Chapter 448: Awakening, One Step to the Top

"Perception has changed into something completely new!" Xu Xiaoshou exclaimed in admiration.

Now, not only could he perform comprehensive, three-dimensional scans, but he could also compress the perception range for a unidirectional, extended scan whenever needed.

"This is true clairvoyance."

It had to be said, the qualitative leap brought by Grandmaster-level passive skills was truly extraordinary.

Xu Xiaoshou felt an irresistible urge to continue upgrading.

But he managed to restrain himself.

"Passive Points: 237,959." After reserving 100,000 for awakening, he didn't have much left — only about 100,000.

A ten-pull draw. If he could get something good and then spend another 50,000 on upgrades, the remaining passive points would likely be exhausted.

"It's not enough," he thought. Even with 300,000, Xu Xiaoshou still felt he had too few.

Nevertheless, essential expenditures had to be made.

He got out of bed. Xu Xiaoshou solemnly took a bath, then lit three columnar spiritual medicine sticks and prayed with a devout expression.

Afterward, with a wave of his hand, doors and windows sealed shut, and a powerful barrier materialized. In the blink of an eye, light patterns shimmered and silver currents pulsed throughout the room, instantly forming a high-level Spirit Gathering Array.

"What a pity, only a Spirit Gathering Array," he muttered. "This Li Qi isn't much good; he wrote diagrams for formations, yet there's no 'Luck Gathering Array'."

With a helpless sigh, Xu Xiaoshou stepped into the center of the formation.

He used to rely on metaphysics for draws, but now with some feng shui arrangements, he hoped that even a single Spirit Gathering Array would yield better results.

"Maybe I'll even get a double yolk... or a triple yolk egg?" he chuckled.

Spiritual energy surged through the room, relentlessly pouring into Xu Xiaoshou's body. Within moments, he began to feel its effects.

His body began to tremble. Xu Xiaoshou didn't dare delay; he swiftly redeemed ten Passive Keys and began the draw.

"May the Luck God possess me!" he roared. He forcefully inserted a Passive Key into the turntable, watching with eager anticipation.

"Damn it all..." Xu Xiaoshou despaired, slumping to the ground.

"It's useless?" This cursed Spirit Gathering Array actually did nothing? Had 50,000 Passive Points gone to waste just like that?

Sure enough, upgrading was always more satisfying. Why seek out pain for himself?

"That hateful Li Qi..." He calculated carefully. Four keys down. Was it a loss? Perhaps not entirely.

Xu Xiaoshou remained calm. He knew, based on the system's usual patterns, that the next one was bound to yield something!

"Another 30,000!" Thirty thousand Passive Points transformed into six more keys, once again completing a ten-pull draw.

Xu Xiaoshou rolled over and casually set up an illusion formation. Within the illusion, he found himself in an ethereal Heavenly Court, seated high on the Jade Emperor's throne, with a throng of raggedly dressed fairies singing and dancing below.

With a flick of his sleeve, he commanded, "Bring forth the passive skills!"

"Pfft!" The illusion shattered. Xu Xiaoshou immediately spewed a mouthful of water, collapsing onto the ground with a splat.

"This..." "Another 40,000!" "Damn it, if it doesn't appear, I'll choke your grandmother!" "Again!"

His eyes reddened with frustration. Xu Xiaoshou instinctively reached for his remaining balance, but a glance at the passive point total made him calm down just in time.

"Passive Points: 117,959." "Holy crap, no money left?" This awkward 110,000 was precisely the amount he had reserved for awakening, wasn't it?

If he touched that, what would he do later? And what if even that 110,000 failed to achieve awakening? Then...

"Could it be that I worked my ass off to earn 300,000 Passive Points, only for it all to go down the drain, just to upgrade two skills?" Xu Xiaoshou was horrified.

He dared not mess around anymore. He quickly dismantled both the illusion formation and the Spirit Gathering Array, then hurriedly opened the windows to air out the room, hoping to dispel his bad luck.

Gazing at the bustling street below, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly fell silent. He felt an intense loneliness in that moment.

He somewhat understood why some people, despite being alive, chose to end their own lives.

"It's not that bad," he told himself. "It's only 120,000. Money can always be earned again." His mood lightened, and Xu Xiaoshou refocused.

"Two extra keys," he mused. "The legendary 'single pull miracle.' Maybe I'll even get two mastery passive skills in a row."

He nodded vigorously, his eyes gleaming with hope, and solemnly inserted a Passive Key into the disk.

He glanced back at the information panel. "Extended Passive Skill acquired: Concealment!" Xu Xiaoshou's eyes widened.

It actually appeared? So, in the end, a single pull really could work miracles?

Seizing this sliver of luck, Xu Xiaoshou didn't dare to look further, swiftly inserting the very last key into the slot.

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes sparkled. "There's still a chance!"

One last key. Insert! My word! Another one?

Xu Xiaoshou felt his luck had truly turned. Not daring to think too much, afraid that the Goddess of Luck might slip away, he inserted the absolute last key.

"I knew it..." Xu Xiaoshou's body went limp, and he nearly tumbled from the windowsill. "120,000 Passive Points, for one skill..."

He murmured powerlessly, then quickly regrouped.

To be honest, this wasn't a loss. As long as he didn't draw a blank, it was a huge gain.

He knew that at his current level, each additional passive skill elevated his combat power by far more than just one tier.

"Concealment?" Xu Xiaoshou dangled by the windowsill, beginning to ponder.

"What kind of ability is it?" "Like Teemo?" "Probably not..." "Or rather, it has that effect, but also more?"

Xu Xiaoshou knew perfectly well that none of his passive skills were simple.

If it was "Concealment," then it likely had the effect of invisibility, and perhaps... hiding one's cultivation level? Thinking of this, his eyes immediately lit up.

What was he most afraid of? His cultivation progressing too quickly, leading others to capture him for dissection and research.

At the very least, given his rate of advancement, he would likely be famous throughout the world in less than half a year.

Being at the forefront felt great, and Xu Xiaoshou enjoyed being the center of attention. After all, that generated Passive Points.

While it was fine for a short period, being perpetually pushed to the pinnacle, with hidden dangers lurking everywhere, was a different story. Who could endure such a life?

"If it can truly conceal my cultivation, or even just partially, then I can upgrade 'Breathing Technique' without any concerns."

"As for playing the pig to eat the tiger, that would be even easier." Xu Xiaoshou grew excited.

This "Concealment" was absolutely a divine skill. If he were to pursue the path of an assassin, just by its name, he could tell it was a divine skill among divine skills.

Even if he didn't pursue that path, needing only a portion of its functions, Xu Xiaoshou could still assert that this skill, once leveled up, would be absolutely formidable!

Why? A powerhouse skill costing 120,000 Passive Points—how could it not be amazing?

Without hesitation, Xu Xiaoshou immediately redeemed ten first-tier skill points.

"Concealment (Post-natal Lv.1).""Concealment (Pre-natal Lv.1)."

Instantly, enlightenment flooded him, and a look of sudden realization appeared on Xu Xiaoshou's face.

The next moment, when he examined his own aura, he discovered that he couldn't even discern his own cultivation level.

"Aura completely gone?" "Completely hidden?" Was this effect not incredibly powerful?

Xu Xiaoshou had initially thought it would only offer partial concealment, or that he could control how much to conceal. However, he quickly realized it was a passive skill. How could he possibly control it?

Yet, when "Concealment" was merely at the Post-natal level, he could still sense spiritual energy fluctuations. How did it become completely hidden once it reached the Pre-natal stage?

"Or does this mean that the transition from Post-natal to Pre-natal is the process by which it completely conceals all spiritual energy fluctuations?" "Doesn't this imply that if I upgrade it further, the skill's evolutionary direction will be entirely different?"

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly inferred something. "Invisibility?"

His brows furrowed instantly. To be honest, Xu Xiaoshou was somewhat disbelieving.

Invisibility sounded simple, but in practice, it was incredibly difficult. To this day, he had never seen anyone achieve true invisibility.

The power of innate attributes limited everyone's subsequent development. As for "Invisibility" as an innate attribute power, Xu Xiaoshou had never even heard of it, let alone seen it.

The only entities capable of partial invisibility seemed to be the ghost beasts themselves.

At the Tianxuan Gate, there was the grey misty figure that Mu Zixi couldn't see or sense. At the entrance of the Duojin Merchant Bank, aside from specific individuals, no one else could perceive the Greedy God.

"And this was merely partial invisibility." "The existence of the Red Coats proved that there was indeed a way to counteract the ghost beasts' unique invisibility."

"True invisibility..." Xu Xiaoshou sank into contemplation.

Based on his current knowledge, there might indeed be one person in the current era who could achieve it.

"Ye Xiaotian?" His spatial attribute allowed him to utilize light refraction and displace himself or his aura into another space, thereby achieving complete invisibility—an effect where no one could sense his presence.

But Ye Xiaotian wouldn't be dabbling in physics, would he?

"If 'Concealment' continues to upgrade, and it truly becomes outright invisibility or that kind of complete invisibility, then it would be absolutely unparalleled."

Xu Xiaoshou was tempted to try it out. After all, he knew that if the direction was correct, this passive skill shouldn't have an awkward effect like only granting partial invisibility.

The system surely had some sense of proportion. It wouldn't make his upper body vanish, leaving only two legs, would it? Unless it intended for Xu Xiaoshou to disappear from this world entirely, right?

But what if it wasn't? "Passive Points: 107,959." One hundred thousand!

Xu Xiaoshou grimaced in pain. Just this one round, and he was already dipping into the funds reserved for awakening.

If he poured another 50,000 into it and the upgrade path wasn't what he expected, how would he cope? Would he just stubbornly push through?

"I can't afford to play around with this," he conceded. Even if he truly unlocked invisibility, the foreseeable benefits of "Concealment" to him currently would surely not compare to gaining another awakened skill.

"Then it's simple," Xu Xiaoshou concluded, relaxing his mind.

The Pre-natal level "Concealment" was more than enough for him for now.

Once he ventured out, if even people like Shou Ye couldn't discern his cultivation level, then it would truly prove this passive skill was unassailable.

By then, he would also have more Passive Points to continue upgrading it.

"Excellent," he declared. "I'm extremely satisfied." Xu Xiaoshou simply couldn't be more pleased with the effects of "Concealment."

An auxiliary divine skill with practicality no less than "Perception"! One could easily imagine how many Passive Points its mere existence would generate for him.

A glance, and they couldn't see through him. Suspicion? Another glance. More suspicion!

If there were ten thousand people, and he simply stood among them, he would instantly earn enough to upgrade "Concealment" to the Grandmaster level!

"Phew," he exhaled softly, feeling completely relaxed.

This wave of combat power enhancement was already fundamentally very strong. But the remaining 100,000 Passive Points...

"The main event is coming," Xu Xiaoshou said, rubbing his hands together.

How powerful were "Berserk Giant" and "Explosive Stance"? Powerful enough for him, as a Grandmaster, to directly withstand a Throne-level expert like Zhang Taiying!

Although Zhang Taiying was unconscious, Xu Xiaoshou himself was also in a daze.

If both of them had been conscious, Xu Xiaoshou was confident that with all his abilities unleashed, his combat power would certainly not be inferior to an ordinary Throne-level expert.

At the very least, Grandmaster experts definitely wouldn't be able to withstand his "Berserk Giant," "Explosive Stance," or "Sword Mastery," right?

Not to mention, he still had many untapped abilities!

"So, this time, which one should I awaken?" Xu Xiaoshou looked at the red interface of his Yuan Mansion.

Including "Concealment," he now possessed seven extended passive skills, two of which had already been successfully awakened.

"Agility, Sharpness, Perception, Toughness, Concealment..." Xu Xiaoshou hesitated.

All were quite good. If he were to consider raw attack power, among his current passive skills, "Sharpness" stood out, second only to "Strength."

Therefore, to improve his attack, "Sharpness" was the undisputed choice!

Although "Sharpness" was only at the Pre-natal level, that was because Xu Xiaoshou hadn't found any moves that could fully complement it.

But just considering its awakened form, perhaps even "Rebound" couldn't compare to it!

"Sharpness—even its unawakened name sounds so arrogant. Once awakened, wouldn't it be able to cut down even Throne-level experts at will?"

Xu Xiaoshou found himself in a dilemma. While the idea was good, he didn't seem to be lacking in attack power at the moment.

On the contrary, support-type passive skills were proving more useful.

"But Perception and Concealment are already quite sufficient."

"As for Toughness, would its awakened effect be something like an Overlord Body or unparalleled resilience?" To be honest, Xu Xiaoshou was somewhat tempted by the thought of an Overlord Body or unmatched power.

But no! It was said that the moment a coin was tossed, a person had already made their decision.

The same held true for Xu Xiaoshou. When he decided to awaken a skill, he already had an idea deep within him.

The process of elimination was merely a way to solidify his conviction.

"Agility!"

If the existence of a Grandmaster physique gave Xu Xiaoshou the potential to be indestructible, then "Agility" would transform him from an unmoving Fudo Myo-o into the ultimate mobile fortress—a powerhouse of offense, defense, and agility!

The utility of this skill was no less than "Strength"; in fact, they should be considered equally paramount!

"Grandmaster-level 'Agility' already makes my speed superior to most Grandmaster experts."

"But compared to a Throne, it's far from enough," he mused. "Or rather, the strongest aspect of Agility isn't its extreme boost to movement speed, but rather... reaction speed."

Xu Xiaoshou recalled Xi Yusheng's poisoned feather attack during the banquet that day.

Under such a dense barrage of attacks, he had managed to evade every single one, solely relying on his reaction speed.

One could say that if it continued to evolve in this direction, in the future, as long as attacks weren't homing, it would be virtually impossible for anything to hit him.

"But speed has its limits," he thought. "It can approach zero infinitely, but it can never truly be zero."

"And awakening, perhaps, is what brings that zero into reality!" Xu Xiaoshou's heart pounded with excitement.

What lies beyond extreme speed? Undoubtedly, teleportation!

What he could currently achieve, though resembling teleportation, wasn't true teleportation.

A movement trajectory was always necessary; even a Throne-level expert couldn't avoid that.

And as far as Xu Xiaoshou knew, among those alive, perhaps there was one who could achieve true teleportation at the Throne level...

"Ye Xiaotian!" Why was it always the Dean? Xu Xiaoshou secretly rolled his eyes.

After leaving the Spiritual Palace and gaining a broader perspective, Xu Xiaoshou increasingly realized how formidable the Spiritual Palace's top figures truly were.

This spatial innate attribute power was practically insurmountable, wasn't it?

Someone like that, even if they were to join the Holy Temple as a Red Coat or White Coat, would undoubtedly be a top-tier powerhouse!

Xu Xiaoshou thought of the "Heaven-Breaking Hand." Just a single move of the Heaven-Breaking Hand, and probably very few in the world could dodge or block it.

The masked man was an exception. Xu Xiaoshou also believed that Ye Xiaotian certainly possessed more than just that one "Heaven-Breaking Hand" technique.

That guy was purely a combat-oriented individual; having him cultivate talent in the Spiritual Palace was truly a waste of his abilities.

"So, why?" Xu Xiaoshou was utterly perplexed.

Ever since he had a sudden realization last time, he found the Spiritual Palace's influential figures highly suspicious.

And even without looking, Xu Xiaoshou could confidently conclude that the Spiritual Palaces in other prefectures absolutely did not possess such power.

"So, why?" "Why would they choose to reside in such a small place like Tiansang Prefecture?"

"I bet if the Spiritual Palace's 'F4' were to debut, they could form an organization as dangerous as the 'Holy Slaves'." He clicked his tongue.

Unable to figure it out, Xu Xiaoshou decided to stop thinking about it. He redirected his attention to the Awakening Pool.

It was a still, stagnant pool. And it was very expensive. Each attempt cost ten thousand.

Xu Xiaoshou didn't dare to go all in. At ten thousand per try, no one could afford to bet everything.

He cautiously redeemed an Awakening Stone, then bound it to the "Agility" passive skill.

After confirming once, Xu Xiaoshou rubbed his eyes again, double-checking for a second time.

"Not bound incorrectly," he murmured, nodding.

"Go!" A straight line shot forth. With a dull thud, the Awakening Stone was absorbed instantly, barely making a ripple.

Xu Xiaoshou slowly closed his eyes. "You scam!"

He knew it would be like this. "This damn system, who designed it anyway? If I, Xu Xiaoshou, ever find out, I'll slap them right into the Awakening Pool!"

Not only was it expensive, but it also had no conscience whatsoever. "Bah!"

"Oh, good system, good system," he forced himself to say. "Failure is only natural; failure is the mother of success."

Halfway through his internal rant, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly realized he still needed the system.

Ranting now would be completely unwise! "Again." "Again."

Xu Xiaoshou was speechless. "My poor kidneys, did 40,000 just disappear?" "Wouldn't it be better to just upgrade skills?" "Yes!"

Xu Xiaoshou gritted his molars, clenching his buttocks. But if he could get another awakened skill, it would be even better!

"Damn it!" He redeemed another stone and cast it once more.

Filled with inner anger, dissatisfaction, and curses, he believed that if he poured it all out, he could surely...

"Awakening successful!" "Agility (Awakened: One Step to Heaven)!" Xu Xiaoshou froze.

His inner monologue abruptly ceased. "Awakening successful?" After an unconscious murmur, Xu Xiaoshou finally realized that the information panel absolutely could not be deceiving him!

"Wahahahahaha!" Xu Xiaoshou went mad. He bounded out the window and directly leaped down.

"Oh my god, successful awakening?" "I, Xu Xiaoshou, used five Awakening Stones and successfully awakened?" "This is truly the peak today!"

"After those three ten-pulls, did it just drain all my bad luck? Is that why I'm so lucky?" "Wahahaha—"

Just as he was about to hit the ground, a thick spiritual web-line shot from his wrist, sending Xu Xiaoshou soaring back up. He was like a crazed spider, constantly maneuvering and shifting positions through the streets and alleys.

"Mama, flying sheep!" At the alley entrance, a baby held upside down pointed into the air, babbling in a childish voice.

"Flying sheep?" The woman turned, looked up, but saw nothing. "How can a sheep fly, little one? Don't talk nonsense; sheep don't fly."

"It can fly! A sheep, a two-legged sheep!" The baby pointed to the sky. "The flying sheep is here, it's back again!" The woman looked up again, but still saw nothing.

"He's gone," the baby said, blinking innocently.

"...Alright, so sheep can fly. What else did you see? Did it have two horns?" "No." "Then it must have wings, since it's a flying sheep." "No wings."

The baby's curious, jewel-like eyes lit up again, and he pointed once more. "But he looks just like Daddy!" The woman was speechless.

"Whoa—" Xu Xiaoshou landed on the rooftop of the Duoling Inn. His heart was racing, his hands trembling—he couldn't suppress his excitement.

"Five stones, 50,000 to awaken a third passive skill—that's even better than just upgrading!" His neck was flushed with excitement.

It was hard to imagine how incredibly lucky Xu Xiaoshou had been with this pull. He glanced back at the information panel.

"Passive Points: 57,959." Fifty thousand! For a Grandmaster-level passive skill!

Xu Xiaoshou clenched his fist. "Nice!"

The points perfectly balanced out. He hadn't expected that after spending 100,000 Passive Points, he'd still manage to squeeze out a Grandmaster-level passive skill.

It was joy beyond his expectations!

"Alright!" He reined himself in, suppressing his emotions. Xu Xiaoshou squinted his eyes.

"One Step to Heaven." "What will its effect be?"

With just a brief perception, Xu Xiaoshou detected spatial fluctuations in the void.

"This is..." His pupils suddenly constricted.

Within his perception range, distinct points of light appeared. These points were incredibly dense and constantly shifted, as if they had always existed within this world, simply unseen by humans.

Relying on the information accompanying "One Step to Heaven," Xu Xiaoshou instinctively understood what these phenomena were.

"Spatial nodes?" His breathing suddenly quickened.

"One Step to Heaven... Could it mean that I can instantly teleport to any node within my 'Perception' range with a single step?"

Xu Xiaoshou's thoughts stirred. "Whoa!" A faint, soft sound emanated.

His entire form dissolved into a fleeting afterimage. Simultaneously, on the other side, Xu Xiaoshou appeared without the slightest warning, as if traversing a wormhole!

"Teleportation!" "It's true teleportation!" Xu Xiaoshou was ecstatic.

Before he could continue his research, his vision suddenly dimmed, and a wave of dizziness washed over him. "What's happening?"

Xu Xiaoshou keenly noticed something was wrong. His Qi Sea... was empty?! "Holy crap!"

He looked down. He was high in the air! "No spiritual energy?" "Holy crap, I can't fall!" "Help, I'll smash someone!" "Wahhh, I won't lie anymore..."

The baby cried, wiping away tears, then suddenly his big eyes widened. "Mama, flying sheep!" The woman nearly choked with exasperation.

"I just disciplined you. Your bottom isn't even swollen, and you're still not stopping, are you?" Just as she raised her hand...

A few yards behind them, a figure suddenly slammed into the ground, sending shattered stones scattering instantly.

Xu Xiaoshou stood up, bewildered. Only then did he realize that if his spiritual energy was completely depleted, it would be difficult to recover quickly.

"Hello?" The woman and baby in front were clearly terrified, frozen and speechless.

The woman's eyes widened. "Someone... fell from the sky?"

"Suspected, Passive Points +1." The baby, delighted, pointed a chubby finger at Xu Xiaoshou, shouting.

"Sheep!" "Flying sheep!"