Over the next two days, Lu Ran holed up at home, devoting himself to spiritual cultivation.

On the internet, however, a frenzy had erupted.

It turned out that Lu Ran, this particular Immortal Sheep Believer, was not just a flash in the pan!

He had the ability to slaughter his way through the Night of Ghosts, and to do battle with the Demon Lord when he descended upon the world.

Lu Ran's battles, turned into thrilling highlights, exploded across the internet, set to rousing, pounding music that made people's scalps tingle!

Among those battles, the wide-spread solo duel of Lu Ran against a Ghost General on a rainy alley was particularly notorious.

The heavy rain poured, and a black banner whipped and fluttered in the wind.

A semi-transparent black veil encircled both parties, marking the life-or-death arena from which only one could emerge alive.

Beneath this banner, the Ghost General rode a fiery warhorse, looking down upon the diminutive human.

Lu Ran stood tall with sword in hand, fearless and resolute, eyes burning as they met the formidable gaze of the majestic Ghost General.

This image of confrontation became the desktop wallpaper for countless people.

What followed was even more blood-pumping!

The human's dual blades were fierce, his might soared to the heavens!

First, he beheaded the horse, then the General!

His movements flowed like clouds and water, a delight to watch.

Especially mid-battle, when Lu Ran slaughtered the fiery warhorse, stood upon the burning horse's head, pointed his sword at the Ghost General, and uttered the words that went viral:

"Now, it's a fair fight."

Where did it go viral?

Across all platforms!

People engaged in fiery debates about this battle of Lu Ran's, and amidst the thousands of topics, one broke through:

"What defines Heavenly Pride?"

When Lu Ran faced such a powerful Ghost General with such posture, whether he won or lost seemed no longer important.

At this unique moment in time, even factors like strength level, Divine Technique, and martial disciplines were secondary.

The spirit that Lu Ran displayed, his integrity, his pride...

Could be seen as Da Xia's genius!

Without meaning to, Lu Ran had raised the standard of what it meant to be a "Heavenly Pride."

The hundred students from Da Xia participating in the competition would have to try even harder now.

Honestly speaking, when Lu Ran saw himself in the videos, he too was taken aback.

Was he really that intense when in battle?

Hmm... not bad, at least he lived up to the name his parents had given him.

Another battle also went viral on the internet.

That was the fight where Lu Ran joined forces with two Great Powers of the Jiang Realm to battle the Demon Lord.

Lu Ran, serving as bait, helped the Biwu believer, Liu Yunlan, to stab the Evil Dog full of holes.

Lu Ran then cleverly cooperated with the Nuoshasha believer, Ge Bin, to severely wound the Evil Dog and leave the Demon Lord disarmed and dishonored.

The battle was fraught with peril, leaving onlookers with their hearts in their throats.

And the scene where Lu Ran personally beheaded the dog left everyone agape.

It wasn't just any ordinary slash.

It was a strike like thunder from a clear sky!

It was a slash that merged with the stormy night, utilizing the thunder in the night sky to strike as one!

This strike was undoubtedly full of imagination and creativity.

Lu Ran made use of natural environmental factors, the condition of the Evil Dog being blinded, and he knew well the characteristics of the Evil Dog Evil Skill·Evil Recognition, seizing a fleeting opportunity.

Such a strike comes once in a blue moon!

It also caused a great stir among the countless Martial Artists of Da Xia.

Was Lu Ran just lucky?

If Lu Ran were just an obscure high schooler, people might think he stumbled upon success by blind luck.

But Lu Ran stood on the battlefield of "Heavenly Pride," his opponents the Demon Lords themselves!

Could he simply be lucky?

He must have fought for it!

Undeniably, there was an element of luck.

The storm seemed to be a blessing from the heavens.

But...

Heaven helps those who help themselves!

Questions arose again as to why the Martial Monk Sect, the Beifeng Sect did not accept Lu Ran, allowing the Immortal Sheep to scoop up such a talent...

Many other weapon-related sects were implicated as well.

How did the gods overlook such a talented Swordman?

Lu Ran had seen the related short videos.

The one with the most views really did have some flair.

Not only did it feature Lu Ran's first-person perspective, but it even used official surveillance footage from across the central plaza in Rain Alley.

In the video, as the moment Lu Ran slew the Demon Lord played out, the stirring background music suddenly vanished.

Only the sound of the wind, rain, and the ferocious roar of the Evil Dog remained.

The original sound of the battlefield brought the video to its climax.

Thunder broke through the night sky,

A blade wielded by a mortal sliced through the world.

Before the thunder ceased, silence had already fallen over the battlefield.

The Demon Lord lay beheaded, blood flowing freely, as the retreating Swordman cut through cascading curtains of rain and disappeared into the stormy night.

When the silence of the video was broken once more, it was by the humming vibration of the Silent Night Blade!

The beheading of the Demon Lord and the emergence of the Divine Weapon were seamlessly connected.

Even Lu Ran was stunned by the show!

Now ~ that's professionalism!

After the 15th, Lu Ran became explosively popular.

Among the concurrent 50 competitors, as many as 8 students' cities had experienced special events.

Even with eight top-tier battlefields, Lu Ran was the most dazzling among them.

Lu Ran's strike,

Shattered all doubts, carved out a mighty reputation.

And it also won him the laurel of the competition!

The results for the second season of "Heavenly Pride" were announced on the 18th day of the fourth lunar month.

Lu Ran, bearing the title of Immortal Sheep Believer, topped the leaderboard!

He earned a terrifying score of 149.

Nearly perfect!

The runner-up fell behind by a full... erm, 1 point.

The lady in second place remained the once-in-forty-years female Martial Monk Believer.

She had a pleasant name: Qifeng.

Qifeng also experienced a special event and, opening Three Heads and Six Arms, once again tore through the long night.

In the first season of "Heavenly Pride," Lu Ran had acquired a score of 143.

Together, his total score now reached 292.

On the overall leaderboard, Lu Ran climbed from seventh to third place.

The first on the leaderboard remained this female Martial Artist.

Her strength so formidable that it left her peers in despair, and Da Xia Country's people thrilled to the core.

The moment the results were announced, Lu Ran's phone wouldn't stop ringing.

At that time, Lu Ran was checking his scores, and seeing his sister's name on the screen, he picked up immediately.

"Brother!!!"

His sister let out a shrill cry, making Lu Ran recall the thunder on the night of the 15th when he beheaded the Demon Lord.

What's the need to wait for thunderclaps in the night sky when slaying the Jiang Realm's Evil Dogs in the future?

He might as well bring his sister along...

"Uh," Lu Ran suddenly cocked his head, feeling his brain buzzing.

"Big brother, you're number one! Woohoo~"

Little Yuanxi was jubilant.

Lu Ran had planned to chide her, but, feeling his sister's overwhelming joy, he couldn't bring himself to dampen her spirits.

"You're third on the overall leaderboard now! Only a few points behind the first two, haha!"

Little Yuanxi chattered on, her tone brimming with pride and joy.

"Brother? Aren't you going to speak?" After celebrating happily for a while, Qiao Yuanxi suddenly realized Lu Ran had been silent.

Instantly, Little Yuanxi grew unhappy, "Ah, my cold and heartless brother~ Now that you're famous, you disdain your family and look down on your own little sister..."

Lu Ran: ???

Qiao Yuanxi sighed, "Alas, big brother is now Heavenly Pride, so precious. Only sisters on the Heavenly Pride leaderboard are worth his worries, I guess."

Lu Ran spoke irritably, "Speaking nonsense? These past days, we've been texting every day, haven't I been worrying about you?"

Qiao Yuanxi's lamentations continued, her voice haunting, "How could I compare to them, with names of gold and jade, I am but a person of the grass and trees..."

Lu Ran gaped, utterly dumbfounded!

Qiao... Qiao Daiyu?

"I know I'm still in my brother's heart, but seeing them, you've forgotten your sister..."

"Qiao! Yuan! Xi!"

"Pff... hahaha~"

"Speak properly!" Lu Ran was grinding his teeth.

"Congratulations on reaching third on the overall leaderboard, and for winning another Divine Weapon!" Qiao Yuanxi calmed down quite a bit.

She was probably really afraid of upsetting her brother too much.

"Oh, oh, and Niu Zhengzheng idolizes you now, even wants to take you as his master!" Qiao Yuanxi blurted out, "Even Sister Yiren, who doesn't talk much, praised you several times in our group chat!"

"Mhm," Lu Ran responded and didn't continue the topic, instead asking, "Is Mom still at Jinghong Peak?"

Immediately, Qiao Yuanxi pouted, "Yeah! She's almost caught up to you, yet she won't come home."

"I'll call her later," Lu Ran sighed internally and reminded her, "Next month's fifteenth is the college entrance exam. Tomorrow is your last tribulation, make sure you and your two team members do your job well and stay safe."

Lu Ran wasn't really concerned about Qiao Yuanxi's performance.

Firstly, with Guan Yiren and Niu Zhengzheng leading, Little Yuanxi was racking up points like crazy, and her scores were already impressive.

Secondly, this team had forged a different path by accomplishing several special assessments, already securing consideration for Beijing University.

For Qiao Yuanxi at this stage, the college entrance exam wasn't a fate-determining test.

The real test was Beijing University's independent recruitment exam.

Qiao Yuanxi's tone once again grew melancholic, "How can I compare to the sisters of Heavenly Pride... Eh?"

Before she finished, Qiao Yuanxi was met with a series of beeps.

Qiao Yuanxi's lips pursed again as she muttered, "That darn guy, I'm going to complain to Sister Ruyi!"

Lu Ran scrolled through his contacts and settled on his mother's name card.

He knew his mother was in seclusion, cultivating, and shouldn't be disturbed.

But...

Hesitating for a moment, he still dialed his mother's number.

Unexpectedly, it was Chen Jingjing who answered.

"Mom," Lu Ran blurted out, startling Chen Jingjing into a flustered explanation.

"Jingjing," Lu Ran scratched his head, "is my mom available to talk?"

"I'll ask," Chen Jingjing didn't dare to promise anything, "Please hold."

Lu Ran was also quite helpless, needing a transfer to talk to his own mother...

It took a while before a gentle voice came from the other end of the phone:

"Ranran?"

"Mom." Lu Ran cast aside his troubling thoughts, trying to sound cheerful, hoping to infect the listener, "I came first in this season of Heavenly Pride!"

"Oh?" Qiao Wanjun was quite surprised.

Her usually calm heart finally rippled slightly.

She knew her child was strong and stubbornly ambitious.

On the last season of "Heavenly Pride," Lu Ran had already achieved remarkable results.

Qiao Wanjun was already quite content but did not expect her son to push the envelope even further!

Lu Ran spoke cheerfully, "The real deal, there's video proof!"

Qiao Wanjun felt a twinge of guilt, her eyes dimming, "I'm sorry, Ranran, I didn't watch your..."

"That's great!" Lu Ran interjected, cutting her words short.

"Huh?" Qiao Wanjun was confused.

Lu Ran exclaimed, "I'll tell you all about it! Do you have time now, Mom?"

Qiao Wanjun couldn't help but smile.

Lu Ran wasn't the least bit upset nor petulant, instead, he said...

Qiao Wanjun bowed her head slightly, her voice tender, "Sure, tell me all about it."

Lu Ran gathered his thoughts, began to recount slowly:

"Well, the story starts on a stormy night..."

Qiao Wanjun: "..."

...

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