I Am Loaded with Passive Skills

"Prepare yourself, wait for me at the Four Symbols Secret Realm."

...

Some stopped shooting arrows, others tried to dissuade him.

Some acted recklessly, others were determined to stay.

In that moment, Xu Xiaoshou realized for the first time that he had reached a height where no one could manipulate him anymore.

Their advice and opinions truly became—could only become—advice and opinions, no longer commands.

And executing orders was no longer his only option.

Everything was for reference only.

So, what is my own choice?

Xu Xiaoshou could naturally see through the various thoughts buried within everyone's hearts, both on the surface and in secret.

It was the first time he questioned his true heart like this.

From the headless chaos of the White Cave, to the purposeful sabotage in Dongtianwang City, to the merging of the Four Divine Pillars on Abyss Island, and finally becoming the Sword-Me Vessel for Bazhun'an at the Divine Relics...

It felt as though an invisible hand had always been pushing him forward.

And every time, when Xu Xiaoshou thought he held the initiative, looking back, he realized he was still passive.

This time, it's different... maybe different!

"I can have a choice—a proactive choice!"

But are there really multiple options to choose from? Xu Xiaoshou laughed, understanding well that there were not.

Elder Sang was indeed brilliant, hiding words within words.

Yet Xu Xiaoshou heard the meaning loud and clear: if he didn't take on this task, in the end, someone within the Saint Servant would still have to do it—most likely, Elder Sang himself, who was about to step into this game with his life on the line.

Stepping back now, what difference would that make from Bazhun'an's failure back then?

There is a difference!

And a fundamental one!

Bazhun'an's failure had justifiable reasons and could be forgiven.

But if Xu Xiaoshou backed down now, it would simply be because of cowardice.

"We can seal Ah Si away, delay things for a while."

"But that's irrelevant to whether it's wise or not. This time, my choice isn't a binary one of advancing versus retreating. It's about bringing the timing forward... and it must be brought forward!"

If Ai Cangsheng, Dao Qiongcang, Bazhun'an, the Blood World Pearl, even Yue Gongli, or all those unspeakable forces desire a pawn to emerge and disrupt the situation...

I will stand forward.

If I am still a pawn, I am no longer a mere foot soldier, taking one step at a time without turning back.

I would be a rook, crushing every obstacle in my path.

If I fail to surpass their expectations and become that variable, I will eventually charge into their trap, bleed out, and doom myself to destruction.

Even if things were delayed, the outcome would be no different from now, would it?

As for you, Elder Sang...

Old man Sang, enjoy your retirement.

You're not the protagonist, okay? No need to add unnecessary drama for yourself.

...

"Speak!"

Amid the gaze of countless eyes, by the Holy Mountain, Lord Shou hesitated for a long moment before finally pronouncing two heart-stirring words.

He was still gripping Ah Si's head, the Three Loathsome Eyes locking onto him tightly. With the Lei Family's Eyes empowered by the power of the ancestral source, Ah Si couldn't die, let alone resist.

"Let's start with explaining, from the perspective of your demi-saint family, how you view the matter of a demi-saint's self-imprisonment, and even the definition of 'self-imprisonment' itself."

"Uh! Self... self-imprisonment..."

At these words, Ah Si's expression twisted abruptly, as though enduring extreme agony. His body involuntarily curled up, even convulsing.

What a question!

A truly daring question!

Feng Zhongzui felt his scalp go numb; Lord Shou dared to ask, but he dared not broadcast it.

The saints of the Holy Mountain Sanctuary, at this moment, couldn't even care about their respective stances.

They were demi-saints. They were undergoing self-imprisonment. They were the lucid victims, yet still serving their tormentors!

Even Fang Wenxin, now, was staring hard at Ah Si, craving an answer that heaven itself had never provided.

The vastness of the five regions, teeming with gifted and extraordinary individuals—no one dared ask such a question in the past.

Yes, it was abnormal.

But everyone had grown accustomed to the abnormality, accepting it as normality.

And precisely because of this habitual distortion, such a piercingly normal question now left the world utterly shaken.

He stood up.

Even if he died, he stood while doing so.

...

"It has begun."

In the Southern Region, Ai Cangsheng, seated on his osmanthus-wood wheelchair, could no longer smell the fragrance of osmanthus.

He lowered the Evil Sin Bow onto the pitch-black cloth on his lap.

He tilted his head to gaze up at the sky, but before long, he slowly shut his Eyes of the Great Path, his expression grave.

"I heard the lament of the Great Path."

"Yet, what I saw was the normal operation of the Great Path. Perhaps I could perceive it all along, but from beginning to end, I never understood it."

Zhong Yuanzi deliberately ignored the latter half of the statement, nodding heavily to express agreement with the former, as if he too had heard it.

"As expected, now that the World Tree is gone and its protective fortune vanished, chaos will descend on the five regions."

...

Pa!

At the Feng Family City, on the First Viewing Platform.

Dao Qiongcang slapped his own face, his five fingers gripping his head, his palm covering his tightly-shut eyes, digging painfully into his scalp.

"I told you, do not utter it, do not utter—"

He seemed to be in extreme anguish, as though about to lose a dear confidant because of it.

But no matter how hard he pressed, trying to use pain to suppress the overwhelming waves of emotion inside him.

It was useless.

Dao Qiongcang's facial muscles twitched, the corners of his lips quivered...

Finally, he could no longer hold it back. The corners of his mouth stretched into a grin, and shockingly, he began to laugh!

"Heh..."

"Heh heh heh..."

"Heh hahahaha!"

He laughed uncontrollably, an exhilarated, maniacal laughter, his mouth nearly splitting to his earlobes—a truly grotesque expression.

"Good!"

He suddenly roared explosively, clutching his forehead as madness overtook him, startling everyone around him.