Chapter 3: Strong

Xu Xiaoshou was indeed quite wealthy. His courtyard featured a small pond stocked with **ling yu**, a **jia shan**, and several tall **ling shu**. Once the courtyard gate was closed, Xu Xiaoshou had intended to go back for some more sleep, but he noticed that a new section had appeared in the red interface in his mind: the mall. Glancing downward, he saw his passive points: 64. Xu Xiaoshou was thrilled—this harvest was a big win. Was it only after his passive points reached double digits that the "mall" unlocked?

He tapped to enter and found the mall completely empty, except for a single red gift box. "Passive Gift Box (Purchase: 10 passive points)." Xu Xiaoshou had tried using passive points to upgrade skills the night before but hadn't figured it out. Now he realized they were meant for buying items. Without hesitation, he clicked to purchase and opened the gift box. The information panel updated instantly: "Skill points, +10." "Passive keys, +3."

At the same time, the mall shook, and a red spinner appeared, smaller than the previous black one, with a hazy gray mist obscuring its contents. Seeing this, Xu Xiaoshou couldn't help but twitch his mouth, his eyes dimming as he recalled the pointer he'd messed up last time. Inside the mall grid, two gray items also materialized. "Skill points (Purchase: 1000 passive points)." "Passive keys (Purchase: 1000 passive points)."

Shocked by this information, Xu Xiaoshou jumped. So expensive? That meant he had just used 10 passive points to buy something worth over 10,000! "Oh my god!" Xu Xiaoshou's eyes widened as he realized the gift box was like a newbie welcome package—non-progressive and basically free! Awesome!

"Passive keys... probably for spinning this thing?" Xu Xiaoshou pondered. After last time's disaster, had the spinner upgraded? No more manual turning? As for skill points, they were clearly for upgrading passive skills. So, upgrade "**Hu Xi Zhi Fa**"? Xu Xiaoshou quickly dismissed that idea. Better to try the passive keys first—maybe they could yield other passive skills.

In three days, the outer court's "**Feng Yun Zheng Ba**" would begin. For those big shots aiming for the top hundred on the "**Feng Yun Bang**," it was a fierce competition; for Xu Xiaoshou, it was just an elimination test. If this red spinner could yield some powerful passive skills, he might stay in **Tian Sang Ling Gong** and continue cultivating. Otherwise, getting kicked out would leave him with nowhere to go.

Xu Xiaoshou inserted a key into the small hole at the bottom of the red spinner. The mist grew thicker, making everything inside invisible.

Give me a break—something to make me instantly stronger!

As the key turned, Xu Xiaoshou clasped his hands and prayed:

Don't give me a **gong fa**, don't give me a **gong fa**—it won't help right now...

The gray mist swirled, and who knew what was happening inside. Soon, the information panel updated: "**Xie xie hui gu**!"

Xu Xiaoshou's face darkened. What the heck? "**Xie xie hui gu**"? Couldn't they make something normal for once? This was as messed up as the last spinner's pointer!

After venting internally, he had two keys left. Xu Xiaoshou inserted another one and shouted like a madman:

Hey! **Eu huang**, possess me!

The mist churned, and Xu Xiaoshou watched the information panel expectantly: "One more spin!"

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

What was the point of that? In and out, nothing gained—just messing with me?

Xu Xiaoshou rolled his eyes so hard they nearly reached the sky. Do you think you're soda? "One more spin"? I didn't even get a burp out of it!

With two keys used and two left... Xu Xiaoshou couldn't take the torment anymore. He inserted another one without looking at the panel, waited for the time to pass, saw the key vanish, then jammed in the last one.

No rewards, no rewards...

As he reverse-jinxed himself, he sneaked a peek at the information panel.

"Obtained extended passive skill: **Qiang Zhuang**!" "**Xie xie hui gu**!"

Reverse-jinx succeeded? Seeing the line of text, Xu Xiaoshou slapped his thigh in excitement. Finally, something!

But looking closer... **Qiang Zhuang**?

Xu Xiaoshou nearly spat blood. What kind of nonsense was this? Why not something like "skinny"?

"Wait, maybe not?" Xu Xiaoshou suddenly thought of how the last skill, "**Hu Xi Zhi Fa**," had a misleading name but amazing effects. Perhaps "**Qiang Zhuang**" had some unexpected benefits?

"Hope so!" Xu Xiaoshou perked up and checked the red interface, which had changed again. One: Basic passive skills. Two: Extended passive skills. Three: Mall.

"An extended passive skills section?" He glanced back at the information panel and saw that "**Qiang Zhuang**" was categorized under extended passive skills, separate from "**Hu Xi Zhi Fa**."

"They've really organized it well..." Opening it, he read: **Qiang Zhuang** (Houtian Lv.1).

"Could this be a **gong fa** for strengthening the body?" Xu Xiaoshou pinched his arm, but it didn't feel any more solid because of the skill. Maybe the level was too low?

Xu Xiaoshou hesitated. He had ten skill points—where to use them? "**Hu Xi Zhi Fa**" was his core technique, worth investing in, but its improvements needed long-term buildup, as his breakthrough yesterday was just from accumulated progress. On the other hand, if "**Qiang Zhuang**" was indeed a passive skill for body enhancement, it would be perfect to upgrade now.

If his physical body improved noticeably, he could fight for a spot in the "**Feng Yun Zheng Ba**" and at least avoid elimination. Weighing the options, Xu Xiaoshou decided to put the points into "**Qiang Zhuang**"—what if a miracle happened?

He used the skill points on the panel, and the information updated: "**Qiang Zhuang** (Houtian Lv.2)."

Xu Xiaoshou paid close attention to his body. It might be his imagination, but he felt a bit stronger, though the change was subtle. He kept going.

"**Qiang Zhuang** (Houtian Lv.3)."

"**Qiang Zhuang** (Houtian Lv.4)."

"**Qiang Zhuang** (Houtian Lv.5)."

This time, the difference was clear—Xu Xiaoshou's muscle lines slightly bulged, and his once-scrawny frame now looked like that of a normal person.

"This is working!" Xu Xiaoshou was overjoyed. He punched the ground, and it sank slightly with a dull thud.

"Goodness, this boost is huge. Doesn't 'Houtian' level correspond to the ten realms of **Lian Ling Shi**?"

**Lian Ling Shi** started with the ten realms of refining spirit, followed by Xiantian. So calling it Houtian made sense. At just Houtian Lv.5, the power was this strong—if he punched someone, it would definitely break a few ribs!

If his guess was right and the levels matched, dumping all his skill points into this would push his body to Xiantian level.

"Whoa!" Xu Xiaoshou's heart raced. A physical Xiantian was even harder than a **Lian Ling** Xiantian! He had planned to split the points but now decided to pile them all into "**Qiang Zhuang**" to see the results.

"**Qiang Zhuang** (Houtian Lv.6)."

"**Qiang Zhuang** (Houtian Lv.7)."

"**Qiang Zhuang** (Houtian Lv.8)."

His physical strength soared, and Xu Xiaoshou felt like he'd taken some kind of stimulant—endless energy. Once his body reached what people called "**qiang zhuang**," the muscles stopped bulking up and started refining, sculpting perfect lines.

Xu Xiaoshou took off his shirt, revealing a strikingly well-defined physique. Bam! He punched the ground, and it cracked open—power on par with **Lian Ling** eight realms!

Xu Xiaoshou clicked his tongue in amazement. "Incredible, this is incredible!" With just this punch, he might rank in the top few hundred on the "**Feng Yun Bang**"—no doubt about avoiding elimination!

His eyes gleamed with excitement. He still had three skill points left—full steam ahead!

"**Qiang Zhuang** (Houtian Lv.9)."

"**Qiang Zhuang** (Houtian Lv.10)."

"**Qiang Zhuang** (Xiantian Lv.1)."

Seeing the last line, Xu Xiaoshou's mind went blank with joy. "Xiantian—it's really Xiantian!"

Every muscle in his body began to twitch violently. Moments later, thick, foul-smelling black impurities were expelled from his skin. Xu Xiaoshou threw his head back and roared, then slapped himself hard.

Slap!

Not a dream! He punched the ground again—bam!—leaving a brick-sized crater with spiderweb cracks spreading several feet.

Just half power! Xu Xiaoshou was stunned. If that hit someone's head...

Heh.

Xu Xiaoshou felt that this year's "**Feng Yun Zheng Ba**" was about to get very interesting...