."Hahaha," Zhao Yanzi laughed arrogantly but then felt unladylike and quickly stopped herself.She looked at her sides where Hao Ren's arms were holding onto the keyboard, trapping her in between. Her...Chapter 154 Strange Indeed

Erlang had something come up, so the update is half an hour late. Sorry… "It's… half Kan level," Hao Ren said.

"What’s ‘half Kan level’" Zhao Yanzi asked dumbly as she stared at Hao Ren.

“It means that he hasn’t reached full Kan level, but his realm is higher than before.” Hao Ren explained. To be honest, he wasn't entirely sure himself; Su Han had said it was half Kan level, so it must be the case.

"Oh, so he still hasn't made it!" Zhao Yanzi's face turned grim again in an instant.

“Aizi, Teacher Luo is leaving!” Zhao Hongyu shouted from downstairs.

Zhao Yanzi immediately dove into her bed and covered her head with a blanket to show she hadn't heard. Today was Luo Ying's home visit, which made her lose face in front of Hao Ren and say so many bad things about her to her parents that she hated Luo Ying immensely.

Seeing Zhao Yanzi's reaction, Hao Ren sighed helplessly and went downstairs: “Aizi isn't feeling well and is resting inside.”

Luo Ying naturally knew Zhao Yanzi was throwing a tantrum; however, since he had come to the student’s home for the visit, he didn’t want things to get awkward. He said, "Since that's the case, let her rest properly."

"Teacher, please take your time," Zhao Hongyu warmly escorted Luo Ying to the door.

“In any event, I still have this to say—your parents are busy with work, but you can't neglect your child's education. I came here tonight specifically for this purpose. I'll be visiting other students' homes later and won’t stay too long,” Luo Ying said as he turned around.

"Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Luo," Zhao Hongyu politely said.

Luo Ying nodded and shouldered his small backpack before heading out the door.

Suddenly, a black-faced guardian deity appeared at the entrance, scaring Luo Ying half to death.

"Teacher, are you leaving already" Zhao Kuo asked with bulging eyes and in a rough voice.

Zhao Kuo had an appearance that was originally terrifying enough; he made such a ferocious face at night time, scaring Luo Ying so much that the latter took several steps back.

"I have something to take care of, so I'll be taking my leave!" Luo Ying sidestepped out of the doorway and sped up his pace, escaping as quickly as he could.

“Zhao Kuo, why did you scare Teacher like that!” Zhao Hongyu scolded him.

"She's just a normal person. What’s wrong with scaring her" Zhao Kuo walked in with an unhappy look on his face. "I heard what she was saying outside the door; all bad things about Aizi. If I hadn't given her a beating, it would have been too good for her!"

“If you dare to speak nonsense again, I’ll strip your rank as Elder!” Zhao Guang said with some annoyance.

"That's right! She's a mere mortal; how could she care about Ah Zi And she even dares to give you guys orders!" Zhao Kuo is不服氣 and continues to say.

Zhao Hongyu glances at him but doesn't bother to speak further, heading upstairs to check on Ah Zi.

Zhao Guang wants to teach Zhao Kuo a lesson, but after thinking about it, he decides against it and悶悶不樂地走向書房。

Zhao Kuo feels rather embarrassed. Seeing that only Hao Ren is left in the living room, he calls out, "Hey, kid, come over here!"

Hao Ren doesn't bother to pay him any mind and turns to walk towards the stairs.

Zhao Kuo's face loses all color. He is extremely annoyed at this moment but can't vent his anger on Zhao Guang, Zhao Hongyu, or Zhao Yanzi. Seeing even little Hao Ren ignore him, he immediately sends out a pure blue light to block Hao Ren's path.

In his panic, Hao Ren gathers Wuxing Sword Qi in the palm of his hand and throws it directly at him.

"Not even Kan level!" Zhao Kuo coldly snorts without looking, simply waving his hand.

However, as soon as his hand makes contact with this ball of sword qi, there's a sudden faint sound of "crackling," making Zhao Kuo secretly exclaim that something strange is going on. He hurriedly retracts his hand.

He looks down at his rough palm, which has turned completely black, even singeing off a few strands of hair.

"Wuxing Divine Thunder" Zhao Kuo's heart is startled, forgetting to give Hao Ren any further instructions and just呆呆地看著郝仁。

Hao Ren doesn't know what Wuxing Divine Thunder or Liuxing Divine Thunder are. He bypasses him and walks up the stairs.

Zhao Kuo isn't willing to let it go, stopping him and saying, "Use that thing on me again!"

Seeing Hao Ren ignore him, he sends another blue light, standing in the middle of the staircase to block Hao Ren's path.

"Hit me with it one more time!" He says in a threatening tone.

Hao Ren has never encountered such a request before. After some thought, he gathers sword qi in his right hand and throws it at him again.

Zhao Kuo casually catches it with a water shield that's misty and greenish-blue to intercept Hao Ren's ball of sword qi. He uses the bulk of his body to block the staircase and looks down intently, then asks in some surprise, "Is this the Fen Guang Jian Ying Decision"

"Otherwise, what else could it be" Hao Ren counters.

"This sword qi is clearly a ball of thunderclouds," Zhao Kuo mutters to himself and suddenly slaps his thigh. "I get it now! The Fen Guang Jian Ying Decision isn't even a sword decision—it's actually an entire Wuxing Formation!"

He shouts excitedly, drawing Zhao Guang out from the study.

When Zhao Guang saw Zhao Kuo blocking Hao Ren on the staircase, clearly making things difficult for him, he immediately barked angrily, "Zhao Kuo! Are you done causing trouble"

"Big Brother, it's not like that," Zhao Kuo hesitated in his words. "This kid, he can release the Five Elements Divine Thunder."

"What kid Speak properly! Eh Five Elements Divine Thunder" Zhao Guang was boiling with anger but suddenly realized something and walked towards the staircase.

"Look!" Zhao Kuo opened his palm to reveal a gray energy ball enclosed by blue water droplets.

Zhao Guang looked closely, discovering that within this energy ball shaped like a sword were flashes of lightning, resembling a tiny cloud.

Zhao Guang frowned as he studied it further.

"The Light-Dividing Sword Shadow Technique isn't even about being a sword cultivator. We've all been deceived by the name! This is actually a technique that uses five elements to brew divine thunder. Controlling swords comes second, creating thunder is what's most important… It’s not just about releasing a sword; it’s the heavenly lightning within the sword that is truly terrifying," Zhao Kuo explained.

Zhao Guang nodded slightly and fell into deep thought.

"I'll notify Chancellor Xia immediately to have him elevate this 'Light-Dividing Sword Shadow Technique' to a blue-rank technique!" With that, Zhao Guang rushed towards the study room.

Zhao Kuo's expression turned grave. "No wonder I made no progress when practicing this technique—it was because my approach was wrong! Without a foundation in five elements, all I produced were pretty sword energies with zero power!"

He was even more obsessed with cultivation than Su Han; understanding the secret of the Light-Dividing Sword Shadow Technique only brought him regret. However, as he was already at the upper stage of heaven rank and would soon face the heavenly tribulation in a few weeks, it wasn't feasible to discard his current skills and start over from scratch, let alone switch to the Light-Dividing Sword Shadow Technique!

"That doesn't make sense," Zhao Kuo stroked his chin, muttering to himself. "Five elements balance, but my body is entirely water attribute—how can I achieve balance Furthermore, such delicate balance isn’t easy to attain."

His large figure occupied half the staircase. Hao Ren coughed twice and asked, “Can I go up now”

"Yes, go ahead," Zhao Kuo stepped aside but continued standing there, muttering to himself. "Could this technique originally be for human world cultivators"

Fortunately, Su Han was diligent in cultivation without getting as obsessed as him. Hao Ren sighed and walked towards Zhaoyanzǐ's room, gently pushing the door open.

Zhaoyanzǐ lay on her bed with her head resting on Zhao Hongyu’s lap, grumbling about her homeroom teacher.

"What were you two doing outside Was it Uncle Kuo who was being difficult" Zhao Hongyu asked as she held Zhaoyanzǐ.

"It's nothing; he just tested my strength," Hao Ren smiled and looked at Zhaoyanzǐ, asking Zhao Hongyu, "Is Zhaoyanzǐ okay now"

"She’s fine. With her thick skin, she wouldn’t be harmed by something like that!" Zhao Hongyu replied with a smile.

"Mom!" Zhao Yanzi complained loudly.

Zhao Hongyu smiled gently again, pinching her little cheek and asked Hao Ren, "From what Ah Zi told me, you have already reached the 'half-step Ganyan' level"

"Yes. I've been practicing the Sword Light Art and made some progress," Hao Ren replied.

"I noticed your demeanor seems different today. You must have made another breakthrough," Zhao Hongyu said.

"Mom, what’s different about him" Zhao Yanzi rolled out of her mother's arms to sit up and asked. She didn’t feel comfortable showing girlish affection in front of Hao Ren.

"When Hao Ren came to our house today, I felt his gaze was sharp and full of vitality," Zhao Hongyu explained.

"I don't see it," Zhao Yanzi said as she carefully observed Hao Ren.

For the first time being stared at by her so intently, Hao Ren's face actually heated up a little.

This uncle... indeed, his aura seems better now. There are twinkling stars in his eyes, making him even more dazzling than celebrities on TV.

Zhao Yanzi thought to herself as she continued looking at him.

Feeling uncomfortable with Zhao Yanzi's intense gaze, Hao Ren turned away and said to her mother, "Aunt, I won't come for Ah Zi’s tutoring sessions this week. Monday to Thursday are our mid-term exams. I need to review on my own."

"Alright, that's fine," Zhao Hongyu nodded understandingly and continued, "I have something I wanted to ask you as well."

“Aunt, please go ahead.”

"It’s like this. Last time when you came over to my studio with Ah Zi to play, it occurred to me that if you’re interested in interior design, our studio could use a university intern who can help out during weekends and is proficient at computer drawing. I think finding someone we know would be better since we have quite an established reputation here, and we don’t want important designs leaked," Zhao Hongyu said.

Her humility was unwarranted when she said her studio wasn't too well-known domestically. Her firm's capabilities were among the top six nationwide, and they had even participated in designing some renowned buildings abroad.

Hao Ren didn’t hesitate to agree to help without any thought, "If it’s not too difficult, I can do it." “Alright then! We’re really understaffed these days. After you finish your exams, I’ll take the time to teach you some basics,” Zhao Hongyu said with a relieved smile.

“Okay, Aunt. It's getting late; I should go now,” Hao Ren said.

"Alright," nodded Zhao Hongyu.

Hao Ren picked up the tutoring materials he had left last time and went downstairs to say goodbye to Zhao Yanzi.

Seeing him leave, Zhao Yanzi sitting on the floor suddenly turned towards her mother. "Mom, thousands of talented design students would die for a chance to enter your studio; why are you letting him help"gon took flight.The fourteen black dragons forming the Black Water Formation were each thrown back dozens of meters.The Heaven-Earth-Three-Persons Array!Just as Hao Ren flew out, he launched another s...