Under countless watchful eyes, Ye Chen and Mu Qingqing made their way to a seat by the window and sat down.
The table and chairs at this seat were crafted from azure wood. Sitting there, Ye Chen felt a faint True Qi swirling around his body.
This wood could actually absorb and emit True Qi autonomously!
"It really lives up to the reputation of a third-grade great sect; just this city below the mountain gate has such an extraordinary restaurant!" Ye Chen exclaimed with emotion.
Looking at the table, he noticed many bamboo sticks placed on one side.
Ye Chen saw that these bamboo sticks had names of dishes and their prices written on them.
"'Sky Cage Spirit Lotus,' three hundred lower-grade Spirit Stones."
"'Ice Spirit Whelk,' four hundred lower-grade Spirit Stones."
"'Azure Dragon True Blood,' one thousand lower-grade Spirit Stones."
"'Blazing Flame Liquor,' six hundred lower-grade Spirit Stones."
"'Eight Treasures Spirit Meat,' one thousand two hundred lower-grade Spirit Stones..."
The price tagged behind each dish was actually calculated in Spirit Stones!
Ye Chen remembered the six strong figures from the Heavenly Wind Kingdom saying that only martial artists in the Rotating Pill Realm began using Spirit Stones. Seeing the prices of these dishes, even an ordinary martial artist in the early stages of the Rotating Pill Realm probably couldn't afford to eat them!
Ye Chen looked around and saw that, indeed, middle and late-stage Rotating Pill Realm martial artists were the majority in the "Heavenly Treasure Pavilion," with a few disciples from the Spirit Sea Realm who also seemed to have some significant backgrounds.
Among the many bamboo sticks for dishes, Ye Chen noticed the widest and most conspicuous one.
It read: "'Sword Fang Rice,' three thousand lower-grade Spirit Stones each!"
Sword Fang Rice was precisely what Mu Qingqing had been talking about all along.
Ye Chen was somewhat astounded. One grain for three thousand lower-grade Spirit Stones? Was one grain enough to eat?
Seeing Ye Chen's surprised expression, Mu Qingqing chuckled: "Ye Chen, the dishes here are all prepared using a top-grade precious utensil, so they are priced in Spirit Stones."
"Many of the ingredients in these dishes are extremely rare. Especially this 'Sword Fang Rice,' which is an exclusive product of the Tai'a Sword Sect. It's said that the 'Sword Fang Rice' grows in Tai'a Sword Sect's Sword Forest, nurtured day and night by countless sword auras, and it requires the care of a martial artist at the Rotating Pill Realm level to successfully cultivate it."
"Eating this rice can improve the three vital signs of essence, energy, and spirit, beneficial for elevating one's life level. Even its scent is uniquely fragrant, making one unable to resist eating it as soon as they smell it."
"I ate it once before, and the taste lingered for a long time after returning home. It's a pity that 'Sword Fang Rice' is said to have many restrictions from harvest to cooking—it can't be taken away, or else I'd have liked to take some with me."
By the end of her explanation, Mu Qingqing was like a little glutton, almost drooling.
As Mu Qingqing explained these dishes to Ye Chen, many of the martial artists who were paying attention to them showed disdainful expressions when they saw Ye Chen's look of surprise.
"Look at him, he must be new to Tai'a City, not even knowing what 'Sword Fang Rice' is."
"A martial artist at the early stage of the Spirit Sea Realm dares to come here to dine in the 'Heavenly Treasure Pavilion'; he probably can't afford any dish here!"
"If he can't eat anything in the end, that would be quite embarrassing."
Despite these martial artists keeping their dismissive voices low, Ye Chen and Mu Qingqing, with their immensely strong Divine Senses, heard them loud and clear.
Mu Qingqing gave Ye Chen a gentle smile.
Others might not understand Ye Chen, but she knew a lot about him. Having followed Ye Chen to the Tai'a Sword Sect, Mu Qingqing noticed that Ye Chen was using top-grade Spirit Stones to recover the True Qi expended for flying.
Top-grade Spirit Stones!
Those were things that even late-stage Rotating Pill Realm martial artists rarely came in contact with!
Seeing the waiter's understanding demeanor, the young man in white smiled faintly. Then, he stepped forward with his entourage, heading straight for Mu Qingqing.
As for Ye Chen, these few seemed to have outright ignored him...
"I am Liu Zheng. May I know the young lady's name, and would you honor me by sampling these delicacies of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion together?"
Seeing the straightforward approach of Liu Zheng, the young man in white, who completely disregarded Ye Chen, Mu Qingqing's clever eyes twirled, and she shook her head decisively, "Your strength is too weak. I don't want to dine with you!"
Your strength is too weak!
Mu Qingqing's words almost made Liu Zheng stumble!
He was at the mid-stage of the Rotating Pill Realm and was outright rejected by this young girl?
Strength too weak? But the young man across from her was merely at the initial stage of the Spirit Sea Realm. Why not say his strength was weak too?
It was at this moment that Liu Zheng remembered Ye Chen.
Ye Chen could only smile wryly in response. This girl, Mu Qingqing, was indeed quick-witted. Such a retort was probably enough to infuriate Liu Zheng.
Liu Zheng felt his anger rising as he saw the girl in front of him give him no face and the boy merely smiling faintly.
At the Tai'a Sword Sect, he had a significant background, being a prominent figure within the sect, let alone here in Tai'a City, outside the sect?
He had never been slighted in this manner before.
"Hehe, since the lady thinks my strength is lacking, then I will prove it to her," Liu Zheng said, turning his attention to Ye Chen. With a grasp of his palm, he reached out to seize Ye Chen.
Seeing Liu Zheng suddenly attack Ye Chen, many of the martial artists in the pavilion cried out in alarm.
Many of them recognized Liu Zheng, knowing that within the mid-stage Rotating Pill Realm, he was also a top figure with a powerful background. Even martial artists in the later stages of the Rotating Pill Realm would not dare to provoke him on normal days.
Now that Liu Zheng had made a move against a young martial artist from the Spirit Sea Realm, these martial artists already anticipated that the young man would likely be gravely injured by this single strike!
"Beautiful girls are always a source of trouble," many sighed to themselves.
It was clear to them that Liu Zheng's attack was sparked by irritation from Mu Qingqing's beauty.
As Liu Zheng made his move, the four young men standing behind him crossed their arms and smiled, as if such a scene was all too familiar and not at all surprising.
But Ye Chen, facing Liu Zheng's attack, was truly angry.
He and Mu Qingqing were peacefully enjoying their time until this young man came over and brazenly interfered, and now he even took the initiative to strike!
Moreover, the nature of the attack was ruthless; Ye Chen's divine sense was extremely powerful, and he had detected a hidden trick in the youth's hand the moment he struck. An ordinary person would likely suffer surface injuries from his grasp, but the underlying damage would certainly affect their cultivation foundation.
Such a venomous attack!
Clearly, this young man was accustomed to acting with impunity in Tai'a City!
"If it were another young man, he would probably have incurred this trouble for no reason!"
"Such a person must not be let off lightly!"
As these thoughts flickered through Ye Chen's mind, Liu Zheng's hand had already reached him.
In a split second, amidst the screaming of the martial artists in the pavilion, and just as Liu Zheng's hand was about to grasp Ye Chen's chest, just as Mu Qingqing telepathically told Ye Chen to teach the young man a lesson, Ye Chen made his move.
Swish!
In a moment that was as fast as lightning and as fleeting as a spark, Ye Chen's hand stretched out and intercepted the young man's palm sooner than it had launched. Ye Chen's hand clamped down, and with a crisp "snap," the sound of breaking bones resounded immediately.
Then, with a surge of True Qi from Ye Chen's hand, all the meridians in the young man's arm were completely ruptured.
After that, Ye Chen lifted his hand and slapped the man, sending him flying backward into the halfway up the pavilion with a loud "smack!"