Chapter 46: The Terrifying Right Hand
Xu Xiaoshou was stunned.
In the first round, heâd had to fight multiple opponents. During the preliminary round, heâd had to take down both Liu Zhen, a Level 10 cultivator, and Wen Chong, who ranked seventh on the Windcloud Board. Then, in the advancement round, heâd been pitted against Zhou Tianshen, who was but a step away from breaking through to the Innate Stage, and Zhao Qingteng, who had reached the Innate StageâŠ
Even more, itâd turned out that Zhou Tianshen had an Acquired-stage Blade Will, and Zhao Qingteng, an Acquired-stage Sword Will!
In the mid-finals, heâd had to face off with the âparasiteâ and âvampireâ Mu ZixiâŠ
In fighting his way through the Windcloud Competition, heâd had to overcome arduous obstacles and take down powerful foes. The hardships heâd endured had been immense, and the labors heâd suffered arduous.
Xu Xiaoshou was convinced that he was the most unfortunate man in this world.
âLook at Mo Mo,â he thought. âShe only needed one hand to fight all her matches.â
âWhat a heart-breaking, despairing juxtapositionâŠâ
Feeling a sudden coolness on his cheek, Xu Xiaoshou slowly woke up and saw a helpful attendant cleaning his face for him. He was moved by the gesture.
âIs it time for the finals?â
âYes,â the attendant briefly replied, flinging the rag back into his basin. His eyes followed Xu Xiaoshou as the latter strode into the distance.
âHow laid-back must a person be to catch a nap right before the finals?â he thought.
âImpressed, Passive Points +1.â
Suddenly, Xu Xiaoshou whirled around and gave the attendant a fright. The latter shoved his basin behind his back and hid the rag from Xu Xiaoshouâs view.
âWhatâs up?â
âWhat do you want?â
Xu Xiaoshou looked bemused. He summoned Hiding Pain and then, with his back toward the door, leaped into the air.
The black sword slowly glided through the air. Atop the blade stood a man who looked every bit the young and dashing gentleman.
The attendant stared in silence.
âCursed, Passive Points +1.â
âWhy does the young man have to turn away from his sword before jumping onto it?â he thought. âCouldnât he have gotten onto it the normal way?
âDoesnât he know he might give someone the wrong idea by looking at them like that?â
Xu Xiaoshou was incredulous. Had he just been cursed for no reason at all?
He had a niggling feeling that there was something wrong with the two attendants in his waiting area. It was all right though. After this round, he probably wouldnât ever see them again.
He waved goodbye to the two losers who had only managed to grant him two Passive Points.
⊠âŠ
âRidiculed, Passive Points +449.â
âSuspected, Passive Points +224.â
âImpressed, Passive Points +3.â
Xu Xiaoshou cheered up as soon as he stepped out of the waiting area. With the Windcloud Token in one hand, he vigorously turned his head from side to side, displaying his sincerest smile to all.
Where the crowds were, there lay his battleground.
Look at those Passive⊠âŠ
Hmm?
How come only three people were impressed with him?
These mere mortals who couldnât even flyâwhat gave them the right to ridicule him?
At the thought, Xu Xiaoshouâs black sword rose further into the heavens, as if complying with his desire to put a greater distance between himself and those mere mortals.
âRidiculed, Passive Points +541.â
âRidiculed, Passive Points +623.â
Hmm?
This was an unexpected boon.
Xu Xiaoshouâs eyes shone with glee as he rose further into the heavens.
âRidiculed, Passive Points +777.â
That was incredibleâŠ
One more time!
âRidiculed, Passive Points +864.â
Not bad. Not bad at all!
Keep this upâŠ
âOuch!â
Suddenly, he felt something bump against the top of his headâŠ
They were in the skies. Had he just gotten himself into an aviation accident?
Xu Xiaoshou looked up.
The look on Xiao Qixiuâs face was as dark as a storm cloud. His right hand gripped the long sword behind his back as he said in a deadpan voice, as if he were speaking to a dead man, âGo on, keep flying. Donât worry, you can go much higher than that.â
âI canât believe it! Itâs the esteemed and venerable judge himself!â he thought, nearly dying from fright.
Heavens!
Xu Xiaoshou smiled sheepishly as he plunged back into the barrier.
âHahaha! That Xu Xiaoshou! I canât believe him!â
The spectators nearly fell over with laughter. No one else could drive Elder Xiao as mad as Xu Xiaoshou.
On the other side.
Mo Mo had not left the arena at all. Instead, sheâd rested onstage, naturally witnessing Xu Xiaoshouâs advancement through the tournament.
Her lips curled upward into a smile. âXu Xiaoshou, Iâve been watching you since the first round of the tournament. You have aâŠâ She deliberated for a long moment before finally deciding on the appropriate description. âA great sense of humor.â
âPraised, Passive Point +1.â
Xu Xiaoshou kept staring at her bronze furnace. To be more precise, he was staring at her right hand, which was cradling the bronze furnace.
âItâs so pretty!â
The unexpected compliment brought a blush to Mo Moâs cheeks. This was the first time someone had called her pretty to her face.
She was deliberating if she should return the compliment when she heard Xu Xiaoshou hastily add, âI meant the bronze furnace.â
Mo Mo didnât say a word.
Xu Xiaoshou scratched his head then. He had a feeling that he shouldnât have said that.
âYouâre pretty too, of course. Pretty in a different way.â
Mo Mo remained silent.
âCursed, Passive Points +1.â
Xu Xiaoshou was incredulous.
âWhatâs going on?â he thought. âI complimented her on her beauty. Why did she curse me?â
âWomen!â
He stepped forward, seemingly drawn toward the bronze furnace. He looked as if he would really like to touch it, yet found such a thought inappropriate. Finally, he couldnât help himself and blurted out, âCan I take a look at that?â
Mo Mo looked as if she wanted to say something. In the end, she stuck her hand out and handed the bronze furnace over.
If someone else had asked, he would have had to keep dreaming, but this guyâŠ
Forget it. He had kind of complimented her just now. She was going to take his words as a compliment.
A quick look wouldnât hurt.
Having gotten Mo Moâs permission, Xu Xiaoshou stepped forward and grabbed her right hand with his soft, warm fingers.
âYouâŠâ
Mo Mo yanked her hand away, as if sheâd just been shocked by a jolt of electricity, leaving the bronze furnace cradled within Xu Xiaoshouâs palm.
Xu Xiaoshou stared at her in shock. He lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on her right hand. That was when he seemed to realize what had just happened.
âIâm so sorry. That was rude of me. I was simply drawn to the bronze furnace. I didnât mean to suggest anything elseâŠâ he apologized profusely.
ââŠdonât worry about it.â
Mo Mo sighed in relief and shrugged slightly. The young man looked really earnest. It had probably been an accident.
The spectators were bewildered by the two contestantsâ interactions. Why were they being so polite?
They had complimented each other. Their hands had touched. Why didnât they just hold hands and announce their joint victory as well as the end of the tournament?
âWhat are they up to? Why isnât the fight starting?â
âWhatâs the hurry? Xu Xiaoshou is allowed his rest. Besides, heâs just taking a look at a bronze furnace. Donât watch if youâre not willing to wait!â
âWhatâs so attractive about that bronze furnace?â
âHehe, a mystical artefact that never leaves the hands of our number one cultivator on the Windcloud Board? Iâd like to have a look at it too!â
Xu Xiaoshou couldnât do anything about what those spectators thought or felt. He pretended to seriously study the bronze furnace as his heart raced wildly inside his chest.
He was right!
His senses had been right!
From the moment he stepped into the arena and his Sense enveloped the entire area, he had somehow detected an extraordinary and terrifying power within the barrier.
After a long search, he had finally locked onto the bronze furnace resting in Mo Moâs right hand.
But Sense couldnât discern clearly without physical contact. In order to touch her right hand, he had slowly but surely lured Mo Mo into his trap and finally gotten what he had set out to get.
As soon as they touched, he had distinctly felt the power dwelling within Mo Moâs right hand and how it was many times more powerful than the spiritual energy residing in the rest of her bodyâŠ
It was at least ten times more powerful!
And it excluded any other powers that he couldnât identify.
What the hellâŠ
What kind of monster was she?
Mo Mo had gotten into the finals by only fighting with her left hand!
Xu Xiaoshou began to panic. He had a feeling that the opponent before him belonged in an entirely different league incomparable to the likes of Zhao Qingteng and Mu Zixi.
He recalled the contents of Elder Qiaoâs letter.
The Sealing TechniqueâŠ
âThis is scaring me. Does she have an entire arm sealed within her eye or something?â
If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.