Xu Xiaoshou froze in shock!
The judge also froze in shock!
All of the rowdy, shouting spectators also froze in shock!
Even Xiao Qixiu, who was standing in the air, was a little stunned. He had shifted his attention to the other arenas when the battle ended, not expecting to see such a serious turn of events when he turned around again.
He remembered the words that he'd said before the competition started: "there are times when even the judges aren't paying attention." Had his words come true?
Everyone in the arena froze!
The corner of Wen Chong's lips twitched. He seemed to want to say something, but fresh blood flowed out of his mouth, and his eyes bulged. He froze and couldn't say anything for the longest time.
The ferocity in his eyes had disappeared, completely replaced with disbelief.
He lowered his head and looked at Xu Xiaoshou's arm, which had plunged straight through his chest to his heart. He was only able to see the elbow, which was dyed a stark red by his blood, as the rest was inside his chest.
"His hand?" he thought.
"Pierced through my chest?
"How is that possible…"
The veins in the corner of Wen Chong's eyes popped out from the intense pain.
He looked at Xu Xiaoshou with a quizzical look in his eyes, as if he wanted an answer.
Xu Xiaoshou could feel a squeezing sensation around his forearm. Thump thump, thump thump…
"Save him!" he roared. He didn't know whether to pull his hand out or not at the moment.
Why had it come to this?
Xu Xiaoshou was flustered. He'd never killed anyone before. But he also hadn't expected Wen Chong to charge forward and launch a surprise attack.
He had instinctually turned around because he trusted the hint given to him by the Passive System. He didn't expect Wen Chong to run into the tip of his spear because he wanted to kill him.
"Why must you do this!" Xu Xiaoshou roared with fury. He took out a Red Gold Pill and stuffed it into Wen Chong's mouth. Wen Chong seemed to be shaking his head, but it was so slight that it was almost indiscernible.
His lips were slightly parted. He never once closed them.
"Eat it!"
Xu Xiaoshou closed Wen Chong's mouth with his left hand, trying to get Wen Chong to eat it and absorb the medicine so its effects would kick in. In the end, the pill fell out of Wen Chong's mouth and onto the ground the moment he took his hand away.
Thud, thud…
He saw the red and gold-colored pill roll silently away and noticed that something had been lost along with the pill.
The judge walked over and pulled Xu Xiaoshou's hand out of Wen Chong's chest. "It's useless," he said calmly. "He's dead!"
Xu Xiaoshou trembled. Dead?
Was even a Spiritual Cultivator's life this fragile? They'd die from just one stab?
The judge couldn't help but sigh when he saw the state Xu Xiaoshou was in, and he patted his shoulder, seemingly trying to console him.
"This is your first time killing someone?"
"Get used to it!"
He pulled out the dagger Wen Chong had left in Xu Xiaoshou's shoulder and handed him a pill bottle as compensation for the Red Gold Pill he'd eaten of his earlier.
"Don't worry. This isn't your fault. He was wrong for initiating a surprise attack. If someone's to blame, it's me for being negligent.
"You'll be all right. Go back and rest. Leave the rest to me."
Xu Xiaoshou was in a daze. He looked at Wen Chong, who was now in the judge's arms, and silently walked out of the arena, clutching his shoulders.
The spectators saw the melancholic, lost expression on his face, and didn't dare to cause a loud commotion at the moment.
"He's really dead?"
"I think this is the first death in the outer yard in a decade."
"That's right. The judges and candidates all knew when to stop during previous competitions. I really didn't expect that this time… Boss Wen was too impulsive!"
"Xu Xiaoshou… My God, I really feel bad for him…"
Some people supported Xu Xiaoshou, but they made up the minority. Most of the other spectators were opposed to what he'd done.
"I can't take it anymore. That Xu Xiaoshou still has such an indignant look after killing someone."
"Boss Wen died such an indignant death! The judge didn't call the match, so Boss Wen attacked within the parameters of the rules. How could Xu Xiaoshou dare to deal such a lethal blow?"
"I strongly suggest disqualifying Xu Xiaoshou from the competition. Disgusting!"
"That's right. For him to deal such a lethal blow during a battle between members of the same faction. He's a beast!"
Off to the side, the people who supported Xu Xiaoshou immediately became infuriated and stood up. "Nonsense!" they retorted.
"Anyone with eyes could see that Wen Chong lost. How would Wen Chong have been able to deal with Xu Xiaoshou if Xu Xiaoshou had been using his spiritual sword? Xu Xiaoshou had already held back!"
"Wen Chong's sneak attack failed and he got stabbed by Xu Xiaoshou instead. Xu Xiaoshou even tried to give him medicine. Did you guys not see Xu Xiaoshou's rare show of character?"
The people supporting Wen Chong laughed coldly and said, "The judge didn't announce the end of the match, so Wen Chong's attack was within the parameters of the rules. On the other hand, what Xu Xiaoshou did was completely unconscionable!"
"Unconscionable my foot, you bootlicker. Come over here!"
"Why? Bite me if you dare!"
"Argh!"
"Oh f***, loosen your jaw… Loosen your jaw, darn it!"
…
Goose Lake.
The clear waters reflected the sky, and plump geese played on the clouds reflected in the water.
This was a place with splendid scenery in the outer yard of the Tiansang Spirit Palace. The area was surrounded by hanging willows, and the lake was encircled by white railings that made a heart shape. The water of the lake was wonderfully clear and speckled with spiritual energy.
The creatures swimming around in the lake were spiritual geese that Elder Qiao reared. Their meat was plump and delicious. Xu Xiaoshou had been lucky enough to try them a few times.
On an average day, many people came to Goose Lake to train. However, because of the recent Windcloud Competition, there weren't many people there, and the area was exceptionally serene.
Xu Xiaoshou stood by the railings, his eyes full of despair.
Instead of returning to his yard, he'd gone to the place where he usually practiced his sword techniques.
This was the first time he couldn't feel excited after winning a battle. He didn't even bother to look at his Passive Points.
He had walked out of the arena and left the Chuyun Platform in a daze, wandering around before arriving at this place.
The sun was setting. Xu Xiaoshou had been here for a long time.
He tossed a stone into Goose Lake, and the surface of the lake rippled before becoming calm again.
"Perhaps this world is also the same. Life is like a stone. No matter how large it is, it doesn't create much of a ripple after it sinks into Goose Lake!"
Xu Xiaoshou exhaled and touched his right forearm, as if he could once again feel Wen Chong's final heartbeats.
Regret?
No!
Xu Xiaoshou didn't feel a tinge of regret even though he'd accidentally killed Wen Chong. Perhaps a better way to put it was that he'd been prepared for it.
Killing another person would become his new normal now that he'd arrived in this world.
Perhaps in the Tiansang Spirit Palace this wasn't so obvious, but Xu Xiaoshou wasn't that naive. This was merely the beginning.
The reason he was overcome with emotion and felt down was because of his compassion and thoughts about how fragile life was.
Perhaps life wasn't worth mentioning to the people on this continent. Perhaps he would hold the same view after today.
However, the current Xu Xiaoshou couldn't calm himself down for the longest time.
He'd been endlessly tortured in a white patient ward in his previous life. He still harbored the hope to live. It could be said that Xu Xiaoshou saw human life as much more precious than an average person in this world.
But now, he had personally destroyed one of those precious lives.
It was true that he had mentally prepared himself. But who wouldn't have been shaken at that turn in events?
That precious life was Boss Wen. However, in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes, he was just a brother who had some talent and was a little arrogant.
Even though Wen Chong had launched a surprise attack, it was possible that he'd had no intention of killing him.
"In the end, didn't he only pierce his dagger into my shoulder?"
"Perhaps…"
"I shouldn't have killed him?"
Xu Xiaoshou shook his head and tossed this ridiculous thought out of his mind.
Since Wen Chon had dared to take action, he should have been prepared to face the consequences, even if those consequences were unbearable!
These words were intended for the dead Wen Chong, but they were also a word of caution for his future self.
Far away, the setting sun was devoured by the mountains on the horizon, and the sky turned dark. Everything became silent again.
There was a sudden ripple of spiritual energy at Goose Lake. It shocked all of the plump geese and caused the hanging willows to sway slightly.
Xu Xiaoshou breathed heavily. He had unknowingly broken through to Spiritual Cultivation Level Seven.
"Hah!"
He suddenly grabbed a rock and, with murderous intentions, tossed the rock at the flock of plump geese as if he were venting his frustrations.
A wave of water flew in all directions when the rock hit the lake, but it didn't hit any of the geese.
Xu Xiaoshou sighed a sad sigh.
Ultimately, he'd still killed someone!