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

Lin Ran kept the corpse within the range of his divine sense until he arrived at an empty bridge arch.

Confirming that the body would not be discovered anytime soon, he immediately cut off the control.

When the vehicle arrived at the training center entrance, Lin Ran and the other two got out, leaving only Zhao Yanran in the car.

The four said their goodbyes, and the vehicle drove away again.

Back at the entrance of 312, Lin Ran swiped his card to enter.

Qin Wuyai was fast asleep, his breathing steady.

He carefully placed the wooden box on the bedside table, sat down cross-legged, and took the ancient mirror out of the box.

The mirror was still dull and slightly cool to the touch.

He bit his fingertip and dripped a drop of blood onto the mirror. The blood was quickly absorbed by the mirror.

The ancient mirror trembled slightly, and the runes on its back lit up one by one. The dark mirror surface quickly became clear, emitting a dazzling golden light.

The Xuanhuang Cauldron in the sea of ​​consciousness emitted a long hum, and a golden light shot out from the cauldron, enveloping the ancient mirror and taking it into the cauldron.

The ancient mirror slowly rotated above the mouth of the cauldron, and the rust on its surface peeled away layer by layer, revealing the shimmering mirror underneath.

A moment later, several ancient seal characters appeared on the back of the mirror; these were characters that Lin Ran had never seen before.

At this point, the value of the Lord of Xuan Chen becomes apparent.

Lin Ran asked the Lord of Xuan Chen, "What do these words mean?"

"The Demon-Revealing Mirror," the Lord of Xuan Chen said calmly.

"A demon-revealing mirror?" Lin Ran was slightly surprised. "Is it the demon-revealing mirror I imagined?"

Lord Xuan Chen: "There are many Demon-Revealing Mirrors, and I'm not sure which one you have."

Indeed, as the Lord of Xuan Chen said, the Demon-Revealing Mirror is a very common magical artifact.

Legend has it that Erlang Shen has one face, Yun Zhongzi has one face, and Nantianmen also has one face.

Perhaps there are many more in other legends.

The most powerful one here is the Demon-Revealing Mirror at the South Heavenly Gate, which can not only reveal the true form of demons, but also fix people's souls.

The auctioneer previously described the ancient mirror as emitting a golden light that could cause dizziness, which was quite similar to the demon-revealing mirror at the South Heavenly Gate.

However, regardless of which side of the demon-revealing mirror it is, this auction was definitely worthwhile for Lin Ran.

If I can successfully obtain the Nine Heavens Pendant tomorrow, that would be perfect.

The next morning, a news notification popped up on the holographic bracelet.

Lin Ran clicked on it and took a look. The title read, "Sheriff killed in attack while on duty late at night; killer still at large."

The accompanying photo shows the crime scene, with several pools of dark red blood and scattered bullet casings on the road.

He remained calm, casually scrolled past the news, washed up, changed into his training clothes, and walked out the door.

Chu Xining came forward, carrying a paper bag and a cup of hot soy milk: "Brother Lin Ran, here's your breakfast."

"You're up so early?" Lin Ran took the paper bag and glanced at it. Inside were three steaming buns.

"Since I can't sleep anyway, I might as well get up early."

"Your mental fortitude needs improvement."

Chu Xining pursed her lips but did not refute.

I already said I couldn't sleep, so I can't just change my story and say I got up early to buy breakfast for Brother Lin Ran.

Lin Ran took a bite of the steamed bun and followed the crowd toward the elevator, with Chu Xining following closely behind.

The stands in the main stadium were already full of people.

The seats for the top 16 were arranged in the most prominent position at the front of the ring, with the contestants' names and cities printed on them.

Lin Ran found his chair and sat down, and Chu Xining sat down next to him.

The host stepped onto the stage, and his voice was amplified throughout the venue.

"The practical arena competition is divided into two stages. The first stage is a group round-robin tournament, with sixteen people divided into four groups, and each person plays three matches in a single round-robin within their group."

"The top two from each group advance to the upper zone, and the bottom two enter the lower zone."

"The second stage is the ranking competition, where the top eight players compete for first to eighth place, and the bottom eight players compete for ninth to sixteenth place."

"In case of a draw, we will consider the head-to-head record and the overall points from previous matches."

After a brief pause, the host spoke again: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round of the national tournament. Give it your all!"

The group list for the Round of 16 began to scroll on the big screen.

Lin Ran's name was the first to appear, placed in Group A.

Then the second name popped up, Chu Xining, who was also placed in Group A.

Chu Xining glanced at the big screen, a look of eager anticipation on her face.

After the groups were drawn, the host announced the official start of the group stage, and the match schedule began to scroll on the virtual screen.

In the first round of Group A, Lin Ran will face Chu Xining.

The two walked onto the ring under the watchful eyes of the audience. A protective shield rose from the edge of the ring, enveloping them in a pale blue light.

"Brother Lin Ran, let me see your true strength today!"

Chu Xining stood on the other side of the arena, her hands already forming a huge ice hammer.

"Don't cry if you lose." Lin Ran said with a playful smile.

"Ready!" The referee raised his right arm and chopped downwards: "Begin!"

Chu Xining took the initiative, stomping her foot on the arena and raising her ice hammer high above her head, bringing a chilling aura as she smashed it down on Lin Ran.

Before the hammer even struck, the chill arrived first, and a thin layer of white frost condensed on the surface of the arena.

Lin Ran dodged to the side, and the ice hammer grazed his shoulder before hitting the ring.

Bang!

The alloy floor was smashed into a shallow crater, and ice shards flew everywhere.

Chu Xining missed her attack, then turned around and swung her ice hammer horizontally, creating a gust of wind as it went straight for Lin Ran's waist.

Lin Ran raised his hand and punched the side of the ice hammer.

Bang!

The fist collided with the ice, producing a dull thud.

The ice hammer was shaken to one side, and Chu Xining was also swayed to the side by the force.

She spun around, the ice hammer spinning in her hand before crashing down again from a different angle.

Seeing this, Lin Ran clenched his right fist and faced the attack head-on.

boom!

A visible shockwave exploded from the surface of the ice hammer, and the frost that had condensed on the arena was swept up by the shockwave, forming a swirling mist of ice around the two.

Deng Deng Deng!

Chu Xining took several steps back, and a thin crack appeared on the surface of the ice hammer, extending from the hammerhead all the way to the handle.

A gasp of surprise rippled through the crowd below the arena.

"Innate Realm! This must be the Innate Realm, right?"

"That's right, they're both at the Innate Realm!"

"Is that right? How could there be two Innate Realm experts on the martial arts exam stage?"

"Isn't it right in front of us?"

"This is so discouraging! We're both high school students, but I'm still in the mid-stage of the Opening Aperture Realm, while they're already in the Innate Realm."

The team leaders from other cities all stood up from their seats, their eyes filled with surprise and doubt.

A middle-aged man sitting next to Zhang Qichuan suddenly turned around, pointed at the two on the stage, and asked in surprise, "Your Xinhai actually has two students at the Innate Realm?"

"Yeah, who would have thought?" Zhang Qichuan leaned back in his chair, his expression full of pride.

The middle-aged man pounded his chest in frustration: "Geniuses like this only appear once every few decades. How did you manage to run into two of them?"

"No way around it, I was just lucky." Zhang Qichuan picked up the bottle of mineral water next to him, unscrewed the cap, took a sip, and did so casually.

The middle-aged man shook his head and took a deep breath: "It seems that Xin Hai is the undisputed champion of this year's martial arts exam."

"Oh? You're speaking too soon. The competition has only just begun, and it's too early to say who will emerge victorious." Zhang Qichuan's lips curled into an barely suppressed smile.

On the arena, Chu Xining activated the power of ice elements to repair the ice hammer and attacked Lin Ran again.

"After you swing the hammer, you habitually shift your weight onto your back foot. If someone takes advantage of this opening, a sweeping kick will knock you down."

While sparring with Chu Xining, Lin Ran gave her guidance: "The angle of this hammer strike was well chosen, and the power was sufficient, but the recovery was a bit slow."

"Again!" Chu Xining took a deep breath, and cold air surged from her palms again, making the giant hammer even bigger.

Her attacks became even more ferocious, sweeping, chopping, and parrying, each move accompanied by the sound of air being cut.

The hammer shadows formed a pale blue light curtain, pressing down on Lin Ran from all sides.