Chapter 15: The Fourth Person in the Barrier

"The match is over!"

With a wave of the referee's hand, the first round was declared a win for Xu Xiaoshou. Then, he saw this guy rush off the arena even faster than Di Xin'er.

The referee was baffled: "What are you doing?"

"Ah?"

Xu Xiaoshou turned back in surprise: "Resting, of course. Isn't there half an incense stick's time for competitors to recover?"

This was his first time in the elimination rounds, but he'd watched for two years and knew the rules perfectly.

The referee was speechless. He had never hosted a tournament with a participant like this.

Who just sits on the arena to recover gracefully, or waves a hand to start the next round? But you? You have to run off?

He had finally seen this kid act somewhat normal during the match, but as soon as it ended, his true colors showed.

"Why go out? Can't you recover here?" the referee asked.

"It's stuffy in here!"

"This rundown place is covered in a barrier. There's nothing but air and you, so of course I want to get out."

Xu Xiaoshou said it as if it were the most obvious thing, but since the referee had spoken, he couldn't just ignore him: "Want to come along?"

The referee: "......"

That's not what I meant at all!

In the void above, Xiao Qixiu had a smile tugging at his lips. He had noticed Xu Xiaoshou too.

To be precise, this guy was still under his close watch, not just because of his Xiantian fleshly body, but more importantly, because he had seen Xu Xiaoshou's sword techniques.

Others might be distracted by his quirky behavior, but Xiao Qixiu, observing from outside, could see that those two sword strikes were anything but simple.

"Has he practiced 'Baiyun Jianfa'?"

"Is it because of that, or is what he said that day actually true?"

After leaving Xu Xiaoshou's courtyard that day, he and Elder Qiao hadn't found that sword cultivator.

Someone who had just comprehended Houtian Sword Intent couldn't perfectly conceal their aura, yet they couldn't find him no matter what!

Could Xu Xiaoshou really be that sword cultivator?

Xiao Qixiu thought his idea was ridiculous. If others couldn't hide their aura, could Xu Xiaoshou pull off such a deception right in front of a proper sword cultivator like him?

Absolutely impossible!

His gaze shifted to the other arenas, and sure enough, the other two youngsters had almost simultaneously knocked their opponents off the stage.

Xiao Qixiu pulled out a piece of paper and noted: "Mo Mo, Chao Qingteng, three wins in a row."

As soon as Xu Xiaoshou stepped out of the barrier, he heard that remark and was stunned.

That was way too fast—how did they fight?

But it made sense; only those two could move at such speed.

The top two from last year's Fengyun List, both Xiantian!

Soon, he pushed those thoughts aside and scanned the spectator seats, trying to spot Su Qianqian and her friend who had watched him that day.

Hmm, no luck.

Because his own audience was overwhelming, with people enthusiastically waving at him.

"Xu Xiaoshou, go for it!"

"Xu Xiaoshou, over here! I'm right here!"

"The wooden sword—it's this one, please notice me!"

"Xu Xiaoshou, I love you! Ahhh, he looked over, ahh I'm dying!"

Xu Xiaoshou gave up searching; it wasn't a big deal anyway. He cheerfully waved back in thanks, and his passive value panel was filling up with notifications.

"Received encouragement, passive value +89."

"Received praise, passive value +94."

"Received confession, passive value +66."

A confession?

Xu Xiaoshou's mind jolted. What on earth had slipped in here?

He thought this crowd was even crazier than at the start and swore he heard something about a wooden sword.

Xu Xiaoshou drew his wooden sword and pointed it at the spectator seats.

"You mean this?"

His casual tone, combined with his already decent looks and the now more robust body from his "strengthening" modifications, made the female disciples in the audience go wild when he spoke.

"Received confession, passive value +99."

"Received confession, passive value +164."

"Received confession, passive value +323."

"Received curse, passive value +2."

Damn!

Have they all lost their minds?

Xu Xiaoshou clapped his hands over his ears, nearly scared into retreating back into the barrier.

Hold steady, I can win this!

I have to withstand this assault of passive values—I can do it!

"Xu Xiaoshou, time's up!"

The referee's timely call saved him, and Xu Xiaoshou bolted back into the barrier, where peace finally returned.

The light screen flickered and stabilized as the referee announced his next opponent:

"Liu Zhen!"

On the Yuntai Stage, Liu Zhen, who was also covering his ears, was completely confused. What...?

Zhou Zuo walked over from the side; he had forfeited his last two matches. Seeing this scene, he burst out laughing.

"Liu Shixiong, go for it! Drop the weights, and while you're at it, teach that guy a lesson for Elder Wen. He had it coming, daring to flirt with Di Shijie."

Liu Zhen silently stepped onto the arena. Xu Xiaoshou chuckled: "It's you!"

"Enemies always cross paths. Perfect, you're a fist fighter, right?"

"I love fighting fist fighters..."

As he spoke, he noticed Liu Zhen's silent expression and felt a twinge of unease. Was this guy thinking of forfeiting?

"Fearing battle before it starts is a major taboo; fleeing without fighting..."

Liu Zhen's face darkened as he interrupted: "I'm not forfeiting."

"Good, that's good!"

"You're a real man! Straightforward!"

Liu Zhen: "......"

He always felt that all of Xu Xiaoshou's outward pretenses were deliberately hiding his strength, and the facts kept proving that everyone had been fooled.

From the moment he emerged from seclusion, he wasn't at the fifth realm. All those bold claims that intimidated everyone were true.

Otherwise, how could this kid have climbed to the peak of the sixth realm in such a short time?

And his Xiantian fleshly body—others might not see it, but it couldn't fool Liu Zhen!

And that sword technique just now...

And...

Xu Xiaoshou stared blankly at his information panel:

"Received suspicion, passive value +1."

"Received suspicion, passive value +1."

"Received suspicion, passive value +1."

"......"

The notifications kept refreshing, leaving him totally baffled.

What was going on?

The referee?

Liu Zhen?

No way...

Was there a fourth person in this barrier?

Xu Xiaoshou's pupils shrank. In broad daylight, don't scare me like that!

"Referee, I suspect something unclean has snuck into the barrier. Check it out quick!" Xu Xiaoshou shouted.

The referee rubbed his forehead. Great, this guy's at it again. How long had he been quiet?

Xu Xiaoshou was almost in tears; the notifications wouldn't stop, but he couldn't reveal that he had an information panel.

"It's real, you have to believe me!"

"There's definitely a fourth person in here... or maybe not even a person!" Xu Xiaoshou lunged forward.

The referee's face turned black: "Get into position, competitor. Stop hugging my leg. Go back and meditate!"

"Go back!"

Liu Zhen sighed deeply.

Keep acting, just keep acting!

Did you really think I'm one of those ordinary fools who can't see through your disguise?

He shook out his hands, his eyes falling on the black sandbags on his forearms. This guy is truly unfathomable. It seems I have to reveal some of my own cards!

Thud! Thud!

The black sandbags on his hands, feet, and abdomen all came off, slamming into the arena and denting the ground.

Liu Zhen's cultivation aura surged: seventh realm, eighth realm, ninth realm...

Tenth realm!

Peak of Lianling!

Both the referee and Xu Xiaoshou turned in shock; they were both stunned. This guy was playing possum?

Liu Zhen saw the shock in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes and smirked coldly.

"Xu Xiaoshou, drop the act. I'll give it my all to defeat you!"

"Your tricks... won't work on me!"