As the group arrived at the training ground's reception, Bai Jingshen took a look around. He only saw two people coming and going, but those obviously knew where to go. Bai Jingshen thus realized that Dahlia didn't have that much to do, so he came up with an idea. He smirked at Bennet, somehow making the man uneasy, before waving his hand at Dahlia's direction.
"Miss Dahlia, we're going to Gentle Water Inn to soak in some hot springs, do you want to come with us?"
"Yes of course!", Dahlia answered with delight. The mature woman quickly tapped a button, whereafter the words "out of house" appeared on the front of her desk. She then stood up with a smile on her face, quickly following the group out of the training house.
Looking at the bashful young couple and the happy older soon-to-be couple, Bai Jingshen had to ask himself if he made a mistake. Why did he feel slightly lonely all of a sudden? Should he ask some girl on the street to come with him, so people wouldn't pity him? Bai Jingshen chuckled at his own thoughts. In his previous live Bai Jingshen fooled around with a few women, but his wish to reach the immortal realm would stop any serious relationship from happening. Very much to his mother's displeasure.
While their group happily walked down the street towards the Gentle Water Inn, Bai Jingshen's senses suddenly picked up on a few observers. With his already formed Sea Of Consciousness, Bai Jingshen's senses also sharpened a lot. However, he didn't feel like the people trailing them posed any threat to him. He could almost seem to see them clumsily hiding behind corners, rather than just naturally following them through the slightly crowded street. Bai Jingshen took a look at Bennet and noticed the instructor having also picked up on their tail, but he didn't look concerned in the slightest.
They soon arrived at the Gentle Water Inn, prompting their observers to quickly scatter. Bai Jingshen couldn't care less about them. He wouldn't shy away from any confrontation, furthermore he really doubted those clumsy goons could pose any danger to him.
Bennet also didn't react in any way. But from the look on the instructor's face as he talked to Dahlia, Bai Jingshen assumed, that the Gentle Water Inn probably had to explode, for Bennet to not lead Dalia to the hot springs.
The group thus quickly took an elevator down a few floors, until they arrived at the hot springs. When the elevator's small door opened, Bai Jingshen was fascinated by what he saw. They stood high up on a gallery, looking down into a natural cave through dim glass.
In this cave multiple hot springs could be found, lined with beautiful arrangements of plants. Dozens of people looked for their favorite springs, before lying down to relax. A few humanoid looking robots walked around, selling beverages. From how intoxicated even some cultivators looked, it seemed like the robots selling wine provided some high quality liquids. The whole scenery seemed to be a paradise deep under the earth. Bai Jingshen wasn't really exited about soaking in a hot spring when he could also train, but this sight alone was enough to get him to relax a bit.
Bennet took the lead again and walked to an entrance to the side. He told his AI to pay for five people, before the door in their way opened. They quickly separated into two changing rooms. Bai Jingshen was a bit bemused, as Thomas distanced himself from Bennet and him. Each of them quickly found an unused locker and just as Bennet said, they even had shorts prepared for them.
After leaving their changing rooms, the men and women had to descend a flight of stairs, made from natural stone. Bai Jingshen really appreciated the natural look of his surroundings. He realized the metal city outside wasn't very much to his liking. Just like all cultivators in the Great Cultivation World, he preferred being as close to nature as possible.
Something Bai Jingshen couldn't appreciate at all however, was how those two couples threw shy looks at each other, so he quickened his pace down the stairs even if he had to drag his injured leg a little. The other four had a good laugh, while Bai Jingshen stopped one of the robotic waiters to ask for a medical spring.
Shortly after the group finally relaxed in a big spring with a couple other people. Bai Jingshen could feel all of them having deep auras, even though they weren't a match for Bennet. This at least reassured him, that this medical spring seemed popular among cultivators.
As Bai Jingshen closed his eyes, he could already feel the spring healing his injuries. In Bai Jingshen's opinion however, this spring seemed to be rather low-class as it would take quite some time to heal his leg. While the others quietly talked to each other, Bai Jingshen thus decided to get a little nap in. Even though he would meditate when he felt exhausted over the last weeks, having a good sleep once in a while could do wonders for your mental state.
As the two couples were flirting around, the almost didn't realize when two hours later someone arrived behind Bai Jingshen. Bennet luckily was still rather vigilant and suddenly spoke in a low voice:
"What are you doing here, Ra? Were you following us?"
Bai Jingshen's Sea Of Consciousness already felt someone's attention on him a while back. However, that person didn't carry any hostility with him, so Bai Jingshen didn't wake up. Only as Ra slowly sat beside him, did he open his eyes. Noticing Bai Jingshen's look without any prejudice, Ra smiled inwardly while holding his hand out. Only as Bai Jingshen took his hand, did he start to talk.
"Don't misunderstand me. I'm Ra Iros. I wanted to thank you."
"Bai Jingshen. What would you thank me for?"
"I don't know what you said to my brother, but it seems you helped him. My brother traveled back home, so I had to thank you in his stead."
"Oh. Well, I didn't do much, no need to extra come here."
Bai Jingshen was really surprised, that Ra thought it necessary to seek him out. But looking in his eyes, Bai Jingshen saw an earnest young man who did things the proper way. Bai Jingshen had to admit, that he respected such a character a thousand times more than for example Thomas'. Ra could also see that Bai Jingshen meant what he said.
Bennet was surprised as he observed Bai Jingshen and Ra quickly hitting it off. The rivalry of their two companies didn't seem to affect them as they conversed with each other. Bennet looked at Dahlia, then at Kayleen and Thomas, before becoming suspicious. Maybe Bai Jingshen also sought for a partner! But could it be he liked men? Bennet normally wouldn't have anything against their relationship, but Ra belonged to Dragon's Tail. What if those two got together and Ra managed to poach his promising recruit. Bennet quickly made a mental note to further observe those two.
Meanwhile Bai Jingshen really enjoyed talking to Ra. The earnest young man had strong opinions about his cultivation and Bai Jingshen felt he had a lot of potential. As they talked about all kinds of martial arts, Ra had to admit however, that Bai Jingshen seemed to be a treasure vault of knowledge. He even proposed to meet for a few sparring sessions before they had to leave for the New World.
"I'm okay with it, but wouldn't it be determinantal if we had to face each other in the newcomer competition?", asked Bai Jingshen curiously.
To Bai Jingshen's surprise however, Ra explained that their two companies didn't stand much of a chance anyways. From Claw's behavior the last time they met, Bai Jingshen thought, that Thobar Bionics and Dragon's Tail were basically fighting for rank one.
Ra quickly told Bai Jingshen the reason for his lack in confidence. From what he said, during the newcomer competition Ra and Bai Jingshen were only average, because all the specially trained elites would take part. Ra at least was a direct disciple, but he didn't have much hope for Bai Jingshen, who could only train for two months. The first price, the pass for the Scholar's Tower, was just to enticing. Even noble families might send their heirs to participate, even if they had to use some backdoors since they weren't actually from New Haven City.
Through Ra, Bai Jingshen learned a bit more about the republic's structure. Even though the Republic held elections every five years, the old noble families, some of them dating back to the republic's founding, just held to much power. They would promote their own candidates and defame other's. In the end the ruling council would be formed in the same way all the time. The noble families would fill seven seats, with the church having one and outsiders having two. Furthermore, the president would always belong to a noble family.
Until recently, the church only managed to secure one seat, because most people saw the church as a single structure, leading to their favorite candidate gaining most of the votes. On top of that the two outsider candidates only existed to appease the masses, while secretly working for either the nobles or the church. Maybe something will change in the next election, as the Church is growing stronger day by day, but this still won't make much of a difference for the republic as a hole.
Bai Jingshen wasn't concerned about the noble children, however. The Scholar's Tower represented the center of all knowledge in the Rising Force World. If he wanted to learn about as many martial arts as possible, this was surely an important organization to him. Therefore, Bai Jingshen was set on gaining first place.