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

Lin Ran frowned slightly and speculated, "It seems that there is some kind of constraint on Blue Star. Martial artists cannot break through to the Martial Saint realm, and eighth-order mutated creatures cannot take human form."

Thinking of this, Lin Ran secretly felt lucky.

If the eighth-order mutated creatures on Earth could take human form, he probably would have been killed before he even noticed them!

"Once I have mastered my cultivation, I will definitely take your crystal core to use for my own cultivation."

He sat up cross-legged, activated the Rejuvenation Technique to recuperate, and after feeling that he could move freely, he used an Earth Escape Technique to return to the Lin family.

One seventh-tier mutated beast was already troublesome enough, but now an eighth-tier one has appeared, possessing the ability to imprison others. It's practically impossible for them to survive.

This area of ​​water is definitely not a place we can visit again anytime soon.

Even if it takes more time, we can only go to more distant sea areas.

No matter how precious time is, it is not as precious as your own life.

It was already past midnight when they returned to the Lin family home.

Lin Ran put his backpack on the side of the bed, lay down on the bed, and then cast a few more Rejuvenation Spells on himself.

Feeling that his injuries had recovered by about 70-80%, he got up, took out the crystal core, and prepared to set up the spirit-gathering array.

No matter how serious the injury, it cannot delay one's spiritual practice.

One hundred and eighty third-order crystal cores were spread out along the base of the array, and the array patterns lit up with a pale golden light in the dim room.

Lin Ran sat down cross-legged, about to activate his cultivation technique, when he caught a glimpse of the wooden box placed on the bedside table.

"I almost forgot."

He stopped what he was doing, reached into the wooden box, opened it, and took out the ancient sword inside.

"How should this ritual implement be nurtured and cared for?"

The voice of the Lord of Xuan Chen echoed softly: "Just like when you refine a treasure, by continuously infusing it with spiritual power, you can naturally nurture the magical artifact."

Lin Ran placed his hands on the sword and channeled his spiritual energy into it.

At first, the sword did not react at all; the spiritual energy poured in was like a stone sinking into the sea, without even a splash.

After about fifteen minutes, the rust on the sword began to peel off, revealing the silver-white blade beneath the grayish-brown rust layer.

The rusted areas gleamed with a faint, cold light, and the rust marks slowly healed under the influence of spiritual energy.

Another half hour later, the entire sword looked brand new.

The sword was entirely silver-white, gleaming faintly in the dim room.

The Yazi pattern on the sword guard has also been restored to its original appearance, with a somewhat ferocious look.

Only the silk cord on the hilt remained dull and lifeless, but fortunately, it didn't look as rotten as before.

Lin Ran raised his sword, ran his left hand over the blade, and examined it against the light.

The blade exudes a chilling aura, and one can feel a layer of spiritual energy flowing through its surface at their fingertips.

Upon closer inspection, two characters are engraved above the sword guard: "惊鸿" (Jinghong).

"So this sword is called Jinghong," Lin Ran murmured. "The name is not bad, but I wonder how powerful it is."

Lord Xuan Chen replied, "Why don't we go out and give it a try?"

Lin Ran was slightly tempted, but in the end shook his head: "Never mind, cultivation is the most important thing."

For the next few days, Lin Ran spent his time cultivating, attending classes, and fighting Lin Haozhe.

Aside from needing to move to a more distant sea area to hunt mutated creatures, nothing else has changed.

Spending an extra half hour commuting each day didn't significantly reduce the yield of crystal nuclei.

Because Lin Ran optimized his hunting strategy, he was able to occasionally hunt down one or two fifth-tier mutated creatures, and his cultivation progress steadily improved.

After being beaten for more than ten days, Lin Haozhe finally couldn't help but privately approach Qin Hanzhong and express his desire to switch groups.

As a result, Qin Hanzhong refused on the spot.

"With Lin Ran's strength, he can crush anyone he faces." Qin Hanzhong put his hands behind his back and glanced at Lin Haozhe.

"He has a grudge against Sun Jinghuan, that's why he wants to separate them. But you two are brothers, and he won't kill you, so what are you afraid of?"

Hearing this obvious reason, Lin Haozhe felt extremely frustrated.

He couldn't very well say that he also had a grudge against Lin Ran, and that Lin Ran had been deliberately seeking revenge these past few days.

Wouldn't that expose him directly?

After much deliberation, he could only complain, "But I get beaten up by him for half an hour every day! Even in normal fights, it's not like that!"

Qin Hanzhong dismissed this as a trivial matter: "As a martial artist, don't you even have this much resilience?"

"How can that be the same?" Lin Haozhe was speechless.

"How is it different?" Qin Hanzhong said seriously, "If you can't even endure this level of hardship, how will you go to the battlefield in the future?"

"But going to the battlefield doesn't mean you'll always be getting beaten up..."

Lin Haozhe wanted to argue, but Qin Hanzhong interrupted him: "Then you should work hard to improve yourself. When you are able to defeat him, you will naturally not need to be beaten anymore."

Hearing these remarks, Lin Haozhe was completely bewildered.

He looked somewhat lost and dejected when he left the instructor's office.

On Friday afternoon, after the practical training class ended, Lin Ran had just stepped down from the arena when Chu Xining jogged up to greet him.

She tiptoed, put her hands behind her back, and couldn't suppress the smile on her lips.

"Brother Lin Ran, tomorrow is my birthday. My parents are throwing me a birthday party at the Xinhai International Hotel, you have to come!"

"Birthday?" Lin Ran was slightly lost in thought. "Yes, I know."

They were both orphans and didn't know each other's birthdays.

He wouldn't have thought of this if Chu Xining hadn't mentioned it.

Chu Xining still seemed a little uneasy: "You absolutely must come tomorrow night at seven!"

"Okay, I'll go." Lin Ran nodded.

It seems I need to prepare a gift for this girl.

Chu Xining glanced at Sun Jinghuan not far away and lowered her voice, "The Sun family will definitely be here too, you absolutely have to help me!"

"How else can I help?" Lin Ran's lips curled into a slight smile. "I can't exactly beat him up at your birthday party, can I?"

Chu Xining's eyes lit up: "Is that okay?"

Seeing this, Lin Ran reached out and ruffled her hair, smiling, "What are you thinking about?"

Chu Xining stuck out her tongue: "Fine, then you absolutely have to dress smartly and outshine him!"

"Don't worry, as long as I stand there, he won't stand out at all," Lin Ran said, feigning arrogance.

"Mmm! Brother Lin Ran is the most handsome!"

Saturday evening, Guanlan Hall, Xinhai International Hotel.

The entire corridor on the floor was covered with a new red carpet, and flower baskets were placed on both sides.

Chu Mingyuan and Shen Rujun stood in front of the reception desk, one exchanging pleasantries with business partners, and the other chatting with the wives of officials.

Guanlan Hall is an arc-shaped hall with three glass curtain walls, facing Xinhai Bay.

The afterglow of the setting sun streamed in through the glass wall on the west, illuminating the crystal chandelier and casting dappled light on the marble floor.

There were more than a dozen round tables in the hall, covered with dark blue tablecloths, and in the center of each table were pale pink hydrangeas in a crystal vase.

Waiters in matching dark blue uniforms moved between tables, serving the guests.

Because the affair between Chu Xining and Lin Ran had become common knowledge, Chu Mingyuan also wanted to take the opportunity to elevate the Chu family's status in Xinhai, so he sent out invitations widely.

Driven by the same desire to join in the fun, every family that was invited flocked to the event.

The Zhao family sent three siblings: Zhao Hao, Zhao Meng, and Zhao Yanran.

Bai Xingzhou from the Bai family also attended the event along with Bai Ruolin.

Zhao Yanran was wearing a light purple halter dress, and her hair was styled in a bun.

After taking his seat, he glanced around as if searching for someone.

Her eyes met Bai Ruolin's in mid-air, she nodded slightly, and then looked away.

Bai Ruolin wore a beige shirt dress, which accentuated her stunning figure.

Seeing Zhao Yanran nod to her, she returned the smile.

Both women were clearly dressed up carefully, subtly suggesting they were going to compete with today's main character.

Chu Xining stood near the entrance of the banquet hall, wearing a light blue strapless dress with tiny sequins on the hem that sparkled like stars under the lights.

Her hair was tied up and secured with a silver hairpin, and her slightly mature makeup couldn't hide her youthful eyes and brows.

As guests entered one after another, she couldn't help but stand on tiptoe and peek outside.

Chu Mingyuan coughed several times to stop her from behaving inappropriately.