“Did you hear that? I’m ranked number one in the Tianfu Society. Even if you join the Tianfu Society, you’ll have to do exactly what I say. Understood?”
As he spoke, Bai Lei’s face was full of arrogance.
And even more—
The few Tianfu Society members beside him all chimed in one after another:
“Of course! Young Master Bai’s ranking in the Tianfu Society is unshakable!”
“He’s just a necromancer. Young Master Bai doesn’t need to waste his time on him.”
“It’s just that Lu Ran guy. His attitude toward Young Master Bai is really asking for a beating.”
“Don’t worry, Young Master Bai. With us here, this kid won’t be able to stir up any trouble.”
…
Hearing them talk, Lu Ran immediately labeled them in his mind.
Lackeys!
Since he had agreed to come today for Shen Man’s sake, he was going to stand his ground.
And since Bai Lei had walked right into the line of fire, he was perfect for making an example of!
At the same time, since these lackeys had picked the wrong side, they couldn’t just be let off easily either. Lu Ran remembered every single one of them.
Of course, in an organization like the Tianfu Society, not everyone who could join was useless. They weren’t all just sycophantic lackeys.
More people were just watching, enjoying the show.
But in their hearts, since someone had come to challenge Bai Lei, the outcome was obvious. Some even started to feel sorry for Lu Ran.
Among them—
There was also a small group who had come to watch Bai Lei make a fool of himself.
These members had either heard about Lu Ran’s abilities or had witnessed his battles with their own eyes.
In their hearts, Lu Ran was invincible.
If Bai Lei wanted to walk into the line of fire, they were happy to watch the show.
After all, on normal days, Bai Lei was always jumping around in front of them. It was about time someone took him down a peg.
As for Cong Shuang, watching Bai Lei’s smug look, she almost laughed out loud.
After shaking her head, Cong Shuang walked over to Lu Ran’s side, glanced calmly at Bai Lei, then leaned in and whispered to Lu Ran: “Don’t let it turn into a fatality. I know that with your identity and status, you don’t care, but the Bai family is powerful and wealthy. Killing him would be a lot of trouble. The Tianfu Society has its own rules too. Better to be careful.”
She knew Lu Ran wasn’t afraid, wasn’t worried. With his identity and status, even if he really killed Bai Lei, he wouldn’t face any punishment or consequences.
But trouble was still trouble.
Even if he wasn’t worried about trouble, dealing with it would still waste a lot of time.
“Got it,” Lu Ran said casually, spitting out two words.
But in his heart, he didn’t really care.
A lesson is a lesson. Dead is dead. Whether Bai Lei died or not depended on his own luck.
Whether he killed him or not, and what the consequences would be—Lu Ran didn’t care at all.
Then—
Lu Ran looked at Shen Man and said, “I’ve heard of the Tianfu Society for a long time. It’s famous far and wide. But is this really the number one? What kind of trash is this? How did he even get to number one? If this is all the Tianfu Society has, then I should really think about whether I even want to join.”
Shen Man’s heart tightened.
But clever as she was, after looking at Lu Ran for a moment, she suddenly understood.
So she said with a smile, “The rankings in the Tianfu Society are very fair. They’re based on individual combat strength. Members can spar and duel each other, and the winner takes the loser’s ranking.”
Oh?
Lu Ran raised an eyebrow. That method was great!
Just what I wanted!
“What’s my current rank?” Lu Ran asked.
“The Tianfu Society has a total of two hundred and forty-nine members. Your paperwork is being processed. Once it’s done, you’ll be number two hundred and fifty,” Shen Man said.
Hearing this, Lu Ran was somewhat speechless.
This ranking was really dramatic.
Number two hundred and fifty?
Was it really such a coincidence?
Sure enough—
Bai Lei on the opposite side also suddenly realized this was a perfect opportunity to mock Lu Ran.
So he laughed loudly and said, “I’m dying laughing. If the president hadn’t mentioned it, I really would have forgotten. I didn’t expect the Tianfu Society to have so many useless people already. What a coincidence—you’re new, ranked at the bottom, number two hundred and fifty. Two-fifty? Haha… suits you perfectly.”
Lu Ran looked at Bai Lei calmly.
He ignored him and just continued looking at Shen Man, asking, “So according to the rules, if I beat Bai Lei, our rankings swap? I become number one, and he becomes number two hundred and fifty?”
Shen Man nodded immediately.
She explained:
“That’s right, but that’s only part of the rules.”
“If you beat Bai Lei, you’ll take his ranking, and he’ll take yours.”
“Members with lower rankings basically climb up by challenging members ranked above them and swapping rankings.”
“At the same time, there’s another rule: higher-ranked members can challenge lower-ranked members.”
“If the lower-ranked member loses, their ranking drops by one.”
“Of course, even though this challenge method exists, very few people actually use it.”
…
Lu Ran understood what Shen Man meant.
Since Shen Man had brought it up, she definitely had a reason.
Obviously, Shen Man also wanted to take Bai Lei down a peg.
And make Bai Lei number two hundred and fifty—forever unable to rise!
As long as Lu Ran wanted to suppress him, he would always be at the bottom!
This was also why almost no one used this challenge method—because it was too bullying!
A high ranking itself meant personal ability. Challenging someone lower-ranked was bullying in itself. Beating them and then lowering their ranking on top of that?
If there wasn’t some deep grudge, very few people would provoke someone like that.
But for Lu Ran, this rule was great!
“What? You want to challenge me? You’d better think carefully. This is the Tianfu Society. I’m ranked number one. You’re not qualified to challenge me,” Bai Lei said arrogantly.
Lu Ran stared at Bai Lei for a moment.
Then suddenly asked, “One question. I shouldn’t know you from before, but the moment I arrived, you started targeting me. Is this just random bullying of a newcomer, or is there some grudge between us that I don’t know about?”
Hearing this—
Bai Lei frowned and said, “Why are you asking that? Scared? I’ll tell you straight—as long as you join the Tianfu Society, you won’t have a good time from now on. I’m telling you!”
Even with President Shen Man right there, Bai Lei had no reservations.
Like I said—the current Bai Lei was far too full of himself!
But being full of himself was one thing. Being able to rank number one in the Tianfu Society meant his abilities were absolutely unquestionable.
He even surpassed Su Ting!
Moreover, Bai Lei was from the year above Su Ting, so his level was higher than hers. Add to that the Bai family’s wealth and power, and Bai Lei’s equipment was fully outfitted.
With achievements like that, it wasn’t just him being a spoiled rich kid.
He actually had some skill.
This was also why Bai Lei was so confident.
Meanwhile—
Cong Shuang lowered her voice and explained from the side, “The Bai family and the Zhao family are old family friends. Bai Lei knows Zhao Xuan, a member of the Bai family’s younger generation, though Zhao Xuan is much younger.”
Zhao Xuan?
That Qimen heavenly master who dueled Lu Ran during the Hundred Cities League and failed miserably at showing off?
So that was it. Spoiled rich kids flock together—birds of a feather!
