"This is…"

Xu Xiaoshou broke through three layers of barriers and flew to the top of the Black Cliff.

​​

He was stunned by the sight that greeted him there.

A young woman in a white dress had her back facing him, and her butt was sticking so far up in the air that she was hardly the picture of dignity and grace.

"Ah!" She was using everything that she had to pull something out of the ground.

"Are you trying to get a turnip out?" Xu Xiaoshou asked. "Do you need help? I'm really strong!"

"Who is it?" The young lady whirled around and fell onto her butt in shock. "Xu Xiaoshou?"

Everyone in the Spirit Palace knew who Xu Xiaoshou was. At first, no one in the Inner Yard had known much about him, but then Zhao Shu died, and by the next day everyone in the Inner Yard had come to know who he was.

"It's a sword?"

Xu Xiaoshou finally saw what she was trying to pull out of the ground. The turnip-shaped item was a sword that was stuck in the ground…

Hold on. It wasn't a sword. It was a scabbard!

The scabbard was black, plain-looking, and appeared to be ancient. It didn't seem special.

That was when Xu Xiaoshou remembered the white sword energy that he'd seen at Black Waterfalls. This scabbard was half-buried at the top of the cliff. Could those sword energies have come from this?

Besides…

The sword energies had ceased appearing after some time. Was that because this girl had been trying to pull the scabbard out of the ground?

"That's what it gets for slashing me 280000 times," he thought. "It got what it deserved."

Xu Xiaoshou's gaze landed on the young woman on the ground.

She had a pretty face and a slim build. Her cheeks were flushed, most likely because of all the effort she'd been exerting to try and pull the scabbard out of the ground. Her white dress was soaked through with perspiration and was so closely stuck to her skin it was almost see-through.

"May I ask the lady for her name?" Xu Xiaoshou asked politely.

"Luo Leilei!"

Xu Xiaoshou could very clearly sense the near-imperceptible murderous vibes emanating from the young woman as soon as she gave him her name.

Were all youngsters so hotheaded nowadays? Did they have to be so rude when someone asked them for their name? Something must be terribly wrong with them.

Xu Xiaoshou spoke first. "You want to kill me."

Luo Leilei was speechless.

For a second there, she nearly choked from panic.

The thought had crossed her mind, but how had he managed to glimpse that fleeting thought?

"Cursed, Passive Points +1."

When she didn't say anything, Xu Xiaoshou asked another question. "How old are you?"

"Cursed, Passive Points +1."

"Who the h*ll asks for a lady's age as soon as they come up to them? There must be something wrong with this guy!" she thought.

"How did you get here? Why are you here? And… put some clothes on!" Luo Leilei glanced at his muscles, which all look toned and defined.

Xu Xiaoshou froze before hurriedly pulling on some clothes. He'd forgotten that he was in only his underwear.

He ignored Luo Leilei's questions and solemnly mumbled to himself, "You look quite young. You probably haven't hit 30, have you? Why is a young woman like you so hot-tempered? That can't be good for your health."

Thirty? Hot-tempered?

Luo Leilei's jaw clenched.

"You're really asking for it."

"Ha…" Xu Xiaoshou laughed wryly as he buttoned his clothes. "Why are you still trying to put on an act? We both know your cover's blown."

He had suffered Lan Xinzi's nonchalant murderous vibes once. He wasn't going to let his guard down so easily again.

This young woman wanted to kill him even though they'd only just met. Wasn't the reason for her intentions clear as day?

Zhang Xinxiong must've sent her!

He'd thought the man had only sent Yuan Tou after him. He hadn't expected Zhang Xinxiong to have a contingency plan as well...

Xu Xiaoshou laughed internally. The man never seemed to know when to stop!

Luo Leilei had been dying to attack Xu Xiaoshou. She hadn't expected him to blow her cover so directly. She was stunned, and was starting to panic.

When did she blow her cover?

She'd been concealing her real identity so well!

Had the Spirit Palace sent him after her? Was that how he knew what was going on?

Impossible!

The Spirit Palace couldn't know her true identity. She hadn't slipped up or done anything to warrant their suspicion…

But Xu Xiaoshou had sounded really confident. Why?

Luo Leilei's eyes lit up. Was he here for the Black Scabbard too?

Was he one of them?

A test was necessary.

"Is that what you're here for too?" Luo Leilei pointed at the Black Scabbard.

"Suspected, Passive Points +1."

"Suspected, Passive Points +1."

"..."

Xu Xiaoshou turned his thoughts from the notifications popping up on the Information Bar. What was going on? Was the woman possessed by Feng Kong? She was causing a flurry of activity on his Information Bar.

He eyed the scabbard… he had to get his hands on that. How could he give it up? Just by looking at it you could tell how extraordinary it was.

But…

"Go ahead and have a go at pulling it out. Don't bother about me. I'll take over when you give up."

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't worried at all. From what he'd seen earlier, it was clear the young woman couldn't pull the scabbard out.

Noting that Xu Xiaoshou wasn't denying that he'd also come here for the scabbard, Luo Leilei came to a decision. Since they were both here for the scabbard, they could work together.

"Since we're here for the same thing, I'm not going to hide the truth from you. Honestly, I can't get this thing out."

Xu Xiaoshou froze momentarily. Why had she sounded so full of herself when she admitted she hadn't been able to get the scabbard out of the ground?

"But I'm sure that we'll get it out if we work together. We can discuss how to split the loot after that." Luo Leilei stuck her chin out.

"Work together?" Xu Xiaoshou was tickled.

He was raring to go. Why should he team up with someone else?

"There's no need for that. I'll give it a go when you give up. I know the rules. The person who comes first gets first shot," Xu Xiaoshou said earnestly.

Luo Leilei scrunched up her nose, not expecting the young man to turn down her offer.

This was something that even she couldn't get out of the ground. Did Xu Xiaoshou, who was only at the early-stage Origin Court Level, believe that he stood a chance?

Hold on a second. The Origin Court Level? …the last she'd heard, he was only at Spiritual Cultivation Level Nine.

"I knew it," she thought. "You can't trust rumors."

"Well, why don't you have a go then?" she asked, smiling disdainfully. But, trying to appear magnanimous, she added, "Don't worry. When you come begging to team up with me in a while, I'll say yes."

Something flickered in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes. "Are you really giving up? Don't you want to give it another go?" he asked.

"That's right. I'm giving up."

"And if I manage to pull the scabbard out…"

Luo Leilei was tickled. What a naïve young man.

"It's yours if you pull it out!"

"Great! You're a woman of principle!" Xu Xiaoshou shouted suddenly, giving Luo Leilei a fright.

Cursed, Passive Points +1.

"Step aside. I'll show you what I'm made of!" He rolled up his sleeves.

He had a Master Level Physique. What was the point of him hanging around if he couldn't even pull a scabbard out of the ground? He might as well throw himself off Black Cliff!

The unburied length of the scabbard was exactly the span of two fists and just long enough for him to grab it with two hands.

Xu Xiaoshou gripped the scabbard with both hands and tugged hard.

Plop!

He fell onto his butt, his hands empty.

Luo Leilei burst into laughter. She'd been in his place just moments before.

It felt great seeing someone else meet the same fate!

"You can't do it, can you?" she teased.

Xu Xiaoshou laughed sheepishly and wildly waved his arms, saying, "I miscalculated."

The stupid scabbard wasn't any ordinary scabbard after all. No wonder it'd been stuck as some kind of treasure on top of Black Cliff. He shouldn't have underestimated it.

He grabbed the scabbard again, but this time he didn't attempt to yank it out. To prevent his fingers from slipping, he gradually increased his strength as he tried to pull it out of the ground.

Luo Leilei laughed at him when she realized what he was doing. "Don't bother. I've tried that a dozen times!"

Xu Xiaoshou didn't answer her. His face flushed red as he gathered his strength, his butt sticking out in the air.

"Out you go!"

Luo Leilei had wanted to fling a few more mocking words at Xu Xiaoshou, but then the ground under her feet started to shake. The cliff was rumbling, and the ground was cracking.

"Is he trying to get it out with sheer brute force?"

She was dumbstruck. That young man wasn't utilizing any bit of his spiritual source at all. He was relying on pure physical strength alone…

Was he still human? He was a monster in human skin!

Buzz!

Cracks started to appear on the invisible seal around the black scabbard while streaks of light started appearing on the scabbard.

Luo Leilei couldn't believe it. Was Xu Xiaoshou ripping the seal off the scabbard with sheer brute strength?

Suspected, Passive Points +1.

He wasn't done yet. He saw an opening and was going for it. His eyes widened, and the veins on his neck throbbed violently.

Boom!

The earth shattered with a loud explosion. The scabbard was yanked right out of the ground while Xu Xiaoshou was sent flying into the air from the force of the explosion.

After steadying himself to avoid taking a long fall down the cliff, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good game."