Dragon King's Son-In-Law

by Dragon King

  Lu Linlin and Lu Lili both held a few bags of clothes and were filled with excitement. Although Lu Qing always gave them money to spend, he never went shopping with them. Comparing that with Hao Ren, they both thought Hao Ren treated them much better.

  There was a cinema, an ice-skating rink, and an arcade shop at the mall…

  It seemed like Lu Linlin and Lu Lili wanted to experience all of them. But Hao Ren felt that whether he brought them to the movies or the ice-skating rink, it would seem like he was showing off to all other men. Therefore, he chose to bring them to the arcade shop.

  Although the Lu sisters had stayed in the city for a while now, they remained curious yet cautious about everything. For example, they never dared to come in this crowded and noisy arcade shop before.

  But, they didn’t have to worry anymore since Hao Ren was with them. With the tokens Hao Ren got for them, they were playing every single gaming machine. They were so excited that they looked like two kids who have never been to an arcade shop before.

  Dundun! Dundun!

  “Impressive. Cleared the level again!”

  “Full Score!”

  There were a lot of people surrounding a gaming machine. Hao Ren walked over and saw a girl, who was dressed casually with gaming headphone on, holding a black sensor gun and shooting the monsters on the screen.

  Dundun! Dundun!

  As the virtual bullets were fired continuously, all the monsters that appeared on the screen were shot down. Yet, the female player didn’t get hurt at all in the game.

  “She’s a master of the game,” Hao Ren thought.

  “YOU-WIN!” Words of congratulations appeared on the screen. This girl cleared all the levels with the token she inserted from the beginning.

  Not a single scratch! No monsters were left behind! A perfect clear!

  Everyone behind her praised in excitement.

  This girl took off the gaming headphones and walked down from the platform. Then, she turned toward other gaming machines.

  “Su… Su Han!”

  Hao Ren almost thought something was wrong with his eyes!

  The girl who played the game perfectly and attracted many observers was Su Han!

  Su Han turned around and saw Hao Ren as well. She then noticed Lu Linlin and Lu Lili who were playing on the basketball machine crazily not far from her.

  “Why are you here?” Hao Ren took a few steps forward and asked.

  “What? Why can’t I be here?” Su Han replied.

  “Uh…” Hao Ren didn’t know what to say.

  “I came here to buy some clothes and to relax for a bit.” Su Han glanced at him and took out a few tokens from her pocket. She inserted the coins into a car-racing machine beside her and sat on the seat.

  Broom! Broom!

  Su Han once again cleared all the levels!

  Lu Linlin and Lu Lili, on the other hand, ran toward Hao Ren. “Gongzi! We used up all the tokens!”

  From the look of it, even the simple game could cost them a dozen tokens! Hao Ren had no choice but to give them 200-yuan. “Go and exchange some tokens yourselves!”

  “Thanks, Gongzi!” Lu Linlin and Lu Lili ran toward the counter happily together.

  “It seems like your weekends are quite boring as well.” Su Han, who was still playing the car-racing game, turned her head and looked at Hao Ren.

  Hao Ren thought, “You seem more bored than me. You even came here to play these games alone.”

  He then looked at her gaming skills; it seemed like she came here often by herself to relieve her boredom.

  When thinking about it, it seemed like Su Han, the Inspector, was actually quite lonely.

  Lu Linlin and Lu Lili, who just exchanged the money for 100 tokens, were interested in an airplane game. They sat down and started screaming while they played the game. Some guys were around them, wanting to strike up a conversation. However, when they saw how crazy the girls got even though they were playing a simple game, they didn’t know where to start.

  “Let me take you out for dinner.” Hao Ren said to Su Han who was still playing the car-racing game, and she turned to stare at him.

  Hao Ren suddenly felt like he was one of those bad guys who tried to flirt with girls, not to mention that the girl he was trying to ‘flirt’ with, was his own teacher… Although she was only two to three years older than him…

  “If you win, I will have dinner with you,” Su Han threw two tokens toward Hao Ren.

  Hao Ren caught the tokens and sat down next to Su Han. Then, he inserted the coins into the machine.

  Challengers entered! Battle Mode!

  Su Han smiled confidently, but Hao Ren seemed calmer.

  The cars in the game started at the same time. Inside their screens, they could see each other’s car!

  Brake! Gas pedal! Shift gear!

  Their movements were the same as if they had practiced together before!

  More and more observers gathered behind them!

  Su Han’s face started to look more serious. Yet, Hao Ren remained calm!

  Boom!

  Hao Ren’s car reached the end point first!

  As she saw ‘Second Place’ showing up on her screen, Su Han looked at Hao Ren, slightly surprised. She smiled gently and said, “It seems like you are always bored as well.”

  Hao Ren didn’t deny it. Indeed, he used to come here a lot in the past because his parents were often not home. However, he stopped coming here after he got into university.

  “Linlin, Lili, time to go!” Hao Ren called out to the Lu sisters who were moving the joystick crazily and about to break the gaming machine in half.

  “Okay! Gongzi!” Lu Linlin and Lu Lili didn’t even bother picking up the rest of the tokens and stood up immediately as they started running toward Hao Ren happily. Those guys who were waiting for a chance to talk to them were left speechless.

  In the intense jealous stares, Hao Ren walked out of the arcade shop with three gorgeous girls.

  Four people, perfect for hotpot.

  That was Su Han’s first time having dinner with the Lu sisters. Although they weren’t against each other, Su Han wasn’t on the same side as the Lu sisters.

  Among the four of them, Hao Ren was the weakest. However, he connected everyone together.

  Su Han quietly looked at Hao Ren who was ordering the food and suddenly remembered a criterion of the Inspectors in the Inspector System: It didn’t matter who was stronger or weaker. Whoever could solve the problems smoothly was the most influential person.

  “This Hao Ren; he has the talent of gathering master around him and make them interact peacefully,” Su Han thought.

  Hao Ren didn’t know Su Han was thinking about him while he was ordering food. All he noticed was that Little White had started rolling around inside the space in the necklace again.

  “Eat, eat, eat! All you know is to eat. One day, you are going to kill yourself eating,” Hao Ren thought and said to Little White in his mind. He refused to let it out and eat. If he did, there wouldn’t be any food left for the four of them.

  As Su Han noticed how Hao Ren was looking at his necklace repeatedly, she said, “You need to feed Spirit Beasts with elixirs, or you can instill some Nature Essence in them. They will consume a lot more if they have to capture energy from ordinary food.”

  “Nature Essence… I have only saved a little bit of Nature Essence for myself. I will have nothing left if I share my Nature Essence with Little White,” Hao Ren thought.

  “You took me out for dinner today, so I owe you a favor.” Su Han took ten red elixir pills out from her Xumi Ring. “Here are ten pills. Both cultivators and Spirit Beasts can consume it. One pill can last Little White for around one to two days. So, these will probably last you about half a month.”

  “Thanks a lot,” Hao Ren said; he was just worrying about how to take care of Little White.

  Luckily, no mortal saw what Su Han did. Otherwise, they would’ve thought she was doing a magic trick.

>   “Don’t mention it. Lu Qing gave me these elixirs. But, I didn’t use them for my cultivation,” Su Han replied gently.

  She then looked at Lu Linlin and Lu Lili who were sitting together. She probably felt the increase in their power, from middle-tier Kun-level to low-tier Qian-level. She frowned slightly but remained quiet.

  The Lu sisters both were super talented, not to mention that they also had a perfect balance of the five elements. Compared to Su Han, it was so much easier and smoother for them to cultivate and improve. This made Su Han a bit worried.

  But, since Hao Ren was her Assisting Inspector, Lu Linlin and Lu Lili should behave themselves.

  “Gongzi, you have to start instilling Nature Essence in Little White from now on. Or, you can feed it elixirs so that it can grow,” Lu Linlin said as she saw Hao Ren putting the elixirs away.

  “So, I can stop feeding it once it is fully grown?” Hao Ren asked them excitedly.

  “No, it will consume more,” Lu Lili said with her eyes wide open.

  “Uh…” Hao Ren was left speechless once again. He pointed at the hotpot with his chopsticks and tried to change the depressing topic, “Let’s just go back to eating,”

  209 Experience A World with Zi?!

  One guy having dinner with three beauties would arouse envy in any other guy. Although Su Han had never talked to the Lu sisters, they had a chance to get to know each other by sitting around the hotpot today.

  It was a major progress for their relationship since Su Han and the Lu sisters were not sociable people. Su Han was aloof with everyone while the Lu sisters were cold to everyone except Hao Ren.

  Little White chirped in Hao Ren’s hidden space until Hao Ren tossed an Essence Replenishment Pill for it to eat.

  Although the elixir pills Su Han just gave him were not the best ones, it was not as cheap or ordinary as cabbages. It would be a test for Hao Ren to feed and nurture Little White properly.

  After one hour, the dinner came to an end. Obviously, Lu Linlin and Lu Lili had never had hotpot before. From the look of it, Su Han never did as well.

  “According to my intelligence network, West Ocean is gaining up on East Ocean. It’s ok for you to tame a Demon Beast, but you must work harder on your cultivation,” Su Han advised him before she left.

  “Got it.” Hao Ren nodded.

  “If you have any questions, come to find me,” Su Han said to him coldly before taking her leave.

  Looking after Su Han’s back, Lu Linlin pouted. “Gongzi, let us go home with you!”

  “I need to cultivate in a quiet place. You should go back to your place.” Hao Ren waved off their request, mulling over the hidden meaning in Su Han’s words.

  Seeing his serious face, the sisters didn’t bother him anymore. They lived at Lu Qing’s place, so they had a general understanding of the situation East Ocean was in. However, they didn’t want to interfere as long as Hao Ren was safe. They rather enjoy the peaceful school life they had now.

  After eating the Essence Replenishment Pill, Little White slept in Hao Ren’s hidden space while Hao Ren drove back to his home by the sea. Then, he let it out to play while he went up to his room to cultivate.

  There were two ways to unlock openings. One of them was to absorb the essence from nature; when the amount of the essence was enough, it would unlock the openings in the Dragon Core. The other one was to shoot the hundun sword energy into the clouds and bring back the lightning power to force a breakthrough.

  Comparatively, the first method was steady and safe, building a solid foundation for himself. The second one could increase his strength greatly in a short time, but he would be in danger if the Heavenly Lightning Bolts were accidentally triggered. After careful consideration, Hao Ren decided not to use the lightning cultivation method of the Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll until he has reached Zhen-level.

  Having eaten an Essence Replenishment Pill, Little White was livelier when it was released from the hidden space. It ran around in its original Snow Lion form in the spacious living room.

  Buzz… Hao Ren’s cell phone on the bedside table vibrated.

  He picked it up and saw Zhao Hongyu’s number on the screen.

  “Hello, Auntie?”

  “We came out of the Dragon Palace today. We are by the sea and can drive you back downtown,” Zhao Hongyu said over the phone.

  “Ok.” Eager to ask them about Zhao Kuo, he immediately summoned Little White and put it in the necklace before walking to the seaside.

  Zhao Guang and his family were waiting for him at the rock by the sea.

  “How is Third Uncle?” Hao Ren asked as soon as he got to them.

  “We’ll talk about it when we get home.” Zhao Guang waved at him.

  Both Zhao Hongyu and Zhao Yanzi looked grim, and Hao Ren’s heart sank at the sight of this.

  The black Chevrolet was parked not far from the sea.

  “How is everything going for you?” When they were in the car, Zhao Hongyu asked Hao Ren.

  “It has been ok,” Hao Ren answered. In fact, he had been worried about Zhao Kuo these past few days, but he didn’t want to bother them by going back to the Dragon Palace as he knew that they were busy handling the situation.

  “We were busy handling internal affairs and forgot to send guards for you. It’s good to know that you are fine.” Zhao Hongyu nodded with satisfaction.

  Zhao Yanzi kept silent, gazing out of the car window.

  The car drove swiftly and arrived at their home shortly.

  They entered the house and sat down on the sofa in the living room.

  Zhao Yanzi looked pale. Although she didn’t go to school these past few days, she was obviously exhausted after taking care of her Third Uncle in the Dragon Palace.

  “We declared to the outside world that Zhao Kuo had passed the Heavenly Tribulation. In the past few days, I had to host the celebration ceremony while making plans with the core elders. That’s why we didn’t contact you,” Zhao Guang said.

  On the one hand, they must gather the elders to discuss and make strategies; on the other hand, they had to celebrate while Zhao Kuo was recovering from his serious injuries. Hao Ren knew they were exhausted both emotionally and physically.

  “Zhao Kuo appeared in the celebration ceremony as a victor, and everyone thinks he has passed the Heavenly Tribulation successfully. Only the most loyal generals, soldiers, and core elders know the truth, including you,” Zhao Guang continued.

  He was frank with this information, taking Hao Ren as one of the core members of East Ocean.

  Hao Ren nodded solemnly, understanding the grim situation.

  “After the celebration ceremony, Zhao Kuo’s body recovered. He decided to leave the Dragon Palace and cultivate while traveling,” Zhao Hongyu said.

  “Cultivate while traveling?” After a moment of consideration, Hao Ren said, “On one hand, he could slowly reclaim his strength. On the other hand, people will think that he is traveling around because he entered the Heavenly Dragon Realm. Am I right?”

  “Good. You have a clear mind.” Zhao Hongyu looked at Hao Ren with appreciation. “Zhao Kuo has decided to start again with his cultivation. He wants to travel back to the places he has been to.”

  Hearing her words, Hao Ren had a higher regard for Zhao Kuo.

  He had lost all the cultivation strength he had accumulated for the last 200 years; his hope for the last 200 hundred years was crushed in one night. Another man would have collapsed with the loss of self-confidence, but Zhao Kuo has decided to start again with cultivation as soon as he recovered.

  “It proves the saying that you have to fall back before you could advance. It’s not a bad thing for Zi’s Third Uncle,” Zhao Guang said.

  Hao Ren nodded, imagining the scene when Zhao Kuo left the Dragon Palace. He wondered what Elder Xingyue was thinking about when she looked at Zhao Kuo as he took his leave…

  “Besides Zhao Kuo, we have another thing to talk to you about today,” looking at Hao Ren, Zhao Guan
g said abruptly.

  “Oh, what is it?” Hao Ren looked at him. Zhao Yanzi also sat up straighter beside him.

  “Zhao Kuo’s success at the Heavenly Tribulation is a great event among the four oceans. So, the Four Ocean Dragon Clans decided to open the Nine Dragon Palace to celebrate it and encourage the younger generations to cultivate harder,” Zhao Guang said.

  Seeing Hao Ren’s puzzlement, Zhao Guang explained, “The Nine Dragon Palace is a dragon palace in the prehistoric time, and it is the birthplace of the Four Ocean Dragon Clans. It’s under the common management of the Four Oceans. It hovers in the void and shows up only when all Four Ocean Dragon Clans activate the array formations together.”

  “A godly palace in the void?” Hao Ren was surprised.

  Zhao Guang continued, “The Nine Dragon Palace is activated every 50 years. It’s only 30 years from the last opening, but we decided to make an exception this time to celebrate Zhao Kuo’s success with the Heavenly Tribulation.”

  “Was it proposed by West Ocean?” Hao Ren asked.

  “Yes.” Zhao Guang nodded.

  “West Ocean is very sly. They proposed to open the Ninth Dragon Palace, the ancestral temple of Four Ocean Dragon Clans, to celebrate Third Uncle’s success with the Heavenly Tribulation. During the event, we will worship the ancestors and report Third Uncle’s success to them. If the truth gets out one day, East Ocean would be guilty of deceit,” Hao Ren said.

  Zhao Guang’s eyes lit up, surprised at Hao Ren’s clear logic and judgment.

  “You are right. We are at a disadvantage now since Zhao Kuo failed in the Heavenly Tribulation. We must deal with it step by step. Anyway, the fact that Zhao Kuo is good and healthy and that he is traveling around will give them the impression that he has passed the Heavenly Tribulation, and they will not make a move against us rashly. The most important thing right now is that we can’t come back from the Nine Dragon Palace empty-handed.”

  Zhao Guang was a man of few words. But now, his meaningful words and tone showed that he had high hopes for Hao Ren.