My father is the main character, but the female leads want to kill me.

"That's not the case!"

Qiu Qingzi leaned back in her chair, tapping her fingers lightly on the table, and comforted Lin Ran, saying, "It's just some affiliated forces from the eight super sects who came to join in the fun, as well as some famous sects from the Southern Region's former state and some surrounding large states."

"After all, this secret realm is not considered dangerous. Although it contains many relics and inheritances of powerful figures, they are all of varying quality. According to some news sent back from there, those who were sent to explore the secret realm discovered that many inheritances are actually ruined."

"It's just that a secret realm with a low level of danger has appeared in Qianzhou for the first time. All the sects want to get a share of the pie. With the intervention of the eight super sects above, Canglong and Shengqiong had no choice but to accept it."

Upon hearing this, Lin Ran breathed a slight sigh of relief and couldn't help but smile: "There should be quite a few top talents over there, so our Linghua Academy shouldn't become the fastest to be eliminated again."

Qiu Qingzi's face darkened, her body trembled with anger, and she shouted indignantly, "Lin Ran, that's enough! Can't you stop bringing up this hurtful thing every day? You've reopened my wounds!"

"I'm not going to talk about it anymore!"

Lin Ran waved his hand, feeling it was better not to upset poor Qiu Qingzi. This woman had suffered enough, working hard every day to manage Linghua Academy's affairs, and also suffering intermittent physical bullying from her superiors.

Among the higher-ups, Qiu Qingzi's status is only slightly better than Elder Li Qiushui's. Lin Ran and Wen Qianyi are both superior to her. If we continue to bully her, what if they go on strike?

……

Ten men and women, all dressed in the attire of the Linghua Academy, stood in a clearing that had been cleared out in the back hills of the inner courtyard of the academy.

"Mr. Lin, what do you want to do by calling us here?"

The one who said this was one of the girls with short hair. If this girl were dressed in men's clothing, and with her slightly androgynous face, she might be able to charm a lot of boys.

"The master must have his own thoughts. Yuemei, I heard that you got first place and received special tutoring from the master. How was it? Did anything happen between you and the master?!"

A girl who was only about 1.5 meters tall had a baby face, but her slightly exaggerated chest size reminded people of the word "baby face". She tugged at Fu Yuemei, who was leaning against the bamboo and resting with her eyes closed, and teased her.

Upon hearing the girl's words, Fu Yuemei opened her eyes and saw that everyone was staring at her. She was easily embarrassed and couldn't stand being looked at by so many people, so she turned her head to the side and said, "No...no!"

She suddenly remembered that Mr. Lin had come to see her a couple of days ago, saying that he needed her help in a few days, but she wondered what it was about.

"Are you sure you don't have it, or are you lying?" the girl with the youthful face pressed.

"No, Xiaoqian, go ask Sinian. I heard that she got a generous reward for coming in second place!" Fu Yuemei said, blushing.

The girl whose name was called was squatting on the ground watching the little insects move their nest. When she heard someone call her, she couldn't help but swing her two little braids behind her head. She stared in the direction of Xiao Qian and the others and said coquettishly, "I'm only second place, so I can only go to the inner courtyard's library to choose a cultivation technique or martial arts skill. How can I compare to Yue Mei, who got first place and Mr. Lin's private tutoring!"

"You're joking with me, aren't you!"

Fu Yuemei stomped her foot, feeling somewhat ashamed and annoyed.

"Hahaha!"

The girls' clear, bell-like laughter echoed through the woods. Not far away, four male students from Linghua Academy huddled together, watching the girls' lively gathering. One of them, a short, dark-skinned, and thin boy, drooling, said, "When do you think we'll be able to fit in?"

"Da Zhuang!"

A thin, scholarly-looking man patted Dazhuang on the shoulder and said in a low voice, "I advise you not to think so much. Look at yourself, and look at those over there. You might as well go back to your old sweetheart!"

"Hey, you little brat, are you indirectly saying I'm not good enough for you?" Dazhuang said angrily.

The skinny scholar looked at Dazhuang with surprise and grinned slyly, "So you know too!"

"Damn Chen Wenle, you're dead!"

Da Zhuang was furious and wanted to chase after Chen Wenle to beat him up. The other two brothers stood in the middle, seemingly trying to stop them, but in reality, they were just adding fuel to the fire. They were having a great time.

Lin Ran floated in the sky, looking at the ten little ones below. She didn't rush down, but observed them for a while.

Qiu Qingzi, who was standing next to Lin Ran, couldn't help but ask in confusion, "Didn't you ask me to come with you to see these little guys today? Why aren't you going down?"

"No rush, let me ask you!"

Lin Ran pointed to the group of little ones below and smiled, "Just looking at them now, what do you think of these ten people?"

"Aren't their grades taken into account?"

"No union!"

"Let me see!"

Qiu Qingzi didn't rush to give an answer. She carefully observed the little ones for a while before finally giving her answer: "So unreliable!"

"My answer is the same as yours!"

Lin Ran nodded, pointed to the group of guys below, and said, "When I see these little guys, I feel like I'm seeing myself when I was young, with those eyes revealing a clear naiveté."

"I don't care. Anyway, you're leading the team this time. I'm waiting for you to join the fastest eliminated legend!" Qiu Qingzi finally understood something. She couldn't argue with Lin Ran, so she might as well drag Lin Ran down with her. Both of them were leaders of the "fastest eliminated legend," so neither of them could say anything to the other.

Lin Ran hadn't expected that the old fox Qiu Qingzi had also learned to be shameless. He could only say, "Let's go, let's go down and meet these little ones, give them a surprise. Don't worry, I definitely won't join your team!"

“I’ll be watching!” Qiu Qingzi said.

Lin Ran transformed into a streak of light and suddenly crashed into the open space below. A loud bang reached the ears of the ten boys and girls, followed by the muddy, wet ground filled with rainwater.

In just a short moment, the ten girls changed their appearance, all of them now wearing clothes made of yellow mud, looking quite disheveled.

The hot-tempered Dazhuang flicked the dirt off his face, his small, yellowish-black face bulging as he roared in a rough voice, "Which blind fool messed with me!"

When Qiu Qingzi, who arrived later, heard this, she couldn't help but laugh a few times.

These young men and women weren't fools. Although they were covered in mud, when they saw Haruko, they could roughly guess who the golden light that had just crashed down was.

The crowd quickly lined up and respectfully greeted, "Vice Dean Qiu, Vice Dean Lin!"

"Hey, how are you?"

Qiu Qingzi covered her mouth and laughed.

Lin Ran, who was standing to the side with a golden spiritual energy shield, removed the shield and looked at the ten strongest young men and women from Linghua Academy, selected from the qualifying rounds. He smiled and teased, "Are you angry?"

"..."

Everyone looked at each other, but no one dared to speak up. They were definitely angry, but since it was Lin Ran, they could only keep it to themselves.

"You guys are pretty good at holding back!"

Lin Ran shook her sleeves, took a few steps forward, and then asked, "I just heard someone cursing at me. Can you tell me who it was?"

"..."

Da Zhuang's legs were trembling. He lowered his head and didn't dare to breathe for a moment.

"Looks like nobody's willing to talk, then I'm going to punish someone!"

Lin Ran's tone gradually turned cold, and he suddenly shouted, "Fu Yuemei, step forward!"

"Yes!"

Fu Yuemei called out, and the silver-haired girl walked up to Lin Ran in full view of everyone. She had been quite far away, so she wasn't covered in mud and was cleaner than the others.

"Your Majesty!"

Lin Ran gave a cold shout.

"Yes!"

Fu Yuemei knelt down decisively, without the slightest hesitation despite the muddy ground.

Lin Ran suddenly released the pressure of her Nirvana Realm, almost entirely pressing down on Fu Yuemei. The pressure of the Nirvana Realm was terrifying, not to mention that Fu Yuemei was only at the Spirit Transformation Realm. This pressure almost crushed Fu Yuemei, and the little girl fell directly into the muddy ground, her silver hair becoming filthy.

"Moon Plum!"

Chi Sinian and Xiao Qian, who were close to Fu Yuemei, gasped in surprise when they saw her like this and tried to rush over, but they bumped into an invisible wall and their foreheads throbbed with pain.

"Who said those words? Step forward and claim responsibility!"

Lin Ran said coldly, "Don't force me to ask another question!"

Xiao Zhuang's thin, dark body trembled even more violently. The others, especially Xiao Qian, stared intently at Xiao Zhuang, their eyes practically killing him.

"what!"

Fu Yuemei couldn't help but let out a muffled cry of pain. Hearing this, Xiao Zhuang felt even more tormented. He finally raised his hand and said tremblingly, "Vice Dean Lin, I was the one who said those words just now!"

……

9五零⒈八０九0㈨

90. The vice dean who violated professional ethics

"come out!"

Lin Ran remained expressionless, then suddenly shouted, and a chilling aura rose from his body.

Xiao Zhuang walked shakily out of the line, head bowed, not daring to look at Lin Ran. But seeing Fu Yuemei, who had suffered an undeserved misfortune, he still suppressed his fear and tried to plead for her: "Mr. Lin, Fu Yuemei is innocent, could you..."

"You know she's innocent, so why didn't you step forward and claim her sooner?" Lin Ran crossed her arms, and an invisible pressure, along with her words, weighed down on Xiao Zhuang, making his thin frame sway precariously.

“Mr. Lin, I just… hesitated…”

Xiao Zhuang's personality is naturally rather arrogant, but it's impossible for him to admit he's afraid in front of so many people.

But did Lin Ran really not see through this trick? A strange smile suddenly appeared on his face as he asked, "Are you hesitating, or are you afraid?"

Xiao Zhuang's eyes were wide open, and fine beads of sweat on his forehead even slid down to his eyes. He didn't dare to breathe, and even making a sound seemed extremely difficult at this moment.

"Get back!"

Lin Ran said coldly.

These words seemed to save Xiao Zhuang from hell. He responded hoarsely and was about to turn back when his legs gave way and he stepped on the muddy, slippery ground, falling straight down and getting his mouth full of mud.

Lin Ran shook his head. He didn't know what to say for a moment. If these children all had this kind of mental fortitude, would they be able to survive this complex Continental Academy Competition?

Xiao Zhuang stumbled and crawled back to the group.

Lin Ran glanced at Xiao Zhuang, who had returned to the group, then looked at the nine people in front of her. Their eyes held anger, resentment, and fear…

With his hands behind his back, he stared at the nine people in front of him and said coldly, "If this were the Continental Academy Tournament, you trash would have been eliminated long ago. Faced with this sudden situation, your first reaction is anger and cursing!"

"If I were your enemy, and stronger than you, I would simply wipe you all out to vent my anger. If you were a girl... hehe, you might suffer even more humiliation..."

"Don't think that no one is killed in the Continental Academy Tournament. Every year, quite a few people die there. Some are even killed before you can even conjure a spatial token. Do you believe that?"

Those trained in academies always lack this kind of chivalrous spirit. They really think that the outside world is like the academy, where everyone spars and then stops when they've had a chance. Compared to the outside world, the dog-eat-dog environment created by the academy is like children playing house, utterly naive.

If it weren't for the fact that throwing these guys directly into the danger triangle was too violent and prone to causing trouble, Lin Ran felt that if they could really be thrown in there for a month or two of training, they would feel like they would have a bit of the feel of a江湖人 (jianghu person, someone from the martial arts world).

Qiu Qingzi leaned against the bamboo, her arms crossed over her chest, watching Lin Ran's performance. Her eyes sparkled, as if she had been inspired by Lin Ran's actions.

However, Lin Ran was only testing the waters today. She scolded the little ones once and then told them to go back.