Thud!
Lu Ran landed neither too lightly nor too heavily on the sodden lawn.
Before he hit the ground, a gust of wind had indeed caught his body.
Unfortunately, Lu Ran had been too close to the lawn at the time.
The wind had only slowed his fall; it had not truly held him steady. Lu Ran still landed flat on his back.
"Urgh."
Lu Ran cried out in pain, then forcefully swallowed it down.
Thud!
Yellow Raincoat plummeted at high speed, spread her legs, and planted her feet heavily on either side of Lu Ran's waist.
Her chest rose and fell faintly as her beautiful eyes stared fixedly at Lu Ran.
With killing intent boiling inside her, she was even three parts fiercer than the Yanzhiren!
Lu Ran struggled to raise a hand and shield his face.
The Yanzhiren had only just died, and now a Great Nightmare had arrived.
There really was no way out alive!
Suddenly, Lu Ran felt an icy chill against his hand.
Deng Yuxiang held a long blade and gently brushed Lu Ran's hand aside. The killing intent in her eyes faded, replaced by gleaming interest.
"Little Lu Ran, you really don't know fear?"
Lu Ran: "..."
Saying he was not afraid would have been a lie.
But what he felt more was the delayed wave of terror.
Thinking about it now, falling alone from such a height could very well have killed him!
But just now, the Yanzhiren had toyed with him however she pleased, leaving him utterly humiliated!
All he had thought about was how to resist with everything he had. He truly had not had the mind for anything else.
"Does it hurt?" Deng Yuxiang bent down, reached out, and caught Lu Ran's blood-soaked hand.
Lu Ran clenched his teeth tightly and still made no sound.
Under normal circumstances, he would already have been pulling out a plastic bag.
A real man
would never miss a single chance to show off!
But right now...
This fucking hurts too much!
"Xiao Deng!" A man in a black raincoat hurried to Deng Yuxiang's side.
"Captain Sun." Deng Yuxiang directly pulled Lu Ran's arm straight and presented it to her teammate beside her.
Blood streamed from that arm, scraps of flesh hanging from it. The wound went so deep that bone was visible, a horrifying sight!
Green light lit up in the black raincoat man's palm as he immediately pressed it onto Lu Ran's arm.
"Is this youngster really a Celestial Goat Believer?"
The man in the black raincoat truly could not hold it in any longer and blurted out the question.
In nearly twenty years on the job, he had never seen such a gutsy Lambkin!
Most people who were abducted by evil beings would likely have been scared witless, their souls rattled and unsteady.
Yet Lu Ran's performance had genuinely taken the Moon Watchers by surprise!
Not only had Lu Ran's legs not gone weak, at the critical moment, he had even drawn the Yanzhiren's attention and helped Deng Yuxiang land a killing blow.
If the Yanzhiren had not turned around then, the two sides would likely have fought through many more exchanges.
In those few short seconds, the bearing this young man had displayed was truly extraordinary!
"Yutang told me that your understanding of divine arts is uniquely insightful." The Great Nightmare looked at Lu Ran with great interest, helping distract him. "Now, I have seen it for myself.
You are clearly just a newbie, yet you can influence an Evil Race at the River Realm."
Lu Ran finally spoke, his words strained. "I do not have the ability to change the Yanzhiren's mind. I merely went with the flow."
The Great Nightmare raised an eyebrow slightly. "Oh?"
Lu Ran explained, "If someone is not sleepy, I cannot force them to fall asleep.
Just now, I merely handed a pillow to someone who was already drowsy."
Deng Yuxiang smiled, clearly full of confidence in Lu Ran. "Divine arts can advance in grade. Right now, you can only push the boat along with the current, but things will be different in the future."
Lu Ran nodded. The higher the grade of a divine art, the more explosive its effects would naturally become!
Still, if the Sound of Lamentation became too powerful, the consequences seemed serious as well. If he shouted once, would he have to become enemies with the entire world?
Fortunately, believers could adjust the intensity downward when casting divine arts.
And if all else failed, Lu Ran still had the Compassionate Sound to fall back on!
At worst, after taunting them, he could cry and beg for mercy.
Ah, just playing around~
"Alright." Sun of the Moon Watcher lowered his bloodstained hands.
"Alright?" Lu Ran was somewhat stunned.
Was that not too fast? Had it even been a minute?
Lu Ran looked at his arm, only to see that the wound had completely healed, fresh flesh growing over it.
The Great Nightmare straightened Lu Ran's arm and, using the rain falling from the sky, helped wipe away the blood.
After confirming it, she asked, "Is there anywhere else that feels uncomfortable?"
Lu Ran pushed himself up with her help and moved his body slightly. Every part of him still ached faintly, as though his skeleton were about to come apart.
But his mouth remained stubborn. "It seems... it seems like there is nothing seriously wrong?"
Deng Yuxiang said, "After this incident, you can apply for leave and adjust your condition."
Lu Ran immediately shook his head. "I do not want to rest. I want points!"
"Heh." Deng Yuxiang smiled. "This time, your points will not be low."
Without question, Lu Ran had scored big for himself!
Perhaps even the team he belonged to would get to bask in his glory.
That Yanzhiren just now had undoubtedly been a powerful Evil Race at the River Realm. As a hostage, Lu Ran had played an enormous role in this battle.
Lu Ran nodded heavily, Battle Intent still surging within him. "I want to continue carrying out missions!"
"Good." Deng Yuxiang nodded approvingly and waved toward the distance. "Sorry to trouble you all. Send this trainee back to his post."
Deng Yuxiang belonged to the Moon Gazing Squad of the Cloud City Gods Bureau. Having been dispatched here this time, she was meant to put out fires everywhere.
Upon hearing the instructions of their superior colleagues, several warriors from the Moon Gazing Brigade of Rain Alley City immediately stepped forward.
"Thank you, Sister Yuxiang." Lu Ran promptly thanked her, then looked at the man surnamed Sun. "Thank you, Uncle."
Sun Zhengfang: "..."
"Hmph." Deng Yuxiang snorted.
This kid's mouth was as sweet as ever.
As Lu Ran was led away by the Moon Watchers, Sun Zhengfang said softly, "The Yanzhiren had countless chances to kill him."
"She took a liking to him. She probably wanted to capture him and torture him slowly," Deng Yuxiang said quietly.
It was very common for evil beings to abduct people.
A considerable number of Evil Races were obsessively fond of tormenting living creatures and were in no hurry to kill.
They would slowly torture their prey, savoring their panic and terror, savoring every agonized scream.
Why say only "a number" of evil beings?
Because Vicious Hounds, Blood Disaster Hounds, and the like also fed on fear, but their pitiful intelligence was not enough to suppress the beastly nature in their hearts.
Thus, low-level evil beings rarely imprisoned humans. All they knew was frenzied slaughter.
"I think the Yanzhiren Clan likes him far too much."
Sun Zhengfang pondered for a moment before continuing, "Yanzhiren are rare to begin with, yet one appeared in this tiny Rain Alley City and accurately sought him out.
Moreover, this should have been an Evil Race at the fourth or fifth stage of the River Realm.
If her realm had been any higher, she would have entered the Jiang Realm!
You know this, Xiao Deng. Once an Evil Race of the Jiang Realm appears, it will alarm the great human expert stationed in the city.
The Yanzhiren deliberately remained at this realm, meaning the people who rushed over to rescue him would be Moon Watchers like you and me."
Upon hearing this, Deng Yuxiang fell silent.
Could it have been deliberate?
If someone else had been captured, perhaps this conversation would never have taken place.
Yet half a month ago, on the God-Worshipping Platform, what Lu Ran had worshipped into existence had been an evil being—the Yanzhiren.
Sun Zhengfang said, "There truly may be a problem here."
Deng Yuxiang said, "Whether it was coincidence or not, we only need to report the information truthfully.
Captain Sun, let us send more people to support the gymnasium. You and I can patrol over there as well. How does that sound?"
"Alright." Sun Zhengfang pondered briefly, then nodded.
This pair was clearly one old hand leading one newcomer. Yet it was obvious that Deng Yuxiang, the new hire, had a certain degree of say.
There was indeed an eternal truth in this world—strength was supreme.
Though Deng Yuxiang was still young, she had already reached the fifth stage of the River Realm!
This was a height countless people could not reach even after exhausting their entire lives, an existence that made others look up in awe.
Not to mention, she was the believer of the dignified Second-Class God, the North Wind Blade.
Her future truly deserved to be described as immeasurable.
And another person with immeasurable potential was being escorted by several Moon Watchers, rushing back toward the stadium.
On the way, Lu Ran was questioned again.
He gave a rough explanation of his divine art. What he said was exactly the same as what he had reported earlier to Instructor Dou Zhiqiang.
The few people could not help clicking their tongues in amazement at Lu Ran's answer.
Along the way, Lu Ran also kept looking at one of the men, silently marveling inwardly.
"What is it?" This Moon Watcher noticed Lu Ran's odd behavior and asked.
"Big Bro, thank you for coming to save me." Lu Ran looked at the completely unharmed man. "You... you were not injured at all?"
During the chase, it had been this man who summoned a Bone Wall to block the Yanzhiren's path.
The Yanzhiren had directly taken out a Small Paper Effigy and clenched it in her palm.
As the Paper Effigy was squeezed, the man's limbs had continuously twisted.
He was practically being kneaded into a meatball!
"Do not worry." The man looked utterly calm, like light clouds and a gentle breeze. "I am a Thousand Bone Believer."
As he spoke, the man's head suddenly spun around once.
Yes, one complete turn!
Three hundred and sixty degrees!
"Ah?" Lu Ran jumped in fright.
It was one thing for demons and monsters to scare me, but you, a Moon Watcher, are scaring me too?
So what if you are a Thousand Bone Believer?
Well,
it really was damn impressive!
Were all the bones in his body like parts? Could they be assembled and taken apart however he wanted?
"We are almost there," the Moon Gazer Squad Leader said gravely, and the team fell quiet.
Lu Ran followed the group across the road. As his gaze swept past the damaged iron fence, he happened to see Team 98 fighting enemies!
"Ha!" Deng Yutang's roar faintly carried over, while dazzling electric light flashed within the battle.
Lu Ran's heart jolted.
"I am going over." As he spoke, mist surged beneath Lu Ran's feet.
He darted forward at extreme speed, ghostlike in form!
His tattered black raincoat also snapped loudly in the torrential heavy rain.
Kacha!
A bolt of lightning suddenly tore through the night sky, illuminating the face of the phantom in the rainy night and the icy Xiaguang Saber:
"Baa~~~"
Before you continue