by Dragon King
He wanted Zhao Kuo to take over his tremendous murderous spirit and never lose his will!
Zhao Haoran never broke through the Heavenly Dragon Realm his entire life, and he handed this dream over to Zhao Kuo.
“Ahhhh…”
Zhao Kuo lifted his head, and he had bloodshot eyes.
He hated himself for not being able to break through to the Heavenly Dragon Realm and not being able to see his father before he passed away. He also hated himself for running away from reality and leaving the East Ocean behind!
As the Commanding General of the East Ocean, he wasn’t in the East Ocean Dragon Palace during its most critical time; they had to get his father, who didn’t have many years left and already retired, to save the situation.
Hatred!
The Black Dragon Spike let out a ray of black light, and it shot straight through the ceiling of the palace!
Boom!
The black light dashed out of the dragon palace’s array formation, out of the ocean surface, and into the clouds!
The ocean waves leaped high into the sky as the clouds twirled around!
Zhao Yanzi looked at Zhao Kuo, scared; she had never seen her third uncle this horrifying before.
Hasty footsteps sounded outside the palace. The patrolling soldiers saw the Dragon King’s Palace being damaged, so they all circled it.
“No need to panic; we are fine!” Zhao Guang shouted.
The soldiers quickly moved away after hearing the dragon king’s voice.
Zhao Kuo looked at Hao Ren with his red eyes and asked, “What else did my dad say?”
“Nothing else,” Hao Ren shook his head. He continued after thinking for a bit, “The old dragon king passed his 1,000-year cultivation strength to me. I think he meant to pass it on to you. Now that Third Uncle you are back… this 1,000-year cultivation strength…”
“Fool!” Zhao Kuo suddenly interrupted Hao Ren with his cussing.
431 Practice
Zhao Kuo’s cussing startled Hao Ren.
“Third Uncle!” Zhao Yanzi couldn’t help but shout. Zhao Kuo wasn’t in a good mood, but he didn’t have to let it all out on Hao Ren.
In Zhao Yanzi’s opinion, Hao Ren had done an excellent job on this matter already!
Having ignored Zhao Yanzi, Zhao Kuo kept staring at Hao Ren as he said, “Did my dad passed his cultivation strength to anyone else?”
“No,” Hao Ren looked at Zhao Kuo in his eyes.
“Did my dad give the Commanding General Token to anyone else?” Zhao Kuo raised his voice.
Hao Ren shook his head, “No.”
“Why didn’t he ask someone else but you to pass the Black Dragon Spike to me!?” Zhao Kuo shouted.
Hao Ren looked at him, not knowing how to answer.
“My dad trusted you with the Black Dragon Spike, the general position, and his cultivation strength!” Zhao Kuo’s eyes were as big as two bells.
“He asked you to pass this Black Dragon Spike to me, so I will accept it! Did he ask you to pass the Commanding General Token and the 1,000-year strength on as well?” Zhao Kuo asked.
“No.” Hao Ren had to shake his head.
“In that case, he gave those to you!” Zhao Kuo lifted his head and continued to stare at Hao Ren.
Hao Ren was stupefied as he didn’t think that Zhao Kuo would be so generous. This 1,000-year strength could send Zhao Kuo directly to top-tier Qian-level!
Zhao Kuo might be able to use this strength with his experience entirely! He could potentially go back to his peak Qian-level!
“I, Zhao Kuo, will reach the Heavenly Dragon Realm on my own!” Zhao Kuo raised the Black Dragon Spike, and the muscles on his arm bulged up.
“Wait and see, dad!”
Then, he turned to Hao Ren and said, “Defeat me again next time if you could!”
“I, will,” Hao Ren answered lightly.
“Ok!” Zhao Kuo put the Black Dragon Spike away and took two steps forward. He knocked Hao Ren half a step back with his tough body before he exited Zhao Guang’s palace.
Zhao Guang said to Premier Xia and the others, “Don’t tell anyone else about my dad.”
“Yes, Dragon King.” Elder Lu, Elder Sun, and Premier Xia nodded immediately.
Although Zhao Haoran had retired for many years, the fact that he passed away would still cause a tremendous shock in the Dragon Tribe.
Hao Ren had just earned the East Ocean Dragon Clan a lot of credit in the Dragon God Shrine. It would put East Ocean in a terrible position if this news got released.
Zhao Haoran’s four guards had returned to the States to look after Zhao Haoran’s mansion as usual, so Zhao Guang and Zhao Hongyu both thought that he had already gone back. It was clear that Zhao Haoran didn’t want the news to get to the public.
“Is Fuma staying here tonight as well?” Premier Xia asked Zhao Guang.
“Yes, Ren is staying here and is going back with us tomorrow,” Zhao Guang answered.
“I want to stop by your house and get something, Uncle,” Hao Ren said immediately.
“Ok, go ahead,” Zhao Guang handed the key to Hao Ren.
By offering Hao Ren the key to his house casually, it meant that Zhao Guang already considered him a family member.
Hao Ren walked out of the palace with the key.
Since neither Zhao Guang nor Zhao Hongyu mentioned the thing the East Ocean Dragon Palace lent to the Dragon God Shrine.
Premier Xia said to Zhao Guang as he watched Hao Ren leaving, “Dragon King, you have found yourself a great Fuma.”
Zhao Guang simply nodded.
Then, he looked up at the broken ceiling of the palace and said, “Go get ready for the banquet.”
Hao Ren flew out of the East Ocean Dragon Palace on his sword energies. He put up an energy shield and headed toward Zhao Yanzi’s place.
It wasn’t as tiring as before to fly on the sword energies after Hao Ren reached mid-tier Gen-level. Although the speed wasn’t as fast as Little White, it was more than enough for regular commuting.
Ordinary dragon cultivators weren’t allowed to fly in the sky, especially in the city. However, Hao Ren could since he was Su Han’s assisting inspector.
As long as he became an official inspector, he would be able to fly anywhere below Fifth Heaven.
Boom!
Hao Ren landed before Zhao Yanzi’s house and put away the energy sphere. Then, he opened the door with the key.
This was the first time he went into Zhao Yanzi’s house when there was no one inside. The quiet home was very cozy.
Hao Ren headed to Zhao Yanzi’s room on the second floor and took the thing he was looking for from her desk.
Zhao Yanzi’s carton-patterned blanket was squeezed into a ball on her pink bed, and it looked very messy. Obviously, she didn’t make her bed before she left.
A pair of plastic slippers were left on the floor beside the bed, and there was one piece of her underwear left with the blanket on her bed.
She must have been woken up by Zhao Hongyu in her sleep and then got dragged to the Dragon God Shrine with everyone else. Hao Ren could imagine this scene as he observed the situation in her room.
He took a random glimpse and saw another one of her underwear that had strawberry patterns on it left in the corner beside her desk.
“This girl… isn’t too hygienic…” Hao Ren shook his head, thinking of how tiring it must have been for Zhao Hongyu to take care of a daughter like this.
However, Hao Ren had no interest in cleaning up the room for her. He took the thing he needed and left the room, heading back to the East Ocean Dragon Palace.
He made the entire trip in just half an hour. By the time Hao Ren got back to the East Ocean Dragon Palace, there were already lanterns everywhere; it looked very festive.
Premier Xia was asking some soldiers to hang up lanterns and put up decorations himself.
“What is this about, Premier Xia?” Hao Ren walked over and asked.
“Hehe, The Drago
n Boat Festival is also called the Dragon God Festival, Gongzi Hao. It is a big day for the Dragon Tribe, so we are celebrating it,” Premier Xia answered.
“Oh, I see…” Hao Ren remembered Grandma telling him about the Dragon Boat Festival. It was not only to commemorate Qu Yuan but also to worship the Dragon God.
However, he didn’t know that the Dragon Boat Festival was a big festival for Dragon Clan cultivators too. No wonder the annual Dragon God Palace’s general exams were always set close to the date of the Dragon Boat Festival.
“Please sit and rest, Gongzi Hao. I’ll take care of these small things,” Premier Xia bowed to Hao Ren before he turned to the soldiers, “Lift those three lanterns on the left a bit higher!”
“No, let me help!” Hao Ren rolled up his sleeves up and walked over. He helped the soldiers who were having trouble lifting the table.
The soldiers felt like the table become a lot lighter all of a sudden. They turned and were startled when they saw Hao Ren.
Hao Ren was the Commanding General of East Ocean, and he was assigned by the old dragon king, Zhao Haoran. Although Zhao Kuo was back, nothing was changed officially just yet. It was very flattering for these two soldiers when Hao Ren helped them out.
“Don’t waste your energy on this, Gongzi Hao.” Premier Xia quickly walked over to stop him.
“That’s ok.” Hao Ren put more force and lifted the 100-kilogram roundtable all by himself.
He had always practiced his fundamental boxing techniques and got his body tempered by heavenly lightning. On top of that, he was at mid-tier Gen-level. So, it was a piece of cake for him to lift the table up.
“Catch this, Kid!” Zhao Kuo shouted at the gate of the palace from a distance.
Hao Ren turned back and saw a roundtable flying toward him.
He immediately put the heavy table down to catch this one that was coming toward him.
Boom!
Hao Ren caught the table between his hands and turned 360 degrees in order to cancel the force. Zhao Kuo shouted, “Again!”
Another roundtable flew toward Hao Ren as it spun in the air.
Hao Ren caught the table with the same technique and put it beside him. Zhao Kuo was fast and accurate with his throwing, and Hao Ren’s palms were getting hot after those two catches.
“Again!” Zhao Kuo threw another one over.
These roundtables were stored in a warehouse, and they were only taken out when there were significant events like tonight.
Zhao Kuo, as the former Commanding General, didn’t hesitate and immediately joined the soldiers.
Hao Ren caught the roundtable again and put it down beside him.
Two of the soldiers beside Hao Ren lifted one of them and headed toward the large empty space.
“Hey!” Zhao Kuo picked up two roundtables and threw them at Hao Ren.
Hao Ren saw where the tables were heading.
Paw! Paw! He snitched the edges of the tables with two hands before putting them down steadily beside him.
“Nice!” the soldiers who were busy preparing for the banquet couldn’t help but put everything down to applaud and cheer for Hao Ren.
Hua! Hua!
Another two roundtables flew 500 meters and dashed at Hao Ren.
Hao Ren caught them with both hands again as his feet stayed perfectly still.
Surrounding soldiers circled in and moved the tables to their spots.
Zhao Guang stood at the gate of the warehouse, and Hao Ren stood in the center of the plaza. One threw, and the other one caught smoothly. They saved the soldiers lots of time since they didn’t have to carry them over.
The speed in which Zhao Kuo threw the tables got faster, and Hao Ren caught them more quickly as well.
In four hours, Hao Ren caught numerous roundtables, and dozens and dozens of soldiers came over to move the tables away.
His arms were a little sore, but this was also a great exercise!
“Last one!” Zhao Kuo threw the biggest roundtable that was about 20 meters wide toward Hao Ren.
The roundtable dashed at Hao Ren’s head.
He raised both hands to catch the table, but the spinning force was too strong.
He kicked himself into the air and started twirling in the sky with the table above his head!
This move looked like the classic Rozan Rising Dragon Blow from the anime, Saint Seiya
However, Hao Ren didn’t aim to destroy this roundtable. Instead, he needed to avoid any damages that could happen to it. It was like catching a raw egg that was falling from 50 meters above and trying to keep it from cracking. It required a tremendous amount of control! That was even more difficult than smashing an egg!
Boom!
Hao Ren had completely canceled out the force of the spinning roundtable when he landed on his feet.
“Nice!” the soldiers cheered again at Hao Ren’s perfect catch.
Hao Ren lightly breathed out and handed the roundtable to the six soldiers who came over. They could barely lift the heavy table with twelve hands, and they slowly headed toward the east end of the plaza.
Hao Ren finally got a break, and he turned to look at the plaza.
There were already 3000 roundtables covered with red cloth in the large plaza!
432 Treating All!
A few thousand soldiers were busy putting up these 3000 roundtables, and the chairs were neatly arranged at each table.
Similar to embattlement, these tables were arranged in an organized manner. Since each table could seat 20 people, it meant that there would be around 60,000 people attending the banquet!
“Haha, the Dragon God Festival is a huge festival for dragon cultivators including the East Ocean Dragon Palace. That’s the reason for the large-scale gathering.” Premier Xia saw Hao Ren’s shocked expression and walked toward him to explain. He suddenly changed his tone and said, “However, on the day of you and the princess’ wedding, I’m afraid the scale of the gathering is going to be ten times larger!”
Ten times larger!
Possibly 30,000 tables!
“Premier Xia, what are you talking about!”
Right at that moment, Zhao Yanzi’s cute voice appeared.
Hao Ren turned around and saw Zhao Yanzi, who was dressed in a red ancient dress, hopping toward him.
“Haha, what brings the princess here?” Premier Xia’s face turned red, and he changed the topic as he saw Zhao Yanzi.
“Just here to check on the preparation,” Zhao Yanzi looked around and asked, “Where’s Third Uncle?”
Her red dress was made by layers of material called Luoyan Silk, and there were two belts on both sides of her waist; they ‘danced’ gently along with Zhao Yanzi’s movements.
Also, her hair was tied into a bun with a butterfly-shaped hairpin that was decorated with a few pearls, making her extremely beautiful and classy.
Hao Ren looked at her and almost didn’t recognize that it was Zhao Yanzi.
“Third Lord just finished moving the tables at the Guangling Palace,” Premier Xia said.
Zhao Yanzi wrinkled her nose and finally found Zhao Kuo at the entrance of Guangling Palace. She stared at Hao Ren and mumbled, “You are not even helping!”
Then, she ran toward Zhao Kuo.
Hao Ren sighed and thought, “I helped set up 3000 tables; you just didn’t see it.”
Premier Xia looked at Hao Ren and blamed himself for not finishing his sentence.
Zhao Yanzi ran toward Zhao Kuo like a little red bird. She knew Zhao Kuo wasn’t happy, so she went to talk to him.
Soon, the huge plaza where the soldiers usually practice their formations was beautifully decorated.
Purple-robed elders walked out from the palaces along with their families and entered the huge plaza one-by-one.
Elders with indigo robes and blue robes came to the plaza with their families as well.
The difference was that the elders with purple robes and their family sat at the tables on the east side, and the other elders sa
t with their families further down.
The male cultivators who didn’t get promoted to an elder position wore dark-red robes, and the white dresses were for female cultivators.
The cultivators’ positions and their responsibilities were obviously shown through the different colors of the robes. In fact, other than the differences between robes, they were treated differently as well. Each purple-robed elder had a small palace all to themselves.
Elders with indigo and blue robes, on the other hand, lived in large palaces altogether.
During all this excitement, Elder Xingyue and her female disciples appeared.
Her purple robe was extremely prominent against all the white dresses.
Elder Xingyue was the most special elder among all elders. Not only because she was the only female purple-robed elder, but also because she occupied one of the largest palaces and led all the low-leveled female cultivators in the dragon palace.
All female cultivators in the dragon palace were instructed by Elder Xingyue herself, and her palace was similar to a giant dormitory where female cultivators had to return to at night.
Because of that, other elders all paid respect to Elder Xingyue. Some of their female family were being taught by Elder Xingyue right now.
“Elder Xingyue… Elder Xingyue…”
Many elders greeted when they saw Elder Xingyue.
Elder Xingyue smiled lightly and led her disciples toward the table that was near the main table. Her smile was rare to see, so the fact that she smiled was already a return of respect.
The elders saw down at their tables with their families. Then, the soldiers who just finished patrolling entered the plaza one-by-one as well.
Their seats were located even further away compared with the elders’ tables. However, there weren’t many elders in the East Ocean Dragon Palace. Therefore, the generals’ seats were comparably closer to the main table to the east.
“Gongzi Hao, you should go get ready,” Premier Xia looked at Hao Ren and reminded him.
Hao Ren looked at his own clothes and realized that his clothes were taken by Lu Linlin and Lu Lili from a cultivator at the Dragon God Shrine. After the intense battle and being soaked in sea water, the clothes were covered in wrinkles and deteriorating, making Hao Ren look shabby.
