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

Zhao Hao picked up his water glass, wanting to take a sip to calm himself down, but found it was empty, so he put it down again.

"Don't worry, Young Master Lin, I've already instructed my men to ensure that no one will harass the Ping An Welfare Home again."

He spoke earnestly and solemnly: "Furthermore, I've also had them spread the word that anyone who dares to cause trouble for the Ping'an Welfare Home is going against the Zhao family!"

"Then we're not enemies anymore," Lin Ran said with a playful smile.

It's obvious that Zhao Hao wants to establish a business relationship with Lin Ran by using the welfare home as a refuge.

It has to be said that he used his cleverness in the right place; Lin Ran really cared about the Ping An Welfare Home.

Even without the original owner's memories, he still felt that Lin Qinghe was a person worthy of respect.

If he didn't have the ability, that would be fine, but since he can now provide convenience for Lin Qinghe, why not do it?

"Good!" Zhao Hao finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Young Master Lin is very generous!"

He snapped his fingers, and the waiter at the door asked a question before starting to serve the food.

Steamed grouper, truffle-baked lobster, and black pine mushroom stewed with fish maw were laid out on the table in abundance.

Zhao Hao opened a bottle of Lafite; the vintage label on the bottle had already turned yellow.

"This is a fine wine from my collection, Young Master Lin, please have a taste." He stood up to pour wine for Lin Ran.

Lin Ran reached out and covered the rim of the glass: "I'm still a student, I can't drink alcohol."

It wasn't that he truly didn't drink at all; he simply felt there was no need to drink with Zhao Hao.

Tonight's dinner is Zhao Hao's way of apologizing; all he needs to do is come and express his apology.

The two were neither business partners nor close friends. If they actually drank together, it would only make Zhao Hao think that he was easy to manipulate.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hao's hand paused in mid-air.

Seemingly understanding Lin Ran's meaning, he quickly put the bottle away and put on a smile again.

"Right, right, look at my head, I've completely forgotten that Young Master Lin is a student. He really shouldn't be drinking."

As he spoke, he called out towards the door, "Waiter, go and bring me my treasured mother tree Da Hong Pao tea."

The waiter responded and jogged away, returning a moment later with a sandalwood tea tray.

A set of purple clay teaware is placed on the tea tray, with a relief of landscape patterns on the teapot.

"Let me make the tea." Zhao Yanran stood up from her seat, took the tea tray, and placed it on the tea table next to the dining table.

Zhao Hao quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, my sister has learned some tea ceremony skills before, so today we'll have her show off her skills to Young Master Lin."

Zhao Meng, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "When did Sister Yanran learn tea ceremony? How come I didn't know?"

"There are many things you don't know!" Zhao Yanran rolled her eyes at him and sat down at the tea table.

Boiling water, warming the kettle, adding tea leaves, pouring water—the movements are unhurried, gentle, and focused.

She twirled the purple clay teapot in her hand, and the steam rising from its spout wafted in front of her, creating a sense of ethereal beauty.

She tilted her head slightly, her gaze piercing through the steam, and smiled at Lin Ran.

"Young Master Lin, please have a taste." She poured a glass for Lin Ran first, and then poured a glass for Zhao Hao and Zhao Meng each.

Lin Ran picked up the teacup she handed him and took a sip.

The aroma of Da Hong Pao tea is indeed excellent; it has a mellow taste and a long-lasting sweet aftertaste.

However, Lin Ran couldn't tell whether it was good or bad.

Compared to the fine tea, he found the person who brewed it more interesting.

Is Zhao Hao planning to use his younger sister as bait to seduce him?

Although Zhao Yanran is indeed beautiful and has a sweet voice, this performance was a bit too obvious.

Is getting first place in a mock exam really that valuable?

Or is it that the Zhao family is preparing to side with the Lin family?

The meal was a pleasure for both the host and guests.

Zhao Hao maintained a very humble attitude throughout, repeating his apologies several times.

During the conversation, the various families in Xinhai were mentioned, with particular praise for the Lin family.

"As expected, they still want to climb onto the big ship of the Lin family." Lin Ran thought to himself.

Before leaving, Zhao Hao took the initiative to exchange contact information with Lin Ran.

Zhao Yanran turned on her communication bracelet and added Lin Ran as a contact.

"This is Zhiweixuan's Supreme Gold Card." Zhao Hao presented a card with both hands.

"Young Master Lin, you can come here often when you have time. Yanran has many tea-making skills that I haven't shown yet."

Lin Ran nodded and accepted: "Thank you for your hospitality, Young Master Zhao."

"Oh? Young Master Lin, you're too kind!"

Zhao Hao got up, escorted Lin Ran to the door, and watched him and Zhao Meng get into the car.

Watching the Bentley Continental drive out of the alley, Zhao Yanran dropped her sweet expression and crossed her arms.

"Brother, why won't you let me deliver it?"

"You can't rush things." Zhao Hao shook his head: "You just met him today, and if you're already throwing yourself at him, it'll make you seem cheap."

Zhao Yanran pouted, "Okay, this is such a hassle!"

"Don't find it troublesome," Zhao Hao corrected. "This Lin Ran is no simple man. If you can become his woman in the future, the Zhao family will definitely benefit as well."

"Is she really that good?" Zhao Yanran asked with a hint of doubt. "She's just okay looking; I haven't seen anything else about her."

Zhao Hao looked in the direction the car had disappeared, his tone becoming more serious: "He's a year younger than you, yet he has such ability to handle things; he already surpasses many of his peers."

"Anyone else would have been flattered by such compliments. But he remained impeccably composed throughout. This sense of propriety is not something you should have at your age."

After a brief pause, he continued, "I heard he was just brought back by the Lin family. Without any special training, to have this kind of character is truly remarkable!"

"It's all because you offended them first, otherwise I wouldn't have had to get dragged into this." Zhao Yanran rolled her eyes.

"Do you really think you've been taken advantage of?" Zhao Hao said dismissively. "That's the young master of the Lin family. Countless people would be scrambling to give themselves to him."

"No, not really. It just feels weird." Zhao Yanran pouted.

"I'm not usually the type to please people, but putting on that act today really made me feel awful."

Zhao Hao glanced at her and said in a deep voice, "Then learn to change your personality!"

"I know." Zhao Yanran snorted through her nose, still seemingly somewhat resentful.

The Bentley Continental came to a stop in front of the Lin family villa. Lin Ran got out of the car, and Zhao Meng leaned out of the window and waved to him.

Lin Ran nodded, turned around, and pushed open the door.

He went upstairs to get his backpack, came down, and walked towards the door.

Seeing this, Song Yishu couldn't help but scold, "Can't you take a day off?"

"Time waits for no one." Lin Ran didn't even turn his head.

"You're so mature for your age..."

Halfway through her sentence, her mood suddenly plummeted: "It's all my fault for not taking good care of you back then, making you suffer so much..."

Lin Ran's lips twitched, and he quickly waved his hand, interrupting, "No, I just want to become stronger as quickly as possible, it's not as complicated as you think. Goodbye!"

After saying that, he opened the door and his figure quickly disappeared into the night.

We didn't encounter that giant octopus again today; the hunt went relatively smoothly.

More than three hours later, Lin Ran had accumulated sixty-four third-order crystal cores and five fourth-order crystal cores.

Adding the remaining crystal cores, there are just enough to form a spirit gathering array with 72 third-tier crystal cores and a spirit gathering array with 9 fourth-tier crystal cores.

Back in his room, he immediately set up a formation and sat down cross-legged.

The cultivation technique was activated, and rich spiritual energy surged into the Xuanhuang Cauldron.

The array with seventy-two crystal cores has twice the effect of gathering spiritual energy compared to the array with thirty-six crystal cores.

It far exceeded the limit of what he could currently absorb.

Practicing in such a spiritually rich environment made him feel somewhat lightheaded.

With all seventy-two crystal cores exhausted, he had reached the pinnacle of Qi refining.

To be on the safe side, he used nine fourth-order crystal cores to set up a very simple spirit-gathering array to further strengthen the spiritual power within the body.

The vortex of energy in his dantian began to condense into spiritual liquid, and he was only one step away from the Foundation Establishment stage.