by Dragon King
“Of course, they are. Yujia can compete with any School Belle,” Hao Ren said.
“Well, aren’t you smug! Yujia, Yujia, you sound so intimate with her!” Yu Rong reached out and pinched Hao Ren’s cheek, half teasing, half intentional.
“Hi, can I have your phone number?” Seeing Xie Yujia and Ma Lina eating alone, a handsome guy walked over and asked Xie Yujia.
Xie Yujia looked up at him and turned her gaze to Hao Ren at another table. She told him, “I’m sorry, but I have a boyfriend.”
“Wow…” The guys in Hao Ren’s class yelled.
Although they were a bit jealous of Hao Ren winning over Xie Yujia, they were glad that her boyfriend was someone from their class instead of some guy from another class or another school! Anyway, Hao Ren was liked by most of the guys in their circle.
Hearing the yells from the guys, the handsome guy who came over to Xie Yujia impulsively realized that she was with them. He left in mortification.
The guy was presumptuous because he couldn’t resist Xie Yujia’s beauty and tried to get to know her by asking for her phone number.
Xie Yujia was a born beauty, and when she dressed up, she was dazzling. Under the old grandma’s influence, she became even more stunning recently. After all, each time when she did the massage for the old grandma, she was absorbing her Nature Essence; without cultivating, she had reached level 1 Qi Refinement Realm!
After a few minutes, another guy came up to Xie Yujia to test the waters.
Thud! Hao Ren stood up with his platter and walked to Xie Yujia’s table before sitting beside her.
The guy walking toward Xie Yujia froze for a second and backed off quietly.
“Yeah! Ren is manly!” Yu Rong gave him a thumbs-up.
Xie Yujia turned to look at Hao Ren with a sweet smile.
“Well, I won’t be the third wheel. I’ll sit alone, and maybe some handsome guy will come to talk to me!” Ma Lina stood up with her platter and moved to another table.
Sure enough, shortly after she sat down, some handsome guy walked over to her. However, she walked back with her platter after exchanging a few words with the guy. She said angrily, “Damn! He came to ask me about you, Yujia. Am I so ugly that no one wants to talk to me?”
Hao Ren almost choked on the soup he was drinking.
On a closer look, Ma Lina was pretty, and she had dressed quite nicely today. But she was totally overshadowed by Xie Yujia when they were together.
After getting food at Sanmu University cafeteria, Xie Yujia led the group to the stadium to watch the game.
They fell behind several steps self-consciously so Hao Ren and Xie Yujia could walk together before them.
They were now officially a couple.
From now on, anyone who dared to pursue Xie Yujia in public would rouse everyone else’s indignation.
When they entered the stadium, Zhao Jiayi was doing warm-up exercises in a yellow jersey.
“Damn! I thought you wouldn’t come!” He shouted at the sight of his classmates.
“To watch your game, I gave up the opportunity to see pretty girls!” Zhou Liren retorted. He was excited since it was the first time he watched Zhao Jiayi in an official game. After all, it was a national game, and one of the main players was his buddy and roommate.
Xie Wanjun was wiping his sweat at the sideline of the basketball court, and he nodded at Xie Yujia when he saw her. Then he glanced at Hao Ren by her side and smiled with satisfaction. The tallest and most prominent of the basketball team, Xie Wanjun also possessed the highest IQ and EQ among the team members.
He would go to the U.S. for his postgraduate degree in a short while. Otherwise, he would probably lead the team to win the championship of the National League!
“Let’s watch on the stand!” Xie Yujia tucked her hand under Hao Ren’s arm before walking to the stand. Their classmates followed them.
“Ren, you did it! The trip is fruitful for you!” Seeing Xie Yujia hold Hao Ren’s arm, Zhao Jiayi was surprised. Then he threw the basketball in his hand toward Hao Ren.
Hao Ren was about to sit down when he saw a basketball flying toward him. He caught it immediately.
He looked forward and saw Zhao Jiayi was looking at him on the court.
“Hey, you owe me a dinner!” Zhao Jiayi called out.
Hao Ren smiled and tossed the ball back to him. “Got it!”
Sitting next to Hao Ren in the first row, Xie Yujia lowered her head with a happy smile. The flawless jade bracelet on her wrist accentuated her snow-white and smooth skin.
The players of Sanmu University began to enter the court. Gradually, the students of Sanmu University filed into the stadium to watch the home game.
Xie Yujia took out a banner from her bag and handed it to Yu Rong and Gu Jiadong behind her. “Put this up!”
The guys scrambled to spread the banner before holding it up high. “Go! East Ocean University! Go! Zhao Jiayi!”
Seeing this banner, Zhao Jiayi forgot his nervousness and his morale was greatly boosted. “Ok! I’ll show you my best!”
Playing an away game was not easy, but seeing his class come to cheer for him in his first formal match, Zhao Jiayi was determined to win the game!
When the match began, Class Two which was mostly guys yelled together, “Go! Go! Zhao Jiayi!”
Their uniformed cheering was more distinct than the boisterous cheering voices of Sanmu University’s students.
East Ocean University’s basketball team was last year’s national champion and the cooperation between Xie Wanjun and Zhao Jiayi, one tall and one short, was seamless! The basketball team of Sanmu University obviously underestimated the small-sized Zhao Jiayi who scored repeatedly.
“Go! Go! Zhao Jiayi!” The guys’ voices were hoarse, but they kept cheering for him!
On the court, Zhao Jiayi got better each minute with three-point shots, perimeter shots, block shots and defensive rebounds. The only thing he was not good at was dunking.
The game ended with East Ocean University team winning by 16 points, and Zhao Jiayi alone scored 25 points!
Sanmu University team had been a strong team the year before, but it was utterly defeated by East Ocean University’s team!
The East Ocean University team won the first game in the National College Basketball League!
After the game, the two teams stayed at the stadium for some after-game activities while Xie Yujia led the class back to East Ocean City by bus.
On the way to Xin’an City, Hao Ren had sat with Yu Rong and the other guys. However, now on the return trip, Hao Ren was arranged by the group to sit next to Xie Yujia.
Xie Yujia’s sweet smile was full of happiness.
The bus drove smoothly on the highway, and it was only 6 PM when they returned to East Ocean City. It was not dark yet.
Before the bus reached East Ocean University, Xie Yujia got off earlier intending to go home and pick up some stuff. The guys urged Hao Ren to walk Xie Yujia home; some of them even came up to push him off the bus.
Under such insistent urging, Hao Ren had no choice but to get off the bus. Anyway, he had decided to visit the old grandma with Xie Yujia.
“Well, Huang Jianfeng and others were quite bossy,” looking after the bus by the road, Hao Ren said embarrassedly.
“What? Did you do what you did because they forced you?” Xie Yujia put the backpack on her back and turned to ask him.
“No. Anyway, I’m glad you’re not leaving,” Hao Ren said.
Xie Yujia pursed her lips and walked to the shanty houses nearby with Little White snuggled warmly in her arms.
The white jade bracelet glittered in the setting sun. It was about time to find out the truth about the strange dream.
241 The Shock
Wires were hanging everywhere in the shanty area, and the houses were lined up in a mess. It was supposed to be taken down a dozen years ago, but it never happened.
The narrow alleyway, dirty walls, uneven ground, and shadows reminded Ha
o Ren of his childhood.
Xie Yujia walked beside Hao Ren, and there were two little shadows in front of them - just the same as when she followed Little Older Brother around as Small Carrot.
She didn’t know that she would still be following Hao Ren around now that she was older too. It was a bit tiring, but there was no other option. The timely appearance of Little Older Brother had already accomplished her childhood wish.
Romance had nothing to do with intelligence. No matter how smart a woman is, she could turn dumb when she is in love.
Little White hopped out of Xie Yujia’s arms to chase after a mix breed puppy nearby. The puppy had never seen something with stronger temperament than a Tibetan Mastiff, so it immediately stayed still. Little White lost its interest in it and returned to Hao Ren’s side. It was difficult for it to find a playmate due to its ability.
However, Little White itself was very picky. Many students wanted to hug it when Xie Yujia took it to the game. But it didn’t let any guys except Hao Ren touch it. Only girls - only beautiful girls had a chance to hug it.
It hopped around Hao Ren and Xie Yujia like a fluffy white ball as they arrived at the old grandma’s shed.
The walls of the shed were shared with the neighbors, and the front wall was only as wide as two doors lined up together. There was a window which seemed to have not been opened for years and an old wooden door. The wall was leaning outside - showing how dangerous it would be to live inside.
‘A real hermit lives in this bustling place.’ Hao Ren would have never thought that a super master who was as powerful as Lu Linlin and Lu Lili lived in such a place.
“Grandma! Grandma!” Xie Yujia stepped forward to knock on the door.
There was no response after a few minutes.
Xie Yujia was a little worried. She saw the neighbor was cooking so she went over, “Excuse me, Auntie. Is the old Grandma home?”
“I haven’t seen her for a few days. Although she usually doesn’t come out a lot,” the woman answered as she cooked.
“Thank you!” Xie Yujia went back to Hao Ren and looked at him, worried. “Do you think something happened to Grandma? She hasn’t been feeling well lately.”
Hao Ren had assumed that the old Grandma was not a mortal when he met her at the Trading Convention on Fifth Heaven. But Xie Yujia still wasn’t sure if it were a dream. From what she knew, the old Grandma’s health condition was very worrisome.
“We can open the door and take a look inside?” Hao Ren asked. On the one hand, he wanted to see what kind of master this old Grandma was; on the other hand, Xie Yujia was truly worried about her.
It was hard to say about an elderly person who lived alone. Xie Yujia felt sorry for her, so she came to visit, keep her company, and take care of her every weekend.
“Um, let’s figure out a way to get inside.” Xie Yujia frowned and nodded.
Hao Ren put his hand on the door and put a little bit of force on it. Boom! The fragile door opened under the quake.
There were no tiles lined up in the room. The rotten iron lock fell onto the damp dirt ground. Hao Ren picked it up and examined the place carefully.
She was not in the room.
Xie Yujia opened the door to let the humid air out. She once offered the old Grandma some money to renovate the place, but she didn’t agree to it.
“Grandma’s not here. She probably went out.” Xie Yujia was actually a bit relieved seeing that she wasn’t in the room.
“Um.” Hao Ren nodded and looked around the room. He wasn’t sure if it was very rude to intrude into another cultivator’s territory. But it shouldn’t have been a problem since he came in with Xie Yujia.
A wide wooden bed, a table and set of chairs, a bowl on the table with a crack in it, a pair of black chopsticks, and an old kettle seemed to be everything the old Grandma owned.
She didn’t even have a blanket.
“Grandma told me that her son would come to visit her a few days ago. Maybe she is out with him. It would be better for her to live with her son given how old she is,” Xie Yujia walked around the gloomy, narrow room and said.
She was surer that it was only a dream now. The old Grandma even had trouble walking, how would she be able to take her into the sky for a visit?
As for the bracelets, she thought maybe she forgot about buying it at the night market last night because of the mess. What one thinks about reflects in one’s dream. She even dreamed of obtaining this bracelet from heaven.
The more she thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed. She felt a sense of alienation when she thought about herself crying in Hao Ren’s arms in the dream.
“Where’re Grandma’s blankets? She doesn’t even need it when she sleeps?” Xie Yujia was suddenly concerned about the old Grandma’s living conditions.
She patted Hao Ren as he carefully examined every corner of the room. “What are you looking at?”
“Oh, I’m trying to see if the structure of the room is logical,” Hao Ren said.
He read a whole bunch of architectural books lately and had some sense and concept of the “space.” He found the room not as simple as it may seem.
Each tilt seemed to have its reason. Even the little puddle of dirt followed a precise law!
This was an array formation! In other words, it was a Xumi Space built in the real world!
Hao Ren and Xie Yujia entered the old Grandma’s world the second they stepped in the door!
Just like Little White in Hao Ren’s necklace, the two of them were inside the old Grandma’s Xumi Space! Perhaps it was only a little pearl in her hand, and she might have already sensed Hao Ren and Xie Yujia’s entry!
Hao Ren gasped at the thought of it.
“What structure could a broken shed like this have?” Xie Yujia dragged Hao Ren’s arm. “Help me flip the bed board. Grandma’s blanket could be under it. It’s nice outside, so I’m going to hang it under the sun for a while.”
She led Hao Ren to the bedside. Hao Ren used his force to flip the black bed board over.
Boom! A ray of gold light almost blinded them!
After their eyes got used to the intense light, they saw countless treasures, techniques, and elixirs right in front of them.
242 Besiege the Nine Dragon Palace
“What are these?” Xie Yujia widened her eyes and asked Hao Ren.
The area into three sections by metal wires which glittered with silver light. In the left section were different kinds of dharma treasures; in the middle section were neatly piled cultivation technique scrolls; in the right section were bottles of elixir pills!
Obviously, Hao Ren’s Five-Elemental Sword Array Formation had been picked out from this collection.
Looking at the dharma treasures emitting overwhelming Nature Essence, Hao Ren sensed they were top-tier dharma treasures which were more powerful than Zeng Yitao’s Dragon Gold Spear!
Any of them could be made into a natal dharma treasure.
Screech. The wood door behind them was pushed open gently.
Xie Yujia who had been alarmed by what she saw was startled by the sound.
She and Hao Ren turned their heads simultaneously and found the old grandma walking into the room slowly with a bunch of vegetables in her hand.
“Grandma… We weren’t trying to peek at your stuff…” Xie Yujia stammered and couldn’t find the right words.
Hao Ren immediately lowered the bed board.
The old grandma walked over and put the vegetables on the table. Pulling out the chair, she nodded at Hao Ren and Xie Yujia and pointed to the bed board.
Hao Ren pulled the surprised Xie Yujia to sit on the bed board.
“I have only a few words to say to you.” Looking at Xie Yujia and Hao Ren, she lifted her hand and pointed at Hao Ren. “You must marry Xie Yujia. I have made the decision,” she said.
“Ugh?” Xie Yujia was confused.
“That’s all. You can go now.” The old grandma waved her hand at Hao Ren.
Be
fore Hao Ren could get any words out, a huge force pushed him outward.
Her overbearing attitude was more aggressive than those of Zhao Kuo and Zhao Guang combined.
Just when Hao Ren was out of the shed, the old grandma’s voice came out of it.
“Today I paid another visit to the Dragon God Shrine. If they can’t solve this problem, I’ll take the matter into my own hands! As to the East Ocean Dragon Palace, I’ll go visit it in person!”
Bang!
A powerful force exploded behind Hao Ren in the narrow pathway, pushing him forward more than a dozen steps.
It was a small punishment for Hao Ren’s ambivalent attitude toward Xie Yujia.
After the pain, Hao Ren felt a pure Nature Essence coming from the explosion and entering his body.
Pu! Pu! Pu! Pu!
Four openings were unlocked in the Dragon Core.
It was a small reward for his attentive care for Xie Yujia in the past two days!
Hao Ren looked back and found that he was at the gate of East Ocean University! The old grandma had tossed him from one space into another!
This technique of manipulating spaces was even beyond the abilities of Zhao Kuo and Su Han.
The old grandma was a more powerful figure than Qian-level Masters.
What was above Qian-level? It was the Heavenly Dragon Realm or the Soul Formation Realm!
Honk! Honk…
The honking of the cars shocked him from the daze.
He looked around and found he was standing right in front of the gate, blocking the cars from entering the school.
He stepped aside. Then he walked to his dorm building and cultivated the Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll while he walked.
Bang! Bang… Successive explosions appeared in Hao Ren’s Dragon Core!
The explosions unlocked more than a dozen openings! By now, 39 openings had been unlocked, and he would reach Zhen-level after unlocking one more.
By giving him a push in the void, the old grandma buried a small explosive in Hao Ren’s body. Hao Ren triggered the explosive by cultivating the Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll, and they unlocked those openings!
