by Dragon King
Hao Ren suddenly thought of what Su Han said when she grabbed his arm.
“Is it possible that the Spirit Concentration Scroll utilizes the water elements that originates from heaven and earth?” An idea came to Hao Ren’s mind.
“If desire shall conceal the true self, the true self will manifest itself even more. If desire shall weaken the true self, the true self will strengthen itself even more. If desire shall abandon the true self, the true self will prosperous even more. If desire shall deprive the true self, the true self will give even more. This is known as the enlightened nature that is subtle yet profound. Gentleness overcomes strength, and the meek overcomes the strong…”.
The scripts on the stone monument appeared in front of Hao Ren’s eyes again.
Hao Ren felt his heart pounding, and the barrier that stopped him from advancing to the second level of the Spirit Concentration Scroll was about to be broken.
“As a matter of fact, Zhao Guang asked me to go to that Daoist temple not only to accompany Zhao Yanzi but also to test how much I could comprehend and understand.”
Hao Ren frowned and tried his best to look for the sensation of “water”.
However, the more stubborn he was, the harder it was for him to comprehend it.
He took a deep breath and slowly recited the Spirit Concentration Scroll to calm down his mind.
“Water is Yin and wood is Yang; affinity and counter can complement each other; combining toughness with tenderness so they can have mutual control and support… Hao Ren thought about the ancient tree and suddenly had some profound inspirations.
The seed that the ancient tree left inside Hao Ren’s body that contained pure wood essence abruptly sprouted. In the meantime, the water element in the air formed into a few tiny water streams and poured into Hao Ren’s body.
Hao Ren felt his whole body was extremely comfortable, and the body that was originally “transparent” became a clear container and took in all the nature’s energy from heaven and earth.
He knew that he was about to break through the first level of the Spirit Concentration Scroll and achieve the second level! It was the inspiration that the ancient tree brought him. In terms of that stone monument, it talked about the ways of managing and controlling water, and it matched the essence of the third level of Spirit Concentration Scroll.
The mist that was originally spreading in the air gradually formed into nine vague whirling streams of water and entered into Hao Ren’s nine crucial acupoints around his body.
After entering Hao Ren’s body, the thick streams tried to find their own positions and began to settle down.
“What are you doing outside, Ren?” Zhao Jiayi yelled from inside the room.
Hao Ren was suddenly shocked and the nine water streams that were filling Hao Ren’s body immediately vanished.
Zhao Jiayi walked to the balcony and patted Hao Ren’s shoulder, “What are you thinking out there? You have a race to attend tomorrow! Go to bed early!”
He dragged Hao Ren back inside.
At the same time, the ancient tree that brought Hao Ren his seed of inspiration completely vanished and Hao Ren couldn’t find any trace of wood essence nor control the abundant water energy inside his body. His body was like a container that leaked from the bottom, and all the accumulated “water” was gone.
Nature’s energy around Hao Ren’s body once again returned back to chaos as it wasn’t divided into the five elements anymore.
Hao Ren understood that this failure wasted a great opportunity to advance to the second level of the Spirit Concentration Scroll. Additionally, he didn’t know when his next breakthrough will be.
Even though he was disappointed, he didn’t want to blame it on Zhao Jiayi. After all, Zhao Jiayi saw him standing outside for too long and asked him to take a break for his own good.
“Sigh, I better find a quiet place without disruption for cultivation,” Hao Ren climbed up to his upper berth and thought in annoyance.
31 The Competitor…
East Ocean University was very lively. The festive atmosphere was everywhere even though no lanterns or banners were hanging.
Zhao Jiayi and the other two got out of bed early in the morning. They packed up some food, drinks, camera, telescope, etc. They ganged up with their neighboring dorm rooms and headed towards the sports field together.
Hao Ren, on the other hand, put on his sportswear and his running shoes before he had a big breakfast in the cafeteria. Then, he unhurriedly walked to the sports field.
The Athletic Games was divided into two sections. Indoor events such as badminton, basketball, and volleyball were held in the newly-finished stadium whereas outdoor activities such as track and field and gymnastics were held on the sports field.
There were relatively more outdoor events than indoor ones due to the large space. Therefore, it was more popular too.
Since the school suspended classes for this event, it was mandatory for students in their freshmen year, sophomore year and junior year to watch the games. Basically, junior year students were to watch the indoor games while freshmen and sophomore year students were to watch the outdoor games.
Sure enough, almost every student was satisfied with not having to go to classes. They watched the games with snacks in their hands while chatting from time to time. They seemed as relaxed as if they were on a middle school field trip.
However, for the guys like Zhao Jiayi, it was way more interesting to search for pretty girls with their telescopes and cameras.
Xie Yujia, the Class President, was already taking attendance when Hao Ren arrived at his class’ designated area in his sportswear.
“Yu Rong!”
“Here!”
“Zhao Jiayi!”
“Here!”
“Cao Ronghua!”
“Here!”
“Zhou Liren!”
“Here!”
Since the Class President was taking attendance herself, they couldn’t muddle with it unlike classes with a lot of students. Not only did everyone show up, but they also appeared to be extremely excited.
An ordinary t-shirt on Xie Yujia made her looked extremely comfortable and refreshing in such beautiful weather. However, the highlight of her outfit was not the white t-shirt with the word “Fighting” printed on it; it was the sexy ripped jean shorts over her pretty legs. It made people assume that she was in a great mood today. The usually conservative Class President was wearing something so appealing. It made the guys’ hearts beat fast.
“Hao Ren, you are here,” Xie Yujia gave him a warm greeting.
“Woah…!” The guys kicked up a fuss seeing the unusual greeting.
“Woah what! You can go attend the games too if you are capable!” Xie Yujia scolded the guys with her stern Class President face.
Her smooth hair was tied up behind her, revealing her long neck and soft shoulders. Her face looked as smooth as a freshly peeled egg under the sunshine. She looked very beautiful even though there was no makeup on her at all; the charm she had wasn’t seductive at all.
However, the guys weren’t frightened by her today. Instead, they got even more unscrupulous.
“Good luck today!” Xie Yujia stepped up and adjusted Hao Ren’s collar.
“Wow…!” The guys were yelling in surprise as they saw Xie Yujia’s move.
Even a few guys from the nearby class joined them. Although Xie Yujia kept a very low profile, she was still one of the prettiest girls in their major.
Hao Ren got a bit embarrassed and stepped back. “Ok, I’ll try my best.”
“Class President! I want to run the 1500-meter race too!”
“Count me in as well!”
“Me too!”
The guys shouted in jealousy and envy.
“Humph! You weren’t so proactive when you were supposed to, and now you are starting to bluff!” Xue Yujia glimpsed at them.
“I was on the list, Class President! I want you to adjust my collar too!” Zhao Jiayi jumpe
d up and cried out.
Hao Ren remembered clearly that Xue Yujia randomly put in Zhao Jiayi’s name since no one else enrolled. Now he was taking advantage of it to tease Xie Yujia and Hao Ren.
Xie Yujia ignored Zhao Jiayi’s request. She stood up blushing and said, “Alright, now let’s go on with the attendance. Gu Jiadong…”
Her excellent figure was lightly shown under her white t-shirt. Although Xie Yujia didn’t want to show off, she was still a top-ranked beauty in the guys’ eyes.
Zhao Jiayi made a bet with the other three as soon as they got into university. They wondered who amongst the 38 guys in the class would be able to make this beauty his girlfriend. The fact was, in the past two years, not only in their class, but no guy in the entire school had a dubious relationship with her.
Compared to the most popular girl at the university, Lin Li, who always had rumors floating around, Xie Yujia indeed had a low profile. As a matter of fact, according to Zhao Jiayi’s scoring standard, that Lin Li from Class Three wasn’t as pretty as Xie Yujia on both looks and temperament. She was only good at getting involved with the influential and popular guys in the school. In other words, she was only good at promoting herself.
Lin Li, who was sitting under the sun-umbrella like a spoiled girl, overheard the noise and looked over.
She was a bit surprised to see Xie Yujia looking so pretty in her outfit. But she was then upset when she noticed some guys in her own class were starting in Xie Yujia’s direction too.
Xie Yujia did not intend to steal her thunder at all; she only wanted to dress up a little on such a pleasant day to cheer up the guys in her class. Though, indeed, Hao Ren was the only one that was participating in an actual game.
Lin Li glimpsed over at Xie Yujia and landed her eyes on Hao Ren who was in sportswear. Her expression darkened as she thought of something. Then she turned her attention back not to make people believe that she was interested in an ordinary guy.
The noise was becoming unbearable for Hao Ren who was in the Class Two area. He turned to Xie Yujia. “I’ll go warm up over there.”
“What’s the rush? The 1500-meter race won’t start until this afternoon,” Xie Yujia didn’t realize that Hao Ren was just trying to avoid Zhao Jiayi and the guys.
“All the long-distance races are scheduled in the afternoon so there won’t be enough space for warming up later on,” Hao Ren waved as he got down from the spectator stand by jogging down the stairs.
Xie Yujia lost her train of thought when she watched Hao Ren’s natural and unrestrained body walk down in sportswear. She only came back to her senses when someone called out her name. She then went on with the attendance.
“How come he seemed even more handsome after a weekend?” Xie Yujia felt a bit strange. She was worried that it was her subconscious that gave her the idea. “Is this what ‘Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder’ means?” She wondered.
When Hao Ren got to the track, Huang Xujie entered the sports field from the locker room in his golden Adidas sportswear.
He did a short spring and stopped to stretch his legs. Then he waved in the direction where most of the girls were.
“Ah…!”
The girls in the Advertising Major, Business Major, and Finance Major screamed as if they saw a celebrity. The screaming continued one wave after another.
Lin Li who was in the Mechatronic Engineering Major also got excited.
32 Can’t Even Keep a Low Profile
At this very moment, Hao Ren walked off the spectator stand and walked into Huang Xujie.
Hao Ren’s sportswear was of a lesser-known brand. Although clean and tidy, there were some fray edges. Its quality was a lot worse than Huang Xujie’s silky Adidas sportswear which was shining under the sun.
Huang Xujie was wearing a pair of fancy long-distance running shoes whereas Hao Ren was wearing the most common pair of sneakers.
Huang Xujie curled his lips at Hao Ren in disrespect after seeing how poor his outfit was.
Having ignored him, Hao Ren ran over to the track.
“Sophomore,” Huang Xujie said as Hao Ren was passing by, “You are ready for your last place in the match, aren’t you?”
“My name is Hao Ren, not ‘sophomore’.” Hao Ren turned around.
“Hehe,” Huang Xujie sneered as he leaned over to Hao Ren’s ear, “I’ll completely surpass you in front of the entire school.” He whispered.
He said lightly but surely in his arrogant tone.
Xie Yujia, on the spectator stand, was a little confused by the “intimate” talk between the two on the sports field. “Since when did these two become good friends?” She thought.
Hao Ren didn’t want to argue with him as he did not expect a good placement in the race. However, he would try his best because the Class President picked him for the race. However, there was nothing he could do if he still got the last place.
“You don’t even dare to talk anymore, sophomore?” Huang Xujie looked at him in a provoking manner as he performed a split. It made the girls on the spectator stand scream crazily again.
Hao Ren ran quietly to the track with his fists tightly clenched. He really wanted to hit Huang Xujie when he provoked him, but he was able to hold back.
“He thinks the entire East Ocean University is his just because of his charm?” Hao Ren turned back to look at the “senior” as he found it funny just thinking about it.
It seemed like no one but Xie Yujia and Hao Ren’s classmates would pay attention to this unimpressive guy in low-quality sportswear and old sneakers.
On the contrary, girls were reacting passionately whenever Huang Xujie passed by. His black hair, well-built body, confident look, and the yellow sports bracers all became reasons for their screaming.
To them, Hao Ren who just passed by Huang Xujie was incomparable to the charming man. They did not even notice the few seconds of conversation between them as they passed by each other.
Hao Ren got to a quiet corner on the west side of the sports field. He practiced shuttle runs on the rubber track. The intense sunshine caused him to be soaked in sweat after just a little while.
He returned to the spectator stand after feeling completely warmed up and went back to where his class was at.
Xie Yujia had finished taking the attendance, and everyone had taken their seats. They were waiting for the game to start as they sipped on their drinks and shared snacks.
“Hao Ren!” Xie Yujia waved her slim arm in excitement when she saw him coming over.
Hao Ren walked over, and Xie Yujia pointed at the empty seat near her. “Come sit here.”
The invitation was to Hao Ren’s surprise. He searched for Zhao Jiayi and the other two of his roommates as he said to Xie Yujia, “I’d better go sit with them.”
“They are in the very back, and you have to go for your race later. It’s inconvenient to go up and down like that.” Xie Yujia gave him a reason to stay.
Hao Ren saw Zhao Jiayi and the guys waving at him, but then he saw the crowded area filled with cards and sunflower seed shells. They were nudging each other and making a lot of noises. Hao Ren gritted and thought to himself, “Looks like I’ll have to put girls before bros today.”
He sat down beside Xie Yujia.
This move completely startled Zhao Jiayi. His mouth gaped open; it was almost wide enough to fit an egg.
“Hao Ren…the guy who blushes whenever he sees pretty girls is sitting beside the Class President Xie Yujia?”
Then something even more startling happened.
Seeing how sweaty Hao Ren was, Xie Yujia took out some tissue and wiped off the sweat from his forehead with a smile.
Ka-cha!
Zhao Jiayi felt like his own jaw had dislocated.
“Sensational news!” He shouted at Cao Ronghua who was busy playing cards after he realized what was going on. “Ren is dating Xie Yujia!”
“What?” Zhou Liren cried out. He stopped playing cards to look at Hao Ren and Xie Yujia who were sitt
ing together below them. Then his facial expression looked exactly the same as Zhao Jiayi’s.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I can do it myself.” Hao Ren was flattered as Xie Yujia wiped his sweat for him. He hastily stopped her smooth white arm.
The intense-enthusiasm Xie Yujia was showing towards him was making him uncomfortable.
“It’s ok. You are our class’ hero.” She smiled.
Then she handed over a bottle of water. “Here, you need to keep hydrated.”
Zhou Liren and the guys almost dropped their jaws to the ground at the sight of this.
“Ren is really having some luck with women…” They thought at the same time.
“Don’t be so nice to me, Class President. I’m not ready for it,” Hao Ren took the bottle as he made a defensive gesture. He was being honest due to nervousness.
“I’m thinking of being this nice to you from now on.” Xie Yujia laughed.
Hao Ren was stupefied by her smile as he felt like his heart was about to pop out of his chest.
“I was joking,” Xie Yujia added after seeing Hao Ren’s stupefied look.
“Oh…” Hao Ren finally returned to normal.
He thought for a bit and said, “Class President, don’t blame me for disappointing you if I really end up last in the race.”
“As long as you tried your best.” Xie Yujia’s genuinely stared at him with her pretty eyes, “That’s the biggest difference between you and them.”
Hao Ren laughed bitterly and didn’t respond.
“Oh, do you know Huang Xujie?” She suddenly asked.
“Sort of…” Hao Ren mumbled. He thought girls like Xie Yujia would probably be interested in cute guys like Huang Xujie.
“He is kind of cute, and a lot of girls like him,” Xie Yujia said.
“Hehe.” Hao Ren laughed. Being cute was really a great asset these days.
“His dad is East Ocean City’s deputy mayor,” she continued.
“No wonder he is so arrogant…But is the deputy mayor such a big deal?” Hao Ren thought to himself.
He had no idea how many jealous eyes were staring at his back while Xie Yujia was tilting her head and talking to him.