by Dragon King
Xie Yujia got more anxious when she saw Hao Ren’s calmness as she thought Hao Ren might do something irrational. She asked tentatively, “You and Su Han’s relationship… isn’t like the rumor, right?”
She wasn’t sure about the answer to her question. Since last time Zhao Yanzi came to school for the Athletic Games, Xie Yujia was more convinced that Hao Ren had a special relationship with Su Han. However, deep down, she still believed that Hao Ren wasn’t the type of person who was capable of stirring up trouble. After all, he seemed like an honest guy.
Especially after his performance at the Athletic Games, she had an entirely new appreciation for Hao Ren. She thought he was down to earth, brave, and also very humble.
No matter what, it was her responsibility to make sure no one would take this opportunity to cause trouble, especially since Huang Xujie wasn’t only the son of the Deputy Mayor but also a troublemaker at school. If Zhao Jiayi and the others were to start a fight with Huang Xujie, they would be the ones suffering more losses.
“Su Han is my distant cousin. The necklace she gave me was purely a gift,” Hao Ren replied.
Xie Yujia was relieved. “How stupid was I am to think that Su Han is Hao Ren’s girlfriend?” she thought.
“Alright. I will come with you tonight and clear things up with Huang Xujie,” she said.
“There is nothing to clear up,” Hao Ren’s words suddenly turned tough, “When facing a guy like Huang Xujie, the more you let him bully you around, the more arrogant he becomes. Do you think telling him that nothing is going on between Su Han and me is going to solve this problem? Because he wants to be with Su Han, nobody can be close to her? Because he is the son of the Deputy Mayor, the entire school has to listen to him?”
Xie Yujia was speechless after hearing Hao Ren’s series of questions.
In the end, Hao Ren packed his bag and stomped out of the classroom without saying whether he was going to go.
“Ren, I will go with you tonight!” Zhao Jiayi ran out of the classroom and called Hao Ren.
“We will go too!” Cao Ronghua and Zhou Liren both added.
“Go my *ss. I didn’t say I’m going to meet him,” Hao Ren said.
Zhao Jiayi thought Hao Ren felt powerless and said, “Don’t be scared! I will call a dozen of my guys! If Huang Xujie dares to fight us, we will fight back!”
“Don’t stir up more trouble. I will fix my own problems. If I go just because he had told me to, that will be like me paying him respect,” Hao Ren replied.
“If you don’t go, he will think you are afraid of him!” Zhao Jiayi said emotionally as if he wanted to start a fight.
“He lost in the long-distance race against me, so he is the one who should be embarrassed. Why should I be scared of him? If I am really scared of him, I wouldn’t even compete against him in the first place!” Hao Ren said.
“Yes! Screw that son of a b*tch. Let him wait on the field alone. What can he do about it!” Cao Ronghua agreed.
The four of them went to the cafeteria for lunch and then went to class as usual. Most of the courses in the second year were foundational courses. The schedule was busier as there was less free time between classes. After having experienced retaking failed courses during the first year, Hao Ren and his friends didn’t dare to skip class again.
After finishing Programming and C Language class in Academic Building D, all the afternoon classes were over. Like always, they were about to go to the Internet Cafe and play some games, and then have dinner at the Hongji Square before their night class – Principles of Marxism Philosophy.
“You guys can go without me, I have something to do,” Hao Ren said to the guys after they walked out of the classroom.
“What’s going on? If you are not coming, how are we going to team-up and play the 3C tactic?” Zhou Liren complained as he had been planning his 3C tactic during classes.
“Anyways, I have something to do. You guys go have fun!” Hao Ren waved at them and walked towards the opposite set of stairs to prevent Zhou Liren coming to get him.
“Alright, let’s go! It’s fine if he is not coming!” Zhao Jiayi said to guys as they all started walking down the stairs in excitement.
Xie Yujia, who just walked out of the classroom, looked at the stairs on both sides and decided to follow Hao Ren.
The ‘thing’ that Hao Ren said he had to do was actually to find Su Han at her office. Because of the interrogation, Hao Ren missed his chance to cultivate last night. Fortunately, there were no classes in the afternoon after 4 PM today, so Hao Ren could cultivate in Su Han’s office for two hours to make up for yesterday’s time.
After crossing two bridges between the tall Academic Buildings, Hao Ren entered Academic Building F where all the teacher offices were. He walked up the stairs to the fourth floor and went towards Su Han’s office. Along the way, Hao Ren had no idea Xie Yujia was secretly following him.
When Hao Ren knocked on the door and entered Su Han’s office, Xie Yujia was shocked, and there were no words to describe her feelings.
“You were being followed, and yet you had no idea,” the moment Hao Ren closed the door, Su Han, who was wearing a purple chiffon skirt with floral patterns on it, said with her eyes closed.
“Oh?” Hao Ren was slightly shocked. He opened the door and looked into the hallway, but he didn’t see anybody there.
“Close the door, she is gone already,” Su Han said lightly and opened her eyes.
Hao Ren was perturbed as he closed the door, turned around, and looked at Su Han.
Su Han was wearing a long purple chiffon skirt. The U-shaped neckline presented her sexy clavicle curve and plump chest lines.
Because she was sitting cross-legged, her long beautiful legs were right in front of Hao Ren’s eyes. Even her toes and glittering pink nails could be clearly seen.
Also, the room was filled with a slight smell of incense which was very comforting.
Su Han pointed at the window, and the closed curtains started to open up by itself. The green color and the peacefulness of the school appeared in front of Hao Ren’s eyes, and the bright light wiped out all the dubious vibes in the room.
“Look at the nice view outside of the window instead of staring at me,” Su Han’s slightly opened her lips and said.
Hao Ren’s face turned red as he quickly moved his eyes away from Su Han’s long pretty legs. “I have only practiced half of the Spirit Concentration Scroll that Elder Lu gave me. I hope Su… Sister Su can guide me,” he said.
“Huh,” Su Han nodded, “let me hear you recite the Spirit Concentration Scroll.”
Hao Ren thought about it for a moment and started reciting it, “The road to earth and heaven, is wide, thick, high, clear, peaceful, long, and infinite. The sun, stars, moon are the things of the world. Containing the seas and rivers, yet they never leak. Everything is contained…” like reciting a poem back in middle school, Hao Ren recited everything he remembered in one try. He then looked at Su Han and waited for the next instruction.
“That’s it?” Su Han asked.
“That’s it,” Hao Ren replied.
“So, Lu Qing only gave you the first chapter of the Spirit Concentration Scroll. No wonder you haven’t made any progress after you have been cultivating for so long. That old guy, saying he would take care of everything, yet so careless,” Su Han complained quietly. She then said to Hao Ren, “I am going to read the next two chapters of the Spirit Concentration Scroll to you, listen carefully.”
“Whether or not the validation is real, instead of guessing, open it and show it, or close it up entirely. Those who open it feel sympathy. Those who close it differentiates it sincerely. Whether to stay or to leave, it starts with one’s ambition…”
“Such as yin and yang, like circle and square. If there is no shape, the circle is the way. If there is shape, the square is the problem. Nothing is pre-determined. If things go wrong, the wrong path was chosen. Things aren’t always right; feelings and integrity are forgotten
…”
Sun Han’s voice was clear and crisp and was lovely to listen to. Like a chain of pearls, each pearl was a word that came out of her mouth. Hao Ren sat down peacefully and listened carefully as he concentrated and memorized every single word.
Almost 20 minutes had passed, and Su Han finished reading the last word of the Spirit Concentration Scroll. She asked Hao Ren, “Have you memorized all of it?”
Actually, Hao Ren wanted Su Han to read it all over again. Not because he couldn’t remember, but because her voice was so lovely that he wanted to hear it again.
However, he knew Su Han wasn’t someone he would want to mess with. He was fortunate that she was willing to guide him already. Therefore, Hao Ren wouldn’t dare to push his luck. If she found out what he was trying to play tricks, he would be the one to die first.
“Yes, all memorized,” Hao Ren answered honestly.
“Alright then, you can start cultivating by yourself,” Su Han said coldly and started cultivating with her eyes closed again.
If she didn’t think Hao Ren was hard-working, she wouldn’t spend all this time reading the basics of the Spirit Concentration Scroll to him patiently. Instead, she would’ve smacked all these cultivation techniques into his brain and have gotten it over with.
However, she didn’t know that even though Hao Ren did not have the second or third chapter of the technique, he had almost gotten to the second level of the Concentration Cultivation Techniques by touching the stone monument at the Taoist Temple and communicating with the earth and heaven.
52 Well, Masters?
Blue smoke floated from the incense burner, and the office was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
Su Han was meditating, and the blue smoke from the incense burner floated around her without being disturbed. She looked as if she had stopped breathing, and even her eyelashes were frozen still.
Stealthily, Hao Ren observed the beauty who looked like a photoshopped beauty in Online Gaming Commercial. It suddenly occurred to him that with her capabilities, she would know that he was looking at her even with her eyes closed. At this thought, he looked away in a hurry and silently recited the first chapter of the Spirit Concentration Scroll three times. After that, he closed his eyes and tried to understand the second chapter.
The second chapter corresponded with the second level of the Spirit Concentration Scroll. When Lu Qing taught Hao Ren the cultivation technique, he didn’t expect Hao Ren to break through the first level so soon. He was afraid that Hao Ren would rush through the process and thus had only taught him the first chapter. Later, Lu Qing was immersed in businesses and had planned to check up on Hao Ren’s cultivation progress in one month.
However, he didn’t know that Zhao Guang had personally given tips to Hao Ren, and Hao Ren’s talent was better than he had thought. Therefore, Hao Ren had to stumble around without the second chapter of Spirit Concentration Scroll. On the other hand, Zhao Guang thought Lu Qing had taught Hao Ren the whole Spirit Concentration Scroll, a basic cultivation technique, so he didn’t teach Hao Ren the second chapter either; he just gave Hao Ren some tips.
It was like you telling a student to go to class without giving him or her a textbook and the student had to learn all the concepts through the practices. Without a systematic understanding of the structure, only the super smart kids could get a good mark.
Immerged in the second chapter, Hao Ren gradually entered a meditation state and was oblivious to everything around him.
The clock on the wall showed 6 o’clock. Sensing that the time was up, Su Han was about to open her eyes and send Hao Ren back. Suddenly, something was wrong.
A massive pile of white clouds had accumulated above the top of the Academic Building F, and the clouds formed a tremendous and colossal vortex!
The five elements nearby began to move violently, and even the soundproof array formation she built around her office was unstable!
“A powerful enemy is here!” Su Han thought as she opened her glinting eyes. With a wave of her palm, a blue sword appeared in her hand.
She was about to stand up and leap up into the air when the weird fluctuations suddenly vanished. The large vortex of clouds that were above the building and the whole campus suddenly dispersed.
At this moment, Hao Ren, who was sitting across from Su Han, opened his eyes slowly and said shyly, “Sister Su, it seems that I have broken through the level.”
“What?” Su Han stared at him blankly.
She put away the blue sword and grabbed Hao Ren’s arm. She immediately sensed that Hao Ren’s body contained a little nature essence; it was empty before.
Relieved, she let go of Hao Ren’s hand with a bit of astonishment as she blushed.
She blushed not because she grabbed Hao Ren’s arm but because she, a Heavenly-level master, had panicked.
Fortunately, she knew Hao Ren didn’t see her panic, and the turmoil in her mind began to calm down.
At that moment, alarmed Lu Qing barged into the room. “Ms. Su! Did you see that?”
Su Han turned around and said lightly, “Don’t panic, Elder Lu. It was just Hao Ren breaking through the second level of the Spirit Concentration Scroll!”
“Oh…” Lu Qing’s expression changed from being alarmed to embarrassment to calm and then to pleasantly surprised. “Mr. Hao broke through the second level?!”
“Yes. He was cultivating here, and he just broke through,” Su Han said calmly, keeping her usual aloofness.
“Ms. Su is indeed a master of cultivation. Under your guidance, Mr. Hao has broken through the second level so fast!” Standing at the door, Lu Qing praised sincerely. Inside, he was amazed that Su Han was unfazed by the sudden change, and he was ashamed of himself for panicking and rushing to Su Han at the slightest movement.
“It was no big deal.” Su Han sounded calm.
“Then I will leave you guys alone. I’m sorry that I barged in thinking something serious had happened…” embarrassed, Lu Qing kept berating himself as he backed out of Su Han’s office.
After Lu Qing left, Su Han had also regained her composure. “Good. Lu Qing also panicked, and he shared my embarrassment. Anyway, I still have to work on my composure,” she thought.
Seeing Lu Qing barging in and then backing out apologetically, Hao Ren was confused and asked, “Sister Su, what happened?”
“Don’t call me Sister Su. Call me Su Han,” Su Han said coldly.
Hao Ren obeyed her. “Su Han, what happened?” he asked.
He felt weird calling her by her full name. But on second thought, a difference of a couple of years in age was no big deal for the dragons who could live for hundreds of years.
“Your breakthrough of the second level caused a slight phenomenon in the sky. Lu Qing thought something happened and came here to check with me,” Su Han dismissed the incident lightly.
“Oh…” Hao Ren looked up at the clock. “Time is almost up, and I’ve got to go since I have class tonight. If I have time tomorrow, I will come here to continue my cultivation,” he said.
“Ok,” Su Han nodded coldly.
Looking at Hao Ren who was walking out, Su Han thought, “This guy is such a quick learner.”
“Although his breakthrough was unexpected, my startled reaction was uncalled for. I have to work harder on my composure…” she thought.
With a wave of her hand, the soundproof array formation was activated again. She closed her eyes and entered her cultivation state…
With books in his hand, Hao Ren hurried to the lecture hall in Academic Building C as class was just about to begin.
“Ren!” Zhao Jiayi, sitting in the last row, waved at Hao Ren.
Hao Ren hurried over and found that his three buddies had reserved a seat for him.
“Where have you been? We had a great time playing the 3C tactic! We completely destroyed those four guys in Yu Rong’s dorm!” Zhou Liren told Hao Ren excitedly.
“I went out of the school for an errand and didn’t have tim
e to eat dinner,” Hao Ren said.
“Did you see the vortex of clouds above the school? It was almost as big as the basketball court!” Zhao Jiayi asked Hao Ren.
“Really? I didn’t see it. Is it still there?” Hao Ren asked.
“It lasted only a few seconds, and I didn’t even have time to dig out my phone to take a picture. Cao Ronghua and I saw it when we were on our way to class,” Zhao Jiayi said.
Before Hao Ren could ask more about it, roll call had begun. Since it was a big class of over 100 students, the teacher did it randomly. The teacher was quite cunning, and he would call out the names of those students who were close. For example, if he called Hao Ren’s name, he would definitely call the names of Zhao Jiayi, Zhou Liren, and Cao Ronghua. In this case, it would be impossible for Zhao Jiayi and the other two to answer the call for Hao Ren if the latter was absent.
Today, Hao Ren was lucky since he was the first name to be called among the hundreds of students. As predicted, Zhao Jiayi, Cao Ronghua, and Zhou Liren’s names were also called one after the other.
“Luckily we are all here! I guess we won’t be called next time, so we can skip the next class,” Zhao Jiayi said after raising his hand and shouted “here!”
“Ren, it seems like many girls are looking back at you,” Cao Ronghua, whose name had also been called, leaned towards Hao Ren and whispered.
Hao Ren raised his head and looked forward. Indeed, many people were looking back at him.
“Is it because the teacher called my name?” he thought.
He listened carefully and overheard some glimpse of conversations, “So he is Hao Ren…Oh, he is the guy who outran Huang Xujie at the Athletic Games… He seems to be close to Su Han… Did you know that Huang Xujie has called him out for a fight tonight on the field… When… Eight o’clock tonight after this class…”
Hao Ren felt a little uncomfortable after seeing more and more glances cast toward him.
53 The Pains in Cultivation
Zhao Jiayi and his other buddies, who were sitting together with Hao Ren, had also heard the conversations around them. He bumped Hao Ren with his arm and said, “Ren, it seems like you are quite popular.”