Chapter 9: Happiness Critical Hit

"Did Xu Xiaoshou win?"

"Xu Xiaoshou won!"

The battle ended, and the barrier fell.

The overwhelming cheers from the audience startled Xu Xiaoshou. He turned his head and saw, to his surprise, how many people had gathered. It seemed like all the outer disciples of Chuyun Platform were here! Many of his junior brothers and sisters were crying profusely, but Xu Xiaoshou had no idea why; he could only assume they were acting crazy.

"Suspected, Passive Points, +324.""Admired, Passive Points, +1125."

Xu Xiaoshou quickly scanned the information bar and was so shocked he nearly knelt down. What was happening? He could understand the initial wave of suspicion; after all, as a fifth-realm cultivator, winning the group stage championship naturally invited controversy. Although Liu Zhen and Zhou Zuo were also on stage, it was clear to everyone that they were just going through the motions, making him the obvious champion.

But this "admiration" later... That was a bit mysterious! It seemed to be the first time this had appeared? And then... One thousand passive points??? Xu Xiaoshou was dumbfounded! This guy, who only wanted to take more hits and earn more passive points, clearly hadn't realized that in everyone's eyes, he had become the indomitable, self-reliant man who had made a comeback from near-death and achieved a glorious victory! After all, from the perspective of the latecomers, he was essentially a human punching bag, getting punched and kicked. Those people were beasts; how could they hit so hard? Look at Xu Xiaoshou's face, bruised and swollen...

Huh? Why were his injuries so light?

The referee, expressionless, walked over, holding a tray. "Congratulations, Xu Xiaoshou!" The prize on the tray was a ring, and nothing else. Xu Xiaoshou raised an eyebrow. A spatial ring? This was a good item, something he couldn't buy even if he sold his courtyard and the Black Sword.

He picked up the ring, pointed at the referee's trembling hand, and sincerely said, "Thank you, but there's no need to be so excited for me."

Hearing that, the referee's tray-holding hand trembled even more violently. Was he excited? He was suppressing his anger because of the tray! Throughout the entire battle, aside from snatching a few kills, he barely felt involved, which made him desperate. He had intended to perform his duties conscientiously, but was forced to occupy a position without doing anything, accomplishing nothing. This Xu Xiaoshou had thoroughly deceived him; it wasn't until the battle ended that he realized this guy was actually a Physical Innate! He'd wondered where those two bursts of Innate power had come from earlier, and it turned out to be him!

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

Xu Xiaoshou thought it was strange, but he returned a "keep it up" gesture and called out to the referee's back, "I'll do my best!"

The referee's hand trembled, and the tray almost flew off.

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

The referee lunged, caught the tray, and without turning his head, threw the sword from his back.

Xu Xiaoshou frowned, staring at his retreating back, and couldn't help but mumble, "How strange!"

"Xu Xiaoshou!""Xu Xiaoshou!"

People in the audience were shouting, initially mostly young girls, then others nearby, feeling awkward from being stared at, also started calling out. Xu Xiaoshou felt embarrassed. He didn't know why these people were acting so crazy, but since they were calling his name so excitedly, he just waved at them.

"Please sit down, no need to be polite."

Rao Yinyin stood up, stretched, pulled down her red dress that had been tugged up by the little girl to her thighs, and teased, "You can go find your Little Beast Brother now!"

Su Qianqian smiled, two dimples appearing on her cheeks. "No need, it's best that Little Beast Brother hasn't left the Spirit Palace!"

"Look how excited the girls next to you are. What if your Little Beast Brother gets snatched away?"

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Su Qianqian's face flushed. "I don't have such thoughts at all."

"Oh? Really?"

"I'm not talking to you anymore!"

Su Qianqian jumped off the chair, her head coincidentally bumping into Rao Yinyin's chest, causing her cheeks to flush even more. She bent down, picked up her greatsword, and ran off carrying it.

"Tsk tsk, how cute..."

Xu Xiaoshou naturally noticed the two of them. To be honest, there weren't many Innate auras in the arena. His own Innate Physical Body wasn't obvious, but that didn't mean others' Innate auras weren't. At least their refined aura was different from that of the girls frantically screaming his name.

"Su Qianqian...?""Long time no see..."

He was staring in the direction the young girl ran off when, unexpectedly, the woman in the red dress, walking behind, suddenly looked back and winked with a smile.

"Seduced, Passive Points, +1."

One second Xu Xiaoshou's heart was fluttering, the next he nearly spit blood upon seeing this message. Damn it, some things are better left unsaid, why point them out! Damn system!

The place was empty. They were all Spirit Refiners; even a one-second fan wouldn't do anything out of line. Well, at least not openly...

Just as Xu Xiaoshou was about to leave, Elder Qiao suddenly appeared before him.

"You sly one, managing to turn the tables even after being beaten so badly! You've got quite the nerve!"

"Elder Qiao?"

Elder Qiao's face darkened. "So you didn't even notice me, did you? You were just watching those two girls?"

"Hehe!" Xu Xiaoshou said as he walked, "Not at all, you were the first to arrive, weren't you?!"

"Of course!"

Xu Xiaoshou had a false alarm; thankfully, he guessed correctly and quickly turned his questioning tone into an exclamatory one, avoiding exposure.

"When did you cultivate an Innate Physical Body, keeping it a secret even from me?" Elder Qiao pressed.

Huh? How dare he ask me?

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

Last time? Elder Qiao suddenly recalled their meeting in the Spirit Affairs Pavilion and awkwardly smiled. "At that time... no one in their right mind would have believed you!"

Seeing Xu Xiaoshou about to erupt, he quickly pulled out a bottle of pills and shoved them into his arms. "You're injured, aren't you! Here, take these. Go back and recover well, see you later!" With that, he ran off.

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

Was it really necessary? I was just complaining a bit, it's not like I'm going to eat you! He looked at the pills Elder Qiao had given him, and a warmth spread through his heart... Huh? Elder Qiao, pills... Xu Xiaoshou suddenly shivered.

Xu Xiaoshou returned to his room. After washing up, he lay down on the freshly cleaned soft bed, feeling a wave of relief. Although he had somewhat anticipated it, actually winning the group stage championship and achieving this great feat for the first time in three years still felt surreal to him. One could only say that Innate-level "strength" was terrifyingly formidable! Under such attacks, he wouldn't have lasted a single breath before; now, he only had some superficial injuries. Broken bones or tendons? That was simply not the case, alright? As for the bruises and swollen face, they could essentially be healed with a single session of cultivation.

He thought about the pills Elder Qiao had given him and didn't dare to use them again. Taking out the champion's ring, Xu Xiaoshou performed the blood recognition ritual and saw a space inside roughly half the size of a house, which he was very pleased with. There wasn't much inside; the value was entirely in the ring itself, containing only a hundred spirit crystals and a bottle of pills.

Xu Xiaoshou took out the pills and examined them. Spirit Refining Pills... His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly put the items away, also storing some of his own miscellaneous belongings inside. Having a small portable space felt truly wonderful. He didn't have the habit of wearing rings, so he strung the ring with a thread and wore it as a necklace. This was his first championship on his arduous life journey, very commemorative, and he definitely had to keep it safe.

He lay on the bed, shifting his position to find greater comfort. So, the main event was here... How many passive points would he gain from this battle, where he was mercilessly beaten, a truly pitiable sight? Aside from a few quick glances he couldn't resist early on, he had held back for the entire battle, trying his best to ignore the numbers below, all in anticipation of this very moment!

Xu Xiaoshou's heart pounded. He looked at the very bottom of the information bar on the red interface in his mind. A wave of blissful shock exploded in his mind; Xu Xiaoshou felt his brain buzz and everything went blank. His fingers spasmed as he unconsciously counted: "One, two, three..."

"F-five digits!"

Passive Points: 17660.