All of the spectators were stunned. In this day and age, someone was actually requesting to be barred from the competition?

Xiao Qixiu's expression darkened. He had thought that it was a grave matter.

​​

Doping?

What contestant didn't consume a few pills before the start of the competition to boost their abilities? There weren't even rules that prohibited a competitor from using pills to recover their spiritual strength.

"Nonsense!"

"Hurry up and get out of the arena!"

Xiao Qixiu was furious. He nearly drew his sword and thrust it at Xu Xiaoshou.

There was a bitter expression on Xu Xiaoshou's face. He said, "If not for the fact that I really took too many drugs, I wouldn't have to come to look for you. I really need help!"

He looked behind him. There was a bunch of angels in white robes sitting there.

Xiao Qixiu frowned. This young man really was anxious. Also, his stark-red body…

What was going on here?

He knew that Xu Xiaoshou had an Innate-stage physical body, so what kind of item was this that it was capable of making him experience such adverse side effects?

"Get over here!" Xiao Qixiu pressed his hand onto Xu Xiaoshou's chest, and a terrifying scorching energy instantly assaulted him.

Creak!

He smelled the scent of flesh burning and immediately pulled his hand away. He didn't have an Innate-stage physical body.

The spectators were dumbfounded.

"Oh f***, just what kind of drugs did Xu Xiaoshou take? To think that it managed to injure Elder Xiao."

"This is insane. Did he really take drugs? And he dared to come here to turn himself in?"

"If it was really as he said, I would think that he had no other choice. Haha, this is too funny!"

Even Xiao Qixiu was startled. He quickly enveloped his palm with his spiritual source to eliminate the scorching aura. However, his palm had already been burned.

He had disregarded Xu Xiaoshou's symptoms and touched him without protecting himself with his spiritual source first. He ended up paying the price for that with a burned hand.

"The Infernal Fire Seed?"

"Elder Sang must have gone mad," he murmured to himself. "Didn't the Infernal Fire Seed once cripple a person with an Innate-stage physical body?"

Xu Xiaoshou nearly peed his pants when he heard this. He fearfully looked at Xiao Qixiu, his eyes full of questions.

Xiao Qixiu awkwardly stroked his hand as he realized that Xu Xiaoshou had overheard him muttering to himself. "That item is great," he quickly added. "It's your good fortune. There's nothing wrong, there's nothing wrong…"

Xu Xiaoshou was about to explode. "What do you mean that there's nothing wrong?" he thought to himself. "Didn't you just say that it once crippled a person with an Innate-stage physical body?"

"I heard everything!" he said slowly.

"You heard wrong!"

"Hehe!"

"Sigh!" Xiao Qixiu sighed. He patted Xu Xiaoshou's shoulder and said, "Go back and rest. Do your best. Fight through the pain!"

"Got encouraged. Passive Points +1."

Xu Xiaoshou was gobsmacked.

"That wasn't the answer I was looking for! I want medical attention!" he thought.

"I don't want to be burned and crippled!"

Xiao Qixiu no longer cared about Xu Xiaoshou. He got him to squat in the corner and announced the start of the competition, then went at his own pace and started drawing the pairings.

Everyone in the spectator seats grew interested. What was going on?

Xu Xiaoshou had admitted to taking drugs and requested to be barred from the competition, yet the judge had disregarded his claims and wasn't even going to give Xu Xiaoshou medical attention?

"Hahaha, this is too funny. What happened here today is a lesson that the evils we bring on ourselves are the hardest to bear!"

"Xu Xiaoshou is so pitiful. He took drugs and ended up in this state. Bravo!"

"Please give him some medical attention. He's about to turn into braised meat… Haha, I can't hold it in any longer!"

Xu Xiaoshou's upper body was bare, and he was becoming terrifyingly redder and redder, and there was steam rising from his body.

He dejectedly returned to his waiting area.

"How could he be so merciless? He didn't even get a medical worker to look at me…"

Xu Xiaoshou secretly mulled over the situation. He had gained something by coming here. At the very least, he had obtained some critical pieces of information.

The Infernal Fire Seed had once crippled a person with an Innate-stage physical body!

Also…

Elder Sang?

He seemed to have heard that name before…

Judging from the information that Xiao Qixiu had accidentally revealed, Xiao Qixiu knew about the item he had consumed… the Infernal Fire Seed?

Also, Xiao Qixiu might know the detestable old man.

This was the reason why Xu Xiaoshou didn't continue with his antics.

"They are partners in crime…"

Xu Xiaoshou sat down cross-legged and continued expelling the scorching aura from his body a little at a time. This was all he could do for the time being.

However, this terrifying scorching energy gradually seeped into his energy reserve as he refined it.

"Won't it eventually burn my energy reserve?"

Xu Xiaoshou felt indignant. He had unknowingly got done in by the detestable old man.

He suddenly remembered what Xiao Qixiu had said about this being his good fortune.

Perhaps that detestable old man had given him the Infernal Fire Seed to get him to successfully refine it?

Now that it had come to this, he was no longer hung up on how this item had once crippled a person with an Innate-stage physical body. No one was going to help him, so he had to depend on himself.

The screen above the arena flickered. Names were chosen, and two people walked into the arena.

The spectators were joyfully shouting. The atmosphere inside the arena was charged with energy.

Xu Xiaoshou, on the other hand, was trying his best to refine the seed. He took out the Red Gold Pill and took a whiff of it from time to time, using the high to neutralize the pain and heal his injured body.

"Got attacked. Passive Points +1."

"Got attacked. Passive Points +1."

...

The notification panel in his mind refreshed every second. Xu Xiaoshou was constantly being burned. On an average day, the number of passive points he was gaining would've made him happy, but now...

Hehe, it had once crippled a person with an Innate-stage physical body.

That sentence was like a nightmare, continuously coming back to haunt him.

"Sigh, do I still have to participate in the competition? What's going on?

Even though he was trying his best to hang in there, his condition was terrible. The meridians in his body were being severed one after the other, then restored time after time by the Red Gold Pill.

The pain was unimaginable.

"Oh, maybe I can dispel this scorching energy through battle?"

Sometime later, Xu Xiaoshou, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, had a stroke of inspiration and abruptly stood up.

That idea might work!

He looked at the arena. Many pairs had already been drawn, however, his name hadn't been picked yet.

The most eye-catching person in the arena right now was a man in white robes. His expression was cold, and he was wielding an Ice Stream Sword. His attacks turned his opponents into ice sculptures as he sliced his way to victory.

"Zhao Qingteng, victorious!"

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes glimmered. Ice?

He really wanted the other party to slice him with his sword. He'd feel so comfortable he might explode!

However, Zhao Qingteng…

He was an Innate-stage fighter!

This made him a little nervous.

The screen flickered again. Two names appeared in bold on the screen.

"Xu Xiaoshou!"

"Zhang Fei!"

As soon as the announcer's words fell, the spectators erupted with excitement. This was the second time this had happened. The first time was when the Innate-stage fighter Zhao Qingteng had entered the arena.

"He's here, he's here, Xu Xiaoshou!"

"Open your eyes wide, Sandbag Xu is coming!"

"Oh? Why is he called Sandbag Xu?"

"You don't know? Let me tell you, that Xu Xiaoshou…"

Xu Xiaoshou immediately flew into the arena from the waiting area and once again ran to Xiao Qixiu. "Give me treatment if I defeat this person!" he pleaded.

Xiao Qixiu's expression turned dark. What kind of candidate was this?

"I'm a judge," he thought. "Who do you take me for? You ran over here to talk to me like this?!"

One of the people from the panel of judges behind Xiao Qixiu was elated. "Look at Boss Xiao. Xu Xiaoshou's only just come up to him, and he's already starting to get frustrated!"

He was quite happy and observed Xu Xiaoshou with curiosity.

"Go back and stand in your corner!" Xiao Qixiu scolded.

Xu Xiaoshou pointed to his neck. It was billowing smoke.

There was an unpleasant look on Xiao Qixiu's face as he looked at Xu Xiaoshou. However, he was the judge, so it wasn't like he could do anything to him.

"Look, this area is already burned red. I'm a candidate. I have the right to receive treatment!"

"Hehe, you did this to yourself before the competition, so it has nothing to do with me!"

Xiao Qixiu did want to treat Xu Xiaoshou, but even the best medical worker present, much less himself, wouldn't be able to help him, so all he could do was get Xu Xiaoshou to fight through the pain.

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes glimmered when he heard this, and he said, "That's right. Since I did this before the competition, it has nothing to do with you, but if I get injured during the competition, you have to treat me!"

"Yes, that's right!" He nodded hard, then muttered loudly to himself, "Furthermore, according to the rules, you have to restore me to tip-top form!"

Xiao Qixiu looked really angry now. "Scram!

"Zhang Fei!

"Where are you, Zhang Fei? Hurry and come into the arena!"