ã€ŠPimps in Jiang Hu!ã€‹


 Prologue

    ¡°Yo, yo, yo! Look over there! Don¡¯t look now, you¡¯re gonna get us all caught. You see that? The ass on her, oh my goodness. I¡¯m gonna have to give that a ten out of ten.¡±

    ¡°That prime black booty! It¡¯s a dime for me just on principle.¡±

    ¡°Nah, y¡¯all tripping. That¡¯s a five at best. Now¡­ if it was a white girl with an ass like that? That would be pushing eleven for me.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a damn coon, Demarcus.¡±

    Night. It was the time of night where people were just coming home from work. A group of teens were drinking and generally having a good time ogling the office women click clacking their heels past them.

    ¡°Fuck you Travis, you ever had the privilege of clapping the cheeks of a P.A.W.G.? That¡¯s what heaven feels like.¡± Demarcus laughed as he took a swig of his beer.

    ¡°You¡¯re just putting the white female on a pedestal brother. Black booty - the firmness, the roundness, the elasticity? God damn. If you see a white girl with a big booty, it¡¯s just fat. Where¡¯s the shape? The bounce? What the hell is a pawg anyway?¡±

    ¡°A phat ass white girl!¡± Joel and Demarcus roared at the same time.

    ¡°Me, I don¡¯t discriminate. Black girls, white girls, latinas, Indians, if the ass phat? Joel gonna hit it.¡±

    ¡°Even Asians?¡± Travis asked.

    ¡°If the ass phat, Joel gonna hit it.¡±

    ¡°Damn, well, I don¡¯t agree with you, but I can respect the philosophy.¡± Travis laughed.

    Sirens blared. Red and blue lights flashed, converging towards the bench the three were having their ground shaking conversation.

    ¡°Five-O, watch out.¡± Travis cocked his head towards the police car that was slowly making its way towards them; arrogance seeping out of its white and blue paint. It crawled to a stop in front of them.The doors opened, and the car dipped by a noticeable amount as two officers squeezed out.

    One was gargantuan, had a rouge pallor, blue uniform, white-as-snow wisps of hair and a thick Tom Selleck moustache. A genuine patriot. Crumbs dusted his chest like the uniform was designed that way, and what was presumably, and probably stereotypically, doughnut icing bafflingly stained his chin. He had a brass nameplate. Officer Dawkins.

    The other was equally as huge, but was black and had this great, big, shit-eating grin on his face. Officer Michaels.

    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°Alright, boys, time to break this party up. Noise complaint got you,¡± Dawkins swaggered towards them.

    ¡°Noise complaint? Y¡¯all even know that¡¯s bullshit.¡± Joel sneered.

    ¡°Bullshit? Well why don¡¯t I go ahead and add a drinking in public charge to that too? Let¡¯s see how the judge takes bullshit.¡±

    Demarcus clicked his tongue, ¡°Man, why are you always pressing us? It¡¯s the 21st century. It¡¯s a damn free country. We have the internet!¡±

    ¡°You guys are always bothering us. The shit you do to us must be unlawful or unconstitutional. This is harassment!¡± Travis spat.

    ¡°Listen here boy, stop shooting your mouth off. You¡¯d do best to remember one thing.¡± Dawkins stood above Travis, his massive frame trying to seem imposing.

    ¡°I am the law, I am the constitution. And you¡¯re under arrest.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re under arrest.¡± Michaels parroted.

    ¡°Are you serious? You¡¯re really arresting him over some beers?¡± Joel was indignant as he shouted.

    People¡¯s gazes were attracted towards the scene. They stopped. A crowd was starting to form. One guy even pulled out a cellphone and started filming.

    ¡°Calm down, boy¡­¡± Michaels tapped his gun.

    Joel was incensed. He wasn¡¯t the type to bend to threats.

    ¡°What the fuck did you just say? You, calling me, boy?¡± Joel was about to start yelling the grandest of obscenities at Officer Michaels, but Travis calmed him down.

    ¡°Remember what happened last time,¡± Travis whispered. He stood up.

    ¡°Where the handcuffs at, pig?¡± Travis looked the policemen dead in the eyes, turned around, and held his hands out.

    Dawkins¡¯ smug face beamed as he leaned in and slapped the cuffs onto Travis.

    ¡°This is just how it is, next time you¡¯d do well to stop being so uppity¡­ or you might find yourself in a ¡®routine traffic stop¡¯ one of these days,¡± Dawkins¡¯ hot breath in Travis¡¯ ear made his stomach turn.

    Anger as hot as liquid metal rose in his veins but Travis kept it in. He had to. Travis had been around long enough to know that there was no winning in this situation. Society was just so. Power was just so. Strength meant nothing. It was who you knew, who you were that mattered. Travis was just an unemployed black man in the eyes of society. And that was just so.

    He got down onto his knees then laid on his stomach. Prone.

    Joel and Demarcus were livid.

    ¡°You think just because you¡¯re the police you can just fuck with us? What the hell?¡± Joel screamed. He went up to the police officers and started shouting in their faces.

    ¡°Are y¡¯all getting pleasure from it? Does it turn you on keeping a black man down?¡±

    ¡°You know what, you¡¯re under arrest too.¡± Michaels pulled out his handcuffs and jangled them at Joel like he was shaking a toy at a dog.

    ¡°No, fuck you.¡± Joel ground his teeth.

    ¡°Are you resisting arrest?¡± Michaels¡¯ smile was truly smug in the worst way. He pulled out his walkie talkie, ¡°request for backup, suspect resisting arrest,¡±

    In no time at all, a cluster-fuck of police cars swerved onto the scene. A mob of eight policemen filed out. They all rushed onto Joel, all trying to slam him onto the ground. Joel tried to resist, and Demarcus was going crazy cursing till his eyes turned bloodshot.

    In the midst of the chaos, Travis¡¯ eyes turned cold. He got up and ran forward, slamming into the group of cops. Three of them tumbled to the ground, but the rest grabbed onto Travis, holding him still as he bit and struggled.

    Bang.

    One shot.

    Travis¡¯ eyes rolled back and he slackened like a dead fish. A pale policeman who couldn¡¯t have been more than twenty three sat there wide-eyed, his bottom lip quivering, his gun smoking. He had pulled it out to threaten Travis into submission.

    The shot was like a pebble thrown into a puddle; ripples radiated outwards. The crowd was silent, but immediately started screaming.

    ¡°Oh my god, they shot him, they actually shot him!¡± a woman shrieked.

    ¡°Somebody call an ambulance!¡± Joel shouted.

    ¡°You gonna be okay, Trav, this is just a flesh wound bro, it¡¯s just a flesh wound bro.¡± Joel¡¯s hands trembled. He ripped part of his shirt, trying to press on the wound. Blood gushed out of it like a river, quickly dyeing the street scarlet. After a while though, fat tears fell down his face and sobs wracked through his whole being. Blood covered his palms like a thick lick of paint.

    It was futile. Travis had been shot in the forehead. Dead centre.

    ¡°Demarcus¡­¡± Joel looked back at his only remaining friend.

    ¡°Th..this is¡­¡± Demarcus shook as he walked towards Travis. He fell to his knees and began pumping at his chest. ¡°1.. 2.. 3.., he¡¯s gonna wake up soon, this is how they save lives in the movies.¡±

    ¡®Damn, why does my head hurt so much?¡¯ Travis thought. He looked at a rapidly increasing pool of blood.

    ¡®Is¡­ is that blood? Is that¡­ my blood?¡¯ Travis laughed bitterly. ¡®Well, that¡¯s the way it is I guess. I would¡¯ve liked to live one more day though. Birthday sex and all.¡¯

    Travis¡¯ vision slowly turned to black.

 Chapter 1 - His hand was white?

    When Travis woke up, his whole body ached.

    ¡°Uh¡­ what the hell¡­¡± Travis moaned as he shifted onto his back. Jarring pains stabbed every inch of his body. Especially his chest. Whenever he inhaled, he was in agony. He ran his fingers delicately across his chest. He quickly found the point of deepest pain and tentatively fingered it. He gasped and when he found what was wrong, he pulled his hand away in a hurry.

    ¡°A broken rib¡­ actually five broken ribs¡­ how did this happen?¡± He had a body wrought with injuries - broken bones, lacerations, bruises, even a few burns. He wracked his brain in order to figure out what happened.

    ¡°Ok, so I was drinking with the guys.¡± Travis suddenly laughed. ¡°I really hope Joel¡¯s been using a condom this whole time¡­ He really does go for anything with a pulse.¡± Travis remembered their banter with a grin on his face. That changed the second he remembered what had happened next.

    He died.

    Remembering the scent of the gunpowder, the cold metal embedded in his brain, the warm, red liquid gushing out onto the street, Travis¡¯ face hardened. He clenched his fist and shook with pure, white-hot rage.

    After a long time, he calmed down. He laughed coldly. ¡°Man¡­ I really died a dog¡¯s death didn¡¯t I.¡±

    ¡°Wait, shouldn¡¯t I be dead?¡± His eyes widened and he went to pinch himself, but when he lifted his hand his dislocated shoulder answered the question for him. ¡°Okay, so I¡¯m still alive, I¡¯m still breathing and my heart is beating¡­¡± Travis frowned. ¡°But how can someone come back from a bullet to the head?¡±

    Travis grinned. ¡°Damn, I¡¯m so badass I survived a headshot. When everyone finds out I¡¯m alive, I dare anyone not to give me the respect I deserve.¡±

    Imagining the cred he would have in the future he got so excited he ignored the mind-numbing pain and stood up. And immediately fell back down. He groaned. ¡°I forgot about that. What happened anyway? No way those pigs actually beat the hell out of a dead body?¡± He grimaced. He ran his hand through his hair.

    He immediately froze.

    What he was expecting to feel under his hand was shaven hair, with a low fade. What he actually felt was straight hair. And it stretched to his shoulders! Travis¡¯ hands trembled. His voice shook. ¡°What the fuck?¡± He looked at his hand. His eyes widened. His fingers were thin, completely different from his big, strong, manly hands. These were thin and delicate, like the hands of a pianist. But that wasn¡¯t the shocking part.

    His hand was white. HIS. HAND. WAS. WHITE. Not black like it had been for twenty two years. Travis could not stay calm. Nothing could explain his race changing. He could accept surviving a bullet to the brain, but something like this was unimaginable. He panicked. ¡°This is impossible. I can¡¯t be white.¡± He rubbed his eyes and opened them as wide as he could.

    His hand was still as white as snow. Ok, maybe not that white, but compared to his previous skin tone, which was pretty dark for a black guy, there was a world of difference.

    When he looked at his hand, roaring filled his mind. A splitting pain filled his brain, like his mind was about to tear in half. He began seeing things. Memories.

    A movie reel of scenes filled his head.

    He saw a child, about two years old. It looked like he lived in extreme poverty. His mother was beautiful; Asian. She smiled at him, tears rolling down her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Wang Tao,¡± she said. She hugged him. Travis flinched and paled in horror. A hand had stabbed through the back of her head. Blood and gore flew everywhere.

    Travis had seen really soul-numbing stuff - it was the consequence of living in the midst of inner-city poverty. He had seen crack addicts, and people stabbing their own brothers.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    He knew the face of hopelessness and what the real gutter of society looked like, but admittedly, he had never seen the inside of a brain before. He puked, but nothing was in his stomach, so for about two minutes he dry retched. It was agony; a couple of blood vessels burst in his face.

    It seemed as though the flow of memories conveniently paused itself while Travis had been going through hell. He didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry so compensated with a trusty middle finger.

    When Travis returned to the film, the kid had grown up to about five years old. He had moved to a big city and had become a street urchin - robbing and stealing. It was weird - he seemed to spend almost all of his money on food but was still skin and bones. A scene of the kid eating a whole roasted pig terrified Travis.

    At eleven, the child had a bit of a lucky encounter. He managed to steal a medicinal pill out of the bag of an unsuspecting cultivator and downed it immediately. He broke through to the first stage of cultivation. He went to a local sect, was found to have some talent at cultivation and entered the sect.

    At thirteen, his appetite grew by tenfold. If he didn¡¯t eat a whole cow a day, he would starve. He started stealing food from the kitchens. The hunger would be quelled by one or two medicinal pills, but as an outer disciple, he only got two a month.

    Wang Tao had stolen food from the kitchens, so disciples had beaten him.

    He succumbed to his injuries.

    Witnessing the life of Wang Tao stunned Travis into silence. A stream of questions entered his head in rapid succession. But the most important one of all was: ¡°Where am I?¡± Everyone looked Asian, so at first he had thought he had somehow come to China.

    However, seeing the hand go through the woman¡¯s brain, there was no way a human could do that.

    Then, he saw what cultivation was - a method of using the energy of heaven and earth to make yourself stronger. Seeing the magical techniques being thrown out, he knew he wasn¡¯t on Earth anymore.

    The bizarre did not stop there. Somehow, he had become a thirteen year old Asian kid named Wang Tao. He realised that there were a whole lot of holes in his memories, and he only remembered some of the most important aspects of Wang Tao¡¯s brief life.

    Travis had no idea what had happened, but he didn¡¯t care to find out. He just wanted to go back home. Travis found a extreme low quality healing pill in his robes and swallowed it. A weak burst of medicinal energy filled his body, but it was good enough to heal him somewhat.

    For an entire day he walked around trying to go back to Earth. He was actually in a catacombs, ancient bones lined the walls. For some reason they were shimmering with a white light, that kept them from rotting over the years. Travis searched his memories, ¡°Dead cultivators¡­¡±

    After a day of walking he stopped and sighed with frustration.

    ¡°I can tell that there aren¡¯t any ways to get back home right now which means I¡¯m here for the near future. These guys can fly, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s some way I can teleport back or something.¡±

    Travis imagined going back home with teleportation powers and drooled. Teleportation on Earth! Teleporting to the Bahamas, teleporting into the bank, teleporting away from the police! There were so many applications for it. If he had had teleportation, he wouldn¡¯t have died so miserably.

    ¡°Man, why did they have to stuff me down here though?¡± When the disciples found he was dead, they tossed him into the catacombs so they wouldn¡¯t be punished for murder. They took his bag of holding too. Travis was no stranger to robbery, but, ¡°I always get my shit back. Even if it belonged to old boy, that¡¯s mine now.¡±

    He carried on walking through the catacombs until he reached a dead end. He prepared to turn back, but something caught his gaze. His eyes widened, and his mouth curved into a smile full of delight.

    ¡°Is that what I think it is?¡± He ran towards the wall. What he saw was a huge skeleton of a man, but what Travis¡¯ gaze was fixed on wasn¡¯t the corpse.

    It was a plant. It was the plant. Travis caressed the plant, and started to weep as he fell to his knees.

    ¡°My baby, I¡¯m so glad I found you. A world without you would be a world without love, without light. Kush! Premium fucking kush! Thank the lord!¡± He started blowing kisses towards the ceiling of the catacombs.

    He had found marijuana. ¡°In my memories, this is called the¡­ Sky Divine Grass? Apparently it¡¯s super-rare, but has no uses.¡± Travis roared with laughter as he slapped his knee. ¡°Dumbasses! You smoke it, not eat it!¡± Imagining centuries of people eating weed and being confused when nothing happened was hilarious.

    Travis ground the weed with his hands. He realised he was in a dilemma. He had nothing to smoke it with! No papers, no bongs, no nothing!

    Travis thought of something. He looked around and a wolf-like glint entered his eyes. ¡°That¡¯s right, why didn¡¯t I think of that earlier?¡±

    He ran towards the skeleton on the wall and pulled out a bone on its toe, which was about the size of a normal humerus. He tried bashing it with a rock he found but it was way too tough for Travis to break down and the pebble broke.

    ¡°That shimmering white light is protecting it¡­ how can I drill two holes into the bone?¡± Travis was stumped. He slapped himself in the head and went to pull another bone from the giant skeleton. He began grinding two holes: one for the weed and one for his mouth.

    Admiring his handiwork, he put the weed in but soon realised the lack of a fire. He liberated two more bones from the body and rubbed them together to make a spark.

    ¡°Fuck, it¡¯s been two hours, and still no damn fire.¡± His eyes bloodshot, he gritted his teeth and kept trying. After four more hours, he finally had a fire. He immediately lit the weed and inhaled. His eyes rolled back and his body slackened. He sighed as he exhaled.

    ¡°This weed is the best I have ever smoked. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because I worked for it or because it¡¯s a spiritual plant, but I¡¯ve never been this high in my life.¡± His heart full of happiness, he didn¡¯t notice one thing. His hunger had left him. He had been starving the entire time he had been in the catacombs, but as soon as he smoked, the hunger vanished.

    The other thing he didn¡¯t notice was the energy that had rushed into his body with each puff.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to leave.¡± Travis picked all the weed he could find, picked up his bong and fire-bones and stuffed it into his robes. After another hour, he saw a thread of light in the distance.

    ¡°Finally, no more dead people.¡±

    He walked towards the light, excited but also scared for what was at the end of the tunnel.

 Chapter 2 - The Sphinx!

    When he left the catacombs, his eyes widened in shock. The land before him was like a fantasy. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, but nothing changed when he looked again. Going to another world had never felt real in the catacombs, but it hit him like a sack of bricks now.

    Gigantic mountainous boulders floated in the air unassisted, like islands in the sky. Buildings were built on them, and rope bridges connected them. They stretched for as far as the eye could see. Each island was about half the size of the moon, and from Wang Tao¡¯s memories, each housed a sect.

    Travis had come to a cliff face, and sweat trickled down his back as he looked down. Mist and clouds were like a blanket under the islands, so he couldn¡¯t see the ground, but he knew that falling would be a long drop to his death.

    It seemed as though the sect Wang Tao was from lived above, so Travis pondered about how to get back up. He cursed the disciples that had dumped him in the catacombs. He searched around the ledge he was on until he found a flight of stone steps. They were cracked and dilapidated, but Travis shrugged and took a step. It was weird, every step he took was harder and harder to take, until he was on his hands and knees crawling.

    ¡°Why is this so hard?¡± Travis said through gritted teeth. His eyes were bloodshot - the pressure on the steps made him feel nauseous.

    Finally, the pressure grew so great Travis had no choice but to collapse. He panted.

    ¡°These steps¡­ are so damn hard to climb up! Don¡¯t they have magic elevators here?¡±

    Sweat covered his whole body. Travis then remembered something he had seen in Wang Tao¡¯s memories. ¡°Oh right, that white light! If I use it on myself I shouldn¡¯t be having such a bad time.¡± He probed his body with his mind like Wang Tao used to do. His consciousness rushed through his meridians, and broke into his dantian.

    ¡°I¡¯ve¡­I¡¯ve seen the inside of a body before, but this is¡­¡± Travis¡¯ breath stifled at the scene in his abdomen.

    It was like its own little world.

    There was a tree. It was ethereal, imposing, otherworldly and corporeal all at the same time. Thin, silvery threads hung loose as branches. It was archaic but pulsed with vitality. The tree was a contradiction in every way, and Travis got the feeling that if the tree was in the real world, the cosmos and nebula would fight amongst themselves for the pleasure of smiting it. This was the Bodhi tree, the tree of enlightenment.

    It represented the martial way, the way of going against the heavens and the earth to temper oneself.

    Travis walked towards the tree, but quickly realised a problem. Every step he took was a conundrum. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°I¡¯ve taken so many steps and I¡¯m still no closer to the tree.¡± Travis snapped out of his reverie and realised the meaning of cultivation.

    A vision flashed before his eyes. Him, crosslegged under the tree. The look on his face was mesmerising - he had never seen such a look on anyone¡¯s face before. It was the look of a higher being, totally looking down on the world.

    ¡°It seems like that¡¯s the goal of cultivation - to reach the tree¡¯s shade and meditate under its leaves.¡±

    Travis had only penetrated a thousand miles towards the tree, and if he tried to go any further, he would just walk back where he had started. Each cultivator started off with ten miles, and each level they broke through increased their miles tenfold. Travis could walk a thousand miles, so Wang Tao had broken through to the third level of cultivation.

    Siphoning the white energy out of the domain, he circulated it through his body tentatively. He sighed as it soothed his veins. An aura came off his body, and he clenched his jaw. He walked. The steps were much easier to walk up this time.

    ¡°The end! Finally.¡± Travis rushed up the steps with a second burst of wind.

    He froze.

    A sharp claw whizzed through the air and missed his throat by a sliver. He felt the tip of the talon just clip the tiny hairs on his neck. His heart leapt as he paled and rubbed his throat - panting as he recalled how close to death he had been.

    ¡°Oh¡­ that¡¯s interesting.¡± A nonchalant voice sighed.

    ¡°Who¡­ who are you?¡± Travis¡¯ voice quaked.

    ¡°Hey brat, how did you evade my attack?¡± The voice completely ignored Travis. ¡°If your answer bores me, I¡¯ll kill you.¡±

    Travis¡¯ heart dropped. ¡®Fuck, is this guy really going to kill me just like this? What do I say?¡¯

    A billion possibilities raced through his head. Sweat dribbled down his forehead; the veins in his temple quivered as he desperately thought of something that would get him out of the situation he was in.

    A glimmer of hope revealed itself in Wang Tao¡¯s memories

    Travis cleared his throat. ¡°No milord, I didn¡¯t evade your attack.¡±

    The voice was silent for a few seconds. You could detect an air of curiosity in the silence.

    Travis carried on. ¡°Truth is, I¡¯m a spirit. I was slain by traitors in the sect. I offer this bone to you, the Void Immortal Sect¡¯s Sphinx to avenge my wrongful death!¡±

    Travis grinned as he respectfully offered the bones he had taken from the catacombs.

    Laughter; raspy laughter rang out through the skies. ¡°You really thought this would fool me? You¡¯re more ignorant than I thought!¡±

    Travis¡¯ smile froze in place.

    ¡°You know, I really ought to kill you, but the bones are a treasure for me, so I will turn a blind eye to this.¡± The bones quivered, then floated away.

    Travis let out the breath he had been holding the whole time. He looked up, and saw a flash of a golden light dropping towards him. A golden feather landed in his hand.

    ¡°These stairs are a taboo, if you got to the top of the stairs, you would have died without even knowing who had killed you.¡± The Sphinx laughed its raspy laugh once more.

    Travis shuddered. The golden feather started to pulse, and a golden light encompassed Travis. In the blink of an eye, he vanished.

    He reappeared in a room. He looked around, dazed and confused, wondering where he had been teleported to. It was Wang Tao¡¯s¡­ his room. Travis let out the breath he had been holding the whole time.

    That had been the Sphinx, the legendary sect protecting beast of the Void Immortal Sect. Apparently, it had been protecting the sect since its inception. It was unimaginably old, and unimaginably powerful.

    Travis felt a strange energy in his body, disputing quickly. ¡°It must be what allows people to teleport.¡± A thought jumped into his head. ¡°If I can figure this out, I should be able to teleport!¡± However, as soon as the thought entered his head, he quickly shot it down.

    ¡°It¡¯s basically impossible. The sect doesn¡¯t have teleportation manuals and even if they did, I¡¯m not qualified to look at them.¡± Travis went over to his bed and sat down. He thought about his life on Earth, and how he had died.

    He murmured, ¡°even if I went back, would my life be better than it is here?¡± He turned his fireplace on and lit a blunt in it. He took a deep breath. He stared at the ceiling, running his eyes along the spidery cracks that lined it.

    ¡°They treat lives like nothing here, but at least it¡¯s based on power. There¡¯s no police, no concept of racism. I can do whatever the hell I want here. I¡¯ve got enough weed to last a few years. Do I really want to go back?¡± Travis asked himself. He quickly got rid of his thoughts.

    Thinking about them would just waste time and depress him.

 Chapter 3 - Black lightning!

    After a week of being in the new world, Travis hadn¡¯t done¡­ much. He smoked. That was it. Over the week however, he did run through his memories. What he saw depressed him, and what depressed him¡­ made him smoke.

    He found that the world was primitive, and was filled with magic spells and cultivation. Cultivators were people who seized fortune from the heavens, grasped fortune with their bare hands and ripped it from the realm of the celestials.

    The known world was a network of floating boulders, each one a staggering monolith. Each one was occupied by either a sect or a city. This network of floating boulders was called the Necklace of Buddha. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t known the reason why.

    The sect Travis was in was the Void Immortal Sect. It was a relatively middle of the road sect, but if legends were to be believed, it had been glorious in the past. But alas, the past was the past. What mattered was the present, and the present Void Immortal Sect was distinctly average.

    Travis¡¯s experience of cultivators scared him. There was one particular memory that had floated into his mind when he was about to go to sleep. It was the scene of two cultivators fighting in some sort of competition. The might shown, and the destructive techniques they threw at each other scared him down to the bone.

    That night - thunder and lightning had struck - and all Travis could do was stay up all night shivering; rocking back and forth with his arms around his knees and his teeth clenched.

    ¡°Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!¡± Travis roared as the thunderclaps rumbled around him. He had never heard thunder this loud. It penetrated his soul, sending his cultivation aflutter. He was truly afraid. Not only because of the supernatural thunderstorm, but because of the new world. All of his fears, his homesickness, his misery, all culminated in that moment.

    He saw someone in the sky. It shocked him so much, he forgot about his terror. Someone was flying! They were bold enough to stand in the sky when the lightning was that terrifying! It was an elegant figure, a woman. She stood in the air, looking towards the sky, with the wind whipping her hair around, and the rain soaking her to her skin. She stood there in defiance of the storm, in defiance of the heavens. Lightning burst down, excited to eliminate the arrogant woman.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Travis gasped. The woman took the lightning on headfirst, and as blood poured out of her mouth, she roared with laughter.

    ¡°Is this all? Is this all that the heavens have planned for me?¡± She said, derision on her lips.

    The heavens seemingly were angered by her condescension. The heavens were above all, how could a mere cultivator look at them with derision? The lightning previously had been silver, and relatively harmless. The clouds roiled, and the rain and wind ceased. The whole storm collapsed in on itself, and was sucked into one point. All of the storm had been condensed into one point. The moon shone brightly as a bolt of lightning formed.

    This bolt of lightning was black in colour, ominous as it just gathered in the air slowly. It was as if it were savouring the taste of fear in the air.

    The female cultivator looked at the bolt of lightning and her heart thrummed. She gasped,

    ¡®The legendary black lightning!¡¯

    Her eyebrows furrowed. An elderly man below was pacing rapidly as he was looking at both the woman and the lightning.

    ¡°Milady, don¡¯t be rash! The black lightning is something that cannot be taken on with your body! It is the amalgamation of the heavenly storm. If you take it on¡­¡± He trailed off.

    ¡°You doubt me, my servant?¡± The woman teased.

    ¡°No, of course not ma¡¯am! I would rather die. I just hope you do not subject this poor servant into having to explain your death to the sect master.¡±

    The woman roared with laughter. ¡°You do not have to worry about anything like that happening.¡± She looked towards the lightning, but this time, the thrumming in her heart meant something different to fear.

    The black bolt crackled as it was fully formed. An explosion rang out, sending shockwaves through the sect. Travis¡¯ floor rumbled, and his bed shook.

    It descended, ripping through the air with breakneck speed. The woman¡¯s eyes narrowed, and she pointed her finger. Sucking in a deep breath, she cried out and charged towards the lightning bolt. Her finger and the bolt collided, setting off sparks and beams of rainbow light.

    The elderly man below was about to jump into the sky to intervene, but the woman wailed - then growled in defiance as she pushed the lightning bolt away. A beam exploded from her finger, and battered the lightning bolt.

    As the lightning ceased - futile against her - the moon illuminated her, making her seem otherworldly.

    She smiled, all the anger and frustration leaving her heart.

    Travis gaped, gazing upon the elegance of the moon-kissed cultivator. Looking at her, the fears were washed out of his heart. The beauty, the magnificence¡­ could he look like that one day? Could he, someone who had died under the boot of oppression, crawl into the heavens one day?

    Travis clenched his fist. This new world was scary, and brutal¡­ but aren¡¯t the hardest things more rewarding at the end?

 Chapter 4 - Pill Allocation

    The next day, Travis woke up. He didn¡¯t know when he had passed out, but he felt refreshed.

    A bell rang. It was deafening, and caused Travis¡¯ ears to ring. Travis looked up. He remembered that the bell ringing signified the sect¡¯s monthly pill allocation.

    The sect gave out two pills a month for outer sect disciples - these were Qi Condensation Pills. Qi Condensation Pills helped with cultivation, and made cultivation quicker, so the disciples were understandably excited.

    Travis wasn¡¯t planning on going, and was instead smoking in his room. He had noticed that ever since he had started smoking, he hadn¡¯t gotten the intense hunger that Wang Tao had been crippled by his whole life.

    ¡°What was the reason he was always so hungry? Is it just a normal thing in this world? No, that can¡¯t be it, he was always sneaking around.¡±

    Wang Tao was also frail, which was weird considering the amount of food he ate. His physique was extremely puzzling. Travis scratched his head.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably not worth thinking about. The weed seems to keep the hunger away.¡±

    A knock at the door disrupted his thoughts. He opened the door, and saw a boy of about thirteen standing there. He had a slender stature, but had chubby cheeks - a contradiction in many ways. It was Li Dong, Wang Tao¡¯s only friend in the sect. Wang Tao and Li Dong were the same age, and were both bullied by the other disciples in the outer sect. This bond of hardship was strong, and Li Dong was often a partner to the late night food heists Wang Tao had been killed over.

    ¡°Wang Tao, where have you been this past week? Didn¡¯t we have plans to steal a cow from the kitchens this week?¡± Li Dong had a high pitch as he whined.

    ¡°I was¡­ busy.¡± Travis replied, trying way too hard to make it seem like he was Wang Tao.

    ¡°Forget it¡­ anyway, it¡¯s time to get pills! We have to go there quickly or Chen Jiao¡¯s gang will rob us of everything! Come on!¡± Li Dong grabbed Travis and they sped towards the Outer Pill Pavilion Valley. The valley was in the middle of the outer sect, and was where the concentration of heaven-earth energy was highest. Pill making needed a vast amount of energy.

    When they got there, there were throngs of disciples outside the pavilion. A drone of excited chattering filled the pavilion - the disciples loved pill allocation. Everyone had smiles on their faces, and a feverish glint in their eyes.

    The pavilion had made them wait as long as possible before a riot would break out, before a splendidly robed elder walked up to the stage situated at the foot of the pavilion. A look of pride on his face, he sauntered to the podium. He cleared his throat, and the explosiveness shut the mouths of every disciple. Their eyes glittered with reverence and anticipation.

    ¡°Today, the sect gives out pills. Be glad, for this is a blessing for you! The sect cares for you little cultivators, and we hope that you will become mighty dragons and tigers in the future. Without further ado, let them fly!¡±

    The elder left with a swing of his sleeve.

    Immediately, strobes of light flew out of the pill pavilion, making their ways into the hands of every disciple. The excited chattering reached a whole new level as the disciples began racing towards their rooms, eager to quickly absorb their new pills.

    It was at this moment that a few disciples with wicked glints in their eyes pounced. They blocked off certain people from leaving, swaggering towards them with evil in their minds. They took their pills, and sauntered off.

    ¡°Come on, Wang Tao, we need to leave. Now.¡± Li Dong whispered to Travis.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    The two turned around to quickly leave amidst the chaos. But before they could leave, a burly fifteen year old stopped them in their tracks.

    ¡°Li Dong, Wang Tao, who said you could leave?¡± He crossed his arms, sneering. ¡°Don¡¯t think you can leave this valley before paying your dues.¡±

    ¡°Zhao Yu, can you please let us pass? Lei Wei has already taken pills from us for the past year. Please give us amnesty.¡± Li Dong looked at Zhao Yu with helplessness in his eyes as he pleaded.

    Zhao Yu scoffed. ¡°You pathetic sack of shit.¡± He rubbed his chin. ¡°Hmm¡­ okay, I can spare you.¡±

    ¡°R-really?¡± Li Dong held his breath.

    ¡°Of course! I¡¯m very magnanimous. All you and your friend need to do is kowtow to me.¡± Zhao Yu leered at Li Dong, in anticipation of the look on his face.

    Li Dong grimaced. Emotions coursed through him, including shame and anger.

    ¡®Only I know how close I am to the fourth level. After I break through, I can reclaim my pride. Face is temporary. Strength is most important!¡¯

    Li Dong looked at Wang Tao and nodded. Clenching his fists so hard the skin ruptured, he slowly bent his head.

    ¡®Wait, is he really going to bow down to this guy? Isn¡¯t this bullying? Why doesn¡¯t the sect care about all of these disciples getting robbed?¡¯ Travis scrunched his nose.

    Travis heard a voice in his head. - Wang bro, I know you hate kowtowing, but as soon as I reach the fourth level, we will be able to reclaim our face. - Li Dong had sent him a voice transfer.

    Travis looked at Li Dong kowtowing. He remembered the memories Wang Tao and Li Dong had shared. He remembered his own friends, and the memories they had shared. Friendship was important to Travis. Looking at Zhao Yu, he was sent over the edge. The complacent, arrogant smile on his face pissed him off.

    ¡®I came to a new world, with new beliefs and new standards¡­ but I just wouldn¡¯t be me if I gave in without a fight.¡¯ Travis smiled, and cracked his knuckles.

    Looking at Wang Tao, Li Dong felt a sense of trepidation. He knew that look on his face. He knew what Wang Tao was about to do. - Bro, don¡¯t do it! Zhao Yu belongs to the Silver Wolf Gang, and Lei Wei isn¡¯t someone we can provoke right now! - Li Dong sent multitudes of voice transfers but they fell on deaf ears.

    Travis walked up to Zhao Yu.

    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing kid? Just kowtow like a good little boy.¡± Zhao Yu sneered.

    A vein pulsed in Travis¡¯ head. ¡°Call me boy one more time and I swear I¡¯ll punch you in the face.¡± Travis had stood up to a lot of people who were stronger than him before, and had been shot at multiple times. Zhao Yu did not scare him.

    Li Dong groaned. ¡°Zhao Yu, don¡¯t mind Wang Tao, he¡¯s just-¡°

    ¡°He¡¯s just dead is what he is. I was being awfully kind to you two pieces of trash, but now I can see that insects cannot appreciate the heavens!¡± Zhao Yu¡¯s lips twisted into a snarl as he punched towards Travis.

    The fist was heavy, and carried a presence with it that only could be described as crushing. Zhao Yu was at the same realm as Li Dong and Wang Tao, but was privy to better cultivation materials and more food, so had better techniques and purity of qi than the two.

    Li Dong paled. ¡°Crushing the Waves Threefold Fist! It¡¯s a cut above anything we have practiced! Wang Tao, forget about fighting!¡± Li Dong pleaded with Travis to stand down before he would get injured.

    Travis was shocked at the immensity of a martial technique and was scared down to the bone.

    But what he always did when he felt afraid was lash out. By reflex, Travis ran towards Zhao Yu¡¯s fist.

    ¡°What¡­ what are you doing? You¡¯ll die!¡± Zhao Yu panicked. He hadn¡¯t been cultivating the fist for long, so he wasn¡¯t that proficient with it. Seeing Wang Tao running towards his fist like a suicidal maniac, without even protecting his body with a defensive layer of energy, he knew that Wang Tao, with his frail body, would undoubtedly die.

    He didn¡¯t much care about Wang Tao¡¯s death, but he was wary of the sect punishment. If Wang Tao died, Zhao Yu would be crippled.

    ¡°Fuck, fuck¡­ you madman!¡± Zhao Yu screamed as he tried evading Wang Tao.

    Travis screamed as he realised what he was doing. ¡°What the hell am I doing? I¡¯m gonna die!¡±

    Travis had no choice but to put out his fist and punch towards Zhao Yu¡¯s fist.

    Li Dong gasped. ¡°Your¡­ your fist is going to be torn apart!¡±

    Travis had no choice in the matter, so preferred not to watch his fist being blown into oblivion.

    ¡®Goodbye, sweet hand of mine¡­¡¯ Travis closed his eyes. His arm¡¯s life flashed before his eyes. It was as if a montage of their time together played through his head.

    Their fists collided, and Travis felt a boneshaking pain in his arm. He waited a long while, and opened his eyes slowly, expecting to see a mangled mess of a hand.

    But it was still there! Travis roared with joy and lifted his arm in the air.

    ¡°I¡¯m still intact!¡±

    He counted each and every finger with glee, and ran his other hand all over his hand, wanting to feel every single nook and cranny so he could commit it to memory. He was never going to take his limbs for granted again.

    Then he realised something.

    ¡®If my hand is alright, then what happened to the other guy?¡¯

    He looked up, and froze. He saw Zhao Yu rolling back and forth, screaming while clutching his arm. Zhao Yu passed out from the pain.

    Li Dong had gotten up at that point, and his mouth was open so wide you could shove a fist in with no resistance.

    ¡®Damn, I didn¡¯t know Wang Tao was so powerful. Why didn¡¯t he fight back before, when we were being bullied all the time?¡¯

    Travis looked at the scene, and couldn¡¯t figure out why Wang Tao hadn¡¯t shown his power before. Zhao Yu was a part of the Silver Wolf Gang, the most powerful faction in the sect at the Qi Condensation stage. He used a lot more cultivation resources than Wang Tao, even disregarding the ones he stole.

    Yet, Travis had beaten him, and it was just off of the strength of his physical body. What¡¯s more, he was completely unhurt.

    Li Dong wiped his mouth. He smiled and started laughing. He dashed to Zhao Yu¡¯s miserable side.

    ¡°You bastard, I loathe bullies like you so much. Die.¡± He proceeded to stomp repeatedly on Zhao Yu, covering his robes with mud and scuffs. Li Dong had never had a bigger smile on his face.

 Chapter 5 - Silver Wolf Gang

    ¡°So, how did you become so strong?¡± Li Dong asked through a mouthful of food.

    They had stopped by the kitchens to poach a few buns, and were leisurely walking home.

    ¡°I have no idea.¡± Travis said as he shook his head.

    Li Dong stared at Travis with skepticism. ¡°You¡¯re such a liar. I bet you had some fortuitous occasion and were cultivating all last week.¡±

    Travis stopped in his tracks. He bit into a bun and smiled. ¡°These buns are pretty good aren¡¯t they?¡±

    Li Dong grimaced. ¡°You¡¯re giving me the slip?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Travis and Li Dong walked in silence. Travis looked around the sect. He remembered it in Wang Tao¡¯s memories, but it was his first time being there so it was a weird feeling.

    It was the sort of place that people would picture an ancient Chinese paradise as being.

    There was this feeling in the air, of purity, but also of peace, like the whole place was unattached to the struggles of man. It gave a sense of eternity - almost saying that if the whole world collapsed, the sect would still be here for aeons to come. It felt like serenity to Travis, and everything from the taoist beads to the flowers reminded him of the monasteries on Earth.

    There was one thing that unsettled him though. He saw a lot of beautiful girls, with amazing bodies. Big breasts, small waists¡­ they were both sexy and elegant. But when he turned around to admire their¡­ behinds, he was always disappointed.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡®Fuck! I need to go back home! Why did I have to be sent here? I¡¯ll admit I love the food here, and the cultivation thing is really cool¡­ b-but why did I have to be so fucked?

    ¡®Why do the girls here have no ass? I remember the strip club, with the girls shaking their cake. Is God really saying that there are no big booty women in this sect? In this world?¡¯ Travis paled and grimaced.

    He spat out blood and collapsed.

    ¡°Is there something wrong Wang Tao? Don¡¯t tell me you used a forbidden technique to raise your power.¡± Li Dong cried, grabbing Travis before he fell.

    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s fine.¡± Travis blushed.

    ***

    In a room with seldom any light but from a pool of lava, two men were sitting facing each other. One of them was floating over the pool in the lotus position, counting prayer beads. The other had a bandaged arm that he was clutching in pain.

    ¡®I feel like I¡¯m slowly being poached to death. I know Lei Wei cultivates lava scriptures, but it wouldn¡¯t kill him to just lower the temperature whenever someone else comes in here.¡¯ Zhao Yu wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

    Lei Wei was the leader of the Silver Wolf Gang, and was half a step into Bridge Building. He was the strongest of the Qi Condensation disciples.

    Lei Wei lazily looked at Zhao Yu.

    ¡°How many pills?¡± Lei Wei asked. His eyes were seemingly nonchalant, but Zhao Yu trembled, and didn¡¯t dare to meet them.

    ¡°Fif-fifty eight.¡± Zhao Yu stammered. Lei Wei abruptly stopped counting his prayer beads. After a brief pause, he continued counting. He stayed silent.

    ¡°Your subordinate failed, Boss. Everyone paid up apart from those two pieces of trash, Wang Tao and Li Dong.¡± Zhao Yu glowered, and shook with hate as he spat the two names from his lips.

    Lei Wei¡¯s eyebrows raised slightly. ¡°Those two weaklings. You took it from them, I expect.¡± Lei Wei knew how weak the two were compared to Zhao Yu. There was no way they could have kept the pills if Lei Wei wanted them. They simply didn¡¯t have the strength to stand up for themselves, nor the clout.

    Zhao Yu sighed. ¡°Wang Tao is a damned demon! I went to hit him with my Threefold Fist and he ran towards it with no defence! I think he must have been suicidal, but I would have been implicated in his death so I had to reign in my power. Because I only just mastered the technique, it was out of control so it malfunctioned and backfired upon me.¡± Zhao Yu muttered bitterly and rubbed his arm.

    Zhao Yu had no doubt in his mind that it was because of his own mistake that he was beaten. His pride made it impossible for him to see that Wang Tao had beaten him just on the strength of his body.

    Lei Wei stopped counting his prayer beads. Nothing but the bubbling of the lava pool and Zhao Yu¡¯s beating heart could be heard. After five minutes, Lei Wei looked at Zhao Yu. His fierce eyes were almost spitting brimstone as he glared.

    ¡°Nobody stands up to the Silver Wolf Gang.¡± Lei Wei stated. His eyes flashed and a beam of light erupted out of them, almost slicing Zhao Yu¡¯s ear off.

    It embedded itself into the far wall.

    ¡°Do beams of death always shoot out of your eyes when you¡¯re angry?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

 Chapter 6 - Sky Divine Grass

    Travis and Li Dong finally made their way back. As soon as he stepped into his room, Travis relaxed. He lit a blunt and inhaled as quickly as humanly possible.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Li Dong asked.

    Travis froze. He had been in such a rush to relax that he had forgotten about his surroundings. Li Dong was still in his room. Travis wracked his brains for an excuse, but the weed had him so high he couldn¡¯t think quickly.

    Li Dong walked across the room. He picked up the Sky Divine Grass and twirled it between his finger and thumb.

    ¡°Wang Tao, bro¡­ Has your head gone numb? You should know that the Sky Divine Grass is as worthless as it is rare. If you spent money on it then¡­¡± Li Dong looked Travis in the eye with pity written on his face.

    Travis was shocked, but then realised something.

    ¡®These guys have no concept of getting high. Do they not have drugs in this world?¡¯ Travis didn¡¯t dare to think that what he thought was true.

    ¡°Hey Li Dong, sit down for a second.¡± Travis said solemnly.

    Li Dong sat cross-legged on the ground and looked up at Travis.

    ¡°Are there any drugs in this world?¡±

    ¡°Drugs?¡±

    ¡°Things that have an effect on your mind or your body that make you feel good. They could be bad for you and some people get addicted to them.¡± Travis replied.

    Li Dong thought for a second.

    ¡°Wine, and soju. As cultivators we should not influence our bodies outside of cultivation. Everything else muddles the mind.¡±

    ¡°So, there are no drugs¡­¡± Li Dong slid to the floor and looked at his remaining stash of Sky Divine Grass. From his memories, Sky Divine Grass was as rare as a diamond or gold mine. There was no way he would find more. If someone even found one, they wouldn¡¯t bother to sell it.

    The current stash he had was enough for a few years, and he couldn¡¯t go back to the catacombs because of the Sphinx, so what he had was the last of it.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Travis put his head in his hands.

    ¡°Hmmm¡­ but there was that one case of the Lion Gate Sect.¡± Li Dong recalled.

    Travis¡¯ ears perked.

    ¡°It turns out that their disciples weren¡¯t soul searched. They say a mysterious cultivator infiltrated their sect and made them depend on an evil substance. Some said that he would grind the bones of the Passion Lizard and mix it with the blood essence of a Black Dream Tiger to make a foul, demonic plague that took the minds of the cultivators.¡±

    Travis gaped. ¡°So what happened to the sect?¡±

    Li Dong stared at Travis. ¡°You don¡¯t remember?¡±

    Travis scoffed. ¡°Of course I remember. I¡¯m just trying to get engaged in the story.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ they were destroyed to the bone. No sect can stand without its disciples, regardless of how strong it may be.¡± Li Dong shook his head. ¡°A glorious sect; there one day, gone the next.¡±

    Travis gulped. He wasn¡¯t scared, but he was excited. This news meant that there were drugs in the world, and the substantial stash of weed he had wasn¡¯t the only drugs he could get in this world.

    ¡°Li Dong, how did that cultivator make the evil substance. I mean, to destroy a sect¡­ that¡¯s a lot of power.¡± Travis hurriedly elaborated when he felt Li Dong¡¯s gaze on him.

    Li Dong sneered at Travis. ¡°Wang bro, you¡¯d best give up on that idea. You should know that alchemists are mighty and it is exceedingly rare for one to appear. Even our sect only has one disciple out of hundreds of thousands with the necessary aptitude.¡± Li Dong snorted.

    ¡°Hey, who says I couldn¡¯t be an alchemist? I haven¡¯t been tested yet.¡± Travis rebutted.

    ¡°Wang Tao, the world doesn¡¯t work like that. You must manage your expectations. If you get to a state where every success is a surprise, then your mind state is optimal. What are the odds that you, of all the people in this sect, in this world, are capable of being an alchemist? Even being able to cultivate is a blessing.¡± Li Dong wagged his finger and lectured.

    ¡°What, so you have no confidence in yourself?¡± Travis replied. Something about Li Dong¡¯s defeatist attitude ground Travis¡¯ gears.

    ¡®What are the odds of someone dying and jumping through space and time to another world?¡¯

    Li Dong stared at Wang Tao and stayed silent.

    The silence in the room seemed to smother all things left unsaid.

    Rain battered the roof of the small hut Wang Tao lived in. The thrums of the drops hitting seemed musical to Travis¡¯ stoned mind.

    After a while, Li Dong was the first to break the ice.

    ¡°We may have made a mistake today.¡±

    ¡°Oh, why?¡± Travis replied.

    ¡°Zhao Yu and the Silver Wolf Gang will keep coming for us. Many people stronger than us have crumbled to their might.¡± Li Dong said.

    ¡°Ah, it doesn¡¯t matter. If they try to violate us I¡¯m coming with the nine.¡± Travis grinned at Li Dong.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Li Dong had a face full of question marks.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry man, they¡¯re dead if they try and step up.¡±

    Travis remembered Li Dong and Wang Tao¡¯s relationship in the past. Li Dong really had gone through hell with Wang Tao, and Travis knew he could be trusted. A warm tingle sparked through Travis remembered his old friends from the old world.

    ¡°You asked how I got so strong right?¡± Travis interrupted.

    ¡°Y-yeah.¡± Li Dong stammered.

    ¡°The truth is, I don¡¯t know. But, what I do know is that the only significant change I¡¯ve had in my life is the plant I¡¯ve been smoking.¡±

    ¡®Oh, and the fact that I died and was reborn in another universe.¡¯ Travis thought to himself.

    Li Dong picked up the Sky Divine Grass and twirled it between his willowy fingers. He stared at it deeply, running his shrewd gaze along every inch of the plant.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way the Sky Divine Grass had anything to do with your strength. It¡¯s useless.¡± Li Dong concurred.

    ¡°Just try it.¡± Grimacing as though a quart of blood had been pulled from him in a millisecond, Travis handed the blunt to Li Dong. ¡°Put your lips to it and suck.¡±

    ¡¯N-no homo.¡¯

    Li Dong tentatively inhaled. Immediately, he started coughing, coughing so much he passed out, with a blissful look on his face and drool running down his chubby cheeks.

 Chapter 7 - Milf Tea Party

    The next day, Li Dong woke up, and when he checked his body, he was shocked.

    ¡°My cultivation¡­¡± He gaped, and seemed incapable of making a sound.

    ¡°So, what happened?¡± Travis asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ve advanced a level. I¡¯m now at the fourth level of Qi Condensation. Not only that, I¡¯m half a step into the final level.¡± A look of horror and excitement flashed across Li Dong¡¯s face.

    ¡°Wang Tao, this plant!¡± He gingerly picked up blunt he had inhaled once the night before. He looked at it with fervour, as if it were now a divine object. After he had calmed down he asked,

    ¡°So what level has your cultivation progressed to?¡±

    Travis smacked his own head. ¡°I haven¡¯t checked yet.¡± With that, he sank his consciousness into his body. He ended up in the vast realm with the Bodhi tree far ahead of him. He walked, and walked until he started noticing that he was walking in circles.

    ¡°So, just above a hundred thousand miles, meaning the fifth level. As I recall, it should¡¯ve took me over a year to get to that level by the pace Wang Tao was going. Who knew smoking weed had so many benefits?¡± Travis shook his head, and was about to leave when he froze.

    He looked ahead, and saw the edge of a giant chasm, ten times the size of the Grand Canyon.

    ¡°Bridge Building means to literally build a bridge. These cultivators in Jiang Hu really are straightforward most of the time.¡±

    Travis left the realm and his eyes refocused.

    ¡°The beginnings of the fifth level,¡± he told Li Dong.

    Li Dong looked like he had just swallowed a cat.

    ¡°The f-fifth level?¡± He stammered. He gazed at the Sky Divine Grass with a completely different look in his eyes. Previously, Wang Tao had had a pretty rough time cultivating. For whatever reason, resources didn¡¯t have much of an effect on him. It was testament to the powers of the Sky Divine Grass that Wang Tao¡¯s cultivation was able to shoot up by such leaps and bounds.

    Li Dong was shocked, but then realised something. Wang Tao had probably been using the plant for a while, so it wasn¡¯t so surprising. Li Dong then remembered that he had only inhaled once, yet jumped a whole realm.

    ¡®With the help of this plant, we will be able to ascend to extreme heights!¡¯

    Li Dong clenched his fist. The feeling of powerlessness was awful for him - for any weak person in the sect, even in the whole of Jiang Hu. For a world that focused on strength, the weak had to bow and scrape to have the right to go about their lives with relative ease.

    Li Dong lifted the Sky Divine Grass to his lips and inhaled. A powerful burst of spiritual energy rushed through his meridians. Li Dong was disappointed to notice that the strength of the energy was half of the first time he inhaled. His cultivation was raised into the beginning of the fifth level.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    Li Dong asked Travis why that was the case.

    Travis exhaled a thick plume of smoke. ¡°Dude, I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t care either.¡± He looked at Li Dong with bloodshot eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t you feel amazing every time you smoke?¡±

    ¡°Now that you mention it¡­¡± Li Dong slackened, and his eyes rolled back into his head. He sighed. ¡°Wow¡­¡± Li Dong felt like he was flying, high in the sky, soaring over the clouds. Vivid colours danced across his mind, and beautiful women scampered around the vicissitudes of his vision. He reached his hand out to grab one, but he grasped air.

    Li Dong was well and truly high.

    Travis looked at him grabbing at air and chuckled. ¡°He¡¯s a good guy. He reminds me of Joel.¡± Travis stared at the blunt in his hands. ¡°So, the kush raises cultivation. But it seems like it doesn¡¯t work that well if you keep using it.¡± Travis scoffed. ¡°It¡¯s not like I give a shit anyway, I smoke weed to get high - cultivation is just a cool benefit.

    ¡°Wang Tao¡¯s hunger is interesting too. It¡¯s like he had the permanent munchies. Plus, he needed a bunch of energy to cultivate. There¡¯s something off about the whole thing. Why did I have to jump into his body? There¡¯s a big mystery here.¡± Travis inhaled. ¡°But I guess it¡¯s pointless to think about if the answers are impossible to find.

    ¡°I have bigger damn problems. The ¡®Silver Wolf Gang¡¯¡­ I¡¯m probably not strong enough to protect myself against them. Li Dong said that their leader was way too strong.¡± Travis rolled his eyes.

    ¡°There are other ways to take them out.¡± He grinned evilly. ¡°I think there was one time¡­ yeah, I should be able to use that against them, even in this world. If they try to step up¡­ there doesn¡¯t need to be a ¡®Silver Wolf Gang¡¯ in this damn sect.¡±

    His eyes danced with a crafty light.

    ¡°It seems like this world will be interesting after all.¡±

    ***

    The Void Immortal Sect was a cultivator¡¯s sect, but there were many people living there who weren¡¯t cultivators. The boulder had a population of 300 million, and only one percent were even attributed to the sect. The rest were either rogue cultivators, martial artists or ordinary mortals who lived their lives quite simply. The peak of society was of course to become a cultivator who was a part of the ruling sect.

    There were quite a few villages, towns and cities, the biggest of which being Void City, which had a population of 20 million. It was sprawling, set upon swathes of land. Considering they were living on a boulder - so the majority of the land was extremely uneven, finding such a huge plot of completely flat land was admirable.

    Void City was split into three quarters: the wealthy quarter, the trading plaza and commoners section. In one of the grand houses in the wealthy quarter, a group of twelve women sat in a beautiful garden, laden with rosebushes. They were all beautiful, and all had the air of mature women - that feeling of grace mixed with confidence.

    ¡°My son, in the sect, has just gone up another level! He is now at the fourth level of the Qi Condensation realm. He says that at his pace, it isn¡¯t long before he can start his Bridge Building.¡± One of the women, Rong Er, boasted as she sipped her tea.

    Everyone at the table glanced at Rong Er with interest in their eyes. Rong Er¡¯s son, Wu Tao, was just eleven years old, so his speed of cultivation was quite outstanding.

    Another woman, Bing Luo, scoffed and said, ¡°My youngest, Ye Xiaofan, has just gained an insight into a merit law!¡± Everyone¡¯s heads swivelled toward Bing Luo, completely forgetting about Rong Er. Rong Er gritted her teeth, and asked,

    ¡°What kind of merit law? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s something useless?¡± Rong Er sneered.

    Bing Luo stared at Rong Er with mirth in her eyes. ¡°Of course not! Do you take my son as a fool? My Ye clan has always been the best! Whatever we do, we always excel! Naturally, my son gained an insight into the concept of ¡®Absolute Zero¡¯.¡±

    Everyone stilled, and gaped at Bing Luo.

    ¡°Ab-absolute zero - the normal level merit law?¡± Rong Er¡¯s teeth chattered, almost as if she had been frozen to her seat.

    Bing Luo chuckled. ¡°Of course!¡± Bing Luo then looked towards the woman who sat at the head of the table. ¡°Xiao Mei, my son is of course inferior to yours.¡±

    At the head of the table, Xiao Mei smiled. She was a supreme jade-like beauty, and although she was around thirty years old, like all of the women at the table, she was the most beautiful by far. Her skin glowed and seemed as tender as a teenager¡¯s. Her lips were luscious, and her body ignited the flame of any man who set eyes upon her. But what attracted people the most were her eyes. They radiated with two parts sex and two parts wisdom. They were filled with intrigue, as if any man who conquered her would never truly know her heart.

    Since she had been widowed, she had been beset by suitors from every inch of Void City, but had turned them all down. Each man she had spurned never gave up though, they were all enamoured by her - her eyes, her face, her body¡­ her mind.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to sell your son short. Although my Lei Wei has cultivated in the superior level merit law ¡®Pyroclastic Flow¡¯ since he was a child¡­ truthfully, there is a lot of pain behind him understanding the laws behind such a profound art.¡± Xiao Mei looked towards the heavens with pain between her brows.

    The table grew tense. Everyone knew the circumstances behind Lei Wei¡¯s cultivation of the merit law. It was a truly sad and unfortunate event.

    ¡®Are the fates playing tricks on us?¡¯ Xiao Mei sighed and regained her composure. A smile crept across her face. It didn¡¯t reach her eyes.

    ¡°Of course, such melancholic discussion here leads to nothing but sadness in our hearts.¡± Xiao Mei looked towards another woman. ¡°I heard your daughter was to become the disciple of an elder?¡±

 Chapter 8 - Have eyes but dont see the Empire State Building!

    ¡°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.¡¯This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    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.

 Chapter 9 - Triumph of War

    Everyone was confused as to what the ¡®Empire State Building¡¯ was, but the guard interrupted their cries with a roar. He then charged at Travis and swung. ¡°Wang Tao, my master is too busy to sweep up all of the worthless pieces of dust in the world, so allow me and my brothers to teach you a lesson!¡± The remaining sixteen guards all charged.

    Travis looked confident on the outside, he had learnt to mask his emotions and put on a threatening face ever since he had been in the old world. Living in the ghetto was extremely hard. It was like Jiang Hu, it was a very unforgiving place. If you didn¡¯t at least seem strong on the outside, you would be taken advantage of. People would rob you, or punk you, or just straight up disrespect you. Seeming strong when you were actually weak was one of the first rules Travis had ever learned for survival.

    Now, he was nervous as hell. Truthfully, he had never fought before. He had fought Zhao Yu, but that didn¡¯t count, and he had just taken out four guards - but he was confident enough to take on their attacks with the strength of his body. Sixteen guards¡­ he didn¡¯t want to think about it. Their spears and swords would turn him into a Wang Tao shish kebab, and one that definitely did not taste very good.

    Travis felt a gust of wind by his side. He turned around, and Li Dong was right next to him. Li Dong looked at him and smiled, ¡°We are brothers, we fight together, and we die together. When we finish here, I reckon I¡¯ll be able to eat a whole ox.¡± Li Dong looked at the guards running towards them and frowned. A mad light danced in his eyes, and his chubby cheeks shook as he clenched his jaw.

    Travis looked at Li Dong and a warmth entered his heart. Truthfully, Jiang Hu had never felt real for him. There was always a disconnect, a thin insulate layer that kept him from truly feeling like he ever had to live in this world. People didn¡¯t feel real to him - more like characters in a game that amused him. But when he saw Li Dong now, he fully accepted him as a friend; a friend he would have had in his old world. Although he still thought of Jiang Hu as a fantasy world, Li Dong was real. He was a friend.

    A look of solemnity brushed across his face. He remembered that Wang Tao had learned a few techniques, but they were slapdash - techniques Wang Tao had learned because they were easy to learn. Travis scanned through his memory, trying to find something to work with.

    ¡®Fireball technique, nope. Water blade, nope. Star-plucking technique¡­ this will definitely come in handy one day, but nope.¡¯ Travis stopped searching when he found something that made him grin evilly.

    By now, the fight was underway. Li Dong had charged into a group of four and was going crazy. He was almost like a berserker, completely different to his true nature. Travis didn¡¯t know if it was because he was still high, but Li Dong had completely gone wild, using his bare fists and ignoring his own defence as he knocked through every single one of the guards with one blow. Six more went to go help their fallen comrades, leaving six guards to surround Travis.

    They were angry, very angry. They began their assault, throwing beams of dazzling light. The colours were beautiful, but deadly, and Travis began to dodge them. Travis was shocked at how effortless it was - he knew how bad Wang Tao¡¯s body had been before. Although the guards were only on the third layer, it shouldn¡¯t have been so easy to dodge their attacks. It seemed like it wasn¡¯t something that came just from the Sky Divine Grass or Travis¡¯s cultivation though. No, this seemed like it had something to do with the mystery of Wang Tao himself. Travis was confused, but shrugged off his thoughts for the moment. He had almost been pummelled by a yellow hammer.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Travis kept dodging and punched two guards in the face. With a crash, they toppled over, and crumpled to the ground in a heap of golden armour. With four guards left, they stared at Travis.

    ¡°Formation!¡± The guard who had started the assault yelled. The guards arranged themselves in a diamond pattern, with Travis in the middle.

    ¡®He must be the leader,¡¯ Travis thought.

    The guard leader raised his sword, and shouted, ¡°Triumph of War, first offensive formation¡­ gallop!¡± The four of them pointed their swords at Travis. One by one, they charged at Travis and changed positions with the guard who was opposite them in the formation. The formation was a formidable one, acquired by the Ye clan, and was designed to stimulate a horse¡¯s charge into battle. It was supposed to build momentum, and get stronger and stronger with each successive charge until the target crumbled from the onslaught.

    Travis was beset from all sides, from the front, back, right and left directions. The first few cuts to his body didn¡¯t leave any marks, much to the surprise of the guard leader, but they persevered, and after a while, cuts started to appear on Travis¡¯s body. The guard leader smiled, and gestured to stop.

    ¡°So, Wang Tao, will you kneel?¡± Ye Xiaofan was delighted at the scene, and a smug smile adorned his face. Li Dong off to the side was dealing with the attacks of three guards, while seven lay on the ground around him. Although he had put on a shocking battle, he was almost at his limit. Ye Xiaofan had won, like he always did. Lei Wei was sure to reward him after he snatched back face for the Silver Wolf Gang after stomping over the two of them.

    Although Ye Xiaofan was pampered and arrogant, he didn¡¯t enjoy trampling over people. He wasn¡¯t so eager for validation as other rich young masters were. He was a pretty good person at heart, but he understood the reason for appearances in Jiang Hu. The guards were nothing more than decorations for his image - and image was necessary in Jiang Hu. Much like Travis, he understood the importance of the exterior in such a ruthless world. Human nature respected those with strength, and disdained those without it. Ye Xiaofan wasn¡¯t so dumb as to really want someone to kneel off of a whim. Nobody that blindly arrogant and short-sighted could have ever understood the profound concepts of the Absolute Zero law. It was necessary, so Ye Xiaofan did not hesitate to do so.

    Looking at their struggles, Ye Xiaofan admired them. But it was futile. A cold glow entered Ye Xiaofan¡¯s eyes. He had planned for this opportunity. He knew that Wang Tao and Li Dong ate at the mess hall everyday, but when he hadn¡¯t seen them at breakfast he frowned. He waited, and when he got the word that they had arrived, he had quickly rushed to meet them. The Silver Wolf Gang was a Qi Condensation faction that had existed for a long time, so many of the most powerful people in the sect were alumni. They always had express permission to deal in what they dealt in; deaths being the only objection. Even they couldn¡¯t circumvent those sect rules so blatantly.

    Their strengths shocked him; by his estimates, they must both have been at the beginning of the fifth layer of Qi Condensation. They wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat his guards. And even if they did, Ye Xiaofan was there to pick up the pieces.

    Truthfully, the Silver Wolf Gang didn¡¯t need to reclaim any sort of face - the Zhao Yu incident happened at a chaotic time, and nobody had the mind to watch what was happening. What Ye Xiaofan was here to reclaim was the status quo. The Void Immortal Sect was merely a drop in the sea of sects that existed in the Necklace of Buddha, but even they understood the need for hierarchy. Without putting people in their places, they wouldn¡¯t be able to control them; not having control over people would lead to anarchy. If the Silver Wolf Gang didn¡¯t show their power, other factions, like Chen Jian¡¯s gang would take advantage of them.

    Travis looked at Li Dong, who was at his limits, and looked at his own body and the thin cuts that crisscrossed all over it. He grimaced. He didn¡¯t want to have to do it, but it was necessary. He sent Li Dong a voice transfer.

    - Li Dong, on my signal, we run away. -

    - What? Why? - Li Dong sounded angry, a far cry from the Li Dong who was going to kowtow to Zhao Yu.

    - Even if we beat all of these guards, we still have that guy left. - Travis¡¯s eyes narrowed. - A man knows when to retreat. But, Li Dong, this isn¡¯t surrender. I have a plan. -

    - Okay then. - Li Dong sighed.

    Travis looked up at Ye Xiaofan. They locked eyes for a second. Ye Xiaofan looked into Travis¡¯s eyes and shuddered. He had never seen eyes like those - eyes filled with a controlled madness - almost as if he would do anything to reach his goals. Beads of sweat trickled down Ye Xiaofan¡¯s back. He was about to say something when Travis yelled,

    ¡°You smell like a fucking virgin. I bet you would fuck your own sister for a slice of cheese. Look at you, you cuck bastard. Your mother is so damn fat, when I asked her to touch her toes she said, ¡®what are those?¡¯ You look like the type of nigga to fart in the toilet then flush it!¡±

 Chapter 10 - Love is in the air

    Silence.

    The words rang out through the crowd, forcing everyone to shut their mouths abruptly. A look of incredulity was on the face of everyone in the area. The head guard, Xiao Hei, looked like a sheet of paper - his face devoid of any emotion. Ye Xiaofan had frozen, except for his shade which was currently switching through all of the colours of the rainbow. A thick vein in his temple had started twitching.

    The silence was interrupted by a snicker, then a cough and then a giggle, and before long everyone in the crowd was doubled over - laughing so hard they couldn¡¯t breathe.

    ¡°He-he said that he would fuck his own sister for a slice of cheese!¡± Someone was on the ground wheezing as they shrieked.

    ¡°Fart in the toilet and then flush it! Fart in the toilet and then flush it!¡± Another was repeating the words while clutching onto his ribs.

    One of the golden guards shot a glare of pure venom towards the crowd but this time¡­ it was futile.

    ¡°Wang Tao¡­ what a genius in the art of roasting! I have never seen such realm of perfection in the dao of the roast! Wang Tao isn¡¯t just a roast master¡­ he¡¯s the Roast God!¡±

    ¡°Roast God!¡±

    ¡°Roast God!¡±

    The crowd began to chant, whooping and hollering, proclaiming Travis as their god.

    Ye Xiaofan looked inhuman at this point, and a sub-zero mist snaked out of him towards Travis, freezing everything in its path. The crowd stopped rejoicing, wary of the merit law Ye Xiaofan had learnt.

    Travis looked at the cloud of frost winding towards him and blanched. Ye Xiaofan was way too strong for him to handle, but Travis snorted. He had had a plan this whole time. He glanced at Li Dong who looked back and nodded. Travis activated a technique that Wang Tao had learned previously. Travis and Li Dong shut their eyes as tight as possible. Travis yelled,

    ¡°Flashbang, nigga!¡± A piercing flash of light came from Travis¡¯s palm. Ye Xiaofan, his guards and everyone in the crowd collapsed as the light burnt their retinas, and collapsed to the ground clutching their faces.

    Travis and Li Dong fled in the midst of the chaos.

    ¡°Fuck, fuck it hurts so much!¡±

    Disoriented, Ye Xiaofan screamed. He had never felt so humiliated in his life. First, he had been insulted worse than he had ever been insulted. Then, he had been subjected to the worst pain he had ever felt. Ye Xiaofan eventually recovered, but seeing his guards sprawled all over the ground, and the missing figures of Wang Tao and Li Dong, he looked up in the sky and yelled to vent his frustrations.

    ¡°Wang Tao, from today on, the Silver Wolf Gang and you are sworn enemies!¡± With tears flowing down his face, Ye Xiaofan was reminded of the mind numbing roast he had been subjected to and a heat bubbled up his throat. A river of blood sprayed from Ye Xiaofan; his eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the ground - his mouth twisted into a frightening grimace.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    While running back to Travis¡¯s shack, Travis and Li Dong heard the howls of madness behind them. They giggled as they ran, indistinguishable from a pair of friends who had just pulled a successful prank. Side by side with Li Dong, with the wind in his hair, Travis felt for the first time that he belonged in Jiang Hu.

    They stopped running when they got back. With a blinding smile on his face Li Dong stuck his thumb up at Travis.

    ¡°Great plan! What I would have given to have seen Ye Xiaofan¡¯s face when he was screaming!¡± Li Dong trembled. ¡°It would have been hilarious.¡± Li Dong cackled as he imagined Ye Xiaofan¡¯s current sorry state.

    Travis chuckled. ¡°A man knows when to retreat, especially when retreat gives you such a huge victory.¡±

    ¡°Oh right, those insults were crazy! What were they calling you? ¡®Roast God?¡¯ My heart nearly fell out of my chest when I heard you say those things. Are you not afraid of Ye Xiaofan coming after you with all his power now? You have dishonoured the Ye clan.¡± Li Dong was back to his worrywart self after the high wore down.

    Travis sighed. ¡°They¡¯re definitely going to come back at us harder than ever. We¡¯re going to have to take care of ourselves.¡± Travis remembered something. ¡°How hungry must you be now? You still haven¡¯t gotten a chance to eat yet have you?¡±

    Thunder rumbled. Travis looked towards the sky, but all he saw was a clear blue without any clouds. He looked back down, and saw Li Dong sheepishly looking back at him.

    ¡°Th-that was your stomach?¡± Travis asked with his mouth hanging open.

    ¡°I¡¯m starving.¡± Li Dong stared at the dirt, hoping the ground could swallow him up.

    Travis empathised with Li Dong. When he first dropped into the world, he had bore the brunt of Wang Tao¡¯s immense hunger. Now that he had found weed he didn¡¯t have to feel so hungry any more, but he still remembered what it felt like.

    Li Dong looked up and grinned, and slung an arm around Travis¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll forget about it if I smoke enough!¡± He lead Travis into the house.

    ¡®Isn¡¯t he more eager than I am to smoke? Have I created a weed-smoking monster?¡¯

    ***

    In a dark room, a kid was hunched over the only source of light, which was a gaslamp inside a cage. The cage was massive, and housed a miniature bedroom. There was a four poster bed, canvassed with fine silks, a white tigerskin rug and fine oak furniture.

    On the bed, weirdly enough, a pair of mice were in the middle of¡­ sex. The kid was staring intently at the activity, muttering something intelligible under his breath. As the pair of mouse lovers got friskier and friskier, the kid¡¯s grunts grew louder and louder until they orgasmed and he screamed alongside them, his shrieks intertwining with the tiny yelps of the mice. He suddenly stood up, and pulled a perfumed handkerchief out of his breast pocket. He wiped the minute beads of sweat off his face and slumped into a fine oak chair. Apart from the chair and the cage, there was seldom any furniture in the room apart from a portrait of a strikingly beautiful thirteen year old girl. She had pale blonde hair, almost platinum, and had the sweetest expression - almost as if she had been caught in the midst of something naughty by her lover. The painting had splotches of unexplainable white stains on it.

    The kid swaggered up to the painting and put his finger to her cherry lips. ¡°Shh¡± he said. ¡°Wait for me my darling, my sweet. Once I take care of that trash Lei Wei and his gang, it¡¯ll be but a matter of time before we meet again and I can be by your side.¡± Saying Lei Wei¡¯s name was extremely hard for him - his mouth grimaced before he spat it out as if he had almost swallowed poison.

    He put his mouth to the girl¡¯s ear. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll fuck you like a mouse,¡± he whispered.

    Someone knocked at the door. The kid¡¯s lips twisted, and he turned red. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you not to interrupt me when I was having my private time?¡± He shouted ferociously. The person at the door pushed the door open with so much force it hit the wall behind it.

    Now the kid was even more angry. ¡°How dare-¡°

    The person at the door ran in and kneeled. ¡°I¡¯m sorry boss, but this news is urgent! Ye Xiaofan of the Silver Wolf Gang was bested by Wang Tao! You said that we had to report any major developments pertaining to the Silver Wolf Gang within a minute of them happening or you would ¡®flay us and serve our boiled testicles to our mothers!¡¯.¡±

    The kid calmed down, and coughed. ¡°I did say that but¡­ just tell me what happened.¡± He waved his hand and sat down in his chair, nodding at his lackey to speak.

    After the lackey explained what had happened, the kid rubbed his chin. ¡°You¡¯re talking about Wang Tao and Li Dong? Who are they?¡±

    ¡°Well, this subordinate doesn¡¯t remember them, but they seem to have been two of the pushovers we used to extort for pills on pill allocation day. It seems as though they hid their cultivation for whatever reason.¡±

    The kid shook his head. Suspicion filled his gaze. ¡°No¡­no¡­ that¡¯s not what my instinct is telling me. If they were so strong, why would they let us take their pills? I refuse to believe that they would kowtow if they had the strength not to. There¡¯s no way that they don¡¯t even have a sliver of pride.

    ¡°But what¡¯s the point of debating human nature. Let us look at the facts. They have smacked the face of the Silver Wolf Gang, which is amazing. They would be splendid for my plans.¡± An evil smile crept across his face. He looked down at his subordinate with a menacing, excited look in his eyes.

    ¡°Go to Wang Tao. Tell him that Chen Jian wants to meet him!¡± Chen Jian waved his subordinate off and turned around to look at the portrait of the mesmerising girl. He smiled madly.

    He could smell the fornication in the air.