ROAR!

The Gold-Scaled Crocodile seemed to understand Su Xuan's words. Hearing Su Xuan proclaim its awesomeness, it let out a happy roar in response.

Su Xuan was also sizing up the Gold-Scaled Crocodile.

This fierce creature had a head resembling a crocodile's, with sharp teeth and a body covered in golden scales. It possessed strong limbs and a startlingly sharp tail that had just snapped several trees in half with a mere sweep. It also had two lantern-sized eyes that emitted a ferocious red light.

Yet, for some reason, it now looked at Su Xuan with a shy expression. Perhaps it was afraid that Su Xuan would find it inadequate.

"Little Gold!"

Of course, Su Xuan did not disdain this massive beast of mighty fighting prowess that turned heads wherever it went. He climbed onto the back of the Gold-Scaled Beast and commanded with a smile, "Let's run!"

ROAR!

The Gold-Scaled Beast threw its head back and roared, then began to gallop at full speed.

It didn't run aimlessly. Seeing the disciples from Flying Wolf Villa still standing there, it thundered toward them. In the blink of an eye, over twenty of the villa's disciples were trampled into the mud, never to rise again.

"Heh. If the Floating Cloud Sect had such a colossal beast, there would be no need to fear the likes of Flying Wolf Villa," Su Xuan chuckled, looking around at the scene of disarray.

Then he commanded the Gold-Scaled Crocodile to thunder toward the Nine Cauldron Gate.

"Villa Master, are you alright? Speak to us, Villa Master!"

"Villa Master, just say something, will you?"

"Villa Master, don't scare us like this!"

After Su Xuan left, two of the Flying Wolf Villa disciples who could still crawl made their way to Ji Yangping and dug him out of the mud. They had to literally dig him out, as he too had been trampled into the earth by the Gold-Scaled Crocodile.

"Am I still… alive?"

It took a while before Ji Yangping opened his eyes, the memory of what had just happened still leaving him shaken with fear. When he saw the tragic state of his disciples, he felt even more fortunate to have survived.

"He is certainly not an elder of the Floating Cloud Sect!" Ji Yangping said suddenly after regaining his composure. "Those from the Floating Cloud Sect don't have the power to possess such a rare, gigantic beast. He must be the scion of a major clan from the Eighteen Mountain Ranges. Damn it… he must be just out for fun! Maybe he fancied Qi Qingshan's daughter and came out to woo her. Unfortunately, we just became his playthings!"

The Flying Wolf Villa disciples heard this and agreed, thinking it made sense.

"Villa Master, do you think he'll come back to retaliate against us?" one of them couldn't help but ask.

"He probably won't," Ji Yangping said, shaking his head. "We're such small fry to him that we're practically non-existent. He's probably forgotten about us already."

Despite saying this, after returning to the villa in a sorry state that night, Ji Yangping announced he was going into seclusion, vowing not to emerge until he achieved a breakthrough in his cultivation. He no longer dared to cause trouble for the Floating Cloud Sect or the Spirit Taming Sect.

「...」

The Gold-Scaled Beast was enormous and incredibly fast.

Su Xuan had expected to arrive at the Nine Cauldron Gate the next day, but he astonishingly reached the vicinity of his destination around nine o'clock that same night.

Unlike the Floating Cloud Sect, which was situated on a mountaintop, the Nine Cauldron Gate was located within Hua Shui City, occupying a vast mansion.

"Little Gold, wait for me here. Don't run around without my instructions, alright?" Su Xuan instructed the Gold-Scaled Crocodile, stopping in a stretch of woods outside the city.

The Gold-Scaled Crocodile nodded obediently, seemingly quite fond of the nickname Su Xuan had given it.

Emerging from the forest, Su Xuan made his way toward the gates of Hua Shui City. Looking up at the towering gate and walls, he felt as if he had stepped into ancient times. Before he even reached the entrance, he could hear the bustling sounds of people from within the city.

As Su Xuan approached the city gate, he found a dozen or so people sprawled out on the ground before it.

"Friend, what's happening here?" he asked one of them. "Can't we enter the city now?"

"Young man, don't you know?" The man sized up Su Xuan. "For the last few days, they've been closing the city gates every night, and no one's allowed in or out. If you want to get in, you'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"Is there any way I can get in now?" Su Xuan asked again.

"Sure is!" The man jerked his chin toward the two guards at the entrance. "If you can handle them, they'll let you in. You don't look like you're short of money; you could give it a try."

"Alright, I'll try."

Su Xuan walked toward the guards. The two of them, clad in armor and wielding sharp blades, looked imposing. Seeing Su Xuan approach, they shot him a look telling him to stop. However, they didn't chastise him. The clothes Su Xuan wore, a gift from Qi Li, were exceptionally luxurious. He clearly wasn't a commoner and carried himself with an air that suggested he came from a distinguished power.

"Excuse me, could you please make an exception and let me into the city?"

Su Xuan reached the guards and, with a flip of his hand, took a few Moon Profound Stones from his sachet space and slipped them into their hands. He figured such methods of persuasion were universal.

Indeed, the guards readily accepted the Moon Profound Stones, but then said, "We're really sorry, but due to some recent incidents in the city, we truly can't let you in."

"Uh…"

Su Xuan's mouth fell open. They had taken the Moon Profound Stones but still refused him entry?

Wondering if he hadn't given them enough, he handed a few more Moon Profound Stones to the guards and asked if he could enter now.

The two guards pocketed the additional Moon Profound Stones but still refused. "Sir, please don't put us in a difficult position. We have strict orders from above; we really can't let just anyone into the city."

"'Just anyone'?" Su Xuan caught the hint in their words. "So if I'm not 'just anyone,' I can enter?"

"Of course," one of the guards said. "Influential figures can come and go as they please because they aren't petty crooks who would sneak around causing trouble. The reason we lock the city down at night is to prevent people from deliberately making a disturbance."

"And what counts as an influential figure?" Su Xuan asked, spreading his hands.

"Well…" The guard's gaze shifted from Su Xuan's luxurious clothes to his feet. "Any influential person travels with a carriage and horses, accompanied by a retinue of guards. Only then are they considered influential."

"I see."

Su Xuan scratched his head. He used to have a carriage, but it wasn't with him, nor was it particularly luxurious. As for guards, he certainly didn't have any.

Was he doomed not to enter the city tonight?

Testing his luck, Su Xuan asked, "What if I have a mount? One that looks really impressive, can I get in then?"

"A mount?" one of the guards asked, taken aback. "How impressive? More impressive than that one?"

The guard pointed to a mount belonging to one of the men camped on the ground. It was a large, copper-colored water buffalo that looked quite fierce, though it was rather dirty.

Su Xuan replied, "Much more impressive than that."

Without further explanation, he walked back into the forest he had just left, mounted his Gold-Scaled Crocodile, and headed back toward the city gate…

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