"Cai Hui, what are you yelling about?"

Hearing Cai Hui's shouting, an old man with a long-stemmed pipe in his mouth walked out from the inner hall of the Enforcement Hall.

"Senior Uncle Xiao, I was beaten by someone!" Upon seeing the elder, Cai Hui's expression immediately turned respectful. "That person is a menial disciple who supposedly just joined our sect yesterday. Yet, he claims to be an honored guest of our sect!"

"And you believe him?" The old man grinned.

"Of course not!" Cai Hui shook his head. "He also said he could destroy our sect with a single thought. It's the most outrageous boast I've ever heard!"

"Heh!" the old man scoffed. "He must be used to a comfortable life on the outside and can't stand the hardship in our sect. He's just trying to stir up some trouble. It's a common story!"

"Say, Cai Hui," the old man said, glancing at Cai Hui's pale face, "how did you let a menial disciple beat you?"

Although Cai Hui's combat prowess was lacking, ranking him at the bottom of the Inner Sect Disciples, he shouldn't have been beaten by a mere menial disciple.

"I…" Cai Hui hesitated, trying to sidestep the issue. "I just didn't expect him to dare strike me. He caught me off guard and landed a blow. I didn't press the issue, to avoid being accused of bullying my lessers. I'll let the sect's rules handle it."

"You're quite the man of principle."

The elder glanced at Cai Hui, then called over a young disciple and said to Cai Hui, "Let Zhu Jin go with you to apprehend him!"

"Junior Brother Zhu… is he up to it?"

Cai Hui frowned upon seeing the young disciple.

"What do you mean he isn't up to it?" the elder waved his hand dismissively. "Zhu Jin's cultivation just had a breakthrough. He's much stronger than you. Now go, both of you!"

With that, the old man puffed on his pipe and turned to walk back into the inner hall.

Cai Hui had no choice but to lead the young disciple named Zhu Jin toward the lumbering area on the back mountain.

"Senior Brother Cai, you're looking down on me, aren't you?"

Halfway there, the typically expressionless Zhu Jin suddenly spoke. "Do you think I can't handle this?"

"Junior Brother Zhu, although that menial disciple is new, he has a strong background. Be very careful when you see him," Cai Hui advised.

"You still underestimate me," Zhu Jin said, his young face becoming even more expressionless. "Senior Uncle Xiao is right; my cultivation has indeed broken through to another level. Just watch. I will make him recognize the authority of an Enforcement Hall Disciple!"

"Then…," Cai Hui opened his mouth, "I wish you success!"

After that, the two fell silent and walked all the way to the lumbering area, where they saw Su Xuan.

At that moment, Su Xuan was still not chopping trees. He sat cross-legged on a rock, as if cultivating, or perhaps waiting for someone to come and arrest him.

"Is that him?"

Without needing Cai Hui to point him out, Zhu Jin spotted the distinctive Su Xuan at a glance. "Why is he dressed like that? Did he come from the world below?"

"You can ask him yourself after you catch him!" Cai Hui replied moodily.

"Very well!"

Zhu Jin straightened his collar, walked directly in front of Su Xuan, and looked up at him sitting on the rock. "You have defied an Inner Sect Disciple, a serious violation of the sect's rules! Get down here at once and follow me to the Enforcement Hall to receive your punishment!"

"Hey, Cai Hui."

Su Xuan merely glanced at Zhu Jin before ignoring him completely, looking at Cai Hui instead. "What did I tell you before? I wanted to see someone important. Why did you bring a little kid?"

"Little kid…"

Zhu Jin's expressionless face suddenly turned frigid.

Never mind his combat prowess, as a disciple of the Enforcement Hall, who in the entire sect would dare treat him like a little kid? This was a clear insult!

"I'll say it again!" Zhu Jin's voice turned cold as he addressed Su Xuan again. "Get down here and follow me to the Enforcement Hall for your punishment. Otherwise, I'll cripple you on the spot!"

This scene, of course, was witnessed by Wang Shanhu and the other menial disciples chopping trees nearby, and they couldn't help but start whispering among themselves.

"It's Zhu Jin!"

"I heard he had another cultivation breakthrough a few days ago!"

"I wonder how he compares to our Brother Su?"

Hearing the chatter of the menial disciples and seeing Su Xuan completely ignore him, Zhu Jin was determined to demonstrate his authority in front of everyone.

CLANG!

He threw his sword onto the grass, then assumed a starting stance and beckoned to Su Xuan. "Cai Hui said you have some skill. You can go ahead and use your best moves. Then you'll understand… Shit!"

Zhu Jin's expression changed dramatically!

Su Xuan, who had been sitting on the rock, moved in the blink of an eye, his foot stopping right in front of Zhu Jin's face!

It all happened so suddenly that he had no time to react. He still had two more threatening lines he wanted to say!

THUD!

Zhu Jin's perpetually expressionless face was smashed flat against the sole of Su Xuan's foot. His head snapped back violently, and he fell to the ground, stiff as a board!

"Junior Brother Zhu, are you alright?"

Cai Hui hadn't expected Su Xuan to be so decisive, striking without any warning. He scrambled to crouch and check on Zhu Jin. He saw that Zhu Jin was already unconscious, with two streams of blood trickling from his nostrils. His nose was probably broken.

"Cai Hui," Su Xuan said, having already returned to his seat on the rock as if he'd never moved. "Take him away."

"Yes, yes!"

Cai Hui, now even more wary of Su Xuan, nodded respectfully. He hoisted Zhu Jin onto his back and prepared to leave.

"His sword."

Wang Shanhu called out to Cai Hui, handing him the sword Zhu Jin had just thrown to the ground. It was still warm.

Only then did Cai Hui leave, carrying Zhu Jin on his back.

"Brother Su, you're awesome!"

"You even dared to hit someone from the Enforcement Hall!"

"Now we absolutely believe you're a distinguished guest of the Floating Cloud Sect!"

"No menial disciple has skills like that!"

"You must have been a formidable figure on the outside, right?"

Once Cai Hui was out of sight, Wang Shanhu and the others surrounded Su Xuan, showering him with praise.

Su Xuan was indifferent to this, merely looking up at a patch of white clouds in the azure sky. He was here on a mission. Alice's father didn't have much time left. If he couldn't find a cure for his strange illness soon, the next time they met, he'd be bringing a funeral wreath. And yet, he had fooled the man with tall tales about the profound and unfathomable art of Chinese medicine.

"You're tired of living, kid!"

Not long after, a middle-aged man with a stern face came striding over furiously. Pointing at Su Xuan's face, he cursed, "Hitting Cai Hui is one thing, but how dare you strike a disciple of my Enforcement Hall? Have you got a death wish, or do you think there's no one in the Enforcement Hall who can deal with you?"

Su Xuan ignored the man and asked Cai Hui, who was standing beside him, "Who did you bring this time?"

Cai Hui quickly replied, "This is one of the four managers of the Enforcement Hall, Manager Li He."

"Just a manager," Su Xuan murmured. "Still not important enough."

The manager from the Enforcement Hall heard this and was instantly enraged…

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