Happiness Overload

"Xu Xiaoshou won?"

"Xu Xiaoshou won!"

The battle ended, and the barrier fell.

The thunderous cheers from the stands gave Xu Xiaoshou a fright. He turned his head and looked—good heavens, when had so many people arrived?

Were all the outer court disciples of Cloud-Emerging Platform here? Many of the junior brothers and sisters inside were crying with snot and tears streaming down their faces. Xu Xiaoshou had no idea what they were crying about and could only assume they had lost their minds.

"Suspected, Passive Value, +324."

"Admired, Passive Value, +1125."

Xu Xiaoshou casually glanced over the information panel and was so startled he nearly dropped to his knees.

What was going on? He could understand the earlier wave of suspicion. After all, Xu Xiaoshou was at the Fifth Realm, yet he had taken the group-stage championship. Criticism was only natural.

Although Liu Zhen and Zhou Zuo had also been on the platform, anyone with eyes could tell they were merely two freeloading contestants. Naturally, he was the champion.

But this "admired" afterward...

Wasn't that a little too mysterious?

This seemed to be its first appearance? And then...

A thousand Passive Value points??? Xu Xiaoshou was dumbstruck!

This fellow, who only wanted to take a few more beatings and earn a few more Passive Value points, clearly had not realized that he had become the man everyone saw as unyielding through countless setbacks, relentlessly self-improving, finally turning the tables with a sliver of health and claiming glorious victory!

After all, in the eyes of those who came later, he had been nothing more than a living punching bag, getting battered and kicked around.

Those people were simply beasts! How could they hit so hard? Look at Xu Xiaoshou's face—one patch black, another purple...

Hm? Why were his injuries so light? The expressionless referee walked over carrying a tray. "Congratulations, Xu Xiaoshou!"

The prize lay on the tray. It was a ring, and nothing else.

Xu Xiaoshou raised a brow. A spatial ring?

That was a fine treasure. Even if he sold his courtyard along with the Black Sword, he still would not be able to afford one.

He picked up the ring, pointed at the referee's trembling hand, and said sincerely, "Thank you, but there's no need to get excited for me."

At those words, the referee's hand holding the tray trembled even more violently.

Was I excited? This was rage suppressed beneath the weight of the tray!

Throughout the entire battle, aside from stealing a few kills, he had practically had no sense of participation whatsoever. It had left him utterly despairing.

He had wanted to fulfill his duties diligently and conscientiously, only to be forced into occupying a post without doing any work, accomplishing nothing at all.

This Xu Xiaoshou had thoroughly deceived him. Only after the battle ended had he realized that this bastard was actually an Innate Body Refiner! So that was where those two earlier bursts of innate might had come from. Who would have thought it really was him! The referee suppressed the surging turmoil in his heart and waved an arm indifferently. "Keep it up!"

With that, he turned and left.

Xu Xiaoshou found it strange, but he returned the gesture and called after his retreating back, "I'll work hard!"

The referee's hand jerked, and the tray nearly flew away.

"Hey, my sword!" Xu Xiaoshou shouted from behind.

The referee lunged forward and caught the tray, then tossed the sword from his back over without looking back.

Xu Xiaoshou frowned at his departing figure and could not help muttering, "What a strange guy!"

"Xu Xiaoshou!"

"Xu Xiaoshou!"

The people in the stands shouted one after another. At first, the girls had been screaming, but later, the people beside them were embarrassed into joining after being glared at.

Xu Xiaoshou felt rather awkward. He had no idea what these people were going crazy over, but since they were shouting his name so excitedly, he waved to them.

"Sit down. No need to be polite."

Rao Yinyin stood up and stretched, tugging her red skirt back into place after the little loli had pulled it all the way up to her thighs. Teasingly, she said, "You can go find your little beast brother now!"

Su Qianqian smiled, two dimples appearing on her face. "No need. As long as little beast brother hasn't left the Spirit Palace, that's already the best thing!"

"Look how excited the girls around you are. What if your little beast brother gets snatched away?"

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Su Qianqian's face reddened. "I never had that kind of thought."

"Oh? Is that so?"

"I'm ignoring you!"

Su Qianqian jumped down from her chair, her head bumping right into Rao Yinyin's chest. Twin flushes flew across her cheeks again. She lowered her head, picked up her greatsword, hoisted it over her shoulder, and ran away.

"Tsk, tsk, so adorable..."

Xu Xiaoshou had naturally noticed the two of them. To be honest, there were not many innate auras in the arena. His innate physique was inconspicuous, but that did not mean others' innate auras were inconspicuous too.

At the very least, that ethereal temperament was unlike those girls calling his name as though their hearts were being torn apart.

"Su Qianqian...?"

"It's been a long time..."

He was staring in the direction the little girl had run when the woman in the red skirt walking behind suddenly looked back, blinked, and smiled.

"Flirted with, Passive Value, +1."

Xu Xiaoshou's heart had been fluttering one second ago, but the next second, seeing that message, he nearly spat blood.

Damn it, some things were best left unspoken when everyone understood them. Why did it have to poke them out into the open! Dog system! The people had gone, leaving the building empty.

They were all Spirit Refiners. Even if they had only been fans for a second, they would not do anything out of line.

Well, at least not openly...

Just as Xu Xiaoshou was about to leave, Elder Qiao flashed into view before him.

"You brat, you managed to turn things around even after getting beaten into that state. You've got some skill!"

"Elder Qiao?"

Elder Qiao's face darkened. "So you didn't notice me at all, did you? You were too busy looking at those two girls?"

"Hehe!" Xu Xiaoshou said as he walked, "What are you talking about? Weren't you the first one to come over?!"

"Of course I was!"

Xu Xiaoshou breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, he had guessed right and had promptly turned his questioning tone into an exclamatory one, so he had not been found out.

"When did you cultivate an innate physique? You even kept it from me?" Elder Qiao pressed.

Hm? You still dared to ask me?

Xu Xiaoshou immediately grew indignant. "Didn't I tell you last time that I'd become innate? You didn't believe me?"

Last time?

Elder Qiao suddenly recalled their meeting at the Spirit Affairs Pavilion and smiled awkwardly. "At that time... only a ghost would have believed you!"

Seeing Xu Xiaoshou about to flare up, he hurriedly pulled out a bottle of pills and stuffed it into his arms. "You're injured, right?"

"Here, take it. Go back and recuperate properly. We'll meet again later!" With that, he directly ran off.

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

Was that necessary? I only complained a little. It wasn't like I was going to eat you!

He looked at the pills Elder Qiao had given him, warmth rising in his heart...

Hm? Elder Qiao, pills...

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly began to tremble.

Xu Xiaoshou returned to his room. After washing up, he lay down on the soft bed that had already been thoroughly cleaned, and a wave of comfort washed over him.

Though he had expected it, truly taking the group-stage championship and achieving his first great accomplishment in three years still felt like a dream.

All he could say was that Innate-level Sturdiness was terrifying indeed! Under such attacks, his former self would not have lasted even a breath; now, he had only suffered a few superficial injuries. Tendons and bones damaged? That did not exist, all right?

As for the bruises and swollen face, a single round of cultivation would basically heal them.

After considering the pills Elder Qiao had given him, he did not dare use them again.

Taking out the Champion Ring, Xu Xiaoshou dripped blood onto it to claim it as his own. When he saw the space inside, roughly the size of half a house, he liked it immensely.

There was not much inside. Its value lay entirely in the ring itself—only a hundred Spirit Crystals and a bottle of pills.

Xu Xiaoshou took out the pills and inspected them.

Spirit Refining Pills...

His heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly put them away, along with some miscellaneous belongings of his own.

The feeling of having a little portable space was simply incomparably wonderful.

He did not have the habit of wearing rings, so he threaded it onto a string and wore it as a necklace.

This was the first championship of his bitter life. It carried great commemorative meaning and had to be treasured carefully.

He lay on the bed and shifted into another position, making himself even more comfortable.

Now then, the main event had arrived...

After that heaven-pitying battle of being beaten senselessly, how much Passive Value would he reap? Aside from sneaking a few glances early on, he had restrained himself throughout the whole battle, doing his utmost to ignore the number below, all to wait for this moment! Xu Xiaoshou's heart pounded wildly as he looked toward the very bottom of the information panel within the red interface in his mind.

A blast of happiness exploded in his mind. Xu Xiaoshou only felt his brain buzz, then go completely blank.

His fingers cramped as he counted unconsciously. "One, two, three..."

"Five, five digits!"

Passive Value: 17660.