Like an ancient city, the huge Nine Dragon Palace hovered in the clouds.
Around it, there were no magnificent array formations or seven-colored light beams. However, flashes of black lightning bolts bounced around it, showing that it was full of energy.
Hao Ren rubbed his eyes to make sure it was not an illusion. Then, he looked around and found that other people on the bus were all doing their own things; chatting, texting, listening to their MP3s, oblivious to the 'ancient city' in the sky.
On the street, people quickened their steps, afraid that the rain would come at any minute. Some had umbrellas, and some carried their bags; no one looked up.
Suddenly, Hao Ren understood. It was like the stealth energy sphere that cultivators built before starting a fight; the Nine Dragon Palace had a natural energy sphere around it, making it invisible to ordinary people.
Only people who had reached Kan-level could see the huge Nine Dragon Palace.
Hao Ren withdrew his Nature Essence and looked up. Sure enough, there were only dark clouds in the sky which were, in fact, the result of the appearance of the Nine Dragon Palace. The huge palace had blocked the sun!
The bus arrived at the stop near LingZhao Middle School. Hao Ren got off the bus and found that the students had just been dismissed from school.
Probably due to the rain clouds in the sky, many cars were parked at the gate, waiting to pick up students. The most eye-catching vehicle was a dark grey Rolls-Royce Phantom.
It was parked right in front of the school gate!
Hao Ren glanced at the Rolls-Royce on his way to the school gate. The driver was a mid-aged man in his 40s; he had an imposing figure and was wearing a chauffeur's uniform and gloves, and there was a shallow scar on his face.
The chauffeur looked like a retired army officer, but Hao Ren lightly activated his Nature Essence and saw a mighty deep blue light!
Water elements! A member from one of the Four Ocean Dragon Clans!
Seeming to have sensed Hao Ren's probing gaze, the chauffeur glanced around and locked his eyes on Hao Ren.
Instantly, Hao Ren was immobilized as if he had fallen into an ice hole. The chauffeur looked at Hao Ren up and down before slowly moving his gaze away.
"Qian-level! This man is at least on Qian-level!" Hao Ren concluded because this man emitted an aura that was almost as strong as Zhao Yanzi's Third Uncle's.
"Why is a master cultivator acting as a chauffeur?!"
Hao Ren was wondering about it when a dashing figure walked into his sight.
Zeng Yitao, in a high-school uniform, walked out of the school gate!
Ignoring the amazed gazes of the middle-school girls, he got into the Rolls-Royce Phantom that was parked at the school gate.
"He… Is studying at LingZhao High School?"
Hao Ren's heart lurched with an ominous feeling.
East Ocean University was not far from LingZhao Middle School, but the High School Department and the Middle School Department were only divided by an artificial lake!
The purpose of Zeng Yitao's appearance in LingZhao High School was apparent.
"Uncle Black Wolf, let's go," Zeng Yitao lay down on the back seat and told the chauffeur, tossing his bag onto the spacious seat in the car.
Without a word, the man named Black Wolf started the Rolls-Royce Phantom smoothly.
He was sent by Oldman Zeng to protect the Crown Prince in East Ocean City. If Zeng Yitao didn't suddenly want to come to study in East Ocean City, he would have been sent to track down Zhao Kuo and investigate if Zhao Kuo had indeed succeeded in passing the Heavenly Tribulation. If not, he was ordered to kill Zhao Kuo in the wilderness.
The dark grey Rolls-Royce Phantom drove off.
In her sky-blue middle-school uniform, Zhao Yanzi appeared at the gate. Little Ling was with her.
After saying goodbye to Little Ling, Zhao Yanzi stood at the gate and looked around on her tiptoes.
Hao Ren walked over immediately. "Hey!"
Seeing Hao Ren, Zhao Yanzi's eyes brightened. Then, her face fell, and she said, "Who told you to come and pick me up?"
Hao Ren pursed his lips. "I was going to your home for dinner anyway, so I offered to pick you up on my way there."
"Humph!" Zhao Yanzi unbuckled her backpack and tossed it into Hao Ren's arms.
Hao Ren caught it and found it quite heavy. He carried it on his back and found that the straps were a bit tight for him.
"You're disgusting." Walking beside him, Zhao Yanzi wrinkled her nose in disgust when she saw Hao Ren carrying her pink school bag on his back.
"It's your bag you are disgusted about," Hao Ren said. He saw some middle-schoolers pointing at them, and he knew that they were taking him as Zhao Yanzi's boyfriend from City North First High School.
Ignoring him, Zhao Yanzi kept walking with her head lowered.
Hao Ren found something was not right with her flushed face, and he stopped and grabbed her arm.
He placed his palm on her forehead before Zhao Yanzi could stop him, and the nearby middle-schoolers began to whisper to each other when they saw this intimate act from him.
Hao Ren felt burning heat against his palm, so he stared at her and said, "You have a fever!"
"It's nothing!" Zhao Yanzi slapped down his arm and continued walking, but her steps were not stable; it felt like she was going to fall at any moment.
This was ridiculous! She should have gone back home to rest!
Hao Ren pulled her over and held her in his arms before walking to the sidewalk to hail a taxi.
A taxi stopped beside them. Hao Ren pulled the door open and pushed Zhao Yanzi onto the back seat.
After telling the driver the address, Hao Ren turned to look at Zhao Yanzi in concern. At Hao Ren's steady gaze, Zhao Yanzi blushed and yelled stubbornly, "I'm fine!"
"You're not fine! Your body temperature is almost 39 degrees!" Hao Ren's face turned stern.
Zhao Yanzi pouted and didn't answer.
Ten minutes later, they reached Zhao Yanzi's home. Hao Ren walked her through the door and found that the house was empty. He asked, "Where are your parents?"
"They returned to the Dragon Palace with the elixir pills yesterday," Zhao Yanzi answered.
"Well…" Hao Ren sighed, "How about going to the hospital?"
"No!" Zhao Yanzi shook her head immediately.
"Where's the medicine box?" Hao Ren asked.
"What medicine box? We have no medicine in the house." Zhao Yanzi looked up at Hao Ren. Due to her fever, her gaze was weak.
Right. They never got sick. If Zhao Yanzi had not lost her Dragon Core, she would never have gotten sick. Hao Ren sighed again. With Zhao Yanzi's parents absent and her unwillingness to go to a hospital, he didn't think that it was a good idea to let her stay home while running a fever.
After a moment of consideration, he made a call to Lu Qing, but no one answered. He called Elder Sun, and the result was the same.
Obviously, as the core elders of East Ocean, they had been summoned back to the East Ocean Dragon Palace for a meeting.
Grandma was not in East Ocean City while his parents were also out of the city… Hao Ren rolled down the contact list on his cell phone and saw Su Han's phone number.
Su Han had a cell phone, though she rarely used it.
"I'm fine," while Hao Ren was busy looking for help, Zhao Yanzi was still yelling at him stubbornly. However, her tone was spiritless.