Chapter 172: Heaven's Pride's Dust Shadow

Chapter 172: Heaven's Pride's Dust Shadow

On the 19th day of the 12th month, at the West Station of the Capital City.

The exit was bustling with people, and among them was a black-clad youth, carrying a pair of swords wrapped in cloth, silently making his way forward.

"Ah," Lu Ran sighed inwardly.

In just a short hour-long journey, it felt as if he had been transported to another world.

From the quiet Rain Alley to the bustling Capital City.

"Brother!" From a distance, a pleasant female voice called out.

Lu Ran turned to look, his gaze passing through the crowd, and he saw a pretty face.

Like Lu Ran, many others also turned to look.

The girl stood tall and graceful, with a charming and adorable appearance, and her smile was as beautiful as a flower, as if she were on a different layer from the surrounding travelers.

She seemed accustomed to being the center of attention, and her eyes didn't even register the presence of others, as she kept her gaze fixed on Lu Ran, waving her hand.

"Hmm," Lu Ran smiled, and couldn't help but quicken his pace.

Beautiful things could indeed make one feel refreshed in body and mind.

"My cool brother, you finally agreed to see me!"

Qiao Yuansi took a step forward and hugged Lu Ran's arm.

Lu Ran: '.'

He never expected that one day, someone would describe him as "cool."

"Did you bring me any delicious food?" Qiao Yuansi tilted her small face, looking at Lu Ran's profile.

While asking, her hand reached for Lu Ran's bulging pocket.

There really was something delicious!

Lu Ran: "It's cold."

"It's fine, it's fine," Qiao Yuansi was delighted. She reached into Lu Ran's pocket and pulled out a paper box.

The hamburger from the small town of Rain Alley had the honor of entering the Capital City's young lady's stomach, hmm, except for the lettuce.

On the street, inside a black car, Guan Yiren looked through the tinted window at the siblings approaching.

Rarely, the truly cool Sword One believer showed a faint smile on her face.

Usually, Qiao Yuansi was a cheerful and playful person, but Guan Yiren could see that at this moment, Little Yuansi was genuinely happy.

"I'll greet him." Niu Zhengzheng, sitting in the passenger seat, turned to look at the backseat.

Guan Yiren didn't say anything; she continued to look out the window and nodded slightly.

Niu Zhengzheng was used to his teammate's attitude.

As he opened the door and got out of the car, a young man in the driver's seat looked out and said, "This is Lu Ran."

Guan Yiren remained silent, as if she hadn't heard a word.

The young man looked through the car window, scrutinizing the black-clad youth who had approached the car, but Niu Zhengzheng's large build made it even more difficult to see.

"Brother Lu, you've lost weight again?" Niu Zhengzheng laughed heartily.

His large hands rested on Lu Ran's shoulders, gently squeezing them as if measuring Lu Ran's shoulder width.

Lu Ran looked up at the towering hulk and sighed, "You're getting stronger and stronger, huh?"

Qiao Yuansi's small face was puffed up, and she mumbled, "Niu Zhengzheng might have eaten something."

Lu Ran looked at his sister beside him and smiled, "You're not bad either."

In just a short walk, Qiao Yuansi's hamburger box was already empty, leaving only some fried chicken crumbs.

Qiao Yuansi glanced unhappily at Lu Ran.

"Ah," she gestured for Lu Ran to open his mouth while using her fingers to pick up the scattered crumbs from the box and feed them to Lu Ran.

Lu Ran: '.'

"I heard from Yuansi that Brother Lu has reached the River Realm," Niu Zhengzheng said, his eyes full of admiration for Lu Ran.

His mind had completely changed.

Ever since their last joint training, Niu Zhengzheng no longer considered Lu Ran just a Celestial Sheep believer.

Instead, he added a few words in front: "The Celestial Sheep believer who rejected the Vermillion Paper Figure!"

Once the prefix "Vermillion Paper Figure" was added, Lu Ran's talents and abilities became more understandable.

"Aren't you the same?" Lu Ran said casually, eating the crumbs under his sister's smiling eyes.

In recent days, Lu Ran had been frequently exchanging messages with his sister.

He knew that in this three-person team, Guan Yiren and Niu Zhengzheng had both advanced to the River Realm.

The two were indeed worthy of being believers of the First and Second Rank Deities, with their exceptional talents.

Within the team, only Little Yuansi, a Third Rank Deity believer, remained at the Fifth Stage Stream Realm.

With Qiao Yuansi's current rank, Lu Ran was even more reluctant to let her enter the Night Charm Abyss.

However, Guan Yiren, Niu Zhengzheng, and Qiao Yuansi were a team, and his sister was the team leader, so it was impossible for her to leave the group.

"Get in the car!" Qiao Yuansi urged, "We'll chat on the way."

The tall and sturdy Niu Zhengzheng naturally took the passenger seat.

Lu Ran opened the back door and saw Guan Yiren sitting inside.

In the midst of the cold winter, the Capital City was also covered in white snow.

However, this Sword One believer, wearing a white ancient-style long skirt, seemed to be quite resistant to the cold.

"Good morning," Lu Ran greeted.

Guan Yiren showed no intention of moving, and she looked up at Lu Ran, "Long time no see."

"Wow?" Qiao Yuansi clicked her tongue in amazement, looking at the Sword One believer, "Sister Yiren only said four words!"

Guan Yiren couldn't help but smile and give Qiao Yuansi a playful look.

The Sword One believer might gradually resemble her deity, but when facing someone close to her, she would still show some expression.

"Slap!"

Qiao Yuansi closed the car door and pulled Lu Ran around the back of the car, "I want to sit by the window."

"Don't be silly," Lu Ran opened the car door and unceremoniously pushed Little Yuansi into the car.

"Hey?" Qiao Yuansi quickly lowered her head and plopped into the backseat, her upper body leaning into Guan Yiren's embrace.

She pouted and turned to look at Lu Ran, "So thin, but you're still so strong."

Lu Ran: ???

What kind of talk is this!

"Hahaha!" Niu Zhengzheng burst into laughter, "Brother Lu really needs to eat more, haha!"

Lu Ran's face was full of discomfort as he sat in the car.

Indeed, his cultivation often made him forget about food and sleep.

On the contrary, every time he entered the Devil Cavern for training, he ate a lot and slept more regularly in the stone inn.

"Hmm," Qiao Yuansi slightly shifted her position but didn't get up, choosing to lean on Guan Yiren's embrace.

Guan Yiren looked at the playful girl with a hint of helplessness in her heart.

She placed her hand on Qiao Yuansi's cheek, as if disciplining her, and gently squeezed Little Yuansi's earlobe.

"Oh, right." Qiao Yuansi covered her ears, "This older brother is Xiao Yusong, he's..."

"Childhood friend." The young man named Xiao Yusong interjected, "We grew up in the same courtyard."

Lu Ran observed the young man through the rearview mirror.

He was in his early twenties, with medium-length hair, and had a certain artistic flair.

Qiao Yuansi continued, "I heard that Sister Yi Ren is going to the Night Charm Abyss, and he volunteered to come and protect us."

"Greetings." Lu Ran politely spoke up.

Xiao Yusong raised his eyes to the rearview mirror, his gaze locking with Lu Ran's, "I've heard a lot about you."

"You're too kind." Lu Ran nodded slightly.

Xiao Yusong scrutinized Lu Ran, his gaze unwavering.

The car fell silent, and after a good seven or eight seconds, Xiao Yusong suddenly spoke up, "Nice blade."

Lu Ran was slightly taken aback.

The twin blades in his arms were still wrapped in cloth and not on display.

"It was a gift from my father," Lu Ran explained.

But Xiao Yusong said, "I was talking about you."

Niu Zhengzheng rubbed his head and turned to look at Lu Ran, "I felt something was off, and now that Xiao Ge says so, it does seem like it, huh?"

Guan Yiren played with Xiao Yuansi's earlobe, glancing briefly at Lu Ran.

After being apart for several months, Lu Ran's demeanor had indeed undergone a dramatic transformation.

For the believer community, such changes were quite common.

Everyone was constantly improving, and the advancement in their cultivation realms naturally manifested in a person's spirit and vitality.

"Did my brother turn into a blade?" Qiao Yuansi, on the other hand, didn't seem to be too affected.

Ever since she met Lu Ran, he was still the older brother she remembered.

His sharp tongue remained, and the affection he held for her in his heart hadn't diminished in the slightest.

"Are you a Northwind Follower?" Lu Ran asked.

"Unfortunately not." Xiao Yusong shook his head with a smile, his demeanor quite carefree.

Qiao Yuansi quickly added, "Xiao Ge is a legendary figure!

Back then, at the Altar of Veneration, he paid homage to the First Rank Deity·Martial Life!"

"Oh?" Lu Ran understood what his sister meant, "Didn't he become a disciple of Martial Life later?"

Xiao Yusong shook his head, "I'm a believer of the Shadow God Technique."

Lu Ran was taken aback. What did he just hear?

An Eighth Rank God·Shadow God?

Wow, this guy is a rare find!

Shadow God was a plant-type deity, appearing as a massive gray-black flower.

Occasionally, energy would flow through the flower, revealing fleeting images of the mortal realm.

These images could be of majestic mountains and rivers, bustling cities, or the sun, moon, and stars.

They could also be scenes of everyday life, like a small alley in a human settlement.

Hence, it was also known as the 'Shadow God Flower' among the common folk.

As an Eighth Rank God, Shadow God dared to compete with the First Rank Deity·Martial Life for believers?

The only possibility was that it was a perfect fit!

It's worth mentioning that although Shadow God was ranked eighth, its divine techniques were undoubtedly top-notch!

Whether you were a believer of a First Rank Deity or a Second Rank Deity, in terms of value to the Xia Dynasty, you couldn't compare to the believers of the Eighth Rank God·Shadow God.

Because a powerful Shadow God believer could activate teleportation arrays!

This divine technique had transcended the ordinary concepts of strength and weakness, not competing in terms of offensive and defensive capabilities or support and control.

Instead, it directly surpassed others in terms of 'strategic value', achieving a significant advantage.

Similar to the Seventh Rank God·Blaze Heaven, Shadow God's low ranking had a special reason.

Fundamentally, it was because Shadow God had very few disciples.

It was unclear if it was because the human race's physique was unsuitable for Shadow God believers or if Shadow God had extremely high standards for accepting disciples.

In any case, Shadow God's disciples were scarce.

Additionally, the deity Shadow God itself was a relatively neutral existence, preferring to exist as an 'observer'.

This led to a significant problem:

While Shadow God's disciples had incredible abilities, only a small portion of them served the Xia Dynasty.

Many more disciples were led astray by the deity, becoming 'human cameras'.

They became wandering poets.

"You said he volunteered to protect us." Lu Ran asked, "Don't you mind getting involved in worldly affairs?"

Xiao Yusong shrugged, as carefree as ever.

Indeed, he was worthy of being the man who refused the First Rank Deity and 'married down' to the Eighth Rank God.

He certainly had a unique personality.

Lu Ran also smiled, "If you're willing to engage in worldly conflicts, then you're a treasure to the Xia Dynasty.

Don't bother protecting us, let me protect you instead."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yusong couldn't help but show a strange expression.

Even though he had some understanding of Lu Ran, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

"Brother, be more modest!" Qiao Yuansi nudged Lu Ran's shoulder, "Xiao Ge not only doesn't mind getting involved in worldly affairs, he even participated in The Heavenly Pride!

By the way, brother, do you know about the Heavenly Pride program?"

This time, it was Lu Ran's turn to show a strange expression.

Just yesterday afternoon, Deng Yuxiang had called to inform him that The Heavenly Pride had agreed to Lu Ran's participation in the project.

She had also laughed, saying that Lu Ran's Divine Armament·Radiance Blade had earned him quite a few points.

Lu Ran nodded, "I've heard of it."

"Huh?" Qiao Yuansi's words bubbled up inside her, "You actually know about it?"

"My teammate's representative from the Wuli River University participated in the internal testing," Lu Ran explained.

"So, you know about its value, and you still want to protect them?"

As she spoke, Qiao Yuansi's heart was filled with admiration, "Those who can participate are the best of the young generation in the Xia Dynasty!"

Lu Ran looked at Qiao Yuansi's yearning expression and couldn't help but smile, "Why don't you ask me if I'm participating?"

"You?" Qiao Yuansi turned to Lu Ran, "You're only at the First Stage River Realm!

Besides, you're still in high school and don't even have a university degree."

As she spoke, Qiao Yuansi suddenly stopped.

Looking at Lu Ran's indulgent smile, Qiao Yuansi opened her mouth slightly, "You?

You really want to participate?

Huh???"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end