Lu Ran followed Shen Man to the Heavenly Prefecture Society.
Along the way, both Shen Man and the other members of the Heavenly Prefecture Society kept glancing curiously at Siluo.
Lu Ran, on the other hand, only looked a few times before losing interest.
“Don’t mind them. They didn’t participate in the earlier monster siege—they only heard about your heroic deeds during it. This little sister beside you… she’s very strong,” Shen Man said to Lu Ran.
Lu Ran glanced at Siluo.
Then looked back at the Heavenly Prefecture Society members still staring at Siluo.
He was a bit taken aback—these guys hadn’t participated in the monster siege?
“They knew the monster siege had been triggered, but they weren’t interested in the experience or rewards from it, so they just didn’t go out,” Shen Man explained, having noticed Lu Ran’s curiosity and confusion.
Meanwhile.
The Heavenly Prefecture Society was different from what Lu Ran had imagined.
It was located in the core area of the Imperial Capital, in a quiet environment with defenses set up around it—outsiders couldn’t get close.
The Heavenly Prefecture Society wasn’t large in area—not even as big as the Heavenly Dao Alliance headquarters.
When Lu Ran entered, there were large buildings to his front-left and straight ahead, and a spacious training ground to his right.
Quite a few Heavenly Prefecture Society members were resting at the training ground at that moment.
As Lu Ran approached from a distance, they all stopped and looked at him.
Lu Ran spotted Cong Shuang among them.
Cong Shuang wasn’t the least bit surprised by Lu Ran’s appearance—a powerhouse like him being recruited by the Heavenly Prefecture Society was only natural.
Except…
Cong Shuang looked at the Heavenly Prefecture Society members around her.
Some of these members had been recommended by smaller nearby main cities, but most were the precious darlings of major powers, organizations, and families—proud and arrogant.
Although Lu Ran was strong, many of them had never seen him fight in person, so there would definitely be some who weren’t convinced.
She wondered how Lu Ran would handle it.
Of course.
It wasn’t that big families and major powers were more likely to produce talent—it was just that under Longxia’s current system, many new class holders in some main cities, even if they had hidden classes and strong abilities, weren’t taken out to level up. You couldn’t exactly say their talents were buried, but they were definitely discovered late—or not discovered at all.
And even if they were discovered and reported to the Heavenly Prefecture Society, the assessments and whatnot were still a problem.
Take Cong Shuang, for example—as the eldest daughter of the Cong family in the Imperial Capital, her path had been smooth sailing all the way.
Her own class abilities were powerful, so her status in the Heavenly Prefecture Society was very high.
“I heard you know Cong Shuang. You probably don’t know the others. Shall I introduce you?” Shen Man asked Lu Ran.
“Sure,” Lu Ran nodded.
So it seemed.
Before recruiting Lu Ran, the Heavenly Prefecture Society had investigated his movements over the past few days.
They knew Lu Ran and Cong Shuang were acquainted.
Hearing Lu Ran’s answer, Shen Man led the way toward the training ground.
Lu Ran followed close behind, while the other Heavenly Prefecture Society members clustered around, wearing expressions of anticipation.
“By the way, Lu Ran, have you finally decided whether to join the Heavenly Prefecture Society? Of course, there’s no rush to answer me now—you can give me your answer anytime you’ve thought it through,” Shen Man said. Though eager, she knew she couldn’t rush it and gave Lu Ran plenty of time to consider.
An invitation from the Heavenly Prefecture Society was a fatal temptation for any new class holder—no one would be foolish enough to need time to think about it.
But Lu Ran was different.
“No need to think. I’ll join,” Lu Ran said right away.
It was the same as before—join or not, no one could force Lu Ran to do anything he didn’t want to do.
“Great. I’ll have someone process your paperwork now. From today on, you’re a member of the Heavenly Prefecture Society,” Shen Man said happily.
She was naturally delighted to have recruited Lu Ran so smoothly.
But the atmosphere at the training ground was a bit strange at that moment.
Shen Man and Lu Ran had just stepped onto the training ground.
Someone shouted from a distance: “I heard earlier that the Heavenly Prefecture Society was going to recruit a necromancer—didn’t think it was true. From now on, the Heavenly Prefecture Society’s prestige is really going to shrink. After all, being in the same society as a necromancer is pretty embarrassing.”
The speaker was a young man with short white-dyed hair.
He had other Heavenly Prefecture Society members clustered around him. From their postures, it was clear this white-haired young man was a core figure.
Lu Ran looked at him calmly.
He hadn’t expected that even in a place like the Heavenly Prefecture Society, there’d be idiots like this.
Coming over to provoke him for no reason.
Wasn’t that just asking for death?
Lu Ran wasn’t about to indulge him!
But before Lu Ran could speak, Cong Shuang frowned and said, “Bai Lei, saying a few less words won’t kill you. The Heavenly Prefecture Society has always valued individual ability—yes, it’s closely tied to class, but Lu Ran’s necromancer is different from others. You know that too.”
Bai Lei frowned as well.
He glanced at Cong Shuang and said, “Cong Shuang, so you really do know this kid. But don’t forget your ranking—and the way you talk to me. Of course I know this kid’s different from other necromancers, but so what? He’s still just a necromancer.”
Hearing this.
Lu Ran suddenly got curious.
He’d already made a huge splash—not just in the Hundred Cities League, but during the monster siege he’d already demonstrated part of his abilities.
Even a fool, after hearing about Lu Ran’s abilities, wouldn’t be stupid enough to come provoke him, right?
So.
Lu Ran was curious—what exactly had Bai Lei heard about him, and how much did he actually know about his abilities?
Probably just heard a little and got cocky, not taking him seriously at all.
At that moment.
Shen Man carefully glanced at Lu Ran’s expression.
Then said, “Lu Ran, don’t mind it. This is just the culture of the Heavenly Prefecture Society—everyone here is a chosen one, competing with each other. Members have rankings, and higher-ranked members have absolute authority—they can even insult and order lower-ranked members around.”
As she spoke, she carefully observed Lu Ran’s expression.
If Lu Ran showed any displeasure, Shen Man would have to change how she phrased things and consider Lu Ran’s future situation in the Heavenly Prefecture Society.
It would be awkward if someone just joined and then demanded to quit because of this messy culture.
But to Shen Man’s relief.
Not only did Lu Ran not look displeased—the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and his eyes lit up as he said, “The system’s not bad. Direct, clean, no pretense. I like it.”
Then he pointed at Bai Lei and asked, “What’s his ranking?”
Shen Man said, “Bai Lei is currently ranked first.”
Huh?
Lu Ran was surprised—that he hadn’t expected.
An idiot like this, ranked first?
No wonder he was so arrogant. That meant Bai Lei had absolute authority in the Heavenly Prefecture Society!
Above all other members!
That also explained why there were some lapdog-type members around Bai Lei.
In that case…
First place is mine!
Once and for all!
