by Dragon King
“Well! Don’t follow us! Go to your girlfriend!” Zhao Jiayi turned to him and pushed Hao Ren to the door before walking to the stairs with Zhou Liren and the others.
Xie Yujia quickened her steps. “Did you forget the thing about Su Han?”
“Oh…” Hao Ren nodded at her reminder. In the class, he had been busy copying practice questions for tonight’s tutoring session and was now a bit dizzy.
“Su Han… I mean Ms. Su, how is she now?” With the bag on her back, Xie Yujia walked to Hao Ren’s side.
“She is… injured,” Hao Ren said.
“Injured? Is it serious?” Xie Yujia asked anxiously.
“She needs a few weeks to recover,” Hao Ren told her while walking to the stairs.
Xie Yujia walked alongside him.
“I want to visit her. Can you take me to her?” Xie Yujia asked after a moment of consideration.
“She doesn’t live… on land. I need to ask first before I can tell you if I can take you to her,” Hao Ren told her.
“It’s ok!” Xie Yujia said. “Tell me tomorrow if you get a reply.”
Hao Ren hesitated for a few seconds before asking her, “How much do you know about me?”
Xie Yujia looked around and made sure that they were alone near the stairs. She said, “I only know that you are also cultivating. Oh, it feels like you and I are not in the same circle.”
“Not in the same circle?” Hao Ren thought for a while and knew she was right. After all, Xie Yujia didn’t have a dragon core, and he couldn’t see any light around her.
“What’s the Dragon God Shrine?” Xie Yujia asked.
She had been caught off guard by the incident with Zeng Yitao. Later when she had time to think about it, she was full of questions.
“Dragon God Shrine is a major organization like the United Nations. It can put sanctions on cultivators and is also a place for arbitrations and rulemaking,” Hao Ren told her what he knew about the organization.
In fact, he didn’t know a lot about the Dragon God Shrine, except the fact that inspectors belonged to Dragon God Shrine. He didn’t know how many inspectors it had or where it was located.
“United Nations?” Xie Yujia asked casually, “Are there any permanent members in there?”
“I don’t think so.” While they talked, they had walked out of the Academic Building.
However, Xie Yujia’s casual question made him think. The Dragon Tribe was divided into five smaller clans including metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The proud metal dragons had the lowest number while the water dragon clan had the most substantial number of members including the branches of river, lake, and ocean.
Among them, the four ocean dragon palaces were undoubtedly the dominant forces, each of which governed hundreds of thousands of members. Faced with such major powers, even the Dragon God Shrine which was supposed to oversee all the dragons in the world wouldn’t challenge them without considering the consequences.
From this perspective, the four ocean dragon palaces were just like the so-called super nations.
The super nations showed respect to the Dragon God Shrine while the latter would occasionally bring one or two bad guys from the super nations to law, but it would never touch the core interests of the four ocean dragon palaces.
It meant that when two super nations fought, the Dragon God Shrine would have to stand by and watch.
If the West Ocean took all the land territories from the East Ocean Dragon Clan by force, East Ocean force led by Zhao Guang would have to retreat to the Dragon Palace.
If they engaged in a war, the East Ocean would lose due to its weaker strength; if they admitted defeat without a fight, the East Ocean would have to give up the huge businesses they had operated on land for tens of years to the West Ocean.
It would be impossible to count on the Dragon God Shrine to do claim justice for them.
“What are you thinking? You look so serious all of a sudden,” At Hao Ren’s silence, Xie Yujia turned to look at him and asked.
“Nothing…” Hao Ren looked at her, grateful for her previous comment which made him understand the whole situation.
He had thought West Ocean was only pressuring them and wouldn’t dare make a move. Now that he thought about it, he realized that Zeng Yitao’s provocations were just part of West Ocean’s strategy.
If they couldn’t stand Zeng Yitao’s provocations and attacked him, the West Ocean would use this excuse to declare war against them.
As the Crown Prince of West Ocean, Zeng Yitao was certainly not like the moron he appeared to be.
However, West Ocean didn’t expect that Black Wolf would be captured, and Zeng Yitao would be severely injured.
“Hey! Anything wrong?” Seeing Hao Ren was deep in thought again, Xie Yujia waved her hand before his eyes.
“Nothing!” Hao Ren said and shook his head
It seemed that he had entered their trap. He thought Zeng Yitao was a stupid rich kid and injured him severely in rage. It was just what West Ocean needed!
“This weekend, I’ll go visit the old Grandma with you,” Hao Ren turned to Xie Yujia and said.
Hao Ren was sure that the super master who destroyed Black Wolf with one strike from the sky was the old Grandma.
However, Xie Yujia shook her head slightly. “The old Grandma said she doesn’t want to see you. Besides, she said she wouldn’t be bothered with other people’s business.”
“The old grandma doesn’t want to see me?”
Hao Ren looked at Xie Yujia and guessed it was probably because of his relationship with her.
“I’m going to the library. Are you coming with me?” Xie Yujia asked him.
“No.” Hao Ren shook his head.
“Well, I’m off to the library then. Tell me tomorrow if I can go visit Su Han.” She walked to her bike parked before the Academic Building. Then, she rode it slowly toward the library in the distance.
Hao Ren looked after her and was sure that the old Grandma wouldn’t intervene in the conflict between the dragon palaces. She had placed issues before the Dragon God Shrine, which showed her reluctance to interfere with internal business in the Dragon Tribe.
It would have nothing to do with her even if West Ocean and East Ocean butchered each other.
Watching Xie Yujia’s bike disappeared around the corner of Academic Building D, Hao Ren sighed before walking toward the gate of the school.
Everyone thought he and Xie Yujia were dating. The fact was, they lived their separate lives and didn’t bother each other. Since their secrets were shared, they could both relax.
While Hao Ren was cultivating, Xie Yujia was also cultivating. In the past, she didn’t want to lose to Little Older Brother; now she didn’t want to lose to Hao Ren.
She knew she had to work hard to improve herself to enter Hao Ren’s world.
Hao Ren walked out of the school gate and bought a piece of bread from a deli to fill his belly. Since there was no class that afternoon, Hao Ren went to Elder Sun’s martial arts dojo downtown.
Elder Sun’s martial arts dojo was located on the west end of Nanjing Road which was one of the busiest streets in the city. Hao Ren came to the door and saw the huge signboard above it: Sun Yun Martial Arts Dojo.
The dojo was named after Elder Sun’s name. At the sight of the signboard, Hao Ren remembered a recent news report which said a martial arts training center named Sun Yun Martial Arts Dojo had been expanding all over the country in recent years. By now, they had opened locations in 15 cities, and the dojo in East Ocean City was obviously the headquarters.
After a short pause at the gate, Hao Ren stepped into the majestic-looking dojo. The moment he walked in, he saw a group of young people practicing in the hall.
They were divided into two groups. One group was obviously disciples of the dojo since they had brawny physiques and standard movements. The other group was people with different physiques and clumsy movements; they were evidently city people who came here to work out.<
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It was noon, and the employees working in the nearby office buildings took the long lunch break to exercise here. Nowadays, weight training, yoga, and Pilates were quite popular, and this martial arts dojo had become a popular workout place in the city.
Of course, becoming the most popular workout place in the city was only one of the functions of Sun Yan Martial Arts Dojo. A more important service was to train over 6,000 professional security guards each year for all walks of life.
What was more, due to the simple and effective training methods of the dojo, even the police put their training base in the dojo and sent police officers here for regular training.
The moment Hao Ren walked into the hall, a disciple from reception immediately came over and greeted him. “Hello, are you here to learn martial arts or to visit a friend?”
“I’m here for Sun Yun,” Hao Ren said.
“Our boss?” The young disciple looked at Hao Ren. “Are you Mr. Hao Ren?”
“Yes,” Hao Ren answered.
The disciple’s attitude got even more respectful. “The boss has arranged a special space for you. Please follow me.”
Hao Ren nodded and followed him. The disciple didn’t have any lights around him, either because he was a master who had concealed his power or an ordinary trainee here.
These trainees or disciples were here to learn martial arts. The dojo provided them with meals and boarding, and they must work very hard. They were tested regularly on martial arts and conducts, and those who failed the tests would be ousted.
Also, these trainees and disciples were required to run the daily operation of the dojo. For example, they taught the paying guests martial arts, helped guests pick out training venues, and created training programs, etc.
Of course, they didn’t work for nothing. After they passed the final test, Sun Yun Martial Arts Dojo would offer them jobs with steady and competitive salaries.
Besides, as graduates from Sun Yun Martial Arts Dojo, the disciples enjoyed an excellent reputation. Some wealthy businessmen from Hong Kong would even come here to select bodyguards.
As the dojo’s business grew, the graduates enjoyed a bigger network of brothers and sisters all over the country.
Elder Sun was a short man, but his strategic vision was indeed great.
Crossing the hall, they went into the backyard, and VIP training rooms were on the two sides of this corridor that led to the backyard. Hao Ren saw some VIP members taking private lessons in the rooms, and their ‘masters’ were the senior disciples of the dojo.
Operating on such a big place downtown showed Elder Sun’s affluence. He was also managing the most luxurious restaurant in East Ocean City.
These businesses were only a small part of East Ocean’s on-land empire. Hao Ren could only imagine its great business powers in the whole region, other parts of the country, and even overseas.
“Well, well, isn’t this the sophomore?” When Hao Ren was passing a VIP training room, a familiar and annoying voice came from it.
Hao Ren stopped and looked in. Sure enough, Huang Xujie was practicing martial arts in the VIP room, and with him was Haishi University Taekwondo Club’s captain who had once come to East Ocean University for club exchange activities.
Soaked in sweat, they were both dressed in the trainee costumes of the dojo. Their instructor was a 1.8 meters tall young disciple of the dojo.
At the sight of Haishi University Taekwondo Club’s captain, Hao Ren was both surprised and amused. Hao Ren had thought he was an excellent taekwondo practitioner, but now he realized this caption had improved his strength with the practice of Chinese martial arts before showing the strength disguised as Taekwondo.
The friendship between Huang Xujie and this captain showed that Huang Xujie had directed this captain to trash East Ocean University’s Taekwondo Club and messed with Lu Linlin and Lu Lili.
He did it because the Lu sisters had refused his pursuit and joined the Taekwondo Club, making the Taekwondo Club more popular than his Rock Climbing Club!
Since he couldn’t retaliate them himself, he made his friend, who was from another school, challenge East Ocean University Taekwondo Club. It was quite despicable of him!
“Do you know how much it costs to be here for one hour? Do you think you can afford such a place?” Wiping his sweat with a white towel, Huang Xujie walked to the door and taunted Hao Ren.
During the club exchange activities, he saw Hao Ren fight without any techniques and thought Hao Ren was here to practice martial arts.
He was about to mock Hao Ren some more when the young disciple who had been teaching Huang Xujie martial arts cupped his hands to the young disciple showing the way for Hao Ren, saying respectfully, “Uncle-Master.”
The young disciple beside Hao Ren just nodded. “The punch you just showed needed to move upward a bit more with less strength. Keep it up.”
“Thank you for the tip, Uncle-Master!”
Ignoring him, the young disciple bowed to Hao Ren respectfully and pointed his arm. “Mr. Hao, please continue. As instructed by the boss, your room is the ‘Supreme King” Training Room in the innermost part of the dojo.”
“Ok.” Hao Ren continued walking. After all, he was now a cultivator; he wouldn’t lower himself to Huang Xujie’s level and bicker with him.
Huang Xujie’s eyes widened while he watched Hao Ren walk forward. “Did he pay for the most expensive room?”
“It’s not the most expensive room since it’s not open to the public at all,” Huang Xujie’s instructor corrected him with a bit of envy in his voice.
262 The Good Team
As Hao Ren proceeded ten meters forward, he came to a door with a sign that read, “Supreme King.”
After Hao Ren opened the Tang-style sliding door, he noticed that the room wasn’t as big as he thought it would be. It was just a room bigger than ten square meters with a giant door.
In the middle of the room, there was a round altar made of materials that looked like gold and wood.
The young disciple who led Hao Ren into the room took two crystal-clear jades out of his chest pocket and put them into the dent of the round altar.
Suddenly, the dark round altar started shining.
If a cultivator who was on or above Fifth Heaven saw this scene, he would have screamed: “Two top-tier spirit stones for a small, short-distance teleportation array? Such a waste!
“This room is only a teleportation point. The real cultivation site is located somewhere else,” the young disciple said to Hao Ren.
Hao Ren now knew that this young disciple was also a member of East Ocean. Furthermore, his level was definitely higher than Hao Ren’s, and that was why Hao Ren couldn’t observe his true strength.
Hao Ren fixed his shirt and stepped onto the round altar.
As the young disciple started filling the round altar with his Nature Essence to activate the two spirit stones, Hao Ren suddenly felt a moment of dizziness. When he looked around again, Hao Ren found himself standing on top of another round altar in a rural area.
A disciple from the Sun Yun Martial Art Dojo was standing right beside the round altar, responsible for guarding the teleportation array.
Beside him was tens of white spirit stones, and he was cultivating with his eyes closed. As Hao Ren appeared, the disciple raised his hands towards him.
“Where is this place?” Hao Ren asked.
“This valley is in the outskirt of East Ocean City. When Gongzi finishes cultivating, you can go back to the city anytime you want,” he replied to Hao Ren.
Not everyone knew that Hao Ren was the East Ocean Fuma, especially these low-ranked soldiers. Like the cultivator who was guarding the teleportation array, he had no idea that the Fuma was standing right in front of him. He thought Hao Ren was just a normal Zhen-level cultivator. Therefore, his attitude wasn’t particularly respectful either.
Of course, Hao Ren didn’t mind this. As he saw the young disciple close his eyes and start cultivating once again,
he walked towards a plot of flat ground in the valley.
Shallow blue lights surrounded the border of the valley. Hao Ren guessed that the cultivation site was protected by an array so that even when an ordinary human entered the mountain, he or she would not be able to enter the site.
As Little White woke up from a nap, it started jumping up and down in the hidden space. When Hao Ren released it from the necklace, it started running around in the valley.
However, a moment later, Little White lost its interest as it realized the valley was nothing special. It started walking toward Hao Ren with its curled-up tail. It then raised its head and started sticking out its tongue, telling Hao Ren that it wanted some elixir pills.
“Little White, turn big and go over there 100 meters away!” Hao Ren picked it up by its ear and threw it a few meters ahead.
Little White didn’t seem to understand and thought Hao Ren was playing with it. So, it ran back to Hao Ren excitingly.
“Go, go, go, go there!” Hao Ren gently kicked its belly.
Little White decided to hug Hao Ren’s leg and act like a spoiled pet.
“Damn, I’m not playing with you!” Hao Ren grabbed its body again and threw it to the front.
Little White rolled in the air. Then, when it was about to hit the ground, its body suddenly turned big!
Bang!
Little White’s huge body hit the ground and created a small pit!
Before it could steady itself, Hao Ren released a water-elemental sword energy from his finger and shot it towards Little White.
Little White looked at Hao Ren innocently; it could not believe that its master, who normally treated it well, would suddenly attack it!
As it could feel the sword energy flying toward it, Little White rolled on the ground lazily and avoided the attack.
“Caring for nothing but eating, it is time to train you!” Hao Ren released another gold-elemental sword energy.
Little White finally realized that Hao Ren wasn’t playing with it. Therefore, it immediately moved its butt and tried to avoid the sharp sword energy.
The sword energy hit the rock behind Little White and left a mark.