There was pin-drop silence in the hall.
Not a sound. Everyone just stared in awe at how Xu Xiaoshou executed his moves.
“Innate Sword Will…”
Jiang Bianyan was bedazzled by what he saw. With that one move, Xu Xiaoshou literally made himself into a weapon. It was more than enough for anyone to see how profound Xu Xiaoshou’s comprehension of the Sword Will was.
Such a level of powers meant he did not just recently gain such a skill. It was something that could only have come from being steeped in this path for many years.
But…
“Innate Level Physique and Innate Sword Will. Where did he find all the time to train in both?”
“Is this kid some old veteran who just looked unbelievably young?”
It was no surprise why Jiang Bianyan suspected it to be so. Those two paths were extremely difficult to train in, and it was unbelievable to get to see both types of powers in one person.
Ye Xiaotian and Qiao Qianzhi looked at each other and grinned.
While the news was very shocking to outsiders, both of the masters had by now gotten used to it.
However, what was most terrifying about Xu Xiaoshou wasn’t the fact that his combat prowess was more than what it seemed, but the weird antics he would come up with all the time.
Truth to be told, they too were surprised at how quickly he won the duel.
They knew that Cheng Xingchu was going to lose, but they had never expected that he would suffer such an overwhelming defeat.
Arrgghhhh!
The sword aura that punched through Cheng Xingchu’s body stayed in there for only moments before Xu Xiaoshou recalled it, leaving the young man wincing with bloodshot eyes.
“Seniors, I’d say the duel has now been concluded.”
Xu Xiaoshou then asked, “if there is nothing else that requires my performance, may I take my leave?”
Performance…?
Cheng Xingchu spat out blood right there and then.
Cursed, Passive Points +1.
Xu Xiaoshou feigned shocked.
“Are you alright?”
“I wasn’t doing much back there…”
“You!” Cheng Xingchu pressed his hand against his heart and his eyes looked like they were about to pop.
Huh! not doing much? You did this on purpose!
Keeping still without doing much at all? You must be proud of yourself now!
Resented, Passive Points +1.
“Xu Xiaoshou!” Ye Xiaotian called, noticing that he was about to say something again.
He glared at Xu Xiaoshou. Kid, stop talking already! If you were to just keep talking and the other guy gets annoyed to death, then things would reach a point of no return.
“What do you think, Hallmaster Jiang?” Ye Xiaotian finally felt relieved after preventing one of his own from doing more damage.
The corner of Jiang Bianyan’s mouth twitched. Everyone witnessed what happened, and Xu Xiaoshou had indeed won. There was nothing else he could say about it.
He couldn’t just weasel out of it, as he still had to save face.
However, the whole thing felt like a mockery with Cheng Xingchu losing in such a manner.
The two slots he had hoped for vanished just like that.
Hmm, and there’ was also the sword too…
“I object!”
Cheng Xingchu stood up and shouted angrily.
“Spiritual cultivators fight against the heavens and the Great Path. How could the outcome of a duel be decided by just sitting down?”
“If we had a physical duel, Xu Xiaoshou would not have been able to win against me!”
Zhao Xidong slapped his forehead quietly, having anticipated that it would turn out exactly like that.
Xu Xiaoshou begged to differ and spoke in a soft voice. “The fact remains that you lost. Had this been a fight to the death, losing would have meant you’d be dead.”
“Therefore, you should be lying down instead of standing up. The dead don’t speak after all.”
Cheng Xingchu was speechless.
Damn it!
Could you just shut the f**k up!? I don’t wanna hear you talk!
Resented, Passive Points +1.
Xu Xiaoshou remained unfazed and even felt like laughing.
He observed Jiang Bianyan, who looked like he was about to speak, yet said nothing. Xu Xiaoshou then added, “However, I believe that life is not all about tragedies…”
“If you were to have something else that you could bet on, you could choose to continue the duel, I guess.”
He dropped the line and slowly put the fifth-grade spirit sword he held into his space ring.
His actions taunted Cheng Xingchu… Come on, young man.
Money will allow you to change your fate. You wanna get resurrected? You wanna beat me?
Get another sword, then…
Cheng Xingchu’s face was ashen-faced, wondering if Xu Xiaoshou thought his pockets were bottomless.
The opportunity was truly right before his eyes, yet he hesitated. Instead, he began wondering if he could even beat someone who possessed Innate Sword Will.
Despite being at Upper Spiritual Level, yet such Wills could sometimes allow a cultivator to defeat those of higher levels. Besides, Xu Xiaoshou had Innate Level Physique…
It would be very possible for Xu Xiaoshou to bridge the gap spanning over the Voidness Level and Upper Spiritual Level, and to defeat him eventually.
Ye Xiaotian grinned and asked, “What do you think, Hallmaster Jiang?”
Truth to be told, Jiang Bianyan was feeling rather tempted.
That was their last chance, and they had to seize it.
He shot a look at Cheng Xingchu and then said something telepathically. Everyone then saw Cheng Xingchu’s eyes lighting up.
“Alright! I agree!’
Qiao Qianzhi almost burst out laughing again, quickly pulling the cup to his mouth to cover his smile before taking a sip.
“Ah, this tea is nice…”
“You still have a sword, then?” Xu Xiaoshou asked with a greedy look in his eyes.
Cheng Xingchu took a deep breath and slowly pulled out a jade scroll. “This is the Cheng family’s upper level…”
“Spiritual technique?”
Xu Xiaoshou’ frowned and pouted as he said, “I’m not interested in spiritual techniques. Next.”
Cheng Xingchu was speechless.
How did you know before hearing everything I said?
How would you know what it is?
“This is…”
“Next!”
“Huff,” Cheng Xingchu exhaled and took out a grey piece of rock.
The piece of cobblestone was of the size of two fists and had black array patterns on it. The strokes didn’t seem like much, yet it seemed to harbor Great Path, containing an immense power of unknown proportions.
Yu Zhiwen, who was beside Xu Xiaoshou, gasped as soon as Cheng Xingchu revealed the rock. “An Origin Residence?”
Cheng Xingchu looked at the veiled girl with pride and said, “Indeed.”
Even the seniors from both sides were rather stunned to find that Cheng Xingchu possessed something like that. Not even Jiang Bianyan had expected it.
Why would you take something like this out?
Xu Xiaoshou noted everyone had a shocked look on their faces and was baffled. “What is an Origin Residence?”
Cheng Xingchu chuckled mockingly, deeming him as one who had been living under the rock.
“Extra-dimensional spaces appear on the Shengshen Continent all the time. Some of these spaces are extremely unstable and cannot remain for long before they decay.”
“When these spaces collapse, it would naturally mean that nothing within it would survive. Yet the Great Path acknowledged some of these extra-dimensional spaces, and they would take the form of such sealing stones when they collapse. And that is what is known as the Origin Residence.
“Such treasures like the Origin Residence are scarce—you could say that they’re one in a million, which indeed makes them priceless treasures.”
Xu Xiaoshou then asked, “Well, what can the Origin Residence be used for, then?”
“Hmph!” Cheng Xingchu snorted with a contemptuous look on his face, and said, “When put to good use, you could unravel the seal on the rock, thus gain a small space of your own.”
“A small space of my own…?”
Xu Xiaoshou thought of the space ring reflexively, but if the Origin Residence were to be as miraculous, then…?
“Could it contain living beings?”
“It could, indeed.”
Xu Xiaoshou’s eyes glinted right away. A manor that I could bring along with me? Or even a moving castle?
That is a treasure like no other!
However, excited as he was, he realized that something was amiss.
“So, you’re willing to let me have one such treasure?”
Let you have it…?
What Xu Xiaoshou said riled up Cheng Xingchu right away, causing him to yell, “since when did I say about just letting you have it? If you lose, you’ll have to give me my sword back!”
However, Xu Xiaoshou still found something fishy about the whole deal. A fifth-grade spirit sword was not a famed sword, and he wondered what prompted Cheng Xingchu to take out such a treasure to wager on.
At that moment, Ye Xiaotian, sitting in the master’s seat, interjected calmly and said, “if I’m not mistaken, this is probably an Abrogated Origin Residence, is it not?”
Cheng Xingchu’s rage dissipated right away as he stood there feeling awkward.
“Abrogated Origin Residence?” Xu Xiaoshou asked with a puzzled expression.