Chapter 32

"Startled, passive value, +1."

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly sprang up, looking around and finding himself in the waiting area. He covered his face and looked at the staff member with a grievance, "Why did you hit me?"

The staff member looked innocent, with three large question marks gradually appearing on his face.

Xu Xiaoshou looked at his hand, "Huh, no pill bottle?"

"It's time for the match!" the staff member said coldly.

Only then did Xu Xiaoshou distinguish between reality and dreams, and he walked out of the waiting area with a sheepish smile.

"Xu Xiaoshou, go for it!"

"Xu Xiaoshou, hold on!"

"Xu Xiaoshou, champion!"

As soon as he stepped out, the audience's cheers startled him. Xu Xiaoshou saw almost all the spectators standing up and cheering wildly.

He was taken aback. Although people had cheered for him before, there were also many who booed. Why were they so supportive today?

I didn't even get enough sleep...

He didn't know that over the past few days, he had consecutively defeated Zhou Qichong and Zhou Tiangcan, and with his acquired sword intent and innate physical strength, he had become a hot favorite for the championship.

"Encouraged, passive value, +442."

"Cheered, passive value, +665."

"..."

One message after another flashed in his mind. Xu Xiaoshou waved happily and slowly walked towards the arena.

"Passive value: 44820."

"Passive value: 45611."

"Passive value: 46002."

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes were almost smiling away. Although the process of refining the "Jinzhao Fire Seed" last night was painful, it had shone brightly in the final hours, contributing nearly 20,000 passive values.

And now, the passive values were still soaring.

"Xu Xiaoshou, walk faster!"

Xiao Qixiu's voice came, lacking any warmth. Xu Xiaoshou immediately quickened his pace and entered the barrier, and his ears instantly cleared.

He roughly understood why the "Fengyun Zhenba" had set up a barrier.

On the opposite side was a very delicate-looking girl, wearing a light yellow long dress, with neat hair and a pair of phoenix eyes. She held a flexible whip, which made a "snap" sound with each step, full of vitality.

Li Cenjing, at the tenth level of Spirit Refinement.

Xu Xiaoshou wanted to speak as usual, but the little girl beat him to it, with a sly look on her face, "To be timid before the battle is a great taboo; to flee without fighting..."

"Um, what comes next..."

"Never mind."

Li Cenjing, twirling her flexible whip, patted her head and said, "Xu Xiaoshou, I've watched your matches, you're so amazing!"

"Can you give me an autograph later?"

"Admired, passive value, +1."

Xu Xiaoshou scratched his head, embarrassed, not expecting to have a fan among his opponents. He quickly reined in the sarcastic words that almost slipped out and nodded in agreement.

Li Cenjing's face immediately lit up with joy, and she giggled.

Xiao Qixiu waved his hand expressionlessly, "The match begins!"

To show his magnanimity, Xu Xiaoshou gestured for the other side to make the first move, but Li Cenjing raised both hands and blinked her big eyes.

"I forfeit!"

Xu Xiaoshou's face darkened. She just stole my line, and now she's forfeiting?

What kind of fan are you? Don't you know I need passive values?

Seeing his changed expression, Li Cenjing hurriedly explained, "Zhang Fu is still lying in the Spirit Medicine Pavilion, unable to even participate in the preliminary matches. I won't fight you; I want to fight in the rankings!"

"The match is over, Xu Xiaoshou wins!"

Xiao Qixiu, who hadn't even finished his drink, quickly raised his hand again.

The audience seats immediately buzzed. No one expected that at the stage of the top sixteen, someone would give up the match, which was equivalent to giving up the subsequent rewards.

"Boring, why not fight properly? I wanted to see Xu Xiaoshou's performance!"

"I think Li Cenjing is very wise. She's only at the tenth level, and she definitely can't beat Xu Xiaoshou at the seventh level. It's better to conserve her strength for the ranking matches."

"Ha, look at what you're saying..."

After Li Cenjing forfeited, she ran up to Xu Xiaoshou with small steps and handed him a spirit pen, jumping with excitement, "Autograph!"

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

Sigh!

Hold on, this is a fan!

"Where should I sign?" Xu Xiaoshou asked gently.

Li Cenjing stretched out her hand generously, her fingers delicate and her palm facing up, "Here, this!"

She glanced at the audience seats, which seemed to be going wild, but the two of them couldn't hear anything inside.

Outside, a woman in the front row was roaring wildly, "Li Cenjing, stop it, Xu Xiaoshou is mine!"

"Ha ha ha!"

Li Cenjing made a funny face at her best friend, looking very pleased.

Hmph, for not practicing properly, now you can only be jealous of me from the stands.

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't shy either. He grabbed her hand, which was soft and warm.

He signed a few strokes and said, "Don't forfeit in the future, it's a loss."

"Uh uh, no loss."

Li Cenjing, after all, was a teenage girl. Being held by someone in public, no matter how thick-skinned she usually was, her face couldn't help but turn red.

The tingling sensation on her hand made her want to pull back, but she forced herself to hold on, responding in a tiny voice, "Thank you!"

As soon as she got her autograph, the little girl turned and ran away as if fleeing. Xu Xiaoshou immediately called out, "Hey, your spirit pen..."

The little girl didn't look back, "It's for you!"

Xu Xiaoshou glanced at Xiao Qixiu, who kept shaking his head, his eyes full of nostalgia and emotion, and didn't urge him to leave.

Xu Xiaoshou could only put the spirit pen into the ring on his neck.

The girl in the front row went crazy at the sight, her eyes red as she rushed towards Li Cenjing, who had just left the arena, and even the staff couldn't stop her in time.

"Li Cenjing, today is your death day!"

"Watch my flying kick!"

"No, look, are you still kicking?"

"Ugh ugh ugh, I envy you, chop off your hand and give it to me!"

...

Xu Xiaoshou walked out of the barrier, glanced at the information bar, and felt a bit dizzy.

"Disliked, passive value, +333."

"Disliked, passive value, +333."

What's going on?

Although he won the match without a fight, shouldn't he be encouraged and praised?

What's wrong with everyone? They were cheering for me before the match, but now they don't like me anymore?

Ha, humans!

Xu Xiaoshou forced a smile and waved to everyone, trying to win them back.

"Disliked, passive value, +886."

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

In the waiting area.

Xu Xiaoshou squatted on the rest chair, unable to sleep despite the lively scene.

At this stage of the competition, he had successfully entered the top eight.

According to the schedule, he still had another match today. If he won, he could compete for the championship the next day.

"Will I win the championship..."

Xu Xiaoshou was actually unsure.

If he hadn't encountered Zhou Tiangcan yesterday, he might have thought he could win the championship. But the combat power of the peak-level Zhou Tiangcan was already so formidable, who knew how strong the other innate-level competitors would be?

Xu Xiaoshou shook his water cup, slightly lost in thought.

Innate, in fact, is a general term.

It includes the three realms of Yuan Ting, Ju Wu, and Shang Ling.

After the tenth level of Spirit Refinement, a Spirit Refiner comprehends the Heavenly Dao and opens the Yuan Ting in the Purple Mansion. If successful, they can awaken innate elemental power, which is called innate.

As for what innate elemental power is, it can be varied and unique to each person.

It can be the five elements, or an intent, like Chao Qingteng's Ice River Sword, or Zhou Tiangcan's innate-breaking blade...

What Xu Xiaoshou feared was this.

Although his passive skill could already be used like an innate spirit technique, it had limitations.

At least, he didn't have innate elemental power, which was a significant advantage for the true championship favorites.

Xu Xiaoshou looked at his qi sea and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

The spirit energy there was dark red, with a scorching aura, the result of his desperate efforts last night. But compared to true innate elemental power, it was still lacking.

"Ah!"

Xu Xiaoshou sighed helplessly. He had originally wanted to use his current strength to win the championship, but it seemed unrealistic.

He looked back at his mind.

"Passive value: 48226."