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

The aircraft had already flown some distance, but Lin Ran could see the scene clearly through the porthole.

Zhang Qichuan's figure disappeared below the clouds. The golden eagle let out a triumphant cry, flapped its wings, and chased after the aircraft again.

"In the end, we still have to rely on ourselves." Lin Ran sighed. "Time to get to work!"

The Lord of Xuan Chen understood and immediately released an illusion that covered everyone's senses.

The two now work well together, as there are no communication barriers and all it takes is a single thought.

In everyone's view, Zhang Qichuan took to the air again, and a sharp blade of air forced the golden eagle back, and the two fought in the air.

Zhang Qichuan fought with increasing ferocity, and the golden eagle gradually became no match for him.

Guided by the illusion, the pilot hovered the aircraft in mid-air, waiting for Zhang Qichuan to return.

In the actual scene, Lin Ran had already opened the hatch, and the wind made his clothes flutter loudly.

He stood at the cabin door, made a sword gesture with his right hand, and the Jinghong Sword flew out from the Nine Heavens Pendant. The sword left a silver afterimage in the clouds and pierced straight at the golden eagle.

Pfft!

The sword tip pierced the golden eagle's left eye with pinpoint accuracy, and blood gushed from its eye socket.

"Hey!"

The golden eagle let out a mournful cry and flailed its entire body wildly in the air, trying to shake the foreign object out of its eye socket.

It frantically scratched its head with its claws, but the Jinghong Sword, under Lin Ran's control, kept drilling deeper and deeper, showing no intention of coming out.

Zhang Qichuan had just flown up from below the clouds when he saw this scene and was stunned for a moment before quickly reacting.

He channeled all his inner energy and swung his sword at the golden eagle's right eye.

Sensing the threat from the other side, the golden eagle suddenly shook its head, but its right eye had already been slashed open by the blade, and blood and bodily fluids mixed together, blurring half of its vision.

At this moment, the golden eagle finally realized that it had kicked a hornet's nest. With a flap of its wings, it turned around and fled into the distance.

How could Lin Ran let it get away?

After all, sixth-order crystal cores are extremely rare and valuable.

He raised his hand and made a hand seal, and a lightning strike descended from the clouds above the golden eagle's head.

The lightning pierced through the golden eagle's body, entering from the top of its head and exiting from its abdomen, exploding into a blinding blue-white light in the clouds.

The golden eagle's body stiffened for a moment, then plummeted straight to the ground.

Lin Ran manipulated the Jinghong Sword to withdraw from the golden eagle's eye socket. With a twist of the sword tip, he pried open a gap along the seam of the skull.

The sword probed into the skull cavity and retrieved a fist-sized, pale golden crystal core.

The flying sword turned back and flew back to the cabin with the crystal core.

Lin Ran reached out and caught the crystal core, which was still dripping with viscous fluid, casually tossed it into the Nine Heavens Pendant, turned around, closed the hatch, and returned to his seat.

Shortly after, Zhang Qichuan returned to the cabin and strode towards Lin Ran's seat.

His shoulder wound was still bleeding, and his face was somewhat pale, but his steps remained steady.

He sat down in the empty seat next to Lin Ran, leaned forward, and lowered his voice: "Didn't they say that senior left alone?"

"Your senior is elusive, I'm not quite sure either," Lin Ran said, shrugging.

Zhang Qichuan's gaze lingered on Lin Ran's face for a long time.

He wasn't stupid; he had seen that flying sword once before, when Sun Kaiyuan blocked his way.

At the time, Lin Ran told him that there was a senior in the Tongxuan Realm invited by the Lin family in the cabin, and he believed it to be true.

But now, even though that senior didn't board the plane, the flying sword has reappeared.

Could this flying sword possibly appear near the aircraft on its own?

If the film produces an impossible answer, then there's only one truth: the person controlling it is on this aircraft.

However, Lin Ran didn't want to say more, and Zhang Qichuan didn't press the matter further.

Sometimes, being a little confused isn't such a bad thing.

"Since the senior is unwilling to show himself, I won't ask any more questions, lest I offend others."

After saying that, he returned to his seat, leaned back, took out a roll of bandage from his first aid kit, and began to bandage the wound on his shoulder.

The aircraft restarted its journey.

On the display screen at the front of the cabin, the dot on the flight path map is less than ten minutes away from Xinhai City.

The clouds outside the window gradually dispersed, revealing the familiar gray urban area below and the protective wall surrounding the city.

The sea surface shimmered with light in the distance.

Moments later, the aircraft landed smoothly at Xinhai Airport.

The indicator lights on both sides of the runway appeared somewhat dimmer in the morning light.

Lin Ran followed the group down the gangway. As soon as he stepped out of the airport, he saw a family of three standing at the arrival gate in the distance.

Lin Hongbo was wearing a dark gray casual outfit and holding car keys in his hand.

Song Yishu stood next to him, tiptoeing and peering into the crowd.

Lin Haozhe stood behind the two, his expression still gentle, and waved to Lin Ran the moment he saw him.

"Xiao Ran, over here." Song Yishu waved to him, her face beaming with an irrepressible smile.

After everyone said their goodbyes,

Chu Xining was picked up by the Chu family's car. Before leaving, she winked at Lin Ran and mouthed, "See you tomorrow!"

Upon seeing this, Bai Ruolin's expression was complicated.

"Lin Ran, if you want to join the Special Affairs Bureau, be sure to tell me!"

Hearing this, Lin Ran nodded: "I don't have that idea for now. If I change my mind later, I will definitely let you know."

After exchanging pleasantries with Lin Hongbo, Zhang Qichuan led the staff of the City Lord's Mansion into the car.

As the vehicle started, he glanced back at Lin Ran, his gaze meaningful.

Lin Ran raised an eyebrow, wondering if Zhang Qichuan had figured something out.

However, he didn't really care.

If you grow fast enough, others can only look up to you.

Lin Hongbo drove himself, with Song Yishu in the passenger seat and Lin Ran and Lin Haozhe in the back.

As the car drove out of the airport, Song Yishu turned around from the front seat: "I heard you ran into trouble again in Kyoto? The Special Affairs Bureau even came knocking on your door?"

"It's all taken care of." Lin Ran leaned back in his seat, looking out the car window at the familiar street scene.

Lin Hongbo glanced at him in the rearview mirror: "Your mother hasn't been sleeping well these past few days."

"You yourself also get up in the middle of the night to check the news, and you still have the nerve to criticize me?" Song Yishu couldn't help but complain.

Lin Hongbo coughed, didn't reply, and focused on driving.

The Rolls-Royce smoothly entered the villa area, with the plane trees on both sides of the road forming a green tunnel outside the car window.

Lin Haozhe remained silent throughout, sitting quietly next to Lin Ran.

Even though he was powerless to resist, he still couldn't stop feeling jealous.

If it weren't for Lin Ran, all of this would have belonged to him.

The Lin family's resources, the right to inherit the title of the richest man in Xinhai, and the envious glances of others should all have fallen on him.

The real young master who returned from the orphanage should have rotted away like a stray dog ​​in some unknown corner, never to appear before him again.

But now he's not only back, he's also planted that thing in his mind.

Every time he met those eyes that seemed to be smiling but weren't, he would remember the excruciating pain he felt that day.

I remember my body uncontrollably lifting the bowl of soup and shoveling it into my mouth, and I remember kneeling on the ground, tears streaming down my face, begging for mercy.

He glanced into the rearview mirror.

Lin Ran was leaning back in his seat, looking out the window with a relaxed posture.

Noticing Lin Haozhe's gaze, Lin Ran turned his head, a playful smile on his lips.

Lin Haozhe was startled, and the muscles in his back tensed instantly.

He quickly forced a smile, his voice carrying just the right amount of ingratiation: "Brother Ran, congratulations on becoming the national martial arts exam champion."

Lin Ran raised an eyebrow: "Don't just talk the talk, walk the walk."

Upon hearing this, Lin Haozhe's smile froze on his face, and he became slightly reserved.

In reality?

What practical help can he offer?

He had his own life in the other party's hands, so what else could Lin Ran possibly want?

"Hehe, what kind of gift does Brother Ran want?" Lin Haozhe asked reluctantly.

Lin Ran leaned back in her seat, glanced at him sideways, and said, "Do I even need to tell you? You still need to work harder!"

"Understood, I will definitely work hard!" Lin Haozhe lowered his head, his nails digging into his palms, and his face once again put on that gentle and harmless smile.