Chapter Sixty-Four: Qin Xiaochuan Finally Awakens

“What? He actually said he wants to do some simple exercise with me!” Hearing Qin Xiaochuan’s words from below the stage, Jiu, drunken and bleary-eyed, seemed to have exceptionally sharp hearing. He rubbed his eyes, still hazy from intoxication, and looked carefully at Qin Xiaochuan approaching from below. This… this guy is the Spirit Detective Qin Xiaochuan who killed… who killed those fools from the Four Sacred Beasts? Looking at his scrawny figure, he doesn’t seem impressive at all.

“Look! It’s Qin Xiaochuan! Qin Xiaochuan’s on stage!”

“Brothers! Qin Xiaochuan is on stage!”

“Wow, Qin Xiaochuan finally got up!”

“Go die, Qin Xiaochuan!”

“Next comes the last nightmare of your life!”

“Jiu! Quickly slaughter that guy!”

“Yes, Jiu! Beat him until he’s unrecognizable!”

“Kill him!”

…

The monsters in the audience erupted in excitement upon seeing Qin Xiaochuan walking toward the arena. Ever since Qin Xiaochuan eliminated the Four Sacred Beasts in the Dark Castle, his name had resounded among the monsters living in the human world. These hidden creatures all regarded the slaying of Qin Xiaochuan as the highest honor. Now, finally seeing him in the flesh at this arena, they all rose from the stands, wildly waving their pom-poms. The atmosphere reached its peak in an instant.

“My Xiaochuan is awake!” Su Su, who was sitting in the stands chatting hand-in-hand with Fan Fan, saw Qin Xiaochuan heading to the arena after waking up, hurriedly pulled Fan Fan to stand up as well, and shouted loudly toward Qin Xiaochuan, “Hey…!! Qin Xiaochuan! Your mother and your future wife Fan Fan are here to cheer you on! You’d better win! If you dare lose, just wait until I get home and show you what’s what!... Go, Xiaochuan! Mama supports you!”

Hearing Su Su refer to herself as Qin Xiaochuan’s wife, Fan Fan blushed furiously, quickly pulled her hand from Su Su’s grasp, covered her face with both hands, and sat back down. Though she had come here because she was worried about Qin Xiaochuan, being called out so directly by Su Su made her face turn instantly red, like a ripe apple, her fair and rosy complexion even more charming and adorable than usual.

“Kill him!”

“Kill him!”

“Kill him!”

“Kill him!”

…

As Qin Xiaochuan stepped onto the arena to face Jiu, the cries from the audience reached a fever pitch, transforming from chaotic shouts into a unified chant: “Kill him!” “Kill him!” “Kill him!” These words seemed magical, gathering above the arena, forming an aura of murderous intent so terrifying that it targeted only one person—Qin Xiaochuan.

“What a frightening killing intent!” Zhang Yang felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead as he sensed the terrifying aura above the arena. It was overwhelming; he hadn’t expected the monsters in the audience to hate Qin Xiaochuan so much, to be able to collectively generate such murderous intent. If killing intent could actually kill, Qin Xiaochuan would have died a thousand times over. Yet, seeing Qin Xiaochuan’s confident gaze on stage, Zhang Yang’s worries eased, and he said reassuringly, “But judging from Xiaochuan’s look, dealing with a drunk should be easy, haha!”

“Easy! You’re mistaken, Zhang Yang,” Bai Ying thought, shaking her head at Zhang Yang’s comment. “It was Yan’s powerful strength that forced Feiyan to unleash his unfinished secret technique, Flame Killing Black Dragon Wave, a true demonic black flame capable of killing even a fire master like Yan in one blow. And the one who summoned it, Feiyan, certainly didn’t escape unscathed. Only his right hand was needed! Right now, Feiyan’s right hand must have… been sacrificed. That hand should be unusable now…” Glancing at Feiyan’s scorched right hand tucked in his pocket, Bai Ying refocused on Jiu on stage. “...This guy’s strange demon aura mixed with alcohol is completely different from the frenzied fire aura of Yan. I don’t know what this aura is, but it gives me a dangerous signal. Xiaochuan, you must be careful with this one!”

“You said simple… exercise,” Jiu stared at Qin Xiaochuan, now facing him, and suddenly vanished, reappearing with a microphone in hand. Turning to Ling Ling behind him, he said, “Borrowing this for a moment!” Then he faced Qin Xiaochuan.

“Ah!… Wha—what! When!” Seeing Jiu holding her microphone, Ling Ling looked down to find it gone from her hand, unable to believe her eyes. When did he take it?

“Mm hmm! Testing, testing…” Jiu tried the microphone and, pointing at Qin Xiaochuan, loudly explained, “Before the battle… there’s something you should know! I’m terrible at rock-paper-scissors, but I’m great at fighting! Yes, I’m great at fighting! That’s all…”

Hearing Jiu’s words, the audience and Qin Xiaochuan were left baffled. What was this guy talking about? Why was it so unclear? Did he drink himself silly?

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Ling Ling hurried to Jiu’s side, pulled out a spare microphone, and explained to the crowd, “Let me clarify: in the tradition of the Six Traveling Monsters team, the lineup is decided by rock-paper-scissors, including the substitutes. But in terms of strength, this substitute Jiu is actually the true No. 1 in the team…”

“Exactly!” Jiu loudly added, apparently satisfied that Ling Ling had clarified his meaning.

“Oh… Jiu! Is he drunk again?” Ling Ju, still healing his wounds below the stage, slapped his own face at Jiu’s antics. It was so embarrassing; Jiu never knew what he was doing when he was drunk. Now he’d embarrassed himself in front of everyone, running onto the arena and making a fool of himself. When he sobers up, he’ll be mortified. Looks like I’ll need to keep a closer eye on him.

“………”

“Is that guy an idiot?” Zhang Yang, watching Bai Ying beside him remain silent, started doubting his own spiritual judgment. Was this guy really as dangerous as his instincts told him? He was just a drunkard, with not a shred of a master’s demeanor.

“Alright, alright!” Qin Xiaochuan chuckled, took off his jacket and tossed it aside, then stretched his arms and said to Jiu, “So sore, so sore, let’s get started already, I can’t wait, haha!”

“STOP! You don’t believe a word I say, do you?” Seeing Qin Xiaochuan jump up and rush toward him, Jiu pointed to stop him, apparently with more to say. “Even if I beat you, you careless fool, I won’t feel happy at all! Listen up, I’m telling you now, my strongest move is Drunken Fist! The drunker I am, the stronger I get!” With that, Jiu began demonstrating for Qin Xiaochuan, “It’s a style that uses unpredictable movements to catch careless opponents off guard! Remember, don’t underestimate me and fall for it!”

“Oh my god… there’s no hope for him!” Ling Ju, sitting on the ground, collapsed at Jiu’s demonstration. He not only revealed his trump card to the opponent but also showed the technique right then and there. How could he be so drunk? And I was hoping he’d win—what a hopeless fantasy.

“What a fool, haha,” Qin Xiaochuan grew even more excited after Jiu finished speaking. “To actually display your ultimate technique to your opponent, you must be pretty confident in it, right? Otherwise, this is really pointless!”

“Nice eyes!” Seeing the excitement in Qin Xiaochuan’s gaze, the drunken haze in Jiu’s eyes vanished, replaced by a sharp, brilliant light. “Haven’t seen that look in ages! Looks like I’ll really be able to enjoy myself!” With that, Jiu began moving irregularly around the stage; unlike the drunken stagger of an ordinary drunk, his movements appeared slow but were actually quite fast. He circled Qin Xiaochuan, as if to demonstrate that what he’d said was true—don’t doubt him.

“As the disciple of Master Jinghai, he requested a second special training…” Watching Qin Xiaochuan on stage, the Little King of Hell sitting in the VIP section grew unusually serious. “Then Master Jinghai must have taught him the immortal arts that use spiritual wave oscillation as their foundation…”

As Jiu began moving on stage, the referee and commentator, Miss Ling Ling, hurriedly waved her right hand, loudly announcing the start of the match.

Upon hearing the official start, Jiu’s speed doubled, leaving afterimages in his wake—residual shadows visible to his opponent when moving at high speed.

“Like flowing clouds and water,” Bai Ying couldn’t help but praise Jiu’s movement on stage. Although he was from the opposing team, his movement alone was worth admiring. “He seems to have his own style, but there’s not a hint of wasted motion as he moves, as if he’s already anticipating his opponent’s attacks, making it impossible to keep up with him! What an unpredictable martial art!”