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

Chu Xining disagreed: "If you want what's best for me, don't force me."

This time, she was determined not to back down.

Chu Mingyuan's tone softened slightly: "The Lin family's foundation is ultimately shallow!"

"I love Brother Lin Ran, it has nothing to do with the Lin family!" Chu Xining met her father's gaze with a firm look.

"Foolish!" Chu Mingyuan said, looking at him with exasperation. "Whether you can have a smooth life in the future ultimately depends on whether the other party's family is powerful enough!"

Chu Xining clenched her fist, her voice lower than before, but her tone more resolute.

"I've liked Lin Ran since he was an orphan, and it has nothing to do with whether he's a member of the Lin family or not. Even if he's still an orphan now, I'll continue to like him."

Chu Mingyuan's chest heaved violently: "Are you trying to drive me crazy?"

At this moment, Shen Ruyun came over with a glass of warm water, placed the glass on the coffee table, walked to Chu Mingyuan's side, and gently patted his back.

"Calm down, the child is just being childish, why get so angry? She'll understand in the future."

Chu Xining turned to her mother, her eyes slightly red: "Mom, are you going to force me to marry Sun Jinghuan too?"

"Sigh...you child...how could I force you? Do you know how many people in Xinhai want to marry into the Sun family?"

Shen Rujun sighed, her tone tinged with helplessness: "The Sun family is a martial arts family, with the Tongxuan Ancestor presiding over the family. They are the most powerful family in Xinhai."

"Besides, Sun Jinghuan is the future heir of the Sun family. If you marry him, you will become the matriarch of the Sun family. Isn't that much better than marrying into the Lin family?"

In this day and age, the strong are respected, and in a sense, the richest family in Xinhai is indeed no match for a martial arts family.

Chu Xining looked at her mother, disappointment in her eyes: "How can feelings be mixed with interests?"

"Feelings? How old are you? What do you know about feelings?" Chu Mingyuan patted the sofa armrest twice more.

It's as if speaking like this increases credibility.

I'm eighteen years old.

Chu Xining stood ramrod straight: "I understood back when I was in the orphanage. I understood when Brother Lin Ran broke a steamed bun in half and shared it with me!"

The room fell silent for a moment.

Chu Mingyuan's lips moved, but he didn't reply.

"Xi Ning, Mom knows you've suffered a lot since you were little and you have resentment in your heart."

Shen Rujun picked up the conversation, her tone gentler than Chu Mingyuan's: "But we brought you back so you could live a good life, didn't we?"

"But you have no idea what I want!" Chu Xining insisted.

"I chose No. 3 Middle School back then because of Lin Ran, and I transferred to No. 1 Middle School later also for Lin Ran. I just want to be with Lin Ran!"

Shen Rujun shook her head: "But he only has F-level talent; he'll never amount to anything!"

In this world where martial arts flourish, martial arts talent represents a person's future.

With an F-level talent, the upper limit is already locked at the Inner Breath Realm, so it's no wonder that Chu Mingyuan and Shen Ruyun look down on Lin Ran.

"I don't need him to amount to anything!" Chu Xining declared proudly. "I have S-rank talent; I can become stronger on my own. I don't need anyone else's protection!"

"Hmph! So what if you have S-rank talent?" Chu Mingyuan sneered. "There are plenty of people with S-rank talent, but how many of them can become truly powerful? Without the protection of a powerful family, even a genius is just a stepping stone for others!"

Chu Xining clenched her fists: "Even being trampled underfoot is better than being forced to marry someone I don't like!"

"You're so stubborn!" Chu Mingyuan glared at Chu Xining, his fingers trembling slightly.

"He's a piece of trash who barely awakened his F-level talent thanks to gene-enhancing drugs. His inner energy realm is the limit. What do you expect from him?"

Chu Xining was silent for a few seconds before speaking again, her tone even calmer than before: "Forget it, it seems we can't communicate. I'll just move out!"

"What did you say?" Chu Mingyuan suddenly stood up.

Shen Rujun quickly stood up, grabbed his arm, and turned to look at Chu Xining, her voice filled with anxiety: "Xining, don't say such hurtful things. Where can a girl like you go if you leave home?"

"Go back to the orphanage. There are still empty beds at Grandma Lin's."

"Are you crazy!" Chu Mingyuan's voice rose several decibels. "You're supposed to be the eldest daughter of the Chu family, going to live in an orphanage? What about the Chu family's reputation?"

"Face?" Chu Xining repeated softly, "Did you bring me back for my sake, or for the sake of the Chu family's reputation?"

Chu Mingyuan and Shen Rujun were speechless for a moment.

Looking at the two people in front of her who were related to her by blood, Chu Xining felt as if something was pressing down on her chest.

She took a deep breath and spoke again, "I will not acknowledge this engagement! If you continue to pressure me, then I will have no choice but to leave the Chu family!"

After saying that, she turned and walked towards the stairs.

Night had fallen.

Lin Ran listened intently to the sounds coming from downstairs.

Song Yishu was still in the kitchen explaining tomorrow's menu to the maid, while Lin Zhiyao was curled up on the living room sofa watching videos.

He opened the room window, silently climbed out, touched the windowsill with his toes, and landed lightly on the lawn in the garden.

They then climbed over the back wall of the villa and headed straight for the coastline.

Even without his flying sword, his speed using earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique that allows one to escape at a speed exceeding that of most modes of transportation).

Before long, his figure appeared on the beach.

To avoid encountering the giant octopus from before, Lin Ran deliberately walked a few kilometers north and changed his entry point into the water.

He raised his hand, made a water-repelling gesture, and leaped into the water.

The seabed in this area is steeper and there are more reefs.

I had only dived less than thirty meters when a completely transparent jellyfish floated out from behind the reef.

Its canopy is over half a meter in diameter, and its tentacles, trailing behind it, are a full two meters long, glowing with a pale blue fluorescence in the darkness.

Three-tiered glass jellyfish.

Lin Ran stopped five meters away from the jellyfish swarm and drew his long sword.

The lead jellyfish had already sensed the change in the water flow; its bell suddenly contracted, and its tentacles lashed out like whips.

He sidestepped, his beard brushing against his sleeve.

"I haven't even touched you yet, and you're already gesturing at me."

Lin Ran steadied himself and slashed horizontally with his sword.

The blade sliced ​​through the center of the umbrella-shaped cap, splitting the glass jellyfish in two. The transparent tissue scattered in the water like shards of broken glass.

The remaining jellyfish swarm immediately dispersed, their tentacles simultaneously encircling them from three directions.

Lin Ran activated his water control technique and retreated two meters rapidly, while simultaneously activating the Golden Light Mantra.

The tentacles of the glass jellyfish struck the golden light, splashing up a string of tiny, fluorescent sparks.

The protective golden light remained stable as usual.

With no more worries, Lin Ran's sword strikes suddenly accelerated.

Slicing, diagonally picking, and stabbing, the shattered transparent tissue churns in the water like churned jelly.

A third-order crystal core emerged from the wreckage, and he casually scooped it into his backpack.

The twelve glass jellyfish collected twelve third-order crystal nuclei.

He calculated in his mind that if he collected another twenty-four third-tier crystal cores, he could set up an array of thirty-six crystal cores.

Based on the effect of the Spirit Gathering Array, thirty-six crystal cores are currently the optimal solution.

He didn't linger and continued swimming forward.

After rounding a rocky ridge on the seabed, a group of spindle-shaped black shadows appeared ahead.

The third-order barracuda, each nearly three meters long, has a sharp bony spur on its snout that gleams eerily in the dark seawater.

When swimming, its body sways very slightly, like a row of arrows ready to be released.

Lin Ran had just entered their warning range when the three barracudas in the front row simultaneously twisted their tail fins, transforming into three silver streaks that shot straight towards him.

It is more than twice as fast as the glass jellyfish.

He sidestepped the first one, used the Golden Light Spell to withstand the second one, and parried the third one with his longsword.

when!

The bone spur struck the blade with a crisp sound.