Bad news: Lu Ran's skills in cajoling were somewhat lacking.

At least, far less adept than his skills in confrontation.

Good news: Qiao Yuansi knew how to comfort herself.

She grew up in a single-parent family, with a career-driven mother and little time for accompaniment.

This shaped some of Qiao Yuansi's traits.

Beneath the shell of a mischievous young girl,

hid a heart that cautiously sought and was yet strong and independent.

The siblings of the Lu family seemed worlds apart, but at their core, they shared the same traits.

Self-reliance and strength.

While Lu Ran sat in the kitchen, his thoughts drifting away, Little Yuanxi walked back to the kitchen door.

Her eyes were red, and she stubbornly pursed her lips, looking at the young man seated in silence with his head bowed.

The more she looked, the sadder Qiao Yuansi felt.

The person who should be most worried was Lu Ran.

After all, he was the one who was risking his life to challenge the Divine Ruins.

When the divine commanded, believers had no right to refuse.

Thus, Lu Ran also had no choice in the matter.

"Brother~"

Qiao Yuansi spoke softly.

"Hmm?" Lu Ran snapped out of his thoughts and quickly stood up, "Come eat, I'll warm up your milk for you."

"Um." Qiao Yuansi relaxed a bit, relieved to see that her brother wasn't angry.

She sat down with her head lowered.

A moment later, Qiao Yuansi sneakily glanced up at Lu Ran, who was busy at the kitchen counter.

She pouted and broke the silence, "Did you tell Mom about the Divine Ruins thing?"

Lu Ran shook his head, "No, Mom is in closed-door cultivation, I can't reach her."

"Oh." Qiao Yuansi picked up her chopsticks and poked at the soft-boiled egg on her plate.

Was she imagining the fried egg as Lu Ran's face?

The conversation naturally shifted.

As if by silent agreement, the topic of leaving was no longer brought up.

In the next two days, the siblings returned to their usual routine.

Warmth as the main theme, with bickering as a minor interlude.

Lu Ran could feel that Little Yuanxi had become more clingy.

She pulled him to the sofa to watch "Heavenly Pride," replaying each of his battles.

Watching the heroic figure of Lu Ran, Qiao Yuansi couldn't help but giggle covertly and hug her brother's arm tightly.

The young girl's eyes were sparkling and her curved smiling eyes were like two beautiful crescents.

Charming and adorable.

On the eighteenth day of the lunar month, the latest ranking for "Heavenly Pride" was released.

Lu Ran scored 142 points.

Qiao Yuansi was quite dissatisfied, claiming there was foul play.

Lu Ran, on the other hand, pondered in his heart.

Isn't this score a bit harsh?

After his promotion to the River Realm, the grading standards of the judges were indeed different, weren't they?

To think, Rain Alley City did not just experience the Night of Ghosts but also the presence of a Demon Monarch.

And Lu Ran was involved in the battle from the beginning and played a critical role!

If Lu Ran was still at River Realm·Fifth Rank, might he have gotten full marks?

The fact that a Demon Monarch had slipped into the Night of Ghosts was indeed a shock to everyone!

Since last June, the intensity of Evil Demon invasions had been increasing.

Events claimed to be 'special' were gradually becoming less so.

And this October, the Night of Ghosts and the descent of the Demon Monarch occurring at the same time seemed to herald the dawn of a new era.

Panicked citizens were only natural.

The Da Xia government was also deliberately steering public opinion.

Whenever people connected the Night of Ghosts with the descent of the Demon Monarch, they invariably brought up the name Lu Ran.

Public focus and discussions inevitably leaned towards him.

Now, Lu Ran was more than famous in Da Xia.

He was awe-inspiring!

Lu Ran dared not rebel, but his fans had already hailed him as emperor...

Regrettably, Emperor Ran only secured third place this period.

But on the overall leaderboard, he was still comfortably in first place.

The two individuals ahead of him this period were both River Realm·Fifth Rank believers.

One with 147 points, the other with 144 points!

One a disciple of East Thunder, the other a disciple of Sword One.

Lu Ran specifically watched the highlight reel of the East Thunder brother, who was like Flash!

Enveloped in purple lightning, he stood his ground against a River Realm Demon Monarch.

Two words: Badass!

In any combat, an absolute advantage in speed can create miracles.

The East Thunder believer was such, and so was the Immortal Sheep believer.

"Brother, you now have 583 points in total!" Qiao Yuansi exclaimed excitedly from the computer desk, "17 points ahead of second place! Yay~"

Lu Ran then turned his attention to the second place.

Poor He Qifeng, the Martial Monk sister.

She advanced to the River Realm first and faced score suppression by the judges earlier.

Despite being a major force in battle with outstanding achievements, she couldn't reach 140.

That's tough~

"Just one more battle left!" Qiao Yuansi's eyes shone with excitement, "And you'll be the undisputed number one heavenly pride of Da Xia!"

Lu Ran patted Qiao Yuansi's head, "You shouldn't count your chickens before they hatch."

"AUV~" She imitated the tones of a Beijing socialite.

Then, becoming mischievously playful, she wobbled her head, "You're not allowed to say that~"

Lu Ran held her head steady with one hand, "Are you showing your true colors now?"

Qiao Yuansi giggled, "So tell me, what am I then?"

"You... well, you're a person." Lu Ran was out of arguments.

They were, after all, siblings, sharing the same blood.

"Hmph." Qiao Yuansi won another round and turned to look at the computer.

Lu Ran too looked on, opening the prize page.

The prizes for the top ten in the Heavenly Pride rankings weren't too shabby.

Seven Divine Weapons and three Magic Artifacts were available to choose from.

After "Heavenly Pride" ended, students would select in order of their rankings.

Those ranking 11th to 30th would be awarded Divine Weapon embryos, akin to the state of the Black Ice Sword when Jiang Ruyi first obtained the Cold Night Sword.

These weapons had been nurtured by their owners for a long time and were full of spirit.

Regrettably, their owners had perished in battle, leaving their blades to be collected by "Heavenly Pride" as prizes.

Subsequent rewards were varied and assorted.

Various materials for weapons, high-grade Divine Power Pearls, rare minerals from Demon Caves, plants, and so on.

Naturally, Qiao Yuansi's eyes were focused on the top ten.

"Magic Artifacts are rarer, let's pick a Magic Artifact!" she suggested confidently, as if the powerful artifact was already hers.

"Let's hope so." Lu Ran's gaze passed over the images of the three Magic Artifacts.

"Heavenly Pride" really knew how to whet one's appetite.

The images of the seven Divine Weapons were displayed openly, whether they were swords or sabers at a glance.

By contrast, there was no introduction for the three Magic Artifacts; their images were even obscured by fog.

Online speculation was rife, and there were many theories.

One of the Magic Artifacts appeared to be a Treasure Bead.

Another looked like a wine gourd, at least the part visible through the fog looked like the gourd's mouth.

As for the last Magic Artifact, the fog in the image was so thick that there was no consensus on the internet.

According to "Heavenly Pride" official website information, the details of the three Magic Artifacts would be revealed along with the year-end total score ranking.

This left Lu Ran itching with curiosity.

He wished that tomorrow would be the final day of "Heavenly Pride"!

He hoped that the unique Artifact Spirit within the prize he would choose would be somewhat amiable.

Lu Ran was not worried that the Artifact Spirits of these Divine Weapons and Magic Artifacts would cause trouble or refuse to acknowledge their masters.

After all, these were offered by "Heavenly Pride"; the officials must have communicated with the Artifact Spirits.

Full of hope, Lu Ran received numerous congratulatory messages.

He replied to each one, then received a call from the official "Heavenly Pride".

Without the excuse of needing to meditate on the River Realm this time, he agreed to their invitation for an outing.

Just taking two or three days, it wouldn't delay anything.

Besides, Lu Ran had his eye on the prize...

Most of all, Lu Ran truly wanted to do something for this land, for the people of Da Xia suffering through adversity.

Going to some remote areas to offer warmth.

To bring encouragement to the locals, to inspire the students, felt quite meaningful.

And there was also money to be made.

...

In the blink of an eye, it was the nineteenth day of the lunar calendar.

That morning, a large G-class SUV stopped in front of the apartment building.

By the Lu residence's doorway,

Qiao Yuansi pouted, stepping into her Doc Martens, obstinately gazing at Lu Ran.

Lu Ran, irritated, said, "Tie your own laces!"

Qiao Yuansi stubbornly kept her gaze fixed on her brother, her lips so puckered they could hang an oil bottle.

"I really owe you one!"

Lu Ran acquiesced, knelt on one knee, and tied his sister's shoelaces.

A flicker of joy passed in Qiao Yuansi's eyes, quickly filled again with the sorrow of parting.

But she had no choice; she had to return to Beijing for college.

"It's tied, let's go." Lu Ran stood up and said, gripping the suitcase handle.

"Hmpf." Qiao Yuansi stomped and turned to push open the door, walking out.

Lu Ran followed behind his sister, suddenly feeling an urge to start chanting "left, right, left."

Well... better not provoke her.

As soon as the apartment door was pushed open, several voices were heard.

"Ran Bro!"

"Ran Bro!" Niu Zhengzheng and Wang Ling were smiling and greeting him by the off-road vehicle.

Guan Yiren looked at Qiao Yuansi, who was pouting as she came out and reached out to steady the young girl.

However, Qiao Yuansi instead plunged directly into Guan Yiren's embrace.

Guan Yiren, showing rare warmth, gently patted Qiao Yuansi's back.

Wang Ling asked, "Bro Ran, you sure I shouldn't take you back to Beijing?"

"No need, you guys go ahead." Lu Ran still wore his mask and shook his head.

Lu Ran indeed had to fly from Beijing, but he had to wait for Sister Xian'er to arrive before leaving together.

"Wang Ling." Guan Yiren called softly.

"Ah." Wang Ling opened the rear car door, fetched a Tang broadsword, and approached Lu Ran.

Lu Ran asked, "What's this?"

Wang Ling smiled, "Bro Ran, this is our squad's thank-you gift, for your care on the night of the fifteenth."

The Tang sword was without a scabbard, at first glance seeming like ordinary steel.

But Lu Ran was fairly certain, it must be Tianchen Steel!

After all, those giving the gift were all sons and daughters of nobility.

"No, it's too precious." Lu Ran waved it off.

Guan Yiren softly said, "Compared to what you've done for us, this is insignificant."

Lu Ran had indeed taken great care of the squad.

He had broken the siege for Wang Ling and saved Guan Yiren's life.

But this was not the way to count it!

That night they were a team, companions in battle together.

Their relationship could be life-saving; it wasn't right to accept gifts.

Niu Zhengzheng boisterous as ever, "Bro Ran, just accept it, we've seen you like blades!

You're bound to have more than two divine weapons in your life, haha!"

Guan Yiren glanced down, stared at Lu Ran's black mask, her voice tender:

"Having this blade follow you would be its honor."

Wang Ling added, "Yeah, Bro Ran! In your hands..."

Lu Ran waved his hand, "If you insist on giving it to me, then don't come next month on the fifteenth."

Wang Ling looked troubled, turning to look at Guan Yiren.

Guan Yiren hesitated, but only until the girl in her arms whispered something. She then nodded, signaling Wang Ling to take back the sword.

Lu Ran was also helpless.

Was Ran Dog's hearing too sharp?

Of course, he overheard Qiao Yuansi softly say, "My brother's birthday is soon."

Lu Ran handed the suitcase to Wang Ling, "Hurry up and go, don't be late returning to school."

Qiao Yuansi turned to gaze at Lu Ran, her cheeks puffed, and she glared at him again.

Then she got into the vehicle, her ponytail swishing with every move.

Lu Ran watched them helplessly, shrugging his shoulders, "Hurry up, I'm pretty cold."

Early winter season, dry grass covered with a thin frost.

Lu Ran stood in the cold wearing only light clothes after speeding to see off the visitors.

"Okay, let's go."

"Then we're leaving, Bro Ran, see you next month on the fifteenth!"

"Drive safely." Lu Ran watched them get in the car, sending them off until the vehicle slowly disappeared.

Just as the car was about to turn the corner and vanish, a small head popped out of the window, loudly saying,

"Goodbye, brother~~~"

The early winter morning was a bit chilly.

The neighborhood was quiet and deserted.

The girl's voice carried far and wide, breaking the cold silence.

Lu Ran's eyes were warm with a smile as he waved his hand.

...

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