Chapter 45

The days at home passed in a rush.

It was the nineteenth day of the sixth lunar month, early morning.

From a single building in the Yuxiang Jiayuan community emerged a tall, slender figure.

“Finally, clear weather.”

Lu Ran tilted his head, gazing at the bright sun overhead, squinting involuntarily.

Today was the day of lifting the lockdown, meaning the disaster had passed.

But the effects of the demonic invasion still plagued this world and could not vanish overnight.

Clearly visible was the fact that every survivor was working hard to dispel the gloom.

Lu Ran stood merely at the entrance of the building and saw several people walking, walking dogs, or playing with birds.

When he stepped out of the community and reached the breakfast shop, he saw an even livelier scene.

Yuxiang City,

this small county town with few inhabitants, radiated a unique vitality on this day after the calamity.

In front of this tiny steamed bun shop,

people striving to live smiled and greeted one another.

The laughter of children, the chatter and banter of diners, and the vendor’s calls as he delivered dishes

blended with the steaming bamboo steamers to form a uniquely warm scene.

The Yanhuo of human life most soothes the heart.

The fifteenth night seemed never to have come.

Yet these people, even those striving a little too hard, conveyed a message:

The fifteenth had come,

the fifteenth, was over.

“Boss, two layers of xiaolongbao, one cup of soy milk, to go,” Lu Ran said, stepping up to the steamers.

“Got it~”

The steam from the steamers rose thickly, swirling in white mist, nearly triggering Lu Ran’s instinctive reaction to begin cultivation on the spot.

There was no helping it—this mist resembled divine energy too closely.

“Two layers of xiaolongbao, one cup of soy milk, and I’ll throw in a tea egg for you, kid, take it,” said the boss, a middle-aged man with a slight paunch, smiling warmly as he handed over a plastic bag.

“No no, I’ll pay,” Lu Ran said, scanning the code with his phone.

“It’s on me, take it,” the boss grinned, his face earnest. “Next month’s fifteenth, kill a few more demons.”

Lu Ran hesitated a moment, then smiled and accepted the breakfast.

His identity as a believer was not hard to guess.

Statistically, among those aged seventeen and above, seven out of ten were believers.

Not to mention the faint mist swirling around Lu Ran’s body.

No one thought Lu Ran was showing off, because believers who trained hard were everywhere!

The social atmosphere was like this—everyone was fighting to survive.

Ordinary people did so,

and divine believers had to give even more.

“Thank you,” Lu Ran said his farewell and walked off, pulling a xiaolongbao from the plastic bag and shoving it into his mouth.

The streets bustled with people; behind him, the shop remained noisy and lively.

This scene, perhaps, was a microcosm of the entire Yuxiang City.

Regarding his hometown, Lu Ran could find many flaws.

For instance, it was small and old, not prosperous; or that it rained constantly, leaving people gloomy.

But Lu Ran’s reasons for loving it were simple.

It could be the unique memories of growing up here.

It could be the Wuli River, rolling through the town.

Or it could be a steaming tea egg in the morning.

“A bit too dry,” Lu Ran quickly picked up his soy milk cup and took a big sip.

Ah, much better~

“Buzz!”

His pocket vibrated; Lu Ran immediately pulled out his phone.

Opening the four-person group chat, he found a message from Jiang Meiren.

Jiang: “Report to school at eight. Don’t forget.”

Lu Ran looked at Jiang Meiren’s pretty profile picture and unconsciously smiled.

Beautiful things truly lifted the spirit.

Tian Tian: “Sister Ruyi, I’ve finished eating and am on my way to school.”

“Jiang” patted “Tian Tian”

Lu Ran raised an eyebrow and immediately tapped his screen to reply.

Ran: “Oh.”

Lu Ran stared at his phone screen, waiting a long while, but Jiang Meiren didn’t respond.

Just as he was about to type again, his phone vibrated once.

“Deng Yu Tang” patted “Ran”

Lu Ran: “.”

It was a WeChat group—why did it suddenly feel like browsing a forum?

Someone was even helping him save face!

“Tian Tian” patted “Ran”

Seeing this, Lu Ran couldn’t help but chuckle.

You little brat, patting me now? Can you even reach my head?

Lu Ran tapped back at both their profile pictures, then put his phone away and continued eating his xiaolongbao.

Today was return-to-school day; the school would release rankings and reorganize teams based on each group’s performance and students’ traits.

Lu Ran’s Team 98 should remain unchanged.

After all, all four members had no intention of switching partners—they worked well together and got along harmoniously.

Half an hour later, having long finished breakfast, Lu Ran arrived at the gates of No. 1 High School.

As expected, the sides of the gate were packed with people.

Coincidentally, Lu Ran immediately spotted a familiar figure—Tian Tian.

She was petite, standing outside the crowd, clearly eager to see the rankings but unable to push through.

As Lu Ran walked over, he saw Tian Tian tiptoeing, holding her phone high, trying to photograph the main leaderboard.

“I’ll help you.”

The sudden voice startled Tian Tian.

She turned her head, barely recognizing the person before her phone was snatched away.

Lu Ran was 1.77 meters tall—not exceptionally tall, but high enough to photograph the leaderboard.

“Click~”

With the shutter sound, Lu Ran lowered his phone and stared at the photo, his eyes lighting up!

“Let me see,” Tian Tian whispered, tugging gently at Lu Ran’s sleeve.

“Haha, we made it!”

Lu Ran beamed with excitement, handing the phone back to the girl. Too thrilled, he absentmindedly ruffled Tian Tian’s hair.

Honestly, if his teammate had been Jiang Meiren instead of Tian Tian,

Lu Ran would’ve seized the chance to hug her and lift her up.

“Wow!” Tian Tian gasped, forgetting to be shy, her face glowing with joy.

On the fifteenth day of the sixth lunar month, the first city-defense mission of Yuxiang No. 1 High School: team rankings:

“First place, Team No. 98!

Members: Senior 2 Class 4, Jiang Ruyi; Senior 2 Class 4, Lu Ran; Senior 2 Class 4, Deng Yu Tang; Senior 2 Class 7, Tian Tian.

Comprehensive mission score: 80.5.

All members gain +10 believer points!”

Amid their joy, murmurs never ceased.

“Again them? Again Team 98!”

“Obviously—Jiang Meiren leads, how could they not be strong? And they’ve got a little lamb hidden in their team!”

“How do you talk about my Ran Brother? Is he a little lamb? My Ran Brother’s a big, big, BIG lamb leg!”

“Wait, wasn’t Wu Banzhang in Team 98? Why’s he replaced?”

“He’s with Ma Tianchuan’s team—Team 17, ranked fourth!”

“Hahahaha! First place isn’t scary—it’s the missing one who’s embarrassed!”

Amid the buzzing chatter, Tian Tian clenched her tiny fist and looked up at Lu Ran.

She didn’t think her own performance was particularly outstanding; the team’s achievement was due entirely to the person beside her.

Lu Ran’s expression was strange as he stared at the fourth-ranked team on his phone screen.

Wu Shanshan was right there on the list!

Yet Lu Ran’s emotions remained largely unchanged.

After all, in the city defense mission, where the demons appeared and their cultivation levels were highly uncertain.

For new believers, simply surviving was already considered a success.

A single mission’s performance meant nothing, so—

Lu Ran pressed his lips together.

One lead was far from enough.

It had to be repeated, again and again!

Hehe, that’s settled then!

Lu Ran strode toward the other side of the school gate, Tian Tian fell silent and hurried after him.

Compared to the left side of the gate, this side was much noisier.

“Damn, they said becoming a believer would shake up the rankings, but this is a total mess!”

“Gao Zhonglin’s second? The Greedy Wolf believers are really fierce—they really know how to hoard points!”

“The top spot’s still the lamb! How’s that? Is the lamb greedier than the wolf?”

“This is insane! Is the Xiang Xianyang sect really this powerful? One time was luck, but not again, right?”

“Powerful my ass! Have you ever seen a lamb make a name for himself? It’s just that Lu Ran’s kid is damn weird!”

“Yeah, I rode the same bus with him—he came back with his clothes and pants torn to shreds, nearly beaten to death by demons!”

“Holy shit! Seriously? Even if his pants were shredded, didn’t he change them?”

Behind the slightly chaotic crowd, Lu Ran held up his phone, staring at the red leaderboard, hesitating to press the shutter button.

Tian Tian bounced on her toes in agitation, while Lu Ran stared blankly at his phone, his heart bursting with joy.

On the fifteenth day of the sixth lunar month, the first city defense mission at Yuxiang No. 1 High School: individual rankings as follows:

First place, Grade 11 Class 4, Lu Ran—91.2 points, Xiang Xianyang believer. Believer points +10!

Second place, Grade 11 Class 11, Gao Zhonglin—73.7 points, Greedy Wolf believer. Believer points +8!

Third place, Grade 11 Class 4, Jiang Ruyi—72.1 points, Yu Fu believer. Believer points +8!

“Everyone, quiet down! Congratulations to Jiang Meiren for returning to the top three of the grade!”

“Shut up! Loyal followers, step back! Get behind the nice guy!”

“You’re a girl—why are you talking like that? Is that guy behind you Lu Ran?”

“Lu Ran? Where?”

The crowd turned in unison to look back.

Lu Ran, lost in his joy, hadn’t yet realized the gravity of the situation.

“Bro Lu is awesome!”

“First again! Two in a row!”

“Congratulations!” Waves of praise washed over him, making Lu Ran grin widely.

Just a moment ago you called me little lamb, but now that you see me, you call me Bro Lu?

“How’d you get this score? How many demons did you kill?”

“I heard your pants got torn to shreds by demons?”

Lu Ran: “.”

“Say something!”

“You don’t get it—real masters don’t talk! Bro Lu, are you adjusting your team again? Need members?”

“How the hell did you score this? No one’s ever broken 90 in history!”

“Yeah,” Lu Ran finally spoke, “it’s bizarre.”

At this, the crowd perked up instantly.

Was the score wrong?

“I told you—the score must be wrong! Did they misrecord it?”

“Right! It’s the fifteenth night—what could a Mist Realm believer possibly achieve? How could he score this high?”

“Lu Ran, are you sure the score’s incorrect?”

Under the crowd’s intensely expectant gazes, Lu Ran nodded:

“It’s definitely off—where did my 8.8 points go?”

“The Second Bloom”

Instantly, the crowd fell silent.

Looking around, every different face bore the same expression.

They were all fucking question marks!

After a brief silence, someone somewhere shouted, “Beat him!”

Lu Ran spun around and ran!

Tian Tian stood with her mouth open, watching the immortal mist swirl beneath Lu Ran’s feet as he vanished into the school gate in a flash.

Only after Lu Ran disappeared from sight did Tian Tian whisper weakly:

“My phone… my phone…”

(End of Chapter)