“I admit defeat!”

“Help! Please, can the judge help me?”

The combination of what seemed like thousands of airborne poisonous arrow blades and the crushing, piercing aura that the whole scene gave off struck nothing but fear and panic into the heart of Xi Yusheng.

In the moment of panic, Xi Yusheng completely lost his senses.

Xi Yusheng was subconsciously clear of the consequences of his forfeiting. In fights of this level, it meant a devastating blow to his pride, confidence, and reputation to the point in which he might never show his face again in public

Xi Yusheng was also aware that the strike from Xu Xiaoshou could be just a mere feigned attack that was potentially not half as powerful as what was expected.

Xu Xiaoshou was at the Origin Court State. With the physique of an Innate Stage and the Sword Will of the Master Stage, how was all of this possible?

Regardless, Xi Yusheng was still in a state of panic.

He was not willing to risk his life for recognition. The value of the former greatly overshadowed the latter.

Should the unthinkable come to pass, then his self and the chance of having an inner demon would all be lost, never to come again.

While asking for help, Xi Yusheng attempted to dodge the attack.

However, Xu Xiaoshou showed no signs of stopping his attack in face of the dodge attempt. In all honesty, he did not want to stop. He wanted his opponent to get a taste of his own medicine.

To the crowd’s utter horror, the swarm of summoned poisonous arrows, most straightforwardly and brutally possible, destroyed the final figments of imagination that rested in the hearts of those in the crowd.

The blades zoomed by.

All Swords to the Master.

All the arrows rained down.

“Help!”

Xi Yusheng could no longer contain his fear. He let everything out from the bottom of his heart.

Just before the poisonous arrows he fired could pierce the body of their summoner, a white, angel-like figure appeared in front of Xi Yusheng.

Without saying a word, the judge raised his hand.

Out of the blue, a mighty whoosh sound was followed by the appearance of a light blue screen that blocked the path between the blades and the one who summoned them.

The thousands of arrows continued on their path and flew straight into the screen. As they hit the screen, they lost their momentum like bullets entering sandbags. With their momentum lost, the blades began to fall out of the sky under the influence of gravity.

“What powerful defense!”

Xu Xiaoshou was in shock as well. The judge was not of the Master Stage, yet his defense was able to stop an attack this powerful with ease. How did he do it?

“Those from the capitol are indeed built differently. Our base power level is not even comparable to his.”

Xu Xiaoshou watched with contempt as the judge, who had remained silent all this time, took away the attention that he desperately sought.

At that moment, Xu Xiaoshou had an idea of how to show off his abilities.

In all fairness, the tournament had yet to showcase any of the really talented young men in the venue.

If he was to go on with conventions, he might end up wasting a great deal of time and energy dealing with other contenders. The whole process was just too inefficient.

‘How about…’

Xu Xiaoshou thought to himself as he put his plan into action.

…

As the poisonous arrows fell toward the ground, everyone involved in the match heaved a sigh of relief. They thought the fight was over

Even the judge leaned back and began to lower his guard, taking the casted defensive screen down

The judge may have looked skillful, but a spiritual technique was still a spiritual technique. Even the Green Argus Ripple at the Master Stage could cancel out the technique.

The all-cutting Sword Will had still injured the judge in the process.

“Impressive!”

“Looks like the Sword Will was real after all!”

On the other hand, the judge was getting ready to shower Xu Xiaoshou with praises for his skill and talent. He then saw that some of the blades, which were now lying on the ground, had strands of spiritual thread emerging from them.

Although the spiritual thread was almost negligible, its sudden appearance alarmed him.

As he followed the thread, he shockingly discovered that the end of the thread was tied to Xu Xiaoshou’s second finger.

“Wait… What…”

The judge mumbled to himself as the blades went flying straight toward a shell-shocked and confused Xi Yusheng.

Xi Yusheng was speechless.

He had saved himself from the depths of death and was thinking of methods he could use to save his own face, perhaps a jest toward Xu Xiaoshou to keep him humble.

Who would have thought that the broken arrows had a thread connected to them?

What was happening?

How did he not know that the feathers from his own body had threads to them?

Under these conditions, Xi Yusheng could only shift a little of his spiritual source.

If the defensive spiritual technique from the judge could not defend against Master Sword Will, how could it be so easily stopped?

Sounds of speeding arrows filled the air.

The air was instantly splattered with blood. A bloody figure fell to the ground

“Oh god, so was that the real Master Sword Will after all?”

Xu Xiaoshou had used Xi Yusheng as an experiment to verify the genuity of his Master Sword Will.

Those who did not believe would not be able to reject it when they caught sight of the bloodied man. The audience swallowed their saliva hard.

All of it was the truth.

He was of the Innate Stage Physique and had Master Sword Will.

“Wait, if Master Sword Will is real, then…”

“Look at his strength. Do you think he’s not of the Innate Stage but of the Master Stage Physique?”

In the face of the sudden idea, the once silent crowd was now immersed in a series of debates.

“Are you kidding? The Master Sword Will was already dramatic enough. Master Level Physique?”

“Do you really think it’s so easy being at the Master Stage that you could simply have both?”

“…”

“Xu Xiaoshou!”

Unlike the audience, the judge was boiling with anger. “I had stepped in, so why did you not stop?”

Xu Xiaoshou held back immediately.

In his mind, he felt he was rather considerate to not pierce Xi Yusheng to his death on the spot.

He had only wanted to leave the man with mortal injuries.

“Eye for an eye!”

“It’s that simple!” Xu Xiaoshou glared back and did not show signs of backing off.

The judge was enraged. “Where were you hurt? He barely injured you!”

“Do you mean that I can’t attack because I am not hurt?”

Xu Xiaoshou continued, “I wasn’t heard because I am strong, and this man was not willing so hell-bent on killing me!”

“If it was a normal Origin Court, you would have known how it would have ended, right?”

“He had the intent, but he didn’t kill me. Does that make him innocent?”

There was nothing else the judge could say.

If he was honest, even if Xu Xiaoshou had killed his opponent, he was not exactly in the wrong.

He had spoken as he was making a move for the sake of his role as a judge. Who would have thought that Xu Xiaoshou would choose to continue his attack and make him lose some of his reputation?

He threw his hands down forcefully. His presence as the judge may have weakened, but he wanted to argue a bit more.

“You didn’t say the battle was over.”

The words left the judge speechless.

The judge’s face was pale as a sheet as he stood trembling with anger. He turned around immediately, picked Xi Yusheng up, and disappeared.

Cursed, Passive Points, 1.

Respected, Passive Points, 898.

Feared, Passive Points, 232.

“…”

“Strong!”

“He’s so strong!”

“Where did this Xu Xiaoshou guy come from? Not only does he have a quirky tongue, but he is also as skilled as he claimed to be! I first thought he was just a demon who couldn’t control himself…”

“Cancel that. He can control himself. He is at most just a demon.”

“…”

Xu Xiaoshou laughed in content as he experienced the dopamine rush associated with hearing the great increments to his Passive Points.

Something dawned upon him. Aside from skill points gained from being attacked by the enemy, the skill points gained during the actual fight were minuscule as compared to the skill points gained in the debate that he had with the judge afterward.

‘Weird…’

‘There is indeed an issue with this bloke’s way of thinking.’

‘Am I in a fighting competition or a trash-talking competition?’

‘Why do I get more points from trash-talking?’

‘Whatever. So be it. It is definitely easier trash-talking than fighting. The system just made things easier for me.’ Xu Xiaoshou smiled and shook his head as he readied himself to face the next opponent.

Xu Xiaoshou’s spectacular performance in the previous fight most definitely stunned the crowd.

All eyes were on him. Even though he no longer had an opponent, no one wanted to step up.

“It’s your turn now!”

Xu Xiaoshou turned and faced the third section of the arena where his next contender was positioned.

From a quick assessment of his torso, the contender looked strong and well-trained. From his trembling legs and awkward movements, one could clearly tell that he was in great fear.

“Don’t sit on your laurels Xu… Xu Xiaoshou,” the contender stuttered. “D-don’t think that I will be scared of you even if you won two fights in a row!”

“If you have balls, come and fight me. I will make sure I end your two-win streak!” he added.

The crowd was in awe.

After all, the crowd was comprised entirely of youths who admired the strong.

No matter how insufferable Xu Xiaoshou was, at the end of the day, he showed the signs of a sigma.

To be fair, the comments made by this new contender were utterly damaging to Xu Xiaoshou’s image.

“Just admit, you are scared,” the contender said.

Xu Xiaoshou laughed as he flew into the third section of the arena where his contender was.

“Do you really think that I give a damn about the streak?” he asked while chuckling.

The contender was left speechless

“This…”

“Does he want to let go of his streak just like that?”

How bloody confident was he?

Did he really think the legendary 10-win streak in this tournament could be obtained easily?

Suspected, Passive Points, 1.

It had to be said that the move from Xu Xiaoshou was unexpected by many.

How many people in the crowd had the ability to not give a damn about his or her two-win streak?

Presumably, it was in the single digits.

Suspected, Passive Points, 1,244.

Impressed, Passive Points 1,238.

Xu Xiaoshou looked at the man before him. He moved his line of sight onto the man’s legs and noticed it was impossible to hide his small and weak legs.

“Are you Master Stage?” Xu Xiaoshou asked.

The man swallows his saliva with great difficulty as he slowly nodded in admission.

“Peak?”

“Yes, yes.”

“What is your name?”

“Cui Shang.”

“Fine, I don’t care what stage you are at. I am Xu Xiaoshou, and I shall give you a chance to prove yourself.”

Xu Xiaoshou smiled and lifted his chin as he spoke.

“You are to hit me once. If you can push me back for a step… No, if you can make me move, you win. I will immediately admit defeat.”

“What…” Cui Shang immediately went red in the face.

He knew that he had been greatly insulted and looked down upon.

An enemy in the Master Stage, someone he could usually deal with single-handedly, was saying what he once said right before his very own eyes.

However, thinking back to this guy’s victories and power level, which was way beyond his own league…

Cui Shang nodded in acceptance.

“Very well.”

“No Cui Shang! Admit defeat now!”

Someone in the crowd screamed.

Xu Xiaoshou turned to face the crowd and saw a rather familiar face.

With both a good memory and strong senses, he was able to immediately tell that this was the bystander who was observing him back when he was still training with Qiu Dejian’s sword.

‘He knows my tactics!’

“Shut up,” Xu Xiaoshou barked.

Surprisingly, not only did the person show no sign of fear, but he also turned to face Cui Shang and spoke with worry.

“Cui Shang, rethink your choice! I saw him firsthand doing…”

“What is your name?” Xu Xiaoshou interrupted.

The person paused, still showing no signs of fear. After all, he was not in the arena, so Xu Xiaoshou could not possibly attack a spectator.

“Cheng Qiubi.”

Zoom!

Without further ado, Xu Xiaoshou flew toward the spectators and hauled the speaker onto the second section of the arena.

“Is it Cheng Qiubi?”

“I challenge you to a duel!”

At that moment, there was pin-drop silence

The crowd was confused as to what was going on.

Suspected, Passive Points, 1,420.

Different from the crowd, Cheng Qiubi, who was now standing in front of Xu Xiaoshou, turned green in the face.

He could not believe that a man could stoop so low.

Xu Xiaoshou was going against common courtesy at this point.

‘What duel? Did I accept your challenge?’

“I reject your challenge!” Cheng Qiubi replied.

“You may say that, yet you entered in the arena! Actions speak louder than words!”

Cheng Qiubi nearly tripped over himself.

‘Entered?’

‘I was f*cking hauled into the arena by you!’

“Let go of me!”

He yelled with his eyes wide open.

Xu Xiaoshou parted his lips, scrunched up his face, and covered his ears.

“Sorry, sorry…”

Upon seeing Xu’s reactions, Cheng Qiubi immediately changed his tone. “Please, let me go. I was not shouting this loudly on purpose.”

Received Plea, Passive Points 1.

Xu Xiaoshou was momentarily speechless.

He found amusement in the infuriating situation.

“I am sure you are not from Tiansang city, so where are you from?” he asked.

“Tianxu City.”

Xu Xiaoshou looks at the third section of the arena. Cui Shang was still there, deliberating whether to stay put or leave.

“How about you?”

“Tiansheng City, why?” Cui Shang answered with confusion.

Xu Xiaoshou burst out laughing. He pushed Cheng Qiubi to one side and started to laugh.

“Forgive my ignorance. I at first did not know any other city other than the one that I call home, Tiansang City.”

“As it turns out, I was wrong, very wrong!”

“The province of Tiansang has many cities that are known for producing cowards like you!”

“No wonder I have never heard your names!”

The great insult was a slap to the face for Cheng Qiubi. It also shocked everyone in the crowd. They did not expect such arrogance.

“Good man!”

The Night Guardian’s pupils dilated in admiration.

If this was how Xu Xiaoshou behaved while introducing himself, he would have definitely wanted to kill that insufferable imp.

However, after witnessing the potential of this bloke and his no-f*cks-given attitude, the Night Guardian knew that Xu Xiaoshou was exactly what he needed.

Against demons and monsters, one needed a fearless and a n*-**s-given attitude.

Otherwise, no one would dare to go on a crusade against the cursed hordes.

“Good sport!”

The Night Guardian shook his finger. His eyes were filled with passion.

‘I don’t care where he came from, but I’m taking him as an apprentice!’

…

Although Fu Xing stood faraway on the podium of the banquet, he had been fully absorbed and swayed by the emotions.

He had wished that his father would finally return to his post so he could rush ahead and give Xu Xiaoshou the beating he deserved.

When he did, he would return the similar mocking tone with the same kind of teasing words to Xu Xiaoshou.

“That must feel good…”

Fu Xing clenched his fist tightly.

He turned to a group of women at the banquet and spotted a few of them transfixed by Xu Xiaoshou.

Many young women had attended the banquet.

Xu Xiaoshou’s act had naturally captivated many that were in the audience.

Expectedly, many of the young women were deeply star-struck by the bold declarations from Xu Xiaoshou.

The flippant attitude and the cool non-chalant words…

‘How despicable!’

He had been roped into these antics as well.

Yet, the more he looked at Xu Xiaoshou, the more appealing he seemed to be.

Admired, Passive Points, 142.

“I quite like his shameless trash-talking mouth…”

The lady stared and subconsciously sounded out her inner thoughts.

Before she could panic, sounds of agreement could be heard from all around her.

The two turned to each other immediately as redness filled their cheeks. They turned to leave the venue.

…

Unlike the women, the many young men in the venue had a slightly different reaction to Xu Xiaoshou. All of them were fuming like enraged gorillas and were desperately maintaining their cool.

After a brief silence, a wave of emotions swept through the masses.

His words were no longer targeted at the few opponents he had fought.

For him to say that except for Tiansang City he had not heard of any other prefectures was good enough to make every young man’s fists itch with the urge to land a punch on Xu Xiaoshou’s face. He had completely dismissed their reputation.

“Don’t get so ahead of yourself Xu Xiaoshou! Do you think you can withstand me, er, I mean, all of us?”

“Right, do you think all because you’re from Tiansang Prefecture that you are able to look down on the rest of us?”

“Tiansang Prefecture? If he is from there, how come I have never heard of him?”

“Hm?”

Conversations exploded among the young men.

“People of Tiansang Prefecture, stop playing dumb! We know you trained this man!”

“Does this mean that everyone from Tiansang City is like Xu Xiaoshou?”

“Are you kidding?” someone retaliated without missing a beat.

“I want to beat him up, and I’m from Tiansang Prefecture. Besides, I have never heard of him until today!”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Where are you from Xu Xiaoshou? Be honest!”

As Xu Xiaoshou observed the irritated young man, he thought about how collected the members of the real powerful families were.

The situation was already in a mess, yet they had not stepped in yet.

How long were they willing to wait?

What more did they need to observe?

“Xu Xiaoshou of Tiansang Palace!”

Xu Xiaoshou landed on the elevated platform and looked down. “Anyway, how long are all of you going to wait?”

“Xu Xiaoshou?”

The masses collectively opted to ignore his question.

“I’ve never heard of him. There’s no one like this in the Inner Yard either. Could you be one of the 33 newly promoted ones?”

“The Inner Yard?”

Xu Xiaoshou smiled. “I’m from the Outer Yard. Those from the Outer Yard of Tiansang Palace’s are like me.”

“Huh.”

Su Qianqian, who was seated at the sides of the banquet, could not help but laugh.

The dark clouds that had followed her for a long time seemed to have cleared up a little.

Xu Xiaoshou turned away from the crowd and returned to the previous topic. “After all that talk, is no one still willing to challenge me?”

He looked over the room. All the gung-ho young men who had been filled with confidence were avoiding eye contact with him.

Talk was easy. The young men knew that if they were to step out, they would have been eliminated by Xu Xiaoshou instantly.

The Night Guardian suddenly spoke. “Hoho, from the looks of it, if no one dares to challenge, why not just give this man an instant promotion?”

Fu Xing did not take the Night Guardian’s words well.

He could feel the rage returning to his body.

How could one man completely floor every other young man in the venue base on his presence alone?

What level of arrogance was this?

Fu Xing wished he was Xu Xiaoshou at this very moment to soak up all the glory.

Unfortunately, he could not.

He was the host of this banquet at the City Lord Mansion. He had to control his emotions.

“Accepted.”

Fu Xing nodded lightly and added, “As this situation had not happened in previous years, and if it does persist, Xu Xiaoshou can immediately claim five White Cave quota slots if no one will challenge him.”

The Night Guardian’s mouth moved to reveal a grin.

Fu Xing was quite an impressive young man.

He was aware that the many strong individuals present were unwilling to showcase their abilities.

Moreover, there were more than enough White Cave quota slots that remained.

Therefore, even if Xu Xiaoshou had taken up all the slots, there were still opportunities for them to claim the slots for later. Hence, they would not make a move now.

However, the situation had taken a completely different turn.

Five quota slots…

It was hard for anyone to simply accept the new rule.

As expected, the masses started to stir.

If he had claimed one-fifth of all the available White Cave quota, Xu Xiaoshou would have rivaled one of the major families in Tiansang Prefecture.

What kind of joke would that be?

“I…”

One of the young men almost stood up. As he gazed upon the levitating and unformidable figure of Xu Xiaoshou, he hesitated.

“An Innate Stage Physique with a Master Stage status…”

“That was Master Sword Will alright. There’s no mistaking that.”

“What! How are we supposed to fight him?”

“And he really looked like a nobody too!”

Xu Xiaoshou was getting rather impatient.

The young men were too cowardly in his eyes. Even in these circumstances, they chose to step back and take a defensive stance.

He had intended to show off his powers slightly to breeze through the round-robin tournament.

It had not occurred to him that when he decided to finally showcase his true power…

The people would be afraid to make a move.

He scanned the room behind him and spotted the two elevated platforms positioned beside the one he was on. He thought they were obstacles for him.

He would take all the Passive Points he could take today.

With a whoosh sound, two balls of fire shot out from his hands and landed directly on the two elevated platforms that were beside him.

The platforms, which were without the barriers, were instantly blown apart with the sound of two loud booms.

The flying debris and gust of winds from the impact swept through the air behind Xu Xiaoshou’s figure. The scene made him appear more magnificent and greatly raised his spirits.

Xu Xiaoshou flung his robe sleeve to the side and casually said, “I’ve cleared the obstacles for all of you.”

“If it was the two platforms that made you hesitate, worry not, they are no longer here!”

He opened his arms as he spoke. His eyes were filled with encouragement and persuasion.

“Come courageous soldiers, come challenge me and defeat your inner demons!”

“We are youths! We would rather die standing than live kneeling, right?”