A Man's Heart is Like Iron Until Death!

The moment the alien invaders were annihilated, their weapons, armor, and the strange cuboids suspected to be interstellar travel devices self-destructed instantly, turning into ashes. Not a single valuable part remained.

Ma Ran appeared very calm.

Self-destruction upon defeat was standard operating procedure for aliens.

To avoid aiding the enemy, invaders from different civilizations shared a high degree of consensus on this matter.

"Brother Ma Ran, don't just listen, say something too!"

Hearing this, Ma Ran nodded expressionlessly and refilled his wine glass.

He raised his glass, his eyes resolute, and his voice booming, "A man's heart is like iron until death! Let's test our strength and mend the heavens!"

This was the longest sentence Ma Ran had spoken at the dinner table.

With that, he tilted his head back and poured the pungent liquor down his throat.

In reality, many civilization guardians did not shy away from smoking or drinking to alleviate fatigue and stress.

However, on the eve of Earth's destruction, let alone guzzling like this, even a small glass of wine or a cheap cigarette was incredibly precious. It required setting aside dedicated rest time to share with comrades and savor slowly.

Everyone present didn't take it seriously, thinking it was just youthful exuberance, a bout of artistic pretension, and something he said casually.

However…

Ma Ran's alcohol tolerance…

Watching his actions, those who had already drunk their fill turned beet red, struggling to hold back.

Yang Guangzhao, the leader, shakily opened a bottle of aged wine, stared stiffly at Ma Ran for a long while, then shakily gave him a thumbs-up and said faintly, "Good tolerance!"

"Brother Ma Ran, you're truly spirited!"

After another twenty minutes of eating and drinking, everyone at the table was drunk and passed out.

Ma Ran, however, gently stood up, found a black marker, and wrote a note.

"I met many new friends today, and I'm very happy. I want to go for a drive, within the A3 district, I won't go too far."

Having done this, he gently pushed open the restaurant door.

The night breeze swept over him, and the tipsy feeling quickly vanished.

His inner energy naturally circulated within his acupoints, using the liquor as an energy source. In a flash, he absorbed it completely, leaving not a drop.

The drunkenness was gone!

Having replenished a large amount of nutrients, Ma Ran's inner energy was full, his spirit high, and his condition excellent.

"Nightmare, I'm coming for you!"

The moon was bright, the stars were sparse, and magpies flew south.

The evening breeze rustled, and cold leaves danced.

In the dorm with the heating on full blast, Dong Huaiming lay lazily on his bed, listlessly posting in the group chat: "It's been six days since Brother Ran left, I miss him."

The group members became copycats, instantly duplicating Xiao Ming's message over twenty times.

Qiang Qiang Qiang Qiang: "Are you all so idle that you don't need to cultivate?"

As the awkward silence king, Su Qiangwei, spoke, the lively atmosphere in the group instantly dissipated significantly.

Xiao Ming: "We've already cultivated to our limits! Our minds and bodies are exhausted!"

Qiang Qiang Qiang Qiang: "Your efforts are just for show, for yourself and others. Don't get yourself worked up, it's useless. Learn from Ma Ran."

One message made Dong Huaiming's blood pressure spike, nearly causing a stroke.

Xiao Ming: "You're insulting my dreams!"

Qiang Qiang Qiang Qiang: "People are not great because of their dreams, but because they achieve them."

That's right, she was a consequentialist.

All reasons were excuses.

Did Lady Su Qiangwei, after losing to Ma Ran so many times, ever make excuses?

No.

Not even once.

Xiao Ming: "You despicable imposter ability user! Your nickname is even copied from Brother Ran!"

Ma Ran's nickname in the group was "Ran Ran Ran."

Su Qiangwei, who never admitted defeat, had to add an extra word to be different.

Seeing that the two were about to argue, the always-lurking good-natured He Nanguang immediately sent a message to change the topic.

Nanguang: "@Qiang Qiang Qiang Qiang, what's the deal with your [Myriad Transformations]? Watching you practice flying these past few days, I feel like my [Aero-control] is the bootleg version. My speed isn't good, and my stamina isn't good either. I'm being crushed in every aspect..."

Heart Butterfly: "Little Su is, after all, one of China's only two [Nation Supporter] level superpowers. She only needs to consume fat to practice limitlessly. I advise you not to compare yourself to her."

With the topic back on track, people soon began to share their personal opinions on the theme of "Cultivation is Difficult."

"Calculating acupoints is fine, mental labor is our specialty, but refining inner energy is truly difficult!"

"That's right! I originally thought just eating more every day would be enough, but now it seems I was too naive."

"Refining the first wisp of inner energy is a hurdle, transforming acupoints into mature micro-organs is a hurdle, and channeling inner energy to other parts of the body is another hurdle... there are so many bottlenecks it makes your scalp tingle!"

"Sigh... Before, I saw Brother Ran advance as easily as eating and drinking, so I also thought inner energy cultivation was really simple... But after all this time, I'm still far from even Inner Qi Stage One."

"Su Qiangwei has already filled two acupoints and reached the level of Inner Qi Stage One, right?"

"This must be talent. We work like dogs every day, yet we don't progress as fast as others who just casually cultivate."

"No, dogs aren't as tired as we are."

Inner Qi Stage One requires filling 2 acupoints.

Inner Qi Stage Two requires filling 4 acupoints.

Then it's 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256.

By Nine Stages of Inner Qi, it corresponds to exactly 512 acupoints filled with inner energy.

Suddenly, everyone received an invitation.

[Group member 'Ran Ran Ran' has initiated a group video call, do you accept?]

"Accept! Of course, accept! I've saved up so many questions these past few days! Without Brother Ran, the speed of cultivating the Black Rock Martial Way is practically like a snail crawling!"

The vast majority of members, along with Dong Huaiming, made the same choice, accepting the video invitation immediately and maximizing Ma Ran's video frame.

On the display screen, under the dark night sky, a teenager in a casual outfit of red and blue was walking along a mountain path.

He strolled with ease, appearing calm and composed.

Although not a single light source was visible, and it should have been a dark area, everyone could see him clearly.

The teenager had fair skin and rosy lips, his eyes shone like stars, and his brows were like distant mountains.

What drew the most attention was his radiant, luminous skin, which made him look like a mobile, human-shaped light bulb.

"Brother Ran, you've broken through again!"

Little Ming, as his number one fan, was the first to notice the difference in Ma Ran: "Is the visible light emanating from your body the external manifestation of Sixth Stage of Inner Qi?!"

The words that had already reached his lips were silently chewed and swallowed by Ma Ran.

He had to admit, having a friend like Dong Huaiming felt really good!

He didn't even need to say some lines himself; his friend had already imagined them.

Seeing Ma Ran nod slightly, Little Ming excitedly explained to the group video chat: "Many years ago, Dr. Walter Kilner from London conducted an experiment."

"Hey! Those who know, don't interrupt!"

"There are definitely people in the group who haven't heard of this experiment!"

"I'll skip the process and just give a simple explanation!"

"Dr. Walter Kilner observed the human body using glass coated with a blue-green dye. He discovered that there was a halo about 15 millimeters wide around the human body's surface!"

"As the person's health condition changes, the specific shape and color of the halo also change!"