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

Precisely because this trait was the most widespread and recognizable, demon cultivators had a saying that spread far and wide through the martial world.

"If one day you tread the immortal path, first slay your parents, then kill your children!"

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

A single impulsive slash.

Three Spirit Stones appeared out of thin air. Having never seen so much wealth before, your eyes turned red as you began gasping for breath. And after that...

Congratulations, you had become a demon cultivator.

Alone beneath heaven and earth, all was unbound.

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

Chen Qiu turned his head toward Fat Dragon beside him and teased, "You have 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."

"..."

After remaining expressionless and silent for a long while, Fat Dragon finally rasped, "Brother Qiu, searching my conscience, my moral bottom line might indeed not be very high—but I shouldn't be such a beast, should I?"

"How the hell is that still human?"

"Even a beast needs to have some bottom line, doesn't it?"

Chen Qiu could not help laughing. He said nothing more, merely shook his head. He finally understood why some traits were demon cultivator traits. He believed that when most people acquired such a 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 it was nothing more than a little wind and frost. Then, with one thought, heaven and earth became unbound.

Just then—

Several fireworks blossomed high in the sky. Immediately afterward, a middle-aged man with a slightly pale face climbed onto the stage. He was naked, wearing nothing at all, and held a slender shortsword in his hand.

Without any opening remarks, he merely let out a ferocious roar. Like a judge's gavel striking down, it instantly silenced the venue. He stood there, gasping heavily without pause.

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

No one below the stage urged him on. Quite a few people had even twisted expressions, their brows tightly furrowed as they leaned against their chairs. Before the blade had even fallen, they already felt a faint pain as though they shared his suffering.

There were quite a few female cultivators in attendance, but unlike mortal women, they were not coy or bashful. They watched boldly, their faces brimming with curious expressions of sudden understanding.

"Strength of Nine Oxen."

It was not an especially common White Trait, but many had heard of it. After all, White Traits were the most frequently acquired traits. With such a vast base, many White Traits naturally became familiar to the ear.

But this was likely the first time most cultivators had seen what someone possessing the Strength of Nine Oxen trait looked like.

"Roar!!!"

Finally—

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

"Pfft!"

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

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

"Trait Name": Person Below the Stage.

"Trait Grade": White Trait.

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

When the trait panel appeared, many people below the stage began applauding. It was not that the trait was particularly good—it simply felt truly lively.

Many of those here were usually disciples of major sects themselves.

They had seen plenty 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 for traits. How should they put it? It was a little thrilling. They hoped he would gamble into a good trait, yet also hoped he would not.

Being able to watch such excitement for one Spirit Stone was truly a bargain.

It felt like watching people gamble on raw stones.

"Second blade!!!"

The middle-aged man onstage clenched his teeth and roared as he raised the shortsword again. Though no one here knew him, he was also the head of a Foundation Establishment Lineage. Now, standing naked atop a high platform for others to watch, pain, shame, and a trace of terror at the possibility of drawing a demon cultivator trait churned together within him.

His emotions were incomparably complicated.

But he knew Liu Attendant was right. If one wished to enjoy blessings others could not, one had to endure suffering others could not. He had also built himself up from nothing. What was face worth? It was worthless junk.

He had only developed some baggage after being a family head for too long. Back in the day, let alone standing naked, if the Spirit Stones were sufficient, he could have taken the stage to perform a live spring palace show!

"Rip!"

Another stab went down.

"Trait Name": Alchemy Aptitude.

"Trait Grade": White Trait.

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

"Brother, you've got this!!!"

"Wonderful!"

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

The atmosphere below the stage improved more and more. Many people excitedly applauded and egged him on. These sect disciples usually stayed within their own sects. If not for a secret realm appearing in Windward City, they would hardly have had any chance to leave their sects. This spectacle before them had them tremendously excited.

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

Third blade!

Fourth blade!

Fifth blade!

Blade after blade came down, and the atmosphere grew better and better. Even Fat Dragon could not resist laughing and shouting encouragement. He might have been the one who empathized most deeply—after all, he really did have nine.

Watching this middle-aged man gamble for traits now felt as though he himself were personally in the fight. It was exceptionally satisfying.

However—

Just as the sixth blade stabbed down.

The middle-aged man onstage suddenly froze with a face full of shock, as though he had randomly drawn some extraordinary trait. Several breaths later, a panel slowly appeared above his head.

"Trait Name": Strength of Nine Oxen.

"Trait Grade": White Trait.

"Trait Effect": Possess nine oxen.

"..."

"..."

The crowd below, which had just been excitedly cheering, suddenly stood there in collective bewilderment with complicated expressions. The middle-aged man onstage had originally chopped off six, leaving only three. But after randomly acquiring this trait—

He was restored to nine.

Everyone present had learned another hidden rule regarding traits. When you possessed several oxen and randomly acquired 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 his head blankly toward Liu Attendant below the platform, uncertain how to proceed. Could one encounter the same trait twice in a single round?

Was this a good thing or a bad thing?

It seemed he could obtain several more traits.

"It can work like this?"

Chen Qiu looked strangely at the middle-aged man onstage. To be honest, even he was tempted. If one were especially lucky and could randomly obtain the "Strength of Nine Oxen" trait every time, could one not keep going like a perpetual motion machine?

And his greatest trump card at present was—

"Self-Destruct Trait"!

This trait allowed him to unleash an all-out strike far surpassing a major realm above his own.

One extremely important question was—

This trait was merely a White Trait. He did not know how many kinds of White Traits existed, but if a person constantly had chances to draw White Traits, then there was certainly a considerable chance of drawing this White Trait.

When that happened... that person likely would not merely earn a few Spirit Stones.

The atmosphere instantly became oppressive, but everyone soon began cheering again with renewed excitement. The more he chopped off, the more times he could gamble, and the more enjoyable the spectacle would be for them.

Continue!

There were nine again, so start over from the first blade!

Second blade!

Third blade!

Until the eighth blade!

"Strength of Nine Oxen" appeared once again!

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

"..."

"..."

The people below the stage stopped speaking. The smiles gradually vanished from everyone's faces as they watched expressionlessly while the middle-aged man onstage became increasingly practiced at chopping off his oxen.

First blade, second blade, third blade!

Until the fourth blade—

"Trait Name": Self-Destruct Trait.

"Trait Grade": White Trait.

"Trait Effect": You may self-destruct any one trait, thereby unleashing an all-out strike with cultivation 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 was stunned for a long time before he realized what had happened. With an excited expression, he jumped in place and roared. He chopped off all of his remaining oxen, leaving himself one, before gathering up and packaging all the oxen that had fallen to the ground.

With an almost crazed expression, he looked at everyone and shouted excitedly before sprinting off the stage.

He tightly embraced Liu Attendant below the stage, who was still standing there in a daze and had yet to react. In hysterical excitement, he babbled incoherently, "Liu Attendant!!! The Wang Family is blessed to have you! From now on, your treatment in the Wang Family will be at the same level as mine!!"

"From now on, the two of us will share wealth and glory together!!!"

"Wonderful! Chopping oxen is so fucking wonderful!!"

"Happy, so fucking happy!"

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

The stage erupted in 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 there in silence for a long time, everyone below the stage almost simultaneously took Voice-Transmission Talismans from their robes and spread word of what had happened in Windward City today to the sects and forces behind them. They needed to reassess the value of the "Strength of Nine Oxen" and "Self-Severing Root" traits.

If nothing unexpected happened—

The price of the "Self-Severing Root" trait would probably begin soaring madly in the future.

They could no longer remember how many traits the man onstage possessed, but one thing was certain: from another perspective, this man already counted as someone in the Golden Core Realm, and he had advanced into the Golden Core Realm in full view of everyone.

The Foundation Establishment Lineage behind him could already be changed into 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 definitely the strongest.

"Brother Qiu."

Fat Dragon likewise remained silent for a long while before murmuring, "I suddenly regret it."

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