Chapter 90: Confession?

Five days later, in Evil Dog Village.

A dark shadow sprinted across the torch-lit path, vanishing once more into the boundless night.

“Wo!”

“Wo!!” Two evil dogs barked furiously, chasing the dark figure.

This scene felt familiar?

This precisely demonstrated: Lu Ran’s squad had mastered their tactics—and succeeded once again.

But this time, the situation differed slightly from before.

Of the Jiang Tian-Deng trio, only Deng Tian was fighting, and he was also tasked with protecting his teammates.

Jiang Ruyi did not join the battle; instead, she sat cross-legged on the ground, her energy violently fluctuating.

Yes, she was leveling up right on the battlefield!

“Mee~”

In the pitch-black wilderness, Lu Ran deliberately slowed his pace, emitting cries of despair.

“Wo!!” The evil dogs sprinted like mad, rapidly closing the distance.

“Left.” Lu Ran, blindfolded with a red cloth, had lost his sight—but his other senses had sharpened slightly.

He sensed an energy fluctuation to his right-front, immediately tilting his body to dodge left.

As expected!

Four fangs suddenly appeared, snapping shut with a piercing sound.

Suddenly, Lu Ran stomped hard on the ground.

Turned, crouched, slid backward, Immortal Hoof.

The movement flowed seamlessly.

“Ssshh—”

Mist swirled beneath Lu Ran’s feet; he halted abruptly, then surged forward, charging straight at his pursuers!

This sudden maneuver caught the evil dogs off guard.

The lead dog, unprepared, instinctively opened its jaws toward Lu Ran.

The dog behind reacted swiftly, immediately activating a dark technique!

Four razor-sharp fangs materialized mid-air along Lu Ran’s path, determined to tear him apart!

“Mee!!”

As Lu Ran rushed forward, a pair of thick ram’s horns suddenly manifested above his head.

Stream-grade Divine Art: Immortal Horns!

Lu Ran’s expression was grim, advancing without hesitation.

Thick waves of killing intent radiated from his entire body.

“Crack!”

The dark technique—Evil Fangs—was shattered outright by the ram’s horns!

And Lu Ran kept charging forward.

The little lamb first shattered the fangs, then smashed the dog’s head.

Not only was his motion fluid, but his aura was heroic and dominant!

I, Lu Ran—the Iron-Headed Kid!

The thick ram’s horns slammed into the dog’s mouth; a crisp bone-cracking sound rang out instantly.

The dog’s jaws were crushed, teeth flying everywhere, its body launched backward by the impact.

“Woo~ wooo~~~”

The evil dog howled pitifully, flying farther and farther away.

Lu Ran licked his lips, excited—his killing intent surged even higher!

Unexpectedly, the dog behind seemed to hesitate?

Such a cruel, violent demon had been intimidated by Lu Ran’s ram’s horns—and had cowered.

Lu Ran didn’t care.

He charged straight ahead; the dog frantically twisted its body, trying to flee sideways.

“Ssshh!”

The shadow darted; blade raised, blade fell.

The blade sliced through flesh, cutting the dog cleanly in half!

“Drip… drip…”

Lu Ran tilted his head slightly, listening—only the sound of blood droplets falling from the Radiant Blade’s tip reached his ears.

He frowned slightly. Why couldn’t he hear the dog whose mouth he’d shattered?

Had it been thrown too far?

Reluctantly, Lu Ran gripped the red cloth and lifted it slightly.

His dark eyes glowed faintly, locating the fallen evil dog far off in the pitch-black wilderness.

Its mouth was a bloody pulp, gushing blood, unable to close.

Lu Ran turned his head toward the torch-lit path—just in time to see that battle there had ended.

Lu Ran pulled the red cloth back down, re-covering his eyes, then pulled out the River-grade Divine Power Pearl and pressed it against the dog’s corpse.

“Brother Lu?”

“Done!” Lu Ran called out loudly.

“There’s still barking over there!” Deng Yu shouted.

“Dying gasps—it’s nearly dead.”

Beneath Lu Ran’s palm, the evil dog’s corpse dissolved rapidly, all its energy absorbed into the Divine Power Pearl.

Moments later,

Lu Ran picked up the demon crystal and strode toward the dying dog.

The Radiant Blade fell, ending the dog’s life.

As Lu Ran knelt on one knee, using the Divine Power Pearl to absorb energy, he suddenly felt something.

In his mind, within the lifeless Demon Sculpture Garden.

The evil dog sculpture trembled slightly.

The demon statue had already been massive—ten meters tall—but now it could grow even larger?

Lu Ran stared in shock!

He hadn’t entered a dream—but the image of the evil dog sculpture was crystal-clear in his mind.

As it trembled violently, the evil dog sculpture surged upward, growing until it reached twenty meters, then finally stilled.

That meant

The evil dog sculpture had advanced in realm—it had finally reached Stream Realm, First Stage!

Before entering Evil Dog Village, Lu Ran’s evil dog sculpture had been roughly Mist Realm, Third Stage.

Just two hundred Mist Realm evil dogs’ souls would have elevated it to Mist Realm, Fifth Stage.

By the second day after entering the village, Lu Ran had already achieved that goal.

Though progress had been swift, Lu Ran always felt something was off.

Because on the night of the fifteenth of the seventh month, he’d killed several evil dogs with his squad.

Among them were River Realm evil dogs!

So Lu Ran suspected: had Immortal Ram been embezzling souls, secretly devouring some himself?

Of course, if helping Immortal Ram meant giving it some reward, Lu Ran was willing to do so.

So he never asked—chose to pretend nothing had happened.

As for these past few days, Lu Ran had been struggling.

When human cultivators break through major realms, they no longer need quantity—they need a “sudden enlightenment.”

But what about demon sculptures?

Lu Ran had specifically asked Immortal Ram—but the latter gave no clear answer, only told Lu Ran to keep killing.

No clear answer?

Then the potential for profit here was even greater.

Still, Lu Ran said nothing—he wasn’t foolish, just willing to repay his debt.

Besides, the Demon Sculpture Garden was created by Immortal Ram; as its sole user, paying a management fee was only fair.

Regardless, it had finally succeeded.

“Immortal Ram, may I now unlock the dark technique—Dark Agility?” Lu Ran asked softly.

A low voice replied: “Take it yourself.”

“Yes!” Lu Ran tucked away the two demon crystals and hurried back toward the torch-lit path.

“Brother Lu, next time come back sooner,” Deng Yu Tang said as the dark shadow drew near.

Tian Tian said nothing, but her relieved sigh made it clear she’d been deeply worried about Lu Ran.

“Mm.” Lu Ran murmured, raising one finger to his lips, signaling the two to stay silent.

After all, Jiang Meiren was leveling up.

Deng Yu and Tian Tian were very obedient and fell silent; Lu Ran also lowered his head slightly, exploring his own spiritual world.

No dream entry was needed—the evil dog statue had already been activated and remained tightly linked to Lu Ran.

Just a few seconds later, the divine power within Lu Ran quietly surged forth.

Like flowing water, the divine power circulated in orderly fashion, streaming continuously along Lu Ran’s bodily meridians.

The method of casting the Evil Art: Evil Agility bore striking resemblance to the human cultivation process.

Lu Ran was extremely familiar with this!

Wasn’t this just using divine power to nourish the body?

No—it was more like activating the body!

Lu Ran carefully sensed everything, his excitement growing deeper.

Having fought repeatedly, he was inevitably tired, his steps slightly heavy.

Yet after activating Evil Agility, Lu Ran felt his body suddenly light and agile?

Is this what it feels like to boost agility?

Wait a minute!

Now, the evil dog statue had reached Stream Realm.

Then the Evil Art: Evil Perception and Evil Art: Evil Fang should also be able to ascend in quality to Stream Grade!

Lu Ran had used Evil Fang relatively little, since a black crow (Dou Zhiqiang) followed him in the sky.

But Evil Art: Evil Perception?

Lu Ran used it extensively!

Shouldn’t Stream Grade: Evil Perception grant a larger perception range and sharper senses?

Lu Ran tilted his head slightly, pushing Evil Art to its limit, listening intently to his surroundings.

“Hmm.”

Coincidentally, Lu Ran happened to hear a sigh.

Jiang Meiren’s thin lips parted, releasing a soft, drawn-out sigh tinged with a faint tremor.

It was clear she was doing her best to suppress it.

But how could she evade the ears of Deng Tian and the other, when she couldn’t escape the ears of a certain dog?

In an instant, Lu Ran felt utterly unsettled.

Jiang Ruyi was clearly a quiet, refined lady, yet Lu Ran somehow detected a hint of seduction in her sigh.

No wonder it’s called Evil Art!

It deserves that “Evil” character!

Hmm… yes, it must be that the Evil Art is too filthy—definitely not my heart.

“Thank you,” Jiang Ruyi whispered, thanking her teammates for their protection.

“Sister Ruyi, did you succeed?” Tian Tian crouched down, her eyes sparkling with joy.

The flickering firelight illuminated Jiang Ruyi’s delicate features.

She slowly opened her eyes, her pupils shimmering with luminous radiance.

Lu Ran spoke at the right moment: “Maintain this state. Try to condense the mist within your body into flowing water—you may ascend at any moment.”

Jiang Ruyi lifted her eyelids, her expression serious, gazing at the man with red cloth over his eyes: “Mm, I’ll work hard to catch up with you.”

Lu Ran froze for a moment, then after a few seconds, muttered:

“That’s too humble! You don’t need to work hard to catch up—I promise you already.”

Jiang Ruyi: ???

(End of Chapter)