Upon entering the meditation room, Ju feels an immediate shift in the air, thick with the weight of silence, as if the walls themselves are steeped in the Essence of countless meditations within. The free space was minimized yet profound, a wide expanse where the floor is hewn from smooth, polished granite that glows faintly, reflecting the dim golden light emitted by sconces fashioned from twisted iron. The lighting was soft and eerie; the architecture flowed seamlessly from the outside in Every facet of the design, from the vaulted ceiling that beckons like the sky to the elegant stone benches hugging the room's periphery up ahead.
The building was darker than Ju expected, but that did not bother the teenager the most.
“It’s cold.”
Ju remembered how cold it used to get on the outskirts of the wilderness. The cold had attempted to kill him more times than humans or beasts, Ju concluded darkly. As they walked through the hallways, Ju did not see anyone.
“Maybe no one lingers at the reception before entering the rooms.”
Eventually, Ju could hear the chatter and laughter of people up ahead. The narrow entrance opened up a wider space brighter than the rest. Comfortable-looking chairs surrounded a large central table. A man and two women were enjoying their conversation in one of those chairs. They did not notice Ju and the guard approach, or perhaps the trio did not notice them. Ju felt the latter was more likely.
Obviously, the guard was wary of interrupting this group of people, and Ju was never the impatient one, so he also stood there observing.
The woman was quite attractive, the most beautiful Ju had seen in a long time. However, the boy was either too young or too numb to appreciate beauty. Most of the time, in his eyes, everyone was flesh and bones; the only distinction that separated people in Ju’s heart was those who were a threat to him and those who were not.
The first woman, the older of the two, had greyish-looking hair and fair skin, though not as white as Ju or Moonflower. Her eyebrows were long, and she had a plump figure, all of which gave off the vibe of a mature woman.
The second female was much slimmer, with black hair and olive skin. Her cute face hinted that she was probably still in her teens. She laughed the most and talked the loudest.
But as mentioned earlier, it was not their appearance that Ju was particularly interested in; the spiritual pressure given off by the older woman did not seem that impressive; it was the younger-looking girl that inspired a bit of dread in Ju, and for her to be able to achieve this means that this young-looking girl must have opened more than six nodes.
Ju then turned his attention to the male participant, dressed in bright green clothes, and the young boy’s breath quickened.
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The man was most certainly much more powerful than the two ladies.
“Maybe he was even an Essence artist.”
However, while relaxing in that chair, he did not seem to exert as much pressure as Master Pike, Mason and some of the other Essence artists Ju had come in close contact with, but he still could not be sure.
Finally, the man in bright green clothes looked sideways at the guard and spoke nonchalantly.
“What do you want?”
“ Sir Ben, it’s about the boy, sir. He brought a token from Master Pike to use one of the meditation rooms. I could not be sure about the token's authenticity, so I wanted to confirm with you, " the guard replied humbly.
When Master Pike's name was mentioned, the man named Ben's eye flickered a bit as he thought.
“That guy has not sent anyone here personally in a while.”
Even the two women now looked at Ju with a bit of interest. But their gazes soon turnednon-nonchalantt; the boy seemed utterly unremarkable, and his essence power was merged, to say the least. Only three nodes had been opened.
“You must have done a great deal for Master Pike to see you here,” Ben said, intending to probe Ju a bit.
“It was nothing; I just got lucky,” Ju said softly. Before he had come here, Master Pike had given him strict instructions not to discuss the events that occurred in the forest.
Seeing that Ju did not want to speak out, Ben didn’t make things difficult for him, perhaps because Master Pike was the one who sent the boy here.
“You can take him to the lowest ranked room, and he should not use more than his allocated time.” Ben waved his hand in dismissal.
Ju and the guard gave a low bow and left.
“Master Pike is as enigmatic as always. I heard that a single room uses about ten thousand gold coins per hour, yet he gives such a privilege to a pup.” The older-looking woman laughed.
Ben shook his head wryly,
“One can never tell what that guy is thinking, and there is no way I can question his decisions, even though I own a part of the establishment.”
“ But he should have notified you beforehand; it's just basic courtesy.” The younger girl seemed to get angry, pouting for Ben's sake.
“That is not surprising…after all, I am not yet an Essence artist,” Ben said in a slightly sad tone.
“But you are already at the last bottleneck. A little longer, and you will surely breakthrough; it's only a matter of time, " the older woman encouraged.
“It's not as easy as it may seem. After all, many others have also been at my level and unable to break through. I do not want to rely on those forces completely. The only thing that can guarantee my breakthrough is the blue mist flower.”
The two women's eyes grew wide.
“You don’t mean…”
“Ben! Why do you want to risk your life in that competition? Just because you have influence does not mean anyone would hold back.”
“So what if they don’t hold?” Ben let out an arrogant smirk.
“As long as the opponent is not an Essence artist, then I can't lose.” Ben seemed so confident that the women did not push the matter. Instead, the three began to discuss other matters.
“Is Ben an Essence artist?” Ju could not resist his curiosity and asked the guard. Ben's spiritual pressure was obscure, sometimes normal, and sometimes strong.