Chapter 143: Pulling Up the Radish?

"What's this...?" Xu Xiaoshou broke through the three-layered barrier and flew to the top of Black Cliff, but he was stunned by the sight before him.

It was a girl in a white dress, her back to him, her backside sticking ridiculously high up, completely disregarding her image.

"Ugh!" She seemed to be straining with all her might, trying to pull something out.

"Pulling a radish?" Xu Xiaoshou called out. "Do you need help? I'm incredibly strong!"

"Who?!" The girl in white jumped in surprise, spun around abruptly, and landed squarely on her bottom. "Xu Xiaoshou?"

Xu Xiaoshou's name was well-known throughout the Spiritual Palace. Initially, not many in the inner court knew about him, but after Chao Shu's death, almost everyone knew about him by the next day.

"A sword?" Only then did Xu Xiaoshou see the true form of the "radish" she was pulling: it was actually a sword plunged upside down into the ground... No, it should be a sword sheath!

The sheath was black, very ancient-looking, and unremarkable. But Xu Xiaoshou immediately thought of the white sword energy from the Black Cliff Waterfall. Could it be that this thing, plunged into the cliff top, was the source of all that sword energy? And... did the sword energy stop being released because someone was pulling it out?

"Heh heh," he thought. "You dared to slash at me more than 280,000 times consecutively? Serves you right for being pulled out!"

Xu Xiaoshou's gaze turned to the girl on the ground. She had a beautiful face and a slender figure. Her cheeks were flushed, likely from the exertion, and her white clothes were damp with sweat, clinging to her skin and revealing glimpses of her form.

"May I ask for your name, young lady?" Xu Xiaoshou asked very politely.

"Luo Leilei!" As soon as she said this, Xu Xiaoshou clearly sensed a faint killing intent. "Are young people so irritable nowadays?" he thought. "So impolite when asked a name? What's wrong with them!"

"You want to kill me?" Xu Xiaoshou preempted her.

Luo Leilei was speechless, momentarily flustered. "It was just a fleeting thought," she wondered, "how could you possibly detect it?"

"Cursed, Passive Value, 1." Seeing that she didn't speak, he asked again, "How old are you?"

"Cursed, Passive Value, 1." "Who asks someone's age right off the bat?" she thought. "This guy must be crazy!"

"How did you get here? What are you doing here? And... put on some clothes!" Luo Leilei glanced at his abs. Not gonna lie, they looked really good.

Xu Xiaoshou paused, startled, then quickly put on his clothes. "Oh, right," he thought, "I completely forgot about that."

He ignored Luo Leilei and said, "You look very young, surely not yet thirty. Why are you so irritable? It's not good for your health." He spoke earnestly.

"Thirty? Irritable?" Luo Leilei was so angry her teeth ached.

"Are you trying to die?"

"Heh heh..." Xu Xiaoshou buttoned his clothes and sneered, "Still pretending? Your cover's blown!"

After experiencing Lan Xinzi's casual killing intent last time, he wouldn't easily let down his guard around anyone. This girl, meeting him for the first time, already harbored murderous intent. Why even ask why? She must have been sent by Zhang Xinxiong!

He hadn't expected a second plan besides Yuan Tou... Xu Xiaoshou scoffed inwardly. "As expected, this Zhang guy never rests!"

Luo Leilei was on the verge of making a move, but she didn't expect Xu Xiaoshou to reveal the truth with a single phrase, which immediately stunned her and made her a little flustered. "When was my cover blown?" she thought. "I hid it so well! Could this kid have been deliberately sent by the Spiritual Palace, and thus knows internal information? Impossible! Even the Spiritual Palace couldn't know my identity; I clearly left no traces that day... But why is he so certain?"

Luo Leilei's eyes lit up. "Could it be that he also came directly here, looking for the 'Black Cliff Sword Sheath'?" she wondered. "A kindred spirit? I'll test him!"

"Is this your target too?" Luo Leilei asked, pointing at the black sword sheath.

"Suspicion, Passive Value, 1." "Suspicion, Passive Value, 1." Xu Xiaoshou withdrew his attention from the info panel. "What the hell is going on? Is Feng Kong possessing me, spamming the screen?"

He looked at the sword sheath... "I definitely have to take this," he thought. "How could I let it go? It's clearly no ordinary item." But...

"You go ahead and keep pulling," he said. "Don't mind me. When you give up, I'll try!" Xu Xiaoshou wasn't in a hurry. From what he'd seen just now, it was clear the girl couldn't pull out the sheath.

Luo Leilei saw that he didn't deny it and her mind was set at ease. "So he really is here to steal the sword sheath, after all," she thought. "Perhaps we can even cooperate."

"Since we're kindred spirits," she said, "I won't hide anything anymore. To be frank, I can't pull this thing out!"

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned. "You can't pull it out, yet you say it with such pride?" he thought.

"But if you and I cooperate, we can definitely get our hands on this thing," Luo Leilei said, lifting her chin. "Then we can discuss how to divide it."

"Cooperate?" Xu Xiaoshou was amused. He was currently in a state where he had strength but nowhere to use it. "What cooperation are we talking about?"

"No need to cooperate," Xu Xiaoshou said, full of sincerity. "When you give up, I'll try pulling it. I understand the 'first come, first served' rule."

Luo Leilei wrinkled her delicate nose. "This guy actually isn't appreciative?" she thought. "I can't pull this thing out, and you, a mere Yuan Court stage practitioner, think you can? Huh? Yuan Court stage? ...Didn't the rumors say this guy was only at Spirit Refining Stage Nine? Sure enough, rumors can't be trusted!"

"Since you put it that way, go ahead and try!" Luo Leilei scoffed, yet a hint of magnanimity appeared on her pretty face. "Don't worry," she said, "when you come begging me for cooperation later, I'll agree."

Xu Xiaoshou's heart stirred. "You've really given up?" he asked. "Won't you try again?"

"That's right!" Luo Leilei was amused. "He really is an ignorant youth!" she thought. "If you pull it out, it's yours!"

"Alright! That's fair!" Xu Xiaoshou shouted loudly, startling Luo Leilei.

"Cursed, Passive Value, 1." "Move aside, let me show you what I can do!" he said, rolling up his sleeves.

If a Grandmaster's body couldn't even pull out a sword sheath, what was the point of him being Xu Xiaoshou? He might as well just jump off Black Cliff!

The part of the black sword sheath protruding from the ground was only about two fists long, but it was just enough for two hands to grip. Xu Xiaoshou gripped it with both hands and yanked hard. *Thump!* He landed squarely on his backside, pulling out nothing but air.

Luo Leilei snorted with laughter. This was exactly how she had been just before this guy arrived. Now that someone shared the same fate, it felt incredibly satisfying!

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

"Heh heh," Xu Xiaoshou waved his hand awkwardly. "A mistake, a mistake..." This sheath was truly something else. It certainly deserved to be a treasure placed atop Black Cliff; it shouldn't be underestimated.

Gripping it again, Xu Xiaoshou didn't use brute force, but applied strength gradually to prevent slipping.

Luo Leilei saw him making the same movements and couldn't help but sneer. "No need to try," she said. "I've tried that way more than ten times already!"

Xu Xiaoshou didn't respond. He held his breath and gathered all his strength, his face turning crimson and his backside sticking way, way up.

"Come out!" Luo Leilei was about to mock him again when she suddenly felt the ground beneath her feet tremble. Black Cliff buzzed, and the ground cracked.

"Pure brute force?" She was shocked. This kid clearly wasn't using any spiritual energy; he was relying entirely on his physical strength... "Is this even a person?" she thought. "He's a human-shaped beast!"

The black sword sheath's invisible seal was directly pulled apart by brute force, leaving visible traces, and a visible light shimmered around it. Luo Leilei was astonished. "Pure physical strength, pulling out a seal?"

"Suspicion, Passive Value, 1." That wasn't all. Xu Xiaoshou struck while the iron was hot. His eyes widened, and the muscles in his neck strained visibly.

With a loud bang, the ground shattered, the sword sheath was ripped directly out, and Xu Xiaoshou was sent flying high into the air by the recoil.

"Hah," he exhaled. He steadied himself firmly, avoiding falling off the cliff, and only then did he let out a soft breath. "The pleasure is mine."