The 24th of the first lunar month, the eve before the start of the new term.

Early in the morning, a buzzing vibration disturbed Lu Ran, who was in the midst of his arduous cultivation.

"Ughhhh~"

Lu Ran stretched out a lazy yawn viciously and got up to his bedside table, picking up his cellphone.

The caller ID made Lu Ran pause for a second.

He answered the call, "Teacher Li?"

On the other end of the line, the voice of the homeroom teacher came through, "Lu Ran, are you in Rain Alley City?"

"I am."

"Good, school starts tomorrow."

"I know," thought Lu Ran, and then he added, "I won't be late."

Li Yanzhu couldn't help but chuckle, "What is your current strength level?"

Lu Ran answered truthfully, "River Realm First Rank."

"Great!" Li Yanzhu exclaimed in admiration, "As is the tradition, at the start of the second term of senior year, the school tallies the students who have advanced to the River Realm. On the very day of school reopening, a school-wide martial arts tournament is held. Those in the River Realm who have acquired the Water Flow Armor are allowed to register for participation."

"Oh, that," Lu Ran understood.

Months ago, when Lu Ran's team was having cold drinks, they had discussed this very subject. Back then, Chang Ying had fantasized that only Lu Ran would advance to the River Realm, and then he'd win without fighting and take the prize directly.

"Do you qualify and plan to sign up?" Li Yanzhu asked.

"Sign up!" Lu Ran responded decisively, then asked, "Teacher Li, are there many from our school who've made it to the River Realm?"

"Not many." Li Yanzhu did not hide it and added, "But compared to previous years, there are quite a few."

"Oh?" Lu Ran was quite surprised.

Li Yanzhu sighed lightly, "This batch of students of yours, you've grown at an impressively high rate, quite remarkable."

Lu Ran: "..."

Has my homeroom teacher been possessed?

Weren't we the worst batch you've ever taught?

This! Can! Not! Be!

Li Yanzhu: "Including you, there should be around 4 to 6 students in the River Realm."

"Oh, indeed quite a few," Lu Ran nodded.

He vaguely remembered that during the second term of senior year of the previous batch, there had only been 3 students in the River Realm.

Li Yanzhu continued, "The number of students at the Fourth and Fifth Ranks of the Stream Realm has also increased quite a bit compared to previous years."

Lu Ran grew curious, what could have caused this? Was it because, in a high-pressure living environment like Rain Alley City, the students were tensely strung and growing faster? Or could there be another reason?

Li Yanzhu admonished, "Whether you're cultivating or competing, you must work hard and never slack off! Your opponents are catching up to you! Every 15th of the month, Evil Demons invading the mortal world are getting stronger, you must guard against arrogance and impatience..."

It was indeed like the homeroom teacher.

Once she started talking, there was no stopping her!

Lu Ran kept agreeing, and seizing an opportunity, inserted, "Teacher, teacher~ What's the prize for this school martial arts tournament?"

Li Yanzhu: "..."

Lu Ran: "..."

The homeroom teacher was obviously taken aback; it took her several seconds before she spoke irritably:

"The prize for the first rank is a River Grade Divine Power Bead and 30 Believer points."

"Got it!" Lu Ran's mind became lively.

He currently had two Divine Power Pearls hanging around his neck, both of River Grade. But such treasures that ensured sustained power were never too many to have!

Lu Ran's level was continually rising, and his techniques' grades were also climbing. More importantly, his casting frequency was extremely high!

Just the Immortal Hoof alone, he was always "zipping" and "zapping" non-stop on the battlefield...

It was foreseeable that after every battle, the total amount of Divine Power he spent was astonishingly high.

And that Lu Ran could cast so extravagantly was, of course, thanks to the two River Grade Divine Power Pearls.

Lu Ran clenched his fist, full of fighting spirit!

The first prize of the school tournament was a must-have!

Then, he could be even more extravagant with his "zipping and zapping"...

"By the way, congratulations on your excellent results in the final exams last term." The subject of points reminded Li Yanzhu of the previous semester's final exams.

"Oh?" Lu Ran perked up instantly, "How many points did I score?"

However, Li Yanzhu was just making a passing remark. After getting choked up, she was no longer interested in prolonging the conversation, simply saying:

"Look it up yourself tomorrow!"

After saying that, she hung up the call.

"Psht~" Lu Ran seemed to have been influenced by Little Yuanxi, at least the sound was very similar.

Lu Ran put down his phone and returned to his shrine to sit cross-legged again.

He quickly refocused his mind and resumed his previous bitter cultivation mode.

Having returned home these past days, Lu Ran had wanted to advance in strength realm. However, since promoting to the River Realm, he had found the path of cultivation to be increasingly difficult!

Lu Ran had advanced to the River Realm First Rank on the 8th of the last lunar month last year.

Now, a month and a half later, he still hadn't even touched the threshold for a breakthrough.

Hmm... he'd need to work even harder.

...

The next day, early in the morning.

Lu Ran took care of his civet cat's food and litter before taking out the trash and leaving his home.

Today was March 1st, according to the Gregorian calendar; although the sky was still overcast, the temperature had warmed up considerably.

It felt like the ice and snow were melting and all living things were awakening.

Regrettably, the atmosphere of Rain Alley City was not part of this revival.

Walking down the streets, aside from a few people at the bun shop, it was deathly quiet.

Until Lu Ran arrived at the street where the school was, it finally seemed somewhat lively.

"Lu Ran!"

Suddenly, a familiar female voice called out from behind him.

Lu Ran turned his head and saw a tall, dark-skinned girl quickly catching up with him.

"Ha!" Chang Ying slammed her hand onto Lu Ran's shoulder, "Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year." Lu Ran looked up at the girl with a strange expression, "Did you grow taller again?"

"Eh~" Chang Ying waved her hand dismissively, "Don't say such dampening things on New Year's!"

Lu Ran: "..."

Firstly, it's almost the end of the lunar new year!

Secondly, are these considered dampening words?

Chang Ying's face suddenly approached up close, her large eyes boring into Lu Ran's.

The wild but beautiful face of the girl was at close range, which made Lu Ran's expression somewhat unnatural.

He leaned back, "What are you doing?"

Chang Ying asked earnestly, "Is it true that as people's strength grows stronger, the distance between them also increases?"

Hearing these words from the usually carefree Chang Ying made them unexpectedly poignant.

Lu Ran, holding his pair of swords wrapped in cloth, pushed her face away with the hilt:

"What do you mean?"

"It feels like it's been forever since I've heard from you," Chang Ying shrugged.

Lu Ran: "Didn't I send New Year greetings in the group during the holidays? You even snatched red packets, didn't you?"

"Ah?" Chang Ying was stunned for a moment, then after some thought, "Oh, right!"

Lu Ran gave the girl a sideways glance, continuing his stride forward.

Chang Ying caught up and whispered, "Apart from New Year's Day, you've been silent without any news. You seem more distant and stranger."

"Don't overthink it, it's only been a month and a half," Lu Ran lifted his swords, and tapping on Chang Ying's head through the cloth wrapping.

"Alright~" Chang Ying pouted, rubbing her head.

Lu Ran walked on: "I saw you said in the group chat that you've reached Stream Realm Fifth Rank?"

"Huh? You, why didn't you congratulate me after seeing that?"

"I was waiting for you to advance to the River Realm, so we could celebrate together!"

"You..."

The two bickered and made their way to the school gates.

Lu Ran had long noticed the big posters on either side of the school gate, surrounded by many students and parents, many snapping pictures with their phones.

The two moved toward the back of the crowd, Chang Ying propped up on Lu Ran's shoulder, rising on her tiptoes and craning her neck.

The next moment, her mouth formed an "o": "Wow!"

Lu Ran: "What happened?"

"We're first, we're in first place!" Chang Ying whispered excitedly, although unable to contain her excitement as she quickly pulled out her phone.

"Here." After taking the picture, she handed the phone to Lu Ran.

On the big red poster were large black characters.

On the 15th day of the twelfth lunar month, Rain Alley No. 1 High School's senior year final examinations team achievements are as follows:

"First place, Team No. 98!

Team members from senior year class four Tian Tian, Lu Ran, Deng Yutang, and Chang Ying.

Comprehensive task score: 92.7 points."

While Lu Ran looked at the score, he also heard the crowd's discussion:

"No way? Isn't the 15th of the twelfth month a special event? Everyone should've gotten full marks, right?"

"Kid, it's a hundred-point system this time, do you want to hog all a hundred points to yourself?"

"Chang Ying really struck it lucky; Lu Ran's team let her blend in!"

"That's for sure! Even if Teacher Jiang comes back and kicks Chang Ying out of the team, she's got no regrets now."

Chang Ying's face, previously filled with smiles, suddenly stiffened after hearing this.

"Shoot! Lu Ran's team directly scored over 90 points! How did they manage that, did they save the world or something?"

"Yeah, the second-place only has 76 points, this is..."

"Because after the Night of Ghosts, Lu Ran's team didn't even enter the shelter."

"Ah?"

"What are you 'ah-ing' about? It's just the Straw Demon, I'd also love to hunt enemies outside!"

"Yeah, talk is cheap. If the Moon Gazers really let you out, would you dare go?"

"What do you mean by that? Say that again?"

Lu Ran ignored the messy crowd, and pushing Chang Ying, he headed towards the other side of the school gate.

But as he walked, he noticed Chang Ying's anomaly, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Chang Ying appeared dejected, taking back her phone from Lu Ran.

"So unhappy even with such great results?" Lu Ran was genuinely curious.

With the crowd in an uproar, with many people speaking at once, he of course couldn't catch everything.

"Satisfied, very satisfied," Chang Ying replied perfunctorily, and headed to the back of the crowd on the right side of the gate, tippy-toeing to peek.

As the individual rankings came into view, Chang Ying's eyes suddenly widened:

"Holy crap?!"

Lu Ran looked bewildered, "What's with the bad language after the New Year?"

Chang Ying gaped in shock and turned to Lu Ran, "You... you..."

Lu Ran questioned, "What's wrong with me?"

After about 2 seconds, Chang Ying finally uttered, "Your score..., it exploded!"

"Ah?" Lu Ran was a bit confused, "Exploded?"

Chang Ying nodded absently, "Yes, overflowed, you just blew it up!"

Lu Ran: "..."

...

I'm asking for some monthly tickets.

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