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

Lin Ran exerted force with his feet, his whole body turning into a blur, and instantly threw a punch at him.

With its sudden contraction, Tatong Holdings could only maintain a defensive posture and had no time to make any other reactions.

Bang!

Lin Ran dodged the flaming blade and punched him in the chest.

"puff!"

Sun Jinghuan spat out blood and flew backward. His flaming blade went out in mid-air, and his arms hung limply at his sides.

Bang!

His back slammed into the metal pillar at the edge of the ring with a dull thud.

Then his body slid down the pillar, lay on the ground, and spat out another mouthful of blood.

"puff!"

The audience erupted in chaos.

"How is this possible? He only used one move!"

"Are F-rank strength-type talents really that strong? Did I awaken a fake talent?"

"He was already very strong before he awakened his full power; you forgot how he sent Zhao Meng flying with a single punch?"

"But this is too exaggerated. Sun Jinghuan is at the Opening Aperture Realm, and he was knocked out of breath with just one move. Last time in the arena, at least he could fight back."

"Haven't you figured it out yet? In the previous two encounters, Lin Ran was clearly toying with him."

Qin Hanzhong's pupils suddenly contracted, and he rushed onto the stage in one stride.

He crouched down and lifted Sun Jinghuan's training uniform, revealing a dark red fist mark on his chest that was spreading at a visible speed.

He reached out and pressed twice on Sun Jinghuan's ribs, and Sun Jinghuan let out a suppressed groan.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness..." Qin Hanzhong breathed a sigh of relief and turned to shout to the audience, "Students from the medical department, come up and help stabilize his condition."

A girl ran quickly onto the stage, placed her hands on Sun Jinghuan's chest, and a pale green healing light seeped from her palms.

Sun Jinghuan's breathing became slightly more steady, but his face remained deathly pale.

Qin Hanzhong stood up, turned to Lin Ran, and said solemnly, "You went too far this time. If you had used any more force, you might have killed him."

"I know." Lin Ran shrugged. "That's why I held back and didn't kill him."

His tone was relaxed, but the unspoken message was chilling.

To be able to easily bring a martial artist at the Tongqiao Realm to the brink of death while ensuring that the other party does not die—that requires incredibly precise control.

Qin Hanzhong knew he couldn't do it, given his limited inner energy cultivation.

The Innate Realm might be possible, but the specifics are unknown.

A complex look flashed in his eyes: "In a duel on the ring, one shouldn't use such force."

Hearing this, Lin Ran nodded: "No problem, I'll be careful next time."

He would settle accounts slowly and wouldn't let Sun Jinghuan go to see the original owner so easily.

We should at least wait until after the martial arts exam to use it to rack up points.

Today's punch was just to collect some interest.

Sun Jinghuan's injuries have stabilized for the time being, and he was helped off the stage by two classmates.

Qin Hanzhong told him to go to the medical room immediately for further examination, and he nodded in agreement.

As he reached the locker room door, he turned back and glanced at Lin Ran.

His eyes were filled with resentment and malice.

Lin Ran met that gaze, raised an eyebrow, and returned a playful smile.

Zhao Meng walked over, his expression already somewhat numb: "Brother Ran, shouldn't I thank you for sparing my life back then?"

"We're all friends, no need to be so polite." Lin Ran waved his hand.

Bai Ruolin walked over from the side, her gaze sweeping over Lin Ran: "Have you broken through to a higher level?"

"Is it that obvious?" Lin Ran asked with a smug look on his face.

He did indeed break through, but his level of achievement was different from what others imagined.

"When you attacked Sun Jinghuan before, you controlled your strength, but it was never as precise as it was today."

Bai Ruolin solemnly analyzed, "If you had used this kind of force before, you might have accidentally killed someone if you hadn't controlled it properly!"

"That won't do." Lin Ran shook his head gently: "Keeping him is still useful."

"So, what level are you at?" Bai Ruolin's tone became increasingly serious.

Lin Ran feigned mystery, beckoning with his finger: "Come closer, I'll tell you in a secret."

Seeing this, Bai Ruolin looked suspicious, hesitated for a moment, and then took a step forward.

Just then, Chu Xining stepped in from the side, blocking the two: "Brother Lin Ran, you didn't even tell me!"

Lin Ran chuckled awkwardly and made up a story: "I guess I should be considered to be in the Inner Breath Realm now."

He certainly couldn't claim to have extraordinary strength; revealing his trump card would be something only a fool would do.

If you bring up things like body tempering or opening the meridians, no one will believe you.

He directly stated that he was at the Inner Breath Realm, which would be a good way to alert the enemy.

An eighteen-year-old at the Inner Breath Realm would be considered a genius even in Xinhai.

Those who don't want the Lin family to have an easy time, including the forces behind Lin Haozhe and the Sun family, will definitely be unable to contain themselves upon hearing this news.

Even if he had the feat of killing a Xiantian martial artist, people would only think that he might have some kind of killer move that could deal with a Xiantian realm expert.

It's impossible to imagine that an eighteen-year-old boy would already possess extraordinary combat power, and even have the means to deal with martial artists in the Profound Realm.

In this way, it would both speed up the actions of those people and give Lin Ran some room to maneuver.

If someone from the Transcendent Realm comes, it's a free kill; if someone from the Profound Realm comes, they might just get caught off guard and fail miserably.

The plan is in place.

Zhao Meng looked slightly puzzled: "What does it mean to be considered at the Inner Breath Realm?"

"My strength has reached the Inner Breath Realm, but the detection equipment can't recognize it," Lin Ran said calmly. "So I can only say that I'm at the Inner Breath Realm."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Meng was startled: "So, you were already at the Qi Opening Realm before you even awakened?"

"You can understand it that way too," Lin Ran said, feigning arrogance.

Zhao Meng was stunned for a while, then slumped his shoulders: "No wonder you were able to send me flying with one punch back then. I thought I was just too weak, but it turns out your level was simply far superior to mine."

"So, the Lin family really does possess a cultivation technique that allows ordinary people to practice?" Bai Ruolin asked thoughtfully. "But wait, you hadn't returned to the Lin family yet. Could it be...?"

"That's right!" Lin Ran said seriously, "Back then, I fell off a cliff and miraculously survived. By a stroke of luck, I found an ancient martial arts manual, which allowed me to cultivate martial arts as an ordinary person."

Chu Xining blinked, then asked in confusion, "Didn't you say last time that you were lying to me about falling off the cliff?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Ruolin rolled her eyes at her: "He's lying to you now too!"

Zhao Meng quickly suppressed his excitement, his tone filled with regret: "I thought it was true, what a disappointment."

"However..." Bai Ruolin changed the subject, "Falling off the cliff was a lie, the ancient martial arts technique was the real story, wasn't it?"

Lin Ran thought to himself that this woman's intuition was indeed sharp.

His half-truths and half-lies are either completely believed by most people or completely disbelieved.

Bai Ruolin was the only one who could directly extract key information from it.

He shook his head, a playful smile on his face: "Why couldn't it be that the Lin family developed a potion that could instantly make ordinary people stronger?"

"Isn't that what gene therapy is?" Bai Ruolin retorted.

Lin Ran looked helpless: "Girls who are too smart aren't popular."

"Oh..." Bai Ruolin drawled, her gaze falling on Chu Xining: "So you like girls who are a little slow-witted."

Chu Xining frowned: "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Hehe..." Bai Ruolin withdrew her gaze, her tone flat: "As expected."

Just then, a pretty girl walked in from the entrance of the training hall.

Her gaze swept around the hall, accurately locking onto Lin Ran's location, and then she strode towards him.

"Young Master Lin!" The pretty girl waved to Lin Ran.

Zhao Meng was taken aback: "Sister Yanran, what brings you here?"

"I don't have classes this afternoon, so I came to visit your school," Zhao Yanran said, looking at Lin Ran. "I'd also like to invite you to lunch, Young Master Lin."