Chapter 34: Zen's Business.

Haru rode with Zen in the back of the car back to his house. Mr. Jiang and Suyin followed close behind in a car of their own and came inside to talk about what had happened. They stayed for a few hours before leaving.

"So, I have been wanting to ask you this for a while. What is it you actually do? You claim to work in an office but you can afford a house like this and nearly everyone I meet has heard of your name." Haru asked Zen.

Zen looked to the ground and shook his head. "I was hoping you wouldn't ask but I guess there is no avoiding it this time." He took a deep breath before sighing and sitting down on one of the stools in the kitchen. "I own the biggest company in Shenzhen. But with owning a big company you need to hire security so a few friends and I started a private security company where we hire people with certain assets like the man they call the Grim-Reaper. Mr. Jiang as one of the shareholders in this company also. We tried to keep it legal but with hiring these types of people things like murder tend to happen. So we then have to cover up any deaths related to our company. So the private security company became an underground force. It isn't something we can advertise to the public so we had to branch out to criminals. I didn't want to tell you this but I guess it was only a matter of time. There is going to be hell reigning down when your mother finds out."

Haru thought for a few minutes. It isn't like he could blame him, Sometimes you need to protect yourself so it was a good thing to have so-called security guards but it was still illegal so if anyone ever found out Zen would be arrested. "Who said my mom is going to find out? What you do is your own business. I'm not in any place to judge. If I was in your situation I would probably do the same thing." He reassured him.

"Oh, Thank god. I wasn't sure how you would react if I told you all this." Haru laughed. "What do you mean? I have something on you right now so you owe me a favour. So if I get into trouble I will have to ask you to keep it from my parents or else I will expose your secret." Zen looked furious but then settled down quickly. "Fine, I guess that works for me just try not to go on a rampage now just because I won't tell your parents."

"I can't promise you that. But I will try not to cause too much trouble." Haru said as he went back to his room to cultivate. He went back into his soul ocean once again. "Li Jun you there?" There was no reply but Haru felt a presence appear behind him. He turned around to see Li Jun standing there but something was wrong. His hair was becoming grey and he looked like he had aged quite a bit. "What happened!? Are you okay?" Haru began to make a big fuss but Li Jun stopped him by raising his hand. "I'm fine. Just a little tired I have been out too much for this past week I need some time to rest. Try not to call me out for a few days I will let you know when I'm feeling better." He said before vanishing.

He is just tired? Is that how soul fragments work? Haru pondered on the question as he began to cultivate. The phoenix was happily flying around minding its own business as Haru began to draw in Qi. With each breath he found the Qi flowing towards him but then dispersing before being absorbed. Was this one of the bottlenecks before breaking through? He thought about it still trying to draw in as much Qi as possible as he remembered about the pill he had refined.

He sensed for the pill inside the storage ring and then took it out. It was relatively small but he could sense a burning Qi coming from inside. I wonder if this will work? He swallowed it. A few seconds went by and there was nothing. He was just about to get back to cultivating when suddenly everything became faster. The Qi was being sucked into his dantian as it began to expand.

His lower abdominal began to feel hot as the Qi was drawn towards it. A cracking sound began to reverberate from the inside of his body. This wasn't good. He had been warned about this before. If he took in too much Qi too quickly his dantian could shatter leaving him powerless for the rest of his life. He couldn't call Li Jun it would just bring more harm to his soul so it would have to be something he overcame on his own.

He did think about calling Lao but then decided against the idea because he was still terrified of him. He sat quietly as Qi filled his body at an ever-increasing speed. He had to try to gain control of the Qi. He began to visualize the Qi gathering around his dantian instead of inside of it. The flow of the Qi slowed down a little bit but instead began to grow around the dantian getting bigger and bigger until a crack rung out.

There wasn't any pain as his dantian shattered but he knew what had happened. His perception of Qi slowly began to fade. But why was he still inside his soul ocean? He was confused as he stood up. The phoenix had landed on the ground in front of him. He looked down to see that a long string of fire was going into his stomach. What is it doing? He questioned himself as the Phoenix began to draw symbols made out of the fire.

Haru could still sense the faint scent of Qi. He held onto it in his head as there was another crack. But this time there was a sinking feeling as something began to grow inside him. His body slowly floated up into the air as his head tilted back. A faint blue glow came from his mouth as his body began to expand like a balloon. The phoenix began to panic and tried to fly away. It then hesitated and looked back at Haru.

It flew towards him and headbutted him in the chest sending him backward before slowly sliding across the floor. His chest began to ache so much that he hadn't noticed that he gained the ability to sense Qi once again. His body felt lighter and stronger almost like he could fly from just a jump. What was happening?

He looked back at the phoenix. "You are okay now." He didn't hear a voice but sensed the words come from the direction of the phoenix as it flew off into the sky once again. Haru sat down once more and began to sense the Qi in his body. It had more than doubled and it seemed like he had already broken through. "I thought it was going to take longer to cultivate? Then why did I breakthrough just days after the last time?" He had reached the Heavenly spirit realm once again. This time it felt different. He was stronger. He could actually feel the strength in his body with every single movement.

He became confused as light scattered in through his window and pulling him out of his soul ocean. Wait, I can sense the outside world from inside? Is that supposed to happen? He thought as he got ready for school. He walked downstairs to see that Zen had left a note on the table. "I won't be home tonight. Something came up. Zen"

Okay? Why didn't he just send a text? That is kind of strange. But he didn't question it too much as he made breakfast and waited for the driver to pick him up. A car horn made its way inside as it rang out in the street. He left Xue some food in her bowl before making his way out to the car and getting into the back seat.

The car set off before arriving outside of the school twenty minutes later. "I should be coming straight home tonight." He said to the driver before making his way inside. The corridors were empty. Had classes already started? He thought to himself as he walked inside the classroom. The atmosphere changed as he entered. The student all stopped their current conversations and began to stare.

He looked over to his seat. There was a piece of paper sat on his desk. He walked over and sat down before taking a look at the paper. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were related to Mr. Hao. Lei" He looked back to were Lei was sitting.

Lei looked at him for a second and then put his hands together and bowed his head as if to ask for forgiveness. "What is with everyone writing notes today?" He thought as there was a tap on his shoulder.

"Good morning Haru."