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

Lin Ran raised his hand: "Can I get a word in edgewise?"

"This is a battle between women." Chu Xining took a deep breath, tilted her head back, and straightened her chest.

Zhao Yanran smiled at Lin Ran: "Don't worry, Young Master Lin, I won't bully her."

Her confident demeanor only fueled Chu Xining's resentment.

Lin Ran pointed to the untouched plate of truffle-baked lobster in front of them: "Didn't we come here to eat? Are you going to eat or not?"

These words surprised the women slightly.

Zhao Meng couldn't help but secretly give him a thumbs up, thinking to himself, "It has to be you, Ran-ge! The two women were almost fighting because of you, and you were still thinking about whether to eat or not."

He wasn't Lin Ran and didn't know what Lin Ran was thinking.

As a cultivator, Lin Ran should have transcended worldly affairs and devoted himself to the Dao.

Unfortunately, he kept getting involved in trouble, so he had no choice but to act closer to Chu Xining.

The current situation is partly due to targeting Sun Jinghuan, and partly because she genuinely doesn't want the original owner's childhood sweetheart to marry someone she doesn't like.

As for Bai Ruolin and Zhao Yanran, Lin Ran really hadn't thought about it too deeply.

He might make a few flirtatious remarks, but that's just a normal man's little quirk.

He cultivates the "Myriad Treasures Forging Spirit Technique," not some kind of dual cultivation method, so he wouldn't go so far as to take in every single one he sees.

Upon learning of Lin Ran's thoughts, the Xuan Chen Lord within his sea of ​​consciousness suddenly spoke up: "Dual cultivation techniques? I have them. If you want, I can teach them to you."

"What?" Lin Ran paused for a moment while picking up food with his chopsticks, then resumed his normal movements.

The Lord of Xuan Chen feigned profundity: "How about the 'Inverted Phoenix Yin-Yang Harmony Technique'? Want it?"

"Such a long name?" Lin Ran changed the subject.

Lord Xuan Chen said smugly, "Not bad! Doesn't it sound impressive just from the name?"

"Can't we just call it 'The Upside-Down Phoenix Technique' or 'The Yin-Yang Harmony Technique'?" Lin Ran couldn't help but roll his eyes inwardly.

Lord Xuan Chen hesitated for a moment: "Ahem... it's not impossible."

"So you just picked that name randomly?"

"Just tell me if you want it or not?"

Lin Ran ultimately couldn't bring himself to say, "We'll talk about the future later."

"Hypocritical!" Lord Xuan Chen snorted.

"I can't be bothered with you!"

The meal ended in a subtly awkward atmosphere.

When Chu Xining left Zhiweixuan, she deliberately stood between Lin Ran and Zhao Yanran, creating a safe distance between them.

Zhao Yanran didn't mind and looked at Lin Ran, saying, "How about I take Young Master Lin home?"

"I don't need you to take me!" Chu Xining shielded Lin Ran behind her like a cat guarding its food. "Brother Lin Ran, take my car home!"

Bai Ruolin didn't interfere in their argument any further. Chong Linran waved his hand, turned around, and got into the car.

Seeing Lin Ran being pulled into the Chu family's car by Chu Xining, Zhao Yanran looked slightly disappointed.

"Goodbye, Young Master Lin. I'll ask you out alone next time!" She waved to Lin Ran, not forgetting to provoke Chu Xining.

In the back seat of the Maybach, Chu Xining, arm in arm with Lin Ran, said to the driver, "Let's go! Let's go quickly!"

She acted as if if she lingered for even a second longer, her Lin Ran brother would be snatched away.

The car drove out of the old town and onto the overpass.

Night had fallen completely, and the glow of the streetlights flashed across the car window.

Chu Xining leaned back in her seat, muttering, "That Zhao Yanran is so shameless! We just met once, and she actually followed me to school!"

"From this perspective, she and you are quite similar," Lin Ran said with a playful smile.

Chu Xining had pursued him from Xinhai No. 3 Middle School to Xinhai No. 1 Middle School without considering her own reputation or pride.

However, Chu Xining pursued Lin Ran purely out of affection, while Zhao Yanran's pursuit was clearly mixed with self-interest.

Chu Xining sat up straight and pouted, "How are you similar? I'm much cuter than her!"

"Hahaha..." Lin Ran laughed, "Alright, alright, you're way cuter than her! You're the cutest person in the world!"

"Is Zhao Yanran coming to school again tomorrow?"

"How would I know?" Lin Ran shrugged.

Chu Xining said seriously, "If she comes again, you're not allowed to talk to her!"

"Am I supposed to pretend to be mute?"

"Just pretend you didn't hear that!"

"Does that mean you're pretending to be deaf?"

Chu Xining pouted, reached out and tugged at his sleeve, and said coquettishly, "Anyway, you're not allowed to pay attention to her."

"You can't pay attention to her, you can only pay attention to you, right?" Lin Ran said with a playful smile.

"Hmph! I'm not like her!" Chu Xining raised her neck.

Lin Ran raised an eyebrow: "How is it different?"

"She's only getting close to you to curry favor with the Lin family, but I'm different!"

Chu Xining said solemnly, "I only care about Brother Lin Ran. Even if Brother Lin Ran weren't the young master of the Lin family, my feelings wouldn't change!"

It has to be said that the little green plum, who is good at making direct moves, is quite endearing.

Lin Ran raised his hand and ruffled her hair: "I didn't expect you to be so clever."

"Ugh!" Chu Xining feigned displeasure. "I told you not to touch my head!"

The car slowly stopped in front of the Lin family villa, and Lin Ran got out of the car.

Chu Xining leaned out of the car window: "Brother Lin Ran, can I bring you cookies again tomorrow?"

"Okay, but you have to make it look nice, otherwise I won't eat it!" Lin Ran said with a playful smile.

"Okay! Don't worry!" Chu Xining waved her hand, "Goodbye, Brother Lin Ran!"

Lin Ran waved to her and said, "See you tomorrow."

The Maybach's taillights gradually disappeared into the night. Lin Ran stood at the door watching her leave, then pushed open the door and went upstairs to get his backpack.

His door had been replaced, and the key was still in the lock, presumably to remind him not to set up any formations in the room.

However, Lin Ran did not intend to accept the proposal, and he wanted to set up a more stable formation.

A formation set up with a first-tier crystal core can withstand a blow from a Xiantian martial artist, but what about a fourth-tier crystal core?

At the time, I only wanted to protect ordinary people, so I casually set up four first-order crystal cores. What if I set up a Four Symbols Spirit Locking Array with twenty-eight third-order crystal cores this time?

When I have more money in the future, I can set up a defensive formation for the entire villa, making it absolutely rock solid.

But before that, we need to complete today's hunting plan first.

I changed into a black tracksuit, grabbed my backpack, and turned to leave.

After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, he went into the sea for the first time and clearly felt that the resistance in the water was less, and his speed was several times faster than during the Qi Refining stage.

He used to worry about the water-avoidance spell consuming his spiritual energy, but now he feels like he can stay in the water forever.

The spiritual energy that the Ninth-Grade Golden Lotus automatically replenished far exceeded the consumption of the Water-Avoiding Technique.

Instead of rushing to hunt down the third and fourth mutated beasts, he swam into deeper waters first.

Foundation Establishment is equivalent to the Transcendent Realm, and also corresponds to a fifth-order mutated creature.

Back when he was still a Qi Refining cultivator, he was able to kill fifth-order mutated creatures on land. Now that he has entered the Foundation Establishment stage, he naturally wants to test his effectiveness in killing enemies underwater.

The light in the deep sea is much dimmer and the visibility is much lower than in the reef area, but these factors do not affect Lin Ran, who possesses the ability to see into the sky.

He stopped above a sandy area overgrown with seaweed, channeled his spiritual energy into his eyes, and his vision suddenly brightened.

A dark shadowy figure, over ten meters long, lay lurking in the seaweed not far away. It resembled a flattened snake with a barb sticking out from its back.

It was a fifth-order bone-spiky sea serpent.

Lin Ran concealed his presence and quietly approached.

The sea serpent remained hidden in the seaweed, its eyes fixed on the mutated fish swimming past, ready to attack at any moment.

As he drew near, Lin Ran drew his long sword, and the sea serpent finally noticed his presence.

Less than ten meters away, the sea snake suddenly turned its head, its yellow vertical pupils locking onto Lin Ran. It raised its upper body and let out a hiss.

"Hiss hiss hiss..."

As it moved, the bone spikes stood up one by one, trembling slightly in the water and emitting a faint buzzing sound.