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"Startled, Passive Value +1."

Xu Xiaoshou sprang up and looked around, only to find himself in the waiting area. Covering his face, he looked at the staff member aggrievedly. "Why did you hit me?"

The staff member wore an innocent expression as three huge question marks slowly appeared over his face.

Xu Xiaoshou looked at his hand. Huh, no pill bottle?

"It's time for your match!" the staff member said coldly.

Only then did Xu Xiaoshou distinguish reality from his dream. Embarrassed, he walked out of the waiting area.

"Go, Xu Xiaoshou!"

"Hang in there, Xu Xiaoshou!"

"Champion, Xu Xiaoshou!"

The moment he stepped outside, the audience's cheers gave him a fright. Xu Xiaoshou glanced over and saw that nearly the entire crowd was on its feet, celebrating wildly.

He froze. People had cheered for him before, sure, but there had also been plenty of boos. Why was everyone being so supportive today?

They obviously hadn't slept well either...

What he did not know was that, after consecutively defeating seventh-ranked Wen Chong and fourth-ranked Zhou Tianshen over the past few days, relying on Acquired Sword Intent and his Innate physical body, he had already become a favorite to win the championship.

"Encouraged, Passive Value +442."

"Cheered for, Passive Value +665."

"..."

More messages flooded his mind. Xu Xiaoshou waved cheerfully as he strolled leisurely toward the arena.

"Passive Value: 44820."

"Passive Value: 45611."

"Passive Value: 46002."

Xu Xiaoshou was smiling so hard his eyes nearly disappeared. Though refining the Emberlight Fire Seed last night had been agonizing, during its final few hours, it had shone brilliantly, generously contributing nearly twenty thousand Passive Value.

And now, his Passive Value was still soaring without end.

"Xu Xiaoshou, walk faster!"

Xiao Qixiu's exasperated voice reached him. Xu Xiaoshou immediately quickened his pace and entered the barrier. In an instant, his ears were free of noise.

He roughly understood why the Wind and Cloud Tournament had set up barriers.

Across from him stood a particularly pretty girl. She wore a pale yellow dress, her hair was not fluffy, and she had a pair of phoenix eyes. Holding a bone-soft whip, she snapped it against the ground with a crack at every step, brimming with energy.

Li Cen Jing, tenth level of Spirit Refinement.

Xu Xiaoshou was about to open his mouth as usual, but the little girl beat him to it. With a sly look on her face, she said, "To fear before battle is a great taboo against an enemy; to flee without fighting..."

"Mm, what came after that again..."

"Forget it."

Li Cen Jing coiled her bone-soft whip around her hand and smacked her forehead. "Xu Xiaoshou, I watched your matches. You're amazing!"

"Can you give me an autograph later?"

"Admired, Passive Value +1."

Xu Xiaoshou scratched his head sheepishly. He had not expected to find a fan among his opponents. He hurriedly swallowed the mockery that had nearly slipped out and nodded in agreement.

Li Cen Jing's little face immediately lit up with delight, and she giggled.

Xiao Qixiu waved expressionlessly. "Match start!"

To show his magnanimity, Xu Xiaoshou gestured for her to make the first move. To his surprise, Li Cen Jing raised both hands and blinked her large eyes.

"I concede!"

Xu Xiaoshou's face darkened. You stole my line just now, and then immediately conceded? What kind of fan are you? Don't you know I need Passive Value most of all?

Seeing his expression change, Li Cen Jing hurriedly explained, "Zhang Fu is still lying in the Spirit Medicine Pavilion. He can't even fight in the ranking matches. I'm not fighting you—I want to fight in the rankings!"

"Match over, Xu Xiaoshou wins!"

Xiao Qixiu had not even finished his mouthful of water before hurriedly raising his hand again.

The audience immediately began murmuring among themselves. They had not expected that, even at the round of sixteen to eight, someone would still give up a match. Wasn't that the same as giving up the rewards ahead?

"How boring. Why didn't she fight properly? I wanted to see Xu Xiaoshou show what he could do!"

"I think Li Cen Jing was very wise. She's only at the tenth level—there's no way she can beat seventh-level Xu Xiaoshou. Saving her strength for the ranking matches afterward is a good choice."

"Pfft, listen to the nonsense you're spouting..."

After conceding, Li Cen Jing trotted up to Xu Xiaoshou in tiny steps and excitedly handed him a spirit brush. "Autograph!"

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

Hoo! Hold it in, she's a fan! "Where should I sign?" Xu Xiaoshou asked gently.

Li Cen Jing generously held out her hand, her fingers slender and jade-like, palm facing upward. "Here!"

Seemingly intentionally yet not quite, she glanced toward the audience. The stands appeared to be in an uproar, but the two of them could not hear a thing inside the barrier.

Outside, a woman seated in the front row roared madly, "Li Cen Jing, stop right there! Xu Xiaoshou is mine!"

"Bleh bleh bleh!"

Li Cen Jing secretly made a face at her close friend, looking smug.

Hmph, serves you right for not cultivating properly. Now look at you—can only stand below the stage and envy me.

Xu Xiaoshou was not shy either. He grabbed her hand; it was soft and warm.

He scribbled out the autograph in a few swift strokes, then said, "Don't concede to anyone you meet in the future, okay? It's a huge loss."

"Oh, oh, it's not a loss."

Li Cen Jing was, after all, only a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl in the bloom of youth. Having her hand held in full view of everyone, no matter how thick-skinned she usually was, she could not help blushing now.

The tingling itch in her hand made her want to pull away, but she forcibly endured it and gave a faint, mosquito-soft reply. "Thank you!"

The moment the autograph was finished, the little girl turned and fled as though escaping. Xu Xiaoshou immediately called after her, "Hey, your spirit brush..."

Without looking back, the little girl replied, "It's for you!"

Xu Xiaoshou glanced at Xiao Qixiu. That middle-aged old man kept shaking his head, his eyes full of memories and emotion. He did not even urge Xu Xiaoshou to leave.

Xu Xiaoshou could only put the spirit brush into the ring around his neck.

The girl in the front row outside went mad when she saw this. With bloodshot eyes, she charged at Li Cen Jing, who had just stepped off the arena. Even the staff failed to stop her in time.

"Li Cen Jing, today is your day of death!"

"Take my flying kick from beyond the heavens!"

"Don't! Look at that—are you still going to kick?"

"Wuwuwu, I'm so jealous! Chop off that hand and give it to me!"

Xu Xiaoshou walked out of the barrier, glanced at the notification panel, and inexplicably felt dizzy.

"Despised, Passive Value +333."

"Despised, Passive Value +333."

What was going on? Sure, he had won without shedding a drop of blood, but shouldn't winning a match bring encouragement and praise? What was wrong with everyone? They had been cheering before he went onstage, yet in the blink of an eye, they disliked him? Heh, humanity!

Xu Xiaoshou forced a grin and waved at everyone, trying to salvage the situation.

"Despised, Passive Value +886."

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

Waiting area.

Xu Xiaoshou squatted on the resting chair. The atmosphere outside was so lively that he could not sleep even if he wanted to.

At this point in the tournament, he had successfully entered the top eight.

According to the schedule, he still had another match to fight today. If he won, he could compete for tomorrow's championship.

Would I win the championship...?

Xu Xiaoshou actually had no confidence.

If he had not encountered Zhou Tianshen yesterday, perhaps he would have believed he could take the championship. But even Zhou Tianshen, at the peak of the Acquired realm, had possessed such formidable combat power—who knew how strong those Innates would be?

Xu Xiaoshou shook the cup in his hand, slightly lost in thought.

Innate was actually a general term.

It encompassed the three realms of Origin Court, Dwelling Void, and Upper Spirit.

After the tenth level of Spirit Refinement, a spirit cultivator comprehended the Heavenly Dao and opened an Origin Court within the Purple Palace. If successful, they could awaken Innate attribute power. That was Innate.

As for what Innate attribute power might be, it could only be said that it came in all manner of strange forms, varying from person to person.

It could be one of the five elements, or it could be an artistic conception—like Chao Qingteng's One Sword Ice River, or Zhou Tianshen's Blade Breaks the Innate...

This was what Xu Xiaoshou feared.

Though his passive skills could already be used as Innate spirit techniques, they did indeed have limitations.

At the very least, he had no Innate attribute power. That alone meant he lacked a massive safeguard compared to those true championship favorites.

Xu Xiaoshou looked into his sea of qi and could not help smiling bitterly.

The spiritual energy there was crimson-black, filled with a scorching aura. It was the result of his desperate efforts last night, but compared with true Innate attribute power, it was still half a step short.

"Alas!"

Xu Xiaoshou sighed helplessly. He had originally planned to fight his way to the championship throne using the strength he already possessed, but it seemed that was not very realistic.

He turned his attention back to his mind.

"Passive Value: 48226."