”

The others at the table turned in shock.

“What are you trying to do this time, Xu Xiaoshou?” a voice asked.

Xu Xiaoshou was practically a public figure in the banquet after the fight he had with Wen Song. He was notorious.

That image was limited to those who came early and caught a glimpse of the battle between the two.

Those who took an interest in Mu Zixi were definitely individuals who arrived later than Xu Xiaoshou and had missed the fight with Wen Song.

“Move.”

Xu Xiaoshou pulled the man away and walked directly to Mu Zuxi.

The banquet attendees turned. Even though the table was situated at the end of the banquet hall, the sudden presence of Xu Xiaoshou caught the attention of many around them.

Moreover, the tables were too far from the podium.

The announcement from the Night Guardian was over, but Fu Xing still had matters to address.

He looked at Xu Xiaoshou, who did not seem to be causing any disruption for himself. He took that as an acknowledgment that Xu Xiaoshou was holding himself back.

He had chosen to tolerate the act and voted to remain quiet.

Xu Xiaoshou sat down confidently in front of his sister disciple. After he settled down, he inched forward slightly until their legs were close to touching.

The young men were seething with teeth-gritting jealousy, but Mu Zixi did not seem to resist. Instead, she frowned. “What are you doing?”

“Didn’t you call me over?” Xu Xiaoshou replied brazenly.

Mu Zixi glared at him. “I told you to shoo them away!”

Even though she was speaking telepathically, she still pressed her voice down. The looks from the people around her had made her blush slightly from embarrassment.

Not everyone had skin as thick and tough as Xu Xiaoshou.

At her age, and for someone who was rather thin-skinned, she was not able to withstand all the strange gazes thrown at her.

Xu Xiaoshou took a peek at the scene behind him and commented with a low voice, “Learn from me.”

With that, he lifted Mu Zixi’s chin and continued with a teasing tone.

“Going anywhere tonight miss? If there’s nowhere in particular, I have a cottage on Nantian Street. How about coming with me tonight?”

Mu Zixi froze.

The young men had frozen in place as well.

Suspected, Passive Points, 1.

Cursed, Passive Points, 14.

“Shameless!”

Someone’s voice butted in instantly. “Aren’t you a bit too shameless? How can you be so…”

“So direct?”

Xu Xiaoshou responded, “I was just saying what’s on my mind, and on all of yours too.”

The voice was at a loss for words. He turned toward Mu Zixi immediately. “That wasn’t what I meant.”

“Oh, how did you mean what you said then?” Xu Xiaoshou raised his eyebrow.

“I!”

The person speaking stood stunned on the spot.

The others who had wanted to chime in had also felt the same loss in motivation.

Xu Xiaoshou was thoroughly amused. “Were all of you late? Did you not see that she came in here with me? How can you just hit on anybody?”

“It’s not a crime to hit on someone, but I’ve looked at all of you for a while. No one has made any progress! Such embarrassments!”

Mu Zixi stared at him in puzzlement.

She wondered if Xu Xiaoshou was pretending to be dead before.

Cursed, Passive Points, 1.

Xu Xiaoshou turned to her again. “You haven’t answered me yet.”

Like hell, she would reply.

Her gaze could kill Xu Xiaoshou. Before she could speak, Xu Xiaoshou reached out and covered her mouth.

“Silence means yes. Let’s go.”

“?”

Not only was Mu Zixi confused, but the others around her were also taken aback by his bold declaration.

Cursed, Passive Points, 1, 1, 1, 1…

Belittled, Passive Points 2.

Resented, Passive Points 12.

The first person who spoke could no longer keep quiet. He was someone who had arrived later at the banquet and had no previous knowledge of Xu Xiaoshou.

Besides, how could anyone keep quiet when someone had been so disrespectful to an adorable lady?

“Who are you? Take your dirty hands off her!”

Someone had caught the bait. Xu Xiaoshou turned around with a smile.

Ever since, Fu Xing’s announcement of the rules, he had decided he would no longer keep a low profile.

He would not only take part in this Platform Competition, but he was also going to do a fantastic job of doing so.

He had to use this opportunity to earn as many Passive Points as possible. He would earn enough to fill an ocean.

He was going to set the issue with Zhang Taiying aside for now and gather enough Passive Points from all the young men tonight to unlock a few more Master Stage techniques.

Xu Xiaoshou would not let this golden opportunity pass him.

“What’s your name?” Xu Xiaoshou asked with a squint.

“Qiu Dejian!”

“Qiu… Are you that Innate Sword Intent the old man was talking about?” Xu Xiaoshou asked with a strange tone.

“Old man?”

Murderous intent instantly filled Qiu Dejian’s eyes.

He could have tolerated it if the man was simply a creepy and slimy individual, but he had crossed the line making such bold and offensive statements.

Xu Xiaoshou regarded him in an unbothered manner. His hands were still pinching Mu Zixi’s cheeks and unwilling to let go.

If it was anyone else, he would have just agitated them for the fun of it.

However, the Qiu family…

They were people who had planned for Su Qianqian’s downfall. He was definitely not going to go easy on them.

He would use this opportunity as a start for his campaign to gather the public’s attention.

Stopping his train of thought, Xu Xiaoshou arrogantly raised his chin.

“What can’t get used to this?”

“All you rascals must have been spoilt rotten at home. Did you forget that the people in the real world are bad?”

“You’re right. I am a bad guy. What about it?”

“Huh? Can’t take a sentence or two?”

Qiu Dejian was shaking with anger as he watched Xu Xiaoshou’s despicable face and listened to his words.

Xu Xiaoshou laughed coldly and continued his lecture. “It’s good for young people like you to be heroic. However, Fu Xing is still talking. I doubt you would be able to come at me.”

“Shut up!”

Qiu Dejian’s eyes were almost red with anger. This was no ordinary fury.

A man beside him got a hold of him to prevent the situation from blowing up.

“Forget it Brother Dejian. I think these two know each other…”

“Let go!”

Qiu Dejian was reluctant to budge. He quietly yelled at the man holding him back.

Fu Xing, who was situated on the podium, frowned slightly but not enough for it to be noticed. He still had a portion left on the safety regulations for the competition to cover for his speech. He had to suppress his emotions for now.

Xu Xiaoshou…

The rules were close to being fully explained. This man must have some self-awareness to maintain his appearance in this event.

He decided he would save this matter for later.

…

Xu Xiaoshou knew he had some limits, but he was self-aware enough about his surroundings.

Hence, he opted to not be the one who struck first. He changed his tone to a mocking one. “Yo, so scary… I couldn’t hear you though. Wanna yell louder?”

“Keep yelling! Look at how grown you are, yet you still speak like a woman, lame.”

“Look at your dad! When he was insulting someone, he did not hold back at all. He kept on climbing up and down the insults like a monkey!”

His father?

Qiu Dejian took a second before he suddenly realized Xu Xiaoshou was referring to the third elder.

It was at this moment that he felt that he had fallen into some type of trap.

However, his fury had taken hold of him by now and eliminated whatever logic was left in him.

Qiu Dejian pulled his companion’s hand from him and stepped forward. His voice was a yell of fury. “He’s not my father, he’s my third grandpa!”

“Oh, my bad.”

Xu Xiaoshou did not bother to look at him. Instead, he turned back around and pat Mu Zixi’s head.

“Oh, the hand feel is different.”

Mu Zixi turned to him in confusion.

Qiu Dejian glared at him in shock.

‘He underestimated me!’

‘This fella…’

‘He dared to underestimate me!’

“I…”

His pupils looked as if they were going to pop out of their sockets.

The daring-one-to-fight attitude from Xu Xiaoshou flashed by Qiu Dejian’s mind. It had swallowed him in humiliation.

“Ya!”

He could no longer suppress the rashness in his heart. He lurched forward with a punch.

“No, hold back!”

His companion called out behind him but to no avail. He could only watch as the defenseless Xu Xiaoshou’s back remained exposed to the punch packed with fury from Qiu Dejian.

‘Oh no, he might lose his life!’

Boom!

The punch exploded with an ear-breaking sound.

Fu Xing picked up on a disturbance in the atmosphere, but it was too late.

The explosion came from the back of the room, but it had shaken all of the attendees to the core.

In the next moment, a series of unstopping banging sounds echoed around the room as it knocked over every table and chair in its path.

Some of the defenseless elders holding champagne glasses were directly thrown onto the other tables of the banquet.

A few of them were thrown into the embrace of another elder of a different table. The two pairs of eyes were staring into each other in a daze.

With a final boom, the figure that was thrashing about the solemn banquet was halted at the foot of the Red Coat Night guardian.

Fu Xing swallowed hard.

If it was not for Red Coat Night Guardian’s foot, the podium beneath his feet would have been knocked into nothing as well.

His face instantly became black as ink.

It would have been tolerable if he chose to make a mess at any other occasion, but did he chose to ruin Fu Xing’s reputation during the preparations for battle?

“What is happening?”

He lowered his eyes and glared at the young man at the feet of the Night Guardian. Qiu Dejian had just recovered from his impact as well.

As the shock in his eyes slowly subsided, the scene of broken and turned-over furniture slowly came into his vision.

The looks from the hundreds at the venue were suddenly focused on him as a wave of dread wash over Qiu Dejian. He felt as if he could wet himself.

‘Damn, what just happened?’

‘I… I hit him though, right?’

‘Why… Why was I the one who flew?’

Qiu Dejian yelled in his heart.

He opened his mouth and tried to speak. As he came face to face with Fu Xing, his expression darkened. Using his right hand as support, he tried to pull himself up to explain the situation.

A tear ripped through him.

An unbearable pain instantly struck him. It was so painful that Qiu Dejian was gasping for air.

He turned to look at his right arm. It had been completely twisted like a braid. A section of it seemed to be missing.

Had his arm been twisted in?

“Heck!”

He could not hold back any longer and uttered the curse under his breath.

A murderous intent flashed in Fu Xing’s eyes.

“I’m sorry. I was not talking about you.”

Qiu Dejian’s legs went soft immediately. “I… I…”

Suddenly, a loud shout could be heard from the back of the room.

“Damn, Fu Xing, someone just attacked me!”

Qiu Dejian was shocked.

Cursed, Passive Point, 1.

The voice caught the attention of everyone at the banquet. Even people on the other side of the Competition Platform turned toward the commotion.

“F-fight?”

“Have they already started fighting?”

“Could they wait a few moments more?”

Everyone at the banquet was curious and dumbfounded.

Watched, Passive Point, 1,420.

Suspected, Passive Points, 1,243.

Fu Xing felt his lips spasm as he looked at Xu Xiaoshou. The spasms were so strong that he could barely pull them back up.

A fight?

Had he started it himself?

‘What exactly are you trying to pull Xu Xiaoshou?’

‘Could you give me a moment of peace?’

‘Are you aware of how much embarrassment and shame I have accumulated because of your behavior?’

‘I was a fool,’ Fu Xing thought. ‘Water must have gotten into my brain. Why did I invite you to the City Lord Mansion?’

His fault… His fault… His fault…

Why did he not stop him beforehand? Fu Xing could have cried right now.

‘Could you please explode on the spot?’

“What’s wrong Brother Shou?” Fu Xing asked with a smile.

“He hit me.”

Xu Xiaoshou wore a face of grievance. He looked at the stunned younger men around him and added, “These people are my witnesses.”

Suspected, Passive Points, 13.

Qiu Dejian’s face became white as a sheet.

He had attacked the man.

But the situation was nothing like the situation it seemed to be.

“I…”

“Guards, escort him out of the premises and ban him from stepping foot in the City Lord Mansion again.”

Fu Xing restored the peace in his expression. The peace resembled a cesspool that would not be moved by any wave as he continued, stressing every word he was about to say. “The ban will last for an eternity!”

As he finished, the guards lifted the stunned Qiu Dejian like they were holding a small chick.

“This won’t do young master!”

Elder Qiu San’s instantly expression changed. “There must be some misunderstanding, please…”

Fu Xing flung his robe sleeve toward the side. “Ban him too.”

“?”

Elder Qiu San enlarged his eyes briefly. The Master Stage individual was instantly imprisoned.

In the next second, his body was lifted upward. His vision blurred.

The venue had been cleaned up, and the problem had been contained.

The banquet hall was so quiet that one could hear a needle drop.

The onlookers turned their heads to look at Xu Xiaoshou. They fell into a state of disbelief.

“Is this the victim? He looks perfectly alright.”

“This guy again?” Someone finally recognized him.

“Hm? Is he famous?”

“No, but he should be from now on.”

“Oh, who is he?”

“Xu Xiaoshou.”

Suspected, Passive Points, 1,420.

Suspected, Passive Points, 1,211.

“…”