Si Xianxian was still dragged away by her mother.

Just before leaving, she gave Lu Ran a glare...

A glare that made Lu Ran scratch his head.

Had it been their first encounter, Lu Ran would have tensed up, fearing that the Lie Tian Girl might erupt in anger.

But now, Lu Ran was somewhat fearless.

At the same time, he was muttering in his heart, "That's the patrol duty for the night of the fifteenth, how could I take you along?"

You know full well how infamous the Fierce Heavenly believers are, don't you?

Look around the whole Da Xia, how many Fierce Heavenly believers can you find within the Divine People Bureaus of different regions?

I'm afraid they could be counted on one hand!

After all, the Divine People Bureau is meant to protect the city, not slaughter it...

The duty of the Moon Gazers is to protect the lives and property of the people, not to kill and abuse them.

The mutterings in Lu Ran's heart eventually turned into a "thinly-smiled" expression on his face as he watched the mother and daughter leave the apartment building.

With the departure of the irascible Sister Xian'er, Lu Ran's life returned to normal.

He meditated in front of the shrine all day, deeply immersed in his spiritual practice.

People say that reaching Stream Realm Third Rank is like coming out of the novice protection period.

To further progress in cultivation is truly a tribulation at every step.

However, Lu Ran didn't see it that way.

In front of peerless talent, these so-called tribulations were nothing but a matter of a few extra days of cultivation.

The night of the fourteenth, or rather, at three o'clock in the early morning of the fifteenth, pleasant snoring sounds could be heard from Lu Ran's small bedroom:

"Mmm..."

Lu Ran sat on the floor, his body shaking slightly.

Thick fog filled the room, constantly converging into his body and being forcefully compressed by him into rivulets.

"Meow." On the computer desk behind him, the tabby cat looked at Lu Ran curiously.

In the pitch-dark room, the cat's eyes shone with a bizarre luster, which was rather eerie.

"Huff!"

A wave of air burst forth suddenly, and the room was instantly filled with a cacophony of sounds.

The tabby cat was startled and zipped out through the crack in the door.

Lu Ran, however, was lost in his own world, feeling dizzy and utterly content!

This sensation of overflowing Divine Power and Qi deeply captivated him.

Stream Realm Fourth Rank!

After a while, Lu Ran sighed deeply, leaned back, and lay on the cold floor.

He cast his gaze upwards behind himself and saw the clock hanging on the wall in his upside-down view.

Three o'clock and three minutes—had he been cultivating for so long?

"At three in the morning, the night when I wake up, I remember you whom I've lost~"

Humming a tune, Lu Ran slowly got up.

However, having just advanced, his well-nourished body could only feel endless joy and was utterly incapable of conveying any emo vibe.

"We used to say we'd be together forever, now we no longer keep in touch..."

Humming softly, Lu Ran went to the bed, picked up his phone, and unlocked it casually.

Sure enough, there was no contact.

It wasn't just from that someone—throughout the whole day, besides a message notification from the Divine People Bureau, Lu Ran hadn't received any other messages.

Even the normally bustling chat group had gone cold for several days.

Clearly, everyone was diligently cultivating.

The closer it was to the fifteenth of the lunar month, the more acute the sense of crisis became.

In fact, when Lu Ran and Si Xianxian were teaming up in Evil Dog Village, the rest of the team had consecutively advanced to Stream Realm Third Rank.

Now, if his teammates wanted to improve their cultivation, it was not only about hard work but also about fate.

To be honest, Lu Ran really hadn't felt any obstacle in advancing to Stream Realm Fourth Rank.

The indisputable fact, however, was that it took more time.

He had become Stream Realm Third Rank on the eleventh of the lunar month in September, and it had taken over a month to advance since then.

Such a duration had never occurred before.

"Eight in the morning, Riverview Street, we'll gather at Wu Lie Bridge Head," Lu Ran read the message and mumbled, "I can sleep for another four or five hours."

As he spoke, Lu Ran flopped onto the little bed.

However, after just a short lay, he got up again and headed straight to the bathroom.

In front of the bathroom mirror, a surge of energy coursed through his eyes.

His round human eyes gradually transformed into horizontal pupils.

Eerie, terrifying.

Deathly still!

Divine Technique·Immortal Pupil!

Gazing at his pupils in the mirror, another wave of energy surged through his eyes.

Evil Technique·Caged Fire (Illusion)!

A sinister technique from the black flame clan.

"Huff~"

Black flames suddenly ignited in Lu Ran's Dead Sheep Eyes.

This made his eyes look even more bizarre and, at the same time, cooler!

The problem was, being cool doesn't put food on the table.

Lu Ran murmured, "Get in there, hide in there, make it smaller, hide it deeper..."

The black flame, a technique from the black flame clan that typically summons flame, naturally could be hidden within the eyes.

The only thing to note was that the black flame should not be hidden too deeply; it must be able to shine upon the target's eyes to take effect.

Luckily, those Dead Sheep Eyes, being pitch-black, gave Lu Ran some room to operate.

To better survive, Lu Ran had no choice but to be cautious about hiding it.

After all, if he wanted, he could easily burn the Cage Fire (Illusion) in the palm of his hand or smear it on a blade.

One could kill while causing mayhem.

But then, that would be a bit too showy...

Immortal Sheep, where did you get the black flames?

That would be a joke!

So, when would Lu Ran dare to toss the Cage Fire (Illusion) high into the sky, allowing the black flame to recklessly illuminate all beings?

The answer was...

When he decided to confront the world!

"Ha~" Lu Ran touched his chin and issued a sound akin to an MC villager.

He suddenly thought of something.

Could he actually cast the black flame onto the moon?

Goodness gracious!

A Tsukuyomi?

Well, that was a pipe dream.

It's hard to imagine just how large an amount of black flame would be needed to set the entire moon ablaze.

However, Lu Ran could indeed create his own "moon" and raise a ball of Cage Fire on the battlefield.

As long as he had sufficient power and confidence, as well as enough intent to kill, it wouldn't be necessary to wait until "confronting the whole world."

As long as Lu Ran could ensure that every creature that had seen the black flame on this battlefield was utterly eradicated by him!

This way,

the secluded Cage Fire could possibly rise to the heavens!

Dead people naturally won't divulge secrets.

As for the Dead Souls...they're even less likely to divulge secrets.

But none of those Dead Souls could escape Lu Ran's Pupil of the Dead World.

"Meh~" After musing for a long while, Lu Ran emitted a soft sheep bleat.

In no time, a tabby cat slipped in at the bathroom door: "Meow?"

Lu Ran turned his head to look, and the tabby cat instantly froze in place.

One of its little paws was still raised, yet to touch the ground, and the eyes that were supposed to be spirited had become extremely dull.

"Heh heh."

Lu Ran smiled with satisfaction.

A smile that should have been happy became sinister because of those pupils.

Lu Ran turned his head to look at the mirror again, making sure the tiny black flames were hidden within the thick black horizontal pupils.

Come to think of it,

would casting a spell on myself in the mirror affect me?

As this thought crossed his mind, Lu Ran wore a peculiar expression.

"Meow~"

The tabby cat meowed softly, rubbing its head with a little paw, seemingly not quite understanding what had happened.

Since Lu Ran was no longer casting the spell, its dream naturally shattered.

The tabby cat was still pondering how to tease the "Smirking Fairy" that suddenly appeared before its eyes.

The girl disappeared without giving it a chance?

"Meow." The tabby cat felt engulfed by a shadow.

In the next moment, it was already held in its owner's arms, walking out of the bathroom.

Because tomorrow he had to perform the patrol duty, Lu Ran did not dare to use the Evil Technique·Caged Fire excessively lest he became worn out.

Taking the restless critter with him, he crawled directly into bed...

The rest of the night passed without further incident,

and the morning was gloomy and rainy.

With only a little over four hours of sleep, Lu Ran still felt relatively alert.

He let go of the tabby cat that was sound asleep in his arms and climbed out of the warm bed with some difficulty to stand in front of the wardrobe.

The closet door opened and an expensive, yellow raincoat came into view.

Unfortunately, the garment had been stored in the house for too long and had lost its camellia fragrance.

But no matter,

he should be able to smell it soon.

A dozen minutes later, with a yellow raincoat draped over him and a pair of slender blades in hand, Lu Ran stepped out of his home.

Old residential buildings stood in the cold drizzle.

Once in a while, the silhouette of a citizen could be seen behind the windows of various households.

No longer would anyone throw open a window and holler at Lu Ran, telling him to hurry home.

Only wary or well-wishing gazes saw him off as he disappeared around the building corner, walking out of the Rain Alley home.

"Hey, kid, where are you off to?" A voice suddenly came from the guardhouse at the gate of the complex.

"Huh?" Lu Ran turned his head to look, only to see a familiar figure.

Believer Chen Jing?

"How is it, don't recognize me?" Chen Jing cracked a smile.

"Uncle, it's you guarding our complex again?" Lu Ran smiled back, "Why aren't you shirtless today?"

Chen Jing looked at Lu Ran as if he were looking at a fool: "With the cold wind and rain this early, what do I need to go shirtless for?"

"Oh, so you're not foolish." Lu Ran murmured softly and continued on, "I'm off."

"Where are you going to play?" Chen Jing apparently didn't plan to let Lu Ran leave and stepped in his way, "In this weather, wandering around is not a good idea."

Last month on the fifteenth, Rain Alley City had just experienced the special event of the Demon Lord's descent, and the massive shadow of that sinister event was still vivid.

This month on the fifteenth, schools wouldn't let students participate in the defense duty.

Lu Ran looked up at the burly man: "I'm going to play with the Moon Gazer's team."

"Yo?" Chen Jing might look careless but his response was quick, "You've been called up to the patrol team?"

Lu Ran shrugged his shoulders: "Not called up, I applied on my own."

"Good lad, haha!" Chen Jing slapped Lu Ran on the shoulder, "Courageous!"

Lu Ran grinned: "Better than having the patrol team knocking on my window in the middle of the night."

Chen Jing's smile stiffened: ???

With a blade in each hand, Lu Ran couldn't lift his arms, so he took a step forward and touched his forehead against the burly man's chin.

"Hey?" Chen Jing immediately stepped back to the side.

What's with this kid, acting like a real sheep?

As Lu Ran passed by Chen Jing, he said, "Uncle, call for help if there's trouble.

No matter how far, I'll come to rescue you."

"Shoot!" Chen Jing couldn't help but curse with a laugh.

He watched the retreating figure of the yellow-clothed youth, seeing him off as he walked away and gradually disappeared into the chilly fine rain.

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