My father is the main character, but the female leads want to kill me.

"Next time definitely!"

Lin Ran waved and walked out of the store.

After watching Mr. Lin leave, the shopkeeper glanced at the painting and couldn't help but chuckle, "The young lady's surname is Lin, and this young man's surname is also Lin. What a coincidence! Is this necklace really that strange?"

Remembering what Brother Lin had said earlier, the shopkeeper once again carefully examined the necklace Lin Shishi was wearing in the painting.

"Huh?" The shopkeeper made a puzzled sound, rubbing his eyes and looking at the painting again. He said strangely, "This is clearly a butterfly-shaped necklace, so why did that young man say it was an eye? But I just..."

The boss remembered seeing eyes just now, so could his memory be playing tricks on him?

"I've been really tired lately, maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me, since this does look a bit like an eye..." The shopkeeper shook his head indifferently, attributing it to physical exhaustion, rolled up the scroll, turned around, and went back to his room to put away this precious item.

As Lin Ran walked down the street, she thought about what had just happened and found it a bit strange. Would a young lady from a wealthy family wear such jewelry?

Could it be that…

While Lin Ran was thinking, he suddenly subconsciously felt as if someone was staring at him from behind. He quickly turned around, but all he saw was a crowded mass of heads. Someone even bumped into Lin Ran and cursed, "What are you doing stopping here? Don't you know you're blocking the way? Seriously!"

The man walked away grumbling. Lin Ran shook her head and said with a wry smile, "He's probably just too tired. Go back and rest for a bit!"

Today, I'm probably too stressed out because I'm worried about Lin Chong's safety.

Just in the direction Lin Ran had been looking, a woman dressed in a light blue Taoist robe and wearing a veil stood in mid-air. Her bright eyes flashed with a deep blue light. An almost invisible beam of blue light shot towards Lin Ran's back. On the back of her neck, which Lin Ran couldn't see, the same eyes she had seen in the painting appeared, as if tattooed onto Lin Ran's body. After doing all this, the woman's figure became transparent until she was completely invisible…

……

Chapter 71

The next morning, Lin Ran slowly opened her eyes, sat up, and pulled open the curtains in the room, letting in the bright sunlight.

Looking out the window, Lin Ran murmured, "I'll go take a look at that space tunnel today, otherwise going to other space tunnels would be too much of a waste of time."

With a soft sigh, Lin Ran washed up and went out, heading straight for the space tunnel.

The streets in the early morning have a unique feel, especially since the fantasy world hasn't been polluted much. The air here is fresh and natural, truly invigorating and refreshing.

There were already many shouts and calls from the vendors, and the shops on both sides were already open for business, each vying to attract customers. There were also many specialty breakfast shops. Lin Ran went in and bought some to fill her stomach. Actually, she was just craving something. She wanted to eat as soon as she smelled the aroma. Surely there wouldn't be a breakfast assassin at breakfast, right?

The location of the space tunnel is an extremely large plaza, paved with special stones that can store energy. A powerful spatial force is faintly surging on the stone platform in the center of the plaza. In the center of the air, there is a huge black hole, more than ten feet in size, that seems to swallow one's vision. The endless darkness and the faint howling wind are chilling.

The black hole seemed to be rotating, with powerful and astonishing spatial energy overflowing from it, which was somewhat moving. However, the black hole was very strange; sometimes it would shake violently for a few moments, and then return to calm.

The stone platform below the black hole was covered with silver runes that surged with terrifying spatial power. However, the platform was missing several pieces, and even after they were replaced, the spatial tunnel seemed to fluctuate from time to time for some other reason.

There was a building near the square that appeared to be the ticket office.

Inside, an official staff member was dozing off out of boredom. This place used to be bustling with activity and crowds of people, but now it was so quiet that even fallen leaves didn't want to linger, instead drifting away with the breeze.

Since she was already there, Lin Ran went to the ticket booth, knocked on the table, and woke up the staff member.

The staff member opened his eyes impatiently and said irritably, "If you want to ride the space tunnel, you don't need to buy a ticket, just go directly. We also provide the spaceship for free."

According to the staff member, taking a ride through a space tunnel is basically a sign of being tired of living and deliberately looking for a refreshing and unconventional way to escape.

"I'm not here to ride the space tunnel. I just wanted to ask when it will be finished?" Lin Ran asked with a smile, handing over a few silver coins as a tip for the receptionist.

"You're not the only one who's asked this question, but even I want to know when it will be fixed. If it's not fixed soon, I won't have any money for food!" Seeing that Lin Ran was so cooperative, the staff member reached out and held the few silver coins, dragged them to his side, and slid them under the table into his other hand, very professionally.

The staff member answered all of Lin Ran's questions without reservation.

From these people, Lin Ran learned more concrete information: the Ji Dynasty was extremely anxious because the space tunnel had brought them huge profits, and now that it had been shut down for so long, they didn't know how much money they had lost.

They also laid off many employees, and even those who remained at the ticket office were only paid meager wages. This left the people who relied on the space tunnel to make a living speechless with bitterness, and they could only curse the madmen who destroyed the space tunnel.

"Didn't they catch that madman from that day?" Lin Ran asked curiously.

He heard many people cursing those madmen and talking about them, but no one said what their current whereabouts were.

The staff member shrugged helplessly, shaking his head and complaining, "Who knows what those people from the Ji Dynasty are doing? The space tunnel was openly destroyed, but they couldn't even find a trace of that madman. They're even covering their ears and not letting many people know that they haven't caught him."

Suddenly remembering something, the staff member looked at Lin Ran warily and said, "Don't spread this around, or we'll both be in big trouble!"

"Of course I won't tell anyone, I'm very tight-lipped!" Lin Ran chuckled.

"That would be for the best..."

After leaving the plaza where the space tunnel was located, Lin Ran had a strange feeling. Was he being watched by something strange? Why was everything going wrong as soon as he arrived here?

Lin Ran took out the map of the capital city of Jishui that she had bought yesterday to see where the spaceship was and to go there to check out the situation.

As Lin Ran merged into the crowd and headed towards his next destination, not far behind him, a woman wearing a veil and a light blue Taoist robe stood in the middle of the crowd, like a shadow.

Many people walked right past her, as if no one had seen her at all. It was as if she didn't exist in this world; it was as if she could be seen... yet also as if she couldn't be seen...

The woman didn't completely disappear until Lin Ran vanished at the street corner...

Upon arriving at the official ship bureau in the capital city of Jishui, which specializes in space travel, Lin Ran learned from the counter that due to a problem with the space tunnel, many people were now choosing their mode of transportation, and their tickets were completely sold out.

They can't add more trains because there have been a lot of space turbulence and space storms lately, and they've suffered some losses. For safety reasons, and really to avoid damaging their reputation, they're sticking with the existing trains and not adding any more.

What troubles Lin Ran the most is that the boat ticket, which originally only required some gold coins, has now skyrocketed to the point of being measured in spirit stones, and the price is only going to keep rising and probably won't come down. Where would this poor wretch get spirit stones?

After slinking out of the shipping company, Lin Ran found a teahouse to sit in and seriously considered what to do next. He suddenly remembered that the jade pendant that Jia'er had left him was called the Dragon and Phoenix Heart Jade.

It can also transmit sound using spiritual power. He hadn't really tried it out since he got it. Now he could ask Jia'er for help. With the abilities of Jia'er and the Celestial Clan, they should be able to find out Lin Chong's current safety.

Lin Ran took out the half of the jade pendant from her bosom, looked at the phoenix on it, and touched the warm jade. She closed her eyes, poured spiritual power into the jade pendant, and conveyed what she wanted to say.

……

The Celestial Race, this ancient race, is probably unknown even to the entire Nine Provinces continent today. But if you climb into that extremely elite circle, you will learn about the Celestial Race.

They knew that above in the sky, there existed a powerful and ancient race, who had always roamed the heavens, overlooking the entire land of Kyushu…

High in the azure sky, nestled among the thick clouds, lay countless floating islands, each with its own civilization and races unlike those on the mainland.

On one of the floating islands, a place that is both tranquil and sunny, beautiful flowers, like sunflowers, face the sun and seem to be subtly absorbing its energy, transforming it into a refreshing fragrance.

The fragrance of the flowers even shimmered with a faint golden light, as if purifying this world.

At the highest point of this floating island, a graceful young woman in a light blue dress stood tall and elegant. Her soft, dark hair was casually tied up, and she held a blood-red jade pendant in her hand. Her refined and beautiful face was devoid of emotion, and her eyes were as calm as still water, gazing silently at the vast white clouds.

The girl stood with her hands behind her back, her slender and graceful figure standing proudly. With one step forward, she was in the vast sky. With the occasional breeze blowing, she appeared peerless and independent, otherworldly and uniquely spiritual.

"Buzz..."

Suddenly, the blood jade in the girl's hand lit up with a golden-red light and emitted a deep hum, which made the girl's face bloom with a bright smile, making the surrounding flowers pale in comparison.

The girl quickly placed the blood jade between her eyebrows and began to read the information inside.

After a while, the girl finally put down the blood jade. Her pretty face pouted, and she murmured softly, "That wretched guy! The first thing he does when he comes over is ask these kinds of questions. Doesn't he care about how I've been doing lately? Whether I'm eating well, sleeping well, or cultivating well?"

Although the girl said this, she couldn't suppress her joy. She kept smiling as she put the blood jade in her bosom, made a hand seal, and a golden butterfly appeared in her hand. She gently sent it out.

The girl continued to stand there, muttering to herself, her emotions shifting constantly—sometimes joyful, sometimes sorrowful, sometimes resentful…

About ten minutes later, a door opened behind the girl, and an old man came out. If Lin Ran were here, she would definitely recognize him as the old man Wang who had taken Lin Hongjia away. At this moment, the old man Wang knelt respectfully on one knee towards the girl, and the girl's identity was immediately revealed: she was Lin Hongjia, who had returned to the Celestial Clan and had already undergone her coming-of-age ceremony.

After bowing to Lin Hongjia, Old Wang looked at the young woman in front of him, who had recently shone brightly at her coming-of-age ceremony, and respectfully said, "Miss, may I ask what brings you here, this old man?"

"I do have something to trouble you with, Elder Wang!" Lin Hongjia chuckled and nodded, brushing a strand of hair from her forehead with her slender, pale fingers, and said softly, "Elder Wang, could you please check on Brother Lin Chong's current location and safety, and give me definite information as soon as possible?"

Uncle Lin Ran is quite worried about Brother Lin Chong, so he contacted me hoping I could help.

.......

Chapter Seventy-Two: A Long Phone Call in a Fantasy World

Old Wang wasn't surprised that Lin Hongjia was able to contact the Lin family. With the rare treasures in their Celestial Clan, there were quite a few that could make long-distance communication.

"If Miss is in a hurry, I can use a secret technique to find Young Master Lin Chong's location right now."

Old Wang spoke kindly, explaining that he frequently visited the Lin family and knew them quite well; he could easily find them using secret methods.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Elder Wang!" Lin Hongjia said with a sweet smile.

Old Wang then formed hand seals, and strange golden patterns once again lit up his body. In an instant, Old Wang's eyes became dazzlingly bright, as if they could see through thousands of miles to find Lin Chong's location...

And a hundred and eight thousand miles away, on the continent of Jiezhou, Tianli Academy is located in the east of the continent, in a magnificent and ancient city called Tianli City.

Lin Chong, who was strolling through the streets of Tianli City with the Ye sisters, was hanging loosely behind them when he suddenly seemed to sense something and looked up at the sky. Just now, Lin Chong felt as if he was being watched.

"Who is watching me? In the sky? But there's no one in the sky!" Lin Chong thought to himself.

While Lin Chong was in a daze, Ye Wanxi, who was walking ahead, turned around and saw Lin Chong standing there. She came to Lin Chong's side, took his hand, and said softly, "Brother Chong, what's wrong?"

"Ah, it's nothing, I just... thought of some things!" Lin Chong chuckled sheepishly, scratching his head. Maybe it was just his imagination.

Lin Wanxi smiled sweetly, pulled Lin Chong forward, and said, "We heard there's a really good restaurant over there, shall we go eat there now?"

"Okay!"

Lin Chong smiled and simply went along with Ye Wanxi, deciding that what had just happened was just him being overly suspicious.

Meanwhile, on the Sky Island where Lin Hongjia was located in the Celestial Clan, Elder Wang finished his secret technique, and the terrifying aura surging around him subsided. Elder Wang's expression was somewhat strange, and for a moment he didn't know whether he should tell the young lady what he had seen.

He knew that his young mistress had a good impression of, or rather, liked, the young master of the Lin family. But what he had just seen was that the young master of the Lin family was accompanied by two beautiful young girls, and their behavior and words were very intimate. If he told his young mistress about this, would she be angry?

He knew quite a bit about the young master of the Lin family. After three years of being a useless person, the boy had risen again and was now very resilient and reliable. He was diligent in his cultivation and, given time, might become a formidable expert.

This sudden obsession with women is rather strange. Could it be that he's young and impetuous, and has been bewitched by those two women?

Lin Hongjia had no idea that Old Wang was so emotionally charged. Seeing his strange expression, she became anxious and urged him, "Old Wang, please tell me quickly, how is Brother Lin Chong? Brother Lin Chong can't be in trouble, if something happens to him, Uncle Lin Ran will be very upset!"

Lin Hongjia almost misspoke, but luckily she reacted in time.

But in Wang Lao's view, this was just Lin Hongjia being nervous about Lin Chong, and in the end, he even dragged the Lin family patriarch into it to cover up his own actions.

It seems Miss is truly deeply in love. If she knew, she would be very upset. Perhaps...

Urged several times, Old Wang coughed and slowly said, "Young Master Lin Chong is fine and is currently cultivating at Tianli Academy, but..."

"but what?"

Lin Hongjia couldn't help but feel uneasy again, and her beautiful eyebrows furrowed involuntarily. She said coquettishly, "Old Wang, just say it all at once!"

"Alright!" Old Wang thought for a moment and then tentatively said, "Young Master Lin Chong seems to be very popular in the academy, attracting quite a few girls. I just happened to see that Young Master Lin Chong's relationship with some girls is a bit complicated."