On the sports field, the usual spot.

Jiang Ruyi looked at Lu Ran rushing over and asked curiously, "What's the hurry?"

Lu Ran acted all sneaky, hiding behind the beauty Jiang Ruyi, and glanced toward the school gate.

Once he was sure no one was chasing him, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Nothing, just doing my morning exercise."

"Brother Lu, congratulations!" Deng Yutang, standing nearby, clenched his fist and leaned in. "You finished first."

Lu Ran and Deng Yutang fist-bumped. "Congrats to you too; you almost made it into the top ten."

Jiang Ruyi observed her two teammates. "Our results are all pretty good, Tian Tian and Yutang tied for 12th place."

Unexpectedly, Deng Yutang did not show the joy expected of him. "I don't deserve it."

Seeing this, Lu Ran raised his eyebrows slightly.

In his memory, Deng Yutang had always been proud, even a bit flamboyant.

But at this moment, the young master from a wealthy family was not in high spirits.

Jiang Ruyi, being more observant, had noticed Deng Yutang's unusual demeanor early on.

Now that Lu Ran was here, Jiang Ruyi said to cheer him up, "Yutang, our small team was stationed outside the building, we completed our tasks, and killed quite a few Evil Demons..."

Lu Ran suddenly spoke, "I know what Mr. Deng is thinking, that it's all because I carried the team."

He paused, then continued. "I don't think so.

Team leader Zhang Feng said that after I was captured, the three of you performed admirably.

Zhang specifically mentioned two things: the timely changes and reasonable use of tactics by the three of you, and your mentality to regroup and face the Evil Demons."

Jiang Ruyi nodded thoughtfully, openly admitting, "After you were captured, I indeed got a bit distracted.

Yutang was the most like a warrior; he kept boosting our morale and stabilizing our position."

Being praised by the team leader like that, Deng Yutang's face turned an unusual shade of red as he explained,

"I just believed that Brother Lu would definitely come back."

"Why would you think that?" Lu Ran chuckled. "The one who abducted me was a River Realm Yan Zhi!

I didn't even believe I could make it back alive, how could you?"

After a long pause, Deng Yutang finally squeezed out, "A man's intuition."

Lu Ran: "..."

"Hehe~" Jiang Ruyi couldn't help but laugh softly.

The slightly gloomy atmosphere lightened after a few jokes.

Mainly because Deng Yutang's mood had improved.

Deng Yutang was undoubtedly proud, yet his performance did not meet his own expectations.

This time, his personal score had improved by leaps and bounds, shooting up to the 12th place!

This left Deng Yutang with a frustrating sense of being "unworthy of his position."

Now, after hearing the analysis by Jiang and Lu...

Was it really so?

The high scores of the group consisting of Jiang, Tian, and Deng could very well have been due to the trio's exceptional performance after the unexpected incident with their team!

"Congratulations to you too, back in the top three," Lu Ran said with a smile toward the beauty Jiang.

"Hmph." Jiang Ruyi gave Lu Ran a light, nonchalant glance.

Yohe?

Tsundere, huh!

Lu Ran complained playfully, "I congratulate you, and you glare at me?"

Jiang Ruyi's face had a faint smile. "Yes, I'm back in the top three, and Ma Tianchuan has been dethroned, but...

There's another who's even harder to surpass now."

Lu Ran chuckled, "Hey, no matter who among us takes first place, doesn't it all mean the same?"

Jiang Ruyi: "Hmm?"

Lu Ran, pretending to be profound, said, "The glory belongs to all of us!

I couldn't have claimed the first place without the support of my good brothers and wise inner circle...oof!"

Jiang Ruyi, slightly embarrassed, stepped on Lu Ran's shoe. "Nonsense!"

Stepping on the toes?

Heh, child's play.

Lu Ran immediately stepped back: "Be a lady, there are so many people on the sports field, and they are all watching."

Jiang Ruyi looked angrily at Lu Ran, her beautiful eyes nearly spitting fire.

In the summer breeze, strands of hair brushed over her forehead.

Lu Ran's heart skipped a beat at the sight!

Jiang Ruyi, meanwhile, slightly lowered her head, avoiding his gaze.

Darn it!

The sports field was indeed bustling with students waiting to assemble, many of them stealing glances their way.

In contrast, Deng Yutang was openly observing the duo, his face sporting a curious expression.

In Deng Yutang's eyes, Jiang, the squad leader, was always gentle and poised, very ladylike.

But around Lu Ran... well, interesting.

"Ruyi," Tian Tian came running over.

"Hmm," Jiang Ruyi replied softly.

Tian Tian moved next to Jiang Ruyi and asked timidly, "What's wrong, Ruyi? Your face is so red."

Jiang Ruyi: "..."

Realizing that her sister had fallen silent, Tian Tian knew she had misspoken and quickly changed the subject: "Ruyi, did you advance to the next level?"

Jiang Ruyi nodded gently.

"Mist Realm·Third Rank?" Lu Ran's eyes lit up.

At ranks 1 and 3 of each major realm, Believers can learn a Divine Technique!

And for the Jade Talisman Sect, the technique at Mist Realm Third Rank is the "Bursting Flame Talisman".

This talisman is incredible!

The noble mage is finally going to show off her impressive talents in offense!

"Hmm." Jiang Ruyi's fair hand naturally hung down, her fingertips suddenly sparking with tiny sparks.

Lu Ran watched, filled with envy!

Not because a certain Immortal Sheep Believer was fickle, but because the allure of the white moonlight was too strong.

Divine·Jade Talisman, after all, was the god Lu Ran had worshiped since he was a child with his father.

Though he was not a Jade Talisman Believer due to his young age, in his heart, he always considered himself an "unregistered disciple."

Thinking this, Lu Ran's admiration turned bittersweet.

Back then at the Worship God Platform, the skies full of deities had abandoned him, leaving him to fend for himself.

Especially his worshiped Divine·Jade Talisman, who also refused to appear, never offering him the slightest help...

The knot in Lu Ran's heart was one he could not untie.

One cannot change the past.

Lu Ran's youthful devotion and immense veneration were established facts.

But now,

The various emotional entanglements of the past needed to come to an end.

"Now our team's offense is even stronger!" Deng Yutang was somewhat excited.

Jiang Ruyi wasn't overly joyed.

In fact, she was somewhat blaming herself for not advancing before the fifteenth of the lunar month.

If she had, she would have been able to ignite the Fog Shadow Man and perhaps even detonate it, saving her companions from a tough battle.

"How's Deng doing?" asked Lu Ran, looking toward Deng Yutang.

"Almost there."

Lu Ran, recalling their last conversation in the Martial Arts Arena, suddenly laughed out loud: "Don't ask; if you ask, it's 'almost' right?"

Deng Yutang "humphed," and fiddled with the red scarf on his head.

People do indeed pretend to be busy when they're feeling awkward, don't they?

"You need to keep it up too," Jiang Ruyi said gently, her hand on Tian Tian's shoulder.

"Mm-hmm," Tian Tian nodded repeatedly, "I'm about to advance as well."

Such a sight was rather amusing.

In this team of four, were Lu Ran and Jiang Ruyi each taking care of one?

"Whistle~~~"

The piercing whistle abruptly sounded, followed by a teacher's voice from the podium: "Everyone, assemble!"

The students quickly formed lines.

In just a few seconds, the sports field was utterly silent.

On the podium, the male teacher spoke gravely, "Congratulations, you've all survived."

Though his words were meant as a commendation, the atmosphere within the school grew more oppressive.

"This time, for the night of the fifteenth city defense task, our school had 399 high school sophomore Believers. Some were injured, but none perished."

The male teacher reported the results, "Furthermore, one student received a record-breaking score of 91.2 from the Divine People Bureau, unprecedented."

At this moment, Lu Ran felt countless gazes falling upon him.

"Not only is he number one in Yunshan City and its five subordinate county-level cities, he's the only student who exceeded the 90-point threshold."

The male teacher pushed up his glasses and continued gravely: "Immortal Sheep Believer, Lu Ran!"

Lu Ran wasn't sure whether he should answer, "Here," as he felt himself caught in the eye of a storm.

Multiple gazes turned toward him.

Envy, jealousy, curiosity, skepticism...

Lu Ran had already become the focus in his small class after the last assessment.

But compared to now, that was nothing.

The male teacher went on, "Lu Ran received the most evaluation sheets among all students.

Including your team leader, three Moon Gazer teams, totaling five Moon Gazers, submitted reports on your mission.

After comprehensive consideration, the Yunshan City Divine People Bureau has issued a special document for you."

During the speech, the male teacher picked up the documents in his hand and read aloud:

"While new Believers are still gathering their courage to barely understand the dangers of the fifteenth night, you've already learned how to handle crisis.

You've learned the attitude to face unshakeable Evil Demons.

To fight for life and to aid others.

We hope this courage to face life and death directly will not be fleeting.

Maintain this momentum, and next month on the fifteenth of the lunar calendar, you're provided a special opportunity to earn extra points.

You're specially invited to join the patrol team, to be a Moon Gazer for one night."

"Ah?"

"Moon Gazer Patrol Team?"

"They're giving him a special test all to himself?"

"What are you shouting about? Every year there's a student added to the test by the Divine People Bureau! But isn't this too early, usually only in the second semester of junior year?"

"Are you guys dumb? What's there to envy? Next month is the fifteenth of July!"

"Holy shit! Right, next time is the fifteenth of July! Can Lu Ran survive?"

The sports field suddenly erupted in commotion, the students abuzz!

This evaluation was incredibly high!

And the information conveyed in the document further stunned everyone.

Jiang Ruyi's expression was rigid.

Initially, she was happy for Lu Ran's recognition.

But patrolling on the fifteenth of July?

That...

Among the crowd, Ma Tianchuan frowned thoughtfully.

Behind Ma Tianchuan, Wu Shanshan's expression was complex.

Truly unexpected that Lu Ran would receive such an honor!

Without a doubt, the special chance to earn extra points provided by the Divine People Bureau was only aimed at the very top few students of each class.

And generally, only after students moved up to their final junior year did the Divine People Bureau consider adding a test, depending on conditions.

Wu Shanshan sighed deeply in her heart.

Was her decision to change teams a mistake?

The Divine People Bureau also valued him so highly.

Hmm...

It was still early; there was plenty of time.

Let's wait and see.

"Immortal Sheep Believer, Lu Ran!" the male teacher suddenly raised his voice.

Lu Ran couldn't help but respond: "Here!"

"Bring your team to the podium to receive the honor and rewards you deserve."

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