Chapter 432: The Boss is Still Your Boss

"Driving?" Jiang Xiaoyue blinked her wide eyes. "Boss, did you actually buy a carriage?"

"I wonder what kind of spirit beast is pulling it..." She tilted her little head to gaze up at the sky. "It certainly won't be as good as mine! My mount is an ancient exotic beast, a treasure among treasures. I'll use it to give that silly boss a good scare in a bit!"

She burst into a highly smug laugh. After all, she was no longer the penniless little glutton of the past, who could have eaten Boss Fang into bankruptcy within minutes if she had let herself loose.

At that exact moment, Boss Fang had already boarded the vehicle. "Watch the shop first. Your boss is going to pick someone up, I will be right back."

"Ah... Guild Master." Li Lanruo looked at the magical artifact before her; its cabin doors had slid open like a pair of iron wings, featuring a most peculiar design. "No flying artifacts are capable of flight within Yuanxiang City. Can this little flying boat of yours... actually work?"

The flight-ban within Yuanxiang City was completely different from places like Half City or Jiuhua City; the arrays permeating the city possessed a force that directly nullified all flight spells, rendering guards entirely unnecessary. Even with privilege, flight remained impossible, and even winged spirit beasts could only walk on two legs here.

"Pfft! What backwater bumpkin thinks they can activate a flying boat inside Yuanxiang City?" Nearby, several cultivators who had recently arrived and were still unaccustomed to the city's absolute flight restriction mocked openly while riding their newly purchased spirit horses, their faces filled with disdain.

In the next instant, nothing was heard but the sharp screech of tires rubbing against the ground, followed by a sapphire phantom sweeping past, leaving nothing behind but a cloud of dust.

"!!??"

"What on earth was that just now?!"

"How can such a magical artifact even exist?!"

"Today, Young Master Xun is hosting a banquet at the Yuanxian Tower for the geniuses of various houses, and he even invited us to ride along with him..." A youth riding a black tiger laughed heartily. "I did not expect that I, too, would be included on Young Master Xun’s guest list."

"Congratulations! Congratulations!" Several guards beside him offered their congratulations in haste.

"This nine-marked spirit tiger was purchased by this young master at no small cost." He pointed proudly at the mount beneath him. "Do you all think it might catch Young Master Xun’s eye..."

Before his words could finish, a sapphire-blue, strangely shaped magical artifact zipped past with a sharp whoosh.

"What was that?!" The group stood frozen, their faces blank with bewilderment.

Even the spirit tiger blinked its eyes in sheer astonishment, terrified that its own vision had deceived it.

"Why did it look somewhat like a flying boat...?"

"Since when do flying boats run on the ground?!" The young master quickly waved his hand grandly. "Move! Follow it and take a look!"

...

"Customer, customer! You truly have an exceptional eye. This wind-marked steed is absolutely the crown jewel of our establishment! Once you ride upon it, your journey will be perfectly stable." A youth was seen leading an extraordinarily majestic horse out of the shop.

The customer patted the horse’s back. "Mm, not bad, not—"

Raising his head, he witnessed a sapphire whirlwind flash past.

Not only was its speed incredibly swift, but it was also perfectly steady, appearing as though it were floating across the ground without the slightest hint of turbulence.

The youth pointed at the artifact of which only a glimpse of the rear remained. "Can this horse be that stable?"

The shop owner’s face turned grimly dark. "..."

The youth hastily mounted the horse. "Quick, catch up!"

His face was filled with curiosity. "What in the world is that?!"

...

Before the stables of the Taiwang Pavilion.

"Young Master Xun, please!"

"Brother Nangong! Brother Xu! Everyone! Please!" A young man clad in green, possessing an extraordinary demeanor and a commanding presence, cupped his hands to the surrounding crowd.

The one addressed as Brother Nangong was a tall, broad-foreheaded man with a calm and stoic countenance.

At that moment, someone suddenly pointed toward the interior. "Isn't that...?"

A little girl dressed in a pure white palace dress emerged from within, leading a singularly mystical white deer.

"Ha, it really has been a long time since I last took Little Bell out." The little girl stroked the fluffy head of the great white deer, seemingly in an exceptionally bright mood.

A pair of silver-white bells hung from the white deer's neck, jingling merrily with every step it took.

"Isn't that the little princess of the Jiang family?"

"Why is she here?"

"Young Master Xun personally sent men to invite her and she ignored them, so where is she heading now?"

Xun Yuan smiled faintly and stepped forward with impeccable courtesy. "Where is Sister Jiang headed? Would you like Xun to order a carriage to escort you?"

"No need, no need!" Jiang Xiaoyue shook her head, then patted the great white deer's head. "Little Bell, let's go!"

Just then, from the depths of the stables, a sudden chorus of tiger roars and dragon cries echoed out, the sound piercing through stone and metal. In an instant, dark clouds gathered in the sky, as if some peerless, ancient beast were about to emerge into the world!

Following that came a deafening roar.

Crack!

The sky seemed to vibrate with the continuous toll of dragon cries!

The other spirit beasts within the stables, upon hearing this sound, nearly all prostrated themselves within their stalls. It was as though creatures at the bottom of the food chain had encountered an existence at the very apex; that primal, deep-seated terror nearly caused a riot throughout the entire stable!

"Oh!? Little Bell? What's wrong with you?!" Jiang Xiaoyue saw that the great white deer she brought was also showing eyes full of terror, refusing to budge no matter how hard she pulled.

Nangong Zhuo’s expression darkened. "That beast of mine is causing trouble again. Everyone, please wait a moment."

A dark shadow flashed, and the man vanished from the spot. When he reappeared, Nangong Zhuo was riding out from the stables upon a one-horned black horse covered entirely in pitch-black scales—an entity that looked like a horse yet was not quite one, appearing instead to be transformed from some other spiritual beast.

As the black horse drew near, Jiang Xiaoyue’s white deer became even more incapable of moving, its legs seemingly turning to jelly.

"Hey!? Little Bell, what is wrong with you?!" Jiang Xiaoyue pulled for a while without success, placing her hands on her hips in sheer frustration.

A person beside them couldn't help but laugh. "Is this little deer perchance frightened?"

Right at that moment, her communication jade flashed with a message: "Xiaoyue, where are you?"

"The stables of the Taiwang Pavilion." She was truly furious to death!

Jiang Xiaoyue angrily sent back the message, then glared at her own white deer. "Why are you so disappointing?!"

"Brother Nangong!" Xun Yuan sighed softly and shook his head. "How discourteous. Brother Nangong’s mount is excellent in every way, save for its rather poor temperament. How about this, if Princess Jiang has urgent business, why not take my carriage first?"

"Who wants to ride in your carriage?!" Jiang Xiaoyue was utterly vexed. She had finally brought her Little Bell out for a stroll, so why did things turn out like this?!

Just then, a peculiar sound drifted over from the distance.

Immediately following, a strangely shaped magical artifact resembling a sapphire phantom charged over at high speed, coming to a perfectly steady halt right before Xiaoyue.

The window rolled down, and Boss Fang poked his head out. "Xiaoyue, get in."

"Ah—!?" Jiang Xiaoyue was entirely dumbfounded, pointing at Boss Fang’s ride with her mouth wide open. "This... isn't this...?!"

"Pegassi Osiris, a supercar, absolutely badass. Want to give it a try?" Boss Fang raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Jiang Xiaoyue cheered repeatedly, then cast a glance at the adjacent Little Bell. "But... my Little Bell can't walk!"

Boss Fang stepped out of the vehicle and pressed a remote control. The roof automatically retracted, quickly transforming the body into a convertible. With that, Boss Fang grabbed the great white deer and tossed it right into the back seat.

"Let's go, get in!" Putting on his wind-shielding sunglasses, he drove away, taking with him an immensely excited Jiang Xiaoyue and a thoroughly dazed white deer that had absolutely no grasp of the situation.

Everyone left behind was forced to eat the dust. "……!!??"