Chapter 15: The Fourth Person in the Barrier

"The match is over!" With a wave of the referee's hand, Xu Xiaoshou was declared the winner of the first round. Immediately, he saw the young man rush off the stage, seemingly even faster than Di Xin'er.

The referee was baffled: "Where are you going?"

"Huh?" Xu Xiaoshou turned back in surprise. "To rest, of course. Don't players get half an incense stick's time to recover?"

It was his first time participating in the elimination rounds, but he had watched for two years, so he knew the rules perfectly.

The referee was speechless. He had never officiated a single tournament with a contestant like this.

Everyone else would either openly sit on the stage to recover or simply wave their hand to start the next round. But not him, he had to run off?

Just when he thought the young man had acted somewhat normal during the match, his true colors were revealed the moment it ended.

"Why are you going out? Can't you recover here?" the referee asked.

"It's boring!" "This wretched place is covered by a barrier. There's nothing but air and you in here, so of course, I have to go out."

Xu Xiaoshou's face showed his conviction. Since the referee spoke, he couldn't ignore him. "Together?"

The referee: "..." That's not what I meant!

Above them in the void, Xiao Qixiu also had a smile playing on his lips. He too was paying attention to Xu Xiaoshou.

To be precise, this young man was still under his close observation, not just because of his Innate Physique, but more importantly, because he had seen Xu Xiaoshou's sword techniques.

Others might be drawn in by his eccentric behavior, but Xiao Qixiu, observing from outside the situation, could clearly see that Xu Xiaoshou's two sword strikes were anything but simple.

"Has he cultivated the 'White Cloud Sword Art'?" "Is it because of that, or was what he said that day true?"

After leaving Xu Xiaoshou's courtyard that day, he and Elder Qiao couldn't find the swordsman.

Having only recently comprehended Acquired Sword Intent, it was impossible for that swordsman to perfectly conceal his aura, yet he simply couldn't be found!

Could it be that Xu Xiaoshou was truly that swordsman?

Xiao Qixiu felt his idea was somewhat absurd. If others couldn't conceal their aura, could Xu Xiaoshou truly deceive him, a genuine swordsman, right to his face?

Absolutely impossible!

His gaze returned to the other arenas. As expected, the other two young participants had almost simultaneously knocked their opponents off the stage.

Xiao Qixiu pulled out a piece of paper and, while writing, said, "Mo Mo, Chao Qingteng, three consecutive victories."

The moment Xu Xiaoshou exited the barrier, he heard that statement and clicked his tongue in amazement.

"That's too fast, how did they do it?"

Indeed, only those two could achieve such speed.

The top two from the previous Wind and Cloud Rankings, both Innate!

He quickly dismissed these thoughts, scanning the audience for Su Qianqian and her friend, who had watched his match that day.

Hmm, he couldn't find them.

Because he had too many spectators, each of them enthusiastically waving at him.

"Go, Xu Xiaoshou!" "Xu Xiaoshou, over here! I'm here!" "The wooden sword, that wooden sword! Please hit me with it!" "Xu Xiaoshou, I love you! Ahhh, he looked over, ah, I'm dead!"

Xu Xiaoshou gave up his search. It wasn't a big deal anyway. He cheerfully waved back in thanks, his passive points surging with activity.

"Received encouragement, Passive Points, +89.""Received praise, Passive Points, +94.""Received declarations of love, Passive Points, +66."

"Declarations of love?" Xu Xiaoshou's mind jolted. "What kind of message was that?"

He felt this group was even crazier than at the start of the match. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he thought he'd also heard "wooden sword"?

Xu Xiaoshou drew his wooden sword and pointed it towards the stands.

"Want this?" His light inquiry, combined with his already handsome face and the body that had been improved by "Robustness" to no longer be thin and small, made the female disciples in the audience erupt the moment he spoke.

"Received declarations of love, Passive Points, +99.""Received declarations of love, Passive Points, +164.""Received declarations of love, Passive Points, +323.""Received a curse, Passive Points, +2."

"Holy crap! These people are insane!"

Xu Xiaoshou covered his ears, almost retreating back into the barrier from fright. "Steady, I can win! I must withstand this wave of passive point onslaught, I definitely can!"

"Xu Xiaoshou, time's up!" The referee's angelic voice finally came to his rescue. Xu Xiaoshou darted into the barrier, and the world outside instantly fell silent.

The light screen flickered, then froze, and the referee announced his next opponent: "Liu Zhen!"

On the Rising Cloud Stage, Liu Zhen, who was covering his ears, was utterly bewildered. "This..."

Zhou Zuo walked over from the side. He had already conceded two matches in a row. Seeing this scene, he immediately found it amusing.

"Go, Senior Brother Liu, take off your weights! And while you're at it, teach him a lesson for Boss Wen. This guy's done for; he actually dared to flirt with Senior Sister Di!"

Liu Zhen silently walked onto the stage. Xu Xiaoshou chuckled, "It's you! What a small world, we meet again. You're a pugilist, right? I love fighting pugilists the most..."

As he spoke, he noticed Liu Zhen's silent expression and his heart immediately sank. Could this guy be planning to concede as well?

"To be intimidated before the fight is a major taboo against an opponent; to flee without fighting..."

Liu Zhen's face darkened, and he interrupted him: "I didn't say I wanted to concede."

"That's good, that's good!" "You're a man! Splendid!"

Liu Zhen: "..."

He always felt that all of Xu Xiaoshou's outward pretenses were deliberate attempts to conceal his true strength. And the facts had repeatedly proven that everyone had been deceived by him.

From the moment he emerged from cultivation, he wasn't merely at the Fifth Realm. All those boasts he used to intimidate others were actually true.

Otherwise, how could this young man have ascended to the peak of the Sixth Realm in such a short time?

And his Innate Physique—others couldn't tell, but it couldn't fool Liu Zhen!

And that sword technique just now... And...

Xu Xiaoshou stared blankly at his information panel:"Suspected, Passive Points, +1.""Suspected, Passive Points, +1.""Suspected, Passive Points, +1.""..."

The messages kept refreshing one after another, leaving him utterly bewildered. "What's going on?"

"The referee? Liu Zhen? That's impossible..."

"Could there possibly be a fourth person inside this barrier?" Xu Xiaoshou's pupils constricted. "It's broad daylight, don't scare me!"

"Referee, I suspect something unclean has infiltrated the barrier! Please, quickly search for it!" Xu Xiaoshou cried out.

The referee slapped his forehead. "Oh no, he's at it again. How long has it been since he last stopped?"

Xu Xiaoshou was almost in tears; his information panel hadn't stopped updating, yet he couldn't reveal that he even had such a thing.

"It's true, you have to believe me!" "There's definitely a fourth person in here... No, maybe it's not a person!" Xu Xiaoshou lunged forward.

The referee's face darkened. "Contestant, please take your position. Do not cling to my leg. Please return to recover your breath!" "Please! Go! Back!"

Liu Zhen sighed deeply.

"Still pretending, are we? Do you really think I'm just a common person who can't see through your act?"

He flexed his hand, his gaze falling on the black sandbags on his forearms. This guy was truly unfathomable. It seemed he would also have to reveal some of his hidden cards!

Thump! Thump! The black sandbags on his hands, feet, and abdomen all came undone, thudding onto the stage and leaving indentations in the ground.

Liu Zhen's cultivation aura steadily climbed: Seventh Realm, Eighth Realm, Ninth Realm... Tenth Realm! Peak of Spirit Refinement!

Both the referee and Xu Xiaoshou glanced over simultaneously, utterly stunned. This guy, he was playing weak to ambush the strong?

Liu Zhen saw the shock in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes and sneered.

"Xu Xiaoshou, stop pretending. I will use all my strength to defeat you!" "Your tricks... they won't work on me!"

"What's going on? What is this guy talking about?" Xu Xiaoshou: ???