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

Lin Ran slowly opened his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Seeing this, Zhao Yanran quickly asked, "How is it?"

"Great, we'll definitely be able to use it in the future."

"Then you must reward me!"

"Next time, definitely next time." Lin Ran got up and dressed. "I'll go back and let you know I'm safe."

"Hehehe." Zhao Yanran leaned back lazily on the sofa: "Alright then, you can't go back on your word."

"Rest assured, I always keep my word!"

Lin Ran dressed, left Villa No. 1, and flew towards the Lin family home.

It was originally just to support the Zhao family, and incidentally, some things were arranged for Zhao Yanran.

Unexpectedly, in just a few months, Zhao Yanran not only set up the auction house, but also actually helped him collect a useful treasure.

It was truly an unexpected delight.

When they returned to the Lin family home, the banquet was just beginning.

When Song Yishu saw him enter, she quickly stood up and said, "Xiao Ran is back? Come and sit down to eat."

She turned and went to the kitchen to get bowls and chopsticks for Lin Ran.

Lin Ran glanced around the dining table, his gaze lingering on Lin Haozhe for a moment.

"Is there some happy occasion at home today?" he asked casually.

Lin Hongbo put down his chopsticks, his tone tinged with pride: "Indeed, there's good news. Your second sister got promoted; she's now the captain of the Special Affairs Bureau's investigation team."

"Oh?" Lin Ran looked at Lin Zhixia: "You got promoted pretty quickly?"

"It's all thanks to the techniques you taught me before." Lin Zhixia's expression was calm, but a hint of a smile was hidden in her eyes.

Now she has completely mastered the art of turning beans into soldiers, and even if the supply of spiritual energy is cut off, the golden-armored warriors can hold out for more than ten minutes before collapsing.

Although it cannot yet compare to Lin Ran, this kind of puppet, which can unleash up to 70% of one's combat power, can already greatly enhance one's personal combat strength.

Moreover, she can prepare the spirit seeds in advance, so that if one warrior falls, she can immediately summon another one, in an endless stream.

Even when facing slightly weaker enemies, you don't need to lift a finger.

As a result, Lin Zhixia was promoted by the Special Affairs Bureau and became a squad leader.

This rate of improvement is second only to Lin Ran in the entire Special Affairs Bureau.

To celebrate, the Lin family prepared a celebratory dinner for Lin Zhixia, and Lin Haozhe, who had been sent to school, was also invited to attend.

Lin Ran looked at Lin Haozhe: "Are you getting used to living at school?"

"Thank you for your concern, Brother Ran. I'm fine." Lin Haozhe said with a gentle smile and a calm tone.

Lin Ran's gaze shifted slightly.

When he went to the school to intercept the people from the Secret Realm Protection Organization, he had checked the physical condition of Lin Zhiyao and Lin Haozhe, and inadvertently seemed to have noticed something about Lin Haozhe.

However, he didn't see it with his own eyes at the time, nor was he able to figure out the reason.

Now that Lin Haozhe was sitting in front of him, he had the opportunity to observe him carefully.

He activated his Heavenly Eye Technique and stared intently at Lin Haozhe.

Upon seeing this, Lin Ran's pupils contracted slightly.

Lin Haozhe's cultivation level is far superior to before, and he has actually reached the Innate Realm.

Before enrolling in the academy, he was only at the Tongqiao Realm, but in just a few months, he actually crossed two major realms.

This is clearly not right.

"What's wrong, Ran-ge?" Lin Haozhe noticed Lin Ran's gaze and asked in confusion.

"Hehe." Lin Ran's lips curled into a smile: "Have you had some kind of extraordinary encounter lately?"

Lin Haozhe's expression tightened for a moment, then he quickly regained his composure, feigning ignorance: "No, why would Brother Ran ask that question?"

"Are you really Lin Haozhe?" Lin Ran's tone was calm, yet it carried an undeniable sense of pressure.

Upon hearing this, the whole family looked at Lin Haozhe.

Facing the scrutiny of the crowd, Lin Haozhe forced himself to remain calm: "What does Brother Ran mean by this?"

"Don't you know what I mean?"

"I know Ran-ge doesn't like me." Lin Haozhe lowered his head, his tone tinged with grievance.

"But I've already returned the identity of the Lin family's young master to you, and I've been living at school all this time. Does Brother Ran still not want to let me go?"

"You really aren't Lin Haozhe," Lin Ran said confidently. "The real Lin Haozhe wouldn't dare talk to me like that."

Even Lin Haozhe, who was determined to harm Lin Ran, was always timid and submissive when facing Lin Ran, and never dared to confront him directly.

But Lin Haozhe today clearly has something to rely on.

"I just don't want to put up with it anymore!" Lin Haozhe raised his head, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

"Hmph, is that so?" Lin Ran sneered, "Then let me take a closer look at what kind of thing you really are!"

He immediately activated his Eye of Truth, and the Demon-Revealing Mirror on his forehead materialized instantly.

A mirror the size of a copper coin appeared in the center of his brow, with ancient patterns flowing around it, and a beam of white light shone from the mirror.

After Lin Haozhe's skin was exposed to the white light, it looked like soil that had been doused with warm water.

His facial features, like a wax figure exposed to heat, gradually distorted, collapsed, and crumbled.

The skin peeled away, the flesh was turned inside out, revealing tissue structures beneath that were not human.

A huge head emerged from the human skin.

The head was entirely grayish-white, with distorted and deformed features. The two eyes were misaligned, one on the front of the face and the other on the side, with dark gray vertical lines in the pupils.

The mouth spanned half of the face, with the gaping wound extending all the way to the ear, revealing a dense array of tiny, broken teeth.

The clothes at the shoulders were torn, and in their place came several thick tentacles.

Its torso is formed by a dozen tentacles tightly intertwined, twisted into a contorted column.

Finer tentacles extend from the limbs, their tips forking into finger shapes, flailing wildly in the air.

Several tentacles extended from both sides of its neck, coiling around its head like snakes, and its body emitted a strong, putrid stench.

The Lin family members all showed expressions of fear.

Lin Zhixia stood up and shielded Lin Hongbo and his wife behind her, while Lin Zhiwan and Lin Zhiyao also stood up and moved away.

"You're still alive!" Lin Ran narrowed his eyes.

He naturally recognized the monster before him.

This is Xuanming, the water god who wanted to possess him.

Xuanming's soul had clearly been refined by the Xuanhuang Cauldron, yet he managed to escape alive and replace Lin Haozhe.

It seems this guy is intentionally looking for revenge.

Unfortunately, he thought he had disguised himself well, but he couldn't escape Lin Ran's upgraded Eye of Truth.

"By what right?" Xuanming's voice, hoarse and distorted, came from the gigantic mouth that spanned half of his face: "You're just a low-level cultivator, what gives you the right to possess such an ability?"

"You can only blame your bad luck," Lin Ran said calmly.

"I refuse to accept this! How could I, a dignified Golden Immortal, be repeatedly defeated by you!"

"Enough with the nonsense." Lin Ran picked at his ear. "Instead of wasting your time with this drivel, why don't you tell me how you plan to die this time?"

"No! You can't kill me!" Xuanming's voice suddenly became shrill: "I have now taken over Lin Haozhe's soul. If you kill me, he will be completely dead!"

"Isn't that perfect?" Lin Ran raised an eyebrow.

"How can you be so cold-blooded?" Xuanming's voice was full of disbelief. "No matter what, he's still your brother!"

"We're not related by blood!" Lin Ran scoffed.

"Besides, don't you think it's ridiculous of you to say that? What have you done before, and what are you doing now? How dare you call others cold-blooded?"

"Alright." Xuanming's voice turned cold. "I admit defeat. Go ahead and do it."

"Heh." Lin Ran narrowed his eyes: "Don't act like you're calmly facing death, I won't believe you."

Xuanming's expression changed several times: "If you don't kill me, then I'm leaving!"

"I won't kill you, but I won't let you go either!"

This guy can be reborn with just one head and can also possess other people.

If Lin Ran kills him, there's no guarantee that the guy's soul won't escape and continue to harm the next unlucky person.

Although the Xuanhuang Cauldron can refine divine souls, it can only refine divine souls that have invaded his sea of ​​consciousness.

If Xuanming's soul is determined to escape, Lin Ran is not confident that he can control him.

After some thought, Lin Ran came to a final conclusion.

Controlling a living Lin Haozhe might be easier than dealing with Xuanming directly.