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

"He had malicious intentions and wanted to poison me, but I saw through his plan beforehand. We have a blood feud for a long time."

Lin Ran picked up his water glass, took a small sip, and said calmly, "However, I'm a magnanimous person, and considering his recent contributions, I might be able to let him off the hook. But..."

At this point, he turned his gaze to Lin Haozhe, a playful look on his lips.

"I just wiped out half of the Wang family, and there's a high probability that your biological parents were among them. I just don't know if you'll hold a grudge against me and always be looking for revenge."

Lin Haozhe was slightly taken aback, but his expression quickly hardened, and he immediately denied it loudly: "I will absolutely not hold a grudge against Brother Ran because of this!"

"My so-called biological parents have never truly cared about me, so why should I care about them?"

He looked directly at Lin Ran, his expression sincere: "I grew up in the Lin family, the Lin family is my home. How could I possibly hold a grudge against my own family for some complete strangers?"

"You actually poisoned your brother? You've disappointed me so much!" Song Yishu said angrily.

Lin Haozhe quickly shook his head: "I was forced into it, they all forced me to do it!"

"If you didn't want to, would they still be able to break into the Lin family and put a knife to your throat?" Song Yishu was still furious.

If she hadn't known about the poisoning beforehand, she would have felt guilty.

Now that she knows Lin Haozhe also poisoned her own son, she feels no sympathy whatsoever.

"Wait!" Lin Hongbo suddenly raised his hand to interrupt, looking at Lin Ran with a shocked expression: "You said you wiped out half of the Wang family? The Wang family in the capital?"

Lin Ran nodded slightly, his expression calm: "Yes, that's right."

"How is this possible?" Lin Hongbo was increasingly surprised and suspicious.

"As for how I did it, you don't need to delve into it."

Lin Ran waved his hand and said calmly, "In short, the Wang family is now severely weakened and will not have the strength to deal with the Lin family in the short term."

It was only because Shen Jinghan arrived too quickly; otherwise, he would have surely brought glory to the Wang family.

"So, after the Wang family recovers, they will still seek revenge on the Lin family?" Lin Zhiwan frowned slightly. "It seems we need to make plans as soon as possible."

Lin Ran said calmly, "That would require the Wang family to survive the brutal infighting among the major families."

There is already competition among established families, and now that a spot has become available, who wouldn't want to give it a try?

Lin Hongbo was silent for a moment: "The second son of the Wang family holds a high position in the military. It is highly unlikely that the higher-ups will sit idly by and watch the Wang family be swallowed up and purged by other powerful families."

"It doesn't matter." Lin Ran shrugged slightly. "Even if they manage to stabilize the situation and come back to cause trouble after they've calmed down, I can easily crush them again."

Once his cultivation breaks through to the Nascent Soul realm, even the current Martial Saint will be no match for him.

By then, no one in the entire Chinese martial arts world, or even the entire planet Earth, will be able to restrain him.

Lin Zhiyao's eyes flickered as she looked directly at Lin Ran, a hint of inquiry in her gaze: "What's your relationship with that white-haired youth?"

"Oh?" Lin Ran raised an eyebrow slightly. "The news's already out?"

Lin Zhiyao swiped her smart bracelet to bring up the news page and read softly, "A week ago, the white-haired youth led an alien race to annihilate the Tanaka family of the Sakura Kingdom, but was defeated and fled by Miyamoto Kojiro."

"At noon today, the white-haired youth appeared in Kyoto and slaughtered the Wang family members at the Wang family manor in the suburbs. The Wang family's Martial Venerable and the current patriarch were all killed. He was then repelled by the Zhenyue Martial Saint and escaped again."

She stared intently into Lin Ran's eyes, pressing him with suspicion, "Right now, many people online are speculating about the white-haired young man's true identity. Some say his name is Chen Changsheng, and he's a peerless divine doctor! Could it be that you learned your medical skills from him?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Ran frowned slightly.

Only the Zhou family and Liu Hanyan knew about Chen Changsheng, but Liu Hanyan did not know what medical skills Chen Changsheng possessed, so it was the Zhou family who leaked the information.

It seems I need to give the Zhou family a warning, otherwise I might raise an ungrateful wretch.

He thought for a moment, then shook his head slightly: "You have quite the imagination."

As soon as he finished speaking, a communication request popped up on Lin Ran's bracelet.

He answered the call immediately, and Bai Ruolin's voice came through, sounding slightly hurried: "Are you free now?"

"It's quite convenient," Lin Ran replied casually.

"You're still so calm?" Bai Ruolin was clearly taken aback, her tone becoming increasingly anxious: "You've really messed up this time!"

Lin Ran replied casually, completely unconcerned: "It's a small matter, handle it with ease."

"People from Kyoto might be coming to investigate your Lin family in the next couple of days, so be careful!"

"Why investigate something without evidence?" Lin Ran said calmly.

Bai Ruolin said helplessly, "The Wang family said that Wang Teng came to Xinhai to discuss business with the Lin family and then never returned. The Lin family has no way to clear their name."

"They really never stop." Lin Ran narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of coldness flashing within them. "We shouldn't have left them alive!"

"In short, prepare your response in advance, and make sure you don't become the target of everyone's criticism!"

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Lin Ran replied calmly, then hung up the call.

Looking up, he saw that everyone in the Lin family was staring at him, each with a different expression.

With a hint of inquiry, Song Yishu smiled and asked, "The Bai family girl cares about you so much?"

"We are partners," Lin Ran replied frankly.

Lin Zhiyao rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "Tch, are you kidding me?"

"If even you don't believe it, then I'm afraid I can't fool a fool." Lin Ran suppressed a laugh.

"Hmph!" Lin Zhiyao said arrogantly, "That's true, even a fool wouldn't believe it!"

Lin Hongbo shook his head and chuckled helplessly. Lin Zhiwan and Lin Zhixia exchanged a glance and couldn't help but laugh.

"Xiao Ran, tell Mom the truth, what are your plans?" Song Yishu pressed.

"Nothing much," Lin Ran said casually, his expression relaxed. "I don't have time to think about such trivial matters; improving my own strength is the most important thing!"

"Sigh... Xi Ning and the Bai family girl are both good girls." Song Yishu sighed softly, and said earnestly, "No matter what you ultimately choose, don't let them suffer any injustice."

"We've gone off on a tangent." Lin Ran gently changed the subject, bringing it back to the main point: "Weren't we talking about Lin Haozhe?"

Lin Haozhe, who was kneeling on the ground, raised his head with a helpless expression.

He thought the matter was over, but he never expected it to come full circle.

Lin Hongbo hesitated for a moment: "How about this, school will start soon, let him live on campus then."

Eighteen years is a long time; even raising a dog will create some attachment.

Out of sight, out of mind – that might be the best approach.

"I have no objection," Lin Zhiwan stated calmly.

Lin Zhixia nodded in agreement, "I have no objection either."

"Hmph!" Lin Zhiyao turned her head away and stopped arguing.

Everyone turned their attention to Lin Ran, waiting for his answer.

Lin Ran shrugged: "It doesn't matter, he's not a threat to me now anyway."

As for the future, with his cultivation level becoming increasingly profound, Lin Haozhe will have even less chance of turning the tables.

"Since no one has any objections, then it's decided." Lin Hongbo made the final decision.

The next morning, Lin Ran had just woken up when he raised his hand to turn on his holographic bracelet, and a major news item popped up instantly at the top of his screen.

China has issued a 1 billion yuan reward for information leading to the arrest of a white-haired youth. A reward of 50 million yuan will be given for providing valid intelligence.

The comment section below the news article was flooded with comments, with countless netizens discussing it heatedly, and public opinion was completely fermenting.

"He is indeed a criminal; he should be brought to justice as soon as possible!"

"I've said it before, this kind of person is the biggest destabilizing factor. Last time, some people blindly supported him, so why are they silent now?"

"Although it was satisfying when he slaughtered Japanese people, I can no longer support him now that he's killing Chinese people."

"Your thinking is fundamentally flawed! In my view, indiscriminate slaughter is a crime, regardless of who you kill!"