Chapter 173

The nineteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Beijing West Station.

The crowd surged at the exit, and a young man in black was mixed among them, holding a pair of blades wrapped in cloth, walking silently.

"Sigh," Lu Ran sighed in his heart.

It was only a short one-hour train ride, but it felt like it had brought him to another world.

From the cold and quiet rainy alley to the bustling capital.

"Brother!" A pleasant female voice came from afar.

Lu Ran looked over, his gaze sweeping across the heavy crowd, and saw a pretty face.

Like Lu Ran, many people looked over.

The young girl stood gracefully, born pretty and lovely, and even smiled like a flower, as if she were not on the same layer as the surrounding travelers.

She seemed accustomed to being the center of attention, her eyes didn't see anyone else, she just kept staring at Lu Ran, waving her hands.

"Hmm," Lu Ran also laughed, unable to help but quicken his pace.

Beautiful things can truly make one feel relaxed and happy.

"My cold brother, you finally decided to see me!"

Qiao Yuanyuan stepped forward and grabbed Lu Ran's arm.

Lu Ran: "..."

He didn't expect that one day, someone would use the word "cold" to describe him.

"Did you bring me anything delicious?" Qiao Yuanyuan tilted her little face, looking at Lu Ran's profile.

While asking this, her hand pressed toward Lu Ran's bulging pocket.

Sure enough, there was something delicious!

Lu Ran: "It's cold."

"It's okay, it's okay." Qiao Yuanyuan was extremely happy, taking a paper box out of Lu Ran's pocket.

The burger from the rainy alley of the small town had the honor of entering the stomach of the capital's young lady, hmm... except for the lettuce.

By the street, inside a black sedan, Guan Yiren looked through the dark car window, watching the brother and sister walk over.

Rarely, the truly cold Master Jian Yi believer showed a faint smile on her face.

Qiao Yuanyuan was usually fond of laughing and making trouble, but Guan Yiren could tell that Little Yuanyuan was genuinely happy at this moment.

"I'll go welcome them," Niu Zhengzheng said, sitting in the passenger seat and turning his head to look at the back seat.

Guan Yiren didn't speak, she continued to look out the window, nodding slightly.

Regarding her teammate's attitude, Niu Zhengzheng was also used to it.

As he opened the door and got out, a young man in the driver's seat looked outside: "This is Lu Ran."

Guan Yiren remained silent, turning a deaf ear.

The young man looked through the car window, sizing up the young man in black who had come to the front of the car, but Niu Zhengzheng was too big, covering him up even more tightly.

"Brother Ran, why have you lost weight again?" Niu Zhengzheng laughed foolishly.

His pair of big hands pressed on Lu Ran's shoulders, pinching them gently, as if measuring the thickness of Lu Ran's shoulders.

Lu Ran looked up at the tower-like strong man and sighed: "You've become even stronger, haven't you?"

Qiao Yuanyuan's little face was puffed up, saying vaguely: "Bullhead can eat a lot."

Lu Ran looked at his sister beside him and laughed: "You're not bad either."

In just a short distance, the burger box in Qiao Yuanyuan's hand was already empty, with only some fried chicken oil dregs left inside.

Qiao Yuanyuan looked at Lu Ran unhappily.

"Ah," she signaled Lu Ran to open his mouth while using her fingers to pick up the sparse oil dregs in the box and reaching toward Lu Ran's mouth.

Lu Ran: "..."

"I heard from Yuanyuan that Brother Ran is already at the River Realm." Niu Zhengzheng looked at Lu Ran with full admiration.

His heart had completely turned around.

Since the last time they trained together, Niu Zhengzheng no longer regarded Lu Ran as a pure Xianyang believer.

But wanted to add a few words in front: The Xianyang believer who rejected the Yan Zhi Ren!

Once the prefix 'Yan Zhi Ren' was added, Lu Ran's aptitude, strength, and other aspects could all be explained.

"Aren't you too?" Lu Ran said casually, eating the oil dregs under his sister's curved smiling eyes.

Over the past few days, Lu Ran had been communicating frequently with his sister via text.

He knew that in this three-person team, Guan Yiren and Niu Zhengzheng had successively advanced to the River Realm.

The two were worthy of being believers of First-rank and Second-rank gods, truly possessing outstanding talent.

In the team, only Little Yuanyuan, the Third-rank god believer, was still at the Stream Realm, Fifth Stage.

With Qiao Yuanyuan at such a stage, Lu Ran wanted her to enter the Night Charm demon cave even less.

However, the Guan-Niu-Qiao trio was a team, and his sister was the team's commander, so it was impossible to leave the team.

"Get in the car!" Qiao Yuanyuan urged. "We'll talk on the way."

The tall and big Niu Zhengzheng naturally got into the passenger seat.

Lu Ran opened the back door and also saw Guan Yiren sitting inside.

In this cold winter month, the capital was also covered in white snow.

However, this Master Jian Yi believer was wearing a white ancient-style long dress, looking quite cold-resistant...

"Morning," Lu Ran greeted.

Guan Yiren had no intention of moving, looking up at Lu Ran: "Long time no see."

"Oh?" Qiao Yuanyuan clicked her tongue in wonder, looking at the Master Jian Yi believer. "Sister Yiren said four words!"

Guan Yiren couldn't help but smile and roll her eyes at Qiao Yuanyuan.

A Master Jian Yi believer might constantly move closer to her own deity, but when facing intimate people beside her, she would still have some expressions.

"Slap."

Qiao Yuanyuan closed the car door and dragged Lu Ran around the back of the car: "I want to sit by the window."

"Don't mess around," Lu Ran opened the car door and pushed Little Yuanyuan in unceremoniously.

"Eh?" Qiao Yuanyuan hurriedly lowered her head, sat on the back seat, and threw her upper body into Guan Yiren's arms.

She pouted her little mouth, turned her head to look at Lu Ran: "So thin, but the strength is not small."

Lu Ran:???

What kind of talk is this!

"Hahahaha!" Niu Zhengzheng laughed loudly. "Brother Ran really should eat more, hahaha!"

Lu Ran felt uncomfortable and sat into the car.

When he cultivated, he truly forgot to eat and sleep.

On the contrary, every time he entered a demon cave to train, he ate a lot and slept more regularly at the stone inn.

"Hmm," Qiao Yuanyuan moved slightly, didn't get up, and simply stayed in Guan Yiren's arms.

Guan Yiren looked at the naughty girl, feeling a bit helpless in her heart.

One hand landed on the side of Qiao Yuanyuan's face, as if punishing her, pinching Little Yuanyuan's earlobe not too lightly or heavily.

"By the way," Qiao Yuanyuan covered her ears with one hand. "This brother is named Xiao Yusong, he is Sister Yiren's... uh."

"Childhood friend," the young man named Xiao Yusong took over the conversation. "Grew up in the same courtyard."

Lu Ran observed this young man through the rearview mirror.

The other party was probably in his early twenties, with medium-long hair, and had a very artistic style.

Qiao Yuanyuan continued: "I heard Sister Yiren was going to the Night Charm demon cave, so he volunteered to protect us."

"Hello," Lu Ran said politely.

Xiao Yusong looked up at the rearview mirror, meeting Lu Ran's burning gaze: "I've heard a lot about you."

"You're too kind," Lu Ran nodded gently.

Xiao Yusong sized Lu Ran up carefully, his gaze not avoiding anything.

The car fell into silence, and after a full seven or eight seconds, Xiao Yusong suddenly spoke: "Good blade."

Lu Ran felt slightly surprised.

The pair of blades in his arms were still wrapped in cloth and had not been shown to anyone.

Lu Ran said: "A gift from my father."

Unexpectedly, Xiao Yusong said: "I was talking about you."

Niu Zhengzheng touched his big head and turned to look at Lu Ran: "I just felt something was wrong, Brother Xiao said so... it really is like that?"

Guan Yiren played with Little Yuanyuan's earlobe, turning her eyes slightly to look at Lu Ran.

After a few months apart, Lu Ran's temperament had indeed undergone a earth-shaking change.

For the believer group, such changes were very common.

Everyone was constantly improving, and the improvement in strength realm would naturally be displayed in a person's "spirit and energy".

"My brother turned into a blade?" Qiao Yuanyuan didn't feel much.

Since seeing Lu Ran, he was still the brother in her impression.

His mouth was still unforgiving, and the doting in his heart for her had not decreased by half.

"Are you a North Wind believer?" Lu Ran asked.

"Not fortunate enough," Xiao Yusong laughed and shook his head, looking quite dashing.

Qiao Yuanyuan's little mouth was fast: "Brother Xiao is a legendary figure!

Back then on the God-Respecting Platform, he respected the First-rank god, Lord Wu Sheng!"

"Oh?" Lu Ran understood his sister's meaning. "Later, you didn't join the Wu Sheng sect?"

Xiao Yusong shook his head: "I am a believer under the Chenying sect."

Lu Ran was startled, what did he hear?

Eighth-rank god, Chenying?

My god, this guy is a rare item?

Chenying was a plant-type deity, appearing as a huge gray-black flower.

On the flower, energy occasionally flowed, revealing shadows of the mortal world.

It could be high mountains and great rivers, it could be a bustling city.

It could be the sun, moon, and stars, or it could be the smoke and fire of the human world, the small alleys and households.

Thus, the folk also called it the "Chenying Flower".

As an Eighth-rank god, Chenying actually dared to snatch believers from the First-rank god, Lord Wu Sheng?

The only possibility was: it was too suitable!

It is worth mentioning that although Chenying ranked eighth, this faction's divine techniques were absolutely top-tier!

Regardless of whether you were a First-rank god believer or a Second-rank god believer, just in terms of value to the Great Xia nation, you really couldn't compare to a believer of the Eighth-rank god, Chenying.

Because a powerful Chenying believer could open a teleportation array!

Such divine techniques had already departed from the ordinary category of strength, they didn't compare with you on output, defense, or auxiliary control.

Instead, from the perspective of "strategic value", they directly achieved overtaking on a curve!

Like the Seventh-rank god, Lietian, there was a special reason for Chenying's low ranking.

Fundamentally, it was because the disciples of the Chenying sect were extremely few.

I don't know if the human constitution was not suitable for being a Chenying believer, or if Chenying itself had extremely high standards for accepting disciples.

In short, the Chenying sect's talent was withering.

And the deity Chenying itself was a relatively neutral existence, preferring to exist as an "observer".

This also led to a bigger problem:

The disciples of the Chenying faction indeed had heaven-reaching means, but only a small portion were used by Great Xia.

More disciples were led astray by the deity and went to be "human-shaped cameras".

It was very... hmm, very bard-like.

"Yuanyuan said you volunteered to protect us," Lu Ran asked. "Do you mind entering the world?"

Xiao Yusong shrugged his shoulders, as dashing as ever.

Worthy of being a tough guy who rejected a First-rank god and "married down" to an Eighth-rank god.

Indeed, he had some personality.

Lu Ran also laughed: "If you are willing to participate in the disputes of the world, then you are a treasure of Great Xia.

Don't protect us anymore, let me protect you instead."

Hearing this, Xiao Yusong couldn't help but look strange.

Even if he had some understanding of Lu Ran, he still couldn't help but laugh secretly.

"Brother, be humble!" Qiao Yuanyuan poked Lu Ran's shoulder. "Brother Xiao doesn't just not mind entering the world, he even participated in 'Tianjiao'!

By the way, Brother, do you know the program Tianjiao?"

This time, it was Lu Ran's turn to look strange.

Just yesterday afternoon, Deng Yuxiang had just called to say that 'Tianjiao' had agreed to Lu Ran participating in this project.

She also laughed and said that Lu Ran's divine weapon, the Xia Guang Blade, had added a lot of points for him.

Lu Ran nodded: "I have heard of it."

"Uh?" Qiao Yuanyuan swallowed all her words back into her stomach. "You actually know?"

Lu Ran: "My teammate's sister, as a representative of Wuliehe University, participated in the internal test."

"Then you also know the gold content, and you still want to protect others!"

While speaking, Qiao Yuanyuan sighed with full heart: "Those who can participate are the most awesome batch of people in the entire younger generation of Great Xia."

Lu Ran looked at Qiao Yuanyuan's longing look and couldn't help but laugh:

"Why don't you ask me if I'm participating?"

"You?" Qiao Yuanyuan looked at Lu Ran. "No matter how powerful you are, you are only at the River Realm, First Stage!

Besides, you are still a high school student, and you don't have a university..."

As she spoke, Qiao Yuanyuan suddenly stopped.

Looking at Lu Ran's doting smiling face, Qiao Yuanyuan opened her little mouth slightly: "You?

You are really participating?

Ah???"

Three chapters today, 12, 18, 22.

(End of chapter)