Some of the noble sons present frowned, while others voiced their strong agreement.

"If he obediently steps down and yields his position to a more worthy person, allowing honorable men like us to run the Seven Nations Ticket Shop, I’ll even give him a dignified exit. But if he clings to power, his past prestige will be utterly destroyed."

As Sima Peng spoke, he drained the Spirit Wine in his cup.

"When that time comes, I will make the Seven Nations Ticket Shop the property of our Noble Families."

At the tables, some clapped and cheered, while others simply got up and left.

Dong Xiji and a few noble sons he knew well left their seats, walked straight out of the Flying Pavilion, and boarded the carriage they had arrived in.

"Ah Ji, you’re not going to stay a little longer?"

One of the noble sons was a bit disappointed. The Spiritual Food on the table was one thing, but the Female Attendants were truly young and beautiful. He was under strict discipline at home; at the banquet, he hadn’t eaten a single bite, having spent the whole time groping their legs.

’I thought that since Sima Peng came from the Central Continent, he would at least be a man of some talent. Who knew he was just an incompetent fool with delusions of grandeur.’

Dong Xiji was the most outstanding disciple of his generation in the Dragon Taming Dong Family. Master Dong Shoumeng had him attend this banquet to see what Sima Peng was after.

"He assumes our Western Continent is just like the Central Continent, where Noble Families control the Sects. He has no idea that here in the Western Continent, the power of the Noble Families has long since declined. Even my Dragon Taming Dong Family can’t sway the decisions of the Dharma Image Sect. There’s no way the Six Sects would let someone from the Central Continent—an outsider, at that—control an institution as vital as the Seven Nations Ticket Shop."

He took the Spirit Tea from a Maid’s hand and rinsed his mouth.

"If he had even declared he wanted to promote someone else to the top position, I’d have respected him a little. But he’s truly blinded by greed and unfit for such a great responsibility. He’s far inferior to Yang Jing."

The other noble sons didn’t have Dong Xiji’s insight, but they all followed his lead. Seeing him leave, they immediately followed him out. Only now did they understand why Dong Xiji had such a low opinion of Sima Peng.

"Brother Dong, do you really think that highly of Yang Jing?"

The few men present were from families with longstanding ties, and they all knew how high Dong Xiji’s standards were. He fancied himself second only to Yan Bing in judgment, yet they had never heard him praise anyone the way he just praised Yang Jing.

"I once begged my clan uncle to arrange a duel with Yang Jing for me. I only lasted fifty moves before I was defeated, and I felt that Yang Jing was still holding back, clearly not using his full strength," Dong Xiji said.

Everyone present was shocked. Dong Xiji was an expert in the Sword Dao and had also comprehended Sword Qi Thunder Sound.

The ancestor of the Dragon Taming Dong Family had even swallowed his pride and sent him to the Taixu Sword Sect to study Swordsmanship.

Among the disciples of their generation from these Noble Families, almost no one was his match.

"Ah Ji, did you not use the Soaring Dragon Sword?"

The Soaring Dragon Sword was the Flying Sword that the Dragon Taming Dong Family had refined for Dong Xiji, and it was at the Magical Treasure Level.

"Of course not."

If he had brought out the Soaring Dragon Sword, it would no longer have been a spar, but a true Magical Combat. However, Dong Xiji had a faint premonition that even if he had used the Soaring Dragon Sword, he would have at best only managed a draw against Yang Jing.

And Yang Jing wasn’t even a Magic Treasure Master.

Dong Xiji was not a sore loser; he had admitted defeat readily.

There was one thing he hadn’t mentioned. As a member of the Dragon Taming Dong Family, he naturally had a Dragon Beast to accompany his cultivation. His talent was so outstanding that the family’s ancestor had directly bestowed upon him a Little Flood Dragon with the purest Flood Dragon Blood from among the descendants of a Nascent Soul-Realm Flood Dragon.

This Flood Dragon was also already at the Foundation Establishment Realm, but to avoid attracting too much attention, Dong Xiji always kept it in his Beast Taming Bag when he went out.

After returning that day, the Little Flood Dragon had told him that it had faintly sensed a pure Flood Dragon aura on Yang Jing.

"Yang Jing defeated me. If word of this got out, he could have easily boosted his own prestige even further. At the very least, many of the fools who stayed at the banquet today would have been scared off. But I haven’t heard a single whisper of it in the entire Northern Domain. Compared to Sima Peng, who only has his family background, he is the truly honorable one."

He couldn’t help but feel a surge of admiration.

Normally, with Dong Xiji’s temperament, he wouldn’t have left so abruptly and shown Sima Peng such disrespect. It was out of admiration for Yang Jing’s character that he decided to help him out.

「Inside the Flying Pavilion」

The banquet had already ended. Most of the noble sons had left; only a few remained in the hall, drinking with Sima Peng in an attempt to curry favor with the Central Continent’s Sima Family.

The fact that so many noble sons had left the banquet made Sima Peng furious; it was a clear slap in the face.

However, when he learned that the first to leave was someone from the Dragon Taming Dong Family, he felt helpless to do anything about it.

The Dragon Taming Dong Family was different from the other Noble Families of the Western Continent. They possessed a Dragon Transformation Pool in their clan and raised a large number of Dragon Beasts. These Dragon Beasts had long lifespans, giving the Dong Family a number of Nascent Soul-level combatants that surpassed even some Central Continent Families.

Dragon Beasts had a unique advantage in the Western Continent, making it easy for them to awaken powerful Divine Techniques. When Dong Family disciples commanded their Dragon Beasts in Magical Combat, they were not much weaker than Central Continent Cultivators.

This left Sima Peng seething with frustration, a feeling like a fishbone stuck in his throat.

Although the remaining noble sons flattered Sima Peng, they didn’t dare to offend Dong Xiji, so they could only make small talk about trivial pleasantries.

"Speaking of which, Zuoqiu Ye, you once lost to that Yang Jing. What can you tell me about his methods?"

Zuoqiu Ye’s face flushed then paled. He had originally intended to privately tell Sima Peng the details of his Magical Combat with Yang Jing. He never expected to be called out so directly.

A flash of hatred crossed his mind. ’These Noble Families have the sharpest noses for this sort of thing. They’re masters of fawning over the powerful and trampling on the weak. They must be treating me with such disrespect because they know my Zuoqiu Family’s Nascent Soul Ancestor, Zuoqiu Hui, is near the end of her life.’

But seeing that Sima Peng was interested, he had no choice but to recount the events of that day’s Magical Combat in full detail.

"What? You used a Magical Treasure and still couldn’t beat Yang Jing?"

The Cultivators present were astonished when they heard the details of the Magical Combat.

"Binding Water into a Sword? And with One-Element Heavy Water?"

Sima Peng’s perspective was far broader than that of these noble sons. In the Central Continent, it wasn’t uncommon for some Cultivators with powerful Divine Techniques to defeat opponents wielding Magical Treasures.

But for Yang Jing to be able to bind One-Element Heavy Water into a Flying Sword and command it showed that his Magical Power and Divine Sense were both far superior to those of his peers. Even among Central Continent Cultivators, it would be difficult to find someone with such a profound foundation.

"No wonder this person has made such a name for himself. He does have some skill. However, I am an expert in Wind Escape. No matter how powerful his Water Dragon Sword is, what’s the use if it can’t hit me?"

Sima Peng wore the expression of someone certain of victory.

The surrounding noble sons immediately burst into another round of flattery.

"Speaking of which, I have a Wondrous Technique called the Mingfei Joyful Method. Using this technique on women brings endless pleasure, and it can also perform Absorption and Replenishment on a Female Cultivator’s Essence Qi and Vitality to benefit oneself."

Sima Peng pulled a Maid into his arms and said to the noble sons present.

The Cultivators present were shocked. This was clearly an Evil Technique of Absorption and Replenishment. In the Western Continent, it was explicitly forbidden by the Six Sects. Even if they secretly cultivated such a Replenishing Technique, they would never dare speak of it in public.

Furthermore, this technique caused one’s Magical Power to become impure, and the damage to one’s foundation was even worse than Elixir Poison. Even the elders in their families strictly forbade disciples from walking such an evil path.

"This... Don’t they forbid this Replenishing Technique in the Central Continent?" one of the noble sons asked cautiously.

"Hmph. This is a Secret Technique that a Central Continent Major Sect found when they broke into a Small Realm. It has none of the negative side effects of ordinary Replenishing Techniques. It only takes the purest Vitality from a Female Cultivator, and cultivating it can actually purify one’s Magical Power. Once this technique emerged, the Noble Families of my Central Continent began to raise Tripod Furnaces in large numbers. The ban on the Replenishing Technique has long since become a rule in name only."

Sima Peng looked at them as if they were all country bumpkins.

The noble sons present immediately showed expressions of being tempted. If such a Wondrous Technique truly existed, it would be a huge loss not to cultivate it.

「An hour later.」

Sima Peng’s clothes were in disarray as he drank, attended to by the Maids.

"How is this technique?"

"It’s truly wondrous! After cultivating this Mingfei Joyful Method, I finally understand what true earthly pleasure is!"

Zuoqiu Ye wrapped his arm around a Maid’s soft waist, overjoyed as he felt the growth of Magical Power in his Dantian.

"A pity these Maids have been used for Absorption and Replenishment who knows how many times. They’re utterly dull." Sima Peng’s face revealed a greedy expression. "Right now, countless Cultivators have gathered here, a mixed crowd. It’s the perfect time to go and abduct some Female Cultivators to practice the Joyful Technique with!"