Lunar August 9th, the moon hung high in the sky.

Below the witch's crow, four young people stepped out of the military camp.

Having learned from last time, Lu Ran and the others decided to leave the village a night early, no longer planning to rush during the morning peak.

After all, each time they left the village, they had to climb a hundred-meter-high stone column staircase. Once it got crowded, they would have to stop and go, making it both congested and dangerous.

"The moon is almost full," Jiang Ruyi whispered.

"Sister Ruyi?" Tian Tian was somewhat puzzled.

Jiang Ruyi slightly lifted her head, gesturing towards the night sky and the bright moon.

"Oh, it's almost Mid-Autumn Festival," Tian Tian said softly.

Since Evil Demons invaded every fifteenth day of the lunar month, festivals like the Lantern Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival had lost their original charm.

To this, Tian Tian and the others didn't feel too much.

After all, they were born in an era where gods and demons coexisted, and from the day they could remember, the world had already looked like this.

All the warm and beautiful aspects of the Lantern and Mid-Autumn festivals, like playing with lanterns and worshiping the moon...

Those only existed in history books.

Or in the memories of their parents, in the stories told by their grandparents.

"Jiang, all the magic crystals have been handed in," Deng Yutang approached and said, "We have obtained a total of 362 Stream Grade Magic Crystals and 498 Fog Grade Magic Crystals."

Holding the list provided by the military, Deng Yutang continued, "We stayed in the village for 17 days, lodging for 16..."

"Get to the point," Jiang Ruyi interrupted.

Deng Yutang said, "The total cost for food and lodging was 160 Fog Grade Magic Crystals.

In addition, for completing the school-assigned homework, the military collected 300 Fog Grade Magic Crystals.

We each kept 10 Stream Grade Magic Crystals..."

Jiang Ruyi, smiling, pressed, "Just the result, please."

Deng Yutang said, "We ended up with 16,290 currency, over 4,000 for each person."

Beside them, Lu Ran curled his lips.

Jiang Ruyi turned to Lu Ran, "Think it's too little?"

Lu Ran shook his head gently, "Not just too little, but way too little!"

Jiang Ruyi quickly gestured to Lu Ran, "Keep it down."

Lu Ran sneaked a glance at a nearby soldier standing guard.

The soldier remained motionless and solemn, seeming to hear none of it.

Some things really shouldn't be said in a military camp.

But to Lu Ran, the value of magic crystals was indeed too low.

A Fog Grade Magic Crystal was worth only 5 currency in trade!

It was utterly lawless!

Even the starting fare for a taxi was 7 currency!

And a Stream Grade Magic Crystal was only worth 50 currency.

And this was the buying price set by the officials; if you wanted to purchase from the officials, it was a different price altogether!

However, with the presence of a Divine Power Pearl, the usefulness of magic crystals had indeed been greatly reduced.

Generally, only high-realm believers who were breaking through a level would use a significant number of magic crystals.

Officials also did not recommend hoarding a large number of magic crystals.

Unlike Divine Power Pearls, the energy fluctuations emitted by magic crystals were more pronounced and could attract Evil Demons.

Of course, this was only a suggestion from the officials.

If you had a small Divine Sculpture to guard your home, even filling your house with magic crystals shouldn't be too problematic.

No matter how greedy the Evil Demon Clan was, they still had the basic instinct to seek benefits and avoid harm.

As for whether your house deity would scold you...

That was another matter.

"This lunar fifteenth's city defense should be organized by class," Jiang Ruyi smoothly changed the topic.

Following the usual practice, after the students moved up to their final year, they would progressively come together in the form of classes from their small teams.

The role of a believer was survival, to draw on each other's strengths and unite in heart and effort.

It was not about individual heroism!

Among the countless believers in the world, perhaps only Lu Ran could transcend this rule and concept.

After all, he owned an Evil Demon Sculpture Garden!

In the future, not only could Lu Ran become a "kaleidoscope of techniques," but he was also capable of summoning thousands of Evil Demons to serve him.

As long as Lu Ran did not perish prematurely...

Rising to command alone was only a matter of time!

"Our classmates are truly fortunate," Deng Yutang remarked with a sigh.

Lu Ran asked curiously, "How so?"

Deng Yutang shrugged, "Being in the same class as you, how could our class ranking be low?"

Lu Ran nodded, agreeing, "Indeed, our Mr. Deng loves to speak some plain truths~"

Jiang Ruyi also showed a faint smile.

Her eyes watched Lu Ran, shining with a hint of pride and joy.

Her choice was correct.

When Lu Ran, showing immense talent, was taken under the wing of Lord Immortal Goat, the students in the school were divided into two groups.

One group was full of doubts about Lu Ran and flatly refused to team up with him, fearing that he would bring disaster to his teammates.

The other group believed that Lu Ran's talent was special, and his achievements would certainly not be low!

Jiang Ruyi was barely part of the latter.

Or perhaps, she belonged to a third type.

She didn't choose Lu Ran in a gamble because she had already prepared for the worst.

Under the discipline of Lord Immortal Sheep, Lu Ran might indeed avoid battles or flee in the face of battle.

He might do everything despicable yet understandable.

If Lu Ran joined another team and performed poorly, even just retreating once, his living environment would become extremely difficult!

Everyone would disdain him, and no team would be willing to accept such a coward.

Having been deskmates for two years, Jiang Ruyi understood Lu Ran's nature—strong and assertive.

She really didn't want to see Lu Ran so embarrassed or even struck by severe setbacks and disheartened.

Therefore, Jiang Ruyi chose to stand by him, at the very least, to help him graduate smoothly.

What surprised her most was that Lu Ran's performance far exceeded everyone's expectations!

He had never needed her leadership.

On the contrary, this little lamb was the real leader!

That being said, it might still be too early to come to such a conclusion.

Lu Ran was only a Brook Realm Believer, and as his realm increased, the influence of the deity would naturally become stronger.

That is to say, Jiang Ruyi was still preparing for the worst, always ready to bear the consequences.

"Why are you always staring at me?" Lu Ran scratched his head, pretending to be shy, "It's kind of embarrassing."

"Hmph," Jiang Ruyi, with a twinkle in her eyes, turned her head to the side.

He had performed well, at least up to now, really well.

Lu Ran whispered, "If you like it, then say it out loud."

Deng Yutang gave him a strange look.

I reckon, wasn't your voice quite soft too?

Lu Ran said, "Every fifteenth of the lunar month comes, more regular than relatives.

Who knows, after one of these fifteenths, I might be gone?

You have to be brave, you have to seize the opportu..."

Lu Ran's words halted as Jiang Ruyi abruptly stepped forward and walked right up to him.

Caught off guard by her sudden approach, Lu Ran was somewhat baffled.

Tian Tian, with her mouth slightly open, didn't know what Sister Ruyi intended, but felt she was very brave...

Jiang Ruyi stepped up to Lu Ran, lifted her eyes, and looked into his.

Just as Lu Ran was at a loss, he felt a sharp pain in his toes!

Jiang Ruyi suddenly stepped forward, fiercely stomping on the toe of Lu Ran's shoe.

"Ouch!" Lu Ran inhaled sharply.

Goodness~

It's as if I'm being axed...

"The cart has arrived," Deng Yutang, fighting back his laughter, informed.

"Stop talking such ominous words," Jiang Ruyi dropped these words and walked away.

Her face, turned away from the crowd, blushed fiercely, and her steps quickened.

Such unladylike behavior was indeed not her style.

Deng Yutang slung his arm around Lu Ran's shoulder, watching the graceful withdrawal of Jiang the beauty, and advised:

"Brother Lu, Jiang was right! From now on, you really shouldn't talk like that."

It turns out: lies do not hurt people; the truth does, like a sharp blade!

Why does everyone have some taboo?

Because what Lu Ran said could really happen!

Even more so, as early as the 15th of June, Lu Ran almost lost his life at the hands of Yan Zhi.

"Alright, alright, I won't say it anymore," Lu Ran casually responded, heading towards the van with Deng Yutang.

...

At 10 p.m., Lu Ran stood at his own front door.

As the key entered the lock, he heard a continuous scratching sound from inside.

"Click."

Lu Ran opened the door: "Good evening?"

The tabby cat's color drained, and it dashed backward ferociously.

"Meow!!"

The cat's scream was incredibly shrill!

The small tabby was completely fluffed up, its body arched, continuously retreating.

Lu Ran stood frozen in place.

Was it because of the heavy murderous aura or the strong scent of blood on him?

Lu Ran was silent for a moment before stepping into his home.

Under the wary watch of the little tabby, Lu Ran avoided it and headed to the bathroom.

Half an hour later, Lu Ran, emitting the fresh scent of body wash and holding a pile of cleansed magic crystals, came out.

"Baa~"

A weak sheep's sound resonated.

In no time, a fluffy little head peeked out from the door.

A single Voice of Compassion redirected the creature's mindset and will.

The poor tabby,

Thus manipulated by someone...

In a way, believers weren't quite human anymore.

As long as Lu Ran wished, ordinary people posed no more a difference than this little cat to him.

"Here you go," Lu Ran sat on the edge of the bed and placed a few shiny magic crystals on the floor.

"Meow~" The little tabby approached, rubbing against Lu Ran's ankles.

Those fluffy paws curiously touched the translucent magic crystals.

Lu Ran's gaze softened.

A bath could only wash away the blood scent on his body.

The scene before him could cleanse the violence in his heart.

Lu Ran had only been a believer for two months, but the number of creatures that had died by his hands was already counted in the "thousands."

Corpses covered the fields, and blood formed rivers.

"Sorry I scared you," Lu Ran bent down and gently rubbed the fluffy cat ears.

His expression unusually tender, he sighed inwardly.

In the days to come, the little tabby would always be scared, wouldn't it?

After all, on the path he was treading, the bones would only continue to multiply, more and more...

Until they built into mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.