Chapter 89: Heatstroke

Under the warm afternoon sun, two figures slowly flying on swords in the sky truly caught people's attention.

"Look, what's that?"

"Xu Xiaoshou?"

"It really looks like him, with his reverse sword-flying technique!"

Some people became excited. Xu Xiaoshou was currently very well-known in the Outer Court; after all, he was the champion and often did unexpected things, so many people recognized him.

"Who's next to him? That sword is so big it's blocking the person!"

"It looks like Su Qianqian from the Inner Court. No, impossible, I must be mistaken. Why would Su Qianqian be cruising around with Xu Xiaoshou?"

"Yeah, you must be mistaken, but she can also use the 'reverse sword-flying technique,' that's amazing!"

"Amazing? I just feel dizzy looking at it..."

In the sky, Su Qianqian was indeed a bit dizzy, but she forced herself to overcome it. "Little Beast Brother, why are we flying so slowly?"

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes widened. "How can you call this slow? This is being steady!"

"You're just too impetuous. You need to be steady in everything you do, understand?"

"Oh." Su Qianqian meekly agreed.

Xu Xiaoshou, however, glanced at his info panel:

"Received envy, passive points, +32."

"Received praise, passive points, +4."

"Received jealousy, passive points, +122."

"..."

This was definitely a good haul of passive points. How could he possibly speed up?

Besides, to go fast, he actually needed to be able to fly fast, and his current speed was already close to his limit...

His accumulated passive points had dwindled to single digits after drawing prizes. Later, when he was attacked by the masked swordsman's spiritual energy, it did contribute thousands of passive points.

But gains from that method were nowhere near as pleasant as this.

Look, just flying from the courtyard to Goose Lake, by accumulating small amounts to make a big fortune, he was almost going to collect two thousand passive points.

Xu Xiaoshou felt as if he had discovered a new way to earn money.

Anyway, the competition was over now, and there were no safe battles to be had. From now on, he could come out for a couple of laps every day; while getting some fresh air, the passive points he gained would be almost equivalent to fighting a battle.

And if he encountered peak traffic...

"Heh heh!" Xu Xiaoshou was practically drooling.

As the two flew to Goose Lake, Su Qianqian finally put away her playful mood and solemnly asked, "Little Beast Brother, did someone try to kill you last night?"

Xu Xiaoshou snapped back to reality. He hadn't expected the news to spread so quickly. So this was Su Qianqian's real reason for coming to find him?

"Elder Xiao told you?"

Su Qianqian shook her head. "My master wouldn't tell me such things."

"Actually, one reason I came to find Little Beast Brother was to congratulate you, but more importantly, I wanted you to pay attention to a few people in the Inner Court."

"Are they related to the assassins from last night?" Xu Xiaoshou raised an eyebrow.

Su Qianqian nodded. "They might also be related to future assassins."

Xu Xiaoshou's not-so-steady sword-flying technique almost went out of control. He swayed and quickly regained his balance.

So, just as he had guessed, this was just the beginning?

"Wen Chong?" he asked tentatively.

Surprise flashed in Su Qianqian's eyes. "You know?"

"I guessed..." Xu Xiaoshou's expression darkened. As expected, things always turned out for the worst. "Tell me more about it."

Su Qianqian gathered her thoughts. "Little Beast Brother, do you know about the 'Thirty-Three of the Inner Court'?"

Xu Xiaoshou nodded, then shook his head. He had only vaguely heard of it.

Su Qianqian explained, "The Thirty-Three of the Inner Court, as the name suggests, are the thirty-three strongest among the total of over a hundred people in the Inner Court."

"It's also a ranking list, and it's re-evaluated once a year, usually before the Outer Court's 'Storm Ascendant Competition'."

Xu Xiaoshou nodded. He hadn't known about this before.

Su Qianqian continued, "Not many disciples enter the Inner Court each year, sometimes even none, but there are many who become disheartened because they fail to make it into the Thirty-Three."

"Among them, many have struggled for several years, only for their efforts to ultimately fall short."

"Repeated setbacks, coupled with their potential reaching its limit, mean they can no longer access Inner Court resources. Staying longer might even lead to being surpassed by newly admitted Inner Court geniuses..."

"Therefore, these kinds of people generally choose to leave the Spirit Palace and develop themselves outside."

She paused, looking at Xu Xiaoshou. "Before they leave, some choose to make a final gain, then secretly depart, never to return!"

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly understood something.

So, those two guys last night were exactly that type. No wonder they dared to act within the Spirit Palace, and as Inner Court disciples, attempting to assassinate a mere Outer Court disciple like him...

"So, there are people in the Inner Court connected to Wen Chong, and because I killed him, they sent people to kill me?" Xu Xiaoshou keenly realized the core of the problem.

"Yes." Su Qianqian nodded her small head. "These assassins are just small fry, not much of a threat. It's mainly about the mastermind behind it all."

Xu Xiaoshou's figure, still flying on his sword, swayed again. Small fry...

They almost scared your Little Beast Brother to death!

"The mastermind?" he echoed.

A hint of apprehension flashed in Su Qianqian's eyes as she said, "Zhang Xinxiong."

This was a name Xu Xiaoshou had never heard before. He was a bit bewildered. "Related to Wen Chong?"

"Mhm, through marriage."

"He's the eldest young master of the Zhang family from Tiansang County, tall and strong, possessing inherited bloodline power. He entered the Inner Court five years ago, and his strength is unfathomable."

Five years ago?!

Who the hell can handle that?

Xu Xiaoshou couldn't stay steady now; he literally fell out of the sky.

Luckily, he wasn't flying very high. He landed kneeling on the ground, brushed off his clothes, and casually waved his hand upwards.

"Come down and talk," he called. "It's a bit chilly up here."

Su Qianqian tilted her head, looking at the big sun directly overhead. Chilly?

On such a hot day, flying so slowly that there wasn't even a breeze, where was it chilly?

But she was still very obedient. She scratched her head and jumped down.

Xu Xiaoshou walked ahead, the three words "Zhang Xinxiong" constantly turning over in his mind. He asked, "Upper Spirit Realm?"

Su Qianqian nodded. "Peak!"

Xu Xiaoshou stumbled.

Su Qianqian thought for a moment and added, "He reached the peak of the Upper Spirit Realm a year ago. He's been suppressing his cultivation realm for the competition in Eastern Heavenly King City six months from now."

Xu Xiaoshou's legs went weak, and he quickly grabbed onto the white jade railing, which prevented him from falling to the ground.

Good heavens!

What's going on?

In other words, the guy who wants to kill him could already be a Grandmaster if he wanted to be?

I'm not worth this!

Xu Xiaoshou was on the verge of tears. Wouldn't a big shot like that feel it was beneath him to make a move against him?

Not to mention his cultivation, they hadn't even crossed the gap between the Outer and Inner Court yet!

"The people who tried to kill you, one is named Feng Kong, and the other is Shao Yi. But I asked around, and they don't seem to have been sent by Zhang Xinxiong."

A flicker of hope flashed in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes. "Not?"

"That's great!"

However, Su Qianqian wasn't done shocking him yet. "This time it was probably someone sent by He Yuxing. He probably listens to Lan Xinzi, and Lan Xinzi probably listens to Zhang Xinxiong..."

"Hmm, if you look at it that way, it seems like Zhang Xinxiong was behind it after all..."

Xu Xiaoshou's head was spinning. "Who are these two people now?"

Su Qianqian: "They are both among the Thirty-Three of the Inner Court."

Thud!

Xu Xiaoshou could no longer hold onto the railing and collapsed to the ground.

Su Qianqian instantly panicked.

"Little Beast Brother, what's wrong?"

"Are you having a heatstroke?"