As they got back to their residence, they opened the door and entered the house.
"I'll have to wear new uniforms because these ones are stinky," Ryu said covering his nose.
30 minutes later, he and Ryoto were ready to get to the Entertainment neighborhood.
"Ryu, are you really a commoner?" Ryoto asked as they left their residence.
"Yes I am," he replied, "we weren't that rich, but we had enough to live happily,"
'If he's a commoner, and Council Master Hina is his sister, then how did she reach such an exceptional level?'
"I can already see the glowing lights in the Entertainment neighborhood," Ryu exclaimed increasing his pace.
Once they got there, it was already nightfall and a swarm of disciples was walking on a large and luminous path with big buildings on each side of the path.
"This is so amazing..." Ryu murmured speechless by the beautiful view.
It was as if he was in a noble's neighborhood, with all the beautiful buildings and the expensive artifacts.
"Look, I think I see Yumiko!" Ryoto pointed.
"Yumiko, over here!" Ryu shouted waving his arms to make himself more visible.
"Oh, what are you guys doing here!?" Yumiko exclaimed in surprise.
"What do we normally do in Entertainment neighborhoods?" Ryoto replied.
"We're obviously here to have some fun and play pong!" Ryu said.
Yumiko glared at Ryu in surprise, "Pong? well, the casino is full of disciples just for that,"
"Then I'll see you guys later, I've got to get some money!" He replied.
Ryu walked enthusiastically to the casino and when he entered, he joined the activity with the biggest crowd which was obviously the game pong.
"Another win for me!" An imposing disciple with a ponytail and a handsome face exclaimed, "does anyone else want to face me,"
On his belt, the symbol was that of a high siege disciple.
"Face him? no one can beat him, and I'm surely not the one who will change that," A disciple in the crowd said.
"He's won the last 8 bets and has amassed 20 bolts coins..."
"High siege disciple Takuji is a beast at pong, no one will ever be able to beat him..."
"So no one has the guts to face me!?" He replied with the small sack of bolt coins in his hands.
"I will!" A disciple said in the crowd, it was obviously Ryu.
"A mere disciple? you don't even have your symbol on your belt yet! I hope you have money on you!" He exclaimed in laughter.
When Ryu presented himself, a disciple that was standing behind Takuji whispered in his ears.
Takuji's expression changed to a menacing one right after he heard what the disciple told him.
"You know Momoi huh?" He asked Ryu in a serious tone.
"This disciple does know Momoi, however, this disciple has only met her once," Ryu replied.
"Then tell me, who was the dude she embraced, it seemed like you know each other?"
"From my knowledge, high siege disciple Momoi and disciple Ryoto are cousins, thus explaining her connection with him,"
"Unforgivable..." Takuji said menacingly, "even if you are of the same blood, the only one allowed to feel Momoi's breasts is me, her future husband, There is no way that Ryoto will get away from such a crime!"
"If this disciple may ask, why is it such a big deal if disciple Ryoto and high siege disciple Momoi are close?"
"It's a problem because I'm her fiance, and the only man she needs in her life! This means the motherfucker that tries to touch her will die by my hands in a Proelium," Takuji replied with a cynical smile and veins popping out of his neck.
Proeliums are friendly fights between disciples when both are in conflict. This helps solve the problem and helps give a good record of your overall progress in the sect.
There is only one rule in a Proelium, no killing unless it was accidental, however, sneaky disciples sometimes kill fellow disciples intentionally, however, as it looked accidental, and the disciple is favored by the higher-ups, he gets away with it.
To make sure that the disciples will respect these rules, they have established vigils, sort of referees that are watching over the fight and making sure that both disciples have agreed to the fight.
For a proelium to take place, both disciples must agree to it and must put something equally valuable on the line.
"With all due respect high siege disciple Takuji, it is not necessary to go so far, there is no sexual relationship between both..." Ryu said trying to convince him to abandon his stupid idea.
Takuji slammed his hand on the table and frowned, "I don't give a slight fuck! As long as Momoi is my fiance, there is no one who will touch her!"
'Is this dude dumb? What does he not understand in what I just told him?' Ryu thought.
Veins were bursting out of Takuji's arm and his expression was full of anger.
"Tell me, from which class are you from?" Takuji asked.
"This disciple is from the special division class..."
"Interesting," Takuji murmured tilting his head slightly, "you must be from a recognized family I suppose then..."
When he said that, the same disciple behind him murmured in his ears once again.
"You're just a simple commoner!?" he exclaimed, "how on earth did you manage to attend the special division?"
Discussions started to emerge amongst the spectators.
"He's just a commoner?"
"He's still in the special division..."
"Special division or not, he will still fail just like the other commoners,"
Ryu looked at the crowd with a confused expression, 'Just like the other commoners?'
"I wonder how long you will last in the Special division before quitting," Takuji said before bursting into laughter, "second thought, I don't think I want to play with you anymore, I am getting quite sleepy!"
Takuji took his leave and exit the casino with two disciples following him.
'What on earth is this dude on?' Ryu wondered.
"Now that high siege disciple Takuji left, I'll surely win now," A disciple walked to the pong table with a confident smile, "I'm your opponent commoner, I'll bet 10 bolt coins on my victory!"
"This disciple is honored to play against elder brother disciple..." Ryu said sarcastically, rolling the metal pong ball in his hand.
[uwu '^^']
2 hours had gone by, and Ryu was still in the casino gambling on the game pong.
"He's as good as Takuji!" One of the disciples in the crowd exclaimed.
"This is his 7th victory in a row! He's maybe got no future in cultivation, but he sure has a chance of becoming a great pong player,"
As an 8th player presented himself to face Ryu.
'This is becoming very irritating, they are all underestimating me because I am not of noble blood,'
"Are both players ready!? Then, 3, 2...1 start!"
*swoosh*
With swift movements and in a fraction of seconds, the metal ball entered the opponent's net.
"This disciple will not go easy in this match," Ryu grinned.
When Ryu got out of the casino, he had amassed 30 bolt coins. He slightly lifted his hand up and down to weigh the sack of coins.
"That's a share amount we got there..." Ryu said in a content tone.
"Ryu, you took long!" Yumiko shouted afar.
Her hands were full of sweets and Ryoto was following right behind her.
"It's getting really late," Ryotot said looking up in the sky, "I think we should get going Ryu,"
Ryu nodded his head, "I guess we'll see you tomorrow Yumiko,"
"Yeah!" She replied waving at them as they walked away.
Ryu and Ryoto were walking through the luminous paths of the sect. Many disciples were walking around or seated on the benches near the street core lamps.
"Ryoto, do you, mind if I ask you a question?"
"Sure, go on," Ryoto replied with his hands in his pockets.
"Why are people so skeptical about commoner's success in the sect?" Ryu asked.
Ryoto faced the ground and slightly frowned, "I don't know much about it, but all I can tell you is that weirdly, even if a commoner had more talent and has better control over qi than a noble, the commoner never really manages to break through the first realm..."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you see, after joining the sect, the disciples will have 9 months before what we call the approval test. This test consists of checking your level of progression to figure out whether you are worth being kept in the sector not,"
"That wasn't written in the manual..."
Your sensei is the one who is supposed to be in charge of announcing this to you, and during that test, they will evaluate your power, and if you haven't reached the criteria necessary to be approved, then you will be thrown away from the sect,"
"Alright, but what does that have to do with the people mocking the commoners?"
"Well, from what they say, 100% of the commoner that has gone through this exam have failed... Apparently, it is due to the fact they are not connected in any way to even a small amount of pure Yang qi, while it is required in order to make a breakthrough in the stages of cultivation,"
Ryu's expression turned pale to what he heard, "So basically that means I'm fucked..."