Chapter 31 SEEK BUT NOT SURE TO FIND

r station.The teacher happened to walk by at that moment. Han Yijia saw the approaching teacher and bit her lip, concentrating on doing the test questions.Ding-dong,the bell rang for class dismissal.H...Chapter Thirty-One: Desiring Yet Unattainable

(I've added精華to all last week's chapters that didn't have it, and now I realize I've used up a large portion of this week's quota... Here’s to hoping for more support in the new week, hehe!)

Zhao Guang drove Hao Ren to the entrance of the dormitory area but did not take him further inside.

Zhao Yanzi was still sleeping drowsily, so Hao Ren didn't wake her up. He bid farewell to Zhao Guang and his wife and thanked them again for their hospitality over the weekend.

Zhao Hongyu thought more highly of this future son-in-law with each passing day. She found him懂事and intelligent and felt that he was even more pleasing than Zhao Yanzi, secretly regarding him as half her own son.

Upon returning to his dormitory, Hao Ren found it empty and guessed that the others had gone to an internet cafe. As per school regulations, freshmen and sophomores were not allowed to bring computers to their dormitories, and network ports in lower-year dormitory buildings were not connected, making internet cafes their most frequent destination.

While they were out, Hao Ren hastily completed his accumulated homework for the week. For tasks that were complicated and tedious, he planned to borrow notes from classmates before class next week.

Nearing dinner time, none of the other three had returned to the dormitory yet. Zhao Jiayan and the others assumed Hao Ren left for home early Saturday morning and expected him back in the dorm around 7-8 PM on Sunday as usual. They never imagined that this weekend he was out playing with his "fiancée."

<

Recalling this weekend spent at Qingyanshan, Hao Ren felt it to be one of the most fulfilling and meaningful weekends recently.

He opened his phone and found the photo of Zhao Yanzi pouting angrily.

This was a picture he had uploaded using the computer in their hotel room.

Her eyes sparkled like black pearls, her nose delicate, her lips cherry-red, and her eyelashes naturally arched upwards. The blurred green trees and gray stone steps in the background made this girl appear to have potential as a fashion model.

If not for Zhao Jiayan and others having seen Zhao Yanzi in person, they would likely assume that using this photo as phone wallpaper meant Hao Ren had downloaded it from the internet.

Hao Ren thought about it and finally didn't have the courage to set this photo as his phone wallpaper.

Although she was just a little girl now, in three years' time, she would definitely grow into an incredibly beautiful woman. However, speaking of Zhao Yanzǐ at 15 with such looks, she could already be considered a super cute girl and must have been very popular in her own school.

Er, what am I thinking Am I actually jealous... Hao Ren suddenly realized this.

At around seven in the evening, Zhao Jiayin and his two companions finally returned noisily. Seeing that Hao Ren was already in the dormitory, they were all a bit surprised.

"Why are you back so early today" Zhao Jiayin asked.

They indeed thought Hao Ren had gone home. And of course, Hao Ren wouldn't mention his day out with the Zhao Yanzǐ family; if they knew he had spent time with a girl's family, they would definitely be suspicious about their relationship.

"Tomorrow is the sports meet, Ah Ren, you have to work hard and try not to come last," Zhou Liren patted Hao Ren on the shoulder and encouraged him.

Your expectations of me are really "high." A cold sweat trickled down Hao Ren's forehead.

"No classes tomorrow all day long; it’s pretty nice!" When talking about the sports meet, even the usually calm Cáo Rónghuá seemed excited.

They were chattering excitedly about which classes would have beautiful girls at the sports meet and rummaging through boxes for binoculars. As for Hao Ren's 1500-meter race, they didn't hold any hope for him. If not for being roommates, they probably wouldn’t even care.

In their view, Hao Ren was there as a "draft" to fill the numbers; if he could finish without coming last, that would already be good enough. After all, in this major and year, there weren't any outstanding figures worth talking about—most were ordinary students, with only a few being slightly more capable but in academics.

They talked excitedly about the sports meet tomorrow while Hao Ren ignored them and went to the balcony for some fresh air.

The rain had cleared up, leaving a bright full moon in the sky.

Hao Ren silently practiced the Clarity Concentration Technique twice and felt refreshed, with all impurities in his body expelled.

He carefully pondered over the thousand-year-old tree and the stone tablet inscribed with Taoist scriptures at the Daoist temple on Qingyan Peak, but he couldn't grasp that elusive sense of insight no matter how hard he tried.

The pleasant sensation of the thick wood essence entering his body was still vivid in Hao Ren’s memory. And when his own aura connected to the tree trunk, the faint suction force puzzled him.

Water attribute...

Hao Ren suddenly recalled what Su Han said when she grabbed his arm.

The Clarity Concentration Technique—could it be utilizing the water vapor in the world An idea popped into Hao Ren's mind.

"To weaken something, one must first strengthen it; to take away something, one must first give it. This is called subtle enlightenment. The soft overcomes the hard..."

The words on that stone tablet reappeared before Hao Ren’s eyes.

Hao Ren felt as if his heart had been struck—a breakthrough from the first to second level of the Clarity Concentration Technique seemed imminent.

Turns out Zhao Guang asked me to visit the temple at the top of the mountain, not just to accompany Zhao Yanzi but also to test my insight.

Hao Ren furrowed his brows and tried hard to find that "water" feeling.

The more he focused on it in his mind, the harder it was for him to grasp it.

He took a deep breath and slowly practiced the Clarity Concentration Technique again, calming his emotions.

Water is yin, and wood is yang. Mutual generation and mutual overcoming complement each other; the combination of hardness and softness controls and supplements one another... Hao Ren thought about the ancient tree and suddenly gained some genuine insights.

The pure wooden essence seed that remained within Hao Ren's body suddenly sprouted. In a momentary lapse, several fine water columns formed from the moisture in the air rushed towards Hao Ren’s body.

Hao Ren felt incredibly comfortable all over; his originally clear and transparent body transformed into a clean vessel, absorbing natural energies from the universe.

He knew that he was about to break through the first level of the Spirit Concentration Technique and reach the second level which allows one to absorb natural energy. This insight came from the thousand-year-old tree; as for the stone tablet, it spoke of controlling water, perfectly fitting the third-level application of natural energy in the Spirit Concentration Technique!

The mist in the air gradually condensed into nine faintly visible rotating streams that entered Hao Ren’s upper, middle, and lower major acupoints.

As these thick water vapors entered Hao Ren's body, they sought their respective positions and slowly settled down.

"Ren, what are you doing outside!" Zhao Jiayin suddenly shouted in the dorm room.

Hao Ren was startled; the nine streams of water immediately dissipated as they were about to enter his body.

Zhao Jiayin walked out onto the balcony and patted Hao Ren on the shoulder, "What are you thinking outside You have a competition tomorrow! Get some rest early!"

He then dragged Hao Ren back into the room.

Nearly simultaneously, the seed of insight from the ancient tree consumed itself; Hao Ren couldn't find any traces of wooden essence in his body nor could he control the thick water vapor inside him. His body was like a leaking container; the accumulated water vapor vanished in an instant.

The natural energies surrounding Hao Ren’s body once again returned to chaos, no longer distinguishable by the five elements and freely circulating.

Hao Ren understood that this failure meant he had squandered a great opportunity to break through to the second level of the Spirit Concentration Technique. As for when the next chance would come, it was uncertain.tantly shattered. Yue Zilong then punched the trident.Clang!The trident and Yue Zilong's fist clashed, producing a resounding sound!Rattle rattle rattle...Yue Zilong unleashed his peak Gān V aura!Deal...