168: Chapter 168 Advancement, Perfection

Chen Ran pushed open the courtyard door and locked it behind him.

The courtyard was quiet.

He walked to the well, drew a bucket of cold water, and washed his face.

The ice-cold well water stimulated his skin, dispelling some of the day's heat.

Chen Ran walked to the stone table, sat down, and poured himself a cup of tea.

Recalling the scene in the alley during the day, he picked up the teacup and took a sip.

Was the Lu family really that easy to talk to?

Of course not.

Lu Yuzhou was missing, and the Lu family would definitely bite onto every clue.

As the last person to have contact with Lu Yuzhou, Chen Ran was highly suspicious.

Deacon Lu Ming bringing people to block him was already done with the mindset of "better to kill the wrong person than let one go."

As long as Chen Ran showed even the slightest flaw or any resistance, the Lu family's experts would definitely become suspicious.

Unfortunately, they met Chen Ran.

When accepting questioning at the teahouse, Chen Ran secretly activated the Demon Sound True Art.

Invisible sound waves mixed into the conversation, silently invading the minds of Deacon Lu Ming and the others.

Deacon Lu Ming was only a fifth-rank Martial Artist, and his subordinates were only at the sixth-rank.

Facing this Perfection-level Demon Sound True Art, they had absolutely no resistance.

Chen Ran did not forcibly control them; he merely planted a thought in their subconscious: Chen Ran was an ordinary Prison Officer and had nothing to do with Lu Yuzhou's disappearance.

Subtle brainwashing is the most lethal.

Deacon Lu Ming and the others didn't even realize they had been controlled and just naturally dismissed Chen Ran's suspicion.

Even when they left, Deacon Lu Ming even felt a bit of inexplicable goodwill and apology towards Chen Ran.

Chen Ran put down the teacup.

"It should be much more stable from now on."

If it can be solved with words, never use force.

If it can be solved in the shadows, never expose one's strength.

No matter how much the Lu family investigated, they wouldn't be able to trace it back to an ordinary Prison Officer who had already been cleared of suspicion by their own people.

Moreover, there wasn't even ash left of Lu Yuzhou.

The night deepened.

The hour of Zi had arrived.

In Chen Ran's mind, the heavenly book of prison suppression vibrated slightly.

[You have guarded the Heavenly Prison for one day, gaining one year of Internal Energy.]

A surge of pure Internal Energy appeared out of thin air and merged into Chen Ran's limbs and bones.

Chen Ran moved his mind and called up the heavenly book panel.

His gaze fell on Thousand Crows Chaotic Burial.

This top-tier martial art, extracted from Ye Wuya, was extremely powerful, but its cultivation difficulty was also extremely high.

Chen Ran had previously raised it to the Major Achievement Realm, and now it was time to go further.

"Heavenly book, add points for me."

Chen Ran unhesitatingly invested the newly accumulated Internal Energy into it.

Boom!

Chen Ran's mind exploded.

Countless cultivation memories regarding Thousand Crows Chaotic Burial flooded in like a tide.

He saw himself standing in a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, surrounded by countless circling black crows.

Each black crow was condensed from pure True Qi, containing terrifying corrosive and tearing power.

As the memories fused, the True Qi in Chen Ran's body began to undergo a qualitative change.

The originally crimson Blood-Transforming True Qi now had a touch of eerie dark black.

[You have achieved success in your cultivation during this period, Thousand Crows Chaotic Burial (Major Achievement) → Thousand Crows Chaotic Burial (Perfection)]

Accompanied by the voice in his mind, Chen Ran raised his right hand.

His five fingers slightly spread.

"Caw —"

A harsh crow cry rang out in the courtyard.

A palm-sized black crow condensed and formed in Chen Ran's palm.

The black crow was lifelike, its feathers shimmering with a metallic luster.

Chen Ran flicked his finger.

The black crow turned into a black bolt of lightning, instantly piercing through the courtyard wall.

A fist-sized hole was left on the hard blue brick wall.

The cut was as smooth as a mirror, and traces of corrosion remained on the edges.

Chen Ran nodded with satisfaction.

The Perfection-level Thousand Crows Chaotic Burial was several times more powerful than it was at Major Achievement.

Now, if he attacked with full force, he could probably truly summon the terrifying might of ten thousand crows descending.

The next day, the atmosphere in the capital gradually began to boil.

The Grand Martial Arts Tournament was about to reach its final day.

Around the Martial Arts Plaza in the Outer City, it was crowded with people.

Major Sects, Jianghu Loose Cultivators, and commoners were all squeezed together, wanting to witness the final result of this Martial Forest event.

Chen Ran did not wear his Prison Officer uniform, having changed into an ordinary black robe.

He could finally rest today and did not need to continue being responsible for guarding.

He did not go to the Martial Arts Plaza to join the fun but came to a nearby teahouse.

On the second floor of the teahouse, the view was open.

Chen Ran found a seat by the window and sat down.

"Lord Chen, your tea and snacks."

The waiter walked over with a tray and nimbly placed the items on the table.

Chen Ran tossed a piece of broken silver over.

The waiter's eyes lit up, and he quickly caught it.

The waiter nimbly arranged the tea and snacks, then leaned in closer and lowered his voice.

"Lord Chen, that Constable Lin came to look for you specifically yesterday."

"After learning that you had left with the Lu family's people, she left in a hurry, looking quite anxious."

Chen Ran was slightly stunned.

The hand holding the teacup stopped in mid-air.

He hadn't expected that Lin Wan would care about him so much.

Seeing her reckless appearance yesterday, it turned out to be because of this.

He didn't expect her to run to the teahouse to ask about his whereabouts specifically.

Chen Ran shook his head and drank the tea in one gulp.

The teahouse was boisterous, almost every seat was taken.

The surrounding diners were enthusiastically discussing today's Martial Arts Tournament.

"Who do you think will win this time?"

"Need you ask? It must be one of those popular Prodigies!"

"I heard the rewards for this final are extremely generous, and even the royal family has brought out many good things."

"I quite like that Bai Nianci; not only is she strong, but she also looks good."

"Yeah, Fairy Bai is the dream lover of many people."

"Stop dreaming. She is the proud daughter of Ciyin Medical Valley; how could we mere mortals reach for her?"

"This final is definitely going to be a fierce battle."

Everyone was discussing it, and the atmosphere was heated.

Chen Ran drank tea while listening to the surrounding conversations.

He didn't care about the outcome of this Martial Arts Tournament.

He came here just to join the fun and see if there were any notable figures.

During the discussion, the teahouse suddenly went quiet for a moment.

Immediately after, someone exclaimed in a low voice.

"Look."

"It's Fairy Bai."

"Bai Nianci is here."

The diners in the teahouse stood up one after another, stretching their necks to look outside.

The originally noisy teahouse immediately quieted down, and everyone's eyes were focused on the end of the long street.

Chen Ran looked up following everyone's gaze.

Only to see, at the end of the long street far from the teahouse, several figures slowly appeared.