by Dragon King
The clothes he was wearing at the moment were all ripped apart and had blood stains all over, but the determined look on his face made him look reliant and manly.
Xie Yujia was going to ask him about his relationship with Zhao Yanzi, but she held it off after a second thought.
The car traveled on the road quickly, and they were back on campus soon.
After dropping Xie Yujia at the front of the Academic Building, Hao Ren started the car again. “I’m going to get some new clothes; the ones I’m wearing now look terrible.”
“Ok.” Xie Yujia nodded. She felt a bit relieved after seeing that Hao Ren was totally fine.
Hao Ren drove off slowly. After he saw Xie Yujia enter the Academic Building through the rear-view mirror, he turned back immediately and drove to the Administrative Building.
After parking the car downstairs, Hao Ren raced into the building and rushed to the stairs.
Hao Ren went to Su Han’s office by bumping the door open.
After closing the door, Hao Ren clenched his teeth as he couldn’t take it anymore. He jumped on the couch, and his entire body twisted.
It was a requirement to experience the pain that results from the transformation of the body when advancing from Li-level to Zhen-level.
He looked like he was driving calmly earlier, but he was actually clenching his teeth and trying to overcome the painful struggle.
The extreme pain had already started when he was giving Zeng Yitao a ‘lesson.’
He pretended to be calm only because he didn’t want to expose his weakness to Zeng Yitao.
Now, sweats were dripping down Hao Ren’s forehead.
On the way back, he stayed silent while driving. It seemed like he was deep in thought or trying to suppress his anger, but the fact was that he almost fainted because of the sharp pain.
He didn’t want Xie Yujia to worry about him. Therefore, he tried to refrain himself from showing anything abnormal.
There were some elixirs that could eliminate the pain in Su Han’s drawer. However, Hao Ren didn’t want to take them even though he was suffering extreme pain.
The greater the pain he overcame, the brighter the future he could have. The realm he could reach would be limited if he relied on elixirs.
Lumps of clouds gathered in the sky above the Administrative Building.
He had to put up with the extreme pain that would thoroughly remold himself in order to advance in the realm, and he had to go through a Lightning Tribulation because of the elevation in Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll’s level.
He used to have Su Han’s protection, but he could only rely on himself at the moment.
Purple Cloud Lightning Tribulation!
A needle-thin dash of lightning split the array formation that was set up in Su Han’s office and stabbed directly at Hao Ren’s heart.
The immeasurably powerful energy instantly filled Hao Ren’s body.
The Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll immediately started to eliminate the lightning power that kept getting more powerful and was dashing around Hao Ren’s body.
Hao Ren’s meridians would burst whenever the lightning went through.
Half of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians were damaged.
Meanwhile, the recreation of the meridians wasn’t completed yet.
Hao Ren had to endure the tribulation for human cultivators and the tribulation for dragon cultivators.
One mouthful of fishy and sweet blood gush to his throat, but Hao Ren forced it back down.
There would be a Lightning Tribulation every time the Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll went up in level, and the power of the Lightning Tribulation would get stronger each time.
Hao Ren needed to be entirely concentrated while he was going through this. Otherwise, he could lose all of his cultivation strength and die!
The needle-thin purple lightning pierced into Hao Ren’s body continuously.
He felt like every acupoint on his body was going to explode.
Hao Ren felt like the full power of Life-Death Note was probably similar to this.
Boom!
108 main acupoints in his body couldn’t bear it anymore and finally exploded.
At this moment, all the clouds in the sky disappeared in a flash.
Half an hour later, Hao Ren slowly woke up and saw his clothes completely torn apart. The couch he was lying on turned black and burned as well.
Hao Ren was quite terrified after going through that. It was indeed dangerous to go through a Lightning Tribulation without anyone else watching over you.
The Dragon Core was as smooth as before, all the 40 openings on the Dragon Core had been smoothly polished. Although the acupoints and meridians in his body were still quite numb, they were slowly recovering.
If Hao Ren had been a regular brat before, he could be called a talented cultivator now.
The experience of thoroughly remolding himself was extremely painful, but his body composition and quality improved spectacularly.
Yu Rong and the others might not be able to tell the difference since they were with Hao Ren almost every day, but any of his old classmates from high school would be surprised to find that Hao Ren had turned from average to outstandingly handsome.
Even his gestures and expressions followed the natural laws.
“Woosh.” Hao Ren exhaled; he almost dropped his phone on the floor after realizing how ragged he was.
He picked up the phone and saw a message from Xie Yujia asking how clothes shopping was going.
Hao Ren thought for a while and replied that he got the clothes and would be back in class soon.
He couldn’t go out like this, so he called Lu Linlin and asked her to bring him some clothes.
Lu Linlin and Lu Lili felt anxious as they could not trace Hao Ren. They didn’t realize that they could have used their phones until Hao Ren called them.
Lu Linlin patted her head. Although they bought cell phones, they never remembered to use it.
The Lu sisters arrived at Su Han’s office shortly with a set of clothes.
Seeing Hao Ren in some burned clothes, they were shocked. “What happened to you, Gongzi?”
Hao Ren showed a bitter smile. “I’m at Zhen-level now.”
They paused for a second out of surprise, and then their expressions turned joyful. “Congratulations, Gongzi!”
“I’m lucky that I got the 40th opening.” Hao Ren looked at them and asked as he took over the clothes, “You guys aren’t leaving the room?”
Lu Linlin and Lu Lili looked back at Hao Ren, covered their mouths and laughing. Finally, they walked out of the office while holding hands and waited for him outside.
As a matter of fact, how could a door block them if they really want to look?
Hao Ren walked out in his new outfit; he looked extraordinarily handsome except for his messy hair. He was gentle yet had power, and he was calm as well with fierceness. If it were on Fifth Heaven, a cultivator at the Core Formation Realm like him would be called Uncle-Master and respected by the cultivators in the sect.
“Gongzi is getting more and more handsome now.” Seeing Hao Ren coming out, Lu Linlin slipped in some sincere but also flattering words.
“So, the reason that Gongzi looked for us was to have us watch over you? I’m sorry we were late,” biting her lower lip, Lu Lili apologized.
Hao Ren didn’t want to talk more about what happened in the valley, so he shook his head and said, “No worries; it was scary but not dangerous. Everything is fine.”
He looked back at the burned couch in Su Han’s office and said, “I guess I have to get Su Han a new couch now.”
“Leave that to us,” Lu Linlin and Lu Lili said joyfully.
The stronger Hao Ren got, the happier they became. They knew many interesting places in the mortal world. Unfortunately, Hao Ren wasn’t able to explore with them with his current strength.
257 Everyone on Aler
Changing into new clothes, Hao Ren realized th
at it was too late for him to return to the dorm for books. He went directly to the Academic Building for class.
The class was already half over when he got to the classroom. It was a course in a small classroom which had only a front door.
“Sir, sorry I’m late.” Hao Ren stood in the doorway with empty hands.
“It’s fine. Come in!” Oldman Sun was notorious for his fierceness among the students, but he was genial with Hao Ren.
Hiss… Yu Rong and guys sitting in the back row gasped.
They dared not skip any of Oldman Sun’s classes, but Hao Ren…
When Hao Ren trotted to the back row of the classroom, Xie Yujia who was sitting in the front row noticed that he was wearing new clothes when he passed by.
She smiled at him, and Hao Ren smiled back and gave her a little wave.
Beside Xie Yujia, Ma Lina bumped her with her elbow with a teasing look.
In the back row of the classroom, Zhao Jiayi scooted over and pulled Hao Ren to his side.
“According to our reliable sources, you and Xie Yujia were both absent last night. Did you spend the night out with her?” Zhao Jiayi asked Hao Ren with arched eyebrows.
“You are more impressive, Captain of the Basketball Team. I rarely see you nowadays!” Hao Ren tried to change the subject.
Oldman Sun coughed loudly in the front of the classroom.
Realizing that his voice was too loud, Hao Ren immediately shut up. He found his voice got more resonant after breaking through to Zhen-level.
Xie Yujia turned and looked at Hao Ren with a faint smile.
Hao Ren smiled back. Now that they shared the same secrets, they felt closer than before.
Although Zhao Jiayi didn’t know what they were smiling about, he was envious. As the captain of the Basketball Team, many girls came to watch him play each day, but none of them was nearly as gentle and beautiful as Xie Yujia.
Of course, Xie Yujia was Hao Ren’s girl, and Zhao Jiayi felt nothing but happiness for his good buddy.
After the class, Zhao Jiayi and the others left without dragging Hao Ren to play online games. Naturally, they expected that Hao Ren would go out with Xie Yujia.
However, Xie Yujia was not the clinging kind of girl, especially at school. She told Hao Ren that she was going to the library and rode her bike to borrow books.
They were intimate but not clinging, perfect for the both of them.
After knowing Hao Ren’s secrets, she was no longer worried about him. Their relationship returned to normal.
Meanwhile, Hao Ren had his own business to tend to. First, he ran to the place behind the library and took out Little White which attracted a group of girls who fed it. Then, he went to Su Han’s office to cultivate quietly, trying his best to absorb the five-elemental essences from nature.
He knew that he should never slack back in cultivation. Although the Dragon Core could absorb Nature Essence by itself, the cultivation progress would be slow if he didn’t work hard at it.
The incident with Black Wolf showed him that despite all the rules and restrictions, strength spoke the loudest in the world of cultivation.
If a high-level cultivator broke the rules and made a move against a low-level cultivator, the latter would have absolutely no power to defend himself or herself.
After cultivating through the two-hour lunch break, Hao Ren returned to class in the afternoon. Then, he went to Zhao Yanzi’s home to tutor her.
It was dinner time, and the campus was full of boisterous crowds. Not wanting to attract attention, Hao Ren left his car at the Administration Building and took a bus to Zhao Yanzi’s home.
Zhao Yanzi had just gotten home, and Zhao Hongyu was cooking dinner while Zhao Guang was looking through some files in the study room
“Hello, Uncle, Auntie!” Hao Ren opened the door and entered the living room.
“Hello, Ren!” Zhao Hongyu walked out of the kitchen with a plate of vegetables in her hand.
“It has been a while since the last tutoring session.” Hao Ren lifted the tutoring materials in his hand which took him the entire afternoon make.
“Ren, you’ve been busy lately.” Zhao Hongyu looked at him with a smile.
“Yeah, he’s busy in love,” Zhao Yanzi, who was watching TV on the sofa, said with a pout.
“Really? In love with who?” Zhao Hongyu asked curiously.
Zhao Yanzi remained silent.
Zhao Hongyu didn’t pursue the topic. She smiled at Hao Ren and said, “I’ll go get the fried pork dish. You two should go to the dining room.”
She then turned to the direction of the study room and called, “Zhao Guang, time for dinner!”
Zhao Guang rubbed his head and stood up. As he walked into the living room, he nodded at Hao Ren; he looked preoccupied with troubles on his mind.
The four of them sat by the table which was full of delicious-looking dishes, reminding Hao Ren of the old days when he came here every day for dinner.
“I called your Grandma today to invite her to our house, but she insisted on staying in your house by the sea,” Zhao Hongyu said while placing the plates and chopsticks before each of them.
“It’s ok. Grandma will be fine since Uncle Wang will come to the house to take care of her.” Hao Ren smiled at her gratefully. “Oh, how are things going in the Dragon Palace?”
“The elders are still recovering, Elder Xingyue is taking care of Su Han, and Zhao Yanzi’s Third Uncle is still traveling. Everything is peaceful for the time being,” Zhao Hongyu said.
“Great.” Hao Ren nodded. “Today, Zeng Yitao and I…”
“We know already.” Zhao Hongyu interrupted Hao Ren.
“Zeng Yitao?” Zhao Yanzi got curious.
“Some trivia stuff. Eat your dinner.” Zhao Hongyu placed a pair of chopsticks before Zhao Yanzi with force.
Zhao Guang’s face was grim. He didn’t speak, seeming to have a lot of things on his mind.
“By the way, I’ve talked to Elder Sun, and you can go to his martial arts dojo when you want to practice. It’s not far from your school, and you may go anytime you want,” Zhao Hongyu said.
“Ok!” Hao Ren answered.
He could practice the boxing technique in the small forest by the school, but he needed an open space to practice the sword array formations.
With the conflicts between East Ocean and West Ocean escalating, he must increase his strength as much as he could. However, to make his parents and Grandma happy, he couldn’t give up his studies and must pass each exam as well.
On top of that, he must squeeze some time out to tutor Zhao Yanzi.
From the looks of Zhao Hongyu and Zhao Guang, they didn’t want Zhao Yanzi to be involved in the conflict. They hoped that she could live her life like an ordinary middle school girl.
After dinner, Zhao Hongyu urged Zhao Yanzi to go to her room for the tutoring session. Zhao Yanzi wanted to stay in the living room a little bit to watch TV. But at her father’s stern look, she went upstairs reluctantly.
With the bag of tutoring materials in his hand, Hao Ren followed her up the stairs. He had prepared a lot of practices for her to make up the time lost.
After they had gone upstairs, Zhao Hongyu’s calm and ease expression disappeared.
She looked at Zhao Guang with worry. “Is it very serious?”
“Zeng Yitao lost one level of cultivation strength in the fight with Ren, and he is now on Li-level. With what I know about Oldman Zeng, I’m sure he will use this excuse to come to us with a large group of masters from West Ocean. I’ve ordered Elder Sun to stay alert and have guards all over the city,” Zhao Guang said with a sigh.
P.S. For people who didn’t see this yesterday, we made a video on how to get all the free spirit stones!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTBVpdmqC5k&t=21s
258 The Boss in East Ocean City
Zhao Yanzi stomped up to the second floor and entered her room quickly.
“I’m tired!” The moment she got into the room,
she jumped onto the bed.
Hao Ren walked into the room with the tutoring materials. He had expected that she would get lazy despite her promise of hard work. Instead of urging her to do her work, he sat down at her desk and began to check her past few days’ homework.
Her math homework was full of red cross marks; it was a pathetic sight.
He opened her English homework and found that the situation was a little better, though the teacher marked out quite a few grammar mistakes with red ink.
Then, he saw the large number of red circles highlighting her mistakes in her Chinese homework.
Geography, biology, physics… Each of the homework was full of red marks.
“Is Zhao Yanzi even paying any attention to her studies?” While he flipped through the homework, Hao Ren’s confidence began to drop little by little. She wasn’t a good student before, but her homework had never received such ‘fierce attacks’ from her teachers.
By now, he had a general understanding of Zhao Yanzi’s study ability. She had been at her peak while preparing for the midterm exams. However, she had quickly lagged behind and once again became a ‘poor student’ in her teachers’ eyes now.
“Hey! It’s time to study!” Hao Ren tapped her feet.
Zhao Yanzi lied on the bed lazily. “I’m tired.”
“Stop complaining. I checked your homework, and most of the answers are wrong. Hao Ren glanced at her in exasperation.
“The stuff we learned recently is really hard, such as geometry, algebra, convex lenses, concave lenses, and irregular verbs in tenses. I have a headache whenever I look at them!” Zhao Yanzi turned over and sat up.
“They are hard, but you still have to learn them.” Hao Ren took out two test papers. “Tonight, we will focus on math, tomorrow will be physics, and the day after tomorrow will be English…”
Before he finished, Zhao Yanzi fell back onto the bed.
Compared with studying these concepts, she would rather cultivate even if she had to withstand the pain.
However, she had promised Zhao Hongyu that she would study hard while Hao Ren cultivated for her. Hao Ren didn’t know about her promise, but she couldn’t go back on her words now.
