abcnovels
Chapter 263: Making a Stand
Chapter 263: Making a Stand
Chapter 263: Making a Stand
Translator: Noodletown Translated Editor: Noodletown Translated
Hao Ren tossed Little White into his hidden space before walking to the teleportation array formation again. This time, the cultivator guarding the teleportation array formation looked at Hao Ren in a new light.
His eyes were filled with respect and a little fear. After the two spirit stones were placed in the round altar, he immediately activated the array formation.
Hao Ren stepped onto it and instantly he returned to the ‘Supreme King’ Training Room.
The disciple who led Hao Ren into the room was sitting beside the teleportation array formation, cultivating while waiting for him.
Sensing the fluctuations of Nature Essence, he looked up and saw that Hao Ren had returned. Immediately, he walked over to him. “Mr. Hao, how was it?”
“It’s a good place.” Hao Ren looked at him. “Isn’t Elder Sun in the dojo today?”
“He is out dealing with something urgent.”
“Oh…” Hao Ren didn’t pursue the topic, thinking that Elder Sun must be very busy as one of Zhao Guang’s essential assistants. He didn’t know that Elder Sun was in fact in Mingri Group talking about the issue regarding West Ocean.
The disciple led Hao Ren out of the room toward the main gate of the hall.
“Mr. Hao, the boss told me to give you this if you are satisfied with the room. It’s a Supreme Diamond VIP card; with it, you can practice in any of the Sun Yun Martial Arts Dojo at any time you like. Besides, if you have any other problems, all the dojos will help you solve them.” He took out a card and handed it to Hao Ren.
Hao Ren put the card into his wallet. As the martial arts dojo branched all over the country, Sun Yun Martial Arts Dojo provided training services and personal protection to the owners of the Supreme Diamond VIP cards.
Although this card was not necessary for Hao Ren who had reached Zhen-level, it was beneficial to those who were concerned about their safety in the big cities.
This exquisite Supreme Diamond VIP card couldn’t be obtained by a ‘sponsorship’ of hundreds of thousands of yuan!
By issuing ten or twenty of such cards, the dojo would gain an income of tens of millions of yuan which could provide the business with the funds to open more locations. Elder Sun indeed had an excellent business instinct.
When the disciple walked Hao Ren to the door of the dojo, Hao Ren checked his watch and found that it was already four o’clock in the afternoon. He and Little White had spent a whole afternoon practicing in the valley.
By now, Huang Xujie and the captain of the Taekwondo Club from Haishi University had left the dojo, and Hao Ren didn’t care about their whereabouts.
He now knew that captain’s combat skills came from the training sessions in Sun Yun Martial Arts Dojo since Huang Xujie had bought a silver membership for him.
In the western corner of the hall, several brawny disciples were talking loudly around the workout equipment. It was the afternoon, and the clients who came here to work out during lunch break had all left; a new wave of clients wouldn’t come until after five.
Seeing that Hao Ren was looking at the equipment, the disciple guiding Hao Ren asked him, “Mr. Hao, would you like to try it?”
Since it was still early, Hao Ren decided to see what they were talking about.
As they went over, the boisterous disciples all quieted down and greeted the disciple who was guiding Hao Ren, “Uncle-Master!”
“Well, keep at it.” The disciple waved at them.
He turned to Hao Ren. “This is a machine used to measure strength. Mr. Hao, you may try it if you like.”
Compared with the disciples in the dojo, Hao Ren’s physique looked quite thin and weak. Hearing their Uncle-Master’s words, the disciples all looked toward Hao Ren curiously.
Before they entered Sun Yun Martial Arts Dojo, they had all practiced for years by themselves. Today, a junior disciple had just joined the dojo, and they were here to measure the junior disciple’s strength.
“Ok. I’ll try it.” Ever since he started cultivation, Hao Ren had never measured his strength.
He walked to a huge wall pulley, gripped the handle, and exerted some force.
100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600!
600 pounds of strength in one arm!
“Wow!” The disciples around him all gasped.
The new disciple had meant to show his strength before the senior disciples, but now he was stunned at Hao Ren’s strength.
“Sun Yun Martial Arts Dojo is full of masters, and even this weak-looking friend of this Uncle-Master has 600 pounds of strength in one arm! I should work hard in training in Sun Yun Martial Arts Dojo!” he thought.
Hao Ren released the handle slowly and nodded slightly when he saw the number.
600 pounds.
However, he had not used his Nature Essence yet. The number would be much greater if he used it.
“Would you like to try the other equipment?” The disciple asked Hao Ren.
“No. I’m heading back now,” Hao Ren said.
Stunned, the disciples looked at Hao Ren as he left, and they finally remembered to exhale.
“Obviously, he is a master and a friend of the boss!” they thought.
The disciple walked Hao Ren to the door of the dojo. Hao Ren thanked him before taking a bus back to school. Then he grabbed the tutoring materials and went to Zhao Yanzi’s home.
It was not yet five o’clock when he got to Zhao Yanzi’s home. Zhao Hongyu had just arrived home.
“Hello, Auntie!” Hao Ren put down the material and greeted Zhao Hongyu who was rinsing vegetables in the kitchen.
“Hello, Ren! You are early today!” Zhao Hongyu answered in the kitchen.
“I had no class this afternoon, so I came early.” Hao Ren walked into the kitchen. “Auntie, can I help you?”
Zhao Hongyu didn’t refuse the help. She stepped away from the sink and said, “Help me rinse the vegetables, and I’ll chop the potatoes.”
“Ok.” Hao Ren turned on the tap water and rinsed the vegetables in a big bowl. Even though he had 600 pounds of strength in each arm, his hands were light when doing housework.
According to Chinese Martial Arts Theory, martial arts were used to temper bodies and stop atrocities. The purpose of martial arts was not for violence or killing; it was for the protection of the people.
That was why Hao Ren put more restraint on himself while his strength grew. However strong he grew he would never regard the mortals as worthless ants.
“I talked to your grandma on the phone a couple of days ago, and she told me that your parents would be coming back next week. Is that so?” Zhao Hongyu asked Hao Ren while chopping potatoes.
“Yeah, I guess. But they will probably postpone their return since they are always busy.” Hao Ren continued to rinse another batch of vegetables.
“When your parents come back, we can go out for dinner together,” Zhao Hongyu suggested.
“Ok.” Hao Ren nodded.
At Zhao Hongyu’s unexpected dinner invitation, Hao Ren knew she wanted to talk to his parents about something. Since his parents were not back yet, he didn’t pursue the topic.
“Oh, Auntie, I need to ask you about something.” Hao Ren stopping rinsing the vegetables and turned to look at Zhao Hongyu.
“Oh? What’s it?” Zhao Hongyu asked lightly.
“Uh, Xie Yujia, whom you met once, wants to visit Su Han,” Hao Ren said.
“I have a vague memory of her.” Zhao Hongyu picked up another potato and squinted her eyes slightly. “She is also cultivating, right?”
“You know about it?” Hao Ren asked without thinking. On the second thought, East Ocean City was the territory of East Ocean Dragon Clan, and any minor or significant events in the city couldn’t escape their eyes.
“Yeah, she’s also cultivating. Since she has no dragon core, she is one of the human cultivators, right?” Hao Ren asked.
“Yeah, a human cultivator.” Zhao Hongyu bit her lip. “Since her master remained on land, her master must be a Soul Formation Realm cultivator. When the Nine Dragon Palace appeared above East Ocean City, the cultivation sects on and above Fifth Heaven sent out many human cultivators, so their existence is no longer a secret.”
Zhao Hongyu paused for a few seconds before continuing, “In the past, the conflicts between them and us were small-scale. But this time, the human cultivators experienced heavy casualties, and the relationship between us became a bit tense.”
“You mean…” Hao Ren was baffled.
Zhao Hongyu turned to look at Hao Ren. “We can’t offend a Soul Formation Realm cultivator. Since Xie Yujia is the disciple of this grandmaster, we East Ocean Dragon Clan as the host need to be nice to her. However, the relationship between the human cultivators and dragon cultivators is not as harmonious as it appears, and that’s why the grandmaster behind your classmate Xie Yujia will not help us if East Ocean and West Ocean start a war.”
After a pause, she continued, “What I want to say is that the East Ocean Dragon Palace is our home base and thus is not open to human cultivators by principle. However, her wish to visit Su Han is out of her kindness. I mean, she can visit Su Han, but she’s not allowed to see the details of the place.”
“Shall we blindfold her?”
“That’s the only solution. If your classmate agrees to be blindfolded, we can let her into the Dragon Palace.” Zhao Hongyu gave him a definite answer.
“Ok, I’ll talk to her about it.” Hao Ren nodded.
“Another thing, Ren. “Zhao Hongyu continued to stare at Hao Ren. “It seems like you are close with this classmate of yours.”
Hao Ren looked at her in surprise.
“I know you are good to Zi and that you kept your distance with Xie Yujia, but you must make a stand. Lu Linlin and Lu Lili came from the Heavenly Realm and has nothing to do with us; their close relationship with you is a good thing for East Ocean. Su Han is an inspector, and your relationship with her poses no problem. However, Xie Yujia is one of the human cultivators…”
Then, she changed her tone abruptly. “In other words, I have no problem with it if Lu Linlin and Lu Lili want to follow you and serve you for the rest of your life; they like to have fun, but they are good to Zi. However, I think it might not be appropriate for you to keep a human cultivator close by your side.”
Hao Ren was surprised that Zhao Hongyu would bring up this topic. He was lost in thought.
“Anyway, you just need to know where you stand. I’m not pressuring you; as long as you are good to Zi, I won’t mind other things you do. I just don’t think that Xie Yujia will take our side due to her identity,” Zhao Hongyu said slowly as she opened the lid of the pot.