by Dragon King
“The weakest Demon Beasts in there are at level 9. You better follow me closely after we enter the palace!” Su Han continued.
Hao Ren had no idea about the power structure of Demon Beasts. However, he knew that Little White wasn’t even level 1, so he could only imagine the great power of a level 9 Demon Beast.
Pulled by Su Han, Hao Ren couldn’t back off now.
The crack leaking white light was only a few meters away from them.
An intense prehistoric essence greeted them, and the furious roars of Demon Beasts were deafening.
While half of their bodies were in the crack, a voice overshadowing all Demon Beasts resonated in the air with overwhelming pressure!
“Who dares to disturb my sleep!?”
Instantly, the Demon Beasts in the Nine Dragon Palace fell silent.
Two seconds later, another furious roar sounded from inside, “All of you, get out of here!”
The super powerful pressure spread through all the cracks in the Nine Dragon Palace.
The auspicious white clouds instantly turned to a weird black color, and tens of thousands of cultivators near the Nine Dragon Palace were pushed away!
Sensing the danger, Su Han covered Hao Ren with her body. Despite her effort, she, Hao Ren, and Little White were all blown out of the cracks by the great wind and were knocked away for several kilometers!
“The Nine Dragon Palace will be closed for 500 years! I’m Qiu Niu!”
The city-sized Nine Dragon Palace was engulfed in a black light. It blinked twice before vanishing into the void!
244 Severely Wounded!
In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of cultivators were knocked out and flew in the air like kites with broken strings.
More than half of the Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators died or were greatly injured while some of the careless Core Formation Realm Cultivators got their Golden Cores damaged.
Su Han protected Hao Ren with her body and took on most of the offensive energy. After flying out several kilometers, she steadied herself and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Even as a mid-tier Qian-level Cultivator, which was equivalent to top-tier Nascent Soul Realm, she couldn’t safeguard herself from a tiny portion of Qiu Niu’s force.
Hao Ren, who had flown out thousands of meters and was about to drop onto the ground, was caught by Little White. Then, it flew back to Su Han with Hao Ren on its back.
Seeing the blood on her lips, Hao Ren knew that she was severely wounded. He immediately flew over to her on Little White and held onto her.
It was fortunate that Little White had just advanced in levels. Otherwise, Hao Ren would have died and wouldn’t have been able to help Su Han. Little White was quite useful at critical moments.
Hao Ren looked up and saw the whining cultivators flying in the sky. Their Dharma Treasures were all ruined, falling to the ground like rocks. Obviously, the cultivation sects suffered significant losses.
Although the Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators were not powerful, they were the foundation of each sect. On the other hand, the Core Formation Realm Cultivators had high power and were the main forces in the sects. For the smaller sects on Fifth Heaven, the great losses in these two groups of cultivators would result in their downfalls.
“Let’s go back!” Su Han looked up at the tragic sight and said to Hao Ren.
Without hesitation, Hao Ren helped Su Han onto Little White’s back before riding it back onto the land. He released an energy sphere to avoid being seen by ordinary people, and they returned to Su Han’s office shortly.
Back in her office, Su Han took out several elixir pills from her Xumi Ring. She swallowed them and immediately sat down to cultivate.
She was not prepared for the attack and experienced most of the damages. With her cultivation strength of Qian-level, she could have dodged the attack. However, she was concerned about Hao Ren and had to protect him. Therefore, she had to be injured.
Little White shrunk to its palm-sized self without being asked. Thinking of its excellent behavior, Hao Ren took out an Essence Replenishment Pill and a Spirit Replenishment Pill and fed Little White.
After swallowing the elixir pills, Su Han began to digest the energy from the pills with a frown.
Afraid of disturbing her cultivation, Hao Ren picked up his cell phone that he left in her office and walked out of the room to call Zhao Guang.
The call was answered after several seconds, and Zhao Guang’s firm voice came from the phone. “Ren, how are you doing?”
“We were kicked out before we could enter it. There are large casualties among the cultivators who tried to break into the palace. How about the elders from our East Ocean?” Hao Ren asked.
“Two were seriously injured, and one got some minor injuries. They are all in the Dragon Palace getting treatments. How about you? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine, but Su Han is now injured. She’s healing now, and I don’t know how serious her injury is,” Hao Ren answered.
“Ok. I’ll send Elder Lu to check up on her.”
“How is Zi? Is she ok?” Hao Ren asked anxiously.
“The usual. I’ve reinforced security in her school so that she will be safe for the time being,” Zhao Guang said.
Hao Ren hung up with unease. Returning to the office, he saw Su Han still cultivating, but her face was no longer that pale.
Shortly, Lu Qing hurried to the office. After seeing that Hao Ren was ok, he turned to Su Han and asked in a low voice, “Ms. Su, are you ok?”
“I’m ok. My meridians are damaged, and they need some time to recover,” Su Han answered with her eyes closed.
“With the order of the Dragon King, I’m here to take you to the Dragon Palace to recover. I hope you will accept his offer,” Lu Qing said politely.
Su Han thought for a while and opened her eyes. “Ok.”
Her injuries weren’t light, and she couldn’t activate her Nature Essence for a while. She would be safer in the East Ocean Dragon Palace, for the time being, so she had no choice but to owe another favor to East Ocean.
“Let’s go!” Briskly, Lu Qing led the way.
After the disappearance of the Nine Dragon Palace, the cloudy sky had turned clear all of a sudden.
Lu Qing ushered Hao Ren and Su Han into his car that was parked at the entrance of the building, and he drove them quickly to Zhao Yanzi’s home.
In the past hundreds of years, all parties had organized their teams to break into the Nine Dragon Palace when it appeared in the mortal world. No one had expected that the situation would be different this time.
They arrived very soon, and they quickly entered the house.
Zhao Guang and Zhao Hongyu were both at home, and even Zhao Yanzi was there. She must have been summoned from her school.
In the room, Zhao Guang looked grim. When he saw Lu Qing enter with Su Han, he just gave her a polite smile.
In this situation, even Zhao Yanzi was quiet; she looked at Su Han in concern.
“Let’s go!” Zhao Guang tossed out an ancient-looking black sword. When everyone was on it, the sword shot into the sky.
East Ocean City seemed to be in chaos due to the massive loss of human cultivators. On land, the ordinary people continued with their daily lives, oblivious to what had happened except for the change in weather. However, in the sky, the human cultivators were in a frantic state. Today’s event was a disaster to the human cultivation world!
Comparatively, the dragon cultivators got fewer casualties since most of the cultivators who went there were above Dui-level which was the equivalent to low-tier Nascent Soul Realm. They were a lot more powerful.
“Would the cultivation sects do anything since so many human cultivators died on First Heaven,” Lu Qing said in a low voice on the sword.
Zhao Guang remained silent. After all, the disaster happened on the territory of East Ocean Dragon Clan. If the cultivation sects on Fifth Heaven and up wanted to find someone to blame, the East Oc
ean Dragon Clan would be the first pick.
“According to the agreement, they should not have come to First Heaven in the first place!” Zhao Hongyu said with a snort.
“We’ll talk about it when we return to the Dragon Palace!” Zhao Guang said, displeased.
The huge sword accelerated, and it submerged into the sea with the transparent energy sphere around it.
The defense array formation of the Dragon Palace had been opened for them, and Zhao Guang led the group into the plaza in front of the main palace and instructed Lu Qing to find a place for Su Han to rest and recover.
Premier Xia jogged to them and greeted, “Greetings to Dragon King, Dragon Queen, Princess and …”
“Ok, ok!” Zhao Guang interrupted him. “How are the elders doing?”
“They are all resting in their homes. We allocated two godly elixir pills to the two seriously injured elders,” Premier Xia reported.
“Ok. Let’s go and visit them.” Zhao Guang nodded.
Premier Xia took Zhao Guang’s order and led the way.
Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi followed them. No matter what identities they had in the mortal world, they were the Fuma and Princess in the Dragon Palace.
It was the first time that Hao Ren attended to the business of the East Ocean Dragon Palace as the Fuma.
They visited the three injured elders one by one, and Zhao Guang was relieved to find that they were not in life-threatening danger. Returning to the main palace, he asked Premier Xia, “Where is Su Han?”
“She’s in Elder Xingyue’s palace,” Premier Xia answered politely.
“Lead me to her,” Zhao Guang said.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Premier Xia led the way.
They walked along the winding corridors in the East Ocean Dragon Palace before entering a small quiet palace.
In a white robe, Elder Xingyue was preparing and cooking herbs in the yard. The process was not different from that of Traditional Chinese Medicine. She ground the herbs with a small stone mill before boiling them in a stone pot, and the herbs simmered until it was done.
The only difference lied in the herbs she used; they couldn’t be found in the mortal world.
“Your Majesty!” At the sight of Zhao Guang and Zhao Hongyu, Elder Xingyue stood up and greeted.
“Well,” Zhao Guang looked at her and asked, “How is Su Han?”
“She is seriously injured. It will take probably one month for her to heal,” Xingyue said.
“Can I go in and visit her?” Zhao Guang asked.
“It’s not necessary,” Xingyue declined his offer. She turned to look at Hao Ren and said, “But she said that the Fuma could go in.”
Zhao Guang turned to Hao Ren. “Ren, you can go in and see her.”
“Ok.” Hao Ren followed Elder Xingyue.
Traveling through a small garden, Hao Ren came to the door of a quiet side room. Xingyue led him inside.
Lying in bed, Su Han lost her usual spirit and looked sick. Obviously, her injury was severe, and she had been holding it in.
“Master,” Seeing Xing Yue coming into the room, Su Han greeted her in a low voice.
Xingyue walked over and took out a porcelain bottle from her sleeve, placing it on the small chair beside the bed. “These are top-tier Hundred Flower Pills. Take three pills each day.”
Without further ado, she left the room.
Her coldness was identical to Su Han’s.
However, Hao Ren had seen her grinding those herbs patiently and knew that she looked cold but was caring. She was worried about her disciple, Su Han, a lot.
The door closed with a click.
The room was dim and quiet.
Lying in bed, Su Han looked at Hao Ren and said, “My injury is severe, and I need to stay in the Dragon Palace to recover. During my absence, I authorize you to manage the business in East Ocean City for me. You will be the temporary Inspector.”
“Ugh?” Hao Ren looked at her in surprise.
“As my Assisting Inspector, you have the responsibility to take over the duties from me when it’s necessary. If you have any questions, come to me. Usually, the Regional Inspectors do not have a lot of business to handle. But this time, the human cultivators suffered great casualties on our territory, and the cultivation sects on Fifth Heaven and above will probably find someone to blame. You should keep an eye on it.”
She took out a white jade pendant and said, “Take this. If it turns red, it means that there’s a mission for us, and you must come to see me.”
“Got it.” Hao Ren took the jade pendant from her. Su Han was severely injured because she took the blow for him; he had the duty to share her burden.
“Another thing. You must be careful with Xie Yujia; there is a grandmaster behind her. The Regional Inspectors can’t afford to offend such a figure. Even the East Ocean Dragon Clan and Dragon God Shrine, the headquarter of the Inspector System, can’t afford to offend this figure,” Su Han thought for a moment before giving him this warning.
245 The Weakest Moment!
“Got it.” Hao Ren had met the grandmaster, but he refrained from talking about it for fear that it would disturb Su Han’s recovery.
“That’s all,” Su Han looked at him and said coolly.
“Ok…” Hao Ren stood up in embarrassment, feeling her chilly attitude.
He walked out of the room and saw Elder Xingyue was boiling the herbs in the yard. He said goodbye to her and walked out of the small palace.
“How is Sister Su?” Seeing Hao Ren walked out, Zhao Yanzi asked anxiously.
“It’s not very serious, but she has to stay in the Dragon Palace to recover,” Hao Ren answered, feeling like a doctor coming out of the surgery room.
“Ok.” Zhao Guang nodded. He turned to Premier Xia and instructed, “Take good care of Su Han. Provide Elder Xingyue any herbs and elixir pills she needs.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Premier Xia took the order.
Hearing Su Han’s wound was not serious, Zhao Yanzi was relieved. Then she asked Hao Ren curiously, “What did she say to you?”
“I’m not telling you.” Hao Ren glanced at her and kept his mouth sealed.
Zhao Yanzi was mad at Hao Ren’s attitude towards her, the princess of the Dragon Palace.
“Mom! Look, he is such a bully!” She complained to Zhao Hongyu.
Zhao Hongyu smiled in resignation. “It’s a private conversation between Su Han and Hao Ren. Why do you want to know?”
“I… I…” Zhao Yanzi couldn’t find a good reason.
“It’s nothing important. Su Han just instructed me to temporarily take over her responsibility as the Inspector of East Ocean City,” Hao Ren told Zhao Hongyu. He could ignore Zhao Yanzi’s demand, but he had to respect her parents.
Ignoring the bickering between them, Zhao Guang turned to Lu Qing. “Fortunately, our East Ocean received little damage this time. You should investigate the casualties of the other dragon clans, especially West Ocean.
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Lu Qing cupped his hands.
Zhao Guang thought for a moment. “After today’s event, the land is probably in chaos. To be safe, today everyone stays the night at the Dragon Palace. Elder Lu, you help Premier Xia take stock of the properties in the Dragon Palace. We spent a lot of resources on Elder Zhao’s Heaven Tribulation, and we need to reallocate the remaining resources.”
Zhao Guang looked regretful when he mentioned Zhao Kuo’s Heavenly Tribulation. To help Zhao Kuo pass the Heavenly Tribulation, the East Ocean Dragon Clan had consumed one-third of its resources, but Zhao Kuo still failed.
“Dad, when will Third Uncle come back?” Zhao Yanzi asked Zhao Guang.
“He’s traveling while cultivating. He will come back when he’s ready,” Zhao Guang answered.
“Oh…” Zhao Yanzi pouted, not satisfied with this answer.
Zhao Guang was strict with her while Zhao Hongyu was a loving but stern mother. Only Zhao Kuo spoiled her, satisfying each of her demands. That was why Zhao
Yanzi missed him and worried about his safety.
“Premier Xia, take Ren and Zi to the rear of the palace to rest. Then summon the core elders to the Grand Hall for a meeting,” Zhao Guang said.
With a little bow, Premier Xia ushered Zhao Yanzi and Hao Ren to the back of the Dragon Palace.
The rear of the palace was, in fact, the places where all of Zhao Guang’s harems should live. However, since Zhao Guang was busy on land and had only one wife, Zhao Hongyu, most of the rooms were empty.
Crossing the cold and quiet palace, Premier Xia led Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi to a beautifully decorated small palace.
Surrounded by the gardens, the palace was exquisite.
On the way, Zhao Yanzi was in a sulky silence, and Hao Ren didn’t offer to talk to her. Premier Xia felt something was wrong between them, but he didn’t want to be involved in the family business of the Princess and the Fuma.
Leading them into a side room, Premier Xia asked carefully, “Princess, Fuma, do you need one bed or…”
“Of course one bed!” Zhao Yanzi had been sulky all the way here. But at Premier Xia’s question, she blushed.
Premier Xia stammered, “And do you want one room or…”
As the manager of the Dragon Palace, he must mind all the trivia stuff.
“Of course… two rooms!” Zhao Yanzi hesitated for a couple of seconds before she gave her answer.
“Ok. Then Princess, please stay in this room to rest. Fuma, please follow me,” Premier Xia said.
Hao Ren followed Premier Xia out of the room. He looked back at Zhao Yanzi before stepping out.
Zhao Yanzi glared at him, but her face flushed.
The moment Hao Ren stepped out of the room, Zhao Yanzi blurted out, “Come back!”
With a blush, she looked at Premier Xia. “Place him in my room but put a good distance between the two beds.”
Premier Xia took the princess’s order immediately.
Hao Ren couldn’t contain his smirk when he looked at Zhao Yanzi. He had known that she would be scared of staying in such a big room by herself. Besides, she rarely lived in the Dragon Palace, and the rooms were very distant from each other.