The teacher's long discourse finally ended, and with spirited applause, the oath-taking ceremony concluded.

It was time, and the team set out!

Lu Ran proceeded with his squad, and as they passed the stage, they encountered an old acquaintance—Zhang Feng.

"Brother Zhang!"

"Hello, Brother Zhang~" Several people greeted him in turn.

"Good morning." Zhang Feng smiled and nodded, his gaze sweeping over everyone before settling on Lu Ran.

Zhang Feng remembered that during the final exams of the third year of high school, Rain Alley City had encountered the Straw Demon clan's Night of Ghosts.

That night, Lu Ran had received an urgent summons from his superiors, and single-handedly defended the peace.

When Lu Ran fought until dawn and returned to the shelter, what floated behind him was a newly promoted Divine Weapon—the Dawn Blade.

Even then, Zhang Feng had held great admiration for Lu Ran.

He was sure that Lu Ran's future was boundless.

After that night, within Rain Alley City, people used four words to describe Lu Ran—peerless in Rain Alley.

Reality had indeed struck a blow to the people of Rain Alley City, including Zhang Feng.

Zhang Feng's judgment was accurate; Lu Ran indeed rose rapidly.

However, like others, Zhang Feng could never have imagined that Lu Ran could grow to such an extent!

Peerless in Rain Alley?

Too modest.

It should be renowned throughout the lands, the pride of Da Xia!

Zhang Feng looked at Lu Ran and couldn't help but sigh deeply.

It really was like a dream.

"Let's go, Brother Zhang." Lu Ran looked at the leading soldiers, lowering his voice, "Autographs and photos will have to wait until after the mission."

Zhang Feng: "..."

Do I look like some star-chasing fan?

I've been watching you grow up as your leader... Well, an autograph might be okay.

Maybe bring it back for my son, he might like it?

"Hehe~" Chang Ying couldn't help but giggle, "I want one too!"

Lu Ran spoke irritably: "What are you fussing about?"

Lu Ran and his teammates were as close as comrades, ready to risk their lives for each other.

And you're asking for an autograph?

"Go!" Zhang Feng barked an order, leading the group of five toward the school gate.

Outside the gate, several buses were already waiting.

Lu Ran boarded the bus with his team; as he passed the third row of seats, a delicate white hand suddenly reached out and grasped Lu Ran's arm.

"Hm?" Lu Ran turned his head and saw the Caster Believer—Bai Manni.

Jiang Ruyi followed closely behind Lu Ran; her eyes were deep, and her gaze fell on the girl's palm.

Bai Manni didn't speak but just looked up at Lu Ran and shook her head slightly.

Lu Ran's good mood instantly vanished.

"Thank you." Lu Ran nodded slightly and whispered, "Take care."

A hint of sadness appeared on Bai Manni's face as she whispered back, "You too."

Like Chang Ying, Bai Manni had long become one of Lu Ran's advisors.

Every fifteenth morning, Lu Ran always had Chang Ying calculate a divination and would also ask if Bai Manni felt uneasy.

Compared to Chang's divinations, Bai the Caster's predictions were more accurate.

After all, hers were not based on calculations.

A powerful divination Believer could achieve accurate predictions in nine out of ten cases, naturally with one exception!

But a Caster Believer was different; they didn't deal with probabilities but genuine premonitions of crises.

Bai Manni's sad expression was because this graduation exam was different from the usual nights defending the city.

The students were no longer organized by class to defend a single shelter.

Instead, they would be deployed in small teams across various locations in Rain Alley City.

In other words, Bai Manni's team might not be together with Lu Ran's team.

Except for the very few still in the Mist Realm, students of the Stream Realm or higher were not allowed to stay inside the shelters but had to carry out tasks outside the buildings.

This was indeed worrisome.

For the Believer students, the person comes first, and then the examinee.

Scores are indeed important, but life is even more so!

And the words "Lu Ran" were a golden sign of safety.

For most, these two words brought far more reassurance than the three words "Moon Gazer."

"Jiang," Bai Manni seemed to have noticed something and immediately addressed her.

It wasn't hard to see that she meant to please, perhaps worried that Jiang Ruyi might misunderstand.

Though not one of the Heavenly Pride, Jiang Ruyi was as impressive as one.

Her aura was invisible yet clearly felt by all those around.

"Hmm." Jiang Ruyi was quite magnanimous; as she passed by, she patted Bai Manni on the shoulder, "Take care."

As the students took their seats, the vehicles started moving eastward.

There were only five teams from class three-year-four, just over twenty people.

After arriving in Hedong, the bus stopped twice, and three leaders took their respective teams off the bus in groups.

On the bus, only Lu Ran's team and Bai Manni's team were left.

"Will we be with Brother Ran?" Qian Hao gripped his chubby hands and nervously looked out at the street scene from the window.

He was afraid the bus might stop again.

"Where is this..." Bai Manni realized the vehicle was heading towards the city center.

Under the blue sky and white clouds, the towering Wu Lie Building was getting closer and closer.

Qian Hao scratched his head, looking towards the team leader: "They wouldn't assign us to guard the headquarters, would they?"

Bai Manni's eyes lit up.

The Wu Lie Building, as the location of the command center, had extremely strong security forces!

If their team could take the exam here, safety would naturally be much higher.

Furthermore, at the very top of the Wu Lie Building, there was a Human Clan Great Power stationed!

Though the Great Power wouldn't easily make a move, they would definitely act in the case of a special event.

Beneath Bai Manni's prayers, the vehicle indeed stopped at the entrance of the Wu Lie Building.

"Let's go, off the bus!"

The two team leaders stood up simultaneously, making Qian Hao beam joyfully and jump up: "Haha!"

This action also amused the two Moon Gazer team leaders.

Of course, they knew what the students were thinking.

And since the chubby boy was naturally funny, the two Moon Gazers didn't scold him.

However, after getting off the bus, Qian Hao's face fell.

The female leader took them to the west side of the Wu Lie Building.

Zhang Feng, on the other hand, led Lu Ran and the others straight to the main entrance, the north door.

The area in front of the main entrance was a huge plaza, offering an expansive view.

The bustling commercial street was built around the plaza.

It wasn't hard to imagine what kind of neon-lit urban nightscape it would present in the evening.

"Brother Zhang." Deng Yutang looked at the revolving doors of the Wu Lie Building, "Will we be guarding this door tonight?"

Including the main entrance, soldiers could be seen standing guard all around the building.

The Wu Lie Building was undoubtedly a critical location!

Even on ordinary days, most floors inside the building were off-limits.

Around the fifteenth of the lunar month, the area was even more tightly guarded.

Did they need a student team here?

Zhang Feng thought for a moment and raised his hand pointing ahead: "There."

The few followed where he was pointing and saw the vast plaza.

Tian Tian opened her mouth slightly: "They want us to guard the plaza?"

The central plaza, with an extremely open view, was also a hub of convergence from all directions.

The team standing in the open plaza, the approaching Evil Demons from the surrounding areas, would be immediately visible.

Weren't they just making targets out of them?

Zhang Feng spoke:"We will be stationed in the area in front of the door.

If any Evil Demons appear on the plaza, we will naturally go to clear them."

Deng Yutang weighed the Heavenly Star Spear in his hand: "With this, it's impossible not to score highly."

Everyone: "..."

"Brother Lu, I remember, wasn't it here that you slaughtered the Demon Lord?" Deng Yutang raised his spear towards the eastern area of the plaza.

"Exactly, exactly!" Chang Ying nodded repeatedly, "It was there, where Ranbao's blade swung down and the evil dog's head flew so high!"

Lu Ran's first-person perspective couldn't see the full scope of the battlefield.

But this was the city center, surrounded by cameras, presenting Lu Ran's battle to the world in all directions, without blind spots.

"Such a pity." Lu Ran sighed, "The Demon Crystal from the River Realm Evil Dog was claimed by the Moon Gazers.

If I could have brought it back, it would have helped you break through and advance."

Zhang Feng:"..."

The teammates just smiled warmly, knowing how fortunate it was to be with Lu Ran.

They knew Lu Ran well, and knew he was sincere when he said he would have given it to them.

"Little Lu, you want that Jiang-grade Demon Crystal?" Suddenly, a middle-aged man's voice came from behind.

Everyone turned, and Zhang Feng instantly stood at attention and saluted.

Ge Bin, however, gestured with his hand for them not to be too formal as his eyes scanned the young people.

"Team Leader Ge." Lu Ran smiled sheepishly, "I was just saying that, I know the rules."

He said so, considering himself a part of patrol team number 004.

The others stood properly, not daring to make a sound.

Ge Bin was of average build and ordinary appearance, appearing unremarkable.

But he had been featured in Lu Ran's camera, and everyone knew this man was a Jiang Realm Great Power, the stabilizing force of Rain Alley!

Ge Bin nodded: "Come up for a chat?"

"Ah?" Lu Ran was a bit startled.

Lu Ran considered himself a team member, but Ge Bin didn't treat Lu Ran as a subordinate.

Ge Bin smiled and asked, "Do you have time?"

"Yes." Lu Ran immediately agreed.

It was morning, and night was still far off, so Lu Ran certainly had time.

Moreover, with a Human Clan Great Power personally coming down to invite him, Lu Ran couldn't well refuse.

Ge Bin looked at Jiang Ruyi and said, "Come along."

"Alright." Jiang Ruyi nodded gently. Since returning from a pilgrimage, she accompanied the patrol team on their missions every fifteenth.

She was like half a team member.

Ge Bin nodded towards Zhang Feng, not as severe as one might expect, and smiled: "I'll take your folks away for a bit, I'll return them later."

"Yes!" Zhang Feng's spine was straight, his voice loud.

Putting aside Ge Bin's identity as a human clan great power, he was the deputy leader of the Yunshan City Divine People Bureau—Moon Gazer subdivision.

Zhang Feng, meanwhile, was a member of the Rain Alley City Divine People Bureau—Moon Gazer division.

The two had a proper superior-subordinate relationship.

"Let's go." Ge Bin turned towards the revolving door and made a hand signal to the soldiers standing by the door, indicating they were allowed to pass.

Lu Ran let his right hand hang naturally, gently swinging his fingers.

Jiang Ruyi glanced at him almost imperceptibly.

Still, she reached out her hand, allowing Lu Ran to lead her into the landmark building of Rain Alley City—the Wu Lie Building.

...

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