Chapter 51: Inner Court Quota

A wave of applause crashed like thunder. The audience rose to their feet, clapping enthusiastically, their faces full of admiration.

This final match—how to put it—started strong and ended strong, with Xu Xiaoshou right in the middle. Everyone felt it was a bit odd, but seeing the blood-soaked young man on the stage, they realized that with him involved, things were bound to turn out this way. Still, there was no denying it was incredibly exciting!

Xiao Qixiu waved his hand, and the medical staff stepped forward to carry Mo Mo out of Xu Xiaoshou's arms. The remaining four contestants exchanged glances, all staring at Xu Xiaoshou.

"You need treatment?"

These four familiar faces...

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled and said, "No need!"

He pulled open his shirt, peeled away the dead flesh that had been scorched by lava but had already healed, and held it out to them.

"After all, you're here now, and I don't have anything good to give. Take this as a souvenir!"

"Received curse, passive value +4."

The four turned and walked away without even checking their conditions. This guy was basically a monster—such terrifying lava hadn't even killed him. What a shame.

During the match, if anyone wasn't worried at all when they saw the lava, it was these four. Watching the audience's anxious expressions, they thought to themselves that you never really know someone. If they hadn't checked Xu Xiaoshou's body themselves, they might have been fooled too.

Xiao Qixiu raised his hand to quiet the roaring applause from the audience and smiled.

"First, congratulations to Xu Xiaoshou for winning the championship of this Fengyun Zhengba. Honestly, it was beyond my expectations!"

The audience shared knowing smiles—who hadn't thought the same?

Only Xu Xiaoshou's face darkened as he silently cursed this middle-aged man in his heart.

What, I can't win the championship?

Xiao Qixiu ignored him and continued, "I noticed him in the group stage because he was causing trouble; in the preliminary rounds, because he escalated things; in the advancement rounds..."

"Heh."

"I couldn't ignore him anymore—this guy nearly drove me crazy."

The audience burst into laughter, but Xu Xiaoshou's face turned ashen.

Revenge! This middle-aged man had finally found his chance to mock me!

Xiao Qixiu shifted his tone: "But, without a doubt, Xu Xiaoshou is a dark horse!"

"Everyone encounters turning points in life, whether setbacks or opportunities. Overcoming yourself comes down to the quiet efforts you make behind the scenes."

The shift was a bit abrupt, and Xu Xiaoshou awkwardly scratched his head.

Efforts?

Well, it wasn't that bad.

But if you put it that way, I'll definitely work harder from now on to earn more passive value.

Xiao Qixiu had no idea his words had been twisted by someone, and after his reflections, he finally wrapped up his post-match comments.

"I hope the next edition will have someone else who makes me 'look at them with new eyes'...

Now, the awards!"

He activated the array command, and a podium appeared above the stage, with only ten spots.

The staff brought the top ten finalists up, while the others who had participated in the advancement rounds still received rewards—just not this spotlight moment on stage.

Xu Xiaoshou glanced around and spotted many of his subordinates...

Ahem, familiar old friends!

Zhao Qingteng, Mu Zixi, Mo Mo...

The medical team was efficient—at least Mo Mo was awake and had regained some mobility.

Xu Xiaoshou grinned as he watched them pass by, waving enthusiastically in greeting.

But when he checked his information panel, his whole demeanor changed.

As Zhao Qingteng walked past, he said flatly, "Congratulations!"

"Received curse, passive value +1."

Mu Zixi, with her twin ponytails, walked by, wrinkling her nose. "Hmph!"

"Received disdain, passive value +1."

Mo Mo went by without even glancing at him.

"Received ignore, passive value +1."

Xu Xiaoshou: ???

Hey!

Wasn't it just a few sword stabs and knocking you out one by one?

Do you have to be so petty?

So grudge-holding!

Xu Xiaoshou gave up waving—each of them was...

No tolerance, too narrow-minded, destined for nothing great!

The staff handed out a ring to each of them, and Xu Xiaoshou couldn't get enough of it—this was already his second one.

"The other rewards, I'll let you check yourselves."

Xiao Qixiu turned to the audience and raised his voice slightly. "The top ten of the Fengyun List each get one chance to select a ling technique from Ling Zang Ge."

"The top three receive one Xian Tian Dan each. If you don't need it, you can exchange it for other pills of equivalent value!"

The audience erupted in astonishment, their eyes filled with envy.

Ling Zang Ge was the most important pavilion in Tian Sang Ling Palace, housing numerous ling techniques, including those at the acquired, innate, and even grandmaster levels.

And the Xian Tian Dan, an eighth-grade pill that boosted the chance of breaking through to the innate realm by thirty percent, was everyone's ultimate dream!

Of course, this year's top three were a bit special—only the champion, Xu Xiaoshou, could really use this.

The other two were already at the innate level!

Xiao Qixiu felt a bit helpless—the quality of this year's contestants was just too high, making the once-coveted Xian Tian Dan seem less impressive.

Still, the option to exchange for other pills of the same tier was quite considerate.

Xu Xiaoshou was thrilled—he wasn't like those freaks with their high cultivation levels.

These rewards were perfect for him right now—the Xian Tian Dan and selecting a ling technique from Ling Zang Ge were exactly what he needed.

Who knew that after three years in the spirit palace, he'd only gone in at the beginning to grab a "White Cloud Sword Technique," and hadn't been eligible since?

Thinking about it, Xu Xiaoshou felt a wave of bitterness.

Other contestants had loads of innate ling techniques to choose from—you could see it with Mo Mo, whose techniques were probably beyond innate!

As for him, the poor guy, he had to rely on creating his own skills of unknown grade...

Hmm?

Wait, and he still won in the end?

"Hey hey!" At that thought, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly laughed—it wasn't so bad after all...

As the awards ceremony on stage wrapped up, the audience's excitement only grew.

Sure enough, Xiao Qixiu smirked and said, "Great, now it's the final moment."

"The inner court spots!"

His words sent the audience into a buzz of discussion.

"It's finally here—I can't wait to see how many get inner court spots this year!"

"I remember last year it was just Su Qianqian, and before that, there were a few years with zero spots!"

"Yeah, the threshold for inner court is sky-high, but the quality is top-notch."

"Exactly, besides the inner court's thirty-three members, the total from everywhere else probably doesn't even reach a hundred..."

"Mm-hmm!"

Xiao Qixiu pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and read aloud, "Inner court spot one: Zhou Tian Can!"

Zhou Tian Can, sitting in the audience, stood up in disbelief, pointing at himself.

"Me?"

"You didn't make a mistake?"