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

"Now it's my turn to ask you a question." Lin Ran's expression turned cold. "You only need to answer my questions!"

Liu Zhengqing shook his head with a wry smile: "The Wang family has a deep foundation and its influence extends throughout the country. Even if you hadn't slaughtered the entire Wang family manor, there are still many Wang family members outside; you simply couldn't kill them all!"

"That seems to make some sense." Lin Ran frowned slightly.

The Lord of Xuan Chen transmitted a reminder: "The powerful clans are deeply entrenched and cannot be eradicated by killing them all, unless you want to destroy the order of China."

"It doesn't matter, I've vented my anger anyway. If they don't bother me, let them keep jumping around. If they do bother me again, it's just a matter of dealing with them."

Lin Ran looked at Liu Zhengqing: "A person like you, holding a high position, yet fearing power, possessing only military strength but not doing any real work, is just a waste of resources."

Understanding Lin Ran's implied meaning, Liu Zhengqing immediately knelt down and begged for mercy: "Don't kill me, please! I can obey your orders and do things for you; I'm still useful!"

"Yes, indeed. If I could use a director of a secret service agency, he could certainly help me get a lot done."

Liu Zhengqing's tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and he was about to say something flattering.

But then Lin Ran suddenly raised his hand, and a wisp of deep light burst forth from his fingertip, instantly shooting into his brow.

"But I really dislike your way of doing things. Just having you around makes me uncomfortable, so I'd rather you were dead!"

"You..." Liu Zhengqing's pupils suddenly dilated, his life force rapidly faded, his body went limp and he completely lost his breath.

Lin Ran turned around, raised his hand and wrote several large characters on the wall, his strokes sharp and fierce: The killer is Li Feiyu!

When the Secret Service agents heard the alarm and broke down the door to rush into the room, it was already empty.

Only Liu Zhengqing, who was already dead, remained, lying quietly in the same spot.

The news spread rapidly, causing a stir across the internet.

The bounty offered for Li Feiyu by the Special Affairs Bureau has been increased again, from the original 20 million to 100 million.

Upon hearing the news, Lin Ran couldn't help but chuckle to himself and mutter to himself, "It seems Chen Changsheng is still more valuable."

At the same time as the exorbitantly priced arrest warrant was released, the Special Affairs Bureau officially announced a major commendation order, attracting widespread attention.

Investigator Lin Ran faked his death to escape, went undercover to protect the secret realm organization, and successfully destroyed many evil organization strongholds. He made outstanding contributions and is hereby awarded the Second Class Merit.

An official commendation cleared away all doubts surrounding Lin Ran, completely vindicated him, and allowed him to return to the public eye openly and legitimately.

Looking at the name "Secret Realm Protection Organization" on the announcement, Lin Ran instantly recalled the news from a few days ago.

The organization once publicly declared that it would take full responsibility for the downfall of the Tanaka family.

Lin Ran was quite curious about this.

It's truly intriguing that there are organizations in the world that take responsibility for themselves.

When I have time in the future, I might be able to use Chen Changsheng's identity to contact this organization.

However, he had another personal matter to attend to at the moment.

Zhao Yanran learned his martial arts and did his best to serve him.

They found him the Amazing Sword, the Demon-Revealing Mirror, and the Nine-Rank White Lotus.

Given this relationship, Lin Ran could not allow the Zhao family to force her into a marriage alliance.

Of course, it all depends on Zhao Yanran's own attitude.

If she didn't feel wronged, Lin Ran wouldn't have stood up for her; at most, he would have just stopped providing her with further cultivation techniques.

The atmosphere in the study of the Zhao family manor was oppressive.

"Dad, you must listen to me this time. Cancel Yanran's engagement banquet immediately and put an end to the Zhou family's plans!" Zhao Hao said anxiously.

Zhao Changfeng sat upright behind his desk, his expression icy.

"Impossible! How can a marriage agreement that has already been made be easily broken? Putting aside the reputation of the Zhao family for the moment, aren't you afraid of offending the Zhou family to the death?"

Zhao Hao stepped closer, his tone urgent: "But if the engagement banquet goes ahead as planned, we'll have offended the Lin family terribly!"

"What a joke!" Zhao Changfeng said arrogantly. "Does the Lin family have any right to interfere in the private affairs of my Zhao family and the Zhou family?"

Zhao Hao hurriedly explained, "If Yanran is willing, the Lin family really can't interfere, but Yanran isn't willing right now, given the relationship between Lin Ran and Yanran..."

"What do you mean she's unwilling?" Zhao Changfeng interrupted sharply, "Marriage is a major life event, and she has no say in it!"

"dad……"

"No need for further discussion, there's no room for negotiation on this matter!"

Zhao Hao looked helpless, knowing that his father was stubborn and that any further persuasion would be futile, so he could only sigh inwardly.

The following morning, the engagement banquet between the Zhao and Zhou families was held as scheduled at the Xinhai International Hotel.

At the hotel entrance, traffic was heavy, and celebrities and guests from Xinhai gathered.

Lin Ran represented the Lin family at the event, and to make things easier, he instructed the rest of the Lin family not to attend the engagement banquet.

If things escalate, it will save your own family from embarrassment.

Zhao Changfeng caught sight of Lin Ran in the crowd, his body paused slightly, and a strange look flashed across his eyes in an instant.

He immediately put on a standard polite smile and strode forward to greet the guest: "Young Master Lin, it is an honor to have you here. I am so sorry for not welcoming you sooner."

"Uncle Zhao, you're too kind." Lin Ran nodded calmly.

"I have some acquaintance with Young Master Zhao, and I'm especially close to Sister Yanran. In terms of seniority, I'm your junior. Speaking of which, where are Young Master Zhao and Sister Yanran?"

A strange glint flashed in Zhao Changfeng's eyes, but he casually replied, "The brother and sister are preparing next door. They'll come over when the engagement banquet starts."

"I see." Lin Ran's lips curled up slightly, knowing the truth but not saying it.

Zhao Changfeng gestured for him to come in: "Young Master Lin, please come in."

"Alright, Uncle Zhao, please go ahead with your work." Lin Ran nodded and calmly walked into the banquet hall.

Some prominent figures in Xinhai who knew Lin Ran rushed forward to greet him when he entered.

A cacophony of voices rose and fell around the room, as both old and new rumors circulated.

"Didn't we hear that the young master of the Lin family was assassinated and is dead?"

"Didn't you see yesterday's news? The young master of the Lin family faked his death and went infiltrated, destroying a stronghold of an evil organization, and was awarded a second-class merit!"

"Yes, I really didn't expect that the Lin family even held a funeral, only to find out it was fake."

"If you're going to put on an act, you have to go all the way; otherwise, how can you fool those evil organizations?"

Amidst the clamor of voices, Zhao Meng strode through the crowd, approached Lin Ran's side, and lowered his voice.

"Brother Ran, let's talk over there."

Lin Ran nodded slightly and stepped forward in response: "Okay."

The two avoided the crowd and walked to a quiet corner of the banquet hall, where Zhao Meng breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Brother Ran, I knew you couldn't be taken down so easily."

Lin Ran glanced at him sideways, a hint of amusement in his voice: "It doesn't sound like anything nice."

"Haha... Anyway, it's so good that you're alright!"

Zhao Meng first laughed heartily, then stopped laughing and his expression became slightly serious.

"Zhou Zexuan from the Zhou family has been pursuing Sister Yanran, but she has never agreed. Some time ago, after your incident, Sister Yanran was in a bad mood and, after getting drunk, beat up Zhou Zexuan."

He looked helpless: "Later, the Zhou family came to make trouble, and after several rounds of wrangling, a marriage was arranged in a muddled way."

"No?" Lin Ran looked surprised. "What's wrong with Zhou Zexuan? He got beaten up and still wants to get engaged? Does he have some kind of masochistic tendency?"

Zhao Meng shrugged: "He must really like Sister Yanran. After all, Sister Yanran's looks and temperament are top-notch in our circle."

Lin Ran quite agreed with this point.

Among the women he knew, Bai Ruolin and Chu Xining were somewhat immature in terms of looks, while Zhao Yanran was just as stunning in terms of figure.

If we consider both looks and figure, perhaps only Lin Zhiwan, the eldest sister of the Lin family, can rival Zhao Yanran.

However, Lin Zhiwan has the air of a business elite, and is not as approachable as Zhao Yanran.