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

Just then, Lin Zhixia's door opened from the inside.

Click!

She was wearing gray pajamas, her hair casually draped over her shoulders.

"Why are you making so much noise in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"

"Someone just peeked at me while I was showering!" Lin Zhiyao pointed at Lin Ran. "I opened the door and saw Lin Ran standing in the hallway."

Lin Zhixia glanced at her, her gaze lingering for a moment on Lin Zhiyao's chest, which was wrapped in a bath towel.

"It shouldn't be that bad, right? Even if someone were to peek, they should be peeking at the eldest sister."

Lin Zhiyao's expression instantly fell apart: "Aaaaah! Second sister! Even you're bullying me!"

"Ahem... Um... a slip of the tongue." Lin Zhixia yawned. "Haa... Okay, stop being so suspicious, go to sleep early."

"I'm not being paranoid, someone just peeked at me while I was showering!"

Lin Zhiyao hesitated for a moment, then lowered her voice: "Even if you didn't peep at me while I was showering, sneaking into my room in the middle of the night is still very suspicious."

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhixia pondered for a moment and nodded slightly: "Hmm, what you said makes some sense."

She turned to Lin Ran: "Did you see anyone when you came out?"

Lin Ran answered truthfully, "I heard a scream and opened the door to check, and then I saw her wrapped in a bath towel, looking out. I didn't see anyone else."

In reality, he knew perfectly well that Lin Haozhe was behind this whole thing.

However, that guy is very cautious and will definitely not leave any clues.

If he were to directly state his suspicions, he would inevitably be seen as a petty person.

Lin Zhixia frowned slightly: "How about we check the security footage?"

"If I'm not mistaken, the security cameras in the corridor are probably broken again," Lin Ran said calmly.

Just like last time when they were framed, the surveillance cameras always break down at crucial moments.

"How do you know? Did you break it on purpose?" Lin Zhiyao's eyes became wary again.

Lin Ran rolled her eyes at him: "Even a fool could figure that out, right? If the other party dared to do something like this, how could they not have been prepared?"

What's the difference between causing trouble right under surveillance and self-destruction?

"You mean, someone deliberately created conflict between you and Zhiyao?" Lin Zhixia looked at Lin Ran, her expression growing increasingly serious. "What's their purpose?"

Lin Ran shrugged: "I didn't say that. It's all your own reasonable deduction."

At that moment, another door opened.

Lin Zhiwan came out, her robe belt accentuating her stunning figure. Her hair was a little messy, and her eyes were dazed, clearly indicating that she had been woken up.

"What's wrong? Why are you three standing in the hallway instead of sleeping?"

Then, Lin Haozhe's door opened.

He rubbed his eyes and let out a long yawn.

"Huh... Eldest sister? And second sister, third sister, Ran-ge, what are you doing?"

Lin Zhiyao casually replied, "Someone sneaked into my room in the middle of the night!"

This time, she didn't mention peeping at her while she was showering again, finally showing some self-awareness.

"Have you checked the surveillance footage?" Lin Zhiwan asked casually.

Lin Zhixia shook her head: "Not yet, I was just about to go check. However, Lin Ran guessed that the surveillance cameras were probably broken again."

Upon hearing this, Lin Haozhe put down his hand that was rubbing his eyes, a hint of gloom flashing in his eyes.

"How did you know, Brother Ran?"

"Just a guess," Lin Ran said calmly. "If it's not bad, of course it'll be even better."

He looked at Lin Haozhe with a playful smile: "What do you think?"

Lin Zhiwan pulled her bathrobe tighter: "Let's check it first, just in case it's not damaged?"

Everyone went down to the first floor, and Lin Zhiwan opened the door to the monitoring room.

The monitor array covers more than a dozen small windows, corresponding to cameras located throughout the villa.

Lin Zhixia walked to the control panel and zoomed in on the view of the second-floor corridor.

On the timeline, all the records from 1 a.m. to now are grayed out.

Just as Lin Ran predicted, things went wrong again.

Lin Zhiyao pointed at the screen: "This is the second time already. What a coincidence!"

"That's really unlikely." Lin Zhixia exited the monitoring system and turned to Lin Zhiyao: "Are you sure you saw a figure? Not a shower curtain or anything like that?"

"It was definitely a human figure!" Lin Zhiyao said with certainty, "It just flickered outside the frosted glass and made a noise!"

Lin Zhiwan sat down on the sofa, crossing her legs: "Could it be that a thief broke into the house?"

"That's unlikely." Lin Zhixia shook her head: "All the other surveillance cameras are working properly, but the ones in the second-floor corridor are broken, and there are no signs of forced entry on the doors and windows."

Lin Haozhe asked with concern, "Could it be that Third Sister is too tired lately and is hallucinating?"

"Impossible! I'm not tired at all, I'm full of energy!" Lin Zhiyao's voice rose again.

"It seems someone sabotaged the surveillance system beforehand and then appeared at the right place at the right time."

Lin Zhixia glanced at Lin Haozhe: "Unfortunately, there are no surveillance cameras or witnesses, so it's impossible to judge anything."

"Since there's no real damage, let's go back to sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow."

Lin Zhiwan stood up and glanced at Lin Zhiyao: "Don't be afraid, I'll ask Dad to install a few more hidden cameras later."

"I'm not afraid at all!" Lin Zhiyao pouted. "I'm just a little angry."

She wrapped herself in a bath towel, glared at Lin Ran, and said, "If you ever show up in the hallway in the middle of the night again, I definitely won't let you get away with it!"

Lin Ran raised an eyebrow: "Then you'd better not scream in the middle of the night. I'm a light sleeper, and I wake up easily when I hear a noise."

In a corner unnoticed by everyone, Lin Haozhe turned his head away and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Back in his room, Lin Ran locked the door, took out the crystal cores from his backpack, and arranged them one by one.

Thirty-six third-order crystal cores were positioned according to the Spirit Gathering Array, and spiritual energy flowed freely between the array patterns.

A faint white mist, visible to the naked eye, rises in the air, and the effect is very obvious.

He sat cross-legged at the center of the formation, closed his eyes, and concentrated.

The spiritual energy within the crystal core was drawn in by the array and surged into the Xuanhuang Cauldron at three times the usual speed. After being purified, it flowed throughout the body's meridians.

The vortex of energy spun faster and faster in the dantian, subtly expanding outwards.

An hour later, a muffled vibration came from deep within his dantian.

hum!

It felt like something had been exposed.

The speed of spiritual energy circulation increased again, more than twice as fast as before.

My limbs and bones were immersed in a warm current, and my fingertips felt slightly numb.

Lin Ran opened his eyes and clenched his fist.

Seventh level of Qi Refining!

From this moment on, he officially entered the late stage of Qi Refining!

The most obvious feeling is that the spiritual energy in my body has become much more solid, and it seems to be evolving from gas to liquid.

He raised his hand and made a fire control spell. A ball of orange-red fire hovered above his palm, its color deeper than before, with a pale blue tinge at the edges.

There was no hesitation between opening and closing, and it was much smoother than before.

"Finally, he's starting to look like a cultivator."

He then tried the Golden Light Mantra and the Water Control Technique, and they arrived instantly upon reciting them, without any hindrance.

There are indeed some theories about the threshold between the late and mid-stages of Qi Refining.

Previously, I always felt that the Five Elements techniques were not smooth enough, but now it's like the membrane blocking the door has been pierced, leaving only a silky smooth feeling.

He's really looking for someone to test his skills with.

If the Sun family were more capable, sending another martial artist at the Innate Realm to deal with him would be perfect.

The crystal cores within the formation continued to release spiritual energy, and he didn't waste any time, continuing to circulate his cultivation technique to absorb the spiritual energy.

Two more hours passed, and the spiritual power of the thirty-six crystal cores was exhausted. The vortex in his dantian expanded another circle.

Unfortunately, he couldn't break through to the mid-stage of the seventh level of Qi Refining in one go.

The spiritual energy required for cultivation has doubled again, and hundreds of third-tier crystal cores are needed for each level advancement.

Fortunately, he already has a stable source of crystal cores. If the third tier isn't enough, he can try targeting fourth-tier mutated creatures.

He cleaned up the powder on the ground, then got up and took a shower.