Lu Ran looked over at Silulu.
“Oh, this? Let me introduce you—she’s also my battle companion, the Dark Elf Queen, Silulu.”
Wang Mu was utterly stunned.
The moment he heard that name, only one thought crossed his mind.
The queen of the Dark Elf race—a major boss!
But could even a boss of that caliber be controlled?
He instinctively glanced at Silulu’s stats.
Since he was in a party with Lu Ran, he could see allied information, but because the level gap was too large, he couldn’t view everything.
He could, however, clearly see Silulu’s level.
Lv100!
She really was a Level 100 Dark Elf Queen boss!
If something like that entered the Nation War, she’d just tear through everything!
Whoosh~
Wang Mu let out a long, slow breath.
“Alright, that’s enough. Put your powers away now.”
He felt like if his brain kept receiving any more information, it was going to explode!
Although it was clear that Lu Ran still had plenty more abilities and powers he hadn’t shown off, for now, this was more than enough.
“Okay.” Lu Ran nodded.
He looked at Silulu and teased, “Why’d you come out too? Getting cramped in there?”
Silulu flashed a rare grin at Lu Ran.
She was usually pretty reserved with her expressions—the only one who could get her to crack a smile like that was probably Lu Ran.
“Alright, then don’t go back in for now. Get some fresh air out here. If you have time, you can also head back to the Natural Elf territory and replenish yourself with a soak in the Elf Sacred Tree,” Lu Ran said.
“Got it.” Silulu agreed without hesitation.
As for the other undead creatures, with just a thought from Lu Ran, every single one on the training ground vanished in an instant.
The training ground, which had been buzzing with activity just moments ago, suddenly fell empty and silent again.
“So, Old Wang, you’ve been hounding me with questions for ages—now your curiosity’s satisfied, right?” Yu Qingcang said with a chuckle.
“Satisfied, sure, but… this is way too discouraging! Compared to this, my title as Longxia’s number one Necromancer feels incredibly awkward,” Wang Mu said with a wry, bitter smile.
Just then,
Yu Qingcang’s communicator buzzed with a message.
He glanced at it.
Then he said in surprise, “Uh, Lu Ran, someone’s come to pay you a visit—bearing generous gifts.”
Huh?
Lu Ran blinked, puzzled. “Who? Cen Yinuo and Cong Yu and Cong Shuang?”
He didn’t know many people in the capital—just those few.
So naturally, he assumed it was them.
But Yu Qingcang shook his head.
“It’s not who, but which families. The Cong family and Cen family are among them. Besides them, there’s also the Zhao family, Lu family, Liu family, Zhou family, Zheng family, Qi family…”
Yu Qingcang rattled off a long list.
He added at the end, “And these are just the ones my people reported to me—there are plenty more besides.”
Lu Ran was completely baffled.
What the hell was going on?
Why were so many families suddenly coming to see him?
“It’s probably related to Lu Ran’s status as a reserve member. Becoming a reserve member for all four of our guilds, taking down three opponents in a row—including Zhao Xuan and Cen Yinuo—and showing off that blood spear insta-kill and invincible state… a lot of families have seized the opportunity to get close to him,” Liu Xinxin analyzed.
After saying that,
she turned to Lu Ran.
“You’re grown up now—you can make your own decisions on a lot of things. These families are coming with generous gifts, no doubt. How you choose to handle it is entirely up to you. If I were to give advice, I’d suggest…”
“Not seeing them.” Lu Ran knew Liu Xinxin well enough to cut in immediately.
Liu Xinxin and the others were taken aback.
“There’s nothing to see. Since these families are here to build connections, that’s even more reason not to meet them. I don’t like networking. I’m not short on money, and I’m not short on gear—what could they possibly give me? And I’m not comfortable with that kind of setting anyway,” Lu Ran said directly.
Liu Xinxin and the others’ eyes lit up.
Then Yu Qingcang nodded and said, “If that’s your decision, then I’ll turn them down for you.”
With that, he sent the message.
This was the Tian Dao Alliance headquarters—if the Alliance didn’t receive them, those families had no chance of seeing Lu Ran.
Soon enough,
word spread that Lu Ran had refused to meet anyone.
Outside the Tian Dao Alliance headquarters, it was completely packed!
Families lined up, all vying for a chance—too bad Lu Ran just wouldn’t show.
But they looked around at each other and realized—with this kind of crowd, who would want to come out?
Looks like they’d have to find another opportunity.
Clearly, these families weren’t about to give up easily.
Some even refused to leave, camping out at the Alliance’s gates, hoping for a miracle.
But most packed up their people and left.
From a high-floor window in a building across the street,
Cong Shuang watched the scene below, with Cong Yu beside her.
“In such a short time, Lu Ran has managed to attract the favor of so many families through his displayed abilities and the connections behind him—that’s truly rare. But choosing not to meet them was a good call. Otherwise, I would’ve thought less of him,” Cong Shuang said.
Cong Yu didn’t overthink it like her sister.
She just found it amusing to watch all those people from the various families crowding outside.
Before long,
Cong Jixian also came up with his people, looking rather dejected.
“Is this your new place? Nice location. You didn’t buy it just to spy on Lu Ran, did you?” Cong Jixian said, peering across the street through the window.
“Sort of. But it doesn’t seem very useful now. Thanks to Cong Yu’s connection with Lu Ran, getting close to him gives us way more intel than just camping out here,” Cong Shuang said casually.
Even so, she didn’t mind the expense.
For a family that had a foothold in the capital, this kind of money was pocket change.
Hearing that,
Cong Jixian shrugged. “Makes sense. I didn’t expect so many families to show up tonight either. Even if Lu Ran had agreed to meet them, it probably wouldn’t have mattered much anyway.”
Still, not getting to see Lu Ran in person and pay a proper visit was a bit of a letdown.
After saying that, he remembered what Cong Shuang had said earlier and turned to Cong Yu.
“Xiao Yu, you’ve got a good relationship with Lu Ran. Remember what I mentioned last time—about inviting him over for a meal? Want to ask him again?”
Things were different now.
With so many families trying to get close to Lu Ran, would he even come to the Cong family?
Cong Yu didn’t overthink it.
She immediately sent Lu Ran a message, straight to the point: “Lu Ran, the competition’s almost over. After it ends, how about coming over as a guest? My dad wants to host you—after all, you saved my life when you helped me with that quest.”
Lu Ran saw the message.
Without any hesitation, he replied directly: “Sure. But ‘host’ is too strong a word—consider it a visit. I’ll come pay my respects.”
“See? Lu Ran said yes.” Cong Yu showed the message on her communicator to Cong Jixian.
“Great! Excellent, excellent! Good, good.” Cong Jixian’s eyes lit up brightly, and he nodded excitedly.
He glanced back out at the sea of people from other families.
The sense of superiority was absolutely through the roof!
