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

As dawn broke, the Lin family's security company arrived.

Two black vans were parked in front of the villa, and six or seven workers in work clothes got out, carrying ladders and toolboxes in and out of the yard.

Song Yishu stood at the door directing the operation, while Lin Hongbo checked the locations with the head of the security company.

"Install one here, and add another one in that corner over there."

"The end of the corridor too, angled slightly this way."

"Except for the bedroom, the entire area is covered!"

The installers placed nearly forty cameras on the villa's exterior walls, corridors, stairwells, living room, and kitchen entrance.

Lin Zhixia watched for a while, and after confirming that all the cameras were working properly, she nodded silently.

When Lin Ran came downstairs, the installation technician was at the end of the corridor, debugging the last one.

He glanced at the new equipment on the ceiling; infrared indicator lights were flashing regularly.

Unfortunately, this show of force was of little use to Lin Haozhe.

That guy is a metal-type awakener; he can disable any surveillance camera he wants.

The corridor's surveillance cameras malfunctioned twice in a row, so it's highly likely that he directly used his supernatural abilities to damage the metal parts or wiring.

No matter how many cameras you install, if that guy wants to do something, they'll still break.

It seems that it will be less convenient for me to go out at night in the future.

Even if he possesses the ability to become invisible, it's impossible for him to be cautious at all times.

With such a comprehensive surveillance system, his act of climbing through the window in the middle of the night will be discovered sooner or later.

It seems that from now on, I'll have to use the main entrance when I go out.

Thinking of this, he shook his head: "If I get pressed for answers, I'll just consider it practice for my acting."

At breakfast time, the conversation at the Lin family's table naturally revolved around what happened last night.

"I think someone must have deliberately sabotaged this," Lin Zhiyao said, poking at the fried egg on her plate with her fork. "Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence?"

"Didn't you notice anything unusual before yesterday?" Lin Zhixia asked in a nonchalant tone.

Lin Zhiyao thought about it carefully, then shook her head and said, "No. It's just strange."

"So, all you saw from beginning to end were shadows?" Lin Zhiwan put down her chopsticks. "And you didn't even see what they were clearly."

"I..." Lin Zhiyao opened her mouth, but her momentum weakened.

"It could be that the shower curtain was blown by the wind, or you might just be too tired," Lin Zhiwan analyzed. "Don't overthink it before you have concrete evidence."

Lin Zhiyao raised her chin: "How do you explain the camera thing?"

"The camera has been reinstalled, so this shouldn't happen again."

Song Yishu placed a plate of sliced ​​fruit in the center of the table: "You siblings shouldn't be guessing each other's secrets; it'll only lead to discord."

After breakfast, the Rolls-Royce pulled up at the door.

Lin Ran and Lin Haozhe got into the car one after the other, without exchanging much words during the journey.

Lin Ran was too lazy to waste words with Lin Haozhe, who was probably still feeling guilty about what happened yesterday.

As soon as Lin Ran entered the classroom, he saw Sun Jinghuan with a smug look on his face.

This guy was publicly humiliated by Chu Xining yesterday, turning green with rage. Just one day later, he's back with this expression. The Sun family must have made some move.

Although he didn't know the specific reason, Lin Ran felt uncomfortable seeing his enemy happy.

He placed his schoolbag on the table, leaned down, and whispered in Chu Xining's ear.

"Xi Ning." He deliberately lowered his voice, just enough for Sun Jinghuan next to him to hear.

"The Lin family might be going to your house to propose marriage."

Sun Jinghuan's smile froze instantly on his face, the curve of his lips fixed, devoid of any joy.

Chu Xining raised her head, paused for a second, and then her expression brightened as if illuminated by a burst of color.

"Really? Brother Lin Ran is going to marry me?" Her eyes crinkled with joy, her voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement.

"Cough cough cough..." Lin Ran said somewhat awkwardly, "You should be more reserved."

"I won't!" Chu Xining's smile was undisguised: "Hahaha... I knew it, Brother Lin Ran still likes me!"

"You're getting excited too soon." Lin Ran straightened up and shrugged. "It wasn't me who asked them to go."

"I don't care, I'll definitely agree to the Lin family's marriage proposal!"

At this moment, Chu Xining was radiant.

But that light was extremely dazzling to Sun Jinghuan.

He suddenly stood up: "Lin Ran! You've gone too far!"

Lin Ran turned his head, revealing an innocent expression.

"What are you saying? How can this be my fault? I tried to persuade my family, but they all agreed that Xining and I were a better match. No matter what I said, they wouldn't listen!"

Sun Jinghuan pressed his hands on the table, his knuckles turning pale from excessive force.

"Do you think the Chu family will agree to the Lin family's marriage proposal? The Chu family and the Sun family already have a marriage agreement. Breaking the agreement arbitrarily would be a serious matter for the Chu family!"

"In that case, why don't you go and break off the engagement yourself?" Lin Ran said sincerely.

"You're dreaming!" Sun Jinghuan roared, "I will absolutely not grant your wish!"

Lin Ran sighed: "If that's how you put it, then I have no choice but to issue you a challenge between men!"

He had just improved his cultivation level and was worried about not having anyone to practice on.

Since Sun Jinghuan was being so cooperative, how could he possibly waste the other party's good intentions?

Sun Jinghuan's Adam's apple bobbed: "I do not accept your challenge."

"This is really a difficult situation." Lin Ran turned to Chu Xining: "What do you think we should do?"

Chu Xining raised her chin: "Don't worry about him. I already confronted my family yesterday. If my parents still don't agree to us being together, I'll elope with you."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Lin Ran raised his hand: "Don't be impulsive! Elopement is too old-fashioned. We live in a civilized society now, and we value freedom of marriage."

"So, Brother Lin Ran has agreed to marry me?" Chu Xining once again demonstrated her top-notch understanding.

"I'm just telling you, if you don't want to marry Sun, your family can't force you," Lin Ran said seriously. "After all, the law doesn't allow it!"

Chu Xining pursed her lips and drawled out the last syllable: "Oh..."

The disappointment contained in this single word is enough to write an 800-word reading comprehension exercise.

Sun Jinghuan sat back down in his chair, his back teeth creaking.

He ultimately remained silent, his gaze fixed on a particular spot on the table, as if it held a plan that could turn the tide.

There was no other way; he really couldn't beat Lin Ran, and he couldn't very well accept the challenge and humiliate himself.

Zhao Meng leaned over from the front row and gave Lin Ran a thumbs up.

Lin Ran rolled his eyes at him.

Afternoon practical training session.

Qin Hanzhong stood in the center of the training hall and blew his whistle.

"Today's routine is the arena sparring. As usual, everyone will draw lots."

As the line moved forward one by one, Lin Ran reached into the lottery box and pulled out a slip of paper.

After the draw, numbers were called and people came up to the stage.

As luck would have it, Lin Ran's opponent was Sun Jinghuan again.

At this moment, Sun Jinghuan's face turned extremely ugly.

He had reason to suspect that Lin Ran had bribed the instructor to set a trap for him.

In any case, direct surrender is not allowed in a ring match.

The logic is simple: if you have to back down from even the ring competition, how will you ever be able to go to the battlefield?

Therefore, regardless of the strength of the opponent, you must fight first before discussing victory or defeat.

Once on the stage, Sun Jinghuan stood opposite Lin Ran, his entire being resembling a fully drawn bow.

Lin Ran cracked his knuckles: "What a coincidence, isn't it? Don't worry, Young Master Sun, I still won't hold back this time!"

The whistle blew.

Sun Jinghuan's arms burst into flames as he assumed a defensive stance.

Having already learned his lesson, he doesn't plan to take the initiative this time.

Seeing this, Lin Ran walked towards him, unhurriedly.

When they were within five steps of each other, Sun Jinghuan couldn't help but take half a step back.

He realized he had shown weakness, but gritted his teeth and charged forward.

The flaming blade extended from his right hand, delivering a horizontal slash that left a scorching arc in the air.