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

Sun Jinghuan took the initiative, spreading his right palm out, and crimson flames instantly enveloped his entire forearm, forming a flame blade.

His flame blade was more solid than Sun Jingyao's, and ripples of air created by the high temperature could be faintly seen around the blade.

"I'll see today just how much of your F-rank power you can actually unleash!"

With that, he took a step forward, and the flaming blade slashed down diagonally, drawing a dazzling arc of light in the air.

Lin Ran dodged to the side, the flaming blade grazing past his school uniform.

He then rushed forward and slapped Sun Jinghuan on the back of the head with his left hand.

Snapped!

The sound was crisp and clear.

"F-rank is more than enough to deal with you!"

Sun Jinghuan was knocked forward and staggered half a step. He turned around abruptly, and a second flame blade materialized in his left hand. He then slashed horizontally with the two blades in a cross pattern.

Lin Ran leaned back to avoid it, the flaming blade sweeping past the tip of his nose, the heat distorting the air.

At the same time, he shifted his feet, and his right fist passed through the gap between the two swords from below, striking Sun Jinghuan squarely in the abdomen.

Bang!

Sun Jinghuan grunted and took three steps back.

Deng Deng Deng!

He gritted his teeth and regained his footing, slashing with his twin swords again, his attack now noticeably more disorganized.

Lin Ran moved between the lines of fire, each time he dodged a flaming blade, he would retaliate with a punch or a palm strike, controlling the force perfectly.

They made sure Sun Jinghuan didn't fall to the ground, but also made him wince in pain with every blow.

"Young Master Sun, even your S-level talent isn't enough." Lin Ran dodged a vertical slash by the side and struck his left shoulder with his right fist.

Sun Jinghuan's shoulder swayed, and the Flame Blade almost slipped from his hand.

He roared and slashed down with his twin swords crossed, flames drawing a cross in mid-air.

Lin Ran touched the ground with his toes, his body rose high, and he flipped over the cross-shaped flame blade. When he landed, he kicked Sun Jinghuan in the lower back.

Sun Jinghuan stumbled forward several steps, bracing himself with his hands to avoid falling.

He was breathing heavily, and his forehead was covered in sweat.

"You can't be that good enough, can you?" Lin Ran stood still, his breathing steady.

"This is outrageous!" Sun Jinghuan roared, turning around and charging forward again.

At this moment, the frequency of his slashing with the flame blade increased significantly, and his accuracy was much worse than before.

Lin Ran strolled leisurely between the lines of fire, dodging a knife and striking him in the ribs with a palm strike, then dodging a second knife and punching him in the shoulder.

After the fight, he couldn't resist mocking, "How come you seem even worse than Sun Jingyao?"

Sun Jinghuan gritted his teeth, his eyes reddened, and he brandished his twin swords wildly.

"If you're so capable, then don't hide!"

"How is that possible?" Lin Ran looked unconvinced. "Did Young Master Sun forget to eat lunch today? He couldn't even hit someone like me, an F-rank?"

Below the ring, Zhao Meng scratched his head, wondering, "What is Brother Ran doing? Doesn't he usually finish in just a few punches?"

Bai Ruolin's lips curled into a slight smile: "He's just deliberately teasing Sun Jinghuan."

"This..." Zhao Meng paused for a moment, then burst out laughing: "So you were just walking the dog!"

"Keep your voice down!" Zheng Hong nudged him with his shoulder. "Aren't you afraid that guy surnamed Sun will retaliate against you?"

Chu Xining stood at the edge of the ring, her hands clasped together, her expression worried.

Every time the flame blade got close to Lin Ran, her brows furrowed, fearing that Lin Ran would get hurt.

On the ring, Sun Jinghuan struck at least twenty times, leaving his school uniform covered in footprints.

Although he wasn't hit on the face, the shame and pain had already distorted his expression.

He was finally pushed to his limit. He took two steps back, clasped his hands together in front of his chest, and the flames in his palms were frantically squeezed and fused together, beginning to condense into the Blazing Sun Bullet.

Unfortunately, Lin Ran didn't give him a chance to build up his strength.

His figure vanished from the spot and reappeared to Sun Jinghuan's right, where he threw a punch.

Bang!

The flames, which had not yet fully solidified, exploded into a sky full of sparks in the air before slowly dissipating.

Sun Jinghuan's feet left the ground, his whole body bent into a shrimp shape, and he flew backward.

Bang!

Sun Jinghuan fell to the ground, struggled to his feet, and gasped for breath.

The expression on his face, besides humiliation, also conveyed disbelief.

At this moment, he finally understood how Sun Jingyao had felt back then.

Lin Ran walked closer, his tone casual: "Your cousin used this trick before, why don't you learn your lesson?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Jinghuan raised his head, veins bulging on his forehead, but he couldn't utter a single word.

"Are you alright? Should I let you rest for a bit?" Lin Ran asked, feigning concern.

Qin Hanzhong spoke up at the opportune moment: "Sun Jinghuan, can you continue?"

Sun Jinghuan struggled to his feet, forcing out three words through gritted teeth: "I admit defeat!"

Qin Hanzhong nodded: "Lin Ransheng."

There was a moment of silence below the ring, then an uproar erupted.

"He won again?"

"Sun Jinghuan is an S-rank fire-type cultivator, at the third level of the Qi Opening Realm, so how come Lin Ran treats him like it's nothing?"

"Didn't you notice? Lin Ran was just toying with him the whole time, he wasn't really fighting seriously."

"An F-rank talent overwhelming an S-rank talent? Am I still stuck in the virtual reality pod?"

Zhao Meng jumped up from the crowd and shouted towards the arena, "Brother Ran is awesome!"

The deep voice echoed several times in the training hall.

Zheng Hong glanced at him: "It seems you're really not afraid of Sun Jinghuan targeting you."

"What's there to be afraid of? I've got Ran-ge protecting me!" Zhao Meng chuckled, his face full of smugness.

Chu Xi stood at the edge of the arena, looking up at Lin Ran with undisguised joy in her eyes.

Seeing this, Sun Jinghuan, who had retreated to the edge of the crowd, grew increasingly gloomy.

Lin Haozhe wore a perfectly timed smile: "Brother Ran, it seems your combat strength is indeed equivalent to an S-rank Awakener."

"So-so," Lin Ran replied casually.

Zhao Meng reached out and handed him a bottle of water: "If this is considered average, what are the rest of us?"

"Calculate the units of measurement." Lin Ran took the water bottle Zhao Meng handed him, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

"You're absolutely outrageous!" Zhao Meng said, looking indignant.

Lin Haozhe smiled and nodded, a shadow of gloom flashing in his eyes, gone in an instant.

A voice inside him screamed, "We can't let this drag on any longer! We absolutely can't let him stay in the Lin family!"

If Lin Ran were just an ordinary person, it wouldn't be so bad, but he is exceptionally powerful.

Even if he doesn't want to compete, the Lin family's resources will probably still be tilted towards him.

How will I, as an adopted son, conduct myself then?

On the other side, Sun Jinghuan had his head down, so his expression was not visible.

The whispers around him felt like steel needles piercing his ears.

In particular, Chu Xining's disregard for him brought his hatred for Lin Ran to its peak.

Watching Chu Xining and Lin Ran chatting and laughing intimately, Sun Jinghuan felt a flame burning in his chest.

His teeth were grinding together as he resolved to find a way to get rid of Lin Ran.

In the evening, Lin Ran returned to the Lin family villa.

Before I even stepped inside, laughter drifted out of the living room through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Lin Zhiwan was standing in the center of the living room, holding a tablet in her hand, her face showing a rare excitement.

She was still wearing the light blue suit skirt from the press conference, and she seemed to be glowing.

"Today's press conference was a great success, with initial orders already reaching hundreds of billions!"

Lin Zhiyao nestled on the sofa, hugging a cushion, and said smugly, "Big sister is truly amazing! One press conference earned her half a year's worth of revenue!"

"No, this is all thanks to the hard work of everyone in the group." Lin Zhiwan spoke modestly, but the smile on her lips was hard to suppress.

"From now on, the control of the Lin Group will definitely belong to the eldest sister; no one can take it away even if they want to!"

As Lin Zhiyao said this, her gaze drifted intentionally or unintentionally towards the stairwell.

Lin Zhiwan was slightly taken aback, but her tone returned to calm: "Lin Ran probably really doesn't have those kinds of thoughts."

"Who knows? It sounds nice, but if he knew that's hundreds of billions coming in every year, I wonder if he'd still be able to sit still."

Lin Zhiyao rubbed the cushion against her chest and let out a soft hum.

"You're overthinking it." Lin Ran happened to step in and said calmly, "No matter how much money the Lin family has, it's all the same to me."