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

Chapter 52, An Unexpected Encounter with Zhang Lingfei

wilderness,

Yan Lingfei said that Yan Shuangying would not get involved in such trivial matters.

Lin Ran wasn't surprised, after all, he was an extraordinary being, one in a billion.

He told the youth,

"Then you can come back with us and stay at the base from now on. You won't be assassinated by the alien race."

"real?!"

The young man scrambled to his feet, like a drowning person grasping at a straw.

Lin Ran nodded.

"real."

"Alright! I promise. After the secret realm opens, I will make copies of all the copyable information I obtain for each of you!"

The young man was radiant and had found a way to make a living.

Lin Ran smiled and nodded.

"There's one more problem now, I need to deal with this trouble, so you need to stay close to me."

"No problem! Running away is my specialty!"

The young man looked around at the creatures that had surrounded him and patted his chest as he spoke.

Lin Ran looked around, glanced at the humans mixed in, and said calmly,

"We are all human. If you leave now, you can save your lives."

"Hmph, does she think she's so great just because she's a genius!"

"Don't think you're so strong. You're just a lower-level Awakened One. There are dozens of us!"

"We only need one treasure map; we don't care about the other one. We'll leave as soon as we get the treasure map."

"..."

A series of sounds rang out.

Lin Ran shook her head.

"I warned you."

puff!

A flash of crimson light, and the heads of thirteen humans rolled off simultaneously, still bearing wary expressions.

The alien races were all startled, but they did not retreat; they continued to stare at the group.

Lin Ran drew her sword and stepped forward.

Dragon Scale Armor, Fire Spirit Shield, activate!

With a sweeping horizontal slash, a blood-red tornado instantly surged towards the surrounding alien race, creating a storm of blood and gore as numerous severed fingers and remains fell to the ground.

Lin Ran turned around and swung her sword, using fire elemental energy.

A fire tornado with a diameter of twenty meters suddenly shot out, and before most of the alien races could react, they were plunged into it. Several alien races were instantly vaporized, and the remaining alien races were swept in, screaming in agony.

Lin Ran spun his blade, and two swirling bolts of lightning moved along an arc, engulfing the alien races in their path and leaving behind a scene of devastation.

When the two whirlwinds dissipated, only a handful of the more than one hundred alien races remained.

The young man was stunned, feeling like he was dreaming. The crisis that had plagued him for over ten days had been resolved so easily?!

Lin Ran sheathed her sword and exhaled.

[Whirlwind and Thunder, Experience +60]

Two strikes are equivalent to three hours of training!

"Let's go back to our base."

……

In the wilderness, several alien races descended from the sky; those at the second rank could fly within the battlefield of the heavens.

The second-tier elf took out a jade-green mirror and shone it on the mess below.

The surface of the mirror rippled gently, as if time had reversed, reflecting the entire process from Lin Ran's appearance to her departure.

The scene ends.

The elf put away the mirror. "It can be confirmed that Lin Ran, the human, has reached the second tier of strength."

The demon lurking in the darkness sneered: "Only second-tier, yet so many consumables have been wasted."

The werewolf said in a deep voice, "We must not be careless. The son of our wolf god suffered a great loss when this person's cultivation level was still low."

Catman: "Each race has sent people to approach him, trying to interfere with the collection of combat power data as much as possible. Our race's strongmen intend to plant a killing trap in the secret realm."

The elf smiled faintly: "What a friendly race, far inferior to ours."

The cat-man said calmly, "It's all for the sake of the cat-man race."

The various alien races ceased their communication and departed.

After a long while, the darkness beneath the tree stirred, and a woman dressed in black emerged.

She looked around and hurried to Garrison No. 3.

……

Inside the base.

Lin Ran and the other two returned to the courtyard. The young man was arranged to stay next door; it was impossible for them to live together.

Yan Lingfei sent a message to her superiors to complete the mission, while Lin Ran returned to her room to continue cultivating, intending to break through to the intermediate-level Awakener in one go.

"Captain, someone from above will be sent over soon. Someone has met with you, and the message from above is to give you some time to adjust."

Yan Lingfei called out to Lin Ran.

Lin Ran was slightly taken aback.

"Huh? Are you sure it's a buffer? Not telling me to kill someone?"

"...It is indeed a buffer."

Yan Lingfei was also puzzled. The higher-ups must know about Lin Ran's affairs, but why was there a buffer period?

The person arrived shortly afterward.

Lin Ran looked at it and realized she had indeed seen it before.

Zhang Lingfei!

Previously, near the Third Middle School, when Yunzhu was buying milk tea, someone suddenly picked a fight for some reason and then lost.

"It's you!"

Zhang Lingfei was shocked.

Lin Ran nodded slightly.

"Is this the treasure map you wanted?"

"I only need one, and I won't steal it; I'll give him the resources."

Zhang Lingfei was on guard, worried about getting beaten up. After all, Yan Lingfei and Feng Wuhen, who often taught him a lesson, had both become Lin Ran's team members. He couldn't keep these two in check without some ability.

Lin Ran waved her hand.

"The treasure map has extraordinary rules and will not leave that person. Go and try. If you can take it, then buy it. If you can't take it, then don't make things difficult for him. I said I would protect him before the secret realm opens."

"……good."

Zhang Lingfei decided to give it a try first.

five minutes later,

"It is indeed an extraordinary rule. I apologize for disturbing your cultivation. I am willing to compensate you."

Zhang Lingfei presented him with a storage ring.

Lin Ran checked the resources and accepted the ring.

"Okay, if there's nothing else, you can leave. I won't worry about it."

"Okay, I'll be going now."

Zhang Lingfei left with his men.

Yan Lingfei pouted.

"I thought I could beat him up again."

"Go cultivate." Lin Ran said speechlessly.

……

Time passed, and Lin Ran was engrossed in gaining experience points.

The focus remains on the Fiery Cloud Divine Skill, and even the Earthly Origin Skill is temporarily set aside.

He deduced this from the theory of Reiki specialization.

Once the Fiery Cloud Divine Skill breaks through to the second level, the user will enter the mid-level Awakened realm. If the user then cultivates the Earthly Origin Skill, the speed of skill improvement will increase by at least five times!

Based on comprehensive calculations, achieving a breakthrough in one area is much faster than achieving the same progress in two parallel processes.

Five days later.

[Fire Cloud Divine Skill - First Level, Experience +2400]

[Spiritual Aura Specialization, Experience +1200]

Lin Ran exhaled a breath of hot air, rested briefly, and then continued her cultivation.

Four more days later.

[Fire Cloud Divine Skill - First Level LV9→LV10: 10/5000]

[Spiritual Aura Specialization LV5→LV6: 10/3000]

Lower-level Awakened One, Fire Attribute, Level 10!

……

Small courtyard.

Lin Ran leaned back in her recliner, checking the information and resources in her storage ring.

Resources are sufficient in the short term. Information applicable to mid-level awakened individuals requires exclusive authentication and cannot be accessed by those below the mid-level awakened individual level.

After thoroughly reviewing everything, Lin Ran added a list to the ring, making things clearer and more organized.

Pick up the information crystal next to him and stick it to his forehead.

During their cultivation, someone was specifically assigned to collect information for them, and important information would be directly communicated to them to avoid falling behind in information.

A single crystal can record major news events of the day, or it can specify information for someone to collect.

I skimmed through it once.

When Lin Ran put the crystal down, everything was normal, without any significant fluctuations.

The dungeon will not open for about two months. The alliance has canceled the joint dungeon, allowing those who meet the requirements to prepare for this dungeon.

After resting for a while, Yan Lingfei went downstairs.

"Captain? You're actually resting? That's unusual."

(End of this chapter)