This battle—Lu Ran was determined to win it.
Liu Xinxin had said that the champion’s reward this time was something that absolutely had to be obtained—it was incredibly generous. Though he still didn’t know the specifics, Lu Ran had no intention of giving up.
Besides, there was no real possibility of him losing. All he had to do was perform as usual.
The crowd was electric. As the two entered the arena, cheers exploded through the entire venue!
Countless fans of Lu Ran were screaming at the top of their lungs. There were even way more banners dedicated to him than before. Some of them literally had “Champion Lu Ran” written across them.
Zhang Zheng, on the other hand, was completely overshadowed. Nobody was paying him any attention. Even though he was one of the two finalists, sharing the same stage, he felt more like a sparring partner—a green leaf meant to highlight Lu Ran’s flower.
That thought made Zhang Zheng’s mind twist with resentment. He forced himself to stay calm, but his expression still turned a little fierce and contorted.
As soon as they were on stage, Zhang Zheng couldn’t hold it in anymore.
He shot Lu Ran a mocking look and said, “This final match—the championship is mine.”
Lu Ran glanced at him.
He couldn’t be bothered, but still replied: “Yeah, yeah. Good luck.”
Then, Lu Ran turned his gaze toward the sky around them.
He’d noticed it earlier when he first came out. Dark clouds had started gathering around the entire Imperial City, as if a storm was brewing. But strangely, the sky directly above the city itself remained unaffected.
Still, a light breeze had begun to stir.
Lu Ran had been in the break room earlier, so he didn’t know about the monster siege yet. For now, he was just a little puzzled.
Down in the crowd, amid the roaring cheers, Lu Ran’s appearance had captured everyone’s attention. It seemed like even the impending monster siege had been forgotten.
The major factions were also watching the final arena closely, waiting for the champion to be decided.
The officials on stage had even started preparing their final remarks, and the award ceremony was already being arranged.
That was normal. No matter who won, the ceremony would go on as planned—the only difference was who’d be receiving the reward.
At one of the seating sections below, there weren’t many people.
Cen Yunuo sat in the front row, and beside her was the same woman she had spoken with earlier.
Then, Cen Yunuo suddenly said, “Lu Ran has already noticed the unusual signs from the monster siege. But it seems he still doesn’t know exactly what it is.”
The woman looked around and asked, “What level is the siege?”
Cen Yunuo replied casually, “Level four.”
Level-four difficulty meant the monsters that appeared would be around level forty, with none exceeding level fifty. Elites and bosses would most likely be level forty-five. Even if there were fluctuations, they wouldn’t be too drastic.
At the same time, level-four was also the highest difficulty any major city in Longxia had ever experienced.
But even with monsters in their forties, it was no wonder people called it a public benefit event.
“Not enough,” the woman shook her head.
Cen Yunuo was taken aback and looked at her.
“You wanted to see Lu Ran go all out and show off his other abilities, right? This is a perfect chance. But at level four, Lu Ran probably won’t even bother stepping in. And even if he does, it’ll be small-scale. Sure, he needs experience, but level-forty-something monsters—even with five times the XP—aren’t that appealing to him,” the woman continued.
Cen Yunuo seemed to catch on.
After a moment, she said, “You mean… raise the difficulty?”
The woman nodded. “That’s exactly what I mean.”
Cen Yunuo hesitated.
She thought it over for a bit.
Then she asked, “Raise it to what level? And wouldn’t intervening in the datafied rules now be… a bit much?”
“Nothing to worry about. As long as nothing unexpected happens—and with Lu Ran around, nothing will,” the woman said.
“Alright then… level five?” Cen Yunuo gritted her teeth.
“Level five is definitely tough. There won’t be enough high-level fighters, and Lu Ran will have to step in. But it still won’t be explosive enough,” the woman shook her head again.
Cen Yunuo was shocked.
She exclaimed, “Level six? That… that would be disastrous if anything goes wrong! Once the siege starts, the city’s teleportation arrays shut down—no outside help can come in. If the city falls, everyone inside dies. You know how terrifying level six is!”
The woman, however, was way more relaxed than Cen Yunuo.
She shrugged and said, “Of course level six is terrifying. But like I said, with Lu Ran around, nothing will go wrong. Worst case, I’ll step in myself. Let’s go with level six.”
Hearing that, Cen Yunuo finally steadied herself.
She nodded and said, “If you’re saying that, then let’s do it. The experience from level six is insane. Lu Ran really needs it, and it’ll make the cross-server war in a few days way more exciting. I can’t wait.”
With that, Cen Yunuo added, “Let’s wait until the finals are over. I still want to watch this match. We have enough time before the siege starts—I’ll adjust the difficulty myself.”
No one else could hear their conversation. If anyone had, they’d probably think the two of them had lost their minds.
Intervening in the datafied rules? Modifying the system itself? What kind of power was that?
Absolutely terrifying.
On stage, Lu Ran and Zhang Zheng stood face to face.
The match was about to begin.
Zhang Zheng, still unsettled by the roar of the crowd, couldn’t let go of his resentment. His mind was still twisted.
So he couldn’t help but fire off one last taunt: “I know you’re strong. I know you don’t think I’m a threat. But you don’t seriously believe that what I used against Cong Shuang was everything I’ve got, do you? Right? Right?”
Lu Ran looked at Zhang Zheng like he was an idiot.
With that kind of mentality, that personality, that twisted mindset—why would he even worry about an opponent like this?
So he said casually, “I don’t know all your abilities. That doesn’t matter to me. I don’t care. Besides, do you know mine? I’m a Necromancer. Have you ever seen my summons?”
Well, that…
Checkmate.
Zhang Zheng instantly fell silent.
In terms of abilities, he had already shown part of his hand—though he had kept some hidden, and Lu Ran indeed didn’t know them.
But in comparison, his understanding of Lu Ran’s abilities was pitiful!
Lu Ran was a Necromancer, and Zhang Zheng hadn’t even seen him summon a single undead creature. That was the most absurd part!
The only thing he’d seen was Lu Ran’s Blood Spear!
At that thought, Zhang Zheng forced himself to focus. He told himself internally to stay cautious—give Lu Ran no openings at all!
The best move would be to take the match right from the start, not giving Lu Ran a chance to act. Otherwise, that Blood Spear—even he wouldn’t be able to withstand it!
“Then let’s settle this with real skill,” Zhang Zheng said gravely.
“It should’ve been that way from the start. You’ve been running your mouth forever—I just couldn’t be bothered,” Lu Ran said bluntly.
No point being polite with someone like this.
The next second—
“Time’s up! The match begins!” the host bellowed.
Zhang Zheng wasted no time. He raised his whip in an instant.
“My weapon is called the Immortal-Binding Rope. In this battle, I will win!” Zhang Zheng roared.
