by Dragon King
In the night, Qin Shaoyang, who was in an elegant black shirt, stood on top of a building and watched Hao Ren who was happily playing with a dash of sword energy in his palm while walking into the dorm area. After a light snort, this man vanished.
On the second day, Hao Ren replenished the Nature Essence in his body with the Spirit Concentration Scroll in class, feeling like his 108 acupoints were full of Essence again.
The bell rang, and Hao Ren carried a stack of books to return to the library. He had been so busy recently that the books were due before he could finish them.
He was about to enter the library when someone called out to him.
He turned and saw the pink-faced Xie Yujia, who also had a stack of books in her arms, rushing toward him.
“Are you returning books too?” Hao Ren asked with a stiff smile.
“Why are you looking at me like that? I won’t eat you.” Xie Yujia smiled lightly and bumped him with her elbow before walking with him into the library.
Today, she was wearing a loose striped dress. Just like her usual clothes, it was simple but refreshing.
“Why did you avoid me these two days? Did you do something wrong?” Xie Yujia asked while walking.
“No. It’s because of… That thing.”
Hao Ren stammered, knowing that Xie Yujia would understand what he was referring to.
“In the beginning, I was indeed astonished. But now after some thinking, it is what it is,” Xie Yujia said.
The hall on the first floor of the library was divided into several sections by whiteboards; it was being prepared for tomorrow’s art exhibition.
Hao Ren stood beside Xie Yujia on the escalator that was moving up slowly. He asked, “What do you mean by ‘it is what it is’?”
“Then, what do you mean by ‘because of that thing’?” Xie Yujia returned the question.
Secretly admitting defeat, Hao Ren said with resignation, “I mean I’m you Little Older Brother.”
“And ‘it is what it is’ is also referring to the fact that you are my Little Older Brother,” Xie Yujia said lightly.
Knowing that the Class President was too smart for him, Hao Ren changed the subject by asking, “Did your dad go back?”
“Yeah, a little later than he had planned. I saw him off last night at the airport,” Xie Yujia answered.
Hao Ren thought for a moment and said, “I should have seen him off as well.”
His childhood memories were vague, but he still remembered that Xie Yujia’s dad had been kind to him.
“It’s ok,” Xie Yujia replied as she shook her head while holding the books in her arms.
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
Standing together on the moving escalator, they looked like one of the student couples commonly seen on campus.
“Oh, the little girl, Zhao Yanzi, pulled you to aside and talked to you last time. What did she say?” Hao Ren asked abruptly.
“Nothing serious. She just asked me if I like you,” Xie Yujia arched her eyebrows slightly and said breezily.
Hao Ren’s heart lurched, not daring to ask what her answer was.
“In fact, I was astonished when I found out that you are my Little Older Brother. I feel dumb thinking back to the words that I said to you,” Xie Yujia said as she bit her lip with her white teeth. Then, she pursed her lips and turned to Hao Ren abruptly, reaching out her soft white hand to him while holding the books against her belly with the other.
“Very nice to meet you,” she said.
“Huh?” Hao Ren froze.
“This is the scene that I had in mind about the meeting with my Little Older Brother,” Xie Yujia reached out her hand and said, “It is nice to meet you again, Little Older Brother. From now on, everything would restart from the beginning.”
“Restart from the beginning…” The words hit Hao Ren’s heart as all the memories he had with her re-emerged in his head.
Hao Ren reached out and shook her hand with his.
“You are supposed to say, ‘Nice to meet you, Little Carrot’,” Xie Yujia said with a smile.
While the escalator moved up slowly, the students on the first and second floor all looked at the beautiful girl who was holding a plain-looking guy’s hand.
Some of them were baffled, some were jealous, but none of them knew the backstory that covered a time span of more than ten years.
The escalator got to the top, and Xie Yujia released Hao Ren’s hand and exhaled deeply as if she was finally free from the pressure and the burden that had accumulated over the past ten years.
“Although the beginning is a bit different from what I had imagined, now everything is in its rightful place. We met each other again, and we can start again.” Xie Yujia looked at Hao Ren and smiled faintly as the wisps of black hair around her ears fluttered slightly.
“You are Little Older Brother in the second year, and I am Little Carrot in the second year.”
Like a clock that had readjusted to the correct time, Hao Ren’s messy thoughts and feelings began to clear with this simple hand-shake.
“I have two questions,” Hao Ren gritted his teeth and asked, “You waited for your Little Older Brother because you wanted to give him and yourself a chance, right?”
“Yes.” Xie Yujia nodded. She had wished for a reunion just like this. Although there might be no result, she had something to hope for.
“What if he doesn’t show up?” Hao Ren continued to ask.
“Then, I would probably leave the chance to a guy named Hao Ren, but that would be in the third year,” Xie Yujia said lightly before walking into the Borrowing Section with books in her arms.
147 The Metal Elemental Is the Strongest?!
Hao Ren followed her into the Borrowing Section.
After returning the books that she borrowed last time, Xie Yujia walked to the science and technology shelves while Hao Ren went toward the culture and art shelves.
“I saw Qin Shaoyang yesterday. Wow! He is so handsome!”
“It’s said that he has golden pupils. Is that true?”
“My view wasn’t clear. I just had a distant glimpse of him directing the arrangements in the exhibition area. He was so dashing in his grey shirt!”
“What are you guys talking about? Qin Shaoyang? I saw him yesterday when he walked past the entrance of the library! His pupils are golden in the sunshine. He’s gorgeous!”
The girls’ gossips floated through the bookshelves and reached Hao Ren who was standing in the area.
“Golden pupils…” Hao Ren clenched his fists as he had a bad feeling about Qin Shaoyang’s intentions.
A Patrolling Inspector had suddenly appeared in East Ocean City just before Zhao Yanzi’s birthday party; his purpose was obvious.
Except for Qin Shaoyang, who had revealed his identity, Hao Ren wondered how many disguised Inspectors were secretly coming here. Zhao Yanzi’s birthday party was a disguised competition of power between East Ocean and the West Ocean; saying that it was a display of strength before the war was an accurate representation. Zhao Guang invited seniors and hermits to join his side while the West Ocean was also preparing their forces. Meanwhile, the Inspectors would come to the party to see if they should intervene.
While the girls were still gossiping, Hao Ren found the books he wanted and went to the exit to check them out.
Xie Yujia had also found the books she needed and walked out from another section.
“You have a broad range of interests,” standing in the line behind Hao Ren, Xie Yujia couldn’t help but comment when she saw books such as [Eight Extraordinary Meridians], [Ying Yang and the Five Elements], and [Taoism Classic Scriptures] in his hands
“Well, they are just for casual readings,” Hao Ren replied before turning his head and glancing at the books in Xie Yujia’s hands.
“Class President, you are the hardworking one. They are all academic books.”
“The mid-term exams are close. I have to find study material on the topics
that were not clearly taught in class. I need to study these books together with our textbooks to fully understand everything,” Xie Yujia said.
Hao Ren smiled at the Class President who had a serious attitude towards studying. He thought for a moment before asking, “Can I borrow your notes and make a copy of them?”
“You just don’t listen in class…” Xie Yujia cast him a ‘disdainful’ glance before saying “You may come and take them before the mid-term exams.”
Hao Ren was thrilled. Xie Yujia had the best and the most detailed notes in class; they were like exam guides with all the key points emphasized. With her notes, it would take him less time to cram for the exams.
However, Hao Ren felt guilty just stealing her half a semester worth of hard work.
“After the exams, I’ll treat you to a meal!” he offered.
“You want to bribe me with just a meal…” Xie Yujia murmured but didn’t object to it.
After walking out of the Borrowing Section, they took the escalator to the first floor together.
The marble hall on the first floor was now entirely divided into several sections by whiteboards. Viewed from the above, it looked like a maze.
“It seems like Qin Shaoyang is quite famous,” Xie Yujia said.
“Class President, are you one of his fans, too?” Hao Ren said.
“My idol is Hao…” Xie Yujia blurted out. However, she caught herself and said instead, “Qin Shaoyang is said to be quite handsome, but I have no interest in him.”
Hao Ren wasn’t surprised. Xie Yujia was a fan of science, and her idols were famous scientists; she didn’t have a lot of interest in artists.
“But you seem to be interested in the culture and art?” Xie Yujia asked while glancing at the books in Hao Ren’s hands.
In the stack of books in Hao Ren’s hands, there were [Chinese and Foreign Art Illustrations], [The Most Famous 100 Artists in History], and [Introduction to Contemporary Arts] beside the Daoism books.
“Ugh, just a bit.” Hao Ren rearranged the stack of books in his arms as he replied.
He was teased mercilessly by Zhao Yanzi yesterday when they visited the 1825 Art District. He felt like an illiterate man in the so-called art world, and that was why he borrowed the books; he wanted to familiarize himself with the art world.
The escalator moved down to the hall on the first floor, and they walked along the pathway in the middle of the exhibition area. They were about to step out of the library when Qin Shaoyang who was in a thin grey windbreaker walked toward them.
Under the admiring gazes of the girls by the entrance, he rested his gaze on Hao Ren before stepping into the library.
“Does he know you?” Xie Yujia asked in surprise.
“Not really. I just met him once,” Hao Ren said lightly.
Xie Yujia felt like something was not right, but she didn’t want to interfere with Hao Ren’s business too much. After waving at Hao Ren, she walked toward her bike.
The moment they left, Qin Shaoyang, who had walked into the library, slowly turned his head and glanced in Xie Yujia’s direction.
…
The moment that Hao Ren returned to the dorm with his books, he was surrounded by guys.
“Ren! It’s too much!”
“You are the common enemy of all guys! You must treat us to a meal!”
“Hand out the QQ numbers of the two beauties, or you will die!”
Hao Ren looked at them in bafflement.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Don’t play dumb!” Huang Jianfeng got even more indignant.
“The twin beauties just came to our dorm building and brought you a chocolate cake they baked!” he shouted.
“It’s too much! We should sentence Ren to a death penalty!” the guys yelled.
The single guys were furious at Hao Ren for receiving a cake baked by the twin beauties.
Exasperated, Hao Ren had to admit that Lu Linlin and Lu Lili had a broad range of interests. In their free time when they were not cultivating, they probably fell in love with baking.
“Where is the cake?” Hao Ren asked as he walked into the dorm.
“We all ate it! Nothing is left!” Yu Rong yelled.
Hao Ren rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything after considering their burning jealousy. He wondered what elixirs Lu Linlin and Lu Lili had put into the cake they baked and what they would do to the guys.
“Oh, no…” Gu Jiadong who had the weakest stomach among them suddenly put his palms on his belly and yelled in pain.
Right after him, Cao Ronghua’s face turned livid too before he dashed toward the public bathroom on the third floor.
One after another, they all rushed into the bathroom.
Even Zhao Jiayi, the fittest one of them all, couldn’t bear it. He also held his belly and rushed into the bathroom since he had eaten three pieces of the cake, three times Cao Ronghua’s consumption.
Immediately, the public bathroom on the third floor was engulfed in a stinky smell. Hao Ren shook his head in exasperation and thought, “Well, at least the cake is helping them to eliminate the impurities in their bodies, and I guess they won’t be vulnerable to any diseases in a couple of years.”
Several minutes later, Cao Ronghua walked out of the bathroom with one hand covering his nose and the other one rubbing his butt. However, the moment he reached the door of their dorm room, his face changed, and he rushed back to the bathroom.
Hao Ren couldn’t bear the stinkiness, so he got out of the dorm building to escape from it.
Coming out of the building with him were guys who were on the first, second and fourth floors. No one could bear the permeating stinky smell in the building.
Hao Ren walked further away before shaking the little bell on his wrist.
Half a minute later, Lu Linlin and Lu Lili walked out of the southern gate of the campus and towards the dorm area.
“Gongzi, did you like the cake?” they walked to Hao Ren before asking cheerfully while holding each other’s hand.
“I didn’t eat it; my dormmates ate it. Now they are all… Having internal cleansings in the bathroom. What on earth did you put in the cake?” Hao Ren asked them helplessly.
“Really? How?” Lu Lili widened her adorable big eyes and put her fingers on her mouth, looking innocent.
“Gongzi, knowing that you are fatigued with cultivation recently, we got six Essence Replenishing Pills from Elder Lu and grounded them into powder before putting them into the cake,” Lu Linlin answered.
“It won’t do them harm, will it?” Hao Ren asked with a sigh.
“They are all mortal beings who are not toughened by cultivation. The elixirs are too much for them to hold inside, and that is why they have the runs. However, they won’t be harmed. Instead, it will help them eliminate any impurities and improve their health,” Lu Linlin said.
Relaxed, Hao Ren thought, “It’s a blessing in disguise for these greedy guys. After all, they had a taste of elixirs that are not accessible to any mortal beings.”
“But we are the cause of their trouble. Shall we go up and apologize to them?” Worriedly, Lu Lili asked Lu Linlin.
“We told them repeatedly that the cake for Gongzi and they still ate it…” Lu Linlin was exasperated. She was a little angry at the fact that the guys had eaten the cake that she and her sister spent half a night baking.
“Oh, I have another thing to tell you.” Hao Ren opened his palm and revealed a vague grey sword energy.
“Sword condensed with essence!” Lu Lili exclaimed before crooning with a blush, “Gongzi, you are awesome!”
“Ugh…” Hao Ren was embarrassed at Lu Lili’s response. Her exclamation was so naive that he felt like a kindergarten kid who was praised by the teacher when he solved the math problem of one plus one.
“How do I use it?” Hao Ren asked. Although Su Han could teach him the basics, she had not cultivated the Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll. Lu Linlin and Lu Lili were more familiar with
the details of this technique.
“You can release it through the center of your palm, or you can shoot the sword energy with your fingertips,” Lu Lili said.
“[Six Pulses Godly Sword]?” Hao Ren brightened immediately.
“Right now, since your five elements are unbalanced, the sword energy contains no power. Otherwise, when you release the sword energy, it would essentially be a dash of lightning since it combines all five elements. It would break other elemental techniques,” Lu Linlin continued.
“It sounds awesome…” Hao Ren withdrew the grey sword energy and asked, “Did Qin Shaoyang cause trouble for you lately?”
“No. When we fought him yesterday, I felt like he should be in mid-tier Kun-level. My sister and I are beyond the realm of the five elements, and that was why he couldn’t defend against us no matter how powerful his metal-elemental technique was,” Lu Linlin said.
“Oh? He is cultivating a metal-elemental technique?” Hao Ren asked.
“The metal-elemental techniques have the strongest offensive ability, and that’s why his combat power is on par with Su Han’s even though his cultivation realm is lower. If we don’t have the special body type which could resist the five elements in nature, we probably would be no match for him as well!” Lu Linlin said.QQ was once a popular messenger and social media service; similar to Facebook.It is a famous technique in a traditional wuxia novel written by Jin Yong.
148 Small Lightning Cloud Tribulation!
“The Dragon Tribe is divided into five groups according to the different elemental power they cultivate. Both East Ocean and West Ocean belong to the Water Elemental Dragons Clan. The Metal Elemental Dragon Clan is the most unique out of the five elemental Dragon Clans since they are the most talented, have the greatest combat strength, and live up to unparalleled pride. They rarely participate in the Dragon Tribe’s business and usually keep to themselves. Qin Shaoyang is one of the rare ones who travel in the mortal world,” Lu Linlin explained.
Hao Ren never knew that the dragons were divided according to their elements. If he had not chosen to cultivate the Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll which required the cultivator to gather the five elements simultaneously, he would have been a member of the Water Elemental Dragon Clan after reaching Kan-level.