Chapter 417: Want to Beat Me Up? You Have to Line Up

"Xiao Shou Gege?"

Only after the incident at the back of the banquet hall did Su Qianqian slowly lift her gaze.

At first glance, she spotted that familiar figure.

This left Su Qianqian somewhat stunned.

She knew Xu Xiaoshou's background well—he wasn't from any major power in Tian Sang City, nor was he from a family in other cities. So, how could he show up here?

And even cause a scene?

"Is he stepping in for my sake?"

If it weren't the Qiu family involved, Su Qianqian might not have thought much of it.

But their open mockery and subtle jabs, directed straight at the Su family through Elder Qiu, made them notorious for kicking people when they were down.

For such people, along with their family disciples, to be swiftly cleared out by Xu Xiaoshou?

Su Qianqian didn't feel happy about it.

Instead, as she gazed at Xu Xiaoshou from afar, her eyes filled with even more worry.

She had come here tonight determined to shoulder everything herself, just to secure a few more spots for her family.

After all, while the elders of the Su family had fallen, the younger generation hadn't declined at all.

In fact, fueled by hatred, they were all full of fighting spirit.

They all needed the chance at Bai Ku to accelerate their growth.

In this process, she was merely stepping in for the elders, arriving at this banquet hall.

One person taking the burden was enough.

If Xu Xiaoshou tried to help, even if he succeeded this once, he couldn't withstand the relentless attacks that would follow!

With just the Yuan Ting Realm, good intentions wouldn't suffice!

"Xiao Shou Gege, you're being too foolish."

Shou Ye watched Xu Xiaoshou's shocked expression with a smile, thinking to himself that this guy really didn't play by the rules.

Among the young people at the tables here, few caught his eye.

Xu Xiaoshou was one of them.

While others hadn't seen the exact process, Shou Ye, who was on high alert, had witnessed the entire chaos with his spiritual senses, fully aware of Xu Xiaoshou's antics.

"A Grandmaster Body, and yet the enemy was sent flying with one punch?"

Shou Ye was somewhat surprised.

This Grandmaster Body seemed far from simple!

He wasn't worried about what happened to Qiu Desjian.

Instead, from their previous encounter, Shou Ye felt an even stronger urge to recruit Xu Xiaoshou.

His way of judging people was naturally colored by his own biases.

"This kid seems pretty good. With some training, he might become someone that even the ghost beasts fear."

As Shou Ye thought this, he suddenly saw Su Qianqian, who had been sitting with her head down, stand up, her eyes tinged with concern.

With his seasoned insight, and considering the Qiu family's earlier actions, he quickly pieced it together.

"Stepping in recklessly?"

He glanced at Fu Xing, whose face had already turned quite unpleasant.

Even for Xu Xiaoshou, such a disrespectful move was hard to swallow.

If Su Qianqian added fuel to the fire now, these two promising talents he had his eye on might both be forced out tonight.

Yes, he had taken a liking to Su Qianqian too.

This girl was truly eye-catching.

Others might not see it, but to Shou Ye, the aura of the Sword Sect on her was overwhelmingly strong.

It was clearly the sign of a recent breakthrough, hard to hide.

At such a young age, with such achievements—this was talent on par with Xu Xiaoshou's!

In a small place like Tian Sang City, to have such outstanding figures at the same time.

He had thought tonight was just about delivering a message, but unexpectedly, he had uncovered so many promising seeds.

How could Shou Ye hold back? He stood up directly, cutting in before Su Qianqian could speak: "Nephew Fu, I see these young ones are all getting impatient. If they can't even wait this long..."

"Why don't we skip the small talk and just get started?"

His shift in tone carried a bit of Xu Xiaoshou's flair, leaving the crowd momentarily stunned.

"Coincidentally, this old man is quite curious to know just how many talents are hidden in Tian Sang County." Shou Ye said with a smile.

With that, he smoothly redirected the attention.

The elders of the various families were taken aback, their eyes lighting up with delight.

From what the red-robed one meant, it seemed like there was an opportunity for patronage?

If their own juniors could catch the eye of a force like the Sheng Shen Hall, that would be a path to glory!

"Senior Red Robe makes a good point. The night is getting late, and to decide the final Bai Ku spots, we really need to move quickly. Besides, I'm sure everyone's eager to start."

Someone immediately chimed in, and it was true—the folks on the other stage were already getting restless.

Fu Xing, who hadn't been able to stay mad at Xu Xiaoshou, naturally took this chance to back down gracefully.

"Alright, since everyone's at this point and the rules have mostly been announced..."

"I declare that the competition for the Bai Ku spots officially begins now!"

The young people below erupted in excitement.

The atmosphere, which had tensed up because of Xu Xiaoshou's early move, now exploded with energy.

"It's here! Time for me to shine."

"Ha, the Qiu family was too impatient, making the first move. But hey, getting rid of them lets us jump in early—worth it."

"Otherwise, we'd have to waste more time on info about Bai Ku that could've waited. What a drag..."

Fu Xing listened to the chatter, his expression unchanged.

If he were on the stage himself, he'd probably be annoyed by all this rambling too.

But positions differ, and some things still needed to be clarified.

"No more nonsense. First up: the Lian Ling Dao trials."

"Except for the five families from Tian Sang City who are reserved for the final challenge rounds, everyone else can battle freely!"

Fu Xing pulled out a token and infused it with spiritual energy, causing the stage on one side to hum and vibrate.

The people on it were cleared away, and three raised platforms emerged in the center, brightly lit by night pearls.

"For the Lian Ling Dao, twenty-five Bai Ku spots will be decided on these three platforms."

"The rules are straightforward and brutal: wheel battles."

"If a defender can withstand ten challenges, they secure a Bai Ku spot for their family. No other restrictions."

Such harsh rules even shocked Xu Xiaoshou.

Ten rounds of challenges.

Who could handle that besides him?

Even with pills, it wouldn't be enough!

One slip in spiritual energy midway, and even after winning nine rounds, it would all be for nothing.

And for all that life-or-death struggle, you'd only get one spot.

Looking at the young talents here, there were probably eight or nine hundred of them.

This fight was going to be incredibly fierce!

"Ten rounds, wheel battles..."

The disciples from smaller families instantly lost their spirit.

With eight or nine hundred people, at least two or three hundred families vying for twenty-five spots, there'd be plenty of interference along the way.

In this bloodbath, they'd likely just end up as fodder, helping others rack up rounds.

Where some despaired, others thrilled.

Many had prepared for this moment for ages, and these folks were destined to shine tonight.

Ten rounds?

For them, in this setup, even a one-against-ten would be a call to action.

Fu Xing glanced at the eager crowd, feeling his own blood stir, but his fight had to wait until the end, so he held back.

"One last addition."

He eyed the equally fired-up Three Swordsmen. "For the Lian Ling Dao battles, only Lian Ling Masters can participate. If you're pure ancient sword cultivators, you'll have to hold off."

"The next round is for pure sword paths and sword intent."

Gu Qingyi hugged his sword and nodded, kicking his two junior brothers back into their seats with one foot each.

"Got it."

Fu Xing smiled.

"With that, the battles begin. Challenge at will!"

As soon as he spoke, several figures whooshed onto the platforms.

Xu Xiaoshou sat down next to Mu Zixi, knowing better than to stick his neck out first.

Plus, he wasn't clear on the strengths of Tian Sang County's top talents yet, so he decided to observe first.

As expected, he didn't recognize any of the three on the platforms.

But these guys acted like they'd eaten gunpowder, their gazes sharp and provoking.

"Xu Xiaoshou, do you dare come up and die?"

"Get lost, Xu Xiaoshou is mine. I'll take his head!"

"You're full of crap. Xu Xiaoshou and I have a grudge to the death. Back off, I'll fight him!"

These fellows started shouting on the platform.

Xu Xiaoshou was completely baffled.

"When did I make so many enemies? And I don't even know any of them?"

Mu Zixi blinked.

"Surprised? I think it's totally normal."

Not normal at all!

Xu Xiaoshou widened his eyes, but on second thought, these didn't seem to be from his actual enemies' families.

They were clearly just disciples from other counties.

"Confused?"

A teasing voice came from behind. Xu Xiaoshou turned to see Qu Qing'er, whom he'd met before.

Qu Qing'er smiled and said, "The world's full of lackeys eager to lick their masters' boots for rewards."

She gestured toward Fu Xing's direction.

Her words were blunt, but thankfully, they were spoken through a sound transmission.

Otherwise, she'd probably be called up to the platform too.

Xu Xiaoshou pondered this.

So, these guys didn't know about his connection with Fu Xing.

They thought his earlier move, even if defensive, had embarrassed Fu Xing, and now they wanted to kick him out early to win favor with the city lord's mansion?

"Interesting."

Xu Xiaoshou stood up and laughed. "You three, I don't know which to pick. You're all about the same—pretty weak."

Not only did the three on the platform get riled up, but the elders in the audience were also amused.

A mere innate Yuan Ting Realm cultivator, acting so arrogant?

Dissing all three at once?

He must not have faced the world's hardships yet!

Did he think taking down one with innate sword intent meant he could crush everyone?

"Passive value from being questioned: 411."

"Passive value from being mocked: 1266."

"Passive value from being watched: 1420."

Xu Xiaoshou was loving this spotlight.

The passive values were rolling in too fast!

Just one line, and without even moving, he gained three thousand points?

He leaped up, his gaze even more disdainful, his expression more obnoxious. "I don't know which of you three to choose. How about this—take turns."

He looked at platform one.

"I'll pick you first."

Then he glanced at the other side.

"The other two, wait your turn. It'll only take one punch each, so don't rush to pick opponents."

With that, he flicked his sleeve, and spiritual energy surged around him like immortal mist.

He scanned the crowd with a provocative tone: "If you want to beat me, get in line."

The spectators around the platform couldn't sit still.

"Damn, this guy's asking for it!"

"Even if I wasn't planning to suck up to the city lord's mansion, I can't let this slide—I'll step in later!"

"Yeah, we have to beat this punk until he can't stand. I won't go by Zhu anymore tonight if we don't!"

"Tch, I was actually worried about him earlier, thinking he got lucky against Qiu Desjian's sneak attack. But now? Did he even fool Fu Xing?"

"Passive value from being doubted: 333."

"Passive value from being thought about: 1410."

"Passive value from being ridiculed: 1112."

"Passive value from being challenged: 121."

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned.

He used to think shouting "I'm the king" in a crowd of ten thousand would net a huge "doubted" value.

But this? Child's play!

The real way to rake it in was to stir the pot, provoke everyone, and act superior!

The more arrogant, the better; the more contemptuous, the more points!

As long as he fueled the hate and got the crowd riled, passive values would pour in endlessly.

This wave? Pure profit!

The discussions continued, the atmosphere growing more heated.

"What's his name again? Xu Xiaoshou, right..."

Someone asked, fuming, "Xu Xiaoshou, you just wait. Later, I'll chop you down!"

Xu Xiaoshou squinted with a grin, looking down his nose at the person, adding fuel to the fire: "Kid, remember your number. You're 404."

"The hell!"

This pushed everyone over the edge.

What a jerk!

This guy was way too cocky—he had to go down!

"Passive value from being resented: 1314."

"Passive value from being cursed: 1211."

To the watching elders, this youthful bravado was infuriating but also stirred some of their own old fighting spirit.

"Youth..."

Shou Ye, however, frowned at the sight.

From what he remembered, this kid wasn't the type to talk so big. Had he misjudged earlier?

Su Qianqian watched Xiao Shou Gege soaring through the air, eyes closed as if basking in the night pearls' glow, and her worry deepened.

"There's no need for this, Xiao Shou Gege."

"This is the fate I'll face later. You don't have to take it on for me..."

Mu Zixi watched Xu Xiaoshou open his eyes and fly straight to platform one, and she shrank back a bit.

"Is it starting?"

"This guy's so full of himself again. What a pain..."