This Guy Was Too Devious!

With a thunderous crash, both men actually retreated a step!

Shi Lei was inwardly horrified. Forcing himself to endure the numbness in the web of his hand, he stared fixedly at Chun Xiaobai.

This brat was so strong!

Moreover, he had not sensed the slightest fluctuation of spiritual power from his sword. Chun Xiaobai had forced him back through physical strength alone!

Chun Xiaobai, however, was not surprised in the least.

If this ranked big shot at the eighth level of Qi Refining had no tricks up his sleeve, how could he have stood out among five hundred thousand Outer Sect disciples and placed eightieth?

Only when the crowd saw that Chun Xiaobai had not launched a sneak attack did they breathe a sigh of relief, their eyes widening as they watched the fight.

In the crowd, the worry in Bai Jin'er's eyes had already turned entirely to curiosity.

This guy clearly hadn't truly entered the Qi Refining Stage yet. How could he be so formidable?

She had seen it with her own eyes: Chun Xiaobai had forced Shi Lei back with a single sword strike!

It was simply unbelievable!

The corners of Chun Xiaobai's mouth slowly lifted into a broad grin.

"Not bad. You're worthy of being this Great King's opponent!"

Seeing his casual expression, alarm bells rang in Shi Lei's mind. He knew he absolutely could not let his guard down.

This guy really did have some ability. Swordsmanship aside, that strength alone was beyond what an ordinary person could possess.

He immediately raised his guard, his gaze locked firmly on the sword in Chun Xiaobai's hand.

Then, the very next second-

Chun Xiaobai bellowed again, "Watch my sword!"

Before his voice faded, he strode forward, abruptly switching from a two-handed grip to holding the sword in his left hand alone, and thrust at Shi Lei's chest from an exceedingly tricky angle!

Shi Lei immediately circulated his spiritual power and flicked his sword upward.

This time, however, he did not feel the tremendous force he had anticipated. Instead, he used too much strength and knocked the sword straight out of Chun Xiaobai's hand.

The momentum even tipped his body's center of gravity to the left!

Yet that slight tilt exposed an opening before him, and a fierce gust shot through it, straight at his face!

"Oh no!"

A fist the size of a clay pot landed squarely on his left eye!

Thump!

He was knocked several meters backward.

Seizing the opportunity, Chun Xiaobai pounced like a ravenous tiger, closing right in on his face as he shouted.

"Watch my sword!"

Enduring the intense pain, Shi Lei raised his eyes. What was in that sword-wielding hand?

Another fist the size of a clay pot!

Thump!

This punch slammed solidly into his right eye socket!

The guy truly lived up to his standing on the ranking; even his physique was extraordinary.

The punch merely left him seeing stars.

Shi Lei instinctively raised his sword to block Chun Xiaobai's line of attack. Squinting, he realized the guy was already right in his face, leaving him no room to wield his sword!

By now, how could he fail to understand? This guy had been bluffing from the start, drawing his attention for the sole purpose of finding an opportunity to close in.

Shi Lei could only retreat in panic, trying to put some distance between them. But Chun Xiaobai's fists seemed to have grown onto his face, punching his left eye, then his right!

He was beaten until his vision went black, leaving him completely dazed!

Seeing that the guy had been rendered completely blind, Chun Xiaobai acted.

He immediately swept Shi Lei's legs out from under him, dropping him to the ground. Then, like Mount Tai bearing down, he planted himself firmly on Shi Lei's stomach and unleashed a furious barrage of punches at his head!

"Watch my sword! Watch my sword! Watch my sword!"

"You..."

Whether from the beating or sheer fury, Shi Lei suddenly jerked all four limbs, went limp, and stopped moving.

Grinning broadly, Chun Xiaobai stood up off him and cupped his hands toward the surrounding crowd.

"Thanks for letting me win! Thanks for letting me win!"

Uh!!!

Everyone around them stood petrified.

"Th-this guy cheated!"

Someone among the spectators shouted, instantly breaking the deathly silence outside the Cave Abode.

A light breeze swept across Chun Xiaobai's grinning face, and his expression darkened.

"Who the fuck said this Great King cheated? Get out here!"

"You! It was you!" He pointed at an indignant female disciple.

"I took him down bare-handed while facing his swordsmanship! And you're saying I cheated?"

"Is there no justice left? No law? You're all bullying an honest man here, huh?"

His shout sounded so deeply aggrieved that even the female disciple felt a little guilty, as though she really had wronged an innocent man.

"Ahem... wasn't this supposed to be a sword match... how could you use your fists?" someone muttered quietly in the crowd.

"Fuck you!" Chun Xiaobai's face twitched violently with anger. "Which sect rule says I can't use my fists and have to use a sword?"

"Uh..."

The man looked embarrassed.

Well... there really was no explicit rule against it.

But... he'd come to spar with you in swordsmanship.

All his attention was on your swordsmanship, and you suddenly abandoned your sword for your fists. Wasn't that a complete lack of martial honor?

In the crowd, Zhao Wuyuan and Cheng Haoxuan looked livid. They realized this man was a scoundrel through and through!

It was supposed to be a contest of swordsmanship, yet he had used his swordsmanship as a smokescreen to draw his opponent's attention, then suddenly caught him off guard with his fists!

How was that any different from distracting people with "The Sect Master is here!" and then striking a dirty blow behind their backs?

Chun Xiaobai did not care what they thought at all.

Rubbing his hands together, he grinned again and walked over to the still somewhat dazed Bai Jin'er. He snatched up the two Storage Bags and hefted them vigorously in his hand.

"I'm rich!"

Grind! Grind!

Seeing his miserly expression, Shi Lei's young admirers nearly ground their teeth to pieces.

"Oh, right."

Chun Xiaobai waved the Storage Bags in his hand and called to the crowd.

"Anyone else want to challenge me? If you win, the Cave Abode behind me and all of these will be yours!"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone unanimously took a large step backward.

This guy was too devious!

He didn't play by the usual rules at all!

He was so fucking shameless!

Who would dare challenge him?

Seeing that not one person around him had any backbone, Chun Xiaobai curled his lip, then slapped the Cave Abode's Formation Talisman into Bai Jin'er's hand.

"Little Bai, open the door for this Great King!"

Feeling the strange looks from those around her, Bai Jin'er flushed and quickly turned her face away. She sent a strand of divine sense into the Formation Talisman, opened the Cave Abode's defensive array, and hurriedly handed the talisman back.

Then Chun Xiaobai waved his hand grandly. "Come on, fatty! Come inside and have a couple of drinks with this Great King!"

"Coming!" Fang Yuan rubbed his hands together and eagerly scurried after Chun Xiaobai.

"Little Bai, keep up!" Seeing Bai Jin'er still standing frozen in place, Chun Xiaobai glanced back at her.

"You!"

Bai Jin'er stamped her foot in anger.

That troublemaker!

Great. From now on, it'd be hard not to become famous in the Outer Sect!

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Congratulations on rising to eightieth place on the Outer Sect Disciple Genius Ranking!"

The moment Fang Yuan stepped through the door, he began his practiced flattery.

Hearing the words "Great King," Bai Jin'er abruptly halted. Her gaze shifted from Fang Yuan's corpulent frame to Chun Xiaobai.

Th-this guy really was a bandit?

Originally, she had not believed such an arrogant, overbearing bandit could exist in this world.

But... even "Great King" rolled off his tongue so smoothly. Had this guy brought all his mountain bandit king routines into the sect?

Chun Xiaobai waved a hand nonchalantly. "What's eightieth place worth? In a few days, when this Great King feels like it, I'll take first place for you to see!"

"Excellent!"

Clap, clap, clap! Fang Yuan applauded vigorously, making his fat belly jiggle, every inch the devoted fanboy.

Hmm???

Chun Xiaobai suddenly realized that one cheer was missing.

He turned to look and found the young woman still standing dumbly in the doorway, her large, watery eyes staring straight at him.

"Little Bai, what's wrong? Have you been bewitched by this Great King's majestic aura?"

Chun Xiaobai stroked his chin narcissistically.

"Pah!"

Bai Jin'er rolled her eyes at him and could not help saying, "The senior brother ranked first on the Genius Ranking entered the Foundation Establishment Realm long ago. He's nothing like a Qi Refining Stage disciple!"

"It's only the Foundation Establishment Realm!" Chun Xiaobai curled his lip disdainfully. "Once this Great King cultivates for a few more days, I'll knock him down just the same!"

Then he gave another instruction. "Oh, right. If you two have nothing to do, go get this Great King a list of the top eighty disciples on the Genius Disciple Ranking."

"Huh???"

Fang Yuan froze. "Great King, are you really going to climb the ranking?"

Chun Xiaobai did not hesitate. With a wave of his hand, he took twenty cultivation manuals straight out of his Storage Bag.

He had looted all of these from Cheng Haoxuan. He had one problem: the mere sight of a book made his head ache. So he lavishly slapped them into Fang Yuan's hands.

"These are this Great King's rewards for you. Take them and divide them up!"

Fang Yuan looked down and saw the titles written on the pages: "Gale Sword Art," "Phantom Steps," "Stone-Shattering Fist"...

Th-these were all top-grade yellow tier cultivation techniques!

They were all treasured holdings from the second floor of the Merit Transmission Hall!

Even the cheapest one cost five hundred contribution points to exchange for!

"Thank you, Great King! Thank you, Great King!" Fang Yuan thanked him repeatedly in excitement. Seeing Bai Jin'er still standing in a daze nearby, he hurriedly tugged her sleeve.

"Junior Sister Bai, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and thank the Great King!"