Late in the morning.
A constant stream of people walked in and out of the Spiritual Affairs Division. This was the place where the Tiansang Spirit Palace dealt with the miscellaneous matters of outer yard disciples from. It was a massive place with 108 counters.
"Good morning, Senior."
"Good morning, Senior Xu."
"Good morning, Senio… Good afternoon?"
Xu Xiaoshou walked over with his sword behind his back. He saw people that he knew as well as people that he didn't. Anyway, he was the most senior person here and didn't have to greet anyone. All he had to do was nod.
Entering the Spiritual Affairs Division was like entering a wet market. It was loud and rowdy.
Most of the people here had come to register for the Windcloud Competition. After all, not registering for the competition was equivalent to forfeiting.
Anyone who forfeited for three years would be ousted from the palace. Of course, anyone ranked last for three years would also be ousted from the palace.
A small minority of people didn't want to participate in the competition and embarrass themselves. Thus, they had come over to submit their application to enter the mortal world as an executive. They planned to live day by day until they died.
All 108 counters were occupied. Xu Xiaoshou walked toward counter number one. There was no one there.
"Indeed!"
According to his memories, rest of the counters were managed by outer yard disciples who had enough experience. Only counter number one was managed by the elder of the Spiritual Affairs Division, Qiao Qianzhi.
Elder Qiao was good in every regard except that he constantly lectured anyone he talked to. Thus, the rest of the people would rather join the queue than interact with him.
Xu Xiaoshou was on rather good terms with this elder, mainly because he had reached the limits of his potential, so Elder Qiao couldn't be bothered to lecture him anymore.
After all, he was a man who was unable to break through to Level Four even after putting in 120% of his effort.
Xu Xiaoshou entered the booth. Elder Xiao was nodding off. Xu Xiaoshou sneakily walked over, then rapped the table with his knuckles. "Wake up!"
Elder Qiao, who was leaning back in his chair, his mouth slightly open, jumped in shock. He didn't even bother to wipe the drool from the corner of his mouth before slapping at whoever was in front of him. Xu Xiaoshou nimbly crouched down to avoid the attack. "Easy!" he warned.
"Oh, it's you. Xiaoshou… Hm, Xu Xiaoshou?"
Elder Qiao became wide awake when he saw who had come. There was a look of shock on his face. "Weren't you in death seclusion? You didn't die?"
Xu Xiaoshou's expression turned dark. What, it's not possible that I could've achieved a breakthrough? You expected me to become a corpse?
"I died. I'm now a zombie!" he said in an unfriendly tone.
Elder Qiao gave him a friendly smile. He pointed to the people outside and said, "You're also prepared to leave the palace to become an executive in the mortal world?"
Xu Xiaoshou returned his sarcasm. "Become an executive? Why, is it not good to make it in the top ten spots of the Windcloud Scoreboard?"
"Yes, but how can you with your abilities?" Elder Qiao suddenly clutched his belly and burst out laughing, his body trembling violently.
It was incredibly boring in the outer yard. Only Xu Xiaoshou dared to talk to him like this. It was only in front of Xu Xiaoshou that he would set aside his pride and laugh freely.
[Got mocked. Passive Point +1]
Mocked?
He'd just opened a whole new can of worms!
Xu Xiaoshou snickered. It seemed like it was as he'd expected. As long as he was passive enough, he'd gain an endless stream of Passive Points.
"Why? You don't believe that my abilities have improved by leaps and bounds after my death seclusion?"
[Got suspected. Passive Point +1]
Xu Xiaoshou was happy. He continued to flick his sleeves and said with a stern expression, "I won't keep anything from you. I've already broken through to the [Innate stage]!"
"Puuu!" Elder Qiao spat out his water.
He looked at Xu Xiaoshou's serious expression and could no longer hold it in. His demon-like laugh reverberated around the Spiritual Affairs Division. "HAHAHAHA…"
"I can't take it anymore, Xu Xiaoshou. Your expression… You're really funny." He grabbed the napkin that he'd used to wipe his drool with and blotted away his tears.
[Got praised. Passive Point +1]
Xu Xiaoshou was speechless.
Praised?
What kind of praise was that? That was sarcasm. This system must be broken. Where had it gotten "praised" from?
Outside, some of the disciples heard Elder Qiao's demonic laugh. They craned their necks to look over to try and see what was going on.
"My God, whose laughter was that? It's so demon-like!"
"Lower your voice. Don't you recognize Elder Qiao's laugh? Do you want to be lectured?"
"Who managed to amuse Elder Qiao? I'm impressed."
"I don't know. Let's have a look."
They were all curious and no longer cared about queueing up. After all, processing their applications as a group wasn't against the rules. Thus, all of them snuck over to the room where counter number one was.
"Hng… It's Xu Xiaoshou? Wasn't he in death seclusion?"
"Wow, you're sure out of the loop. I heard that he broke through to Level Four and has come out of seclusion!"
"Tsk tsk. It looks like you are too. I heard yesterday that he reached Level Five."
"Nonsense. I heard that he reached Level Seven."
"Level Eight!"
"He said that he was [Innate] while he was inside…" a weak voice said, and the room slipped into silence. They all turned to look at the person who'd spoken.
"As if we'd believe you!" they said.
Elder Qiao saw the mob of people outside the door and became furious. He realized that his laugh had attracted all these people's attention. He immediately walked out of the room and shouted, "What are you looking at? Go and tend to your registration!"
"Hehe, don't be angry, Elder Qiao!" The group quickly waved their hands and scattered like birds.
Xu Xiaoshou, who was in the
room, was extremely elated. He looked at the continuous stream of updates in his notification panel.
[Got doubted. Passive Points +42]
[Got doubted. Passive Points +31]
[Got doubted. Passive Points +16]
[Got doubted. Passive Points +3]
There were a few hundred people in the Spiritual Affairs Division, and a few dozen of them had come to see what was going on. He had gained more Passive Points from the Elder Qiao's laugh than all the Passive Points he'd gained in the past combined.
The first wave of Passive Points must have come from the onlookers. The notifications after that must have been from word spreading. Or were they from the second wave of doubt?
Xu Xiaoshou realized that every person could only give him one Passive Point during a single event. There was only one condition he had to fulfill if he wanted to obtain more Passive Points.
A large number of people!
He started daydreaming. Wouldn't he be able to instantly gain [10000 Passive Points] if he shouted: "I'm an [Innate stage] expert" in a crowd of 10000 people?
Groan. He might also be regarded as a lunatic and be beaten to death. Though, his scenario also seemed plausible.
Elder Qiao closed the door and returned to his chair. "Why do you have a stupid smile on your face?"
"I don't! It's nothing!"
Xu Xiaoshou came to his senses and said, "I forgot to talk about the issue at hand. I'm here to register for the Windcloud Competition."
"You're not afraid of embarrassing yourself?"
Elder Qiao spoke as he took out a green token from the drawer. He placed it near his forehead and put in Xu Xiaoshou's details.
Xu Xiaoshou rolled his eyes. The elder didn't believe him. "I'm really at the [Innate stage]! Why would I be afraid of embarrassing myself!" he thought.
He sighed. It couldn't be helped. The life of a genius came with slander and doubt.
"Spiritual Cultivation Level Four?" Elder Qiao asked.
Xu Xiaoshou thought about it and decided not to bother talking back. He nodded.
"Here!"
After he received the green token from Elder Qiao, Xu Xiaoshou placed it on his forehead and quickly read the details within.
Xu Xiaoshou, Spiritual Cultivation Level Four, Group 12, Serial Number: 1130.
Over a thousand people…
Xu Xiaoshou was still shocked even though he had expected this.
There were always over a thousand participants during the annual Windcloud Competition. Anybody who was an outer yard disciple would have to participate in the competition, regardless if they had been training in the outer sect for one, two, or three years.
The person who was ranked last would be subjected to a trial by the elders of the spirit palace. Those who didn't have an impressive showing would usually be sent away immediately.
Elder Qiao had played a large part in Xu Xiaoshou being able to stay in the spirit palace for so long.
However, Elder Qiao wouldn't be able to protect Xu Xiaoshou forever. If Xu Xiaoshou was to rank last for the third year in a row, he wouldn't be able to save him.
However, it seemed like this would no longer be a problem!
Xu Xiaoshou kept the token and raised an eyebrow at Elder Qiao. He rubbed his palms together and said, "Elder Qiao, where are my Spirit Crystals…"
His first motive for coming here was to register for the competition. His second was to take back the funding he needed for his training.
Counting the previous two months, he had 20 Spirit Crystals with Elder Qiao that he hadn't collected. He had become penniless after purchasing Hiding Pain. Even though 20 Spirit Crystals wasn't a lot, every little bit counted.
"You sure are as smart as a whip when it comes to this type of thing," Elder Qiao scolded him, smiling.
He took out 20 Spirit Crystals from the drawer. He waved his hand again and produced a pill bottle, then placed it on the table with the Spirit Crystals.
"This is…" Xu Xiaoshou was shocked. Anyone who took up a position at the Spiritual Affairs Division was famous for being stingy. Elder Qiao was especially known for this. Why would he give him an extra bottle of pills?
"This is a personal gift from me to you. Don't tell the others!" Elder Qiao said sternly. He pushed the Spirit Crystals and pill bottle toward him, and his expression suddenly turned melancholy. "I might not be able to see you again in the future…"
Xu Xiaoshou's heart warmed. He quickly put away the items, then smiled. "Don't worry. Even if I'm ousted out of the Tiansang Spirit Palace, I'll come back and visit you!"
"Heh!" Elder Qiao was happy. "Would you be able to come in?"
"Don't worry. They can't kick me out."
"Let's hope so!"
Elder Qiao was a little melancholy as he watched Xu Xiaoshou walk out of the Spiritual Affairs Division smiling. He knitted his brows and murmured to himself, "To think that that lad would be able to achieve a breakthrough. What a miracle."
"That's fine. It doesn't look like he knows that I was the one who sold the others the information. That bottle of pills can be his compensation…
He put his fingers together, "Yes, ten times the profit. I didn't make a loss this time!"