"Bad Brother Xu Ran, I knew you disappeared yesterday just to cling to other girls. Humph. I guessed it right." As soon as Xu Ran and Zi Yan returned, Xiao Mei charged straight into Xu Ran's arms.
Jealousy was clearly written on both Xiao Yu's and Xun Er's faces.
They had just finished setting up the room and were looking forward to celebrating everyone's entry into the Inner Court when they found out that Xu Ran had vanished early on.
"Ahem. Zi Yan and I had important things to take care of," Xu Ran said awkwardly, looking at the three women's faces full of silent grievances.
"You mean, taking care of things in bed, right?" Xiao Yu also said boldly, her words filled with deep resentment that anyone could hear.
If it had been Zi Yan from before, she probably would have started arguing with Xiao Yu and the others by now, perhaps even coming to blows. Despite the misunderstanding with Xiao Mei and Xiao Yu, Zi Yan still felt a bit happy inside.
She wished to be closer to Xu Ran, to be acknowledged by Xun Er and the others.
"Ahem. How could that be? Even if we did... it would've been with my Cousin Xiao Yu here. Her legs are getting more and more attractive." Xu Ran's eyes trailed up from the bottom, landing on a pair of crystal high heels. Even without stockings, the sight of those long, supple legs was a visual treat better than any nylon-covered pair.
"You..." Xiao Yu, feeling embarrassed by Xu Ran's comment, instantly lost her fighting spirit, retreating repeatedly under his aggressive gaze.
Knowing that what Xu Ran liked most were her legs, she had focused on highlighting them while dressing and took great care in their maintenance. In her eyes, apart from the makeup on her face, leg care was of the utmost importance.
Although she felt she couldn't compete with the peerless enchantresses like Xun Er and Ya Fei in many aspects, she couldn't let herself lose to them in every way. She didn't feel the need for stockings to perfectly showcase the beauty of a woman's legs.
"Let's enjoy the pleasure of being embraced from both sides," Xu Ran said, holding Xiao Yu and directly sitting in front of Xun Er, tightly hugging the two women to his sides.
Xun Er wore a black dress that exuded sheer class, without a trace of flirtation, truly befitting the young miss of the Gu Clan. Even after being with Xu Ran, Xun Er never wore overly seductive clothes, at most occasionally a short skirt. However, Xun Er's pure and noble temperament always made her the most eye-catching.
"I want in too." Xiao Mei directly faced Xu Ran, spread her legs, and sat on his knee.
Zi Yan didn't know how to feel as she watched Xu Ran getting cozy with Xun Er and the others, but she was definitely not happy.
But as a newcomer, she had no place to say anything about their relationship.
"Is liking someone supposed to be this painful?" Zi Yan gave Xu Ran a deep look before leaving by herself.
Seeing Zi Yan slinking away, Xiao Mei secretly made a gesture, and Xiao Yu and Xun Er sneakily winked in complicity. This served as their warning to Zi Yan.
"Brother Xu Ran, Ling Ying said yesterday that our family might come looking for you," Xun Er remembered the serious matter, her expression turning much more solemn. But compared to before, she wasn't so worried. She had always feared that her clan would disapprove of her being with Xu Ran. However, the clan's attitude toward Brother Xu Ran had already changed.
This time, they were probably coming because of Xu Ran's killing of the Soul Hall's Great Celestial Venerable and Second Celestial Venerable.
Not just the Soul Hall, but the entire Zhongzhou is now shaken by this.
The unnatural fall of a Dou Sheng is no small matter.
Apart from the Hun Clan, all the Ancient Families are just watching as spectators, and their favorability towards Xu Ran has risen to a very high level. However, the gap between these families and the Hun Clan is vast, and although they admire Xu Ran, they dare not openly befriend him.
But in terms of overall strength, the Gu Clan is not inferior to the Hun Clan, aside from the Void-swallowing Flame, there isn't much of a difference in power between the two clans.
The Gu Clan naturally isn't afraid of the Hun Clan and dares to make an enemy of them directly. However, a clash between the two great families could lead to consequences that no one dares to bear, so a peaceful state of affairs has always been maintained. Xu Ran's emergence, however, has directly disrupted this balance.
Xu Ran's strength is unfathomable, and his close relationship with Xun Er means that he is not someone the Gu Clan can afford to overlook.
"The Gu Clan, huh?" Xu Ran shrugged his shoulders, unconcerned. He had already met tough characters like Zhukun. To him, the strong fighters of the Gu Clan were no longer wrapped in mystique.
"It's probably your family fearing that the Soul Hall's people might kill me, coming to assess my strength. After all, next time the Soul Hall may send even stronger individuals."
"Don't speak of such bad omens. Even without the clan's people, Brother Xu Ran is invincible. But it would be even better if the clan could send several Dou Sheng experts to protect Brother Xu Ran," Xun Er said, placing her index finger over Xu Ran's mouth, not wanting to hear him speak such inauspicious words.
She believed that Xu Ran dared to kill members of the Soul Hall because he had the confidence to do so.
"Hehe. There's no need for them to protect me, but it wouldn't hurt to offer some protection for you guys. However, I now have something that can protect you as well. Come out, Heavenly Demon Puppet," Xu Ran called out lightly.
Two puppets entirely enshrouded in a bright golden hue appeared in the room.
The aura emanating from the two puppets was incredibly terrifying, exuding a vast and formidable killing intent.
The strength of the Soul Hall Sky Venerable had been greatly preserved by Xu Ran, and even improved quite a bit. The strength of the two puppets was such that one was around Dou Zun Seven Stars, while the other was at the level of Half-Step Dou Sheng.
However, these demon puppets lacked self-awareness and couldn't use Dou Techniques, which made them slightly inferior in combat. But without the sensation of pain, once they engaged in battle, they fought with no regard for their lives, an utterly relentless combat style. Therefore, in actual combat, they wouldn't be too weak.
"Are these puppets?" Xun Er exclaimed. With her knowledge, she was clearly aware of the existence of puppets.
"Yes. I created them using the bodies of those I killed. The principle of making puppets isn't too different from crafting elixirs. Originally, I wanted to create a Dou Sheng Level puppet. I had other uses for that corpse, though. But these two puppets should be enough to protect you," Xu Ran said.
"Wow. Brother Xu Ran is so amazing. With such powerful beings, I could probably stroll around the academy unchallenged, right? Does that mean Zi Yan is no match for me?" Xiao Mei excitedly walked around the two puppets.
If she could control such puppets, wouldn't that make her invincible in the academy?
"Although, um, it's indeed the case. However, these guys are for your protection, and you are not allowed to use them for mischief."