Xu Xiaoshou, Hold On!

High above in the void, Xiao Qixiu, who had been watching No. 12 Arena all along, smiled faintly.

The quality of this year's outer court disciples was rather high. This was already the third Innate Stage cultivator he had discovered.

And this one was an Innate Body Refiner, exceedingly difficult to detect—simply too rare! If not for the faint Innate power appearing twice in succession, even he would have been fooled by this youth called Xu Xiaoshou.

This kid truly had a... well, bizarre talent.

On the arena.

A whole group of people had their reason stirred away by Xu Xiaoshou's words.

A mere Spirit Refining Fifth Realm cultivator dared to spout such wild nonsense. Even if your physical body was incomparably powerful, could you possibly be an Innate Body Refiner? "I can't take it anymore! This guy is just begging for a beating!"

"Looks like one person can't satisfy him. In that case, everyone, join forces and throw this weakling off the arena first!"

"Brothers, get him!"

Forty or fifty people pounced at once. Some raised their fists, some wielded blades, while others lurked in hiding, ready to strike from the shadows with underhanded tricks...

Seeing the killing intent rushing straight at him, Xu Xiaoshou's liver trembled. Forty or fifty steaming black faces were genuinely a little terrifying.

But he still charged forward with iron in his bones, roaring to bolster his courage, "If you're men, use your fists! The one holding the blade—if you've got the guts, put it down!"

Bang! Bang!

The scene exploded in an instant. Xu Xiaoshou was swallowed by the tide at once, making Su Qianqian in the audience so nervous that her slender hand clutched tightly at Rao Yinyin's jade thigh, and the already-short red skirt there.

"Quite bold, aren't you?" Rao Yinyin watched the brawl and laughed sweetly.

Attacked, Passive Value, +14.

Attacked, Passive Value, +16.

...

The information panel began refreshing rapidly again. The moment Xu Xiaoshou rushed into the crowd, he used his body to withstand countless fists, then punched the blade-wielder straight down and kicked him off the arena.

No blades. No swords. No daggers either...

Damn it, there's even someone using silver needles?

Clear them all out!

On my arena, we can only fight to the death with our fists! I could take a thousand punches, a hundred punches, but if I got slashed by a spiritual weapon—even a spiritual weapon without a grade—my Innate physique would still bleed.

So you're destined to leave!

As Xu Xiaoshou cleared the field, he also spread out the battlefield. At the same time, he kept adjusting his posture so that he could receive even more fists at once.

A person's surface area was extremely limited. Even if forty or fifty people charged over, no more than ten could hit you at the same time.

But Xu Xiaoshou was different. Whenever fists came down, he flopped, darted about, hung in the air, exhausting every possible method to make sure every single person got a chance to take care of him.

The only thing he needed to watch out for was protecting his vital areas from injury.

Attacked, Passive Value, +11.

Attacked, Passive Value, +22.

Attacked, Passive Value, +33.

In his mind, the single-instance Passive Value on the information panel kept rising, starting from the teens and gradually climbing into the twenties, then the thirties...

Xu Xiaoshou's technique grew ever more masterful, and by now, this group of attackers was becoming more and more excited as they fought.

Clearly, they could not even see that arrogant brat, yet for some reason, whenever they casually threw a punch, it always struck that brat's lousy face.

This feeling of fist meeting flesh was so damn satisfying!

So fucking satisfying!

Could it be that I was actually this powerful?

Some people fought and fought until they even closed their eyes, feeling as though they had entered enlightenment, incomparably attuned to the Great Dao at this moment.

This was... the feeling of the Innate Stage!

Mom, I broke through! The referee was dumbfounded. What a brutal sight this was!

He watched the youth who had just spoken so insolently, his originally somewhat handsome face deforming again and again beneath the heavy fists of his besiegers.

His caved-in abdomen, bent forearms, even his rigidly stretched toes—every moment, they suffered incomparably terrifying torment.

Yes, even Xu Xiaoshou's shoes had been knocked off. Spreading his toes like this could increase the surface area of the human body.

The referee stared in astonishment. "Did these guys take drugs? Why did they suddenly become so fierce?"

Look at that third-realm guy. What was he doing? He had closed his eyes?

Damn...

Wasn't that punch swung at empty air? How had it struck Xu Xiaoshou's shoulder by such a coincidence?

And that second-realm one...

Huh? How had he held on until now without leaving the arena? My heavens!

He had nearly gone out at just the right moment, only to be hooked back by Xu Xiaoshou's mistaken kick.

How was that possible?! The referee was breaking down! The longer Xu Xiaoshou fought, the stranger it became. Why were there fewer people?

He had clearly been trying his utmost to keep them here, yet even so, their numbers had gradually fallen from over sixty to over forty.

Suddenly, he spotted several figures hidden deep within the crowd, specifically targeting those who had closed their eyes to comprehend the Dao. The moment anyone shut their eyes, they were bound to be knocked off the arena.

"Damn it, they're cutting down my Passive Value!"

Xu Xiaoshou secretly adjusted his posture and slowly approached these malignant tumors, knocking them away one by one.

These righteous arena contestants, under Xu Xiaoshou's distorted fighting style, were instead the first to be unable to hold on.

Every one of them was left dazed after leaving the arena, not even knowing how they had gotten out.

In the audience, the young girl Su Qianqian had already covered her eyes, too afraid to watch. Even Rao Yinyin felt that the scene was somewhat excessive.

The battle was no longer a tangled mass as it had been at the start. Instead, it gradually spread out, forming a great net.

The attackers positioned at every point of the net barely needed to move. They only needed to knock Xu Xiaoshou flying and wait for someone else to send him back over.

And the "pitiful" Xu Xiaoshou was like a sandbag, twisting and turning through the web of attacks, assailed from both front and back.

The referee felt that he needed to intervene. Though he also thought Xu Xiaoshou was extremely punchable and wanted to go up and add two punches himself, he was a cold and impartial referee. He had to enforce the rules calmly.

Just as he was about to step in and call a halt, he suddenly caught sight of "sandbag" Xu Xiaoshou's expression.

What kind of twisted expression was that?!

His bared teeth and grimace revealed enjoyment; beneath his bruised, swollen face appeared comfort. His brows danced and his face glowed, as though he had drifted into immortality.

It simply...

Did not look like he was being attacked at all. Rather, it looked like he was receiving a massage?

Listening carefully, the referee discovered that this "sandbag" was constantly grinning and shouting beneath the rain of fists:

"Wonderful!"

"Got the guts to hit a little harder?"

"Faster! Best if you can hit a thousand times in one second!"

"Damn it, you can't kick there..."

The referee: "..."

He silently lowered the hand he had raised to stop the violence and decided not to say another word.

Perhaps he did not need me...

Dong—

Another ancient bell rang out from the heavens, cleansing the heart. Xiao Qixiu's voice followed, "There is one incense stick's time remaining until the group matches end!"

Those words were directed at No. 12 Arena; this rule had been made on the spot.

Because the battles in the other seventeen arenas had long since ended.

The fighting methods in the other arenas were simple, following ancient practice. The true big shots meditated, the lesser big shots cleared the field, and the remaining dozen or so dissatisfied people simply dueled one another before it ended.

Only No. 12 Arena presented a scene so magnificent—and so tragic.

Those who had come down from the other arenas had originally intended to return and rest properly. Instead, they had now filled every seat in No. 12 Arena's audience stands.

One by one, they widened their eyes at this utterly tragic sight.

"What the fuck is going on here?"

"Have the people in No. 12 Arena gone insane?"

"They're simply not treating people like people! This style of fighting is too beastly!"

"Exactly. A group beating is one thing, but this is ridiculous. At least leave him some dignity—don't hit his face..."

"Mm-hm, they're from the same Spirit Palace. They'll still have to see each other day after day. Tsk, tsk!"

The weak were always more likely to arouse the sympathy of onlookers. Some female disciples could no longer bear to watch. With tears falling like pear blossoms in the rain, they cheered Xu Xiaoshou on:

"Damn it... ah, not you... Xu Xiaoshou, keep it up!"

"Xu Xiaoshou, hold on!"

"Xu Xiaoshou, you're the fattest!"

Once the cheers began, they spread like a spark setting the prairie ablaze, instantly resounding throughout the audience.

The outside spectators who did not know what was going on all stood up for Xu Xiaoshou. While cheering him on, they glared angrily at the people who had just been beaten down from No. 12 Arena.

These people who had "voluntarily left the arena" felt utterly wronged. Had you even seen the truth before daring to talk? Why don't you go up there and try?

In the arena.

Hearing that there was still one incense stick's time left, Xu Xiaoshou immediately stopped pretending.

He had long since led everyone to the edge of the arena while fighting. Though this group appeared to be attacking madly, they were actually completely restrained by him.

It was like the Eight Trigrams of Tai Chi: once the momentum took shape, not even the attackers themselves could stop.

Xu Xiaoshou leaped and pulled toward the outside of the arena. Like moths flying into flame, everyone flew out one after another, staring in shock as their own bodies leaped beyond the arena.

In an instant, the entire scene fell silent.

"My heavens!"

"What happened?"

The audience exploded. Was No. 12 Arena cursed? If they fought, they fought until heaven and earth turned dark; if they jumped, they went with an "if you jump, I jump" routine? Had the cheers frightened them so badly that their shame became unbearable?

On the arena.

After Xu Xiaoshou's wave of maneuvers, excluding the referee, only four people remained.

He forcibly pulled back the tall man who had first attacked him. His name seemed to be Qiu Wei? "There's still half an incense stick's time left. After thinking it over, your output is the strongest. Let's fight another round!" Xu Xiaoshou said sincerely.

This guy's Hundred-Step Beast King Fist was worth fifty elite soldiers by himself!

Qiu Wei's face turned pale upon hearing this. He looked around and found himself utterly alone.

An indescribable exhaustion surged into his heart. He dry-heaved, then jumped straight off the arena.

Xu Xiaoshou: "???"

Even the referee could not bear to watch any longer. He waved a hand at the proper moment. "The match is over!"

Off to one side.

Liu Zhen let out a deep breath. Watching Xu Xiaoshou, who killed both body and soul, he said with slight relief, "I told you waiting and seeing would be right. We're in the top ten..."

Zhou Zuo swallowed hard, left with nothing but overwhelming shock.

"Brother Liu,"

"It's the top three!"

Please bookmark, please vote...