...

The first thing he saw was a muscular man in the distance, laughing and chatting with a young, beautiful woman, both heading towards Hou Yunqing. The man wore a long violet robe, clearly expensive. His face shone with a healthy glow, and rings adorned every finger. Seven or eight jade pendants could be seen on him; he looked like a wealthy playboy. The young woman's makeup made her look young and innocent. However, something about her suggested she was a paid courtesan, diminishing her allure. Overall, she was very pretty.

The burly man smiled and quickly led Hou Yunqing to a nearby table. "Brother Yunqing, I've been waiting for you. Come on, sit with me."

Only when Hou Yunqing apologized to Yan Xiaobao did the burly man finally notice him.

"You must be new," he said with a smile. "But you're still a guest. Any friend of Yunqing is a friend of mine. I'm Li Youdao. This banquet is held by my Li family in honor of Envoy Ling Fei. It's a bit hurried, so things aren't as planned as they should be. Forgive me if anything is lacking." Looking quite pleased with himself, he pulled Hou Yunqing and Yan Xiaobao to the table, where they all sat down. The young woman Jingjing sat quietly beside Li Youdao, looking very lovely and dignified.

Li Youdao said, "Things were really too rushed." "The only drink I could get is this spirit alcohol, brewed from level-1 advanced spiritual medicine. If I had more time, I surely could have procured some brewed from second-level advanced spiritual medicine." He sighed, yet couldn't hide the pride on his face. He had been in a secret competition with Hou Yunqing for years, and finally, he had the chance to put him in his place. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

At that moment, the young woman sitting beside Li Youdao began to speak.

"Youdao," she said flirtatiously, "don't be so modest! It's rare to find another family on the Eastwood continent that would brew spirit alcohol from level-1 advanced spiritual medicine to entertain so many people. Even a small glass can sell for hundreds of Spirit Stones!"

Her flattery was music to Li Youdao's ears.

"Ah, what are hundreds of Spirit Stones?" he said. "It's just spirit alcohol. Come on, Yunqing. You and your friend must try this stuff. It's hard to find anywhere in Eastwood City." With that, he waved for the servant to fill Yunqing's and Yan Xiaobao's glasses.

Hou Yunqing looked a bit awkward. Despite his family's great wealth, he had only ever tried spirits brewed from level-1 advanced spiritual medicine. After hesitating for a while, he forced a bitter smile and took a sip.

Yan Xiaobao curiously looked at the wine. After sniffing it, he couldn't help but feel disappointed; clearly, the impurity content was very high.

Li Youdao seemed satisfied with Hou Yunqing's reaction, but upon seeing the expression on Yan Xiaobao's face, he was displeased. Looking him up and down, he decided that not only would he put Hou Yunqing in his place, but also crush his friend at the same time.

"Brother, are you dissatisfied? Ah, don't worry. The banquet we threw for Goddess Ling Fei was a bit rushed, but we still managed to get some rare food. I heard Goddess Ling Fei is always talking about missing the Spirit Sect. Therefore, the Li family spent a lot of money raising some Elf-tailed Chickens to remind her of her home.

"Men! Serve the Spirit Tail Chicken!" he laughed heartily, waving a hand, and a servant rushed over with a golden plate. On it was a fully roasted Spirit Tail Chicken!

The plate itself looked quite expensive, and as for the tricolor spiritual tails, their arrangement was very artistic. The chicken was roasted into dark amber color, appearing quite unusual. Clearly, it had just come out of the oven, bringing a wonderful aroma to the area. Quite a few other guests looked on in shock.

"Spirit Tail Chicken!? Wow, the Li family is truly wealthy!"

"Every table has Spirit Tail Chicken? Look, these clearly didn't grow around here. Where did they come from!?"

Hearing the reactions of those seated nearby, Yan Xiaobao blinked in surprise. "Isn't that just a Spirit Tail Chicken?"

Without a word, the beautiful young woman sitting beside Li Youdao snarkily said, "Prince Yunqing, your friend really knows how to speak out loud. Is this not merely a spirit-tail chicken? It makes him think he's had a lot."

Li Youdao looked sternly at the young woman, as if he disagreed with her tone. However, the truth is that he felt Yan Xiaobao was trying to be a big show-off. Internally, he began to feel irritable, but outwardly he made a polite explanation.

"Friend, I'm afraid you don't understand. These Spirit Tail Chickens are not ordinary in any way. They weren't raised by my Li family; they come from the Soul Sect!

"More specifically, they come from the South Shore of the Spiritual Sect!" Though his words were spoken softly, many in the area heard them, and soon, gasps arose.

Even Hou Yunqing couldn't help but admire Li Youdao's wealth.

Li Youdao was very pleased with Hou Yunqing's and the crowd's reactions. He felt proud of himself and continued to provide further explanation.

"Spirit Tail Chickens from the South Shore of the Spiritual Sect are rarely started. However, several years ago, a bandit named Chicken-Thieving Fiend caused a sharp decline in production. Nowadays, Spirit Tail Chickens from the South Shore can only be obtained at auctions, and their price is extremely high. They are easily identifiable with green bones and beautiful tail feathers. They look completely different from other types of chickens.