196: Storm Core

Chapter 196: Eye of the Storm

At this moment, Lu Ran felt as if he was sitting on pins and needles, with thorns in his back, and a fish bone stuck in his throat...

He couldn't remember when he had agreed to have dinner with Cong Yu.

But looking at the situation, he couldn't say anything.

However, he couldn't just let the stalemate continue, could he?

"Uh, it's already dinner time anyway, so why don't we eat first? And then talk about where to go play?" Lu Ran suggested.

This was the first time.

Lu Ran felt as if he was trying to ride two boats at once.

"Okay, I know a very good restaurant, I'll take you there." Cen Yuno immediately said.

"Do you know that I don't? I'm from the Imperial Capital, I know it better than you!" Cong Yu said, not to be outdone.

"I used to be in the Imperial Capital too, what's the difference? Besides, the restaurants under my Cen Family are already very good." Cen Yuno retorted.

"My Cong Family's aren't bad either." Cong Yu countered.

Lu Ran, caught in the middle, felt incredibly uncomfortable.

He even regretted coming out; if he hadn't come out, wouldn't there have been no trouble at all?

Just then.

"Since that's the case, let's not go to either of your restaurants. Let's go to the Imperial Capital Restaurant, which is under the Tiandao Alliance." The person who spoke was neither Cong Yu nor Cen Yuno.

It was Cong Shuang!

Cong Shuang had appeared too!

Lu Ran looked at Cong Shuang in astonishment.

He hadn't had much contact with Cong Shuang, so was Cong Shuang going to butt in too?

"Let's formally introduce ourselves. My name is Cong Shuang, and I'm Cong Yu's older sister. I watched your matches, and they were very impressive. You will be an opponent I need to take very seriously." Cong Shuang extended a hand to Lu Ran.

At this moment, Cong Shuang and Cong Yu stood together.

Lu Ran felt dizzy just looking at them.

No wonder they were called twins; they were practically identical!

If it weren't for their different hair colors, Lu Ran might not have been able to tell them apart.

Of course.

The two girls' personalities were also vastly different; one could instantly tell them apart as soon as they spoke.

"My name is Lu Ran." Lu Ran said politely, but did not extend his hand.

Because his left and right arms were firmly gripped by Cong Yu and Cen Yuno!

Cong Shuang didn't mind and smiled.

She said, "Then let's go to the Imperial Capital Restaurant. Cen Yuno, you don't mind, do you?"

As fellow members of the Tianfu Association and former classmates in the Imperial Capital, Cen Yuno and Cong Shuang were quite familiar with each other.

Upon hearing this.

Cen Yuno pouted and said, "The Imperial Capital Restaurant is very expensive. If you're treating, then of course I have no objections."

Cong Shuang nodded and said, "Alright, then we'll go to the Imperial Capital Restaurant."

After speaking, she led the way.

The two girls behind him seemed to be escorting a prisoner, holding Lu Ran from behind.

Behind them, at the window of the Tiandao Alliance Headquarters office.

The four guild masters were gossiping, leaning out the window. Lei Tai, being as bulky as an ox, had no space at the window and could only stand on his tiptoes behind, craning his neck to peer out.

"Ah, these young people nowadays know how to have more fun than we did back then. Look at Lu Ran's glory, taking down Cen Yuno of the Cen Family and the two sisters of the Cong Family at once. It makes us envious," Yu Qingcang sighed.

Ye Hongyi glanced at Yu Qingcang.

She said, "You never said such things when you, Yu Qingcang, were being flirtatious back then."

"Cough cough..." Yu Qingcang coughed twice, saying, "That's in the past, let's not talk about it, let's not talk about it."

"I didn't see anything, I didn't see anything at all! What happened? Did they kiss?" Lei Tai was anxious to the point of fuming from behind.

At the same time.

At the Zhao Family in the Imperial Capital.

A group of people sat around a sofa.

On the coffee table in front of them lay a document, and the atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.

Just then, a young man in a white suit, with slicked-back hair and a powdered face, walked in with two young women.

"Zhao Xuan, come here." The middle-aged man in the middle of the sofa frowned and called out.

Zhao Xuan glanced over but ignored him.

He casually asked, "Dad, I have things to do. Just get straight to the point if you have something to say."

Although disrespectful, the middle-aged man didn't seem to mind, clearly being the type of overly doting parent.

He just looked at the document on the coffee table and said, "Take a look at this document. It's Lu Ran's information. You need to pay special attention to him, he..."

But before he could finish, Zhao Xuan directly interrupted him.

"No need to look. In two rounds of matches, he defeated his opponents with two Blood Spears respectively."

"That means his damage is very high. Most likely, he's gathered a set of powerful attack-type equipment with no level requirement."

"And he's completely sacrificed defense."

"Didn't you notice that his opponents in the first two rounds didn't even have a chance to attack?"

"My defense is naturally not as good as Cen Yuno's, so he can also instantly kill me."

"But don't forget my class characteristic: I can be immune to magic attacks for ten seconds."

"Within ten seconds, I can also burst and instantly kill him."

"To others, he might be terrifying, but to me, he's nothing, just a defeated opponent!"

"So, he'd better pray he doesn't encounter me in the competition."

...

After speaking, he didn't linger, taking the two young women upstairs.

Clearly, he was going to attend to 'serious business'.

Leaving the others in the living room looking at each other.

"Young Master's analysis seems to make sense, doesn't it?" someone said.

"Makes sense my foot! Are you blind or am I blind? Didn't Cen Yuno attack Lu Ran? Did Lu Ran lose any health? It's not as simple as he thinks!" The middle-aged man angrily reprimanded.

This kind of authority had never been seen directed at his son.

The others immediately dared not speak.

After a few seconds of silence, someone tentatively asked, "Then Young Master, he..."

"Forget it, let him relax first. We'll talk after he's done. It'll probably only be three minutes. We'll talk when he comes out later." The middle-aged man sighed, clearly understanding his son well.

Three minutes, that was the limit.

This even included the foreplay.

As for the information on the table.

It was actually similar to the results of Cong Shuang's investigation, with little discrepancy.

"The person specifically requested by the Four Great Guilds, and even Ye Hongyi of the Red Cloak Tower modified the admission rules for him. It's unprecedented for someone to be a provisional member of all four. This Undead Mage is definitely not as simple as Zhao Xuan makes him out to be!" The middle-aged man mused.

At the same time.

The same drama was unfolding in other major families in the Imperial Capital.

Of course, not every family happened to have descendants participating in the Hundred Cities League.

More were watching the show, observing, and judging the current situation.

The information obtained by Cong Shuang and the Zhao Family was not an issue for these families; they had all received it.

However, they couldn't express their stance yet and needed to observe the situation further, playing it safe.

If Lu Ran was eliminated in the third round, it was estimated that the Four Great Guilds would also give up on him.

But if Lu Ran continued to advance and perform outstandingly, then they would have to do something!

The situation in the Imperial Capital was far more complex than in other main cities, with intricate relationships between all parties. One wrong move could lead to severe consequences!

As for Lu Ran, the eye of the storm at this moment, he had already been taken to the Imperial Capital Restaurant by the three girls.

Although it was the most precious meal in the entire country, Lu Ran felt completely uncomfortable eating it.

What exactly did these three girls want to do?