Chapter 220 – Florida Man Investigated after This Year's Graduates of His University Had Lower IQ Than Monkeys.
"Hey, have you heard? If you enter the facility on the fourth floor and pay 10 years of lifespan, you can enter a secret mystic realm!"
"I heard! I heard! Elder Tang Xuan, Hua Jiashan, and Tiger Swordsman went inside. All of them broke through their bottlenecks!"
"But I heard another thing. Someone said the food in the FFC shop is the reason! They ate the fried chickens there and gained an immense amount of Qi!"
"Is that true? They went into that super expensive tavern?!"
Rumors circulated in Leo's domain after Hua Jiashan's group returned home. The employees saw them leave the shopping mall and speculated what happened inside based on testimonies and witnesses.
The next day, more people gathered in the mall. There were two groups of visitors.
The first group was the gourmet type. Everybody had a fair amount of wealth to pay for the food, so they came here to give it a try. As for the second group, they went to the fourth floor, hoping to try the new facility.
Among the first group of people, Gao Yan and Wu Buyi managed to reserve a table. The former just came out from seclusion after he had digested all information from the Floridian dantian pill. As for Wu Buyi, he tagged along with his disciple to monitor his condition.
At the moment, Gao Yan was a quasi-immortal. His cultivation progress baffled Wu Buyi so much that he was concerned about Gao Yan's foundation. Thus, he took the disciple here to relax and have a good meal. Coincidentally, it suddenly got popular.
As Wu Buyi was not the first timer here, he quickly ordered his favorite menu.
"Give me the party nom-nom bucket, three BBQ dipping sauces, and a set of spicy cockatrice wings."
After making his order, Wu Buyi glanced at Gao Yan. Noticing that Gao Yan was still in a daze, he recommended a light course.
"How about the first set, the one nom-nom bucket? If you can't eat it all, you can take them home. It's cheaper, too."
Gao Yan nodded and closed his eyes. Silently, he dozed off.
"Oh boy." Wu Buyi dryly laughed. He knew why Gao Yan was in this condition.
Most of the time, cultivators in seclusion spent their time meditating 24/7 and circulating their Qi. However, there were cases in which secluded cultivators got so absorbed in meditation that their bodies and minds switched to auto-pilot mode. Then, they stopped thinking or using their brain.
As a result, when the meditation session was over, their mind remained blank for a while just like patients who woke up after anesthesia's effect wore off. Many people recovered in a few hours, but weak-willed cultivators might need a few days to regain their senses.
Wu Buyi could only hope that Gao Yan would recover quickly.
Murmur
Meanwhile, the restaurant was crowded. Lines of curious visitors queued in front of the counter, waiting to order some food to take home. The mannequins behind the counter worked like a machine while some of the waiters ran around and took orders from customers at tables.
The fast-food chain was not the only place that got busy. The food court was also crowded. Although they didn't offer expensive fried chicken, they had more variety of food. Stalls and shops selling street food, drinks, steaks, noodles, and random snacks were new to the local people.
Wu Buyi gazed at the crowd of people in front of both places.
"You know, when I first came here, this place was only a small building surrounded by tall trees and forest. Look at this place now. The land has been reclaimed, and some places are not even recognizable."
Gao Yan nodded while he was still half-asleep.
A few minutes later, the food arrived. The pleasant scent of fried chicken and hot crispy French fries woke Gao Yan from his slumber. He slowly opened his eyes and gazed at the yellowish food.
Because of the Floridian dantian pill's effects, Gao Yan learned a few jumbled memories. His mouth and throat uttered a word without thinking.
"…KFC?"
"What's KFC?" Wu Buyi glanced at Gao Yan while he dipped a couple sticks of French fries in a dipping sauce.
"…Fast food."
"Yeah. This tavern cooks very fast. It's fast food alright."
"…And it's junk food."
"Hey! Don't call good food junk! You're a junk! Your whole damn family is a junk! If you don't want to eat that, give it to me!"
"…"
Gao Yan frowned and swatted Wu Buyi's hand away from his plates of food. He slowly reached for a drumstick and bit it without pouring any sauce on it.
The taste buds on Gao Yan's tongue responded to the newly acquired memory from the pill. He remembered this taste.
NOM-NOM!
Gao Yan started to eat faster. He skillfully poured ketchup and chili sauce on the chicken on his plate and feasted on the French fries. Then, he downed all the hamburgers in a few bites.
When everything was gone, Gao Yan burped. He drank the last drop of tea in his cup and grumbled.
"I wish they served some soda. It lacks some good Pepsi and coke."
"Huh?" Wu Buyi was confused. "What's coke and pep-si?"
"Sweet drinks. They usually have them in this type of fast-food chain."
"…Have you eaten something like this before?" Wu Buyi raised his brows. He doubted that Gao Yan had traveled to other cities since he was too young.
"To be honest, no. I just got this strange memory."
"What memory?"
"I don't know. I just have it. I think it's from Lord Florida Man's pill."
"Hoh?" Wu Buyi's curiosity was piqued. "What was the pill's name again? I'll ask the lord to sell some to me."
"Floridian Dantian Pill."
.
The conversation between Gao Yan and Wu Buyi didn't escape the ears of bystanders. As most of the people here were former disciples of Life Sword Sect and Amazonian Sanctuary, they paid extra attention to the rising star and the alchemist elder.
When they heard the keywords "Floridian Dantian Pill", they took notes. Everybody planned to ask Leo and the supermarket's cashiers if they had the pills for sale later.
.
.
Meanwhile, Dongfang Mei, Xu Nuan, Han Hao, Han Meng, and Tang Tian gathered in front of the time chamber on the fourth floor.
As Hua Jiashan, Tiger Swordsman, and Tang Xuan proved that the facility offered a place for them to train, the other elders rushed here to seize the opportunity. Moreover, they heard a thorough detailed version from their colleagues, and they knew what they would experience.
Dongfang Mei counted the heads and giggled. "I guess we have to fight for a spot. There isn't enough room for all five of us to enter at once."
Xu Nuan humbly bowed, "If you wish it, I can give up my spot for you, master."
"Hahahaha! You don't have to. We can ask one of the gentlemen to concede instead."
"…But I think I should come back tomorrow with Qiqi. I think it's better for me to be beside her when she gets to train in there."
"Hmm. That's also a good idea."
Han Hao, Han Meng, and Tang Tian overheard their conversation. They let out a sigh of relief as they didn't have to fight each other for an available spot.
Tang Tian walked toward his former disciple Dongfang Mei. He teased her.
"I heard you and Jiashan married. When did you hold the ceremony? How come you didn't invite me, your mentor and senior?"
Dongfang Mei ejected a paper fan and slapped Tang Tian's butt, messing with him. The sound was loud and crisp, causing others to look at the group.
"OW! You stinky brat! I told you not to smack my butt whenever we greet! You haven't changed a bit!" Tang Tian rubbed his butt and grumbled.
Dongfang Mei laughed. "Stupid teacher. You should have joined us ages ago. Anyway, we haven't decided on our ceremony dates yet. I think it will be after Lord Florida Man's wedding."
"Oh, I see. Who is his wife again? Is it the woman with the long ears?"
Tang Tian had seen Esen before. Her mysterious air and aura gave him an impression of a celestial being from heaven. In the past few days, he tried to greet her a few times, but her bodyguards intimidated him.
"If you refer to the girl with blond hair, yes. I heard she has a unique constitution. I don't know the details, but she is a celestial emperor."
"Celestial Emperor?"
"An immortal rank. I think it's the 8th stage of the immortal realm."
"…Wow. No wonder Lord Florida Man chooses her."
Tang Tian was astonished. His father just took the first step to the immortal rank, but he was just a fledgling compared to Esen.
Again, the bystanders eavesdropped their conversation and took notes. The more they heard about Leo and Esen, the more interested they were.
In the afternoon, Jin Yong, Hua Taixu, and three unfortunate young men exited the time chamber. Except for Hua Taixu, the four young men seemed mentally and physically exhausted. However, their cultivation base improved by several ranks, especially Jin Yong.
Similar to Gao Yan and Hua Jiashan, Jin Yong's strength stepped into the quasi-immortal rank. As for the other three, they got stuck at the nascent soul stage.
The appearance of another quasi-immortal stunned the elders and the onlookers in front of the facility. Everybody gawked at Jin Yong, who had a similar aura to Tang Xuan in the past.
Tang Tian rushed to his disciple. He supported his core disciple.
"What happened in there, Jin Yong?! H-How come you're a quasi-immortal now?"
Jin Yong wryly laughed and looked at Hua Taixu. He warned his mentor.
"Me train hard. Me get strong."
"…What?"
Hua Taixu widely grinned and gazed at Tang Tian. He then pointed at the latter.
"You weak! Train here! Me train you. You strong!"
"…?"
Tang Tian was taken aback as he barely understood both of them. Still, as Tang Tian came prepared, he readily paid 10 years of lifespan and accepted the sword saint's invitation.
Han Hao, Han Meng, and Dongfang Mei followed them into the time chamber while Hua Taixu laughed in a merry mood.
"Enthusiastic seeds! Me train you. You STRONKER!"
Everybody entered the time chamber, and the door was locked. It was too late for them to turn back.
One of the surviving disciples looked back and prayed for the elders. He silently uttered.
"There hell. You suffer. Me pray good luck."
Jin Yong looked at his colleagues, who managed to survive the Spartan training together. He stopped talking like Hua Taixu and corrected his grammar.
"…I guess we have to retain our speech. Otherwise, everybody will talk like him."
"…Me agree. Me stupid now."
The other also nodded. "Me talk bad. Me retrain."
The spectators were in silence. They wondered why their IQ drastically degraded after they had come out from the time chamber.
