122: Cheng Ran returns to Xuanyuan City

After Cheng Ran stood firm, she saluted Meng Yanxing, saying, "Deputy Director Meng."

Meng Yanxing laughed heartily, then stood up, "No need for formalities, little girl Cheng Ran. How was your mission this time? Was it smooth?"

Cheng Ran nodded, "It was just about killing some demons, I didn't encounter anything difficult to resolve."

"That's good."

Meng Yanxing only asked a couple of polite questions. Cheng Ran was from the headquarters, and her missions were specially issued by the headquarters. In truth, Meng Yanxing wasn't entirely clear what Cheng Ran did on her missions each time.

"How is my little girl doing at the headquarters? She just transferred there recently, has she been willful?"

Meng Yanxing was referring to his only daughter, Meng Ruo.

Not long ago, Meng Ruo had entered the headquarters under his repeated recommendations, leaving the scope of what he could know.

Cheng Ran responded, "Deputy Director Meng, please rest assured, Meng Ruo is doing well."

Meng Yanxing nodded, "In that case, I'm relieved."

Meng Yanxing knew Meng Ruo very well. This girl was very willful and placed great importance on family status. This kind of mindset was destined to prevent her from rising further after entering the Yanjing Headquarters. If Meng Yanxing wasn't still the Deputy Director of Xuanyuan City, Meng Ruo wouldn't even have been able to enter the headquarters.

However, children and grandchildren have their own fortunes; the future was not something he could worry about.

Meng Yanxing explained the Heavenly Soldier Project to Cheng Ran and also mentioned that Lu Ze seemed quite interested in this project.

After listening, Cheng Ran frowned slightly, seemingly deep in thought.

Meng Yanxing spoke directly, "The Heavenly Soldier Project is too dangerous. If Lu Ze goes with his current strength, he will likely face more peril than good fortune. My intention is for us to maneuver a bit and see if we can find someone to take his spot, or have the person in charge at the headquarters directly remove Lu Ze's name."

Cheng Ran didn't reply. After a long while, she finally said, "Ultimately, this matter depends on Lu Ze's personal wishes. Let's discuss it further after I've asked him."

Meng Yanxing naturally had no objections. He then took out a Storage Ring and handed it to Cheng Ran, "Since you're going to find Lu Ze anyway, please give this to him and pass on a message: tell him not to forget what he promised me."

With that, Meng Yanxing stood up and left the office.

Cheng Ran looked at the sky; it wasn't too late. She then, with a swirl of Spiritual Qi, arrived at Lu Ze's residence.

At this moment!

Lu Ze was originally meditating and cultivating when he suddenly felt an incredibly powerful force appear from outside!

He immediately exited his meditative state and saw that the space before him was tearing apart!

A figure slowly emerged from the tearing space!

This person was none other than Cheng Ran!

Lu Ze's eyes widened in surprise; tearing space was clearly something he hadn't anticipated!

He had once thought that Cheng Ran's cultivation must be beyond the sixth rank, but he hadn't expected her to have reached the point of tearing space and traversing it at will!

Could such power mean she had already entered the ninth rank of cultivation?!

It was said that only those with ninth-rank cultivation could achieve such a feat!

Cheng Ran stood firm amidst Lu Ze's shocked gaze!

Seeing Lu Ze's expression, she chuckled softly, "What are you spacing out for?"

Lu Ze snapped back to attention, stood up, and said, "Hello, Teacher."

Cheng Ran seemed to have noticed Lu Ze's confusion and said, "It's not only ninth-rank cultivation that can tear space. You can also use other things, such as a Spiritual Artifact, or for example, a Talisman."

With that, Cheng Ran showed Lu Ze a Talisman that was already half-burned.

The paper of this Talisman was also very precious, made from the hide of a specific sixth-tier demon. Lu Ze had only seen descriptions and drawings of this item in books; this was his first time seeing it in person.

And the runes on it were even more obscure and difficult to understand. Lu Ze had already thoroughly learned the beginner Talisman books and clearly felt that these runes were likely advanced.

The Talisman was already burned, rendering it useless.

Cheng Ran directly tore up and discarded the Talisman, "This is an advanced Talisman. When you learn this much and acquire the Materials, you'll be able to make them yourself. At that time, you'll also be able to freely tear space and travel between various Human Bases."

Lu Ze nodded.

Cheng Ran asked some questions about Lu Ze's daily cultivation, then guided the conversation towards the Heavenly Soldier Project.

"I believe Deputy Director Meng has already told you the specifics. From an ordinary person's perspective, this project naturally has more disadvantages than advantages, and there's a very high chance of losing one's life."

Cheng Ran paused suddenly, "However, the pros and cons are for you to consider yourself. Perhaps from your perspective, there might be something unusual. Entering the Heavenly Soldier Project also means you can obtain more rare resources, and when you go on missions, you'll receive many special privileges, which other personnel cannot have."

"Whether or not to participate ultimately depends on you. Think it over and tell me your decision, so I can make arrangements for you."

Lu Ze nodded his head in great gratitude.

Cheng Ran had only met him a few times so far, yet she had given him so many resources and even made plans for him; it was already very kind of her.

"These matters are not urgent. Now, you should be entering the Battlefield Ruins soon, right? I also returned to Xuanyuan City specifically for this matter."

Cheng Ran tried to say something several times but held back.

"I can't say much about the situation inside, but since Deputy Director Meng also added your name, he probably wants to use my jade token to open a formation and have you transport one of the corpses out."

Lu Ze did not hide anything, "Yes."

Cheng Ran thought for a moment and decided to give Lu Ze a heads-up, "Lu Ze, since the Spiritual Qi has returned, besides demons, some strange species have also emerged. These species have troubled the headquarters for a long time. One such species is called, Human Demon!"

"Human Demon?"

Lu Ze frowned; it was clear he was hearing about this for the first time.

In past books or oral traditions, such a term had never appeared.

Cheng Ran said, "This Human Demon is a demon with a human form. To put it another way, this species was once human, but during the Spiritual Qi's return, these people were unfortunately infected by the original mother body of the demons, thereby losing their human consciousness and becoming demons, driven by Demon Kings and Demon Emperors!"

Having a human form, yet becoming a demon... it sounded a bit like zombies.

"The corpse that Deputy Director Meng wants you to transport out is that of a Human Demon. This species is very rare now, only found in specific places. If not for the exceptionally chosen location of this Battlefield Ruins, you might not have seen one for a long time."

"But don't worry, it's just a corpse after all, with no offensive power. You should focus on other things. You can't just go in, pull out a corpse, and not put anything else in your own pocket."

Lu Ze understood Cheng Ran's meaning and smiled, "Teacher, don't worry, I will definitely not come out empty-handed!"

Seeing Lu Ze like this, Cheng Ran felt much more at ease. She then gave Lu Ze the Storage Ring that Meng Yanxing wanted him to have and delivered the message.

"Regarding the Heavenly Soldier Project, give me your answer after you come out of the Battlefield Ruins. I will be in Xuanyuan City during this time, so if you need anything, come find me anytime."

After speaking, Cheng Ran drifted away gracefully.