Chapter 498 Intense Training with Ah Zi

ghtning would split open the overcast sky, creating jagged fractures across its dark expanse."Bad luck!" Looking up at the ominous weather that presaged an impending storm, Hao Ren took a deep breath...Chapter 498 Training with Ah Zi...

Hao Ren let go of the feather duster, his arms feeling weak and tired. He took a deep breath.

The Sword Shadow Technique was used to regulate the body, absorbing the energy from heaven and earth. Similarly, it could also release spiritual energy as sword qi.

A sword formation was an effective combination of sword qi, achieving a stronger external release of sword qi.

However, for true combat techniques, besides his basic fist techniques, Hao Ren relied on unexpectedly releasing chaotic lightning. If facing someone like Zhao Kuo, he wouldn't even have the chance to set up a sword formation.

Zhao Kuo's use of the three-bladed knife was fierce and proficient. If he wanted to, he could create a weapon-type treasure that would completely suppress Hao Ren.

Human cultivators preferred to clash with treasures, so the Sword Shadow Technique wouldn't be too much at a disadvantage. However, dragon cultivators were more inclined towards close combat; even someone like Su Han, who was far from skilled in sword techniques, could have her longsword directly against Hao Ren's neck before he had time to release his sword formation.

Hao Ren sat back by the bed and used the Sword Shadow Technique to replenish his spiritual energy. The dragon pill was like a reservoir; with each opened dragon aperture, its capacity increased slightly.

Expanding the reservoir was difficult, but refilling it only required time. In the process of repeatedly emptying and filling the reservoir, it would grow larger, eventually expanding further to open another aperture.

Like Hao Ren's previous forced opening methods, his reservoir capacity grew quickly, yet it filled with cracks that one day would cause it to shatter.

Chirp chirp chirp...

The birds outside the window woke Hao Ren from his meditative state. Another bright and sunny morning.

Hao Ren tidied up his clothes, put them in his small suitcase, and walked out of the room.

Xie Yujia was downstairs with her mother making breakfast, looking very contented.

"Hao Ren!" Seeing Hao Ren coming down the stairs, Xie Yujia waved enthusiastically to him.

Wearing shorts, a cartoon T-shirt, and slippers, Xie Yujia looked casual and approachable. Cheng Xi smiled warmly at Hao Ren.

Xie Wanjun was practicing boxing in the courtyard outside; there was a large punching bag hanging on a rack by the garage. Every morning, Xie Wanjun would practice for two hours to maintain his physical strength.

A short while later, he came in drenched with sweat, nodding at Hao Ren and asking, "Want to give it a try"

"No thanks," Hao Ren politely declined with a smile.

Patting Hao Ren's shoulder with his muscular arm, Xie Wanjun said somewhat regretfully, "With that physique of yours, your jumping ability is okay but your stamina still needs improvement."

"Brother..." Xie Yujia rolled her eyes.

Hao Ren's strength, she was not unaware of it. Xie Wanjun thought he himself was strong, but even if there were a hundred Xie Wanjuns combined, they wouldn't be able to defeat one Hao Ren. Therefore, in her ears, Xie Wanjun speaking like this would crack his own teeth.

"Haha, no more talk!" Xie Wanjun thought that Xie Yujia didn’t allow him to ridicule Hao Ren and quickly wiped his face with a towel, closing his mouth and not mentioning it again.

After breakfast, they had Xie Wanjun drive Hao Ren and Hao Zhonghua to Kennedy Airport.

The deep bond between them could only lead to parting ways. Hao Zhonghua's career was in China, while Xie Ming’s was in the United States; their meeting could only be temporary.

"Yesterday I called Zhao Jiayan and he said that due to venue reasons, this finals have been postponed until mid-August. If I have time, I'll go over to watch his game," Xie Wanjun looked at Hao Ren and said.

"Alright." Hao Ren nodded, looking forward to Xie Wanjun’s return to China again.

"If you play basketball, you would definitely become a superstar," Xie Wanjun added.

"Haha..." Hao Ren smiled without saying anything. His aspiration was not in basketball. Zhao Kuo and Su Han both pursued the Dragon Realm realm, and Hao Ren silently tried to aim for that goal as well.

Zhao Hongyu brought Zhao Yanzi and appeared at the airport too. They were dropped off by Zhao Kuang’s family. Upon seeing Hao Ren, Zhao Yanzi immediately ran over but then suddenly stopped her steps, running back to her mother's side.

Xie Yujia also saw Zhao Yanzi and her family; she glanced at Hao Ren with a hint of reluctance.

"Mr. Hao," Zhao Hongyu gently waved her hand and walked over.

Zhao Yanzi followed behind her mother, seemingly unwilling to see Hao Ren. However, following Zhao Hongyu was unavoidable.

"The flight tickets are already booked; we can board in one hour," Zhao Hongyu handed the ticket to Hao Zhonghua. Booking through Tomorrow Group in New York was a very simple matter.

"Be careful on your journey," Xie Yujia looked at Hao Ren, having countless words but could only condense them into this sentence.

"Mm." Hao Ren nodded and quietly looked at Xie Yujia.

"Hmph..." Zhao Yanzi crossed her arms over her chest and snorted coldly.

She was the one engaged to Hao Ren, why should it be Xie Yujia's turn to care about him

However, on another note, she didn’t seem like she cared about Hao Ren either...

Hao Zhonghua waved goodbye to Xie Ming. Hao Ren also gave a glance at Xie Yujia once more before Zhao Yanzi couldn't hold back and grabbed Hao Ren by the hand, pulling him towards the security checkpoint.

Cheng Xi standing beside Xie Yujia looked at Zhao Yanzi and smiled to Xie Ming saying, "That little girl seems quite close with Ah Ren."

"Mm. Zhonghua brought me another big business deal; I'll be busy from now on," Xie Ming glanced at his daughter before looking at the Hao Ren who had already entered the security checkpoint and smiled gently.

Xie Ming thought about his own business and then naturally thought of his daughter, while Cheng Qian was concerned solely with her daughter's marriage from beginning to end. This time, after so many years, she saw Hao Ren again, and for her, Hao Ren could not be more perfect; she wished that tomorrow she could marry off her daughter to Hao Ren – but in reality, she felt anxious because her daughter was too stupid: in the same class as Hao Ren, yet failing to attract him. She hadn’t learned any of the skills it took to pursue Xie Ming back then!

The plane endured a journey of several hours and returned to Donghai City once more.

Donghai wasn't as bustling as New York, nor was it as tranquil; however, Hao Ren felt particularly at ease when he stepped onto this land where people spoke Chinese.

"Mr. Hao, for the next month or so, Ah Zi and I will be going to an island resort on vacation, and Ah Ren is joining us too. I have already talked about this with Yue Yang," Zhao Hongyu said to Hao Zhonghua as they exited the airport.

"Yue Yang mentioned it to me too. If Ah Ren wants to go with you guys, then let him," Hao Zhonghua readily agreed.

His intention was originally to have Hao Ren stay at Xie Ming's house and experience American life, but since Hao Ren wanted to join Zhao Yanzi's family on vacation, he didn't object too much – Hao Ren being taken away by Zhao Hongyu, his grandmother going to the countryside for summer retreat, and Jin Ciming sent over to the mayor’s home – Hao Zhonghua was finally free day and night to work on his research projects, while Yue Yang could focus entirely on his job without having to look after Hao Ren.

If Hao Ren knew that his parents were going to do research, he would really want to throw up from the joy of being left with Zhao Yanzi’s family.

"Ah Ren, listen carefully to Aunt Hongyu!" Hao Zhonghua gave a bland piece of advice before hurrying off in a taxi towards his oceanographic institute.

Zhao Hongyu turned and looked at Hao Ren who was stunned, smiling gently. "Ah Ren, let's go!"

Roar… Roar…

Suddenly, the sky unleashed a heavy downpour.

The people outside of the airport hurriedly sought shelter; the white rainwater quickly reduced visibility on the roads.

Zhao Hongyu raised her hand and revealed the River-and-Mountain Map under their feet. A red barrier flared up, flying through the rain towards the ocean.

After a moment, they flew out of the rain zone, soared over the sea, and entered the deep waters.

A vast island appeared in Hao Ren's line of sight.

In the middle of the island stood a palace, while red barriers surrounded it, with waves crashing against them.

Zhao Hongyu maneuvered the River-and-Mountain Map directly into the island.

"Minister Xia pays his respects to Mother Dragon!" Minister Xia bowed down on one knee in his robe.

"Get up," Zhao Hongyu retracted the River-and-Mountain Map. "Have Elders Lu, Sun, and Star Moon arrived"

"Reporting to Mother Dragon: Elder Lu, Elder Sun, and Star Moon Elder have already reached Purple Bamboo Island, accompanying King Dragon as he inspects Donghai," Minister Xia replied.

"Good!" Waving her hand, Zhao Hongyu added, "Minister, you may go back to work."

This Purple Bamboo Island was one of the oceanic palaces belonging to Donghai Dragon Palace. Since it was surrounded by lush purple bamboo on all sides, that's how it got its name.

Unlike the small coral island, this Purple Bamboo Island is surrounded by a barrier that prevents ordinary people from discovering it, so it does not appear on any human maps.

Every summer, Zhao Guang stays here for one to two months, handling marine palace affairs and supervising the training of soldiers in the East Sea. This period is called his "Summer Inspection."

During the Summer Inspection period, only three elders—Lu Elder, Sun Elder, and Star Moon Elder—and the grand minister of the marine palace, Xia Chancellor, accompany Zhao Guang to assist with matters.

"Finally arrived! I've been waiting for you!"

A very powerful voice suddenly erupted.

Zhao Kuo, dressed in a grey robe, flew out from the imperial villa on top of the mountain and was instantly before He Ren. Pointing at He Ren's chest, he punched with full force.

He Ren quickly side-stepped half a step and subconsciously used his basic boxing techniques to block Zhao Kuo's iron fist, leaving two deep footprints in the sand as he followed up with a palm strike towards Zhao Kuo’s back of head.

"Not bad!" Zhao Kuo grunted, suddenly releasing all his inner qi power and forcibly shaking He Ren's hand away. His fists gathered five elements' strength, then aimed straight at He Ren's cheek.

"Third Uncle!" Zhao Yanzi immediately called out.

She indeed secretly requested Zhao Kuo to use the cruelest methods for training He Ren, but how could they start fighting right upon meeting Moreover... wouldn't Third Uncle’s punch disfigure He Ren's face

Swoosh! Swoosh!

He Ren took two steps back and was about to counter Zhao Kuo with his basic boxing technique "Pushing Mountain Over Sea," but suddenly a thought flashed through his mind. Sword energy spewed from his fingertips, initiating the first change in the first style of the Mystic Water Sword Art.

Green Spirit, Lesser Ocean, Great Ridge, Labor Palace...

The spiritual energy leapt between several acupoints on He Ren’s body and followed his fingers to bizarrely form an arc under his control.

Hmm...

Zhao Kuo was slightly surprised for a moment. Just as he hesitated, his fist was injured by He Ren's sword energy, with blood flowing down.

"He Ren! You dare to hurt my third uncle!" Zhao Yanzi, who had just been worried about He Ren, furrowed her eyebrows and turned towards Zhao Kuo, glaring fiercely at He Ren.

Zhao Kuo retracted his fist. Once he circulated the elemental spiritual energy over his wound, it immediately stopped bleeding.

He narrowed his ox-like eyes to look at He Ren. "No rest! Run twenty laps around this island now!"

"Great idea! Third Uncle should really teach him a lesson like this!" Zhao Yanzi clapped her hands in approval.

In New York, seeing He Ren and Xie Yujia's close relationship made her very displeased long ago.we going to do anything" Hao Ren asked anxiously when he saw many cultivation sects activating large-scale magical arrays."No need to rush," Su Han replied calmly.Bang!Finally, one of the cultivation...