"Hey Mister Mask, welcome to the Iron Back Gang. I don't remember anyone who wears a mask like you, so you must be new." The young man said with a laugh.
"I just joined today. I'm Cypher, it's nice to meet you." Cypher said as he reached out for a handshake.
"Jebron, nice to meet you as well. You look like you just finished training, so you must be hungry. I was just planning on grabbing a meal, so come join me, my treat." Jebron suggested.
"Well I never say no to a free meal." Cypher said, not being polite.
"Great, I know the perfect place." Jebron said, taking the lead.
"By the way, mind me asking why you wear a mask? It's a pretty interesting choice of attire." Jebron couldn't help but ask as they left the gang grounds and entered the city.
"I just don't want people to see my appearance." Cypher said honestly.
"Come on man, don't be like that! True beauty is on the inside." Jebron said, clearly thinking that Cypher was worried that people would think he's to ugly.
"Yeah, I think you're right." Cypher said, agreeing with Jebron.
"Then can I see your face?" Jebron asked curiously.
"Since beauty is on the inside, then my face doesn't matter." Cypher responded with a laugh.
"Damn, can't argue with that logic. Well, whatever makes you comfortable. Anyways, we're here." Jebron said, deciding not to push on the subject anymore.
Pulling up to a fancy restaurant, Jebron took the lead entering. It seemed the waiters here already knew about him, guiding him up towards a private room on the second floor.
"Pretty nice spot huh? Take a look at the view." Jebron said as he entered the private room and sat by the window, looking down at the passersby as they got busy with their work.
Cypher sat onto the seat opposite of him, also taking a look at the crowd. Despite only a day having passed, it felt like so much had happened.
Just yesterday Cypher would have been one of those passersby, making their way through the world confused and directionless, but in a single step, he seemed to leap towards a much higher purpose.
His goal was clear, he wanted to become stronger, and the confusion that once muddled his mind was completely washed away, making him feel a sense of tranquility he had never experienced before.
"Anyways, let's order. Get whatever you like." Jebron said generously.
Cypher was sheltered, but he wasn't stupid, in fact the years of torment had sharpened his intuition, and he had long since been able to tell when someone was genuine or not.
While Jebron was laughing and talking, there was always a sense of distance, as if in reality he hadn't really accepted Cypher.
Cypher knew that this was because Jebron was 'investing' in him, and based on his future performance, Jebron would decide to either come closer, or create some distance.
This type of person was extremely realistic, good at doing business with, but never as a true friend or companion.
So while Cypher accepted this free meal with an open heart, the truth was, he had already decided that Jebron wasn't worth forming a deep friendship with.
Both were chatting and laughing on the surface, yet the thoughts in their minds were completely contradictory to their warm and friendly attitudes towards each other.
Jebron naturally had no idea how deep-hearted Cypher was, thinking that he was just another commoner who was lucky enough to earn enough to join the gang.
"Hey Jebron, I've been curious about the makeup of the sect, do you mind explaining to me?" Cypher asked, as he dug into the meal that had just arrived.
"Hey, you're asking the right guy. Well the people you've got to keep a closest eye on are the thirteen official disciples."
"Official disciples? What's the difference between regular disciples?" Cypher asked curiously.
"Well official disciples have at least reached the First Flesh Refinement, and compared to us, they're the real core of the sect, getting much better treatment." Jebron explained.
"To be honest, I envy them, but so far I've only refined my torso and left arm, so I'm still far away from reaching the requirement. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to stay in the gang." Jebron said, slightly worried about his future.
"Stay in the gang? So you can be kicked out?" Cypher asked, not aware of this.
"Of course, you have 6 years in total to reach the First Flesh Refinement, otherwise you're booted. Also if you fail to refine at least one limb a year, you'll also be given the boot." Jebron explained before continuing.
"Usually, if you can't refine a limb by a year's time, it means your talent in flesh refinement is subpar, and your hopes of becoming a martial artist are slim. Rather than wasting resources and time on those types of people, it's better to be realistic with them."
"Looks like I can't slack off." Cypher said, suddenly feeling a new pressure.
"Most people don't have much talent to be honest, so you should be realistic, of course I wish you the best." Jebron said, being real with Cypher.
"Well, cheers to the future then." Cypher said as he raised his glass.
"Cheers!" Jebron said, the two clinking cups.
…
After eating a full meal and saying goodbye to Jebron, Cypher was completely re-energized. Heading back to the Iron Back Gang, he found an open spot on the training ground and got right to work.
Right now he wasn't low on money, so he needed to use this opportunity to strengthen himself as much as possible, such that his future would be easier.
A week quickly passed by as Cypher maintained the same level of discipline. His mastery of the Iron-Shelled Tortoise Technique had become much smoother then it was at the start.
He was also finally given his first packet of blood paste, and it came at the perfect time too, since he was now confident enough in his mastery to attempt active training.
The iron pole was still too far from him, so after walking around for a bit, he found an empty wooden bar, which was meant for new disciples like him.
Taking a deep breath, Cypher began punching the wooden bar with all his strength. Each punch was painful, but it was nothing compared to the torture he had experienced over the years, so he swallowed the pain with no expression.
Ox couldn't help but look over as he noticed Cypher's lack of reaction, nodding in appreciation. Most new disciples screamed for at least a few days before getting accustomed to the pain, and some of them even quit right away.
Meanwhile Cypher seemed to already be used to this level of pain, which made Ox slightly curious about his background, but he quickly shook the thought away as he knew it was none of his business.
Cypher spent the next hour punching the pole, his masked face hiding any sort of expression, though if one was to look under it, they'd notice his face was just as plain as the mask's was.
Finally Cypher stopped, not because he was exhausted or in too much pain, but rather because he knew he'd done enough damage, and any more would just be hurting himself.
Pulling out the blood paste, he ripped it open with his teeth before pouring the reddish liquid onto his hands, proceeding to then lather it across both arms, covering the entire surface.
The blood paste seemed to have a special nature, and after sitting on Cypher's skin for a moment, it slowly soaked into it, seemingly absorbed by his flesh.
As his flesh hungrily devoured the blood paste, he also noticed the pain was slowly disappearing, and the wounds across his arms were also closing.
Based on his recovery, Cypher estimated that if he had three blood paste packets, then he'd be able to heal his arms fully.
With three blood paste packets a day, he'd be able to actively train everyday, and his flesh refinement speed would sky rocket.
Of course given the price of blood paste, he knew that was impossible. A single packet went for around 30 copper coins, so three would be a silver coin a day.
With his current wealth, he'd be broke in a week, so it was still more worthwhile to just take the free packet every week and save his money.
He wasn't in any rush at the moment, and he didn't really have any means to make money, so for now it was best to just wait until he could at least refine one limb to the Wood Layer.
Cypher still had energy at the moment, so after he spent an hour or so letting his arms recover enough, he found an empty spot and began passively training.
When he first joined the gang, people would constantly look at him curiously, wondering who the person with the mask was, but by now they've started to ignore him.
People don't even refer to him by his name, but rather just call him Mask. Cypher didn't want to argue, so he just accepted the nickname.
"Hey Mask, we've got a new recruit." A fellow disciple named Kinto said.
"So?" Cypher responded, not caring. New disciples joined every once and a while and most would just end up quitting when faced with the pain and exhaustion of training.
"This time it's different. Have you heard of the Zendo Family?" Kinto said, in the mood to gossip.
"Zendo Family? I've heard whispers, but I don't know much about them." Cypher replied.
"The Zendo Family pretty much runs this town. The patriarch of the family is the governor of our city, and the family is filled with officials. This new recruit is a member of the Zendo Family, so you better watch out." Kinto whispered.