The Fourth Person Inside the Barrier

"The match is over!"

With a sweep of the referee's hand, Xu Xiaoshou was declared the winner of the first round. Then he watched the guy dash off the arena in a panic, seeming to be even faster than Di Xin'er.

The referee was dumbfounded. "Where are you going?"

"Huh?"

Xu Xiaoshou turned back in surprise. "To rest. Don't contestants get half an incense stick's time to recover?"

It was true that this was his first time participating in the breakout tournament, but he had watched it for two years. He knew the rules perfectly well.

The referee was speechless. He had never presided over a single tournament with a contestant like this.

Who didn't openly sit on the arena to recover, or wave a hand and start the next match directly? Yet here he was, wanting to run off?

He had finally seen the kid compete somewhat normally, but the moment it ended, his true colors were exposed again.

"Why are you going out? Can't you recover here?" the referee asked.

"It's stuffy!"

"This rotten place is covered by a barrier. There's nothing here except air and you. Of course I'm going out."

Xu Xiaoshou looked utterly justified. Since the referee had spoken, he could not simply ignore him. "Coming?"

The referee: "..."

That's not what I fucking meant! Xiao Qixiu, floating high in the air, had a smile at the corners of his lips. He had noticed Xu Xiaoshou as well.

More precisely, the kid was still one of his primary targets of attention—not merely because of his innate physique, but more importantly because he had seen Xu Xiaoshou's swordsmanship.

Others might have been distracted by his absurd words and behavior, but Xiao Qixiu observed from outside the game and could see clearly that those two strikes of Xu Xiaoshou's were anything but simple.

Had he practiced the White Cloud Sword Technique?

Was that the reason, or was what he said that day actually true?

After leaving Xu Xiaoshou's courtyard that day, he and Elder Qiao had failed to find that swordsman.

Having only just comprehended Acquired Sword Intent, that swordsman could not possibly conceal his aura perfectly. Yet he simply could not be found! Could Xu Xiaoshou truly be that swordsman?

Xiao Qixiu felt that the thought was somewhat absurd. Others could not conceal their aura, but could Xu Xiaoshou really deceive him right before the eyes of a proper swordsman like himself?

Absolutely impossible!

His gaze returned to the other arenas. Sure enough, the other two youngsters had nearly simultaneously knocked their opponents off the stage.

Xiao Qixiu took out a sheet of paper and recorded as he spoke. "Mo Mo, Chao Qingteng, three consecutive victories."

The moment Xu Xiaoshou stepped out of the barrier, he heard those words and clicked his tongue inwardly.

That was way too fast. How did they fight?

But it made sense. Only those two could have such speed.

The first and second place holders on the previous Wind and Cloud Ranking—two innate cultivators!

He quickly put such matters aside and searched the audience seats, trying to find Su Qianqian and her friend, who had watched him fight that day.

Mm, he could not find them.

Because he had far too many spectators. One after another, they were enthusiastically waving at him.

"Go, Xu Xiaoshou!"

"Xu Xiaoshou, over here! I'm here!"

"The wooden sword—yes, that wooden sword! Please hit me!"

"Xu Xiaoshou, I love you! Aahhh, he looked over here! Ah, I'm dying!"

Xu Xiaoshou gave up searching. It was not a big deal anyway. He happily waved back at them one by one in thanks, while the Passive Value was filled with nonsense.

"Received encouragement. Passive Value +89."

"Received praise. Passive Value +94."

"Received confession. Passive Value +66."

A confession?

Xu Xiaoshou's mind jolted. What the hell got mixed in there? He felt that these people were even crazier than they had been at the opening. For some reason, he seemed to have heard something about a wooden sword as well. Xu Xiaoshou drew out his wooden sword and pointed it toward the audience.

"You want this?"

The casual questioning tone, paired with his already rather handsome face and the body no longer scrawny after being enhanced by "Sturdiness"—the instant Xu Xiaoshou spoke, the female disciples in the audience exploded.

"Received confession. Passive Value +99."

"Received confession. Passive Value +164."

"Received confession. Passive Value +323."

"Received curse. Passive Value +2."

Holy shit!

Have these people gone insane?!

Xu Xiaoshou covered his ears, nearly frightened back into the barrier.

Steady. I can win!

I have to withstand this wave of Passive Value attacks. I can do it! "Xu Xiaoshou, time's up!"

The referee's heavenly voice finally came to save him. Xu Xiaoshou shot into the barrier, and the world became quiet again.

The light screen flickered, froze, and the referee called out his next opponent. "Liu Zhen!"

On the Cloud-Emerging Platform, Liu Zhen, who had been covering his ears, was dumbfounded. This...

Zhou Zuo walked over from the side. He had already forfeited two matches in a row, and seeing this scene, he immediately grinned.

"Senior Brother Liu, good luck. Take off the weights while you're at it, and give him a lesson for Boss Wen. This guy is finished—he actually dared to flirt with Senior Sister Di."

Liu Zhen silently walked onto the arena. Xu Xiaoshou chuckled. "It's you!"

"Enemies are fated to meet. Wonderful—you're a fist fighter, right?"

"I like fighting fist fighters the most..."

As he spoke, he saw Liu Zhen's silent expression, and his heart immediately skipped a beat. Could this guy be planning to forfeit too?

"To lose heart before battle is the greatest taboo when facing an enemy; to flee without fighting..."

Liu Zhen's face darkened as he interrupted him. "I wasn't planning to forfeit."

"That's good, that's good!"

"You're a real man! Straightforward!"

Liu Zhen: "..."

He had always felt that every bit of Xu Xiaoshou's outward pretense was deliberately concealing his true strength, and reality had repeatedly proved that everyone had been deceived by him.

From the moment he emerged from seclusion, he had not been at the fifth realm. All those bold claims he had used to intimidate everyone had all been true.

Otherwise, how could this kid have risen to the peak of the sixth realm in such a short time?

And his innate physique—others could not see through it, but it could not fool Liu Zhen! And that swordsmanship just now...

And...

Xu Xiaoshou stared blankly at the information panel.

"Received suspicion. Passive Value +1."

"Received suspicion. Passive Value +1."

"Received suspicion. Passive Value +1."

"..."

The messages kept refreshing one after another, leaving him completely dumbfounded.

What's going on? The referee?

Liu Zhen?

Impossible...

Could there be a fourth person inside this barrier?

Xu Xiaoshou's pupils shrank. It's broad daylight—don't scare people like that! "Referee, I suspect something unclean has slipped into the barrier. Hurry up and look for it!" Xu Xiaoshou shouted.

The referee slapped a hand to his forehead. It's over. Here he goes again. How long had he even been quiet? Xu Xiaoshou was nearly in tears. The information panel would not stop, yet he could not reveal that he had such a thing.

"It's true! You have to believe me!"

"There's definitely a fourth person in here... no, maybe it isn't even a person!" Xu Xiaoshou lunged at him.

The referee's face turned black. "Contestant, please take your position. Don't hug my leg. Go back and regulate your breathing!"

"Please. Go. Back!"

Liu Zhen let out a deep sigh.

Still pretending. Still pretending!

Did he really think I was one of those ordinary fools, unable to see through his disguise? He shook his hands and looked toward the black sandbags strapped around his forearms. This fellow was truly unfathomable. It seemed he would have to reveal some trump cards of his own!

Bang! Bang!

The black sandbags on his hands, feet, and abdomen were all unfastened and smashed onto the arena, denting the ground.

Liu Zhen's cultivation aura rose without pause—seventh realm, eighth realm, ninth realm...

Tenth realm!

Peak Spiritual Refinement!

The referee and Xu Xiaoshou both turned to look. The two of them were utterly stunned. This guy had been playing the pig to eat the tiger?

Seeing the shock in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes, Liu Zhen gave a cold smile.

"Xu Xiaoshou, stop pretending. I'll use all my strength to defeat you!"

"Your tricks are... useless against me!"

What was going on? What was this guy talking about? Xu Xiaoshou: ???