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

Lin Haozhe paused slightly: "Me?"

"After I came back, did you feel less at ease than before?" Lin Ran asked in a flat tone.

"How could that be?" Lin Haozhe forced a smile. "I think it's good that Ran-ge is back. At least Mom and Dad will be very happy."

Lin Ran picked up a slice of toast, took a bite, and chewed slowly.

After a moment, he spoke again: "I think I've made myself very clear, and I hope you won't misunderstand."

"I don't quite understand what you mean." A shadow crossed Lin Haozhe's face, then he put on his usual smile again. "Brother Ran, have you misunderstood me?"

"Hehe..." Lin Ran gave a nonchalant smile: "I hope so."

After breakfast, Lin Ran went out alone without saying goodbye to anyone.

He changed into a dark tracksuit, carried a training longsword, and left the villa directly.

I walked a few hundred meters along the roadside and hailed a taxi.

"An abandoned mine in the eastern suburbs of the city."

The driver glanced at him in the rearview mirror: "Young man, are you a student at the martial arts academy?"

"That's right." Lin Ran readily admitted.

When you're out in the world, you give yourself your own identity.

Although he is currently only a high school student, he will eventually become a student at the Martial Arts Academy.

Introducing yourself using a future identity isn't exactly lying, is it?

As the taxi drove out of the city, the streetscape outside the window gradually changed from high-rise buildings to low-rise factories and wasteland.

About forty minutes later, the car stopped in front of a barbed wire fence.

Lin Ran paid the fare and got out of the car. He saw a row of military tents and two armored vehicles parked on both sides of the entrance.

Armed guards were checking the identification of each person in line.

That makes sense. Since there are mutated beasts inside, we definitely need to take precautions to prevent them from escaping and disrupting the safety of Xinhai City.

The people in line split into two groups.

On the left, a larger group was dressed in the same martial arts academy uniform and led by their teacher.

On the right are scattered squads of martial artists, equipped with a variety of gear; some carry alloy battle swords, while others have crystal core collection bags hanging from their waists.

After the guards checked the documents, they waved for the group to pass, and the line moved forward slowly.

Lin Ran glanced at the notice board at the entrance, which listed the admission rules for the mine trial.

Students of the Martial Arts Academy must be organized by the school, and the teachers leading the teams must be at least at the Inner Breath Realm.

Freelance warriors must hold a Monster Hunter License, with the minimum entry level being the Tongqiao Realm.

Lin Ran has never been assessed on martial arts levels. If he followed the normal procedure, he probably wouldn't even be able to get in the door.

However, having come all this way, he naturally couldn't give up so easily.

He pulled a black mask from his pocket, put it on, and walked past the queue of people, heading straight for the mine entrance.

"Halt." Two guards simultaneously stretched out their arms to stop him. One of them looked him up and down and said, "Please show your identification."

Lin Ran channeled his spiritual power and casually swung his right palm out.

Bang!

A pine tree not far away, about the size of a washbasin, suddenly shook violently, its bark instantly bursting open, leaving a palm print about an inch deep.

The expressions of the two guards changed simultaneously.

True Qi Released Externally!

To be able to do this, one must be at least at the Innate Realm.

The two men exchanged a glance, and the guard who had spoken first immediately became more respectful: "May I ask what brings you here, senior?"

Lin Ran deliberately adopted a rough voice: "We're here to hunt mutated beasts, of course."

The guard realized he had asked a stupid question and quickly stepped aside, saying, "Please come in, senior."

In fact, the main duty of these guards is to prevent mutated beasts from escaping the mine, and incidentally to prevent low-level martial artists and ordinary people from accidentally entering and dying.

As for martial artists at higher levels, there is absolutely no need to stop them.

Moreover, even if they wanted to stop them, they probably couldn't.

After all, they were only at the Inner Breath Realm, and it was impossible for them to stop a Xiantian martial artist.

Even though they were carrying firearms, they couldn't use them to deal with a martial artist at the Innate Realm.

It's an ordinary item; even a single shot wouldn't be able to break through the protective aura of a martial artist at the Innate Realm.

The person who initially set the rules probably never imagined that some innate martial artist would be so bored as to deliberately come to such a place to hunt low-level mutated creatures.

Lin Ran successfully entered the mine pit.

Beneath our feet is a mine tunnel extending downwards, with chisel marks left from the mining operations on the rock walls on both sides.

The air was filled with a fishy, ​​foul odor, and the further you went in, the dimmer it became.

A guy who had just witnessed Lin Ran's attack approached from the side.

"Senior, do you need a mentor?"

The man was in his early thirties, wearing a faded camouflage jacket, with a canvas bag slung over his shoulder, and a fawning smile on his face.

"My name is Zhang Jiafei, and I specialize in guiding people. This mine is huge; if you relied solely on your own exploration, you might not even encounter a single mutated beast in a whole day."

Lin Ran raised an eyebrow: "Zha Zha Fei?"

Zhang Jiafei's smile froze for a moment, then quickly returned: "It's Zhang Jiafei."

"If you're a true brother, come and fight me!"

Zhang Jiafei gave a wry smile and took half a step back: "If you don't need a guide, that's fine, but there's no need to make fun of a junior like me, is there?"

Unexpectedly, Lin Ran changed the subject: "How much does it cost?"

Just as Zhang Jiafei said, the mine is a complex and complicated place, and it would be easier to have someone to guide you.

Seeing this, Zhang Jiafei immediately became interested: "Thirty percent of the profits."

Lin Ran sized the other person up: "You're really greedy."

"They're all risking their lives for money," Zhang Jiafei shrugged, his tone quite frank.

"Never mind, I don't need it." With that, Lin Ran strode forward.

Zhang Jiafei immediately followed up: "No, senior, how about 20%?"

"No need." Lin Ran waved his hand, walking with ease.

"Just one percent, only one percent, please consider it, senior." Zhang Jiafei's footsteps remained half a step behind Lin Ran.

Lin Ran shook his head: "No need to consider it."

One percent of the profit may sound small, but Lin Ran had already demonstrated the strength of a Xiantian martial artist.

As long as you kill a few third-tier mutated beasts in the mine, the value of the crystal cores will be in the millions, and even a tenth of that profit will be more than 100,000.

To think you can earn this much money just by showing someone the way is truly greedy.

Seeing that Lin Ran remained unmoved, Zhang Jiafei stopped and hesitated.

Then, as if he had made a tough decision, he caught up again: "Half a percent! Just half a percent of the profit, and I guarantee you'll save a lot of time, senior."

Lin Ran stopped and glanced back at him.

Having someone to guide you can definitely improve efficiency; at least you don't have to wander around aimlessly like a headless fly.

Compared to the increased efficiency, giving up half a percent of the benefits doesn't seem so unacceptable.

"Deal," Lin Ran readily agreed. "Lead the way."

Zhang Jiafei's face immediately lit up with joy, and he quickly walked in front of Lin Ran: "Senior, this way, please come with me."

Lin Ran followed in his footsteps.

Zhang Jiafei was very familiar with the mine tunnels, and he walked through several abandoned transport tunnels as if he were taking a stroll in his own backyard.

"What type of mutated beasts does the senior wish to hunt?"

"There are no limits, the more the better." Lin Ran said indifferently.

Regardless of the type of crystal core, when he absorbs it, the spiritual energy must be transformed by the Xuanhuang Cauldron and eventually become pure spiritual energy without any attributes.

Therefore, his requirement for crystal nuclei is that the higher the grade and the greater the quantity, the better.

"I know of a raptor's nest, would you be interested, senior?" Zhang Jiafei pressed.

Lin Ran frowned slightly: "Do you have any higher-level ones?"

Claw Rats are generally first-tier mutated beasts, so even if there are thousands or tens of thousands, it won't make a difference.

The spiritual power contained in a first-order crystal core is too low; at least one hundred of them would be equivalent to one third-order crystal core.

Based on the conversion rate of the crystal cores he absorbs, he would need at least thirty to forty third-tier crystal cores to break through to the second level of Qi Refining.

Converted to first-order crystal cores, that's three to four thousand.

Not only is it a waste of time, but it's also inconvenient to carry, so it's definitely not a good choice.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jiafei hesitated: "Yes, there is, but it's quite dangerous."

"How dangerous is it?" Lin Ran immediately became interested.