As the doors swung open, Shen Junan gestured at the interior with a flourish. "Come in, come in, the day is still young and there are many rounds to be won." He said, just as different smells assaulted Ren's nose.

Spices, beverages being consumed in copious amounts, people, not only sitting and chatting, but also dancing and sweating, stunning Ren. The room was expansive, and built like a forum, with different elevated sitting areas, lowered walkways, dancing areas on the sides and, seemingly the main attraction, even lower circular platforms with inscribed formations, glowing in the dim light, and disciples sitting on top of them, eyes closed in meditation.

There was an all around festive mood pervading the disciples, diametrically opposed to what they pictured the illusion division as, till now.

Regaining hold of herself first, Xin Jing was fast to comment on it. "Well, I'll be damned! THIS was the last thing I thought of when you talked about this place. Is this some kind of famous gathering spot?"

And before Shen Junan could answer her, a smug look already on his face, she added on.

"Are there people gambling on stuff?" Xin Jing exclaimed, sounding scandalized, though her excitement and intrigue could not be hidden.

She pointed to people animatedly talking and apparently discussing something that was happening on one of a multitude of illusionary displays hovering beside a wide bar counter where multiple men and women came and went, holding refreshments or even complete meals aloft in amazing displays of dexterity.

The ambience greatly resembled one of the taverns Ren had seen, people enjoying themselves, eating, chatting, drinking. It was a jarring thought, the mundane concept of a tavern as a place of relaxation for cultivators, comical almost, Ren thought.

The bespectacled boy's eyes gleamed when he heard her question, and promptly dove into an explanation, making Ren drop his train of thought. Wagging his index finger with apparent gusto, Shen Junan began. "This is, as you surely must have realized by now, not only the location of the competitive formations, but also an oasis of comfort and relaxation to many disciples of the illusion division. Gambling on results, is only one of the pastimes of our fellow sect Brothers and Sisters." He looked a little abashed then. "Well, it might be the most glorified one, and quite profitable, if you know what to bet on, but that does not mean it is all there is to this place." Shen Junan said, puffing up his chest and trying, in vain, to look dignified.

"So, how do you even bet in the first place, and with what, Brother Junan?" Xin Jing asked innocently enough, ignoring the boy's display, yet her smile was closer to an almost hungry grin.

Shen Junan blinked at her owlishly, but soon caught on and gained a grin of his own. "Oh, yes of course, dearest Sister Jing. You can bet with either gold coins, contribution points, or with spirit stones, whatever suits you best. There is even the possibility to receive your winnings in another currency based on the going exchange rate, though you can't expect to get a mountain of gold for spirit stones and contribution points are not something that most disciples can spend with abandon. Furthermore, the things that can be bet on boast a wide range of options, from the outcome of duels, the amount of broken illusions of single challenges, the most valuable member in team battles, or any amount of other statistics that can be observed, as well as long time predictions are all something that can be bet on."

Shen Junan now truly piqued the interest of the others, not only Xin Jing, who already looked like she couldn't wait to try it out for herself.

"Gentlemen, and Lady, might I be so bold as to ask about your possible seating arrangements as well as any refreshments?" A tall woman, of maybe twenty years, addressed them, particularly looking at Shen Junan and Zhi Mu. She wore black slacks and flat black leather shoes, for a top she had a white, thin, foldable robe piece on that was fastened with both a loose yellow belt, and three shining, black buttons at her front. Her hair was a subdued shade of red and done in the style of a tight ponytail that still let her hair cascade down to her shoulders, all around giving her a very professional appearance, Ren thought.

Xin Jing directly took the word, not caring about how the woman was nervously eyeing some of them. "Certainly, a table overseeing the formations and right next to the betting screens would be lovely." She said in an imperious voice, making the woman look at both Shen Junan and Zhi Mu again, and soon after nodded seriously. Ren thought the first part of her request a bit silly, every table was overseeing some formations after all. He decided not to comment on it, though.

"Please follow after me." She strode ahead of them, never once looking back as they followed after her, past other guests who mostly only briefly glanced their way.

Finally, they sat down around a table that was attached to a couch, almost directly next to the betting area. Multiple menus were already waiting for them before their seats in small leather-bound booklets.

Before any of them could decide on something to order, Shen Junan addressed the waitress. "Could we please have a round of spirit gourds as refreshments before we decide on any further possible meals?" He asked, though it was more of a statement to Ren's ears.

"Of course, Senior Brother Shen, this one shall deliver it immediately." She bowed, a bit lower than what was really necessary, and as she was about to leave asked one more question, her hair whipping around. "Do any of you also wish to use any of the formations of our fine establishment? If so, I can direct you to the nearest unoccupied ones."

It was Zhi Mu that answered this time, giving the woman a lazy once over as he answered. His yellow eyes reminding Ren of a bird of prey. "We would very much appreciate it if you could direct us to a more private area of this establishment. The experience might be novel, but it also is quite taxing. Peace and quiet would be much appreciated."

The woman outwardly looked unfazed by Zhi Mu, but to Ren's senses she was clearly almost ready to run as if he had pressured her, confusing Ren as the older boy clearly had not done anything significant.

She once again nodded, her back a bit straighter, and left without another word.

Almost directly after she left, Xin Jing was already badgering Shen Junan about the formations and possible bets. "Brother Junan, now tell me how do you place a bet, and what are the types of tests that you can do with the formations?" She asked him from beside his left ear.

"OK, so there are a few modes that I already talked about. Single challenges, duels, and different team battles which means either one team against another or multiple people are contending against one another. In the single challenges, you simply have to try and break through as many illusions that the formations throw at you as you can until you can no longer break them. You will then be evaluated depending upon how fast you broke through, how consistent you were, how many you broke, what the highest tiered illusion you broke was, and so on. There are quite a few parameters that are being picked up.

Next, the duels. Like the name implies it is a competition between two disciples who, through the formation, try to do the exact same as in the single challenges only that they can also try to hinder their opponent, and different from the single challenge there will only be one hundred illusions that the formation creates. The one to break them all will be the winner.

The team battles are exactly like the duels, only as you are a team you can obviously gang up on someone, try to trap them in an illusion that they can not break. There are also different modes for it, like only one needs to break a hundred illusions, the other team does not know who and so on and so on, there can be many variations and as such it is also the competition that most bets are placed with.

There are obviously also rankings for everyone, divided between a Novice and an Adept. The ones who gain one of the top spots for any one of them, and can hold them, get different rewards from the sect as well. Those rewards can range from a lesson with a Master to access to a rare art or monetary rewards." He looked like he was quite satisfied with his explanation, yet Xin Jing crossed her arms and huffed at him, making the glasses wearing boy raise a single eyebrow.

"That was a wonderful explanation, Brother Junan, but you missed just one tiny thing." She said, raising her had and squeezing her fingers against each other.

"And what would that be, Sister Jing? I am fairly certain that I covered all the main points of interest, though I did not go into much detail, or who is leading the rankings, I must admit." The boy put his index finger and thumb to his chin is a thinking posture, making the girl roll her eyes but with a good-natured smile on her face.

"True, very true. But, you forgot to mention how we would place a bet." Xin Jing said.

Shen Junan let out a laugh at this, shortly being joined by Han Ting, who added on. "She has got you there, Brother Junan, you sometimes forget to mention a seemingly little thing." He said while slapping his back in a friendly manner.

The boy crossed his arms in mock dismay, but couldn't suppress a grin.

"I suppose I sometimes do."