Chapter 264: Imperial Guard, Fu Yin Hong

Xu Xiaoshou remained silent for a long time.

The dark-faced young man finally let out a sigh, awkwardly retracting the move he was about to execute, "Qianye Liu, Ba Jian Shi, Hei Luo Zhan."

Damn it, who told you to make a move like that?

This was my whetstone!

I haven't even tested my sword techniques, or my physical body...

I finally encountered a grandmaster expert, and I wanted to see what my own combat strength is like. Is that not allowed?!

But A Jie's palm strike had indeed broadened his horizons.

Truly, if your physical body can reach that level, who needs all those flashy fighting styles?

One palm to cure all defiance!

Could he ever reach that level himself?

Xu Xiaoshou looked at the passive value below his status bar and hesitated.

This isn't a question of whether it's possible—it's not even a question at all!

Simply put, once you pile up those passive values, all enemies become insignificant!

"Passive skills... they're truly overpowered..."

He stowed away his Zang Ku sword and sheath into his ring, then stopped overthinking. Xu Xiaoshou stepped forward, took the unused array disk from Li Qi's hand, pulled it out of the ring, and effortlessly set it ablaze with a flame.

A Jie's clothes had already been shredded.

Even with just a light palm strike, the terrifying recoil force had utterly destroyed the ordinary fabric, leaving only a few rags hanging on his body. It looked rather... ahem, indecent and unrefined!

Fortunately, Xu Xiaoshou had come prepared.

From his Yuan Fu space, he took out the remaining one-nine-hundred-ninety-ninth of a set of clothes and helped A Jie put it on, then picked up the straw hat from the ground.

This straw hat was also cracked...

Xu Xiaoshou replaced it with a new one and put it on him, then grumbled a bit, "Didn't I tell you to just watch the fight? Wouldn't it be nice to sit back and enjoy us battling it out? Why did you have to get involved?"

"Mama!"

At the word "fight," A Jie instantly got excited, his eyes turning even redder as he eagerly prepared to join in.

Xu Xiaoshou jumped in fright. "Don't you dare act up! Killing one person wasn't enough for you? I don't want to fight you!"

"Mama..."

After soothing the puppet child again, Xu Xiaoshou let out a low sigh and cleaned up the scene.

This Li surname assassin had probably only recently entered the Tianxiang Jing, but he was clearly more seasoned than Zhang Xin Xiong.

Yet, even someone like him seemed helpless against Xu Xiaoshou.

Perhaps the assassin had more tricks up his sleeve, but with just his grandmaster-level body, Xu Xiaoshou was already in an unbeatable position.

Add to that his own versatile attack methods, and the balance tipped heavily in his favor. Honestly, at this point, initial-stage Tianxiang Jing experts felt a bit underwhelming to him.

"Tianxiang Jing, Yin Yang Jing, Xing Si Jing..."

"I wouldn't dare dream of Yin Yang Jing, but in the Tianxiang Jing right now, I might be an invincible existence!"

Xu Xiaoshou clenched his fist, his expression growing excited.

Even though this battle ended abruptly, with his initial Xiantian cultivation, he could already hold his own against a grandmaster—this far exceeded everyone's expectations.

In the past, Xu Xiaoshou wouldn't have even dared to imagine this. Back then, gaining a grandmaster body would have meant he could at most take on a Ling Jing expert!

"Let's go, time to get some food."

He called to A Jie, and they headed back into the tavern.

The soundproof barrier had lost its controller and vanished instantly, and even the illusion array over Hei Jie Street faded away amid the confused looks of the crowd.

Xu Xiaoshou didn't bother with any of that anymore.

He sat back down in the tavern, and the shop owner was still in the back kitchen, cooking the meat without having come out yet.

Of course, he'd heard the explosion, but did he dare show his face?

"Boss, hurry up! I'm starving!" Xu Xiaoshou shouted.

The shop owner finally emerged, carrying the plates, but when he saw that only the two straw-hatted figures remained, his steps faltered.

The black-clothed man... was gone...

After that explosion, he didn't need to ask where the assassin had ended up.

But how was that possible?

The young man in front of him, who sounded no older than his twenties, how could he have taken down that black-clothed killer?

Though the owner was just an ordinary person, living in a major city like Tiansang Jun, he could still pick up on things like Xiantian or grandmaster levels.

He shakily set the plates on the table. Seeing the owner's legs trembling, Xu Xiaoshou couldn't help but smile.

He lifted his straw hat, revealing a row of white teeth. "Don't be afraid, I'm a good person."

The owner was stunned by that bright smile. He took a deep breath.

I believe you, my ass—even the black-clothed killer is dead because of you, and you're a good person?

But facing this young man, he felt much better than with the black-clothed assassin. At least, he didn't have that intimidating aura.

Unconsciously, the owner's nerves steadied a bit.

"The takeout portions too, make them quick!"

Xu Xiaoshou smiled and pulled out a Ling Jing. "Is this enough?"

"Enough, more than enough!" the owner replied nervously.

Clink! Clink!

Two more Ling Jing hit the table, nearly making the owner's heart leap out of his chest. He wasn't worried about the young man skipping out on the bill—he was afraid of him overpaying!

"This one's a tip, and this one..."

Xu Xiaoshou looked up at the sky and said slowly, "You'll find out soon enough. Go on!"

He waved his hand with an air of authority that brooked no argument. The owner didn't even dare refuse; he just grabbed the Ling Jing and retreated with trembling hands.

The braised beef with sauce was ready, and Xu Xiaoshou got up to wash his hands before tearing into it with his fingers, soon having oil dripping from his mouth.

"Smack smack."

"Delicious!"

If he could, he'd have killed the man and left immediately, but...

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Dozens of guards in black-and-red armor landed with a clang, led by a woman with short red hair.

She was the only one without a helmet, wielding a knight's long sword, exuding a heroic and aggressive presence.

"Don't let a single one escape!"

With her sharp command, the dozens of guards behind her snapped to attention.

"Yes!"

In a flash, the black-and-red figures vanished and reappeared, surrounding the crowd on Hei Jie Street.

Just as the woman had said, not a single one got away.

Xu Xiaoshou watched this unfold, his eyes narrowing as he thought to himself that something was off.

This military response was way too fast. Weren't they supposed to show up late and handle the aftermath?

What the hell is going on? Now he couldn't even leave if he wanted to!

If A Jie hadn't stepped in, could this fight have been stopped by them altogether?

Xu Xiaoshou was startled; he'd been careless. This scenario wasn't entirely impossible—it was actually quite likely.

He quietly noted it down in his mental ledger.

"Fights that can be ended with one slap—don't waste time talking."

The red-haired woman sheathed her sword and strode up to Xu Xiaoshou, her narrow eyes narrowing as if waiting for him to finish eating.

After a long pause.

"Smack smack."

"Cursed, passive value +1."

The woman's eyebrows shot up in annoyance. "Forbidden Guard Army, Fu Yin Hong!"

"Smack smack."

Fu Yin Hong was completely baffled. Is this guy insane? The Forbidden Guard Army is here, and he's still eating?

"Cursed, passive value +1."

Suddenly, an alarming thought crossed her mind, and her cold demeanor softened.

"Deaf?"