Chapter 285: Instant Active Skill

The surging waves of lingqi energy pounded against every corner of the room, bounced back, and surged out once more.

The air carried a trace of intricate and profound aura—that of enlightenment in the Tian Dao.

Xu Xiaoshou lay sprawled on the ground like a dead fish, his hands pressed tightly against the sides of his clamped thighs, his body straight as a board.

Only at the knees did his legs splay open, making him look like a twitching mermaid.

“Breakthrough?”

Even without checking his qi hai, Xu Xiaoshou knew that the shackles of the mid-Yuan Ting Jing had been forcefully shattered by his Yuan Ting Dan.

His “Breathing Method,” even at the Houtian level, had absorbed the effects of Lianling Dan at over a hundred times the rate of an ordinary person.

Even geniuses couldn't match one-tenth of Xu Xiaoshou's absorption efficiency when it came to pills.

Now, with a single Yuan Ting Dan and his Xiantian-level “Breathing Method,” he almost felt like he had been reborn on the day he emerged from seclusion in the outer court.

It was practically no different from the first time he had absorbed a pill!

“But I’ve already trained so well inside Tianxuan Men...”

Xu Xiaoshou wanted to cry but had no tears. Still, he realized that as a seventh-grade pill, the Yuan Ting Dan was naturally far superior to the ninth-grade Lianling Dan.

What a pity—his carefully maintained cultivation progress had once again been disrupted by an accident.

Sure enough, the world was full of uncertainties.

He had been thinking of lying low for a while... but then, the gap between the initial and mid stages didn't seem that big, right?

Xu Xiaoshou probed his qi hai and was somewhat surprised.

Honestly, the gap was pretty significant.

It had taken him even longer to cultivate from the initial stage to the peak than it had from Lianling Three Realms to breaking through to Xiantian.

The required lingqi was just as substantial.

But now that he had broken through to the mid stage, his qi hai had expanded by more than double.

Not only that, the solidification of his ling yuan had been greatly reinforced.

If he used ling techniques now, his combat power could almost double!

“No wonder those guys push themselves so hard to cultivate and break through realms—that's the strongest and fastest way to grow.”

“Too bad, this path isn't for me.”

If one day Xu Xiaoshou could awaken something like “Ling Technique Mastery” or “Comprehension,” he might truly become a all-rounded prodigy!

For now, though, it clearly wasn't a good fit.

He set aside thoughts of his realm for the moment.

As for consolidating his cultivation or anything like that, Xu Xiaoshou wouldn't bother—his “Breathing Method” could handle it.

He turned his focus back to the red interface in his Yuan Fu.

“Passive points: 82,020.”

A moment of silent reflection.

“Impulsive.”

His original plan was for a ten-draw, but with no stock available, he went into a frenzy and spent an extra 50,000 passive points—Xu Xiaoshou almost couldn't believe it himself.

These things went so fast; one draw and a digit was gone.

But truthfully, he wasn't too upset.

Mainly because being upset wouldn't help.

“At least it paid off...”

If it hadn't, Xu Xiaoshou didn't know if he would have kept going and spent the remaining 80,000 in one go.

He was grateful to have gotten a passive skill that complemented his abilities and made him even stronger.

But that wasn't enough!

If it was just adding one Xiantian-level passive skill, the idea was nice, but in actual combat, it might not make much difference.

Xu Xiaoshou's gaze shifted back and forth over the dozen or so major passive skills before settling on one.

“Countershock (Xiantian Lv.1).”

This was a god-tier skill!

Compared to undeveloped passives like “Sharpness,” this one stood alone, playing a massive role in battle.

As long as an enemy got close, they would absolutely be caught off guard by “Countershock”—theoretically, at least, and that's how it worked in practice.

Xu Xiaoshou had never seen anyone who could stay calm after hitting him; they all looked like they'd eaten something disgusting.

It was utterly revolting!

He didn't deny that the skill was revolting, but he appreciated its power even more.

Now that he had “Toughness,” he naturally wanted to upgrade this passive skill.

That way, maybe after an enemy hit him, it wouldn't just be disgusting—they might get shaken so hard they'd lose control entirely.

Without hesitation, Xu Xiaoshou threw ten skill points into it.

“Countershock (Zongshi Lv.1).”

His chest cavity rumbled violently, and Xu Xiaoshou felt an endless surge of power, like the strength of ancient divine beasts flowing through his plain and unadorned body.

He felt like he could punch straight through the heavens!

“Wait!”

A flash of insight hit him, and Xu Xiaoshou's eyes widened.

“Punch through the heavens?”

It had been impossible before because of “Countershock”—he'd rebound and get flung back himself.

But now it was different!

With “Toughness,” the full force of his punch could be delivered to the target.

Even to the void itself!

Xu Xiaoshou's mouth dropped open in shock.

He had seen Ye Xiaotian's “Sky-Rending Hand” and knew that spatial rules existed in this world.

They weren't intangible; they were more like the elements of water or fire—something that could be traced.

As long as his power was great enough, or if he could comprehend space, one punch could...

“This... this is basically...”

Xu Xiaoshou's mouth watered as he stroked his chin and hurried to the copper mirror on the table to check himself.

His beard had grown out again from neglect, but unfortunately, it wasn't white.

That didn't stop his inner chuunibyou spirit from blazing up, though!

His eyes burned with fire as he pointed at the mirror and roared, “Become my son!”

“Ugh, not that line...”

“How did it go? What about the ship?”

Xu Xiaoshou scratched his head; the memory was distant, and he couldn't quite recall.

“Forget it, this line works fine. If I said it to ten thousand people—'Become my sons!'—I'd probably earn a ton of passive points.” Xu Xiaoshou chuckled.

He couldn't remember the exact lines, but the image of shattering the heavens was crystal clear in his mind.

And now, he could do it too!

Xu Xiaoshou clenched his fist and swung his arm through the air in a powerful straight punch.

The feeling was completely different!

Before, even with “Countershock,” it only triggered when he was hit.

But with “Toughness,” it was like his body had a counterforce pushing back, allowing Xu Xiaoshou to unleash his full power even into empty space.

The door exploded.

Wood splinters flew everywhere, leaving a gaping hole at the entrance, and Xu Xiaoshou could see the corridor outside.

“This?”

Surprise turned to joy, and Xu Xiaoshou nearly jumped for joy.

Had he really done it?

It wasn't exactly shattering the heavens, but the attack had followed his imagined path perfectly.

This wasn't just a passive skill anymore—it was like an instant active ability!

Looking at the distance between the shattered bed and the doorway, Xu Xiaoshou's joy escalated to ecstasy.

His basic attack range had increased?

A tank with the output range of a marksman?