Chapter 27: Xu Da the Swindler

Chuyun Tai, the main arena.

“Xu Xiaoshou!”

“Zhou Tianchan!”

Under the setting sun, two tall figures stepped onto the stage. Zhou Tianchan's waiting area was not far from Xu Xiaoshou's, and as soon as they emerged, the two locked eyes.

Xu Xiaoshou saw the knife on his opponent's back, taller than a person, along with his fiercely determined gaze, and nodded in satisfaction.

It seemed he wouldn't give up easily.

After all, this was the round of thirty-two advancing to sixteen—how could anyone pass up such an opportunity?

Zhou Tianchan was strikingly handsome by nature, with a dashing appearance and a diligent mastery of Ba Dao techniques, which added a touch of fierce youthfulness. This drew screams from the female disciples in the audience.

On the arena, he lightly planted his broad, human-height golden Ba Dao into the ground, crossed his hands over the hilt, and slightly lifted his chin.

“Houtian Jianyi, Xiantian Rourou…”

“Xu Xiaoshou, I, Zhou Tianchan, admit that you're very strong!”

“In this outer courtyard, you're good enough to rank just below me, at fifth on the Fengyun Bang!”

The audience erupted in an uproar, with many impressed by his commanding presence.

Zhou Tianchan's words carried an air of unshakable conviction, and paired with his strength as fourth on the Fengyun Bang, it was truly imposing.

Xu Xiaoshou smiled lightly, as if unbothered.

For the first time, after stepping onto the stage, he was being challenged instead of having to provoke others—this felt refreshingly new.

Before he could speak, Zhou Tianchan continued, “However, my goal this time is the top spot.”

“So, you can only submit under my blade!”

With that, he drew his golden Ba Dao, pointing it at Xu Xiaoshou as an overwhelming wave of blade intent surged forth.

Crack, crack!

The blade intent raged wildly, shattering the nearby arenas into pieces.

“Houtian Daoyi?!”

The audience was instantly stunned, with looks of disbelief on everyone's faces.

“When did Zhou Tianchan master Houtian Daoyi? Oh my god!”

“From the way he controls it so effortlessly, it's been more than a year. Xu Xiaoshou's in trouble now.”

“With this blade intent, he could go toe-to-toe with Xiantian. I thought he was just boasting about aiming for first place, but now, it might actually happen…”

Xiao Qixiu was equally shocked. This guy had been hiding his true strength all along—neither the group stages nor the preliminary rounds had forced it out of him?

If his opponent hadn't been Xu Xiaoshou, he might have held back his Houtian Daoyi until the finals?

Xu Xiaoshou's easygoing smile froze for a moment. What the hell was this?

Houtian Daoyi?

And so perfectly controlled?

He thought about how just unleashing one move of “Baiyun Youyou” would drain his spiritual energy dry, and compared it to his opponent…

There was no comparison at all!

Still, he couldn't show weakness. Xu Xiaoshou smirked and said, “Zhou Shidi, don't let the wind flap your tongue.”

Zhou Tianchan's fierce blade intent faltered slightly, and the audience burst into laughter, doubling over.

“Ha ha ha, isn't Xu Xiaoshou one of the oldest in the outer courtyard?”

“What do you mean 'one of'? He's basically the only one left. Anyone senior to him has entered the inner courtyard, and anyone weaker couldn't even make it to the advancement rounds!”

“Oh yeah, so isn't Xu Xiaoshou basically the senior brother?”

“Theoretically, yes, but he's been in the outer courtyard for three years, keeping a low profile the whole time, and almost got kicked out of Ling Gong…”

“Now, out of nowhere, he's exploded onto the scene like a dark horse. It's like he's been possessed or something!”

“Ha ha, you're hilarious—possessed?!”

“Thinking about it, even strong ones like Mo Mo and Zhao Qingteng are like kids compared to him… Ha ha, I can't take it anymore. Look at Zhou Tianchan—his face is turning black!”

Zhou Tianchan's face did darken, and his blade intent grew even stronger. Xiao Qixiu saw the atmosphere reach a boiling point and waved his hand.

“The match begins!”

“Wait!” Zhou Tianchan swung his blade horizontally and spoke calmly, cutting off Xiao Qixiu's momentum.

What kind of competitors were these? Had they all been influenced by Xu Xiaoshou? One after another, so eccentric.

The audience was curious too—what was this guy going to say now? Wasn't he going to fight?

“There's one thing I have to make clear before we start.”

Zhou Tianchan said, “What happened yesterday—Wen Chong's sneak attack on you was shameful, but you, Xu Xiaoshou, shouldn't have taken his life. A light punishment would have sufficed, yet you went too far!”

He pointed his blade at Xu Xiaoshou, his eyes filled with a sense of justice. “In my view, Zhou Tianchan's, you're also a despicable and shameless villain who won't achieve anything great!”

Xu Xiaoshou felt like giving him a cape and retorted disdainfully, “Is this your reason for taunting me before the fight, trying to undermine me morally first?”

Zhou Tianchan was stunned, as if caught off guard. “I'm not trying to undermine you—I'm just stating the facts!”

“Heh, have you even gotten close to the arena? Did you see it clearly?”

Xu Xiaoshou fired back rapidly, “You know nothing, yet you come out spouting nonsense and slinging mud. If I say right now that I did it on purpose, would that give you a righteous excuse to attack me?”

“No, it's not like that!”

Zhou Tianchan panicked, waving his blade-wielding hand frantically, his face flushing red as if he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.

“No need to say more!” Xu Xiaoshou's words hit like a mountain. “I know your next line is going to call me sharp-tongued!”

“No, I wasn't!”

“Heh, you people always stand on the moral high ground to judge others, but you never realize that those so-called righteous words are the real weapons of destruction!”

Zhou Tianchan stepped back repeatedly, his gaze scattered, his blade intent suppressed beyond recognition. He suddenly raised his blade to steady himself, deciding not to speak further.

“What's wrong?” Xu Xiaoshou changed his tone. “When you don't want to talk, you insist on it, and when you do, you can't hold your own. So, if you can't win the argument, you'll just fight?”

Zhou Tianchan stood there with his blade, unsure whether to strike or not, feeling utterly awkward.

On the surface, Xu Xiaoshou remained calm, but inside, he was laughing hysterically. He had figured it out—Zhou Tianchan was the type with a one-track mind.

Full of justice, incredibly passionate, but he only saw the surface of things or got misled and used as a pawn. Foolishly endearing, in a way.

The audience was stunned. Xu Xiaoshou's words not only perfectly addressed yesterday's incident but also left those with ulterior motives speechless and frustrated.

“Wah, Xu Xiaoshou is so pitiful—I misjudged him!”

“That damn Zhou Tianchan, trash! Shameless! A real hypocrite!”

“Holy crap, are you all crazy? Isn't Xu Xiaoshou the one being hypocritical?”

“Damn, how is he so good with words? I almost fell for it. Zhou Tianchan, don't be fooled—pick up your blade and strike!”

In the arena, Xu Xiaoshou saw his opponent hesitating, on the verge of giving up, and realized he might have gone too far. He quickly added:

“Zhou Shidi, while you can't judge everything by appearances, as a qualified Lianling Shi, once you step onto the arena, you must never speak of surrendering.”

“Remember: fearing the fight before it begins is the greatest taboo against an enemy; fleeing without battle is the shame of a Lianling Shi; surrendering outright is a stain on life!”

He flicked his sleeve with an air of elegance, speaking with conviction.

Zhou Tianchan's resolve firmed up in an instant. He gripped his golden Ba Dao, his eyes reigniting with fighting spirit, and bowed. “Xu Shixiong, I've learned from this!”

Xu Xiaoshou nodded slightly, looking like a mentor approving of his student.

Xiao Qixiu: “…”