After Nanami received notification that her entry application was approved.
She set off immediately for Longxia.
Back at the Four Directions Stronghold.
Cao Yuan had already reactivated the settlement’s protective shield.
But this was the first time, even with the protective shield active, that he still felt unsafe.
The settlement shield that once made him feel incredibly secure now felt as fragile as an eggshell, on the verge of shattering at any moment.
This was, of course, all because of Lu Ran.
A single Blood Spear had shattered the settlement’s protective shield!
The so-called defensive effect was utterly useless against Lu Ran!
All the professionals in the Four Directions Stronghold felt as if they had narrowly escaped disaster.
“Boss, about that Qin Lie matter…”
A trusted subordinate beside him asked carefully.
“Didn’t I say that’s all in the past? Besides, Qin Lie even wants to compensate me. Given Qin Lie’s character, that compensation will naturally be more than acceptable.” Cao Yuan turned back, glaring at his subordinate, and said.
“So, what you said earlier… it wasn’t just a brush-off? You genuinely want to reconcile with Qin Lie?” The subordinate’s face was full of disbelief.
It wasn’t that Cao Yuan hadn’t seemed sincere enough.
It was that for so many years.
Every single professional in the Four Directions Stronghold knew how deeply Cao Yuan hated Qin Lie!
He wished he could skin him alive and pull his tendons.
And now, with just a few words, it was all over?
“Nonsense! The Big Four Guilds all showed up. Do you think I’d dare to just brush it off? Are you a pig-headed idiot? If anyone dares to bring up the matter between Qin Lie and me again, don’t blame me for turning my back on them!” Cao Yuan cursed angrily.
At this, the members of the Four Directions Stronghold finally understood.
Cao Yuan genuinely, truly wanted to reconcile with Qin Lie, it wasn’t just a temporary tactic.
After his outburst.
Cao Yuan suddenly turned his head and looked at Wang Yujiao, who was not far away.
Eyes narrowed, he asked, “That Lu Ran, he’s your ex-boyfriend?”
Wang Yujiao was stunned. In her mind, the scene from earlier, with the Big Four Guilds backing Lu Ran, and the four guild masters being so close with him, still lingered.
Upon hearing the question, she simply nodded.
Saying, “That was in the past.”
“Nonsense! If it wasn’t in the past, could you be the ex-girlfriend? Well, well, who’d have thought? Someone with Lu Ran’s status and position, and you could still betray him? You’re quite something.” Cao Yuan said, his tone laced with cold sarcasm.
Wang Yujiao clenched her teeth tightly.
Her fists were clenched, her body trembling slightly.
This was like a wound she least wanted to touch.
Now being cruelly and mercilessly ripped open again by Cao Yuan!
But although she remained silent, Cao Yuan had no intention of letting it go so easily.
He said slowly and deliberately, “The situation today didn’t have to escalate to this point. The fact that Lu Ran kept pressuring the Four Directions Stronghold, looking back on it now, you played a part in that too. It was because of you that Lu Ran harbored a grudge against the stronghold. I curse your mother!”
Cao Yuan was cursing furiously.
Although the Four Directions Stronghold lacked rare classes, Wang Yujiao hadn’t even grown into her potential yet.
She hadn’t even formally joined the guild, just been a reserve member.
But she had already consumed quite a few of the stronghold’s resources.
And in the end.
Not only had Wang Yujiao failed to make any contribution to the stronghold, she had instead caused Lu Ran to vent his anger on them because of her!
Of course.
This was just Cao Yuan’s own speculation.
In reality, Lu Ran didn’t care at all, it was a complete non-issue for him.
He just regarded Wang Yujiao as a stranger.
“What are you standing there like an idiot for? Get lost! You think you can still stay in my Four Directions Stronghold? Dream on!” Cao Yuan saw Wang Yujiao standing there dumbfounded and couldn’t help but continue cursing.
This kind of troublemaker, he didn’t dare keep!
Having narrowly survived this calamity, someone who had betrayed Lu Ran absolutely couldn’t stay!
That would be a ticking time bomb!
Cao Yuan didn’t understand Lu Ran at all; who knew if Lu Ran might hold a grudge against Wang Yujiao and come looking for trouble again?
And if Lu Ran came looking for trouble, it wouldn’t just be him alone, behind him stood the Big Four Guilds!
“What?” Wang Yujiao was startled.
“Didn’t you hear? I said get lost!” Cao Yuan cursed.
Anyway, Wang Yujiao was just a reserve member.
There wasn’t even a need to go through the procedure of quitting the guild.
“I have a rare class!” Wang Yujiao said through gritted teeth.
Back when she first came to the Four Directions Stronghold.
They had welcomed promising talents like her!
“Rare class my ass! What use is it! I’m already being generous by not asking you to repay the resources you consumed during this time. If you don’t get lost now, I’ll personally throw you out!” Cao Yuan’s eyes were wide.
He had even drawn his weapon.
Wang Yujiao looked around.
The professionals of the Four Directions Stronghold, who had always been friendly in the past, were now looking at her with disgust.
Naturally, they all considered her a jinx.
Wang Yujiao opened her mouth, but in the end, couldn’t utter a single word.
With a dejected expression, she silently turned and left the Four Directions Stronghold.
The world was vast, but where could she go?
Her identity as a rare class wouldn’t be a problem for joining other guilds, but as soon as any friction with Lu Ran occurred, any guild would immediately expel her!
And all of this wasn’t something Lu Ran had intentionally caused.
It was just the absolute deterrence brought by Lu Ran’s current status and position!
A few hours later.
Lu Ran and the others arrived by a small river.
Although there was a river here, the surrounding area still looked extremely desolate.
Behind them was the Gobi desert; crossing the river, the area ahead looked more like a sandy desert.
“Ahead lies the Sea of Sand region, classified as a forbidden zone.” Liu Xinxin said, consulting the map.
Lu Ran also opened his own map.
Sure enough.
The part across the river was all blacked out, showing no specific terrain.
This indicated that no human professional had ever set foot in the area ahead.
“Doesn’t look any different?” Lu Ran muttered.
The Sea of Sand region actually seemed much quieter.
No wild monsters were visible.
It was barren and desolate.
“That’s just how it looks. The terrain in the Sea of Sand region isn’t just desert; it includes complex landforms like hills and Gobi, and the variety of monsters is also vast. As a high-level forbidden zone, it’s naturally more dangerous. It’s just that we don’t have precise information, so we need to be careful in everything we do.” Liu Xinxin said.
After speaking.
She cautioned, “Ahead in the Sea of Sand region, there should be Sandworms, unique to other low-level desert areas. They are extremely good at hiding and specialize in ambushes and sudden attacks. They have triggered aggression. The Sandworms in the forbidden zone will be of a higher level.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Ran immediately formulated a countermeasure.
Although he had never encountered Sandworms before, based on what he’d heard, it didn’t sound like a problem for now.
Of course.
Lu Ran could fly himself; he could even just cross the Sea of Sand directly, avoiding most of the monsters.
But Liu Xinxin and the others couldn’t fly; they would have to follow on foot below.
This being the case, Liu Xinxin and the others had now become Lu Ran’s burden.
If it weren’t for the fact that Lu Ran knew nothing about high-level zone data, or about how the quest system, scroll quest triggers, and operations worked,
Liu Xinxin would have felt comfortable letting Lu Ran enter the Sea of Sand alone.
Anyway, he wouldn’t die, so there was nothing to worry about.
“Then let’s go. I’ll clear the path.” Lu Ran announced.
He then stepped into the small river.
The other two followed behind him.
Lu Ran’s method was actually quite simple.
He waved his hand.
Without even consuming the undead army stored within his Sleeve of Qiankun.
He simply summoned them on the spot.
He scattered them in a fan-shaped pattern across the area ahead, like a carpet sweep.
He was using the Skeleton Soldiers as mine detectors.
As soon as a Sandworm was triggered, the nearby Skeleton Soldiers would swarm it, finishing it off with Corpse Explosion!
