When Elder Sun took Hao Ren back on land, it was early in the morning.
The Mercedes-Benz was still parked by the seaside, and Elder Sun drove Hao Ren to school.
On their way back, they were silent.
Elder Sun's silence signaled the heaviness he felt inside. Zhao Kuo's failure at the Heavenly Tribulation brought a shadow to the whole East Ocean situation.
"Gongzi Hao, don't worry. The East Ocean will handle the remaining business," driving the car, Elder Sun said abruptly.
"Ok." Hao Ren nodded.
"Whatever happens, we'll not let you and Ms. Zi get hurt," Elder Sun continued.
Looking at his determined expression, Hao Ren knew that he meant what he said.
Along the seaside highway, the car drove into the downtown core. Elder Sun possessed many properties and businesses in East Ocean City, including a big hotel and restaurant, a martial arts dojo, and several clubs. He was quite a figure in the city, and his aura and calmness were not something an ordinary person could copy.
Elder Sun stopped the car at the school gate.
"Gongzi Hao, here you go."
"Thank you, Elder Sun." Hao Ren got out of the car and watched as it drove away.
At the moment, the elders were handling the situation between East Ocean and West Ocean. Hao Ren's task was to cultivation right now.
It was almost time for class. Hao Ren went to the cafeteria for breakfast before walking to the classroom.
In the classroom, as usual, Xie Yujia was already sitting in the front row. Seeing Hao Ren, she immediately stood up and walked to him with a bag.
"This is the textbook you left in the classroom. I kept it for you."
"Oh. Thank you." Hao Ren was amazed by her attention to detail.
"Well…" When Hao Ren didn't offer an explanation, Xie Yujia had to ask him, "You took off suddenly a few days ago, and I called you yesterday when you still didn't show up, but the call couldn't get through to you. Did… Did something happen to Grandma?"
"No. It was something else." With the bag in hand, Hao Ren began to walk to the back row of the classroom.
"You look…" Xie Yujia locked eyes with Hao Ren. "Different."
Hao Ren looked down at himself and saw that he was still wearing the same clothes from a few days ago. The only difference was that he had jumped from Kan-level to Li-level. He guessed that the elevation in realms had made him look different.
He looked back at Xie Yujia and said, "You look different as well."
Xie Yujia gave him a sweet smile. She knew that her clothes were as simple as before and thought Hao Ren said the words to flatter her.
Their classmates began to file into the room. When Zhao Jiayi and his buddies saw Hao Ren, they immediately yelled, "Ren! Where have you been these past few days?"
"Did you go on vacation with the twins? We haven't seen them either!"
"Are we friends or not? Why didn't you invite us to your vacation with the beauties?"
The classroom became lively when they began accusing Hao Ren of going on a vacation with Lu Linlin and Lu Lili and urged him to admit it.
Hao Ren guessed that the Lu sisters must have skipped classes due to his absence. They must have been worried about him after his abrupt departure. The altar had blocked all the connections to the outside world, and the bell the Lu sisters gave him must have been ineffective during that period.
After class, Hao Ren decided to contact them. Not wanting to summon them with the bell, he went directly to the graduate student dorms beside Yixin Cafeteria to find them.
"Gongzi!" As if they have sensed Hao Ren's presence, they rushed out before Hao Ren could raise his head and call out to them.
They had been reading in the dorm in soft cotton sweaters. Since they were in a hurry to see him, they didn't even change out of their slippers.
"Gongzi…" They rushed out of the dorm building and threw themselves into his arms.
Hao Ren back off two steps under their momentum. Stepping back, he placed his palms against their shoulders and said, "Ok! Ok! I'm fine!"
Lu Linlin and Lu Lili pouted. "Gongzi, you disappeared for two days! We were so worried!"
Looking at their cute faces, Hao Ren knew that they were telling the truth. He was a little touched and felt a bit guilty.
"I will remember to inform you when I have to leave abruptly in the future," looking at their pretty faces, Hao Ren promised.
"Good!" Lu Linlin and Lu Lili nodded. Since they had been staying in their dorm, they had their hair down. They looked like two little identical pink flowers.
"Go back to class. Elder Lu arranged you to study in the school, and you can't embarrass him by skipping classes without any good reasons."
"Ok! Gongzi!" They nodded with hand in hand.
"That's all. I just came to tell you that I'm fine. You should go back to change and go to class." Hao Ren felt quite pleased after seeing them.
"Gongzi, you seem to have reached Li-level?" Looking at Hao Ren closely, Lu Linlin suddenly said.
"Yes! You have!" Lu Lili yelled as she was pleasantly surprised.
"Well, I reached it by accident." Suddenly, Hao Ren remembered the incident with snow lotuses and asked, "You mentioned last time that Seven-Colored Snow Lotus could become my Mystic Crystal, but it seems like there are only 1,000-year Seven-Colored Snow Lotuses in the world."
"Not true!" Lu Lili pouted. "Only the Seven-Colored Snow Lotuses that need 10,000 years to root, 10,000 years to bloom, and another 10,000 years to mature are the real Seven-Colored Snow Lotuses! However, this kind of snow lotuses needs essences to help it grow and thus is very precious. Otherwise, it wouldn't be one of the best five-element Mystic Crystals in the world!"
"What kind of essences can help them grow?" Hao Ren asked.
"I don't know. If my sister doesn't know either, then only those people who are experienced at nurturing the snow lotuses would know about it," Lu Lili said.
Obviously, the shy Lu Lili was quite lively around Hao Ren after getting to know him.
When Hao Ren glanced toward Lu Linlin, she shook her head and said, "I don't know either. Since we are not in the Above Realm and can't consult the scrolls and documentation, we can only tell you what we remember. We do remember that such snow lotuses exist. As to the 1,000-year Seven-Color Snow Lotuses, we don't know if they can turn into Mystic Crystals. But you can try if you get them one day."
"Ok." Since 10,000-year snow lotuses were not available, and the 1,000-year ones had been all used up, Hao Ren didn't pursue the topic. The girls returned to their room to change, and Hao Ren walked toward the library.
Rumble…
When he walked to the back of the library, Little White in the hidden space began to roll around again.
After a moment of consideration, Hao Ren stepped into a concealed corner and quietly opened the hidden space.
Bang! Little White jumped out. It was as tall as one meter.
"Moron! Turn small!" Hurriedly, Hao Ren patted its head.
Immediately, it shrunk into the size of two palms, and its voice turned quiet at the same time.
"Wow!"
Suddenly, girls' voices came from behind him.