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

nZhao 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.

nBut this wasn’t Xu Xiaoshou’s problem. It was Zhao Xidong’s.

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nHe decided to cut to the chase. “Spill it. What caused the explosion?”

nXu Xiaoshou lightly tapped his finger on the windowsill, his face emotionless.

n“An experiment.”

nZhao Xidong’s lips twitched. His face darkened, then paled, then darkened again.

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nAn experiment? So Xu Xiaoshou was the one who’d caused the explosion, then.

n“What kind of experiment?” Zhao Xidong asked.

n“An experiment on Lesser Fireball.”

nXu Xiaoshou eyed the two fireballs on his palm before quietly extinguishing them. He wasn’t going to need them, after all.

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nEveryone else was stupefied.

n…a Lesser Fireball?

nDid Xu Xiaoshou really just tell them that a Lesser Fireball had caused that terrible explosion?

nDid he think they were idiots?

nSuspected, Passive Points 275.

nZhao Xidong took a deep breath and suppressed the agitation that was bubbling inside him. “Get down here,” he huffed. “We need to talk.”

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nThey were talking right now, weren’t they?

nXu Xiaoshou ignored Zhao Xidong’s orders. He could faintly sense the murderous rage coming from them.

nHe had killed three men, after all.

n“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.

nIn fact, they couldn’t have forced their way in if they’d wanted to.

nThe 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.

nElder Sang had let him in, which was how he’d been able to enter the Spiritual Library Division in the first place.

n“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.”

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nThe look on Zhao Xidong’s face was absolutely stormy.

nIf this were anyone else, he wouldn’t have been worried. But this was Xu Xiaoshou they were talking about!

nIt was Xu Xiaoshou!

nAn absolute troublemaker!

nHow could he not be worried?

n“Why don’t you get down here first…”

nThese 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.

nThey were preventing him from cultivating his pills and were wasting his precious time.

nHe 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.

n“I found it!”

nIt didn’t take Xu Xiaoshou long to locate a dark red token. This should grant him the necessary authority.

nHe walked back to the window and raised the token. “By the orders of Elder Sang, you are hereby dismissed!”

nZhao 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!

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n“You…” he paused suddenly.

nHold on a second.

nThat fellow had been behaving oddly since the beginning, going on about an experiment and playing with the Lesser Fireball…

nHe wouldn’t be joking with them without a reason.

nThat explosion hadn’t been an illusion. It had happened. Pill cultivation couldn’t have led to such a huge explosion.

nSomething wasn’t right.

nBesides, Xu Xiaoshou was only at Level Nine. He shouldn’t be able to cultivate pills at all!

nZhao Xidong’s pupils contracted. Xu Xiaoshou had been trying to tell them something right from the start…

nThat must be it.

nHe hadn’t caused the explosion. Someone else had.

nXu Xiaoshou…

n…was being held captive!

nHis kidnapper was the one who had unleashed that terrible attack!

nThe thought of it was terrifying!

nZhao Xidong extended his spiritual senses but failed to identify anything suspicious in the vicinity. His eyes fell on the Spiritual Library Division again.

nThe answer was staring them right in the face.

nThe kidnapper was also in the Spiritual Library Division.

nIn fact, he might be hiding behind Xu Xiaoshou right now, threatening and terrorizing the latter into convincing Zhao Xidong and the others to leave.

n“That’s it…

n“That’s why Xu Xiaoshou’s desperately trying to send us away…”

nZhao Xidong was convinced that he was right, and everything else that had been bothering him now made perfect sense.

n“Suspected, Passive Points 1.”

n“Suspected, Passive Points 1.”

n“Suspected, Passive Points 1.”

n“… …”

nXu Xiaoshou stared dumbly at Zhao Xidong and wondered what crazy thoughts were going through that man’s head right now.

nHe was rewarded with a series of strange gestures.

nHe stared as Zhao Xidong stuck one finger out, wiggled it, then raised his other hand and placed it behind the first…

nThe man blinked and gave him a questioning look.

nWhat did he want? Xu Xiaoshou was baffled.

nHe didn’t understand any of Zhao Xidong’s gestures. As for that blink…

n…he had no idea what that meant either.

nThat didn’t stop him from blinking back. “Leave right now!”

nHe didn’t expect a look of dawning realization to appear on Zhao Xidong’s face…

nWhat was going on?

nZhao Xidong seemed to be staring at his back.

n“Let’s go!”

nBefore Xu Xiaoshou could comprehend what was going on, the former judge flicked his wrist. Everyone around him stilled suddenly, then vanished the next moment…

nWhat the h*ll was going on?

nXu Xiaoshou was utterly bewildered.

n…

nHe 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.

n“I thought there was an attack. Why are we leaving?” someone asked.

nZhao 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!”

n“Save who?”

nZhao Xidong came to a stop, then tilted his head and stared at the man who had voiced the question.

n“Haven’t you realized?

n“Someone’s kidnapped Xu Xiaoshou. He’s being held captive!”

n…

nSlam!

nXu Xiaoshou shut the windows.

nHe walked back to the bathtub, sat down, and ground his teeth in frustration.

nHe 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.

n“I can’t be distracted. I have to focus on cultivating my pills!”

nHe got his herbs out and repeated what he’d done previously, attempting repeatedly to fuse his Breathing Technique with the burning ball of flames.

nPoof!

nPoof!

nPoof…

nHis 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.

nHe should have known…

nHe was still the guy who had taken three years to learn the first move of the White Cloud Sword Technique…

n“That’s not exactly true. This probably has something to do with my cultivation level.”

nXu Xiaoshou wasn’t giving up just yet. He wasn’t the sort who gave up that easily.

nHe 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.

nHis 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.

nXu Xiaoshou fell onto his back and lay down on the floor sullenly. He let his thoughts wander. A red screen appeared in his head.

nPassive Points: 6442.

nHe had accumulated more than six thousand points…

nWouldn’t it be great if he somehow managed to draw a skill that granted him expertise on fire?

nXu Xiaoshou was seriously tempted, but then he remembered his increasingly dismal success rate and decided to abandon the idea.

nHe only had six thousand Passive Points. Honestly, the system would devour everything in a single go and still ask for more.

nHe yanked his thoughts back to the present.

nThe rays of the setting sun spilled through the window. As he gazed at the sunset, Xu Xiaoshou could feel his spirits lifting slightly.

n“It’s been a while since I got to unwind and spend time alone with myself…”

nDuring moments of tranquil solitude, one was often seized by the sudden impulse to do something.

nXu Xiaoshou wasn’t thinking when he traded his Passive Points for a Passive Key and slotted the latter in the wheel.

nWith 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.

nHe sat up suddenly.

nHe couldn’t see anything.

nWhat was going on?

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