All for You

Xu Xiaoshou reopened the panel after a long time and looked at the first section.

I. Basic Passive Skills:

Breathing Method (Acquired Lv.1).

Endless Vitality (Acquired Lv.1).

This newly appeared passive skill was surprisingly listed under "Basic Passive Skills," which left Xu Xiaoshou rather astonished.

He was no longer a rookie who knew nothing about the system. Compared to extended passive skills, basic passive skills might not be as versatile, but their supportive power was absolutely terrifying.

One only had to look at the Breathing Method under the same category to understand.

He had never upgraded this skill even once, but that did not mean it was weak. On the contrary, it was too powerful. Its side effects were correspondingly terrifying as well, making Xu Xiaoshou shrink back from it.

So would Endless Vitality be just as powerful? Xu Xiaoshou pondered the literal meaning of the passive skill. Life force that never ceased? If so, would it not be of immense help to him right now? He turned his attention inward, focusing on his sea of energy and the unrefined Emberlight Fire Seed within it.

It was only the size of a fingernail, yet the energy it contained was terrifying beyond measure, impossible even to quantify.

For every moment this thing remained inside him, Xu Xiaoshou suffered torment. Every second, it released scorching energy that crazily eroded his body.

His blood, tendons, meridians, bones...

Every cell that could be invaded was covered by that scorching force.

Xu Xiaoshou's body was crimson on the surface, but while he merely looked frightening from the outside, inside he could be said to be covered in wounds.

Chunks of flesh had been burned until they were charred and rotten, while strands of meridians had been roasted until they burst apart.

Yet the existence of the Breathing Method meant that whenever his injuries were about to worsen, all he had to do was take a whiff of a Red-Gold Pill to recover instantly and hold on a little longer.

But now, his Red-Gold Pills were nearly depleted, with none left to sniff. Yet under his observation, the shattered tendons, bones, and meridians within him were actually slowly repairing themselves.

Naturally, the recovery speed could not compare with the rate of destruction, but it was still several times faster than the human body's natural healing ability! Xu Xiaoshou immediately realized that this was the effect of Endless Vitality.

So this newly appeared passive skill accelerated the recovery of his injuries? It was truly charcoal in the snow!

Xu Xiaoshou did not hesitate. After twenty consecutive draws, he still had twenty thousand Passive Value left, so he casually exchanged it for five skill points and added them directly to this passive skill.

"Endless Vitality (Acquired Lv.6)."

Almost visibly, Xu Xiaoshou felt refreshed and invigorated as surging life force welled up inside him, instantly restoring nearly half his injuries.

"Just as I thought!" Xu Xiaoshou's face was full of astonishment. This was a godly skill! He exchanged for another five skill points and boldly went all in.

"Endless Vitality (Innate Lv.1)."

A dense force of vitality spread out in invisible ripples, causing the staff member nearby, who had been constantly sneaking glances at Xu Xiaoshou, to suddenly feel energized.

He gave a start and immediately dared not peek anymore. Yet he felt as though he had limitless energy, and all at once, he missed home terribly.

If even an outsider was affected like this, Xu Xiaoshou needed no mention. His mouth hung open as he stared inward at the state of his body in shock.

The destructive speed of the Emberlight Fire Seed had actually been forcibly matched by Endless Vitality. The two were locked in a stalemate, evenly matched.

"This..."

Xu Xiaoshou went blank. This recovery speed was a little too terrifying, wasn't it? The Emberlight Fire Seed had consumed nearly two bottles of Red-Gold Pills—close to ten pills—in only half a day.

And Endless Vitality's recovery speed could match it. Didn't that mean he would no longer need to take Red-Gold Pills for similar injuries in the future? How many resources would that save him!

Then the staff member beside him, still unable to curb his curiosity, watched in shock as Xu Xiaoshou pulled out the Ninth-Grade Spirit Sword from his ring and viciously slashed across his own palm.

Pfft! Blood sprayed everywhere, and the staff member felt like his whole world had gone wrong.

Randomly shaking his head, inexplicably fainting, and now he had started mutilating himself? Was Xu Xiaoshou really sick in the head?! But Xu Xiaoshou had no mind to care about any of that. He watched the wound cutting across his palm lines heal at an astonishing speed. In no time at all, it was completely restored.

Not even a scar remained!

"Holy shit..."

Xu Xiaoshou finally could not help swearing. The recovery power of Innate-level Endless Vitality was actually much faster than Red-Gold Pills.

Tap, tap, tap! Footsteps sounded in the distance. Xu Xiaoshou looked over and saw that the previous staff member had returned.

He held ten bottles of pills in his arms, his face full of disbelief. Following Xu Xiaoshou's instructions, he had really gotten Red-Gold Pills from Elder Xiao—ten bottles of them. It was like a dream.

The key was that this entire batch of pills had been given away for free!

Xu Xiaoshou immediately grinned. "You got them? Ten bottles?"

The staff member seemed to wake from a dream and nodded woodenly.

Xu Xiaoshou said, "Feel good? Talking to the Spirit Law Pavilion's chief elder like that—was it the highlight of your life?"

The staff member nodded like a pounding garlic pestle.

"Feeling good is right, but there's something even better!" Xu Xiaoshou waved grandly. "They're all yours!"

Staff member: ???

"No, no, no! These are yours. I absolutely can't take them!"

He had still come to his senses. Though he had no idea what madness had taken Xu Xiaoshou, he had professional ethics and would never accept a bribe.

Xu Xiaoshou said cheerfully, "It's fine. I want to give them to you, so take them!"

The staff member kept shaking his head.

"You really don't want them?"

"Mhm, mhm!"

Xu Xiaoshou took the ten bottles of pills and beckoned to the other staff member, whose face was full of envy. "Come here, I'll give them all to you!"

Staff member A: "..."

Staff member B: "..."

The two fell silent. They exchanged a glance and both saw restraint and a faint longing in the other's eyes.

Xu Xiaoshou held back a laugh. "Relax, it's just the two of you here. Split them up, and nobody will see!"

The two shook their heads.

Xu Xiaoshou could not hold back anymore. "I'm so happy, and you just have to ruin the mood?"

"Two bottles each. This is not up for discussion!"

The staff members still wanted to shake their heads, but Xu Xiaoshou drew Hidden Pain and, with a clang, drove the sword into the ground.

"Are you taking them or not?!"

"We'll take them!"

"Now that's more like it!"

In the end, four bottles out of the ten were secretly given away.

There was no helping it. These fellows were far too timid. They would not even take free gifts unless he threatened them with a sword. Fortunately, coercion and temptation worked hand in hand, and Xu Xiaoshou finally managed to share his happiness.

After all, these were Red-Gold Pills—healing medicine that was sometimes impossible to obtain even if one begged for it. Thus, the two staff members were happy to break the rules just once.

Of course, under normal circumstances, they were both extremely upright. Xu Xiaoshou's sword could testify to that.

As dusk approached, the final thirty-two had finally been decided. By convention, the top sixteen would be chosen today.

Xu Xiaoshou had barely finished giving away the pills and savoring his delight when he heard the referee call his name. He immediately left the waiting area and headed for the arena.

The glow of the setting sun fell over him, stretching his departing shadow long and longer.

Each of the two staff members held a bottle of Red-Gold Pills in one hand, feeling that this figure covered in golden scales possessed an unprecedented allure.

"I never imagined Xu Xiaoshou was this kind of person."

"Mhm, mhm!"

"Generous, handsome, unconventional."

"Mhm, mhm!"

"Although he goes crazy sometimes, that only makes him rather adorable."

"Mhm, mhm!"

"I... bleurgh!"

"Mhm, mhm—hm?"