Chapter 322: The Change of Identity?

"Um?" Xie Yujia stopped and looked at Hao Ren.

Where could they go in the middle of the night? It was way passed the dorm closing time, and there should be nowhere else to go except for a walk around the square or going back to the KTV room.

While Xie Yujia was pondering, Little White got out of Hao Ren's necklace.

"Let's go!" Hao Ren put up a red energy sphere and hopped on Little White's back.

Xie Yujia hesitated a bit before she got onto Little White's back as well. She didn't think much because she thought Hao Ren was just taking her up to the sky in order to relax a bit.

Little White leaped into the sky with Hao Ren and Xie Yujia on its back.

East Ocean City was completely quiet at that moment.

It was pitch black except for some busy areas.

They didn't feel the chillness because the red energy sphere could block the wind, and Little White flew up 100 to 200 meters in the sky in no time. Hao Ren and Xie Yujia could overlook the entirety of the East Ocean City in its deep sleep.

Hao Ren took a deep breath as he looked at the large city. From an inspector's point of view, he was responsible for this entire city.

Even the East Ocean Dragon Clan couldn't interfere with other cultivators in the East Ocean City.

"What's the matter?" Xie Yujia asked as she sensed Hao Ren's concern.

She had a strange feeling while up the sky on Little White's back, admiring the East Ocean City in the moonlight with Hao Ren.

Due to the pollution in the city, they couldn't see the stars clearly from the ground. But at this moment, she felt like the stars were within a hand's reach.

The moon was so bright and so round.

Little White floated in the sky since it didn't get any command from Hao Ren. Xie Yujia lightly held onto Hao Ren's shirt from behind as she gazed into the sky. The sense of romance hidden deeply in her heart slowly appeared.

She softly leaned her cheek on Hao Ren's back and felt his warmth.

She didn't want to keep asking about Hao Ren's issues because she didn't want to bother him even more. The relaxing atmosphere in the sky was enough for her.

Mixed feelings piled up in Hao Ren's mind as he held onto Little White's hair.

He used to be just an ordinary student. But nowadays, he was representing the East Ocean Dragon Clan as well as the Dragon God Shrine. The entire East Ocean City was in his hand. If he were just to let it be, a loss of balance might occur any day in the city.

He did neglect some things, but he had to be responsible for his mistakes.

Hao Ren pulled on Little White's hair and pointed to the east. "East Ocean Dragon Palace!"

Bright lights shone on Little White's paws as it received the command.

Shoo! It flew toward the ocean in the distance.

It was the first time Xie Yujia experienced Little White's extreme speed. She quickly put her arms around Hao Ren's waist.

Boom!

Little White smashed into the ocean in a flash, and its speed barely changed underwater. They soon arrived at the front gate of the East Ocean Dragon Palace.

The guards immediately stepped aside when they saw Hao Ren.

He put Little White away and decided to walk. Although he was the Fuma, he didn't want to break the rules and fly around as he wished.

It was midnight; time for sleep even in the dragon palace. Hao Ren was already familiar with the structures in the dragon palace, so he took Xie Yujia straight toward the palace where Su Han lived.

Xie Yujia had no idea why Hao Ren suddenly took her here. But since she was here with him and couldn't head back on her own, she had to follow Hao Ren.

Lanterns were hanging high on both sides of the hall. Even at midnight, the dragon palace showed its elegance.

When they entered Elder Xingyue's palace, several female disciples nearby immediately asked cautiously, "Who is it?"

"It's me. I'm here to see Su Han," Hao Ren said.

Four Zhen-level female cultivators in black robes got out of the side chambers. They relaxed when they saw Hao Ren; they knew that he was the Fuma of the dragon palace as well as Su Han's assistant.

In fact, Hao Ren had been checked countless times by the hidden guards on his way here. An intruder would never have reached this point.

"Senior Sister Su has already rested. Does Gongzi Hao have an emergency?" One of them asked.

The female cultivators of the East Ocean Dragon Clan mostly stayed with Elder Xingyue. They would cultivate in different places during the day and come back here to rest at night. Su Han was an inspector, but from the apprentice's point of view, she was nominally their senior sister. Therefore, they respected Su Han immensely.

"I'm just stopping by; she shouldn't be asleep yet," Hao Ren said; he knew that Su Han was obsessed with cultivation, especially now since her strength had fallen behind due to her injuries. Given how her personality was, she must be cultivating all night long.

As soon as Hao Ren finished speaking, Su Han walked out of her room in a silk robe.

She waved at Hao Ren and said, "Come over here."

Just as Hao Ren expected, Su Han was cultivating in her room. She knew it was Hao Ren when hearing his voice.

"Senior Sister Su," the four female cultivators slightly bowed toward Su Han.

"Go and get some rest." Su Han waved them off and beckoned to Hao Ren and Xie Yujia.

Xie Yujia was dragged here by Hao Ren, so she had to follow him over.

As smart as she was, she figured out Hao Ren's intention in a few seconds. He didn't have time to come see Su Han during the day, so he had to pay her a visit at night. However, it would be inappropriate to visit a female's bedroom at midnight, so he had to bring her along.

Su Han closed the door behind Hao Ren and Xie Yujia. Then, she sat down on her bed and asked, "What is the matter?"

Xie Yujia looked at Su Han carefully and realized that she seemed much healthier and livelier than last time. She knew that Su Han must have recovered from her injuries well.

Su Han turned to Xie Yujia and also realized why Hao Ren brought her along immediately.

Even if she didn't think it was inappropriate for him to visit her alone at midnight, it was inevitable that the others would judge.

From this, one could tell how extraordinarily thoughtful Hao Ren was.

Su Han turned to Hao Ren slightly in her silk robe, and her long black hair looked like a waterfall.

"I didn't have a chance to come over during the day, so I had to come here at night. I mainly wanted to tell you about this situation," Hao Ren said straightforwardly, "There have been more and more human cultivators coming to First Heaven from Fifth Heaven and up lately. I caught two of them, and I let them go because I have mistaken them as dragon cultivators."

"Um." Su Han nodded. She thought to herself for a few seconds and said, "There have always been human cultivators probing around First Heaven. Actually, we would scout around Fifth Heaven as well from time to time. The human and dragon cultivators keep the boundaries, but periodic monitoring was necessary."

"Has it only become frequent for the East Ocean City, or are all the cities like this?" Hao Ren asked.

He was an assisting inspector after all, and Su Han knew more information from the Dragon God Shrine.

"No special information has been received about other cities. It is probably because I am currently recovering in the East Ocean Dragon Palace, and there isn't an official inspector guarding the East Ocean City. Thus, the human cultivators have increased the range and frequency of their inspections," Su Han said after thinking for a bit with her head down.

She simply looked down slightly, and her black hair fell onto her lovely forehead. One simple move made her straight nose stand out and demonstrated her charm.

"Ok, I'll patrol regularly. How should I deal with the human cultivators once I catch them?" Hao Ren continued.

He thought Su Han would only be recovering in the East Ocean Dragon Palace for a few days. However, she had decided to stay for a while. She hadn't had a chance to discuss a lot of things with Hao Ren.

"You can just let them go. Or you could give them a little punishment," Su Han said.

"I see," Hao Ren nodded and said, "If there's nothing else I need to know, I should head back."

He knew that Su Han didn't like to hear about nonsense, so it made sense for him to leave on his own before she kicked him out since he had nothing else to report.

"Wait for a second!" Su Han called out when Hao Ren turned around and walked to the door.

Hao Ren turned around to look at her.

Su Han looked a bit uneasy sitting at the side of her bed as Hao Ren looked at her. She felt an unusual coldness from Hao Ren and knew that he wasn't in a good mood. But... she probably didn't need to worry about his feelings...

After a moment of silence, she gritted her teeth and said, "I'm aware of what's going on with you."

Xie Yujia was confused as she stood beside Hao Ren.

Su Han pouted and continued since Hao Ren didn't say anything, "My suggestion is to cope with changes by sticking to fundamental principles. It sure is a messy situation, and even I won't be able to erase it for you. The West Ocean Dragon Clan is now a lot less powerful, but their reputation and influence are still here. The East Ocean Dragon Clan might choose to make minor sacrifices to safeguard major interest. It would be the most rational way to deal with things."

Hao Ren nodded since his thoughts were the same as Su Han's. Severing ties with him would indeed help the East Ocean Dragon Clan to stabilize itself in this chaos.

Xie Yujia stood in the room and blinked. She looked at Hao Ren then at Su Han.

After a few more seconds of silence, Su Han continued, "I also need to remind you that the Dragon God Shrine is paying attention to the situation. Let's not talk about Little Daoist Zhen; even the Dragon God Shrine wouldn't dare to offend him. Therefore, the core of this entire event is you."

Su Han stared at Hao Ren and continued, "Although the Dragon God Shrine has its rules, it respects strength. The general examination of the Dragon God Shrine will be taking place soon. Let me put it this way. If you can successfully become an official inspector, the Dragon God Shrine sure will step out and protect you. But if you fail, your assisting inspector position will be withdrawn, and it will impact my position as well."

Hao Ren didn't mind the first half of what Su Han said, but her last sentence made his eyelid twitch.

"This incidence... will impact Su Han's position as well?" he thought.

"What kind of impact?" Hao Ren asked.

"The lightest punishment would be transferring me out of the East Ocean City to some remote area like where Qin Shaoyang is at right now. The most severe punishment..." Su Han smiled helplessly and said, "You don't need to know about it."