Deng Yuxiang hesitated for a moment, but didn't insist further and turned to walk toward the rooftop railing.

"By the way, on the fifteenth last time, how was your ranking?" Lu Ran asked.

Deng Yuxiang shook her head, "Mid-tier."

"Ah?"

"'Heavenly Pride' rated me as average."

"So strict?" Lu Ran sighed in his heart.

The contestants in this project, were they all monsters?!

"It was just an internal test broadcast," Deng Yuxiang said as she looked out at a world of white vastness. "It doesn't count towards the official competition points accumulation.

Oh, and 'Heavenly Pride' also specifically asked about you."

"Me?"

Deng Yuxiang nodded slightly, "In their eyes, your performance was much better than mine."

Lu Ran: "..."

Damn,

this is upstaging!

Deng Yuxiang: "They've also requested the department to keep the squad with this setup.

Since you have the end-of-term exam this month, forget it.

Come and join me on the fifteenth next year when 'Heavenly Pride' is officially broadcast."

Lu Ran pursed his lips, staying silent.

"How come, you're not willing?" Deng Yuxiang turned her head to look at him.

"Is it because of me that your score was low?" Lu Ran asked.

Deng Yuxiang said doubtfully, "Why would you say that? You made this team more complete, and allowed me to perform better."

Lu Ran shrugged, "Without comparison, there's no hurt."

Deng Yuxiang: ?

Lu Ran pursed his lips in a smile, offering her a classic expression.

"Hehe." Deng Yuxiang suddenly laughed, waving to Lu Ran, "Come here."

But Lu Ran took a couple of steps back.

Only an idiot would go there!

Big Nightmare did indeed have bright and affectionate eyes, and her smile was even more vibrant and enchanting.

But these could not fool Lu Ran.

After all, she had just been holding him by the neck, lifting him into the air and shaking him from side to side...

Seeing that Lu Ran didn't come over, Deng Yuxiang huffed once and turned back around.

She looked off into the distance, then asked, "How was your gain from this trip to Beifeng City?"

Lu Ran thought for a moment and replied, "Teacher Yan was very good to me, gave me a class, and practiced with me for a day."

"Just one day?"

"I picked the wrong time, it was during New Year's Day, she went to a worship ceremony, and then she entered the Divine Ruins, so I didn't see her again."

Hearing this, Deng Yuxiang silently nodded.

Sensing the woman's silence, Lu Ran also felt somewhat complicated.

Before he could say anything, Deng Yuxiang spoke again, "What did she teach you?"

"The three realms of the knife."

"You're not a North Wind Believer, don't deviate from the path," Deng Yuxiang advised softly, "You may understand superficially, but there's no need to be fixated on this path."

The rigid requirement of the North Wind Divine Technique demands that North Wind Believers must delve into this path.

Other believers in the world need not waste time and energy on this.

"Oh." Lu Ran's heart stirred, sizing up Deng Yuxiang attentively.

The woman was tall and slender, dressed in an expensive dark woolen overcoat, exuding a commanding presence.

However, under Lu Ran's deliberate scrutiny, the elegant and noble woman gradually transformed into a large knife.

"Sister Yuxiang also seems like a knife."

"How about comparing it to Shuangzi?"

Faced with this question, Lu Ran fell silent.

And silence, in itself was a response.

Deng Yuxiang didn't pursue further; she placed one hand on the stone railing, leaving a shallow handprint in the snow.

"Do you ever regret it?" Lu Ran moved forward to the stone railing, standing three meters away from her and looking at her profile.

"Regret what?"

"Going home." Lu Ran spoke, "Teacher Yan said that at the beginning, you had more qualifications and opportunities than anyone else to stay in Beifeng City."

Deng Yuxiang smiled but didn't speak.

Lu Ran said softly, "Over the years, Yan Shuangzi has been able to often listen to the teachings of the gods.

Now that she has entered the Divine Ruins, she has gained an incredible opportunity.

When she returns to the human world, she will probably be a Jiang Realm Great Power."

Finally, Deng Yuxiang spoke in a low voice, "I'm happy for her."

Lu Ran was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Sister, have you been stuck at River Realm Fifth Stage for a long time?"

Lu Ran had known Deng Yuxiang for only half a year already.

He didn't know how long she had been stuck before that.

"What do you mean?" Deng Yuxiang turned her head to look at Lu Ran, "Do you want me to leave Rain Alley City?"

"Of course not." Lu Ran shook his head, "I just think you could seek some guidance from the feet of the gods?"

"I've been back before," Deng Yuxiang spoke softly.

"New Year's Eve is coming soon. Beifeng City should have a ceremony. You could..."

"Enough." Deng Yuxiang interrupted Lu Ran's words.

Lu Ran hesitated but still urged, "It doesn't delay much, you could come back on the fifteenth..."

"Enough." Deng Yuxiang gazed into the snowy expanse of her hometown.

Her voice was very light.

But these identical words eventually made Lu Ran shut his mouth.

The rooftop fell into silence once more.

After a long while, she broke the quiet, "Prepare well for the exam, things might not be stable this fifteenth."

Lu Ran, however, said, "On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, that day, I advanced right here."

"Hmm?" Deng Yuxiang raised her eyebrows slightly.

Lu Ran moved beside Deng Yuxiang, propping his elbow on the stone railing, looking into the distance, "I feel that Rain Alley City cares too much for me.

As if afraid I'd leave it."

"Hehe," Deng Yuxiang laughed quietly.

As someone who had given up great opportunities, who had forsaken the bustling world, she didn't expect to find a modicum of resonance with someone who hadn't yet ventured out.

The experiences might be different.

But some people have such a talent and insight that allow them to possess a certain mentality early on.

After all, emotions in this world are interlinked.

Inner insights are not guaranteed by age.

There are plenty who live aimlessly for many decades.

And those who accomplish great things at a young age are likewise not rare.

"Sister, look at that river," Lu Ran tilted his head slightly, signaling to the distance.

Deng Yuxiang followed his gaze, looking at their hometown's mother river belonging to the people of Rain Alley.

Lu Ran: "Quite fierce, huh."

Deng Yuxiang: "..."

Lu Ran shared his insight: "In this icy and snowy world, all flowers and trees have withered, everything is buried beneath the frost and snow.

Only the Wu Lie River remains unchanged.

From the time I could remember up to now, it has never changed."

"Hmm." Deng Yuxiang watched the mist rising from the river and gently nodded.

"Nothing can stop it, through the passing of years, the changing of seasons..." Lu Ran paused mid-speech and suddenly turned to look at Deng Yuxiang.

He saw her furrowed brows and her body trembling slightly.

Lu Ran's eyes widened, staring dumbfounded at her, feeling the energy fluctuations emitting from her growing more violent.

Was this...

A breakthrough?

River Realm Fifth Stage advancing to Jiang Realm?!

Suddenly, a trembling palm landed on Lu Ran's head, rubbing it not too gently or too lightly.

Lu Ran stupidly looked at her, and after a couple of seconds, he suddenly laughed, delighted:

"It seems your choice was the right one.

What Beifeng City could give you, your hometown could too."

"Hmm." Deng Yuxiang also smiled.

Gradually, she pressed down on Lu Ran's head, her lips lightly kissing his frosty hair.

"Whoosh!!"

A Gale sprung up!

A terrifying force, swirling within Deng Yuxiang, flung Lu Ran away.

The world was already a blank whiteness; now, layers of mist emerged incessantly.

The horrifying energy rushed toward the riverside, toward the abandoned residential building's rooftop.

"Zzz—"

Lu Ran leaned forward, his legs coiling as he slid backward, his feet kicking up Immortal Fog.

In front of the rooftop railing, he finally stopped his retreat and looked off into the distance.

The Gale, mingling with snowflakes and mist, wrapped around the figure among them.

Deng Yuxiang stood firm, her eyes closed, her head tilted back slightly, her black hair fluttering, and the tails of her coat billowing.

At this moment, Lu Ran felt as if he were beholding a statue of a goddess.

He felt honored!

To witness a River Realm Fifth Stage powerhouse crossing the intangible threshold, becoming a prominent figure among the Human Clan.

For forty years, that seemingly light word "threshold" had stopped countless talents and prodigies.

Now,

the barrier that had halted Deng Yuxiang was shattered in one stroke by the raging mother river.

Indeed,

the hometown looks after every child who cherishes it.

...

Four thousand words, seeking some monthly tickets.

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