Bennet paused for a second and Bai Jingshen could see his admiration for Elena Thobar clearly on his face. He wasn't too concerned with Thobar's history though. His one demand for them was to provide him with a good environment to grow. He wasn't a newbie to politics, so he felt the implications in Bennet's word. A lot of undercurrents seemed to exist, surrounding the Thobar family. However, Bai Jingshen figured, that they wouldn't fall anytime soon, as their company already held on until today.
"After hearing all of this, do you know what the greatest advantage about working for Thobar Bionics is?", continued Bennet with a smug grin on his face.
But much to the instructors annoyance, Bai Jingshen answered without batting an eye: "Knowledge."
"Right.", grumbled Bennet. "The old Thobars and even their former lead scientist were high ranking scholars. They devised multiple cultivation arts and ingenious ways of engineered arrays. Among scholars, products combining mana engineering and array formations are known as engineered array – or EA – for short. They provide unlimited possibilities, and the hottest topic right now is long range teleportation. Rumor has it, that the Great Cultivation World had short range teleportation for a long time already, but they wouldn't hand over such precious knowledge to us.
Hey, kid. You should definitely take a shot at becoming a scholar. Even if you fail it doesn't matter, but if you succeed the whole company will value you highly.
Ah sorry, I'm getting off topic. Well, you know the most important stuff for now. You only have to drip a drop of blood on the contract. Here, here, and here."
While saying so, Bennet handed the contract back to Bai Jingshen, pointing at different lines on the paper. Bai Jingshen took a close look at it. He was a bit reluctant to give away a drop of his blood to strangers. A lot of evil sects could curse you to death, if they got their hands on a drop of your blood. Thus, he couldn't help but ask:
"Can I not use blood?"
Understanding Bai Jingshen's concern, Bennet relaxingly answered:
"Don't' worry. After it's scanned, you will keep the contract and can even destroy it. Everything from then on will be handled by your bracelet."
With this concern out of his way, Bai Jingshen finally bit his thumb and dripped his blood on the paper. To Bai Jingshen's surprise, only about ninety percent off his blood soaked into the paper. There seemed to be a special film on its surface, keeping a bit of blood out in the open. Bai Jingshen understood why this was the case, when he saw Bennet taking Bai Jingshen's future bracelet and holding it close to his own. This bracelet, which hadn't done anything until know suddenly activated and a mechanical voice could be heard:
"Activating EA assistance and ID bracelet number 118493357. Licensed by Thobar bionics. Please register user."
Bennet quickly held this bracelet in the air above Bai Jingshen's contract. A wave of mana could be felt, going back and forth over the paper. Afterwards Bai Jingshen watched, as Bennet lowered the bracelet a bit and a small needle popped out, stabbing into a blood drop. They waited for a short while until the mechanical voice could be heard again:
"Register unsuccessful, please provide user DNA."
Bennet let out a surprised "Huh, weird?", before trying again.
His time the needle only stayed for a short time, before it retracted and gave the confirmation for a successful attempt. Bennet and Bai Jingshen didn't know what happened, but they didn't question further. At least everything seemed to work now.
Bennet than put the bracelet on Bai Jingshen's wrist, while explaining its use:
"This will be your ID form now on. They are exclusively produced by the republic to register their inhabitants. You can still travel through the republic without one, but many services will be unavailable. Most importantly, you need it to travel to the New World from our republic. It has many functions like browsing the internet, communication, shopping etc. I'm sure you will figure it out. The most important function for you right now will be the Thobar library though. You will find all kinds of important knowledge there. Of course most of it restricted, unlockable depending on your cultivation. On top of that you will need contribution points for many things. Those are not easy to earn and have a higher value than credits for most employees. You will get a fixed some for work, but I'd advise you to earn extra through doing missions or giving up resources sometimes. Or, as I said before you become a scholar, then you'll never lack contribution points."
Bai Jingshen mulled over Bennet's words for a short while, until the mechanical voice called for his attention.
"Registered user Bai Jingshen successful. Welcome to Thobar Bionics. Do user wish to select this AI's appearance?"
Just as Bai Jingshen wanted to fiddle around with this new bracelet, a waiter knocked on the room. After Bennet's permission to enter, multiple waiters carried plate of food in. Bai Jingshen decided to set the AI aside for now and had a sumptuous meal together with Bennet.
Half an hour later the two man left the Gentle Water Inn, feeling very contented with their full bellies. Leisurely they made their way back towards the training grounds. After a good meal Bai Jingshen and Bennet already grew somewhat closer. They chocked on their way back and Bai Jingshen had a good laugh when he reminded Bennet about Don's bakery. The brawny instructor was a sight to behold, when he somewhat bashfully ordered so many sweets, that Bai Jingshen was worried Miss Dahlia might get a heart attack from eating all of these.
When Bai Jingshen and Bennet arrived in the vicinity of the training grounds, Bennet even quickened his steps and happily made his way over towards the reception desk. The instructor's face visibly turned sour though when he saw three men standing there.
"Claw, what the fuck are you doing here again?", bellowed the brawny man in the reception's direction.
As the oldest of those three turned around towards Bennet, Bai Jingshen got a good look of him. Claw seemed to do his name justice, as his whole aura resembled a bird of prey. His narrow eyes seemed to see everyone as small mice. His scrawny body felt nimble and fast. Bai Jingshen was certain after a quick observation, that this man's fighting style was fast and cruel. So it was all the more surprising, that apart from his eyes, his face looked gentle and feminine. But if you were to be deceived by his face you might have already lost the fight.
A small smile adorned Claw's lips as he spoke to Bennet:
"What's that Bennet? You don't acknowledge your old friend?"
"Stop putting up your act. You only ever come here to cause trouble. Just crawl back into the hole you came from."
"Why are you being so mean now? I just came to let my disciples exchange a few pointers. Furthermore, I had this dream last night about how much Miss Dahlia missed me. I couldn't let this beautiful miss be sad, right?"
Seeing Claw throwing Dahlia a, what he assumed to be seductive, smile, Bennet instantly lost his cool. He ran over and shoved Claw away, positioning himself in front of Dahlia. Sadly like this he couldn't see the bashfulness on this mature woman's face, or he might have even thanked Claw for provoking him.
"My my, how rude of you. Are you trying to fight me Bennet? Sorry, but I don't have time for you. A fight between our disciples will be over fast though. Do you see those to brothers behind me? They will be the next stars of Dragon's Tail."
Hearing this, Bai Jingshen shook his head in disbelieve and proclaimed:
"Daring. Named after a dragon. You won't have a good end."
Bai Jingshen was really impressed by their hybris. Thinking about it, there probably were no dragons in the Rising Force World. Naming oneself after an immortal beast brought immense karma with it. Only the strongest of sects could withstand such karma. Bai Jingshen read before, that an immortal beast will face a small tribulation every thousand years and a bigger tribulation every ten thousand years. If they make it out alive, they will be strengthened greatly. So, the longer an immortal beast lived the stronger they would become, even if they didn't cultivate.
Therefore, if you name yourself after an immortal beast you had to go through the same cycle. Taking one of the strongest sects in the Great Cultivation World as an example, even the Vermillion Flame Sect didn't dare to name themselves the Vermilion Bird Sect. By calling themselves Vermillion Flame Sect, they only had to withstand a smaller amount of karma.
It seemed obvious to Bai Jingshen, why the Great Cultivation World wouldn't share this knowledge. However, Claw in his ignorance could only grow angry at the way Bai Jingshen cursed him, so he turned towards him with gritted teeth.
"And who might you be, to dare to talk here?!"