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

Bai Zhenyue sighed: "I know a little about what Sun Kaiyuan has done over the years. Last time he even dared to intercept and kill examinees; he deserved to die!"

"But we can't act rashly on something without evidence, otherwise we'll definitely give others a pretext to criticize us."

"As the upholders of the rules, how can you command respect if you don't even abide by them yourself?"

He paused for a moment, then suddenly looked up at Bai Xingzhou: "Do you think this person has any connection to the Lin family?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Xingzhou was taken aback.

"I'll immediately check the surveillance footage near the Lin family's house! If Lin Ran left the Lin family's house tonight, regardless of whether he did it or not, I can assume it was him!"

A wicked smile crept across his face: "Still trying to refuse to join the Secret Service? Let's see how he refuses this time."

Bai Zhenyue nodded: "It would be a real shame if such a talent didn't join the Special Affairs Bureau. Sometimes, it's good to be a little more flexible in how you do things."

The cultivator who escaped using earth magic was unaware that he would soon face a very difficult choice.

About fifteen minutes later, Lin Ran returned to the vicinity of the Lin family villa.

The branches and leaves of the bushes swayed slightly in the night before returning to stillness.

He first cast a spell to clean the blood off his body, then walked back to the villa.

Back in his room, he closed the door and completely relaxed.

He walked to the bedside, threw himself onto it, stared at the ceiling, and pondered his next move.

With Sun Kaiyuan's death, the pillar supporting the Sun family was broken.

Sun Boyuan was only at the Transcendent Realm, and the others were not worth mentioning.

The decline of the Sun family was already foreseeable.

Unfortunately, he was caught red-handed by the Special Affairs Bureau today, so it's not easy for him to make another move in the short term. He can only let Sun Jinghuan live a few more days.

I wonder what the Sun family is like now; it's truly intriguing.

Putting aside distracting thoughts, Lin Ran sat cross-legged and took out the sixth-order crystal core from the Nine Heavens Pendant to begin absorbing it.

In any case, spiritual practice cannot be neglected.

The spiritual energy within the sixth-order crystal core was extremely violent, surging into Lin Ran's meridians like a flood.

Fortunately, the Xuanhuang Cauldron was able to transform the raging waves into gentle streams.

Within his dantian, the nine-grade golden lotus swayed gently, scattering pale golden light that merged into his spiritual energy.

The already highly refined spiritual energy became even more condensed after the golden light merged into it.

Lin Ran felt that his spiritual energy reserves at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage might be even more abundant than those at the normal late-Foundation Establishment stage.

The difference between cultivators may be greater than the difference between martial artists.

The next morning, the holographic bracelet popped up several news notifications with eye-catching headlines.

The Sun family patriarch is dead; the killer's identity remains unknown!

"Has Xin Hai produced such a figure—who consecutively killed two Transcendent Beings and one Profound Realm cultivator?"

Director Bai: When we arrived, the person was already dead!

Lin Ran scrolled past the news, changed his clothes, and went downstairs.

Lin Hongbo was already seated at the head of the table in the restaurant, holding a water glass in his hand, his brows furrowed.

Lin Ran sat down opposite him, picked up a slice of toast, and asked knowingly, "What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Hongbo put down his water glass and said in a heavy tone, "Xinhai is about to change."

"It's just a Tongxuan cultivator dying, it's not that serious, is it?"

"What do you mean by 'just a Tongxuan has died'?"

Lin Hongbo raised his eyelids, his gaze scrutinizing: "How many people in the entire Xinhai region have reached the Transcendent level?"

"Anyway, it's not like there's only one." Lin Ran took a bite of toast, his tone indifferent. "That Sun family patriarch doesn't hold any official position, so what influence could he possibly have?"

"The Sun family has been able to stand firm in Xinhai entirely because of the presence of a Tongxuan Ancestor."

Lin Hongbo sighed with emotion: "Now that Sun Kaiyuan is dead and Sun Boyuan is unable to make a breakthrough in the short term, the Sun family will inevitably be devoured by other forces."

"Aren't they afraid that Sun Boyuan will settle scores with them later?" Lin Ran hesitated. "Just because they haven't broken through yet doesn't mean they can't in the future."

"You think breaking through to the Profound Realm is so easy?" Lin Hongbo leaned back in his chair, his fingers lightly tapping the table.

"The Sun family has been doing a lot of shady business behind the scenes over the years. With Sun Kaiyuan in charge before, no one dared to touch them. Now that their backer has fallen, who among their enemies, who has been suppressed by the Sun family for so many years, wouldn't want to take a bite?"

At this point, he changed the subject: "Even if Sun Boyuan wanted revenge, he'd have to survive first!"

Lin Ran looked puzzled: "Doesn't the Special Affairs Bureau care?"

"Why aren't they doing anything? Hasn't the Secret Service been keeping an eye on it all along?"

Lin Hongbo picked up his water glass, took a sip, and said meaningfully, "But what good will it do? Sun Kaiyuan is still dead, isn't he?"

He glanced at Lin Ran, his gaze seemingly meaningful: "You should know that killing a Transcendent is much easier than killing a Profound Realm cultivator!"

"That makes sense!" Lin Ran nodded seriously.

Song Yishu rolled her eyes at Lin Hongbo: "Talking about this so early in the morning, let the children eat properly."

Just then, the doorbell rang.

The butler went to open the door and a moment later led three people in.

Leading the way was Bai Xingzhou.

As is customary, two uniformed Secret Service investigators followed behind him, their expressions solemn.

Lin Hongbo stood up, his gaze sweeping between Bai Xingzhou and the two investigators: "Captain Bai, is something the matter?"

"Excuse me," Bai Xingzhou said solemnly. "I've come to find Lin Ran to get some information."

Lin Hongbo frowned slightly: "What's going on?"

"It involves confidential information about the case, so I cannot disclose it." Bai Xingzhou said in a businesslike tone.

Upon hearing this, Lin Hongbo looked at Lin Ran with a complicated expression.

Lin Ran wiped his fingers with a tissue, stood up from his chair, and said calmly, "Shall we talk in the study?"

"Okay." Bai Xingzhou nodded.

The two entered the study one after the other.

This was the second time Lin Ran and Bai Xingzhou had sat face-to-face in this room, but the atmosphere today was noticeably more serious than the last time.

Bai Xingzhou cut to the chase: "Where did Young Master Lin go after leaving the Lin family late last night?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Ran realized something was wrong; he had finally been exposed.

On second thought, what does the person who made the move have to do with him, a Xiantian martial artist, when the one with the red hair is a Xuan?

So he felt relieved and made up a story: "I went to the beach."

"Who can testify?" Bai Xingzhou continued to press.

"No one can testify," Lin Ran shrugged. "But I have no reason to lie to you."

"That's hard to say." Bai Xingzhou leaned forward slightly, staring into Lin Ran's eyes.

"Around 10 p.m. last night, the Sun family patriarch Sun Kaiyuan and two other Sun family elders died outside the city. You happened to be away from the Lin family at the time."

"Isn't this just a coincidence?" Lin Ran leaned back in his chair, a playful smile on his lips. "You don't actually think I'm capable of killing a martial artist at the Transcendent Realm, do you?"

Bai Xingzhou shook his head: "What I think is not important; what matters is the factual basis."

"Seriously, officer? Are you serious?" Lin Ran feigned surprise.

Bai Xingzhou took a file out of his briefcase and placed it on the coffee table.

The first page of the file prominently displays the words "Huang Jinsong Case," with the red seal of the Kyoto Special Affairs Bureau stamped next to it.

He tapped the file lightly with his finger, his tone unhurried: "I'm not joking with you."

"According to my investigation, you were also involved in a murder case while you were in Kyoto. A sheriff had some conflicts with you before he died."

Although he wanted to remain serious, he couldn't help but smile: "If the two cases are investigated together, you'll probably have a hard time getting along in the future."

Lin Ran glanced at the file, his expression unchanged, but a slight thought stirred within him.

The efficiency of the Special Affairs Bureau is indeed unmatched by the Public Security Bureau. Sun Kaiyuan died last night, and Bai Xingzhou had already retrieved all his cases in Kyoto this morning.

If this situation continues to develop, there will likely be a constant stream of troubles coming our way.

Even if the New Hitchhikers Special Agents couldn't do anything to him, being constantly harassed was still a troublesome thing.

He couldn't help but frown: "So?"