Lu Ran nearly stamped his foot and cursed in the street.
Am I sick?
In this heavy rain, I ran up to the rooftop to listen to the wind?
I... I, damn it!
Lu Ran's heart jolted. Seeing Deng Yuxiang charge at him with her blade, he naturally wanted to avoid her edge.
But before she arrived, the wind did!
"Whoosh!"
A gale swept in, forcibly intercepting Lu Ran's forward dash and carrying him off course toward the rooftop railing.
"Urgh." Lu Ran grunted, his back pressed against the railing, his defenses wide open.
Before his eyes, a Wind Blade descended from above, cleaving straight toward his face!
"Clang!"
Lu Ran instinctively raised his blade to block. The Wind Blade struck the wooden knife with a crisp ring.
To his surprise, the wooden knife did not shatter.
Although Lu Ran released his Divine Power and wrapped it tightly around the blade, how could such a wooden knife withstand a sharp Wind Blade?
Without question, Deng Yuxiang had held back.
And she had held back a great deal!
"Not bad." Deng Yuxiang held the Wind Blade one-handed and looked down at Lu Ran, who was resisting with all his strength. The force in her hand increased slightly.
"Baa!" Lu Ran let out a sheep's cry.
Divine Technique: Compassionate Sound!
Deng Yuxiang continued smiling. The force in her hand did not weaken in the slightest; instead, she pressed down even harder.
Such a beginner Divine Technique had no effect on her whatsoever.
"Sister Rain Alley, stop messing around. You... you could at least go easier on me! You're really going to chop me up!" Lu Ran could no longer withstand her strength, his heart pounding wildly.
Reason told him that Deng Yuxiang would not deal him a killing blow.
But her aura was simply too terrifying, and that razor-sharp blade hung above his head. This feeling of extreme danger—
—made Lu Ran think of the Yanzhiren on the God-Worshipping Platform!
"You can't even get my name right." Deng Yuxiang tilted her head slightly, looking at someone struggling desperately.
Lu Ran seized the chance to switch techniques. His wooden knife tilted, and he dove forward like a fish, darting along the wall into the distance.
"Whoosh~"
Deng Yuxiang's figure instantly followed. Her Wind Blade danced as she launched attack after attack.
Lu Ran hurriedly blocked. In just a few seconds, the two had exchanged more than ten moves.
It was enough to make one's heart leap into one's throat!
Most of his movements were instinctive, more like reflexes and muscle memory than conscious attempts to raise his blade and block.
Lu Ran had practiced with the blade from a young age. Years of uninterrupted hard training had indeed given him a solid foundation.
"Not bad." Deng Yuxiang praised him, a flicker of surprise crossing her eyes.
She knew Lu Ran was ranked first, but she had not expected the young man to possess such skills.
Praise was praise, but Deng Yuxiang's movements did not slow.
She suddenly raised a leg and kicked Lu Ran backward again and again, then swept her blade upward.
Lu Ran stomped heavily and leaped to the side.
"Whoosh~"
Before he arrived, the wind came again!
Lu Ran had intended to dive sideways, roll, and rise, but he had no chance to do so. The wind wave sent him tumbling sideways through the air.
Lu Ran rolled repeatedly across the slick concrete.
Before he could get up, he took advantage of one moment while lying on his back to thrust his knife upward.
"Smack~"
Deng Yuxiang followed him like a shadow. With a flick of two fingers, she effortlessly deflected Lu Ran's fierce attack and brushed the thrusting wooden knife aside.
Her movements flowed seamlessly. Wind Blade in hand, she was already stabbing down at Lu Ran.
Lu Ran's pupils contracted violently!
"Kacha~"
The Wind Blade abruptly shattered just before touching Lu Ran's throat.
Deng Yuxiang knelt on one knee atop Lu Ran's chest. The Wind Blade was gone from her hand; only her hand, still posed as if gripping a knife, rested against his neck.
"Gulp." Lu Ran swallowed, unable to react at all.
Too fast!
This Big Girl's movement speed was fast, but her attack speed was even faster.
A Second-Class God—North Wind Blade's Believer truly lived up to her reputation!
"Did you learn it?" Deng Yuxiang shifted her hand to the side and flicked Lu Ran's earlobe with her fingertips.
Lu Ran stared blankly at the woman's dazzling face beneath the yellow hood.
At that moment, there was no longer any beauty or ugliness in his eyes. He only wanted to get away from this dangerous creature as quickly as possible.
This truly was not a Little Nightmare, but a Great Nightmare!
"Speak! Did you learn it or not?" Deng Yuxiang pinched Lu Ran's earlobe again.
Lu Ran barely came back to his senses and hesitated. "Should I buy a Gem Earring and wear it like you, Sister?"
Deng Yuxiang nearly laughed in anger and tugged on Lu Ran's ear.
Lu Ran sucked in a cold breath. "It hurts, hurts, hurts..."
"The wind."
"What?"
"The sound of the wind."
Lu Ran stared blankly at Deng Yuxiang, forgetting the pain for a moment.
"You will understand." Deng Yuxiang slowly stood and walked toward the rooftop railing.
Lu Ran sat up. "I'm not a North Wind Believer. Can I still judge the direction of an enemy's attack by listening to the sound of the wind?"
Deng Yuxiang raised an eyebrow. He had already understood?
She picked up the milk carton and fish can, casually tossing the can to Lu Ran. "It has nothing to do with gods or believers.
"You are a saber user to begin with, aren't you?"
After speaking, Deng Yuxiang twisted open the milk carton and tipped her head back to drink.
Lu Ran nodded thoughtfully.
"Gulp gulp. Burp~"
Deng Yuxiang let out a milk burp and looked at Lu Ran. "Why haven't you left?"
"Whoosh!!"
Before the words had faded, the wind had arrived!
Carrying wind and rain with her, Deng Yuxiang appeared directly before Lu Ran.
The howling gale made her yellow raincoat flap fiercely and whipped Lu Ran's short hair into disarray.
Deng Yuxiang licked the milk from her lips and looked down at the boy sitting on the ground. "Still asking to be beaten?"
To Lu Ran, that kind of movement speed was practically teleportation!
"Hmm?" Deng Yuxiang flicked her right hand, and a slender Wind Blade formed once more.
Lu Ran hurriedly got up. "I came to look for a cat!"
"What?" Deng Yuxiang looked somewhat surprised.
Lu Ran held both hands before him and explained, "On the sixth day of the month, I saw a stray cat here. It was a little tabby.
"I really regret not bringing it home."
Deng Yuxiang raised her eyebrows slightly. "You're quite compassionate."
Lu Ran pursed his lips and did not respond.
The main thing is, Sister Cat has work for me!
She insists on nursing me...
The impression she left was too deep.
Deng Yuxiang said casually, "Go back. I'll help you find it."
"Ah?" Lu Ran was quite surprised.
"Ah what?" Deng Yuxiang turned her wrist and heavily smacked Lu Ran's butt with the flat of her blade. "Go home!"
"Smack~"
Lu Ran: "..."
Alright.
Alright, alright, alright!
You've really never heard of thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river?
You hit my butt, huh? Just you wait!
Thirty years from now, don't you dare cry out that it hurts...
Lu Ran turned and left. But after entering the stairwell, he stopped again, secretly poking out half his face to observe in silence.
He saw the Great Nightmare shake the milk carton in her hand and drain the remaining milk in one gulp.
Then she leaped lightly, flying straight over the rooftop railing and plunging alone into the hazy rain and mist.
Holding the fish can, Lu Ran watched the Yellow Raincoat drift farther and farther away.
To say he was not envious would be a lie.
North Wind Blade's Believers truly came and went from lofty heights, free and unrestrained!
Lu Ran sighed inwardly and silently turned to head downstairs.
What he did not know was that on the rooftop of the neighboring residential building, the woman in the yellow raincoat stood quietly, watching him leave the desolate residential complex and seeing him off into the distance.
The road home was utterly silent, without even a single shadow of a person.
A perfectly good Rain Alley City had been turned into a ghost city by the Lunar Fifteenth.
Lu Ran had long been accustomed to it.
The two races of Gods and Devils had descended upon the world in the early 1980s, while Lu Ran had been born in 2001.
Ever since he was born, society had functioned this way.
Only the older generation knew what the world had looked like without gods and devils.
Upon returning home, Lu Ran immediately entered the bathroom and took a long, satisfying hot shower.
After eating the fish can, he sat on his small bed and began meditating to cultivate.
A thin mist spread around him, gradually filling the entire small bedroom.
Again and again, Lu Ran compressed and condensed the mist filling his body, focusing wholeheartedly on breaking through to Mist Realm: Third Stage.
Until late at night, the energy fluctuations around him grew stronger and stronger, and his body began trembling beyond his control.
Mist coiled around him, nourishing his Flesh and Blood Body and expanding this vessel of a body.
"Whoosh!!"
Wind waves surged, and Divine Mist rippled.
Joy filled Lu Ran's face. His body trembled as he greedily absorbed the mist in the room, unwilling to waste even the slightest bit.
More than ten minutes later, Lu Ran carefully climbed down from the bed and approached the shrine.
"Immortal Sheep, I did it!"
The Xianyang Jade Sculpture remained still and silent, without the slightest reaction.
Lu Ran continued, "I can learn Divine Technique: Immortal Hoof now!"
The room remained silent.
"I understand." Lu Ran slapped his forehead.
He quickly found his phone and began searching online.
The basic Divine Techniques of any god could be found online. Learning them was one thing, but without the assistance of the corresponding god, one could not cast them.
Sitting at the foot of his bed, Lu Ran read the webpage's description of Divine Technique: Immortal Hoof.
"Mobilize the Divine Power within the body, wrapping both legs..."
Following the Divine Technique's instructions, Lu Ran made his preparations, then prayed inwardly and called for Immortal Sheep to reveal herself.
The next moment, Lu Ran's eyes narrowed!
Mist suddenly flowed out around his calves, forming a pair of sheep legs.
"Hoh?" Lu Ran looked down at the white mist sheep legs.
Thick and large, robust and powerful!
Especially those huge sheep hooves—they looked far too lifelike.
It felt rather like wearing a suit of armor?
Only, this suit of armor was incomplete, with components only for his calves and feet.
"Tsk, tsk~" Lu Ran marveled with delight and carefully stood up.
He aimed at the eastern wall. After repeatedly confirming that there were no obstacles in his path, he exerted force through his feet.
"Whoosh!!"
"Mom!" Lu Ran cried out in alarm. Divine Mist shot from beneath his feet like a propulsion device.
His entire body shot forward, hurtling straight into the eastern wall.
Immortal Goat Divine Technique: Immortal Hoof!
"Yahoo~!"
In the quiet rainy night, within the small bedroom lit by warm lights, a figure darted back and forth across the room, utterly delighted.
"HAHAHAHA!"
"Joy! Such joy!"
"Face the gale. Face the immortal hooves!"
"Hasaki!"
Thanks to Xingluan i and Da Meng for the 110,000 reward! Boss, that's mighty generous—thanks for the support! There'll be bonus chapters after it goes premium.
Long time no see! Wishing you a lifetime of smooth sailing, happiness, and good health.
(`) Sending hearts
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