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

Li Tongya looked embarrassed: "My Li family rose to prominence relatively late, and our foundation is indeed not as strong as those old-established families."

Lin Ran continued searching and found several pieces of decent quality black iron and a fragment of bronze in a corner.

"I'll take these."

"Please feel free to use it, Master."

Lin Ran put the black iron and bronze fragments into the Nine Heavens Pendant, and then turned it around again.

The Xuanhuang Cauldron in the sea of ​​consciousness remained quiet and showed no reaction whatsoever.

Clearly, spiritual treasures are something that can only be encountered by chance and cannot be sought after.

"Alright, you can go now."

Li Tongya breathed a sigh of relief and quickly led Lin Ran back to the main hall.

An hour later, the sound of orderly footsteps could be heard outside the Li family's residence.

Armored vehicles and military off-road vehicles surrounded the courtyard completely.

The sound from the loudspeaker came in from outside, buzzing loudly.

"Listen up, you inside! You're surrounded! I'm Li Xinmin, the Commander-in-Chief of the Military Headquarters. You can name your terms, but don't harm the hostages!"

Lin Ran glanced at Li Tongya: "Old Li, your son isn't exactly honest, is he?"

Li Tongya shrank his neck: "Master, please forgive me, I'll go and try to persuade him."

"Fine, don't say I didn't give him a chance."

Li Tongya walked to the courtyard gate and called out through the gate, "Xinmin, it's me."

There was a moment of silence outside the door.

"Dad? What's wrong...?"

"Come in, I have something to say to you."

The door opened a crack, and Li Xinmin stepped in, followed by two squads of heavily armed soldiers.

He looked to be in his forties, with a robust build, wearing a crisp military uniform with three gleaming general stars on his shoulder insignia.

He entered the house and glanced around the yard, his face darkening.

"Dad, what happened? Who...?"

He was halfway through his sentence when he saw Lin Ran sitting in the main hall.

"Are you Lin Ran?" Li Xinmin squinted.

"Commander-in-Chief Li, I've long admired you."

"How dare you cause trouble at my Li family's house! You have some nerve!"

Li Tongya's expression changed drastically: "You bastard, apologize to Mr. Lin right now!"

"What?" Li Xinmin turned to look at Li Tongya: "Dad, are you confused?"

His voice, barely concealing his anger, said, "I rushed back with a reinforced company, and you expect me to apologize to him?"

Li Tongya stamped his feet in frustration: "Xinmin, listen to your father's advice, don't do it!"

"Dad, please move aside."

Li Xinmin took a step forward, releasing his martial aura and pressing down on Lin Ran.

"Lin Ran, I don't care what methods you used to control my father. Release him now and come back with me for investigation. I can guarantee your personal safety."

"You guarantee my personal safety?" Lin Ran tilted his head.

"I make this promise in my capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Army."

"How much is your promise worth?"

Li Xinmin's eyes narrowed, and his spiritual energy surged: "I'll say it again, release them."

Lin Ran ignored him and turned her head to look outside the courtyard wall.

A powerful aura pressed down from the sky, as heavy as a collapsing mountain.

The bricks on the courtyard wall creaked and cracked, and fine cracks appeared on the ground.

Shen Jinghan leaped from outside the wall into the courtyard, still clutching half a half-eaten sesame seed cake in his hand.

"Alright, alright, don't be impulsive." Shen Jinghan swallowed the sesame seed cake in his mouth. "It's the middle of the day, fighting and killing will only damage the harmony."

Li Xinmin composed himself and respectfully replied, "Mr. Shen, what brings you here?"

"I happened to be having breakfast nearby when I heard what was going on here, so I came over to check it out."

Shen Jinghan waved the half-eaten sesame seed cake in his hand and looked at Lin Ran: "Little kid, you're Lin Ran?"

Even though they had already fought twice, he still didn't recognize Lin Ran.

After all, the Lin Ran he met back then was using the image of Chen Changsheng.

"I have met the Martial Saint of Zhenyue."

"You're quite polite." Shen Jinghan looked Lin Ran up and down. "Why are you making such a big fuss? I didn't even finish my breakfast."

"Hehe, you've had breakfast pretty early," Lin Ran teased. "Keep eating, I'm not in a hurry."

Shen Jinghan choked for a moment: "You brat."

He sighed, his joking expression fading: "If the Li family has offended you in any way, you can report it to the higher-ups, and they will naturally give you justice."

"What do I need justice for? I want the Li family to pay the price!"

"Haven't you already dealt with them?" Shen Jinghan frowned slightly. "You've vented your anger enough. That's enough."

"That won't do, it's still far from enough."

Shen Jinghan's expression changed several times: "Then what do you plan to do?"

"Get rid of the Li family, and the problem will be solved naturally."

"Are you determined to tear down the Li family's house?"

"It's not necessary to demolish it; we can just replace it with a more obedient person in charge."

Shen Jinghan took a deep breath: "Young man, cultivation is not easy, why act impulsively?"

"It seems the only solution is through martial arts." Lin Ran cupped his hands in greeting. "I've heard that the Martial Saint of Zhenyue possesses immense strength; this junior would like to experience it for myself."

"Alright, I'll give you a chance." Shen Jinghan cracked his knuckles and stepped forward.

"I'll throw a punch. If you can withstand it, you can do whatever you want with the Li family's affairs. If you can't, then stop being so stubborn."

"No, no, no, that's not fair." Lin Ran waved his hand.

Shen Jinghan was stunned: "Unfair? If you can't even withstand one punch from me, what right do you have to negotiate?"

"Senior, you misunderstand. What I meant was that it wouldn't be fair to you to only throw one punch."

The atmosphere in the courtyard was quiet for two seconds.

Li Xinmin was suppressing a laugh in the back, his shoulders twitching slightly.

The soldiers behind him couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"If I heard correctly, he's provoking the Martial Saint, isn't he?"

"Is this guy crazy?"

"Are all young people these days so brave?"

Shen Jinghan narrowed his eyes, his jaw tightening: "Fine, fine, then let me see if your fists are as hard as your mouth!"

He took a step forward, and the entire courtyard shook, the blue bricks beneath his feet shattering into powder.

Spiritual energy condensed on his fist, layer upon layer, distorting the surrounding air.

Lin Ran raised his hand and formed a hand seal, using the Mountain Moving Technique to empower himself.

His spiritual energy surged, his physical strength doubled, and his fist was covered with a layer of earthy yellow light.

Shen Jinghan threw a punch.

The force of the punch was so strong that the stone tables and benches in the courtyard were blown away by the shockwave, and the window frames shattered on the ground.

Lin Ran threw a punch at Lin Ran's face.

The two fists collided.

boom!

Shen Jinghan took three steps back, leaving deep pits in the ground as his feet sank into the soil.

Lin Ran stood still, without moving an inch.

Everyone present looked on with surprise and doubt.

"Hiss... He actually withstood a punch from the Martial Saint!"

"That's called the next punch; it clearly knocked the Martial Saint back!"

"Watch your mouth!"

"Cough cough cough..."

Shen Jinghan pulled his foot out of the pit, shook his numb wrist, and looked surprised and doubtful.

"How is this possible? What level of cultivation have you reached?"

"Am I now qualified to make the Li family pay the price?"

Shen Jinghan looked slightly embarrassed: "Well... it's better to resolve conflicts than to let them fester. How about I mediate today and we call it a day?"

"No way! I've been wronged, I have to get my revenge!"

Li Xinmin couldn't help but take a step forward: "Lin Ran, don't play innocent. Didn't you kill my son, Li Tianxing?"

"Li Tianxing?" Lin Ran feigned ignorance. "Who is that?"

"Stop pretending! My son and Jiang Yunshu checked into the Heng'an Hotel and never came out. After that, the hotel's surveillance system was completely destroyed, and my son's fate is unknown."

Li Xinmin raised his hand and pointed at Lin Ran: "You were staying at that hotel back then!"

It must be said that his reasoning is reasonable and correct.

Unfortunately, Lin Ran had no intention of admitting it.

"So what? I paid for my hotel stay too. If your Li family can stay here, why can't I?"

"Don't try to deny it! Back then, you were the only one in the entire hotel who posed a threat to Tianxing!"

"What you're saying doesn't make sense," Lin Ran said dismissively. "Just because I have the ability doesn't mean I did it."

"What if he offends someone? What if he flees to avoid punishment? You, as his father, can't find your son, so you're blaming me?"