by Dragon King
“Don’t worry; I’ll keep it for just a couple of days. I’ll come and find you guys with it after I’m done,” Little Daoist Zhen said in a casual tone as he took out a silver conch-shaped dharma treasure from his sleeve and tossed it into the furnace.
Seeing Little White already leaning fawningly against Little Daoist Zhen, Hao Ren was so mad that he got speechless.
He had no choice but to leave them.
While Hao Ren and others walked toward the first floor of the Godly Treasure Palace, Little Daoist Zhen in the room suddenly had a cold expression on his face.
Today he was going to make a dharma treasure which he named Destructive ‘Making You Beg for Death’ Fire Lightning Super Killer Conch.
Since his master was in a 500-year exclusion cultivation in the Nine Dragon Palace, he could destroy the West Ocean Dragon Palace 100 times in the period, and no one would dare to stop him!
If the conch unleashed its full force, it would turn the whole West Ocean Dragon Palace into a pile of debris!
In this world, no one dared to mess with him. Even when he was in the Demon Sea and wasn’t taken in as a disciple by Qiu Niu, he feared no one!
“West Ocean, you dared to mess with me? I’ll show you my power!”
With both hands, he placed the first layer of essence absorbing array formation into the dharma treasure.
He planned to put 99 layers of powerful array formations into this super powerful offensive dharma treasure, and he didn’t care that he would have to spend three days and three nights to do it!
When Xie Yujia and others returned to the great hall inside the Godly Treasure Palace, she immediately handed the bottle to Su Han.
Su Han took it and poured out one pill before placing it into Xie Yujia’s hand.
“This is the reward for your hard work in making the pills.”
Xie Yujia tried to decline, but Su Han already took back her hand.
Then, Su Han turned to Zhao Yanzi and gave her two pills.
Zhao Yanzi took the two fire-red pills with amazement. “They are for me?”
“One is for your mother, and the other is for you in the future,” Su Han nodded and said.
“What if I take it now?” Zhao Yanzi asked.
“Then, you will always look like this,” Su Han answered.
Hearing her words, Zhao Yanzi immediately put away the pills. She was young and pretty now, but her blooming time had not come yet.
“And the last one is for me.” Su Han smiled.
Every woman wanted to look beautiful, including Su Han. While she concentrated on cultivation, she put a lot of thought on the Beauty Pills because she wanted to retain her beauty.
She was now at the blooming age. If she took the Beauty Pill, she wouldn’t have to spend a lot of cultivation strength or large amounts of other elixirs to keep her looks; she could put all her energy into cultivation and try to realize her dream of reaching the Heavenly Dragon Realm.
“Let’s head back,” Zhao Guang said.
“Farewell, Your Majesty!” Premier Xia and Elder Xingyue bowed at him.
Zhao Guang led Hao Ren, Zhao Yanzi, and Xie Yujia out of the dragon palace and drove them back to his home on land.
It was midnight when they arrived.
“It’s late. If you don’t mind, you can spend the night here,” Zhao Guang parked the car in the garage and said to Xie Yujia.
“Ok. Thank you.” Xie Yujia lowered her head.
Clutching the Beauty Pill in her hand, she leaned toward Hao Ren.
Zhao Yanzi pouted, but she was less defiant now since she was envious of Xie Yujia’s elixir making skills and hoped that she could learn the skills from Xie Yujia later on. That was why she didn’t want to alienate Xie Yujia for the time being.
Zhao Guang led them into the house and thought for a moment before saying, “Ren, you have to sleep in the living room, and Yujia can take the empty room upstairs.”
“Ok!” Hao Ren agreed immediately.
Zhao Guang led Xie Yujia and Zhao Yanzi to the second floor and then brought a thick blanket down for Hao Ren.
“Thank you, Uncle!” Hao Ren said politely, taking the blanket from him.
“Ren, I need to talk to you.” Zhao Guang didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he stood in the living room and looked at Hao Ren.
“Uncle, please go on.” Hao Ren was a bit nervous at Zhao Guang’s serious look.
Zhao Guang looked at Hao Ren and said slowly, “Zi must take the first place.”
“First place…” Hao Ren didn’t quite understand.
From the second floor came Zhao Hongyu’s happy exclamation.
Obviously, Zhao Yanzi was giving her the Beauty Pill. As an elegant woman, Zhao Hongyu must care about her looks very much as well.
“I mean, whatever happens in the future, you can’t let Zi suffer. That’s my bottom line,” Zhao Guang continued.
“Ok…” Hao Ren understood only a part of it, but he agreed anyway.
“The second thing is that although West Ocean has retreated, it doesn’t mean that our crisis is over. Among the four ocean dragon palaces, the elders in our East Ocean Dragon Palace have the weakest average cultivation strength. Since Grandmaster Qiu Niu is absent from the palace and Zhao Kuo is traveling, the situation is still precarious.”
“Uncle, you mean…”
“Our East Ocean Dragon Palace has abundant resources but lacks good elixir masters. There is now a shortage of elixir pills above level 5, and that’s why many elders are stuck in Dui-level. Now that West Ocean gave us more than ten pieces of Mystic Ice, it’s an opportunity for a collective breakthrough for the cultivators in the East Ocean Dragon Palace. The only catch is the shortage of elixir pills…”
“Uncle, do you want to ask Xie Yujia to make elixir pills?” Hao Ren asked directly.
Zhao Guang’s expression froze before continuing, “Of course, I wouldn’t ask her to help us for free…”
“I think she will help; Yujia is a warm-hearted and kind girl,” Hao Ren answered. Then, he caught himself and corrected immediately, “But you must consult her first.”
“Ok. I’ll ask her. The third thing is about Little Daoist Zhen.” Zhao Guang looked at Hao Ren. “In fact, he has been wanting to come up to the land and see the world. I’m sure he will use you as an excuse and try to come onto the land this time. I’ll let him stay at Lu Qing’s place for the time being, but I’m afraid Lu Qing can’t keep him in check. You see, he’s good at making trouble, and I want you to keep an eye on him.”
“Me?” Surprised, Hao Ren pointed at himself.
“Yeah. Only you can keep him in check.” Zhao Guang nodded gravely.
“It is more a transfer of trouble than a compliment… Ok, since I’m your son-in-law, I must take the burden from you…” Hao Ren remained silent while he looked at Zhao Guang.
“Thank you!” Zhao Guang patted on Hao Ren’s shoulder before walking toward the stairs.
Hao Ren turned to look at Zhao Guang’s back, lost in thought.
In the room on the second floor, Xie Yujia couldn’t sleep, so she began to cultivate the Five-Element Life-Death Note.
In the red box on the bedside table was the Beauty Pill, but she thought for a long while and couldn’t decide if she should take it.
Surges of essence came from all directions.
The Life Note could gather the essence of nature! The intensity of essence in Zhao Yanzi’s house instantly elevated to that of the Eighth Heaven!
Hao Ren was cultivating the Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll in the living room on the first floor. He felt so great that with two crisp crackles, two openings were unlocked without the stimulation of lightning!
In the room next to Xie Yujia’s, Zhao Yanzi was counting sheep while cultivating Qi Refinement Technique. Unconsciously, she had reached level 3 of the Qi Refinement Realm!
Only Xie Yujia’s cultivation strength didn’t grow. She was still at level 3 of the Qi Refinement Realm with a little gro
wth in her cultivation strength.
“Well, when can I catch up to Hao Ren if I go on like this?” Xie Yujia sighed in disappointment. Withdrawing the shining Life Note into her right palm, she gritted her teeth and got under the quilt.
In the living room on the first floor, Hao Ren found the intensity of essence dropping suddenly.
He instantly locked some more of the nature essences inside his dragon core and ended his cultivation.
“Strange… How come the intensity of nature essence was so high in Zhao Yanzi’s home?” Hao Ren murmured to himself before lying down on the couch and pulling up the blanket.
Staring at the white chandelier, Hao Ren wondered if he could make elixirs with the Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll as well as Xie Yujia did…
291 The Inauguration Ceremony
In the morning, Hao Ren went into the backyard and practiced the fundamental boxing techniques six times to strengthen his body and meridians. Last night, he unlocked two openings. By now he had 45 openings unlocked. His speed of absorbing essence was much faster than before.
However, with his current strength, he still couldn’t use the higher-leveled Two Dragons Array Formation. The One-line Snake Array Formation was powerful with 80 sword energies connecting end to end. But to use Two Dragons Array Formation, he had to control 160 sword energies at the same time.
Hao Ren could imagine the enormous power of the Ten Sides Ambush Array Formation, not to mention the ultimate sword array formation, Ten Thousand Heart-Piercing Array formation, above it.
Since Little White was staying with Little Daoist Zhen for the time being, Hao Ren missed it a little. Each morning when he practiced in the small forest in the school, he would release it from the necklace and let it stroll around. He wondered if the spirit beast would abandon him…
He went back into the house and saw Zhao Hongyu making breakfast.
“Good morning, Auntie!” Hao Ren greeted her.
“Ren, you are practicing so early in the morning.” Zhao Hongyu walked over with a smile, holding a platter of freshly-baked bread.
Hao Ren looked at her closely and found that her skin was more radiant, and her eyes were brighter. He was sure that it was caused by the effect of the Beauty Pill instead of a night of cultivation.
“Thank you for the Beauty Pill,” Zhao Hongyu said with an elegant smile.
“No need to thank me; it was Su Han who gave it to you, and it was who Yujia made it,” Hao Ren said.
Zhao Hongyu nodded slightly and didn’t argue with him. As a level 2 pill, the Beauty Pill was not hard to make, and the ingredients were no secret. The only difficulty lied in the rarity of mature Beauty Flowers which were almost extinct in the mortal world. She must give Hao Ren credit for acquiring such rare flowers.
“Today is Friday. Tomorrow you can go to my studio,” sitting at the table, Zhao Hongyu suggested before picking up a piece of bread and biting into it.
“Ok.” Hao Ren also picked up a piece of delicious bread. Unlike Zhao Guang, Zhao Hongyu never gave people pressure. It was always pleasant and relaxing to be with her.
“They aren’t up yet?” Hao Ren looked up at the second floor and asked.
“Yujia must be fatigued. As to Zi, she’s a late riser,” Zhao Hongyu said helplessly.
While she talked, Xie Yujia who was freshened up and dressed and Zhao Yanzi had messy hair and was in her pink pajamas walked out of their rooms.
“Good morning, Auntie!” Xie Yujia greeted her with respect.
“Mom… I’m tired today. Can I not go to school today?” Zhao Yanzi walked down the stairs listlessly.
“Not again!” Zhao Hongyu was about to scold her when she suddenly saw that Zhao Yanzi had reached level 3 of the Qi Refinement Realm.
“What is it, Mom?” Zhao Yanzi rubbed her eyes and yawned. She didn’t realize that she had reached level 3 of the Qi Refinement Realm by cultivating abstractedly while she read.
It took her only two days to catch up to Xie Yujia, her ‘master!’
“Nothing, nothing…” Zhao Hongyu didn’t tell Zhao Yanzi in case the latter would get smug. But on the inside, she was exhilarated. If Zhao Yanzi could reach the Foundation Establishment Realm, she would select a cultivation technique and return to the path of cultivation.
Among the three of them, Hao Ren had the highest cultivation strength at Zhen-level, but Zhao Yanzi had the best talent, which meant that she could probably reach the Core Formation Realm quickly and then surpass Hao Ren.
“Hurry up with your breakfast, and I’ll drive you to school.” Zhao Hongyu smiled brightly at them.
Puzzled, Zhao Yanzi wondered why her mom was so happy this morning.
Minutes later, they got into Zhao Hongyu’s new SUV and headed for school.
“Ren, you will go to the City Hall today, right?” Zhao Hongyu asked abruptly while driving.
“City Hall?” Hao Ren was confused at her question.
“Yeah. Today is your father’s inauguration ceremony. Didn’t you know?” Zhao Hongyu glanced at Hao Ren.
“Oh. Something like that,” Hao Ren answered.
“You are a little forgetful. Your parents are coming back today,” Zhao Hongyu smiled.
In fact, Hao Ren was a little bitter inside. He didn’t know that his parents would return to East Ocean City today; his reply was his way of saving face.
Zhao Hongyu drove Zhao Yanzi to LingZhao Middle School before driving Hao Ren and Xie Yujia to East Ocean University. Then, she drove to her studio.
While he walked to the school gate, Hao Ren dialed his dad’s number, but the line was busy. He then called Yue Yang, and the result was the same.
“Well! Well! You come back together after one night’s absence! Did you do something naughty?” Ma Lina was passing by the school gate. When she spotted them, she immediately screamed in excitement!
Xie Yujia’s face flushed instantly. She hurried over and urged, “Stop your nonsense!”
“You came back together. You can’t deny it!” Ma Lina laughed so hard that Xie Yujia had to reach out and cover her mouth.
“Treat me to KFC and a 6-inch pizza from Pizza Hut, and I’ll keep it a secret!” Ma Lina ‘threatened.’
“Ok! Ok!” Xie Yujia was exasperated.
She glanced at Hao Ren, wondering why he would help her explain the situation.
“Well! What’s this?” Sharp-eyed Ma Lina saw the small box in Xie Yujia’s hand.
She grabbed it and opened it quickly. After seeing a red fragrant pill in the box, she picked it up and opened her mouth…
“Hey! Don’t!” Xie Yujia almost jumped up, grabbing Ma Lina’s arm.
“Haha! Look at you! I was just joking! You’re so easily tricked.” Ma Lina looked at the pill closely before putting it back in the box. “What is it? It smells so good!”
Relieved, Xie Yujia put the box into her pocket. “A small gift from someone.”
“Oh…” Ma Lina glanced at Hao Ren. “It’s from Hao Ren, right? A new brand of perfume? It smells so good. Tell me where you bought it; I want to buy one as well.”
“You can’t buy it,” Xie Yujia answered sulkily; she was indeed scared by her friend a moment ago.
“Hao Ren, where did you buy it?” Ma Lina turned to ask Hao Ren.
“It’s one of a kind.” Hao Ren threw the words at her before walking toward the Academic Building.
Ma Lina looked after Hao Ren and then at Xie Yujia. “What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s in a bad mood.” Looking after Hao Ren’s lonely figure, Xie Yujia felt hurt inside.
Others might not understand him, but she knew Hao Ren was in a bad mood because of his parents.
She had admired Hao Zhonghua and Yue Yang, but at this moment, they dimmed in her mind.
When Xie Yujia and Ma Lina walked into the classroom, they saw Hao Ren sitting in the last row of the room.
“Is he angry because of me?” Ma Lina asked uneasily.
With a faint smile, Xie Yujia shook
her head before sitting in the front row.
“I have big news!” Yu Rong, the new Class President, suddenly stepped onto the platform in the front of the classroom.
“The school selected some top students to attend the inauguration ceremony of the famous scientist Hao Zhonghua in the City Hall. The students qualified to attend the ceremony in our class are Xie Yujia and Hao Ren!” Yu Rong announced in a loud voice.
Hao Ren looked up immediately.
Xie Yujia also looked up in surprise.
“Each program has six spots. Besides the list the school selected, we still have one spot. Is there anyone who wants to attend the ceremony?” Yu Rong asked.
“Hao Zhonghua? Is he the biologist who is said to get the Nobel Prize?”
“Not interested. I have to have lunch at that time.”
“The City Hall is a government building. I’ve never been there, but I guess it must be boring….”
The students talked about it, but no one wanted to go.
“Then, only Hao Ren and Xie Yujia will attend!” Yu Rong finished the announcement and returned to the back of the classroom.
Hao Ren didn’t want to go. But after seeing Xie Yujia’s glance from the front of the room, he thought for a moment. Then, he dropped his head on the desk and closed his eyes.
At the end of the second class, Hao Ren heard someone knocking on his desk. He looked up and saw Xie Yujia standing before him.
“Don’t be so dispirited, ok?” Xie Yujia pursed her lips and grabbed his arm, pulling him up from the seat.
Zhou Liren and others watched with envy as Xie Yujia pulled Hao Ren up. They would be exhilarated if such a beautiful girl handled them that way.
“Let’s go! The school bus is waiting at the gate!” Xie Yujia pulled Hao Ren out of the room.
“Envy, envy…” Looking at Xie Yujia’s pretty figure, Zhou Liren almost bit his pencil in half. All the guys regretted not pursuing the former Class President before Hao Ren got her.
The blue school bus was waiting at the main gate of the school. When Xie Yujia pulled Hao Ren on board, the bus was already half full.
The person sitting in the front row was Lu Qing, the Vice-Principal of the school.
The best students seated on the bus all watched as Xie Yujia got onto the bus holding Hao Ren’s hand.
