Chapter 9: Happiness Overload

"Xu Xiaoshou won?"

"Xu Xiaoshou won!"

The battle ended, and the barrier lifted.

The thunderous cheers from the audience seats startled Xu Xiaoshou. He turned to look and thought, wow, when did so many people show up here?

This must be all the outer court disciples of Chuyun Terrace!

Among them, many junior brothers and sisters were sobbing with tears and snot, and Xu Xiaoshou had no idea what they were crying about—he just figured they were acting crazy.

"Subjected to doubt, passive value +324."

"Subjected to admiration, passive value +1125."

Xu Xiaoshou glanced briefly at the information panel and nearly dropped to his knees in shock.

What on earth was going on?

He could understand the earlier wave of doubt, since with his fifth-realm cultivation, winning the group stage championship naturally invited some criticism.

Liu Zhen and Zhou Zuo were also on the stage, but anyone with eyes could see they were just coasting along, so he was obviously the champion.

But this "admiration" part...

That was a bit mysterious!

It seemed like this was the first time it had appeared?

And then... a thousand passive points???

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned!

This guy, who only cared about getting beaten more to earn more passive points, had no idea he had become the man in everyone's eyes—a symbol of unyielding perseverance, self-strengthening spirit, and a last-drop-of-blood comeback for the ultimate victory!

After all, in the eyes of those who came later, he was basically a living punching bag, getting punched and kicked relentlessly.

Those people were like beasts—how could they hit so hard? Just look at Xu Xiaoshou's face, all bruised and purple...

Huh? How come his injuries were so light?

The referee walked over with a blank expression, holding a tray. "Congratulations, Xu Xiaoshou!"

On the tray was the prize: a ring, and nothing else.

Xu Xiaoshou raised an eyebrow. A spatial ring?

This was a great item— he'd have to sell his courtyard and black sword to afford something like this.

He picked up the ring and, pointing at the referee's trembling hand, said sincerely, "Thank you, but you don't need to get so excited for me."

The referee's hand shook even more upon hearing that.

Is this excitement? This is suppressed anger from holding the tray!

Throughout the entire battle, aside from snagging a few kills, he had barely any involvement, which left him utterly despairing.

He had intended to fulfill his duties properly, but ended up just going through the motions, accomplishing nothing.

This Xu Xiaoshou had completely deceived him. It wasn't until the fight ended that he realized—this guy was actually an innate body cultivator!

He had wondered where those bursts of innate power came from earlier—turns out it was really him!

The referee suppressed the turmoil in his heart and waved his arm indifferently. "Keep it up!"

With that, he turned and left.

Xu Xiaoshou thought it was strange but responded with a thumbs-up gesture toward his back. "I'll do my best!"

The referee's hand jerked, and the tray nearly flew out of his grip.

"Hey, my sword!" Xu Xiaoshou shouted from behind.

The referee dove to catch the tray, then tossed the sword over his shoulder without looking back.

Xu Xiaoshou frowned at his retreating figure and muttered, "So weird!"

...

"Xu Xiaoshou!"

"Xu Xiaoshou!"

The people in the audience seats started chanting, beginning with the young women screaming, and soon those nearby felt pressured and joined in.

Xu Xiaoshou felt embarrassed—he had no clue what had gotten into these people—but since they were shouting his name so enthusiastically, he just waved at the crowd.

"Sit down, no need to stand on ceremony."

Rao Yinyin stood up, stretched lazily, adjusted her red skirt that had been hiked up to her thigh by the little girl beside her, and teased, "You can go find your Little Beast brother now!"

Su Qianqian smiled, her face dimpling with two cute spots. "No need. It's enough that Little Beast brother hasn't left the Spirit Palace."

"Look at how excited the girls around are—who knows, your Little Beast brother might get snatched away!"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Su Qianqian blushed. "I don't have those kinds of thoughts."

"Oh? Is that so?"

"I'm ignoring you!"

Su Qianqian jumped down from her chair, only to bump her head into Rao Yinyin's chest, making her cheeks flush even more. She picked up her greatsword, slung it over her shoulder, and hurried off.

"Tsk tsk, so adorable..."

Xu Xiaoshou had noticed the two of them, of course. Frankly, there weren't many innate auras in the arena, and his own innate body wasn't obvious, but others' innate auras stood out.

At least, that ethereal quality was different from the girls who were screaming his name at the top of their lungs.

"Su Qianqian...?"

"Long time no see..."

He was staring in the direction the little girl had run off when the red-skirted woman walking behind suddenly glanced back, winked, and smiled.

"Subjected to seduction, passive value +1."

Xu Xiaoshou was all fluttery one second, and the next, he nearly spat blood at that message.

Damn it, some things are better left unsaid—why point it out?

What a crappy system!

The place emptied out.

Everyone was a spirit refiner, after all—even if they were fans for just a second, they wouldn't do anything outrageous.

Well, at least not openly...

Just as Xu Xiaoshou was about to step away, Elder Qiao suddenly appeared in front of him with a whoosh.

"You little rascal, getting beaten like that and still turning it around—nice work!"

"Elder Qiao?"

Elder Qiao's face darkened. "Oh, so you didn't notice me at all, huh? You were too busy eyeing those two girls?"

"Heh heh!" Xu Xiaoshou said as he walked, "No way, you were the first one here, right?!"

"You bet!"

Xu Xiaoshou breathed a sigh of relief—he'd guessed right and quickly turned his questioning tone into an exclamatory one to avoid getting caught.

"When did you cultivate that innate body? You even hid it from me?" Elder Qiao pressed.

Huh?

And you're asking me?

Xu Xiaoshou immediately felt indignant. "Didn't I tell you last time that I was innate? You didn't believe me?"

Last time?

Elder Qiao suddenly recalled the scene when they met at the Spirit Affairs Pavilion and laughed awkwardly. "Back then... who would've believed you!"

Seeing Xu Xiaoshou about to explode, he quickly pulled out a bottle of pills and stuffed it into his arms. "You got hurt, right?"

"Here, take this. Go back and heal up properly. See you later!" With that, he bolted.

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

Is it that serious?

I mean, I just complained a bit—I wasn't going to eat you or anything!

He looked at the pills Elder Qiao had given him and felt a warmth in his heart...

Huh?

Elder Qiao... pills...

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly started trembling.

...

Back in his room, Xu Xiaoshou freshened up and lay down on the freshly cleaned soft bed, feeling utterly relaxed.

Even though he had anticipated it, actually winning the group stage championship and achieving this great milestone for the first time in three years still felt surreal, like a dream.

All he could say was, the "strength" of the innate level was terrifying!

Under that barrage of attacks, he wouldn't have lasted a breath before, but now, he only had some superficial wounds—nothing involving bones or muscles.

And these bruises and swelling would basically heal with one session of cultivation.

As for the pills from Elder Qiao, he thought about it and decided not to use them.

He pulled out the champion ring, used a drop of blood to claim it, and saw the space inside, about half the size of a room—he loved it.

There wasn't much inside; the value was all in the ring itself—just a hundred spirit crystals and a bottle of pills.

Xu Xiaoshou took out the pills for a look.

Spirit Refining Pills...

His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly put everything away, storing some of his own miscellaneous items inside.

The feeling of having a personal small space was incredibly wonderful.

He wasn't in the habit of wearing rings, so he strung it on a cord to wear as a necklace.

It was his first championship on this tough life path, full of commemorative value—he had to cherish it.

Lying on the bed, he shifted to a more comfortable position.

Now, for the main event...

After that insane beating and heaven-sent battle, how many passive points had he gained?

Aside from sneaking a few peeks early on, he'd held back the whole fight, ignoring those numbers below, just to wait for this moment!

Xu Xiaoshou's heart raced as he looked at the very bottom of the information panel in his mind's red interface.

A wave of blissful shock exploded in his brain, leaving Xu Xiaoshou's mind buzzing and blank.

His fingers twitched involuntarily as he counted: "One, two, three..."

"Five digits!"

Passive value: 17,660.