In the world of martial arts, one works tirelessly to attain enlightenment.

Chapter 51, The Arrangement of the Treasure Map

Third floor.

Lin Ran opened the door and let Yan Lingfei in to speak.

"Captain, a few days ago, we pretended to test you about your sister..."

Yan Lingfei explained the matter in a few words.

Lin Ran nodded slightly.

"I understand. She has her own path to follow, and I don't need to interfere."

"real?"

Yan Lingfei leaned closer and carefully observed Lin Ran's eyes.

Lin Ran calmly met her gaze until Yan Lingfei couldn't bear it anymore and looked away.

"It's good that you don't blame us, Captain."

"No, it won't." Lin Ran shook her head.

"What's the new situation?"

Yan Lingfei's expression turned serious. "The last two treasure maps were found together, but outside the camp. They were discovered by one person, and now that person's trail has disappeared. We've been ordered to search for them and preserve the treasure maps as much as possible."

"A treasure map obtained by the humans?"

"right."

"What is that person's strength?"

"Mid-stage first tier, seems to be a dropout."

Lin Ran said decisively:

"Then don't worry about it. If others can't find it, we might not be able to either. There are still two and a half months before the secret realm opens. We might as well use that time to cultivate. Your cultivation level is already lagging behind."

He could tell that Yan Lingfei was a lower-level awakened being at the seventh level, while he was already halfway through the eighth level.

"Alright, I'll do as you say."

Yan Lingfei clicked her tongue, unsure of the source of Lin Ran's confidence, but she felt very comfortable following this kind of captain.

"Okay, go cultivate." Lin Ran nodded.

"By the way, Captain, you also practice the Fiery Cloud Divine Art, right? Why don't we practice together? It would be beneficial for both of us."

Yan Lingfei's eyes suddenly lit up, and she said expectantly,

Lin Ran was slightly taken aback, but did not refuse.

"Give it a try."

An hour later.

[Fire Cloud Divine Skill - First Level, Experience +25]

Experience gained increased by a quarter!

Yan Lingfei's face turned red; she couldn't keep up with Lin Ran's cultivation speed.

"Captain, wait, call Yunzhu over too. Your spiritual energy circulation speed is too fast, I can't handle it."

"it is good."

Yunzhu arrived and looked at Yan Lingfei strangely after hearing what she heard.

You'd better really be talking about the speed of reiki circulation.

Because Mengyu's attributes are darkness and wind, she missed this opportunity to cultivate.

Lin Ran continued to cultivate the Fiery Cloud Divine Skill and combat skills, resonating with Yun Zhu and Yan Lingfei to accelerate her cultivation speed.

In the thirty-seventh hour, the Hidden Dragon Body, whose growth rate had plummeted, underwent an upgrade, with its scales becoming finer and its defensive capabilities strengthened.

[Hidden Dragon Body LV4→LV5: 10/2500]

Sixty-second hour

[Fighting skill, experience maxed out, skill automatically evolved]

【Wind and Thunder LV1: 10/500】

Yan Lingfei broke through to the eighth level of the lower-level Awakened Realm, and Yun Zhu broke through to the seventh level.

The ninety-eighth hour.

【Wind and Thunder LV1→LV2: 230/1000】

[Hidden Dragon Body LV5: 1230/2500]

[Spiritual Aura Specialization LV4→LV5: 150/2500]

[Fire Cloud Divine Skill - First Level LV8→LV9: 10/4500]

Nine flames intertwined and burned fiercely in the flame layer of the dantian.

Lower-level Awakened One, Fire Attribute, Ninth Level!

Lin Ran exhaled, sensing the state of Yun Zhu and Yan Lingfei, and stopped the resonance of fire spirit energy.

Unable to hold on any longer, the two collapsed into each other's arms.

Yan Lingfei was flicked and fell towards Lin Ran in shock, while Yun Zhu took the opportunity to lie down.

Lin Ran slowly put them down, put away the fire crystal, and opened the window to let the heat dissipate.

"Captain, have you always trained like this?"

Yan Lingfei almost questioned the meaning of life.

Lin Ran was surprised.

"It's just four days of training, is there a problem?"

"……No."

Yan Lingfei smirked and hugged Yunzhu, vigorously rubbing her cat ears.

"Meow~" Yunzhu complained, feeling that she was far less gentle than Lin Ran.

Yan Lingfei chuckled and, not letting Yunzhu off the hook, the two of them started playfully fighting.

Lin Ran rubbed her cheeks vigorously to calm her fluctuating emotions.

Fortunately, he has been using the emotion shielding model intermittently these past few days, otherwise he probably wouldn't be able to hold back now.

After playing around for a while, Yan Lingfei left.

Yunzhu didn't straighten her disheveled clothes. She moved closer to Lin Ran, looking at him with her big, watery eyes.

"Brother Lin~"

……

Two hours later.

Lin Ran, Yun Zhu, and Meng Yu, who was whispering that the food wasn't good, went downstairs together.

Yan Lingfei and Lin Qingxuan waited in the courtyard, while Da Ju and Lin Qingyu played in the mud together.

"Captain, we've found someone with the treasure map, but the alien race hasn't found them yet. We've been ordered to negotiate and get the treasure map."

"Who wants the treasure map?"

"I don't know, it only says they need a treasure map."

Yan Lingfei shook her head, somewhat unhappy, feeling that she had been used as a tool in a political struggle, for personal gain rather than for the alliance.

Lin Ran finished reading the message.

"Go there, just go through the motions, as long as the treasure map is in the hands of the humans."

"The captain is the best, hehe~" Yan Lingfei smiled brightly.

Lin Qingxuan was puzzled, thinking that his good friend was a bit silly.

……

Beyond the human territory and their settlements, in the wilderness.

The dusty young man stared blankly at the fire, with two treasure maps pieced together beside him.

He suddenly woke up, grabbed the treasure map, and threw it into the fire.

The flames burned fiercely, but the treasure map remained completely still.

The young man looked desperate and roared angrily at the treasure map.

"Just how much do you want to kill me?!"

The treasure map watched him silently, offering no response.

The young man turned and walked away from the fire. After a hundred meters away, he suddenly reached into his pocket and pulled out two treasure maps, which were the same two maps he had just thrown into the fire!

The young man sighed, put away the treasure map, and walked to a large tree.

Beneath the tree stood a female cultivator dressed in a black bodysuit, almost completely blending into the darkness, with only her bright and calm eyes visible.

The young man said to her,

"You saw it yourself, it's not that I don't want to hand it over, it's that I can't shake off the treasure map. Have the people you called come yet? If they don't come soon, I'm doomed!"

"Miss has accepted the commission and is on her way. She should be here in thirty minutes at most," the man in black said.

"Thirty minutes... hopefully that'll be enough."

The young man sighed, lay back, and stared blankly at the dark sky.

After half an hour.

Yan Lingfei led the way, and Lin Ran and Lin Qingxuan saw the strange duo under the tree.

The woman in black immediately stepped forward to report.

"Miss, the treasure map is in his hands."

"Thank you, you've worked hard."

"It's no trouble at all. Please be vigilant, Miss. There's the aura of an alien race nearby." The woman in black shook her head, took a step back, and disappeared into the darkness.

Yan Lingfei and the other two walked to the tree.

The young man immediately perked up and deftly produced the treasure map.

"Here! That's it! It's killing me, you guys better take care of it!"

The young man was emotionally agitated.

Yan Lingfei looked at Lin Ran, who nodded.

Yan Lingfei took the treasure map and left, while the young man looked nervous.

One hundred meters later.

The young man's face froze, his expression turning to despair.

He took the treasure map out of his pocket.

"That's it, it's set its sights on me, and I can't shake it off!"

Yan Lingfei returned, "I've been looking at the treasure map the whole time, and there's no spiritual energy fluctuation at all."

Lin Ran stroked her chin and said to Yan Lingfei, "That must be an ability that transcends the rules. This is not a problem we can solve. Let's call your grandfather."

Yan Lingfei shook her head.

"My grandfather wouldn't get involved in such trivial matters."

(End of this chapter)