Wulie Riverbank

After breakfast, Lu Ran took an umbrella and a wooden knife and headed to a barren area in the west of the city.

In the fine rain, several abandoned residential buildings stood silently. This neighborhood once had a fitting name—Wulie Riverbank.

Lu Ran entered the southernmost residential building, climbed step by step to the rooftop, and came to the southeastern corner.

For the past two years, he had practiced his knife here.

This was where his father had died in the line of duty. It was quiet here, and the scenery was unexpectedly beautiful.

Looking into the distance, Lu Ran could see the Wulie River rolling onward through the hazy drizzle, vast and majestic.

Ever since he was born, this great river had been like this. It had never changed.

He watched in silence for a long while before putting away his umbrella and raising his wooden knife.

"Hah!" Lu Ran slashed out, as though he meant to cut through the rain curtain.

Strands of mist gradually gathered around him, rippling with divine power.

"Dad, how's this move?"

"And this one—I killed dogs like this yesterday."

"Oh, right. Your Xiaguang Saber really is useful. Chopping off dog heads was like slicing tofu."

Beneath dark clouds, slanting wind and fine rain.

Upon the rooftop, a human figure and knife marks.

The rain fell lighter and lighter, but the mist around Lu Ran grew thicker and thicker.

This was only his sixth day as a Believer, yet his physical condition had already risen by a massive step!

Especially after he had overdrawn his body yesterday and received a night of blessings from the gods, Lu Ran felt reborn. His movements had become terrifyingly swift.

"Hm?" Something seemed to catch Lu Ran's peripheral vision, and he immediately turned to look.

At the stairwell entrance leading to the rooftop, a furry little head poked out.

A tabby cat?

This was a seventh-floor rooftop. What was the little thing doing climbing so high?

The tabby cat was equally curious. It tilted its head at the "immortal-looking" Lu Ran, and man and cat locked eyes.

Lu Ran wiped his wet face and crouched down. "Come here."

The tabby cat instead backed away, its eyes full of vigilance.

"Come on, don't be afraid." Lu Ran extended his hand.

"Meow~" The tabby cat spun around and ran, darting into the decrepit stairwell.

Heh.

A little kitten like you thinks it can run?

Lu Ran called out, "Mee~"

Inside the stairwell, the tabby cat froze. Its upright ears twitched slightly.

"Mee~"

When the sheep's cry sounded again, the tabby cat's expression changed abruptly!

Lu Ran crouched there as steady as a rock. In just two or three seconds, the cat came back.

The tabby cat no longer looked as cute as before.

It crawled forward low to the ground, the tips of its ears trembling, the tip of its tail swaying, its vertical pupils narrowing thinner and thinner.

Divine Technique: Sound of Lamentation!

The little tabby cat's hunting urge had been stirred awake, along with a feline's instinct to toy with its prey.

"Meow!"

With no cover in the hunting ground, the tabby cat chose to pounce at Lu Ran at high speed.

Unhurried, Lu Ran spoke again. "Mee~"

"Meow?" The tabby cat braked frantically, its little legs flailing like wheels.

The genuine Divine Technique: Compassionate Sound!

Soaked from head to toe, Lu Ran simply sat on the ground and held out a hand toward the little tabby. "Mee~"

People really could change.

On the day he had first become a Believer, Lu Ran had felt so ashamed of making "mee mee" noises that he had nearly wanted to smash his head into the computer desk.

Now, he sounded more like a sheep than an actual sheep!

If a sheep came by, it would probably ask him: Why do you look like a human?

"Meow?" The tabby cat's hunting stance vanished completely. Its pupils became round as it tilted its little head to inspect Lu Ran.

Then, the tabby cat became utterly lost in the mee mee sounds.

Its heart was about to break!

The tabby cat hurried to Lu Ran's hand, rubbing its fluffy little head relentlessly against his palm and licking his fingertips, comforting this pitiful human.

"Are you alone too?" Lu Ran gently asked as he rubbed the tabby cat's filthy little head.

Who would have thought that the tabby cat would suddenly lie on its side, using one cat paw to tug at Lu Ran's fingers as though trying to pull him closer?

"Don't lie down. The ground is cold and wet." Lu Ran tried to lift the tabby cat.

"Meow~ Meow~"

The tabby cat called softly, repeatedly pawing at Lu Ran's fingers as if telling him to come closer.

Lu Ran looked at the tabby cat lying on its side, exposing its belly.

It took him quite a while to react before sudden inspiration struck, and he seemed to understand what the cat meant.

"No, I'm not hungry!" Lu Ran went numb. "I ate breakfast. Don't—hey, I'm not eating it. Put it away already."

The tabby cat looked at Lu Ran and softly called, "Meow~"

What did that mean?

Don't stand on ceremony?

Lu Ran was nearly in tears. "I really won't eat it, Sister Cat! Save it for your kittens!"

"Lu Ran?"

Lu Ran jumped in fright, nearly thinking Sister Cat had actually spoken.

He looked up and saw a graceful figure emerge from the stairwell entrance leading to the rooftop.

Jiang Ruyi?

Her ordinary clothes could not conceal the youthful beauty of the girl, which stood utterly at odds with the atmosphere of this decrepit, filthy rooftop.

"So you really are here." The girl's gaze swept back and forth between Lu Ran and the cat. "What did you just say you were eating?"

"Nothing, I wasn't eating anything." Lu Ran hurriedly reached out and gathered the tabby cat into his arms.

Jiang Ruyi looked suspicious. She did not think she had heard wrong.

"Brother Lu, you sure know how to find a place." Deng Yutang emerged from the stairwell holding an umbrella.

"Why are you two here?" Lu Ran was quite puzzled.

Deng Yutang could not possibly know Lu Ran's training ground. He had definitely followed Jiang Ruyi here.

"We couldn't reach you." Deng Yutang looked around. "We went to your house, but you weren't there either."

"Ah." Lu Ran looked a little embarrassed. "I left my phone by the bed."

Jiang Ruyi came before Lu Ran and crouched down, looking at the filthy little cat in his arms.

She extended a pale finger and gently stroked the filthy little cat. "So well-behaved."

Lu Ran's expression turned strange at that.

My Sister Cat isn't just well-behaved. She's got milk, too!

She was just insisting on nursing me...

"This view is truly invigorating!" Deng Yutang walked to the rooftop railing and gazed at the surging river, praising it from the bottom of his heart.

Lu Ran nodded in deep agreement and asked, "What did you need me for?"

Deng Yutang planted one foot on the stone railing. "The school called to notify us. They said we should prepare ourselves mentally—there'll be changes to the team."

"What?" Lu Ran looked astonished. "Our results are so good. How can they reshuffle us so casually?"

Seeing Lu Ran's reaction, Jiang Ruyi and Deng Yutang exchanged a glance.

Lu Ran did not understand and continued, "The teams that need adjustment are all ones with unreasonable member combinations.

The positions among the four of us are perfectly suited... Mm, it's fine!

When it comes to team adjustments, it ultimately depends on personal willingness. As long as we make our stance clear, the school won't make a move—"

Lu Ran stopped abruptly. He suddenly understood why Jiang Ruyi and Deng Yutang had exchanged looks.

Four words: personal willingness.

The wishes of four people could keep a team stable.

But the wish of one person could let them walk away.

After all, teams were meant to go to the battlefield. This was no child's play. A team not only needed a proper composition—it needed unity of purpose!

Deng Yutang looked toward Beauty Jiang. "I told you Brother Lu wouldn't leave without saying a word."

Jiang Ruyi said nothing, lightly pinching the cat's ear with her fingertips.

"So Wu Shanshan is leaving?" Lu Ran frowned tightly.

The school authorities had not asked for their opinions beforehand. They had simply informed them that the team would change.

That meant there was a high chance that this adjustment had been proposed by a member of the team.

And that member's personal resolve was exceptionally firm—the kind with no room for negotiation!

"Meow~"

The tabby cat suddenly dashed away.

The little stray had regained its senses and seized the chance to escape.

Deng Yutang said, "We tried contacting Wu Shanshan too, but couldn't reach her."

Understanding dawned on Lu Ran. No wonder his two teammates had misunderstood him.

"That shouldn't be." Lu Ran thought and thought, unable to make sense of it. "Why would she leave? There's no reason for it."

This team had such excellent results, and its composition was highly suitable. Lu Ran truly could not find any reason for Wu Shanshan to leave.

So.

Lu Ran's expression darkened. "Is it because I'm a Celestial Goat Believer?"

Yes, Celestial Goat Believers did have an extremely bad reputation.

But wasn't my performance yesterday—so forceful, so godlike—still not enough to prove myself?

Or did she have a better choice for teammate?

Could she have approached Ma Tianchuan?

If that were the case, Lu Ran would actually feel a little better.

What he could not accept was the possibility that Wu Shanshan had set her heart on leaving at all costs simply because of his presence.

In Lu Ran's eyes, Wu Shanshan was someone obsessed with results, someone who cared deeply about achievements.

Yet even when their team was highly likely to take first place, she still insisted on leaving...

Did she think herself farsighted, like a strong man cutting off his own wrist, refusing to let short-term gains blind her eyes?

The title of Celestial Goat Believer truly was like a mountain in people's hearts.

No matter how astonishing Lu Ran's momentary performance was, he could not shake that mountain. The other party had long since decided what his future would be.

"Perhaps it isn't like that. Brother Lu, don't overthink it." Deng Yutang tried to comfort him.

But no one was stupid, and such comfort had little effect.

"Hmph." Lu Ran snorted coldly. "Then I wish her a bright future."

Deng Yutang laughed. "Brother Lu, what a broad mind!"

Lu Ran bared his teeth. "I'm pretending."

Jiang Ruyi: "..."

Deng Yutang burst into laughter. "Brother Lu, what candor!"

Lu Ran: "..."

So you can praise me either way, huh?

Seriously, with such a handsome, dashing, young and wealthy second-generation rich kid sweet-talking you every day...

Who could withstand that?

"In a while, we'll call the school and state our personal wishes." Jiang Ruyi spoke softly.

There was a trace of comfort in her gentle voice. "As long as the three of us remain unchanged, it'll be fine. Plenty of people want to join us."

That was true. Some people saw a Celestial Goat Believer as a hidden danger, someone who would sooner or later drop the ball and cause a major disaster.

But others believed that Lu Ran could command evil demons with respect and was by no means a creature trapped in a shallow pond.

Back on the school sports field, quite a few students had gathered around Lu Ran and volunteered themselves.

"That's what I think too." Deng Yutang turned to Lu Ran, who was sitting on the ground, and asked, "What about you, Brother Lu?"

"I'm thinking about much more than that." Lu Ran rose to his feet. "In the future, whether in assessments or on the battlefield, I want to lead. Always lead."

Lu Ran walked toward the rooftop railing, his words truly candid. "I want her to regret it.

I want her, when she joins every future team and meets every future teammate, to remember how good I was."

Jiang Ruyi covered her mouth and chuckled, watching Lu Ran's back. "You really hold grudges, don't you?"

"You're a Jade Talisman Believer. You wouldn't understand." Lu Ran shook his head. "Wu Shanshan isn't just one person. She represents a whole kind of person."

You're a Jade Talisman Believer. You only need to stand there to shine with boundless radiance.

No one would look down on you, and no one would question you.

I'm different.

In their eyes, I'm a weak and easily bullied Celestial Goat Believer, a Little Lamb in the mouths of the commoners.

I need to prove myself.

And I need to prove it over and over, again and again.

"Haaah..."

Lu Ran let out a deep breath and gazed at the turbulent Wulie River beneath the gloomy sky.

This kind of life...

I truly loved it.

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