Long Bolin was distinctly different from what Ren had imagined as Shen Junan described the man. He thought that he would immediately be able to tell how fake his expressions were or even how hostile towards them the Adept standing before them was, but instead he could tell nothing.

His gaze was kindly, a deep hazel iris set in a pair of inquisitive eyes, taking them all in. Billowing green robes, hiding his hands, over white garments, adorned with sparse patterns.

It was not possible to tell his age, he could be either twenty or forty, and his spirit felt almost immaterial to Ren, controlled yet free flowing, and similar to the time that Darkhaven tried to surprise him by hiding, it was all contained and harder to grasp than normal.

The woman who served them was servilely walking a few steps behind Long Bolin, gaze to the ground, and her hands, nervously wringing with each other, in front.

"Brother Shen, how beautiful of you to once again visit my humble business, and even bring such outstanding disciples with you! But where are my manners? I am Adept Long Bolin, the manager of this place." He performed a small greeting, his hands clasped in front of his chest, never once taking his eyes off Zhi Mu and Shen Junan, who sat beside each other.

"How gracious of you to come out and take time off your busy schedule to convene with us, Brother Long. I am sure it will not take long, as it is only a small matter concerning the use of your betting stand for my fellow Brothers and Sister. Surely you understand." Shen Junan addressed the man, fake cheerfulness in his voice and a rigid smile on his face.

Long Bolin, shook his head, making it feel like he was truly sorry.

"Regretfully I must inform you that our betting site holds an almost holy place in this humble enterprise, to change the rules that govern it would put me in a difficult position you see? I hope that you reconsider your request, Brother Shen." He said, teeth showing on a predatory smile, yet his eyes and posture were at stark odds with it, giving Ren a shiver seeing such a caricature of human expressions.

Xin Jing's spirit was already roiling with aggression, but her face remained carefully blank. Ren guessed that she still thought that they could somehow come to an agreement with this man.

Shen Junan was just about to continue arguing their case, but it seemed that Zhi Mu had enough, his spirit blanketing the area, and even if he did not use any arts or put pressure on any of them, Ren could recognize the implications of it as clear as a slap in the face.

"Long Bolin, how long do you plan on playing such pointless games, I tire of this charade already, though it only just began." Zhi Mu had not moved from his relaxed posture, still laying back against his seat, as casual as can be, his voice calm and without infliction, yet the red-headed woman behind Long Bolin began shaking once more. The man only smiled placatingly at him, though Ren imagined that surely a touch of annoyance marred his face.

The young Adept fixed the older man with his yellow eyes, the two of them exchanged a meaningful look, and Zhi Mu reared his spirit back in.

"I hope that I made myself clear, Junior Brother Long." Zhi Mu said finally.

Long Bolin continued smiling like nothing happened, keeping up his impressive mask, his voice still flowing like silk, neither annoyed nor angry at the slight against his seniority.

"That you did, Brother Mu, that you did." The man folded his hands behind his back, straightened, and like an elder to his juniors continued talking. "Regrettably we are at an impasse then. Neither of us wants to step down, and as I am not susceptible to any of you flaunting your status or flexing your power, please do not harass the other customers. This conversation is over, Nes, after me."

The woman immediately nodded, seemingly extremely relieved that there was no further conflict.

Long Bolin already turned around, when Zhi Mu called out again, almost cheerful this time. "Oh, so you do have a spine after all. I thought that you would simply break immediately." The boy didn't even hide his contempt, openly ridiculing their host. "I suppose we could play for a bit. You against me in the formations, if I win we can bet here, even on ourselves, be it duels or solo challenges, even team battles, and if you win I will give you an ounce of violet silver, how about it?"

He looked at Long Bolin, his body screaming 'challenge', and spirit once again swirling about, encasing all of them and even putting a little pressure on the other Adept.

Long Bolin regarded him silently, not immediately rising to Zhi Mu's taunting words.

"As appealing as your offer is, Brother Zhi, do not mock me, you are surely aware that I am no match for you, even when it comes to my domain of expertise. Violet silver might be useful to me, but with no possibility of winning, what use is it? I have to decline."

Zhi Mu didn't even have to think for a moment, apparently already anticipating the decline. "What about you against Brother Ren, then? Surely you can not claim that you have no chance of besting him? We would of course keep the same stakes."

As Zhi Mu made this suggestion, Long Bolin's mask cracked for the first time, true anger showing through, yet his voice was still level. "I'll repeat myself, as you must have not heard me the first time. Do not mock me, Zhi Mu. The boy can not contend with me and I would gain only ridicule by beating him, and even more were I to be beaten, by some impossible chance."

But Zhi Mu already had an idea for this as well. "You are right of course, but what about you simply casting a single illusion on him, if he is able to break out in one hour we will win, and can he not, you will win of course. We will keep the stakes unchanged. Is this more to your liking, Long Bolin, or can you once again not come to an agreement with your sense of honour, or are you even afraid to lose this time?" Zhi Mu raised a single eyebrow at the man, his tone scornful.

"Hmpf, fine then. We will use one of the formations to duel, and I will cast but a single illusion on him, and no other illusions will be used by the formation itself." Long Bolin turned around and stepped down to a platform, that immediately flashed with electric blue light, a multitude of patterns connecting it with one directly opposed to it.

But before stepping down, Ren wanted to talk to Zhi Mu for a bit. Seeing his look, the older boy's spirit blocked their speech from travelling to the other's ears.

"I am sorry that I didn't ask for your opinion before deciding on this challenge, Brother Ren, but I thought that he could not refuse such an offer. Violet silver is one of the more valuable resources for forging artefacts that are focussed on illusions, you must know." The boy sounded sheepish, a hand scratching his neck.

Ren didn't care about the violet silver, though. "Why do you think that I can escape one of his illusions, Brother Mu, shouldn't it be impossible for me?" He was perplexed, but also a little proud that the older boy would think so highly of him, even though they only met each other a few days ago.

"For a regular Initiate it would obviously be impossible, and even a Novice could normally not hope to break out of one of that man's illusions with only an hour. You on the other hand have shown me that normal illusions have no effect on you, your perception of spirit far higher than normal, and both your Intent and cultivation art should be very impressive when it comes to severing entrapments of the mind. I am confident that you will prevail." Zhi Mu gave him an encouraging smile and a pat on the shoulder, drawing his spirit back in.

With newfound confidence, Ren sat down in front of Long Bolin, and his world turned dark.