Chapter 773: Special Passive Skill, Illusion Shattering Finger

Grandmaster! Heavenly Manifestation!With the blessing of the Saint Statue's power, Xu Xiaoshou's breakthrough to the Grandmaster Heavenly Manifestation realm during this battle thoroughly crushed the momentum of figures like Taixu and the Sword Immortal.

However, the onlookers had little time to be surprised. The majestic aura of the Grand Dao, which had enveloped Xu Xiaoshou, suddenly vanished, as if consumed by an unknown force.

It was gone! Not a shred of Daoist charm remained around him. At that moment, Xu Xiaoshou resembled an ordinary person who had returned to simplicity, even more so than when he was in the innate realm and under the effect of "concealment."

"Passive Points: 2,861,180." This was Xu Xiaoshou's total accumulation of Passive Points, which had surged by hundreds of thousands out of nowhere, witnessed by all the Spirit Cultivators in East Heavenly King City throughout the entire battle. What outsiders didn't understand was why his Daoist charm vanished into thin air after his breakthrough. Xu Xiaoshou, however, knew perfectly well. It all stemmed from that accursed Passive System.

As expected, the Passive System, which had mercilessly stifled his mighty aura after the breakthrough, now became active in the information bar.

"Passive System upgrading, please do not disturb!""Observed, Passive Points +4233.""Awed, Passive Points +864.""Congratulations, Passive System upgrade successful!""New module unlocked: Evolution Tree!""Acquired special passive skill: Finger of Illusion Shattering!""Doubted, Passive Points +6211.""Observed, Passive Points +1152.""Passive Points: 1,867,446."

The sudden drop in Passive Points momentarily stunned Xu Xiaoshou. Just a moment before, he had been ecstatic that the Passive System had finally upgraded again. He recalled the last upgrade was months ago. This time, as expected, special features resembling the "Awakening Pool" and "Fist of Passivity" had appeared.

But then, a glance at the Passive Points displayed at the bottom of the information bar made Xu Xiaoshou furious! It had dropped from 2.8 million to 1.8 million? The last system upgrade had inexplicably devoured three of his Innate Attribute Powers. This time was even more outrageous. Xu Xiaoshou had accumulated so many Passive Points specifically to instantly boost all his passive skills to the Sovereign level after his breakthrough. Yet, this accursed system had brazenly swallowed a million of his Passive Points!

"A million..." Xu Xiaoshou stumbled mid-air. His breakthrough aura, combined with the Saint Statue, was powerful enough to overshadow Taixu's peerless brilliance, but before he could leave a lasting impression on the city's inhabitants, this wretched system nearly sent him sprawling to the ground.

This is insane! With no Innate Attribute Power to consume, it started messing with Passive Points? A million... That was a sum people earned only by risking their lives and going to extreme lengths to gain attention!

The battle was intense, and the situation perilous. Xu Xiaoshou had little time for internal complaints. His focus quickly shifted to the new special passive skill, which was his primary concern.

"Finger of Illusion Shattering: Mental Counterattack.""Finger of Illusion Shattering: Accumulates charge value when subjected to mental attacks. For every point increase in charge value, 'Mental Awakening' can be triggered to break free from mental control, with the option to cast Finger of Illusion Shattering. One cannot always be subjected to illusions; sometimes, an active strike is necessary. When tolerance runs out, there's no need to endure further!""Finger of Illusion Shattering (Charge Value: 0.00) (Evolvable)."

Upon seeing this, Xu Xiaoshou fell into deep silence. After a long moment, he cursed inwardly. "What a fantastic skill, damn it!" he thought. "But couldn't you have appeared sooner? Do you have any idea how utterly broken I was, suffering from mental attacks from those enlightened powerhouses, during the times you weren't here?"

The special passive skill, Finger of Illusion Shattering, alongside the previously appeared special passive skill, Fist of Passivity, gave Xu Xiaoshou some clarity. One resisted physical attacks, the other resisted mental ones. The Passive System truly embodied the essence of passivity: either one dies passively, or one grows, resists, and defeats enemies through passivity. It was just like his own name, "Xu Xiaoshou" – all about being forced, only counterattacking after enduring.

"Damn it..." Not dwelling on these minor details, Xu Xiaoshou was immensely surprised to receive a mental counterattack type of special passive skill. After entering the King City and directly confronting experts above the Sovereign level, he had begun to realize that the mental attacks from those who had comprehended the Heavenly Dao were often just casual manifestations of their control over the Dao. He, Xu Xiaoshou, couldn't withstand them simply because he was still in the innate realm, hadn't comprehended the Dao, and was far from having mental-level offense and defense. But now, that had changed!

The Finger of Illusion Shattering... Xu Xiaoshou mused, noticing a small detail: "Finger of Illusion Shattering (Charge Value: 0.00) (Evolvable)." The Passive System, as expected, shamelessly failed to count the previous illusion attacks, bewitchments, and manipulations he had suffered, but that wasn't the main point. What mattered was the new "Evolvable" suffix at the end of this special passive skill.

Xu Xiaoshou then focused on another special passive skill: "Fist of Passivity (Charge Value: 8.82) (Evolvable)." Indeed... this evolution applied to all special passive skills. It was likely the new feature, similar to the Awakening Pool, introduced by this system awakening: the Evolution Tree.

However... Xu Xiaoshou pondered, looking at the charge value of the Fist of Passivity. He remembered he had previously reset the Fist of Passivity's low charge to zero. Since then, he had only endured a single attack from Teng Shanhai's Divine Spear of Xiao. One hit! At that time, he had the protection of Saint Force and the enlightenment of the Saint Dao. Xu Xiaoshou had used "Sleeveless Red Scorched Hand" to block the Divine Spear of Xiao. Yet, his body had been completely shattered by that single strike. The pain vanished the moment his body disintegrated, and in the next second, he was fully restored by Saint Force. Thus, Xu Xiaoshou had no idea how terrifying the power of that Divine Spear of Xiao attack truly was. If he hadn't had Saint Force protection then, he likely would have been blasted to dust by that military commander. Taixu... truly sickening!

His thoughts shifted back to the new Evolution Tree module. Xu Xiaoshou glanced at his other passive skills, but none of them displayed the "Evolvable" suffix. He suddenly understood. The last time the Awakening Pool appeared, only extended passive skills could be awakened. This time, with the Evolution Tree, it seemed only special passive skills could evolve. And he only possessed two such skills...

Was it a loss? Xu Xiaoshou didn't think so. He had already experienced the formidable power of the Fist of Passivity. While he hadn't used the Finger of Illusion Shattering, its description alone revealed its terrifying potential. If these two skills were so potent before evolving, what world-shattering power would they possess afterwards? Xu Xiaoshou couldn't even imagine the evolutionary paths the Evolution Tree might offer for these special passive skills.

He then looked toward another section of the Passive System. Besides the treacherous, mist-shrouded roulette wheel with its unseeable draw probabilities, and the abominable Awakening Pool, which demanded ten thousand Passive Points for a single attempt that might still yield nothing, there now stood a tree. It was very bare, yet featured two distinct branches.

Xu Xiaoshou checked the shop. An item had been added:"Evolution Water (Purchase: 1,000,000 Passive Points)."

Xu Xiaoshou froze. He mentally conjured a hand, rubbed his eyes, and looked again."Evolution Water (Purchase: 1,000,000 Passive Points)."

Xu Xiaoshou was speechless. He nearly swore aloud! One million Passive Points for a single watering of a tree? His worldview shattered. He felt this infuriating system had once again redefined his understanding of "greed." This wasn't just greed; it was outright god-level avarice! "So, the little white cat, Greed God, must be the physical manifestation of your Passive System, right?" At one point, Xu Xiaoshou even considered picking up the white cat, Greed God, and giving it a good beating, until he realized he was just hating the house because of the crow.

"One watering with Evolution Water means the Evolution Tree bears one fruit, and that evolution fruit can be used to evolve special passive skills?" Xu Xiaoshou mentally grasped the mechanism of the Evolution Tree. He then sighed deeply, looking at his remaining 1.8 million Passive Points. It was as if Mu Zixi had possessed him, and he began to frantically curse the treacherous Passive System.

It devoured a million of his Passive Points! The remaining 1.8 million wasn't even enough to instantly evolve both of his special passive skills! What else could this be but a scam? Oh, and there were also Skill Points and Passive Keys... Just thinking about these true financial drainers, who would consume his Passive Points entirely without a trace, made Xu Xiaoshou's liver tremble again. He cautiously checked other items in the shop.

"Tier 1 Skill Point: 1,000 Passive Points.""Tier 2 Skill Point: 5,000 Passive Points.""Tier 3 Skill Point: 10,000 Passive Points.""Passive Key: 10,000 Passive Points.""Awakening Stone: 30,000 Passive Points."

*Pfft...* Physically, Xu Xiaoshou maintained his composure, mindful of the onlookers and his reputation. But on a spiritual level, the moment he saw that string of numbers, he felt as if he was violently spitting blood, gushing uncontrollably until there was nothing left.

The prices increased! All of them! The appearance of Tier 3 Skill Points was arguably the only thing that didn't surprise Xu Xiaoshou; in fact, he felt the price was too low, inconsistent with the system's usual stinginess. Passive Keys also increased in price, reaching ten thousand. Although he wasn't prepared for it, Xu Xiaoshou could understand, as Passive Keys had indeed increased in price once before during a system upgrade. But the Awakening Stone??? What the hell did a system upgrade have to do with the Awakening Pool? Why did it raise the price? Ten thousand per stone was already exorbitant; now, thirty thousand per stone, it wasn't just killing people, it was tormenting their very souls!

Having broken through to Grandmaster, Xu Xiaoshou was now filled with deep regret. He truly realized his mistake. Perhaps, from the very beginning, he shouldn't have accumulated Passive Points, but instead spent them all at the innate level. At most, he should have reserved a million for the system to devour and manipulate... At least, the system eventually gave back, spitting out a "Finger of Illusion Shattering." Trading a million for one Finger of Illusion Shattering, Xu Xiaoshou didn't feel it was a loss. However, the subsequent price hike for the Awakening Stone truly shocked Xu Xiaoshou, making his scalp tingle. It was utterly sickening, with no accountability! That damned scamming system!

Within the battle zone in the Central District, all onlookers watched as the most conspicuous young man in the sky, with unparalleled grace and poise, forcefully broke through to Grandmaster under the Sword Immortal Rao Yaoyao's single sword strike! Everyone was amazed.

However, their astonishment didn't even last three breaths. They watched as the young man's face in the sky suddenly turned white, then green, then purple... eventually settling into a completely "black-faced" mode of deep frustration. It only took a few breaths, but when the young man in mid-air opened his eyes again and looked out at the world, everyone felt that his demeanor had changed! It was an aura of greed, selfishness, and an insatiable desire to possess everything.

No one understood what exactly this guy "wanted." Perhaps money, or spirit crystals? It didn't matter. What mattered was that this peculiar aura also contained a terrifying desire, as if he had been struck by the Red Dust Sword and, after breaking free, was now uncontrollably enraged, determined to kill a few people to vent his inner fury. Pure rage! Madness! Venting, venting, and more venting! That was all anyone could see from Xu Xiaoshou at that moment.

Yu Zhiwen rushed from the South District, even employing Heaven's Secret Art. Yet, she stopped just outside the battle zone, realizing that Xu Xiaoshou didn't need her help at all; he had even broken through to Grandmaster. However...

"How could this side of him be revealed to everyone?" Yu Zhiwen's heart filled with doubt. The Xu Xiaoshou she knew, though occasionally prone to such behavior, typically only acted that way when alone. Was this a problem stemming from a forced breakthrough to Grandmaster, with no outlet for his frustration? Yu Zhiwen quickly dismissed the idea. No one knew better than her how formidable Xu Xiaoshou's true potential was. If he hadn't been suppressing his cultivation, he would likely be far beyond the Grandmaster Heavenly Manifestation realm by now.

"His breakthrough encountered an unexpected problem!" Situ Yongren, catching up from the side, stated with conviction. Watching Xu Xiaoshou's abnormal reaction from a distance, Situ Yongren was secretly delighted and continued to mock: "No Grandmaster Daoist charm... how laughable. Can he even be called a Grandmaster? If he hadn't forcefully broken through to the Grandmaster Heavenly Manifestation realm in front of everyone, even Taixu would probably mistake him for merely an Innate. Furthermore, forcefully breaking through to Grandmaster means losing the ability to comprehend the Heavenly Dao... His entire life will amount to nothing more than this."

Turning to Yu Zhiwen, Situ Yongren, despite his usually composed demeanor, couldn't hide his excitement: "Xu Xiaoshou has no future!"

"Shut up." Yu Zhiwen, at her limit, snapped back. Situ Yongren's face instantly turned green.

Yu Zhiwen, realizing she had spoken too harshly, quickly added, "I've 'exchanged blows' with Xu Xiaoshou. He's incredibly powerful; it's unlikely to be as you've explained, Senior Brother. If you intend to treat him as an opponent, it's best not to underestimate him."

Situ Yongren's expression improved slightly, though he still looked quite displeased. The words "shut up" echoed relentlessly in his mind. He realized that Xu Xiaoshou might have already taken deep root in his junior sister's heart. Despite his efforts to be careful with his words, he had inadvertently touched a sensitive nerve. To uproot this, he would have to approach it indirectly. Situ Yongren immediately composed himself, nodding indifferently, "Of course, I understand perfectly, Junior Sister."