Chapter 1084: Xu Xiaoshou, Do You Want to Learn Swordsmanship?

"What's next for us, gentlemen?"

After exchanging the loot, Xu Xiaoshou looked at the three seniors with anticipation. Frankly, he hoped these three powerful bodyguards would stay by his side, as their combined strength was formidable and rare in the current era. Aside from Mr. Si, who could slay saints, Xiao Kongtong's combat power, though unseen, was surely impressive—certainly no less than his boastful demeanor suggested. Even after seeing Xiao Kongtong's less serious side when he transformed into a water ghost in the deep sea, Xu Xiaoshou knew that this man was a veteran who had fought across realms, currently ruling the Celestial City of Can Yue, and was in his prime.

As for Ye Xiaotian, it went without saying. Xu Xiaoshou could gauge the Dean's combat strength by comparing it to the power of Yu Lingdi's Water Element Law. After all, when Space Law confronted Water Element Law, regardless of who was stronger or weaker, both represented the pinnacle of power in the world. Even if Ye Xiaotian's combat record was poor—unable to defeat Ba Zun'an and being tormented by Yama's Netherworld—this did not diminish Xu Xiaoshou's perception of Space Law's inherent strength. He clearly understood that Ye Xiaotian wasn't weak; rather, his opponents were simply too abnormal to be judged by ordinary standards.

To put it another way: if anyone else fought those two, Xu Xiaoshou doubted anyone could have held out until reinforcements arrived as the Dean did. "Most likely, even Void Sovereigns would be instantly killed, and as for Throne Dao Realm experts, there's no need to consider them; none could put up a fight." "As for whether they could hold on, or for how long... it would entirely depend on whether those two had a playful mood, largely unrelated to how strong the beaten party was," Xu Xiaoshou mused silently.

After the three exchanged glances, Ye Xiaotian was the first to speak. "I probably won't be staying on Void Island. I need to return to Guansang Spirit Palace first. You know, Elder Qiao is still waiting for me there." Void Island might still hold opportunities, but Ye Xiaotian no longer clung to them. He had already inexplicably obtained the Demi-Saint position; what else was there to yearn for here? The remaining paths were all dangerous.

In Ye Xiaotian's mind, there were two pressing matters: first, cultivation; second, quickly delivering Ah Jie into Qiao Qianzhi's hands to prevent further complications.

"Return?" Xu Xiaoshou asked, curious. "How? Dean, do you have a Void Token?" Besides the Void Gate, the only key for entering and exiting Void Island was the Void Token. Xu Xiaoshou recalled that Ye Xiaotian wasn't present at the Spirit Edict trade fair, so he shouldn't have a Void Token.

"No," Ye Xiaotian shook his head straightforwardly. "I plan to force my way through the inter-realm spatial currents to return to the Saint God Continent and see if it's feasible."

"Force your way?" At this, not only Xu Xiaoshou was startled, but Xiao Kongtong and Mei Siren were also taken aback.

"Yes, 'force my way'," Ye Xiaotian said, as if he had already made up his mind. "Don't worry, to others, it sounds like seeking death, but for me... aside from the spatial currents between Void Island and the Saint God Continent, which are still a bit challenging, the ordinary ones can no longer trap me." He paused, then added, "On the Saint God Continent, I've attempted it many times. While I can't say I move freely, it's merely a slight hindrance." At this, the other three suddenly remembered that Ye Xiaotian specialized in Space Law.

"You won't die, will you?" Xu Xiaoshou still felt it was too fantastical. Void Island and the Saint God Continent were indeed two distinct worlds! What the Dean intended to do was even more difficult than forcibly tearing open a spatial rift on the Saint God Continent and then teleporting into a specific alternate dimension, like the White Cave.

"Shut your crow mouth!" Ye Xiaotian glared at Xu Xiaoshou, annoyed, then turned to Mei Siren and Xiao Kongtong. "Gentlemen, I'll take my leave now. If this journey succeeds, it will be a more precious treasure than any other for someone with space-element abilities." After all, the emergence of Void Island was a once-in-ten-millennia event. Traversing two worlds like this was the dream of any spatial spiritual cultivator.

Xiao Kongtong's mouth gaped open in disbelief, but ultimately he couldn't utter any words of dissuasion. He simply nodded and said, "It's thrilling. If I had space-element abilities, I might make the same choice. Take care."

Mei Siren closed his folding fan, feeling he had seen a true difference between spiritual cultivators and ancient sword cultivators. He smiled and said, "It's certainly an opportunity. I wish you success."

"Goodbye."

Ye Xiaotian bid farewell to the two, a profound diagram of laws unfurling beneath his feet. He then cast a final glare at Xu Xiaoshou, raised a finger, and admonished, "Remember, don't cause trouble! I'll be going ahead. See you later."

Xu Xiaoshou waved numbly, thinking, *Dean, you're even crazier than I am...*

"Take care."

But in the end, he could only see the Dean off.

Having suddenly lost one of his three bodyguards, Xu Xiaoshou could only look at the remaining two. "And you two...?"

"What about you? Where do you want to go?" Xiao Kongtong asked in return. He would not travel with Xu Xiaoshou; this was his teacher's command. A fledgling eagle, to grow, must ultimately learn to fly on its own. Once it had a reliance, its growth would be affected, more or less. Therefore, Xiao Kongtong would try to appear whenever Xu Xiaoshou faced peril, but he agreed with his teacher's words and would certainly not travel the entire journey with Xu Xiaoshou.

"Me?" Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaoshou looked at the countdown in his mind, his face falling. He had originally intended to follow Yan Mang's guidance with Lei Xier to search for treasure, but now it seemed he had to go somewhere else first to get rid of this countdown.

"I should probably go to the Hall of Sin One," Xu Xiaoshou sighed helplessly. "After... well, after plucking a few spirit herbs from Shennong's Medicinal Garden, a death countdown appeared in my mind. Only the 'Death Exemption Token' from the Hall of Sin One might be able to remove it."

As soon as he said this, Xu Xiaoshou expected the two in front of him to ask what a "death countdown" was. To his surprise, both of them froze simultaneously.

"A countdown?" Xiao Kongtong asked, his face aghast. "Are you talking about the 'countdown' on the 'Exile List'?"

"Yes!" Xu Xiaoshou's eyes lit up. "You know about it?"

*Just as I expected from the bigmouth of Can Yue Celestial City; you certainly know a lot of secrets. Quick, tell me how to get rid of this thing, besides the 'Death Exemption Token'*.

Before Xu Xiaoshou could voice his thoughts, Xiao Kongtong's expression became very strange. "It's not 'I know,' it's 'I have it too.'"

"You have what?" Xu Xiaoshou didn't immediately grasp it.

"A countdown!" Xiao Kongtong's tone grew heavier. "Eight days!"

"Huh?" This time, Xu Xiaoshou was dumbfounded. *You have a countdown too? You also have eight days left? What did you do? I was punished for clearing out Shennong's Medicinal Garden, and you... oh, right, you stole a Demi-Saint position. You're even worse than me. Never mind then.* Xu Xiaoshou suddenly understood. It seemed that anyone who committed a truly outrageous act on Void Island would be marked and start a death countdown.

"I was originally thinking of finding the city gates of this Sky City within these eight days and just running away. But hearing you talk about the 'Hall of Sin One' and 'Death Exemption Tokens,' what does it mean?" Xiao Kongtong's interest was piqued; he felt he'd found another path. If possible, he didn't want to leave Void Island, as it was filled with opportunities and battles.

*You know even less than I do...* Xu Xiaoshou was speechless. He retorted, "Do you have a Void Token?"

"Mmm-hmm," Xiao Kongtong nodded, flipping his hand to reveal a black Void Token. "But there's only one. Do you want it?"

Xu Xiaoshou: "???" *He actually has one?*

"Yes!" he immediately nodded.

"You want it, but I won't give it to you," Xiao Kongtong chuckled, putting it away. "Alright, tell me about this Hall of Sin One and everything."

"---!" Xu Xiaoshou was furious, regretting selling all his Void Tokens at the Spirit Edict trade fair. However, since the Water Ghost and Ba Zun'an dared to bring him to Void Island, he figured they wouldn't let him die here. Even if he got a Void Token, Xu Xiaoshou felt he wouldn't leave immediately. After all, the Water Ghost was right: opportunity and risk coexisted, and Void Island was indeed a rare chance encountered only once in many years.

"I don't know much either. I only learned from the Void Attendants that 'Void Crystals,' which are the only circulating currency on Void Island, can be exchanged for 'Death Exemption Tokens' in the Hall of Sin One. This should get rid of the 'death countdown' in our minds," Xu Xiaoshou said.

"Void Crystals..." Xiao Kongtong mused, suddenly recalling a shady transaction that took place at the end in the Forest of Miracles, between Xu Xiaoshou, who had transformed into a Void Attendant, and a true Void Attendant. His pupils widened, and he said excitedly, "Is that the kind you got from the Void Attendant?"

"Huh?" Xu Xiaoshou's eyes suddenly became vague, then as if recalling something, he shook his head. "No, you must have seen wrong. That was just a parting gift it gave me."

"Is that so..." Xiao Kongtong eyed Xu Xiaoshou suspiciously, then again, still not believing him. Immediately, his brows furrowed, and his expression turned a bit colder. "It had better not be!"

"Ah, haha," Xu Xiaoshou laughed awkwardly, his gaze darting elsewhere. *Are you kidding me? You won't give me your Void Token, but you want to mooch my Void Crystals? Those were a gift from my good friend! What if I just handed them over to you, and the Void Attendant found out? What then?*

Suddenly, Xu Xiaoshou's gaze fixed on the silent Old Sword Immortal Mei Siren, who had been listening to their conversation with a meaningful expression. He hesitated, then casually asked, "Mr. Siren, you don't have a death countdown too, do you? Your fight with Demi-Saint Jiang destroyed half the Forest of Miracles!"

"Mm," Mei Siren nodded lightly.

This revelation startled both Xu Xiaoshou and Xiao Kongtong.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"You..." Xu Xiaoshou was stunned. *So, it's not just thieves; those who cause destruction get marked too?* "How many days do you have left?"

"Ten days," Mei Siren remained calm. "I'm on some 'Exile List,' just like you two."

*As expected...* Xu Xiaoshou was both shocked and felt it was entirely reasonable. He had merely cleared out a medicinal garden, but Mr. Siren, along with Demi-Saint Jiang, had nearly obliterated the entire Forest of Miracles, even activating its desperate properties and causing regional rampage. Being marked was only natural, wasn't it?

However... looking at the serene Mr. Siren, Xu Xiaoshou felt a bit frantic inside. *It's a "death countdown," yet you're so leisurely? If I hadn't asked, would you have really said nothing?*

"Aren't you worried?" Xu Xiaoshou gritted his teeth, feeling a pang of discomfort.

"What's the use of worrying? Since it's happened, we just need to solve it. Didn't you say, the Hall of Sin One, Void Crystals, Death Exemption Tokens?" Mei Siren smiled.

*Are you trying to bleed me dry?!* Xu Xiaoshou was on the verge of collapse. He had painstakingly acquired sixty Void Crystals from the Void Attendant, plus two from previous missions, for a total of sixty-two. He wasn't even sure if that was enough to exchange for one Death Exemption Token. Now, suddenly, he needed to exchange for three?

"Everyone for themselves, huh..." Xu Xiaoshou suddenly felt like abandoning that thought and parting ways with the two in front of him. But he quickly realized his perspective was too narrow. *How foolish! If I could travel with these two, I could just rob the Void Attendants directly. Why worry about not having enough Void Crystals?*

"Seniors, since we're all about to... uh, not die, but since we're all facing this countdown, why don't we head to the Hall of Sin One together to find a solution?" Xu Xiaoshou's mind raced, and he practically wanted to reach out and fleece the two in front of him.

"Alright," Mei Siren actually nodded!

Xu Xiaoshou hastily looked at Xiao Kongtong.

In that instant, Xiao Kongtong recalled Ye Xiaotian's disoriented state after leaving the Hall of Sin One, which indicated how terrifying that place was. Then, he remembered his teacher's command: *Do not travel with Xu Xiaoshou!* The next second, he also nodded alongside Mr. Siren. "Of course, it's good to have company and look out for each other."

*Teacher, it's not that I don't want to obey your command. It's just that if Mr. Siren is going with Xu Xiaoshou, then adding me won't make a difference, right? Mr. Siren agreed so quickly, and he went straight for Xu Xiaoshou back in the Forest of Miracles. Anyone with half a brain can tell what his intentions are; only Xu Xiaoshou is so foolish he hasn't figured it out. If you don't have time to teach me, there shouldn't be any problem if I secretly learn from him, right? Yes, take the essence, discard the dross... that sword manifestation certainly has many flaws. I'll definitely find the problems for you!* Xiao Kongtong's thoughts raced.

Xu Xiaoshou, meanwhile, was beaming with joy. He never imagined that a "death countdown" would land him two super bodyguards. What "death countdown" was this? This was a life-saving charm! If Void Island could bury Mr. Siren and the senior disciple of Can Yue Celestial City, Xu Xiaoshou felt that being buried alongside them wasn't such a big deal.

"Then let's go!" Xu Xiaoshou flicked his head and pouted his lips. "Shall we head to the Hall of Sin One immediately?"

Xiao Kongtong said nothing, turning to look at Mei Siren, seemingly waiting for something.

"Not so fast."

Mei Siren still smiled. As his words fell, he slowly drew out two stone swords from his back. Despite enduring a battle of Demi-Saint magnitude, they remained perfectly intact. He handed one of them to Xu Xiaoshou, finally asking the question he had most wanted to ask since rushing from the Fiery Ash Domain to the Forest of Miracles and fighting a Demi-Saint. Before this question, even the "death countdown" had to take a backseat.

"Xu Xiaoshou, do you want to learn swordsmanship?"