Trouble at the hot springs II

Spike Jr. never felt so close to death. Until today he only ever did some sparring with his friends or team members. Although he would love to be a hardened veteran like his father, he was still only 18 years old. Before today he always dreamt of his heroic actions in the New World. In his mind he could see himself fighting over treasure. He would wield two pistols and stood on a hill, his manly aura underscored by his black trench coat. He would watch on with a cold smile as cultivators and beast stormed up the hill only to be shot down by him. In the distance his admirers would cheer for him, and countless girls would find their first love.

All those dreams suddenly popped like bubbles, as he saw a sword aimed at his face. Terror gripped his hart suddenly and he wasn't even able to evade.

Bai Jingshen released a bigger part of his killing intent for the first time. Although he finished his cultivation, but how dare a little worm kick him through the air. No one in this room had ever faced something like the emperor's killing intent. Many people present were surprised how a young man could carry such resentment on him, but most were too busy holding in their bodily fluids to care.

Bai Jingshen didn't think much at this point. He quickly gathered his strength in his legs, before rushing at Spike. His adversary couldn't even bring up the courage to dodge as Bai Jingshen used two fingers as a sword, aiming straight at his forehead. At the last second a heavy impact suddenly hit Bai Jingshen, throwing him through the room again. This time he flew even faster, before crushing a few bamboos and falling to the ground.

Like a wounded beast he jumped up and stared at his assailant. Next to Spike Jr. a mature man suddenly appeared. He stood there ramrod straight, with his stern eyes looking down on Bai Jingshen. His surprisingly blue eyebrows raised slightly, as he saw how easily Bai Jingshen took his blow. The man opened his voice and spoke without any emotion:

"Fighting is forbidden in the Gentle Water Inn!"

Bai Jingshen almost felt a vein popping, at this man's self-righteous attitude. He was clearly wearing the Gentle Water Inn's staff uniform, but he only deigned to act, as Spike would have been hurt. Bai Jingshen looked around and didn't see anyone speaking up for him. It was obvious how people respected or feared the Gentle Water Inn a lot. Furthermore, the blue haired man was a Golden Core Realm cultivator, the strongest present.

Ra also didn't want to find trouble with the Gentle Water Inn, so he quickly spoke to Bai Jingshen:

"Lets' leave, Brother Bai."

The former emperor just nodded. While engraving the man's appearance into his mind, he slowly turned around to leave with Ra. The man however didn't seem to appreciate Bai Jingshen's gaze just now, as Bai Jingshen's bracelet displayed a notification:

Deducted 10,000 credits from your account.

Banned from any Gentle Water Inn.

Reading those two messages, Bai Jingshen squinted his eyes. Taking his money and banning him from his favorite place in the city suddenly made matters personal. It wasn't to late for a gentleman to get revenge after ten thousand years, and Bai Jingshen would make sure to let the Gentle Water Inn know of their mistake today.

Only after they left the Gentle Water Inn remembered Bai Jingshen to ask Ra an important question:

"What do you think, why the Gentle Water Inn would side with Spike?"

"I'm not totally sure. The Gentle Water Inn is known for being elitist. They would always side with someone of a higher status, even if they are clearly in the wrong. However, they should have also known about my status, but sill supported Spike. His father wouldn't be influential enough, so I have no idea what's going on."

"Whatever, it doesn't really matter. They will all pay in the future."

If someone else had spoken Bai Jingshen's words, Ra would have laughed at them. Who would dare to go against the Gentle Water Inn, a behemoth with support amongst the big five? But listening to Bai Jingshen, Ra felt a cold shiver running down his spine, as he had the illusion of a god decreeing someone's fall for a brief moment.

Ra observed Bai Jingshen a bit. As he looked back at these last few weeks, he just now realized how monstrously talented Bai Jingshen seemed to be. Thinking about it, the Gentle Water Inn didn't look so unsurmountable anymore. He somehow even looked forward to their ending.

Catching himself having such unrealistic thoughts, Ra was a little surprised. However, he decided not to dismiss those, but use them as fuel for his own motivation instead.

After the two young men arrived at the training grounds however, it meant saying goodbye for now. The next time they faced each other they may even be enemies in the competition. They smiled brightly as they promised not to go easy on each other before Ra turned around and left.

Bai Jingshen wasn't in the mood to train anymore so he just went into his room to meditate.

As he opened his eyes again, Bai Jingshen saw a message on his bracelet. The RSS would already meet in half an hour. The young man got up, eat a quick snack, washed his body, grabbed a robe, and made his way into the main hall.

As he arrived there, Bai Jingshen already saw 10 huge men nervously pacing around. Obviously, the RSS members couldn't be as carefree as him. Sam, who seemed the most nervous, anxiously greeted Bai Jingshen:

"Morning Jingshen. H-how are you? Why do you look so carefree? Are you not nervous? Have you seen Bennet?"

"Morning guys. What are you anxious for. Just give it you best.", while everyone greeted Bai Jingshen in their own way, Sam quickly rambled on:

"What do you mean, our best? Do you think we stand a chance for first place? I just hope not to embarrass Bennet too much."

"Of course, you stand no chance for first place. That will be mine after all."

A loud laugh suddenly sounded from behind Bai Jingshen. as Bennet walked towards them, hitting Bai Jingshen on the shoulder.

"Hear that? That's the confidence of a winner! This time first price belongs to Thobar!"

"Do you really think Jingshen can win?", asked a surprised Ryan. The RSS team's leader at least looked like he had a cool head. Sadly, he didn't receive an answer however, as to Bai Jingshen's amusement, Bennet only let out a fake cough and quickly walked outside.

"Let's go everyone. The competition will be held on the Place of Advancement. It will be the first time for you to see the Monument up close."

Bai Jingshen quickly perked up at the mention of the Monument. After this competition he would finally use New Haven City's connection to travel to the New World. Thinking about exploring a new world while slowly rising to the top and even meeting his parents again, Bai Jingshen felt his blood boiling. He couldn't wait any longer and quickly ran after Bennet.

The 10 RSS members looked at each other in confusion at first, but were soon influenced by Bai Jingshen's fearlessness and quickly followed. A few seconds later Dahlia happily entered the hall only to find no one there. She angrily stomped outside. Bennet would surely hear a mouthful for his daringness to forget about her.

Outside the building Bai Jingshen was inspecting the new vehicle, which just arrived. Bennet explained to him, that this was called a manabus. This bus however was built by Thobar Bionics and even incorporated a few weapon systems. There wasn't really any need for those within the city, but outside you could still come across beasts, pirates, or even rogue AI.

Before Bai Jingshen could ask what a rogue AI was, they suddenly heard a loud female voice behind them. Bai Jingshen turned around, only to see Dahlia suddenly grabbing Bennet by the ear and berating him for accidentally forgetting about her. The RSS member broke out into load laughter, as Bennet freed himself from Dahlia's grip and angrily chased all of them into the bus.

Bai Jingshen could see the smile on Bennet's face however, as all his disciples forgot their worries for a short second. The former emperor also smiled while taking a place near Sam. It looked like the other team members weren't in the mood to listen to Sam's endless talking, but Bai Jingshen didn't mind, as Sam might even tell him something interesting if he was just allowed to talk long enough.

In this way their manabus slowly flew in the air. Looking around the educational district, Bai Jingshen could feel the tense mood in the air today. He spotted a lot of buses like theirs all around them. He even saw some parents brining their children in private cars and all of them only had one destination: The big Monument, which could be seen behind the New Haven Academy.