Chapter 1355: Dragon Apricot Grants Blessings During Operation, Second Awakening and Three People Go Mad

The last time I created an entry for "secondary awakening failure" was during the awakening of "Xiao Shi Shu."

Back then, it was like burning my bridges—I bound two awakening stones together and threw them into the awakening pool, resulting in one success and one failure.

The order was success first, then failure, so the failed one triggered the new entry: secondary awakening failure.

Xu Xiaoshou hadn't forgotten about that.

Unfortunately, passive values were always in short supply, or rather, his growth was so rapid that he never had time to earn more.

He was afraid of wasting too much and ending up with nothing, so he didn't dare attempt a secondary awakening.

Now, it seemed like he could pick it up again and study it properly.

Passive values: 3,562,552.

Awakening stone: 100,000 passive values each.

"Based on the usual probability, a first awakening succeeds within about ten tries, and with good luck, even once or twice."

"Then for a second awakening, with a million passive values fully allocated, it should work out."

"But what if the probability isn't the same? What if I pour in over three million passive values and get nothing—absolutely nothing..."

Xu Xiaoshou hesitated slightly.

His current stock was enough to upgrade all his passive skills to Sheng Di Lv.0, which was a real breakthrough in combat power, with no risks involved.

But a second awakening wasn't guaranteed.

So...

Should he take a gamble?

Or play it safe?

"Go for it!"

Once the thought crossed his mind, it was hard to hold back.

Xu Xiaoshou quickly made his decision, choosing to follow his instincts and desires.

Passive values: 3,562,552.

Passive values: 2,562,552.

A million passive values were exchanged in an instant, yielding ten awakening stones.

Awakening stones didn't differentiate between first and second awakenings; they just increased in price with each major realm breakthrough. It was unscrupulous, yet fair in its own way.

After the exchange, Xu Xiaoshou felt his heart bleeding, but he reminded himself that the remaining 2.5 million passive values were still enough to max out all his passive skills.

So, he figured this million was just a test of the waters to see what a second awakening could do.

"Violent Giant or Xiao Shi Shu?"

Xu Xiaoshou deliberated between these two most commonly used awakened skills, not considering others.

The others were just extras; these two were lifesavers.

Without surprises, the second awakening of Violent Giant would push its output to another extreme, while Xiao Shi Shu's would enhance survival even more.

"Let's go with Xiao Shi Shu!"

"After all, if I don't break through now, I'll be done for if I run into someone like Shen Yi again..."

Xu Xiaoshou thought of that fierce opponent's tactics, and his heart turned ice-cold.

"If I succeed within ten tries, I can skip upgrading other skills and use another million passive values to gamble on Violent Giant's second awakening. That way, my output could go completely insane again."

"But if it all goes to waste, I won't think about secondary awakenings for a long time... I have to stay calm! Absolutely no impulsiveness!"

Xu Xiaoshou sorted through his thoughts without pressuring the system; it was just a simple mental review.

He began binding the awakening stones to "Yin Ni"...

With a boom, Violent Giant suddenly appeared in Xing Jie, its eyes turning red as it soared into the sky, hunched over and roaring:

"Come on!"

"It's either a pop gun or a cannon—it's all down to this fateful moment!"

Tan Shen noticed this owner, who even made cats feel ashamed, but it was used to it and casually licked its paws while watching.

Long Xing jumped in fright.

It had reverted from its pattern state to its physical form, retracting into the Shen Nong Medicine Garden, with its roots embedded in Xing Jie's grand dao rules.

As the world tree protecting this realm, Long Xing instinctively thought a Void Servant had invaded upon seeing the sudden golden giant.

Once it recognized the aura, it silently withdrew, abandoning any plans to fight.

In the passive system interface, the sink-or-swim battle officially began!

Whoosh—bang!

The process was quick and uneventful.

A massive thud echoed as Violent Giant plummeted from the sky, crashing into a deep pit. Tan Shen, perched on the edge of the dan cauldron, watched with its eyes twitching.

"Meow?"

Long Xing was also curious about what this human boy was up to.

Had he vented something?

Otherwise, how could he go from a state of high-spirited enthusiasm to utter despair in an instant?

In the deep pit, Xu Xiaoshou couldn't even maintain his Violent Giant form, reverting to human shape. His dao heart was in turmoil, on the verge of qi deviation.

"Fail... failed..."

He trembled as he pointed his fingers, his eyes vacant as he stared at the sky, unable to comprehend how a single thought, a single breath, could squander a million hard-earned passive values.

And get absolutely nothing in return!

Ten awakenings!

Ten failures!

"Are you messing with me?!"

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes turned red. He sprang up, feeling a surge of unresolved anger.

Instinctively, he wanted to exchange another million passive values for more stones. "I don't believe this..."

"Stay calm, boss!"

His second true body, outside Xing Jie, shivered as it tried to dissuade him.

It felt that if he failed again, the main body might kill him out of frustration, all in the name of creating something more perfect.

"The remaining passive skills—half of them don't need upgrading; they're mostly just extras anyway... What if I free up the points and gamble on another second awakening? What do you think, Jin Ren?"

Xu Xiaoshou asked with red eyes.

"I think, well, you're the boss, so whatever you think is fine..."

Jin Ren replied cautiously, knowing how unpredictable his companion could be.

"But if you don't give a suggestion right now, you might suddenly drop dead?"

"Boss! Even if I do suggest something, if it doesn't work out, I'll still end up dead!" Jin Ren cried out. He knew exactly what was on his mind.

Xu Xiaoshou calmed down a bit and stroked his chin, starting to fantasize:

"The pool's already been fed; logically, the chances of success should be higher next time. At least it should give me a second awakening, right?"

"What if I throw in another million—maybe I'll hit the jackpot twice?"

Jin Ren listened and cried as he advised, "Boss, awakening stones can't give you a double jackpot; you bind them one by one..."

"Shut up."

"Got it."

Passive values: 2,562,552.

Passive values: 1,562,552.

Xu Xiaoshou didn't want to hear any more nonsense from this dying Jin Ren and quickly exchanged another million passive values for ten awakening stones.

"Hehehe..."

Jin Ren heard that deranged laugh and felt his heart skip a beat. In the private room of You Gui Pavilion, he despairingly closed his eyes, holding back tears.

"I think it'll succeed this time. What about you, Jin Ren?"

"It, it must!"

Feeling encouraged, Xu Xiaoshou flashed to the ten-thousand-dan cauldron, picked up Tan Shen, and started gathering good luck.

"Will I succeed?"

"Meow?"

"Perfect, I love you."

Xu Xiaoshou dipped the cat into the cauldron's medicinal liquid like sauce, then took a deep sniff.

So fragrant!

It actually had a medicinal aroma!

He tossed it aside and flashed over to Long Xing.

"Meow!" Tan Shen finally reacted, feeling like it had narrowly escaped being refined into a meat pill.

"Human?!"

Long Xing was startled by this human's inhumane actions, afraid this red-eyed madman might take a bite out of it too.

But Xu Xiaoshou was still polite: "Long Xing senior, can you wish me good luck?"

Long Xing swayed its slightly dimmed canopy and said calmly: "Xing Jie is newly formed, its fortunes unstable. Let it accumulate slowly; that's far better than using it now."

What?

Xu Xiaoshou paused briefly, then his eyes widened.

He had just asked casually, hoping for the ancestral tree's blessing as a illusory boost.

From Long Xing's words, it seemed it could really add luck to him!

"Long Xing senior, say that again—can you increase my good luck?"

"Yes."

"I...!!"

Xu Xiaoshou clutched his head, nearly summoning his second true body into his primal essence sea to kill it out of frustration.

I'm such an idiot!

Fortune...

Fortune golden dragon...

Isn't that exactly what Rao Keai could summon with the Xuan Cang Divine Sword?

Even a mere Sheng Shen Hall has talk of fortunes; how could a newborn world like this, with Long Xing presiding, have none?

And as the lord of Xing Jie, how could he not tap into that fortune for his own use?

Using it now would deplete it...

But if I grow stronger and make a name for myself, Xing Jie won't be discovered for now, and the world's fortunes can accumulate faster...

Plus, there are bound to be battles with Sheng Shen Hall ahead—I can seize their fortunes then...

Ah, Rao Keai died too soon; otherwise, I could have used her. Oh right, where did her Xuan Cang Divine Sword end up...

"Human! Calm down!"

Long Xing had no idea what this boy was thinking.

But his bloodshot eyes and the demonic aura radiating from him all signaled that he was one step away from his dao heart collapsing into qi deviation!

In a flash, Xu Xiaoshou closed and opened his eyes, his state restored to perfect condition.

How could he, who could control qi deviation himself, be ruled by inner demons?

Xu Xiaoshou lowered his head earnestly and said: "Senior, please wish me good luck!"

Seeing that the lord of Xing Jie was determined, Long Xing didn't hesitate. The ancestral tree shook, manifesting a illusory golden dragon shadow.

"Roar—"

With a dragon's cry, the fortune golden dragon leaped and merged into Xu Xiaoshou's body.

This was the moment!

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly looked up, his eyes bursting with brilliant light. He felt an overwhelming surge of power, as if he could punch even a Sheng Di to pieces!

Long Xing was startled by him.

But before it could react, this human boy, still not done with his madness, tilted his head skyward and boomed back into Violent Giant form.

"Heaven's mandate is mine!"

Bind the awakening stone, throw...

"Heaven's mandate must be mine!!"

Throw again...

"Damn it, my fate is mine, not heaven's!!!"

Again!

"Secondary awakening successful."

"Yin Ni (awakening: Xiao Shi Shu)."

"Yin Ni (secondary awakening: Li Shi Du Li)."

Whoa!

The Violent Giant that Xu Xiaoshou had transformed into stared at the barrage of messages, momentarily stunned.

The next second, it snapped back and went wild, lunging down with its massive hands to hug Long Xing, nearly uprooting it as it planted fierce kisses.

"I love you, Apricot Treasure!"

"Human?!"

Long Xing was completely baffled.

What was this person going crazy about?

In the distance, Tan Shen let out a low meow, its eyes full of resentment.

The master has changed...

In the past, when he went mad, he'd chew on me, but now he's gone as far as chewing on a tree...

"Received resentment, passive values: +1."

Xu Xiaoshou didn't care about that right now.

With Long Xing's blessing, he succeeded in the second awakening on the third try.

The priority wasn't checking what "Li Shi Du Li" did; it was seizing the time for more second awakenings.

If he didn't, the seven exchanged awakening stones would go to waste!

"Time waits for no one—let's go again!"

"Again!!"

"You cheating piece of crap, get lost..."

"Dad!!!"

"Secondary awakening successful."

"Qiang Zhuang (awakening: Violent Giant)."

"Qiang Zhuang (secondary awakening: Ji Xian Giant)."

Whoa!!

Once more, the Violent Giant, which hadn't expected much, hugged its head in mid-air, nearly exploding with excitement.

Even the second true body in the private room of You Gui Pavilion—the only one who knew what Xu Xiaoshou was up to—found it unbelievable.

It succeeded?!

He wore a ghostly expression.

Four awakening stones, and another skill got its second awakening?

This probability was terrifyingly high, almost matching his luckiest first awakening runs.

Ji Xian Giant...

What on earth was that?

"Three down!"

"Awakening stones left: three, still a chance!"

Xu Xiaoshou clutched his head, his hands shaking as he tried to stay composed.

He felt the momentum hadn't faded; Long Xing's blessing was still active—this ancestral tree's boost was incredibly powerful!

No time to waste...

For the third second awakening, which passive skill should he choose?

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Xu Xiaoshou's mind, analyzing the possible directions for each extended passive skill.

He quickly decided.

"Min Jie!"

"Min Jie's first awakening maximizes speed, forming 'One Step to Heaven.'"

"This awakened skill is basically useless now that I've used the Space Dao Disc with Dao Seed to brute-force it... Wait, no, it could still work in special situations like forbidden arrays or seals, and it's fundamentally different from space attributes, so it's still powerful."

"But Min Jie isn't just about speed; it also strengthens reaction and awareness, which are the key factors in high-level battles that decide victory."

"I'm currently approaching the third realm in combat awareness, but essentially, I'm at the peak of the second realm. Only when I focus intensely, like against something like Tian Ji Divine Envoy, can I barely touch the third realm..."

"More practice and battles might let me truly break through to the third realm."

"But there's no time! A major war is coming!"

"Approaching the third realm sounds sufficient, but against someone like Shen Yi, who's definitely in the third realm—maybe even at its peak or beyond—it's a guaranteed loss!"

Xu Xiaoshou recalled the scene at Tian Sang Spiritual Palace, where Ba Zun An ambushed Ye Xiao Tian but was one-shot and lost an arm.

"Space attributes are good, but your combat awareness is a bit weak..." That was Ba Zun An's original comment.

Now, thinking back, that was his first encounter with the concept of "combat awareness," but back then, it was too distant to care about.

Now, he had to care!

Low-realm combat awareness against a high-realm opponent was like Ye Xiao Tian facing Ba Zun An, or Kong Yu Hen facing Shen Yi earlier.

Both were blown away before they could even react.

"Ba Zun An said Kong Yu Hen's strength had recovered beyond his Ten Venerable Seat days, but he couldn't even activate his space mysteries before Shen Yi's illusory form punched him away..."

"That's right, Kong Yu Hen was defeated by Shen Yi once back in the Ten Venerable Seat era. So many years later, he needed time to recover, but did Shen Yi stay stagnant without his memory issues?"

"Similarly, can I use outdated assessments to gauge the current power of those from that era?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Xiang Yi was right; those people now, despite any restrictions, are all more terrifying. I've already fallen behind an era—I can't afford to lag further."

With that thought, Xu Xiaoshou stopped hesitating and bound "Min Jie" to the awakening stone.

"Come on!"

"Secondary awakening successful."

"Min Jie (awakening: One Step to Heaven)."

"Min Jie (secondary awakening: Shen Min Moment)."

Huh?

Xu Xiaoshou was almost caught off guard by the sudden flood of messages.

One shot?

"Damn!"

Violent Giant suddenly opened its eyes, staring at Long Xing with a gaze like he was eyeing a naked woman—pure, unadulterated obsession.

"Jackpot! Total jackpot!"

"This time, with two million passive values, I got three second awakenings—better than expected!"

"Two left?"

Staring at the remaining two awakening stones, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly felt at a loss.

This was going too smoothly!

Was Long Xing's blessing really this strong?

Or did I accidentally turn on some switch, using up my lifespan for second awakenings?

"What else can I awaken..."

Xu Xiaoshou had no more grand plans and decided to play it out, binding "Fan Zhen" and starting another sink-or-swim.

Failure...

Good, that's normal!

But why do I feel a bit dizzy? Is my lifespan really depleting? Am I dying?

Xu Xiaoshou instinctively wanted to bind another "Fan Zhen" for fun, praying it wouldn't succeed—this time, no reverse jinx intended.

But he paused, then switched to binding "Qiang Zhuang," planning to throw it into the awakening pool.

"Binding failed."

"This extended passive skill has already awakened to its highest realm."

Of course, no third awakening.

Still, from the names like Ji Xian Giant, Li Shi Du Li, and Shen Min Moment, compared to the passive system's original bland ones like "Qiang Zhuang" and "Feng Li"...

It didn't seem like they could awaken further.

If there were a third, it might be something like "Super God"!

Xu Xiaoshou let out a light breath, now completely content and desire-free.

He bound "Fan Zhen" again and threw the awakening stone into the pool.

Ah, that felt right. The fortune was probably spent, but hopefully, my lifespan wasn't...

(The end of this chapter)