Gao Wu: Oh no! Young Master Zhen is a cultivator!

After the catastrophe, transportation became a major problem in various places, with mutated creatures appearing on the roads from time to time. Apart from some key roads that were regularly cleared, many sections of the roads had been abandoned.

The situation in the air wasn't much better. Raptors had a wider range of activity than ground-based mutant beasts, and without a martial artist of the Transcendent Realm or above accompanying them, their flying vehicles couldn't even leave the city.

A silver-gray transport plane was parked next to the airport runway, with the city lord's emblem printed on its fuselage.

The cabin is not spacious, with two rows of seats arranged near the windows and a narrow aisle in the middle.

Everyone boarded the plane one by one. Lin Ran found a window seat and sat down, holding the wooden box in his arms.

Chu Xining quickly sat down next to him, while Bai Ruolin sat across the aisle.

Qin Wuyai, a classmate, chose a corner in the back row, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes to rest.

The pilot was already in the cockpit conducting pre-flight checks, the engine roar was rising in intensity, and the indicator lights on both sides of the runway lit up in sequence.

A safety demonstration was playing on the display screen at the front of the cabin.

A few minutes later, Zhang Qichuan emerged from the cockpit.

He stood in the middle of the aisle and slowly began to speak: "The flight time is about two hours, with no landings in between. If you have any questions, please contact the flight attendants immediately."

As soon as the words were spoken, the aircraft slowly took off, and the streets of New Sea City gradually shrank into squares outside the porthole.

The high walls on the edge of the city gleamed metallically in the sunlight, beyond which lay vast stretches of abandoned farmland and waist-high weeds.

Military patrol convoys can be seen on several main roads, beyond which lie dense forests and rolling mountains.

Occasionally, you can see a flock of birds taking flight from the woods, I wonder what has startled them.

The aircraft crossed the border of Xinhai City and continued to ascend.

The air pressure inside the cabin changed slightly, and the spiritual energy shield generator emitted a low hum, spreading a semi-transparent blue light film around the fuselage.

Occasionally, a few flying mutated beasts could be seen flying through the clouds outside the window, avoiding the transport plane's flight path and intimidated by the aura released by the transcendent martial artist.

Chu Xining leaned on Lin Ran's shoulder and dozed off, her breathing gradually becoming steady.

Just then, a rapid alarm sounded from the front of the cabin.

Lin Ran looked up and saw a figure standing in the clouds outside the porthole.

The man stood out of thin air, surrounded by flames that burned a hole in the nearby clouds.

Flames surged around him, obscuring his features; only a blurry human silhouette could be seen.

The aircraft's alarm system emitted a piercing beep, and the pilot abruptly pulled up the control stick.

hum!

The aircraft suddenly slowed down in the air, and everyone in the cabin was pulled forward by inertia.

"The Profound Realm!" Zhang Qichuan stood up from his seat, walked to the porthole, and frowned deeply. "It's the Sun family patriarch, Sun Kaiyuan!"

Seeing this, Lin Ran's lips curled up slightly: "They're coming for me."

"Brother Lin Ran..." Chu Xining subconsciously grabbed Lin Ran's arm, her fingers tightening.

Lin Ran patted the back of her hand and said casually, "Don't worry, it's no big deal."

"Everyone, take your seats!" Zhang Qichuan opened the cabin door, and a gust of wind rushed into the cabin, blowing everyone's hair back.

He stepped out of the cabin, stood suspended in mid-air, his trench coat fluttering behind him.

After reaching the Transcendent Realm, one can temporarily remain suspended in the air by releasing true energy, which is one of the reasons why the Transcendent Realm is called Transcendent.

"What do you mean by this, senior?" Zhang Qichuan's voice cut through the wind and reached everyone's ears.

Sun Kaiyuan deliberately adopted a hoarse voice and said coldly, "Hand over Lin Ran, and the rest of you may leave."

As he spoke, the flames around him expanded again, and the surrounding air seemed to distort and deform.

Zhang Qichuan frowned and took a deep breath: "Senior, aren't you afraid of being investigated by the Special Affairs Bureau for intercepting and killing examinees?"

"No need to trouble yourself," Sun Kaiyuan said nonchalantly.

Since he dared to come, he must have made thorough preparations.

Lin Ran died outside the city. Who can prove that he was the one who did it?

What these people saw was merely a martial artist at the Tongxuan Realm whose entire body was enveloped in flames; his face and voice were indistinguishable.

This isn't Xinhai, and he's not the only fire-type martial artist in the world. How can you pin this on him?

Even if the Secret Service wants to investigate, they need evidence.

"What if I don't pay?" Zhang Qichuan's voice was slightly deep.

Although he didn't particularly like Lin Ran, he couldn't allow Sun Kaiyuan to attack the students on the aircraft because of his current duties.

"I don't have time to waste my breath on you," Sun Kaiyuan said, holding up three fingers in a calm and unhurried voice.

"If you don't hand over Lin Ran within three breaths, I will take direct action against this aircraft."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Qichuan immediately mobilized his inner energy and assumed a defensive stance: "Senior, are you really going to go this far?"

Sun Kaiyuan withdrew one finger: "Three!"

"This is a road of no return!" Zhang Qichuan shouted, trying to dissuade him.

Sun Kaiyuan retracted his second finger: "Two!"

"If you insist on doing this, senior, then I have no choice but to offend you." Seeing that he could not dissuade him, Zhang Qichuan had no choice but to prepare to take action.

He was only one step away from the Profound Realm. Even if he couldn't defeat Sun Kaiyuan, he still had some ability to protect himself.

If I can stall Sun Kaiyuan for a while and let the driver take the students away first, there might still be a glimmer of hope.

"One!" Sun Kaiyuan withdrew his last finger. "Time's up!"

Sun Kaiyuan stretched out one hand, his five fingers spread, and a ball of platinum flame ignited in his palm.

In terms of control over a single element, a martial artist at the Profound Realm is no weaker than Lin Ran at the Foundation Establishment stage.

Zhang Qichuan's body surged with internal energy, and he held his breath and concentrated.

The air between the two was compressed by two completely different auras, making a buzzing sound.

Just as the two were about to make their move, a long, silver-white sword flew out of the aircraft's hatch.

The sword traced a cold arc in the sunlight, aiming straight for Sun Kaiyuan's brow.

Even with Zhang Qichuan's extraordinary eyesight, he could only barely catch a glimpse of the flying sword's afterimage.

when!

Sun Kaiyuan swung his knife to parry, the blade colliding with the sword's edge, exploding into a blinding cloud of sparks.

He was thrown back several meters, regaining his footing in mid-air, the flames around him shaking violently.

He glanced down at the shallow notch on the blade, then looked up at the aircraft's hatch, his expression instantly turning serious.

"You even invited a martial artist at the Transcendent Realm to accompany you?"

In his view, the person who could knock him back with a single sword strike must at least be an Awakened One at the Tongqiao Realm.

He was somewhat confident if he were to face a single metal-type Xuanwu practitioner.

However, facing Zhang Qichuan, who is at the peak of the Tongxuan Realm and the peak of the Chaofan Realm, the outcome is hard to say.

Zhang Qichuan stood in mid-air, his expression unchanged, but he was also having some doubts.

Besides him, the city lord, there were only ten students, two pilots and co-pilots, and a few service personnel on the aircraft. Where did the Transcendent Realm martial artist come from?

He glanced instinctively toward the hatch, then quickly realized what was happening.

Since this flying sword can repel Sun Kaiyuan and arouse his fear, why not go with the flow?

"Not bad." Zhang Qichuan said with his hands behind his back, his tone neither hurried nor slow.

"There is indeed a senior on board the aircraft, someone the Lin family specifically hired to protect Lin Ran. So, senior, are you still going to make a move?"

Sun Kaiyuan tightened his grip on the knife slightly, and the flames around him rose and fell, clearly indicating that he was weighing his options.

In a one-on-two situation, he has no chance of winning.

Without lifting a finger, this dignified Tongxuan Realm patriarch personally went to intercept and kill a high school student, arriving with great momentum, but ultimately returned empty-handed.

If this gets out, the Sun family will be utterly disgraced.

In reality, there were no Transcendent Realm martial artists inside the aircraft, but there was a Transcendent Realm assassin.

The moment Zhang Qichuan stepped out of the cabin, a flight attendant stood up from the end of the aisle.

She pulled a thin, poisoned needle from under the tray with her right hand, and with a flick of her wrist, the needle shot out towards Lin Ran.

Before the surrounding students could react, the poisoned needles, gleaming with an eerie light, were already in front of Lin Ran.