"Actually, I'm Not That Afraid of Pain."

It was precisely because this trait was the most widespread and recognizable that the devil cultivators' proverb, famed throughout the martial world, came to be.

"Once you set foot on Treading the Immortal Path, first slay your parents, then kill your sons!"

Perhaps when you first obtained this trait, you had no such thoughts at all. But this trait would plant a devil cultivator's seed in your mind. As the days ahead grew harder and harder, one particularly fierce argument might make your blood rush to your head.

One impulsive slash.

Three Spirit Stones appearing out of thin air would make your eyes redden, having never seen so much wealth before. You would begin panting heavily, and then afterward—

Congratulations, you had become a devil cultivator.

Alone beneath heaven and earth, the world was vast.

"To be honest, this Treading the Immortal Path trait suits you pretty well."

Chen Qiu turned to Fat Dragon beside him and teased, "You've got that Never Misses trait. As long as you find ten thousand girls, ten months later you'll have ten thousand direct blood relatives. That's thirty thousand Spirit Stones."

"..."

Fat Dragon remained expressionless and silent for a long while before saying hoarsely, "Brother Qiu, if I search my conscience, my moral bottom line might indeed not be very high, but I'm not that much of a beast, am I?"

"Is that even fucking human?"

"Even if you're a beast, you ought to have some bottom line, right?"

Chen Qiu could not help laughing. He said nothing further, merely shaking his head. At last, he understood why some traits were devil cultivator traits. He believed that when most people obtained this trait, their first thought would be that they would absolutely never use it.

But... life was long.

Seeds would always have a day when they sprouted, until one day you suddenly realized that it was nothing more than a little wind and frost. Then, with a single thought, heaven and earth became vast.

Just then—

Several fireworks burst high in the sky. Immediately afterward, a middle-aged man with a slightly ashen face climbed onto the stage. He was completely naked, wearing nothing, and held a slender short sword in his hand.

Without any opening remarks, he merely let out a savage roar. Like a judge's gavel striking the desk, it instantly silenced the venue. He stood where he was, gasping heavily without stop.

Several breaths passed, yet he still did not bring down the blade.

No one below the stage urged him on. Many people had even begun to twist their faces slightly, brows tightly furrowed as they leaned against their chair backs. Before the blade had even fallen, they already felt a sympathetic ache.

There were quite a few female cultivators present, but unlike mortal women, they were not coy in the least. They watched boldly, their faces full of curious realization.

"Strength of Nine Oxen."

It was not a particularly common White Trait, but many people had still heard of it. After all, White Traits were the most commonly acquired traits. With such a large base, many White Traits naturally became familiar to the ear.

Yet this should have been the first time most cultivators had seen what someone with the Strength of Nine Oxen trait looked like.

"Roar!!!"

Finally—

After several dozen breaths, the middle-aged man onstage roared, murderous intent rising from him as he gripped the sharp blade. Under everyone's gaze, he grabbed one and stabbed straight down.

"Pfft!"

A great deal of blood gushed out. Spiritual energy swiftly surged toward the wound, temporarily stopping the injury.

After inspecting his body internally, the middle-aged man onstage abruptly waved his right hand. A panel formed from spiritual energy appeared above his head.

"Trait Name": Person Below the Stage.

"Trait Grade": White.

"Trait Effect": When you are within a crowd, your sense of presence is greatly reduced.

When the trait panel appeared, many people below the stage applauded. It was not that the trait was particularly good; it was simply that this was truly lively.

Many people here were disciples of major sects in their daily lives as well.

They had seen no shortage of the world.

It was not as though they had never seen someone possess a Pink Trait, but this was their first time seeing someone gamble on traits. How should they put it? It was a little exciting. They hoped he would get a good trait, yet also hoped he would not get a good trait.

Seeing such entertainment for one Spirit Stone was truly a bargain.

It felt like watching people gamble on raw stones.

"Second cut!!!"

The middle-aged man onstage clenched his teeth and howled as he raised the short sword again. Though no one here knew him, he was still the head of a Foundation Establishment Lineage. Now, standing naked on a high platform for others to watch, pain, humiliation, and the fear of drawing a devil cultivator trait all mixed together within him.

His emotions were incomparably complicated.

But he knew Attendant Liu was right. If he wished to enjoy blessings that ordinary people could not, he had to endure suffering that ordinary people could not. He had built himself up from nothing too. What was face worth? A worthless trifle.

He had merely developed some baggage after being a clan head for so long. Back in the day, forget standing naked—so long as the Spirit Stones were enough, he would have gone onstage to perform a live erotic show!

"Riiip!"

Another stab went down.

"Trait Name": Alchemy Aptitude.

"Trait Grade": White.

"Trait Effect": Your success rate when refining pills will increase slightly.

"Fellow cultivator, impressive!!!"

"Refreshing!"

"Why am I so worked up watching this? I'm even more nervous than when I broke through to Foundation Establishment and got to choose one trait!"

The atmosphere below the stage grew better and better. Many people excitedly clapped and cheered. These sect disciples normally stayed in their own sects. If not for the secret realm appearing in Windward City, they would hardly have had any opportunity to leave. This entertainment before them had them utterly thrilled.

The airs they had deliberately put on after arriving in a mortal city instantly collapsed, and they returned to their true natures.

Third cut!

Fourth cut!

Fifth cut!

As cut after cut fell, the atmosphere grew more and more heated. Even Fat Dragon could not resist laughing and loudly cheering. He was perhaps the one who felt it most keenly, after all—he truly had nine of them.

Watching this middle-aged man gamble on traits now felt as though he himself were personally in the fray. It was especially satisfying to watch.

However—

Just as the sixth cut stabbed down.

The middle-aged man onstage suddenly froze in place, his face filled with shock, as though he had drawn some incredible trait. Several breaths later, a panel slowly surfaced above his head.

"Trait Name": Strength of Nine Oxen.

"Trait Grade": White.

"Trait Effect": Possess nine oxen.

"..."

"..."

The crowd below the stage, who had just been excitedly cheering, suddenly stood there in synchronized bewilderment with complicated expressions. The middle-aged man onstage had originally cut off six, leaving only three, but after drawing this trait—

He was replenished back to nine.

Everyone present had learned another hidden rule concerning traits: when you possessed several oxen and drew the "Strength of Nine Oxen" trait, it would not give you nine more. Instead, it would replenish you to nine.

"..."

The middle-aged man standing onstage turned blankly toward Attendant Liu below the platform, uncertain how to proceed. Could the same trait appear twice in one drawing?

Was this a good thing or a bad thing?

It seemed he could get several more traits now.

"It can work like that?"

Chen Qiu looked strangely at the middle-aged man onstage. Honestly, even he was tempted. If his luck was especially good and he could draw the "Strength of Nine Oxen" trait every time, could he not keep going forever like a perpetual motion machine?

And his greatest trump card at present was—

"Self-Destruct Trait"!

This trait allowed him to unleash a full-force strike far beyond an entire major realm.

There was one very important question.

This trait was merely a White Trait. He did not know how many kinds of White Traits there were, but if a person constantly had chances to draw White Traits, then there was certainly no small chance of drawing this White Trait.

By then... that person would not merely be earning a few Spirit Stones.

The atmosphere instantly turned heavy, but soon everyone began cheering excitedly again. The more he cut, the more times he could gamble, and the more enjoyable the spectacle would be for them.

Continue!

He had nine again, so start over from the first cut!

Second cut!

Third cut!

Until the eighth cut!

"Strength of Nine Oxen" appeared once again!

He was replenished to nine again. Only the fourteen bloody chunks of flesh scattered across the platform proved that an exceptionally bloody disaster had once occurred here.

"..."

"..."

The people below the stage stopped speaking. The smiles on everyone's faces gradually faded as they expressionlessly watched the middle-aged man onstage grow increasingly practiced at cutting off his own oxen.

First cut, second cut, third cut!

Until the fourth cut—

"Trait Name": Self-Destruct Trait.

"Trait Grade": White.

"Trait Effect": You may self-destruct any one trait, thereby unleashing a full-force strike one major realm above your current cultivation.

—

When this panel appeared above the man's head, no one below the stage spoke at all.

Everyone stood there in expressionless silence.

The middle-aged man onstage stood dumbly for a long time before realizing what had happened. With an excited expression, he jumped up and roared, then cut off all his remaining oxen in one go. After leaving himself one, he packed up every ox that had fallen to the ground and picked them all up.

With a somewhat crazed expression, he looked at everyone and shouted excitedly, then ran wildly off the stage.

He tightly hugged Attendant Liu, who stood below the stage still frozen and not yet recovered, and cried out with hysterical excitement, so worked up that his words became incoherent. "Attendant Liu!!! The Wang Family is truly blessed to have you! From now on, your treatment in the Wang Family will be on the same level as mine!!"

"From this day forward, you and I will share glory and riches together!!!"

"Refreshing! Cutting oxen is fucking refreshing!!"

"Happy, so fucking happy!"

The stage fell silent, while below the stage erupted with excitement.

The stage erupted with excitement, while below the stage fell silent.

See?

Human joys and sorrows truly were not the same. The emotions above and below the stage could never align.

And so this show came to an end.

After sitting in silence for a long time, the people below the stage almost unanimously took out their transmission talismans and spread what had happened in Windward City today to the sects and factions behind them. They needed to reassess the value of the two traits, "Strength of Nine Oxen" and "Self-Severing Root."

If nothing unexpected happened.

The price of the "Self-Severing Root" trait would likely begin skyrocketing in the future.

They could no longer remember how many traits that man onstage had, but one thing was certain: from another perspective, this man already counted as someone in the Golden Core Realm. Moreover, he had advanced into the Golden Core Realm right before everyone's eyes.

The Foundation Establishment Lineage behind him could now be renamed a half-step Golden Core Lineage.

Calling it a Golden Core Lineage might be a little forced, but among all Foundation Establishment Lineages, it was certainly the strongest.

"Brother Qiu."

After similarly remaining silent for a long time, Fat Dragon finally murmured, "I suddenly regret it."

"Actually... I'm not that afraid of pain."