“Why am I so hungry? Is this how you always feel?” Li Dong looked at Travis with pity in his eyes. 

“It’s called the munchies. It’s what happens when you smoke.” Travis said. 

“Well, I feel like I could eat a horse, and it’s a good thing that you reminded me to rifle through Zhao Yu’s pockets when he was knocked out so we could take some money. We can buy whatever we want now, instead of having to steal so often.” 

They were walking towards one of the sect’s mess hall for Qi Condensation disciples. They had missed breakfast because Li Dong had been knocked out the whole time and the Sky Divine Grass made it so Travis wasn’t so hungry all the time. 

On the path towards the large mess hall, a disciple saw Li Dong and Travis. He quickly ran away without the two noticing. 

“I’m going to stuff my face. My stomach is so empty I could fit a whole horse in there!” Li Dong grinned and slapped Travis on the back. “Let me tell you what I’m going to eat. I want buns, rice, noodles, braised lamb, beef, pork, chicken, fish… even vegetables! When I’m done, I want to have eaten one of every dish in the mess hall.” 

“Be careful, Li Dong, girls don’t like fat guys.” Travis teased. 

Li Dong laughed. “Girls love fat men! I thought you knew that. Being fat means you have access to more food. Who doesn’t like someone who can feed them? The most likely suitor of one of the Four Heavenly Beauties of the Void Immortal Sect is as fat as a pig! If he can seduce a woman like that, anyone can.” 

“Four Heavenly Beauties?” Travis asked?

Li Dong went ashen. He stopped walking. He stammered, “N-now don’t play with me Wang Tao. Stop acting like you don’t know who the Four Heavenly Beauties are. The four most beautiful disciples in the entire sect! The women who have had so much baby batter expelled on their behalf that an entire river could be filled with the fluids!” 

Travis paled. “Th-that much? How beautiful are they?” Travis was shocked at the amount of men that lusted after them, but really didn’t have that high of an expectation for them in his mind. 

Li Dong sighed. “I don't know, I’ve never seen them in person. I have a few pictures but… the pages of the book they were in are so tightly plastered now that I can’t open them anymore.” Li Dong blushed. 

A huge sense of loss could be seen in Li Dong’s eyes. He was so disappointed that he couldn’t conduct his ‘research’ any longer. 

Travis thought, ‘Four Heavenly Beauties huh? If they’re so beautiful, they must have some sort of ass. They seem like a good place to check. I have to get a chance to see them in the future.’

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Travis was slapped out of his thoughts by a raucous trumpet blast. Coming down the path from the mess hall was something that made Travis gasp. Twenty men were holding aloft a giant palanquin - a palanquin of such splendour that it was shocking. It was made out of a dark wood that was so polished it could be used as a mirror. Powder-blue silks hung off the sides, obscuring what was inside from view. Even the men carrying the palanquin were supreme; twenty heavy-set men with brilliant gold armour, reflecting the light from the midday sun. 

Travis covered his eyes from the glare and looked at the scene, his mouth ajar. A fly flew in and Travis choked. 

The palanquin stopped right in front of the two. 

A snort came from the silhouette of the person inside the palanquin. 

“How dare you not kneel before me? Do you not know what this palanquin represents? Nobody can stand before this esteemed master and not kneel.” A young voice came out, possibly thirteen years of age. He sounded proud, just like one of the spoiled young masters Travis had seen on TV back on Earth. 

Travis frowned. He was about to say something before one of the guards charged forwards and went to kick him in the stomach in an attempt to get him to double over. His foot hit Travis, but what had happened shocked the growing crowd. Travis didn’t even move. The guard was on the ground, clutching his bleeding foot. 

“Isn’t that Wang Tao? I thought he was only at the third level, I guess he must have broken through,” someone in the crowd said. 

“Not only that, we all know the strength of ‘that man’ and his guards. To shrug off an attack like that, Wang Tao must be at the peak of the fourth level.” Another elaborated. 

“Ahh… his guards aren’t that strong honestly, they’re only at the third level. What truly makes them fearsome are their equipment! That armour and their weapons make them invincible to anyone who isn’t above the midstage of the fourth level.” 

Hearing that, the crowd sighed in envy. Having wealth in Jiang Hu was like a gust of wind in your sails. It made for smooth, fast sailing along the path of cultivation. You could buy the best food, the best pills, the best weapons. The man in the palanquin had been blessed with wealth, and used it to assert his dominance over everyone else around him. Was it right? Probably not. But in Jiang Hu, the dog-eat-dog world, who would stop him? 

The teenager’s silhouette seemed shocked for a second, then righted itself. 

“Xiao Hei, what’s wrong with you? Can’t you make a little piece of trash kneel? You’re letting my face and the face of my Ye clan be thrown onto the ground for anyone to step on!” He roared. A gust blew out of the palanquin, and the silks flapped about, exposing the man inside. 

Travis stilled. By Earth standards, the kid would have been extremely handsome. He was as old as his voice had suggested, with long, glossy black hair, high cheekbones and this noble presence that gave off an overwhelming confidence. 

“Ye Xiaofan, the young master of the Ye clan. Oh how I’m jealous of him! Only thirteen and at the fifth level, and he also gained enlightenment in the Absolute Zero merit law!” Someone in the crowd sighed. 

“He is also one of the upper echelon of the Silver Wolf Gang, so Wang Tao having offended him was his poor fortune!” 

Hearing that, Travis’s confusion wiped away like clouds on a sunny day. He realised that this wasn’t something he could have avoided. The Silver Wolf Gang were making their move. Travis smirked, and then sauntered towards Ye Xiaofan. Three guards rushed to block his way. They were only of the third level, so Travis was like a steamroller as they wailed and dropped out of his path. 

Travis stopped, and looked up at the palanquin. He grinned, and yelled, “Why the hell should I kneel to you? We’re all disciples of the sect. In what way could you ever be better than me? I would never kneel to anyone - especially a kid who hasn’t gotten his dick wet yet.” 

Ye Xiaofan reddened, and was speechless. The crowd wanted to laugh, but were forced to swallow their grins after a few hostile glares from the formidable men in gold. One of the guards’ face turned three different shades in as many seconds: white, red, and then purple. Spittle flying, he roared, “How dare you, mere trash on the side of the road, humiliate our master like so?” He drew his sword and stared venomously at Travis, poison spitting out of his pupils. “You have eyes but you do not see Mount Tai!” 

Travis’s brows wrinkled. He sent a voice transfer to Li Dong.

- What is he talking about? What the hell is Mount Tai? -

- You don’t know what Mount Tai is? - Li Dong was shocked.

- Just explain it to me. - Travis had no time to keep up pretences. 

- Mount Tai is just that, a mountain. He’s saying that you have sight but don’t recognise something that should be obvious, which is Ye Xiaofan’s identity. - Li Dong answered. 

Travis frowned, and then laughed. “Mount Tai? Fuck Mount Tai! You all have eyes but don’t see the Empire State Building!”

The whole crowd was in uproar.