"Oh?"
"Senior Han Yue probably knows my identity," Xu Ran said as he looked at Han Yue. His silver-white hair, rare on the Continent, draped over his fragrant shoulders, complementing his body with curves that were undeniably enticing.
Han Yue truly deserved the title of the most beautiful woman in the Inner Court.
In the original work, within Canaan Academy, the supporting characters that left the deepest impression on Xu Ran were Han Yue and Xin Lan, with Han Yue leaving a somewhat deeper one. Especially after the protagonist went to Zhongzhou, together with Han Xue, there was always a sense of faint sadness and reluctance.
Although a supporting character, she made people want to keep knowing her story.
For anyone, those stories of youthful romance that unfold in academies are always the hardest to let go of.
"Lord Xu Ran, I... Well, it was my clan that informed me, you are quite well-known in Zhongzhou now," Han Yue said, unexpectedly embarrassed by Xu Ran's realization of her intentions, wishing she could find a hole to bury herself in.
When she had just called Xu Ran a junior brother, she felt a bit ashamed. But now, using a respectful title for Xu Ran, she felt less pressure.
Calling a powerful figure who could stir up storms in Zhongzhou a junior brother was not pressure that just anyone could bear.
If one did not know Xu Ran's identity, it would be fine, but knowing his strength, it was impossible to truly consider Xu Ran as just an ordinary disciple from the Inner Court.
"Really? Are there that many people in Zhongzhou who know me?" Xu Ran raised an eyebrow. Xun Er and Xue Ni were also very curious. No wonder when they had just arrived in the Inner Court, someone like Han Yue came to invite them personally; it turned out to be because of Xu Ran.
"Mhm. In Zhongzhou, many people are aware of the enmity between Lord Xu Ran and Soul Hall. Moreover, Lord Xu Ran's identity as an alchemist has been revealed," Han Yue said, her face showing a touch of admiration.
On the Continent, Xu Ran was the first to oppose Soul Hall so openly in many years.
"And you still dare to come find me? Aren't you afraid of causing trouble for your clan because of me?" Xu Ran chuckled.
"I am originally from Canaan Academy; I can't represent my clan. Moreover, Soul Hall doesn't have the leisure to investigate a mere Inner Court student like me. And with so many people in Canaan Academy, and many having contacts with Lord Xu Ran, Soul Hall can't possibly kill us all to vent their anger," Han Yue said with relief when she saw that Xu Ran wasn't as terrifying as the rumors in Zhongzhou suggested. The restraint she felt began to dissipate.
If a power entered Canaan Academy specifically to win over Xu Ran, perhaps Soul Hall would be enraged, but Han Yue had been in Canaan Academy long before, so there was no need to worry about her interactions with Xu Ran.
If she became closer to Xu Ran, it might provoke Soul Hall's disapproval, but how could that possibly happen to her?
"I see," Xu Ran said.
"However, if you want me to join Moon Spirit, I can do that, but you should remain the leader of Moon Spirit. I'm not interested in those matters. Even if I join Moon Spirit, I will only be a name on the roster unless Moon Spirit encounters some critical situation. Otherwise, I will not be helping," Xu Ran stroked his chin. Joining a force within the Inner Court was necessary for Xun Er and the others.
Xu Ran didn't want them to only focus on cultivation; appropriate experiences were beneficial for improving one's temperament.
"Can Lord Xu Ran really join our Moon Spirit?"
Han Yue had hardly held any hope at all, but suddenly she looked at Xu Ran with a surprised delight. If it weren't for the image she needed to maintain in front of Xu Ran, she probably would have jumped for joy.
Her family had set her such a challenging mission, to develop a good relationship with a strong figure like Xu Ran, she thought it would be very difficult. But unexpectedly, things had progressed so smoothly, much better than she had imagined.
Originally, she wanted to first lure some people close to Xu Ran to join Moon Spirit and then get to know Xu Ran through that person.
Now, Xu Ran was unexpectedly pulled into Moon Spirit by her.
Doesn't that mean that Moon Spirit can now be considered the strongest power group in the Inner Court? It seems that Xu Ran alone is more terrifying than the entire Canaan Academy.
"Of course it's true. Anyway, no other forces have invited us. You are the first one to bite the bullet," Xu Ran teased. Since he was to join a force, it being comprised entirely of beauties was an added bonus—setting aside their strength, at the very least, they were a sight for sore eyes.
"Thank you, Lord Xu Ran. We definitely won't cause you any trouble," Han Yue took a deep breath and promised. Now that Xu Ran had joined Moon Spirit, she would naturally be able to get on good terms with him. With Xu Ran's strength, any potential crisis that might arise for her family in the future could be easily resolved.
"Hmm. But in the future, you can just call me Xu Ran. If you address me like that at the academy, those pursuers of yours might think I've wronged you somehow," Xu Ran quipped with a twisted mouth. In the Inner Court, Han Yue was far more popular than Zi Yan.
"Pfft. If Lord Xu Ran really did anything to me, I wouldn't mind at all," Han Yue couldn't help but laugh, then she spoke without thinking. It was only after she had finished speaking that she realized Xu Ran's two main girlfriends were also present. She immediately broke into a cold sweat, feeling like she wanted to die.
How could she be so indiscreet? How could she utter such a shameless statement?
And in front of their girlfriends, too—wasn't she asking for trouble?
"Well then, I'll take that as an offer I can't refuse," Xu Ran said with a smile. He certainly wouldn't overlook Han Yue.
If it weren't for him, considering the world line he had influenced, Han Yue and Han Xue would definitely have been sullied by that guy from the Hong Family in the future—a prospect he found unacceptable.
For both emotional and rational reasons, he wouldn't let Han Yue go.
Seeing Xu Ran and Han Yue chatting so cheerfully, Xun Er standing by Xu Ran's side felt some dissatisfaction, poking Xu Ran's back forcefully with her hand, with discontent practically written on her face.
Seeing this, Xu Ran pulled Xun Er into his embrace and focused earnestly on watching the duel between Xiao Mei and Hu Jia.
Xiao Mei's combat experience was indeed lacking, and the way she swung her sword was almost painful to watch. However, with the High-Level Earth-Tier Combat Skill given to her by Xu Ran, her fighting style looked fiercely formidable.
The entire stage was covered with terrifying wind-blade swords. Hu Jia was actually becoming somewhat overwhelmed by Xiao Mei. Even with poor handling, Xiao Mei was one of the first to follow Xu Ran and could not possibly be weak.
"Mei'er is going to win. It looks like the puppet will be hers. But grabbing a puppet now seems like a losing deal. The puppets Brother Xu Ran will craft later will probably be stronger than those two. Giggles..." Xun Er laughed cunningly.
"So that's what you've been scheming? But indeed, a Dou Zun-level puppet is not worthy of my Xun Er. Wait until the Soul Hall folks show up next time, I'll craft a Dou Sheng-level puppet for you," Xu Ran said, now looking forward to the Soul Hall's people showing up.
Only with a Dou Sheng would he be interested in taking action. Against the weaker ones, he didn't even entertain the thought of fighting.