"I am Li, the Manager of the Enforcement Hall!" he roared. "This is insubordination!"

The manager was furious when he saw Su Xuan's blatant disregard for him. But how could he know that, in Su Xuan's eyes, his status as a manager was no different from a minor project manager in the world below?

"Manager Li, is it?" Su Xuan stretched languidly and repeated a sentence Zhu Jin had said to him earlier. "Use your most powerful move, then we'll see if you're qualified to be arrogant in front of me."

With that, Su Xuan leaped down from the rock and stood before Manager Li. At the same time, a sharp, commanding aura poured out from him.

"Ugh!"

Sensing Su Xuan's aura, Manager Li involuntarily took a step back. As a cultivator, he was highly sensitive to such things, and he suddenly felt insignificant and small before Su Xuan. The scolding words he had been about to say died in his throat; he no longer had the courage to voice them.

"Y-You asked for this!"

Seeing that Su Xuan was unarmed, Manager Li took a deep breath. He channeled the inner energy within his body, gathering it in his right hand before striking out at Su Xuan with his palm.

With one hand behind his back, Su Xuan raised the other and returned the palm strike.

BANG!

A sharp crack echoed as the air ruptured.

Staggering back several steps, Manager Li felt a surge of qi and blood in his chest. When he looked at Su Xuan again, his heart was filled with immense dread.

That's how things were in the world atop the mountain. Even if you were an obscure nobody, the moment you displayed formidable strength, others would unconditionally fear and respect you. It was just like in the world below, where you might suddenly pull out a Koenigsegg car key in front of a group of your broke friends.

"Are you a body cultivator?" Manager Li asked, hastily trying to regulate the inner energy that Su Xuan's palm strike had thrown into chaos while masking his panic. He asked because he couldn't feel the slightest flow of inner energy from Su Xuan.

"No," Su Xuan said with a warm smile. "You aren't worthy of me getting serious yet."

At these words, Manager Li's mouth twitched. This was the most arrogant thing he had ever heard since becoming the Manager of the Enforcement Hall.

Wang Shanhu and the others, however, were completely awestruck by Su Xuan's words.

That line has so much style! they thought. We have to memorize it so we can show it off later!

"I think there's something wrong with you!" Manager Li blurted out suddenly. "Are you a top expert from another sect, here to spy on our Floating Cloud Sect?"

Whether anyone else understood the implication of his question didn't matter. After saying it, he felt a little better, having found a way to save face.

"Of course not," Su Xuan replied. "I'm merely a guest of the Floating Cloud Sect."

Before his voice had even faded, Su Xuan moved.

The grass beneath his feet bent sideways as he shot toward Manager Li like an arrow. To Wang Shanhu and the others, Su Xuan seemed to trail a series of afterimages, a testament to his incredible speed. If Steward Liu had been there, he would have understood that Su Xuan had absorbed the force from Manager Li's palm strike and released it through his feet to boost his speed—a truly ingenious application of Ruyi Tai Chi.

Damn it, how can he be so fast!

Manager Li had no time to dodge. All he could do was slide his right leg back a few inches and raise his arms to block.

Ignoring Manager Li's arms, Su Xuan unleashed a heavy punch that whistled through the air.

THUMP!

Manager Li was sent flying, his body sliding across the turf for five or six meters before coming to a stop. His arms trembled uncontrollably, unable to support his body, as a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out. There was truly nothing to say. The difference in their strength was simply too vast. He had been defeated so thoroughly that he felt no resentment or unwillingness to accept it.

"Did you know? Even your sect's Lu Dongshan is no match for me, and his combat strength should be ranked quite high in your sect, right?" Su Xuan said to Manager Li before waving a hand at Cai Hui. "Take him away."

"Yes, yes!"

Cai Hui was getting quite proficient at this. He hoisted Manager Li onto his shoulder and ran toward the Enforcement Hall.

"Elder Xiao, Manager Li was also beaten by that menial disciple!" Cai Hui yelled as soon as he arrived.

The old man from before rushed out again, his pipe in hand and his face a mask of shock. Zhu Jin had just been carried back; how was Manager Li now being carried back too?

"I'll go and see for myself this time!"

The elder fastened the pipe to his waist and hurriedly followed Cai Hui toward the back mountain.

Meanwhile, the scene on the back mountain was quite amusing. Wang Shanhu and the other menial disciples had lost all interest in chopping down trees. They stared eagerly down the path, waiting for the next person to come looking for trouble with Su Xuan. They had never experienced anything so entertaining. The people from the Enforcement Hall were being humbled again and again—they came one by one, and they fell one by one. It was hard not to laugh.

They also admired Su Xuan's mental fortitude. By now, his transgression was no small matter, yet he remained perfectly calm, as if he weren't the one who had committed such astonishing acts.

"Elder Xiao Chengyun is coming himself!" Wang Shanhu suddenly cried out, seeing Cai Hui leading an old man toward them.

"Brother Su, Elder Xiao Chengyun is not to be trifled with!" Wang Shanhu scurried over to Su Xuan's side to report. "Elder Xiao is a veteran of the sect. In his youth, he was one of our strongest fighters. However, he was severely injured in a conflict long ago. Even after recovering, his cultivation had fallen from the Heaven Severing Realm to the Earth Profound Realm, and he's been living out his days in the Enforcement Hall ever since. You must be careful!"

"Got it," Su Xuan nodded.

Having interacted with many people from the world atop the mountain and learned the introductory methods of both the Floating Cloud and Spirit Taming Sects, he had a basic understanding of the cultivation realms.

When one first stepped onto the path of cultivation, the first realm was the Spirit Condensation Realm, followed by the Earth Profound Realm, and then the Heaven Severing Realm. These realms symbolized a person's cultivation level and directly reflected their combat strength.

Su Xuan had compared his own condition to these realms, trying to figure out where he stood, but he couldn't find a definitive answer. His physical constitution alone far surpassed the Spirit Condensation Realm, allowing him to contend with those in the Earth Profound Realm. On top of that, he had cultivated the methods of two sects and could call upon vital energy to enhance his power. His senses and mental state were also remarkably sharp.

If he wanted a definitive answer, it could only be found through battle. By fighting, he would find his place.

As Xiao Chengyun drew closer, a trace of seriousness finally appeared on Su Xuan's face. He stood tall on the rock, and just as he was about to speak, the old man beat him to it.

"I am Xiao Chengyun, the presiding elder of the Enforcement Hall!" the elder announced himself. "While I may not be the Hall Master, even he has to give some weight to this old man's words. Is my reputation great enough for you?"

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