Chapter 526: Misty Rain, Thousand Boats

"You're also from Deng Yuxiang No. 1 High?" Lu Ran asked, puzzled.

Had he just run into a fellow townsman?

"Lu Xuedi Brother Lu and I are university alumni," Island Master He explained with a smile.

Lu Ran grinned awkwardly. "Who are you trying to fool? When did I ever attend university? Oh, right! I am a university student."

Mid-sentence, Lu Ran suddenly remembered that he was, in fact, the National College Entrance Examination top scorer with excessive value, who later "married down" to Wuliehe University.

The Eight Desolates Annihilation Blade was obtained from Wuliehe University.

Awkward!

Lu Ran scratched his head, inadvertently revealing the appearance typical of a nineteen-year-old.

Actually, this really wasn't Lu Ran's fault.

He had indeed been admitted to Wuliehe University, but he hadn't attended a single class, so speaking of any sense of belonging was out of the question.

From after the college entrance exams until today, Lu Ran had stepped onto the university campus only once.

He fought once, and then gave himself a vacation.

"Hehe~" Island Master He watched the slightly embarrassed Lu Ran; this "pure university student" demeanor actually made him feel somewhat more approachable.

At least it was more reassuring than his solemn expression.

Looking at her junior schoolmates, Island Master He spoke with a bright smile: "During last year's orientation, I personally witnessed Lu Xuedi Brother Lu raging for the sake of a beauty."

Lu Ran: "."

Jiangjiang Ruyi also recalled the past events; she felt no particular embarrassment, instead offering a gentle smile: "May I ask He Xuejie's surname?"

"My humble surname is He, He He Yingcai." Island Master He pressed her palms together and bowed slightly.

He He Yingcai was undoubtedly a Zhi Hai Jing powerhouse!

Yet when facing Lu Ran and Jiangjiang Ruyi, her attitude was humble and polite, leaving an extremely favorable impression.

Jiangjiang Ruyi likewise pressed her palms together: "He Xuejie has reached the Zhi Hai Jing realm at such a young age; it is truly admirable."

He He Yingcai smiled modestly and shook her head gently.

On the Yun Qianzhou Archipelago, He He Yingcai certainly possessed the capital to stand above others.

But when facing Lu Ran and Jiangjiang Ruyi?

The talent He He Yingcai took pride in truly counted for nothing.

Lu Ran asked: "So, is this lake region the headquarters of the Biheyi Sect?"

He He Yingcai turned slightly aside, gazing out at the archipelago: "It is not just our Biheyi Sect; there is also the Tianluan Sect, the Chenghua Sect, and the Jianlian Sect."

"Oh?" Lu Ran was quite surprised.

Second-Rank God · Tianluan!

Third-Rank God · Bihe!

Third-Rank God · Chenghua!

Fourth-Rank God · Jianlian!

With so many divine sects clustered together, wouldn't they really start fighting?

The Tianluan Sect is a support sect, specializing in defense, control, and healing.

The Chenghua Sect, like the Biheyi Sect, excels in both offense and defense.

Such believers are extremely rare in the small city of Deng Yuxiang.

During the years Lu Ran guarded Deng Yuxiang City, he had fortunately witnessed a Chenghua believer only once.

That night, on the fifteenth, coincided with the invasion by the Evil Spear Emperor's clan, which is why Lu Ran remembered it so vividly.

He still remembered snatching the beautiful oil-paper umbrella from a Chenghua disciple, using it as a small boat gliding through the rainy night sky.

Borrowing its force, he slew a Monarch.

As for the Fourth-Rank God · Jianlian, Lu Ran was very familiar with them; his teammate Tian Tian was a Jianlian believer.

He hadn't expected these four sects to have gathered together.

Hmm... come to think of it, it made sense.

This lake is vast as a sea, dotted with islands everywhere; it would be difficult for a single sect's disciples to carve out a territory alone.

"This lake is named Misty Rain Lake," He He Yingcai introduced. "The number of islands upon the lake is extremely large; they are called the Yun Qianzhou Archipelago."

"It is said that over ten years ago, led by the Tianluan Sect, disciples from the four sects jointly established the Yun Qianzhou Alliance here."

He He Yingcai paused briefly before continuing: "Throughout this time, the Biheyi Sect has guarded the north, occupying seven islands, collectively known as the Seven Bihe Islands."

"Nowadays, I am the master of one of those islands."

"Good heavens~" Lu Ran couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. "Just speaking of your Biheyi Sect, are there six other Island Masters at the Zhi Hai Jing realm like He Xuejie?"

He He Yingcai smiled and nodded.

Regardless of whether Lu Ran had been tainted by Lingshan, showing his strength early could save much trouble.

She truly did not wish to cross swords with Lu Ran.

Lu Ran continued: "What about the other three sects? Does each sect also occupy seven islands, with more than seven Zhi Hai Jing experts within their ranks?"

He He Yingcai seemed eager to tell all: "The Chenghua Sect guards the seven islands in the southwest, the Jianlian Sect guards the seven islands in the southeast, and the Tianluan Sect resides in the center, occupying the three central islands."

"All the Island Masters are at the Zhi Hai Jing realm."

"Because of the alliance between the four sects, the Yun Qianzhou Alliance has been able to stand firm here all along."

"Three times seven is twenty-one, plus twenty-four..." Lu Ran muttered, inwardly shocked.

On this Yun Qianzhou Archipelago, there were at least twenty-four Zhi Hai Jing powerhouses!

Note, at least!

One must know that for powerful divine sects like West Desolate and North Wind, the number of Zhi Hai Jing powerhouses in their headquarters is only around twenty.

And this Yun Qianzhou Alliance.

The alliance of four sects was indeed wise; gathered together, they were undoubtedly a top-tier faction, possessing sufficient strength to dominate the Immortal Realm.

If they had fought separately, all four sects would have fallen to the status of mid-tier organizations.

Jiangjiang Ruyi sighed with emotion: "To unite four sects against a common enemy, the Alliance Master of the Yun Qianzhou Alliance is truly no simple figure."

He He Yingcai nodded in strong agreement: "Alliance Master Yun Yun Qianzhou is a disciple of the Sky Luan Sect; as Lu Xuedi Sister knows, most disciples of the Sky Luan Sect are benevolent and saintly healers.

Alliance Master Yun possesses an incredibly high cultivation realm and is kind and virtuous, commanding immense prestige within the alliance."

Jiangjiang Ruyi nodded silently.

Perhaps only the Sky Luan Sect could unite the three sects of Green Lotus, Propping Flower, and Sword Lotus together.

Lu Ran felt a surge of emotions: "With He Xuejie leaning on such a massive tree, she can certainly rest easy."

He He Yingcai, however, shook her head with a bitter smile.

"What's wrong?" Seeing He He Yingcai's reaction, Lu Ran asked in confusion, "Is the interior of the Yun Qianzhou Alliance not very united either?"

He He Yingcai replied: "The Yun Qianzhou Alliance is still quite stable; moreover, we are surrounded by great enemies."

"Ah?" Lu Ran grew even more surprised, "With a colossus like the Yun Qianzhou Alliance, does anyone still dare to provoke them?"

He He Yingcai let out a soft sigh: "Some time ago, that group from Mount Jingting Mountain came here to 'borrow' people."

As she finished speaking, she let out a cold sneer: "They claim it's borrowing, but if we truly lent our alliance members to them, I fear they would never return, destined to be slaves and servants for life."

"Mount Jingting Mountain." Lu Ran frowned slightly, recalling the two Most Dongting believer bodyguards from when they previously eradicated Sky Disciple Mountain.

"Lu Xuedi Brother can infer from the mountain's name that it is the base of the Most Dongting Sect."

"Your Yun Qianzhou Alliance has twenty or thirty Sea Realm experts; how could you still be bullied by them to this extent?"

He He Yingcai said softly: "The strength of Mount Jingting Mountain cannot be underestimated; the reason I was able to ascend to the position of Island Mistress is precisely because the former Island Mistress died in battle during the last conflict."

Lu Ran:???

A Sea Realm expert, killed on the battlefield?

And this happened with the top-tier medical support of the Sky Luan Sect right beside them?!

He He Yingcai nodded gently: "Mount Jingting Mountain is extremely domineering, and the Most Dongting Divine Arts are incredibly aggressive, making them truly difficult to deal with."

Recalling the list of divine arts from the Most Dongting Sect, Lu Ran had to admit that those "Flashmen" were indeed very strong!

Disciples of this sect not only possess incredible speed and explosive damage output, but also have defense and crowd control!

"Let's not talk about these things." He He Yingcai looked at Lu Ran, a faint smile returning to her face, "When did Lu Xuedi Brother enter the mountain? You seem to be doing quite well?"

As she spoke, He He Yingcai's gaze swept over several figures in straw raincoats.

Since the Sect Master and the Island Mistress began their conversation, the members of the Ran Sect had been guarding the surroundings, leaving He He Yingcai with only views of their backs or profiles.

Deng Deng Yuxiang, Yu Fish Changsheng, Gao Gao Yunyan.

The aura subtly emanating from these three figures undoubtedly marked them all as Sea Realm experts!

Meanwhile, Lu Ran and Jiangjiang Ruyi were clearly only at the River Realm.

Within the Holy Lingshan Realm, it is purely a case of the weak being food for the strong, with everything determined by strength.

That Lu Ran could command several Sea Realm experts to follow him loyally and willingly serve as subordinates truly filled He He Yingcai's heart with astonishment.

Lu Ran smiled and gestured to the few of them: "I entered the mountain in late January and also established a small organization named the Ran Sect.

These are all my like-minded companions."

As Lu Ran introduced them, Yu Fish Changsheng turned his head to look over, smiling and nodding.

He He Yingcai looked at the man, her gaze pausing for a moment.

This man was excessively handsome.

Of course, as a Sea Realm expert of noble status, He He Yingcai also maintained her own dignity.

She only looked at Yu Fish Changsheng for a few seconds before continuing to examine the others, suddenly laughing: "There's another one hidden here."

Hidden what?

Naturally, a genius!

Xue Xue Fengchen turned slightly, holding a mountain-splitting axe, and bowed his hands toward the Sea Realm Island Mistress.

He He Yingcai praised: "Lu Xuedi Brother Lu truly possesses remarkable ability; in less than a year, you have built such a team.

I presume what I see today is merely the tip of the iceberg regarding the Ran Sect's strength?"

"Not to that extent, not to that extent." Lu Ran chuckled.

Up on Cloud Sea Cliff, there were indeed still two Sea Realm experts lying around, and they were of mid-to-high tier.

He He Yingcai hesitated for a moment, then asked again: "Lu Xuedi Brother Lu leading your team to this place is..."

Lu Ran replied: "He Xuejie misunderstands. I didn't come here specifically; I just wandered over here."

He He Yingcai tilted her head slightly:?

Wandered?

Wandered over here?

Let's speak Chinese!

"Hoo~"

Lu Ran nodded in confirmation: "My original intention was to walk and wander southward, explore the map of Holy Lingshan, and see the world."

He He Yingcai looked at Lu Ran, falling into an unusual silence.

If these words had not come from Lu Ran's mouth, she would have wanted to order the little River Realm lackey before her to kneel, behave honestly, organize his language, and speak again.

"He Xuejie doesn't believe me?" Lu Ran smiled and pointed at Yu Fish Changsheng, "Mr. Conglong is someone I fished out of a high-mountain lake by the edge of the Snow Forest in the north of Holy Lingshan."

Yu Fish Changsheng:???

Lu Ran pointed at two tall and imposing disciples from the Western Wasteland: "Generals Feng and Yan are two I found in the northwest desert, within the Ten Thousand Blade Mountains."

He pointed again at Deng Deng Yuxiang: "Nightmare Protector."

Deng Deng Yuxiang rarely turned his head, glancing at Lu Ran from the corner of his eye, his eyebrows lifting slightly.

Lu Ran stuttered for a moment before saying, "Uh, this one came pre-installed when I left the factory."

Deng Deng Yuxiang: "."

Jiangjiang Ruyi couldn't help but laugh, watching Lu Ran's proud expression.

Showing off again?

He was just like this in high school; truly, he hasn't forgotten his old tricks.

He He Yingcai was already completely bewildered!

Others within this Spirit Saint Mountain were mostly just barely surviving; if they could find a backer, they would wish to spend their remaining days there until death.

If one could never find an organization, one would have to flee for one's life day and night.

But Lu Ran...

Was he sightseeing?

First the Northern Snow Forest, then the Western Desert, and now he wanted to head south?

Are the two of us even in the same Spirit Saint Mountain?

He He Yingcai stared blankly at Lu Ran, unable to speak for a long while.

Lu Ran spoke again: "This southern expedition of the Ran Sect is not only to explore the map but also to seek like-minded partners."

"Meeting He Xuejie is truly a delightful surprise."

"However, as the master of an entire island, you probably wouldn't look favorably upon my small hill and tiny temple~"

As for this great island master of the Wei Hai Jing realm, Lu Ran was indeed quite covetous.

Of course, it was merely covetousness; even if the other party were interested, Lu Ran would still need to investigate thoroughly.

Moreover, with He He Yingcai holding a high position and backed by the Yun Qianzhou Alliance, how could she easily abandon everything she had now?

"Hehe."

He He Yingcai composed herself and smiled gracefully.

She gazed gently at Lu Ran, her eyes shimmering slightly.

Words,

could not be spoken so absolutely.

(End of Chapter)