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

Chapter 86, Time, Searching for People, Taking the Initiative

Eye Technique: Time!

Everything around him turned grayish-white and came to a complete standstill.

One of the fluctuating numbers is rapidly approaching zero.

Two seconds is enough time for a mid-level Awakened to do a lot.

Lin Ran walked up to the Feather Clan, activated the Eight Gates Formation at full power, covered his hands with light, and struck the Feather Clan's head with his left hand and his chest with his right hand.

A burst of power cancels time stop.

[Pupil Technique: Time, Experience +1]

boom!

The winged creature's head exploded out of thin air, leaving a large, transparent hole in its chest. Its heart and most of its tissues were shattered, and its outstretched wings were now motionless.

Splat!

The third-tier member of the Feather Clan crashed to the ground, splattering a large amount of blood, and then fell silent.

Lin Ran grabbed the Feather Clan's storage ring, glanced at it casually, and tossed it to Zhou Yu.

Then he looked at the three werewolves who were somewhat dazed.

Aren't you leaving yet?

The three werewolves were startled and immediately turned around and left without hesitation, rushing off in three different directions in perfect unison, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Lin Ran reactivated the shield generator and threw out a ball of fire, burning the winged creature's corpse to ashes.

Zhou Yu asked in confusion:

"Captain, why didn't you leave those three behind?"

"Let them spread the word, so that other alien races won't attack frequently, and we can use the time to cultivate."

Lin Ran shrugged.

The skill panel will not level up due to external forces; it can only be improved through self-cultivation.

Time is the most important thing to him.

Zhou Yu touched her chin and didn't ask any more questions.

……

Inside the city, not far from Lin Ranxuan's building.

Werewolves, elves, winged race, soul race, fire spirits, ice spirits, and cat people all gathered together to watch Lin Ran easily annihilate a third-tier winged race member.

After a moment of silence,

The cat-man said, "What kind of method is that? I couldn't see any trace of it, nor any trace of spiritual energy flowing through it."

Soul Clan: "I didn't see any trace of spiritual power either. He seemed to act suddenly, as if he appeared out of thin air."

Winged Clan: "When my kin launched their attack, it seems like a period of time was stolen?"

Fire Spirit: "Time? That's the domain of [Rules]. No matter how talented he is, he can't use the power of [Rules] without igniting the divine fire, let alone time."

Ice Spirit: "Nothing is absolute. What if an exception appears among the human race?"

Werewolf: "I borrowed the power of the Wolf God, but I still couldn't figure out how this human made his move. The only explanation is that he was able to steal this part of the time."

Soul Clan: "That's too arbitrary. Our Soul Clan has many secret techniques that can interfere with the observer's perception and achieve the same effect."

Feathered Clan: "He has killed many Soul Clan members; perhaps he acquired some kind of ability through that?"

Soul Clan: "It's not impossible, but now is not the time to continue probing. Our main force has not yet arrived, and we need to wait for some time."

Werewolf: "Yes, our main force will also need time to arrive."

Elf: "Then let's wait and gather our strength before attacking this person."

……

Inside the building.

Lin Ran continued her cultivation according to her previous routine, without being disturbed again.

The sixty-ninth hour.

【Cloud Dragon Roams the Four Directions LV1→LV2: 5/1000】

The 269th hour.

【Cloud Dragon Roams the Four Directions LV2→LV3: 5/1500】

The 308th hour.

【Soul Nourishing Technique - Second Level LV6→LV7: 5/3500】

Mental strength, mid-level awakened one, seventh level!

Lin Ran let out a breath and rubbed her forehead.

After practicing continuously for more than twelve days, I was a little dazed.

Zhou Yu scanned the building with his mental energy and found himself cultivating in a room.

The communication team's imprint and other imprints are still far apart, but there are no major fluctuations, indicating that the problem is not serious.

Lin Ran took out a chair and sat down, subconsciously raising her hand.

Not feeling any weight, she was momentarily stunned before realizing that Xingluo wasn't beside her.

Lin Ran couldn't help but shake her head. Xing Luo was taking such good care of her that she couldn't bear to be apart from her for a while.

After standing there in a daze for a while, Lin Ran decided to go find other people.

So he went and called Zhou Yu.

"Zhou Yu, come with me to find the others."

Zhou Yu: "Okay."

……

Outside the city of Bafang.

Lin Ran took out the floating vehicle. The rules in the secret realm were basically the same as those in the battlefield of the heavens, so the floating vehicle could also be used.

The reason for not using it from the Fenglinshan Volcano route is to prevent damage to the airship in case of accidents on the way.

After going through it once and confirming that the density of creatures in the secret realm wasn't that high, using the air vehicle shouldn't be a big problem.

Because the interior space of the vehicle was not large and not suitable for moving around, Lin Ran only cultivated two skills: [Soul Nourishing Technique] and [Eight Gates Formation].

The Soul Nourishing Technique is currently at LV7. It will take more than 29 days, almost a month, to upgrade to LV8.

For a normal Awakened, this time is actually very short. The improvement speed of a mid-level Awakened, except for a few extremely talented individuals, is measured in months, even for those in the first plan.

Lin Ran can multitask. Once the Eight Gates Formation and Soul Nourishing Technique are activated, they don't require much mental effort, and he can even spare some attention for them.

Zhou Yu was quiet and still, but she didn't seem to be cultivating.

Lin Ran stared at her blankly for a while, then heard Zhou Yu's voice, still hoarse, but much better than before.

"team leader?"

"Um?"

"What's up?"

"By the way, don't you find it inconvenient to move around while wearing this cloak all the time?"

Lin Ran snapped out of her daze and became curious about the cloak Zhou Yu was wearing.

The black cloak was large, completely covering her from the shoulders down.

If Zhou Yu hadn't caught him, no one would have known that Zhou Yu's actual size was no less than that of Nangong Yu, the mature and elegant nun.

Zhou Yu pinched his cloak and said:

"This is a special spiritual object that can alleviate the side effects of the curse."

"So it's useless now?"

"???"

Zhou Yu instinctively wanted to retort, but the mark on her chest made her fall silent.

The cloak seems to be truly useless now.

cloak:???

Does this mean she's become a "cow wife" (a term used to describe someone who is unfaithful or ungrateful)?

Zhou Yu suddenly looked at Lin Ran.

"Captain, do you want to see me take off my cloak?"

"right."

Lin Ran looked at Zhou Yu with a smile, making no attempt to hide her feelings.

Zhou Yu: "..."

"You've been a bit offensive."

"Everyone needs a hobby in life."

Lin Ran didn't care at all and spoke frankly.

Zhou Yu looked at Lin Ran with a deep gaze, hoping to make him back down, but Lin Ran showed no intention of backing down. Instead, Zhou Yu herself felt a little uncomfortable being stared at.

After a moment of silence, Zhou Yu touched the mark on her chest again and asked:

"Captain, what if Yan Lingfei finds out?"

"Yan Lingfei? Yunzhu, Mengyu, Xingluo, she knows about her too, but have you seen her care?"

Zhou Yu remained silent, feeling that Lin Ran had gone too far.

He's only been a captain for a short time, and he dares to do this already. What will he be like in the future!

Lin Ran rested her chin on her hand, looking at Zhou Yu with a smile. She found Zhou Yu's reaction amusing and couldn't help but want to tease her a little more.

As for the question Zhou Yu raised.

Aside from cultivation, this is his only hobby. It's not like he has too many hobbies; he has very high standards!

Does she really think she can escape after joining his team?

(End of this chapter)