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

……

121. Trust me, just hammer it.

The stone gate of this ancient hall is long gone, and people can easily walk into it. Their footsteps are so loud that they echo throughout the hall, highlighting its vast emptiness and desolation.

Seeing that the hall was rather dark, Lin Ran was thinking of taking out a torch when Mulan came out with many torches and flint and steel, saying, "Everyone, come and take a torch!"

"You've thought of everything!"

Lin Ran went to Mulan, took a torch, lit it, pointed to the main hall, and said, "Where should we start?"

Mulan lit a torch, pointed to the left, and said, "Let's start by looking at the murals on the left wall. The most valuable thing in this hall is those murals, but unfortunately, no one has been able to discover anything about them over the years."

Initially, this group of ruins was quite lively, but after everyone searched almost to the bone and found nothing of value, it gradually became deserted. Now, if it weren't for going to Qianlong Mountain, they probably wouldn't pass by this place.

Perhaps fearing that Lin Ran and the others wouldn't understand the mural, Mulan explained some of the information that had already been discovered about it to them.

Lin Ran wasn't actually listening; he was having a conversation with the flowers in his mind.

"Have you got any ideas yet?" Lin Ran asked.

“Not yet… wait a moment!” Fan Hua replied.

A little while later…

"I've walked almost halfway through this hall, so give me some response, sis!"

"Almost there, almost there..."

Then... Lin Ran finished touring the main hall, but Fan Hua still hadn't given any information about the place, leaving Lin Ran somewhat at a loss.

The initial excitement of Fu Yuemei and her group of students was completely extinguished after they finished touring the main hall. The ancient characters and patterns they couldn't understand, and even those that were deciphered, were just nonsensical and fragmented pieces of information.

The main hall was also empty except for a few supporting pillars. Many of the murals were worn and damaged. There was also a huge pile of broken stones in the hall. It looked very big, but after looking around, I realized that coming to this place really felt like coming for sightseeing.

Seeing the students looking somewhat dejected, Mulan couldn't help but comfort them: "Hey, you guys are already pretty good. When the time comes, that secret realm in Qianlong Mountain, it's said that there are really many powerful people's inheritances in there. Those are real relics with treasures. I'm not qualified to go in. I'm so envious of you guys!"

"In my opinion, why bother with this godforsaken place? It's been protected for years. If there were anything there, it would have been taken by those cunning thieves long ago!" Mulan said.

Upon hearing this, the students felt much more at ease.

As some students prepared to head home, Mulan instinctively reached out to leave, but then suddenly remembered her employer. Turning around, she was taken aback to find Lin Ran standing in the center of the hall.

Mulan called out to the other end, "Mr. Lin, what are you doing there!"

"Give me some time, I've discovered something strange!"

Lin Ran didn't turn her head and continued to busy herself with her own things.

From Mulan's angle, they couldn't see what Lin Ran was doing. They only saw Lin Ran with her back turned, squatting on the ground, doing something unknown.

Mulan had no choice but to wait for Lin Ran at the door. After all, this was her employer, and if her employer wanted to stay here, she had no choice but to follow.

Lin Ran was staring intently at the ground, while Fan Hua's voice echoed in her mind: "This is the place. Use your signature Dragon Fist technique. Remember, you must use the power of 'Dao' to activate this formation."

Are you sure this is a formation?

Lin Ran looked at the ground in front of him. Even though he had wiped away the dust on the surface, the bare, yellowish-brown ground made it impossible to see or sense that there was a formation there. Could it be a lie?

"I'm not lying!"

Fan Hua stamped her feet angrily at the Liusu Palace and shouted, "Do you really think I searched through all these ancient books? There must be a big surprise here. This is a place that the Azure Emperor and the Azure Dragon Clan built together back then. There must still be something left here."

"If we could find someone connected to the Azure Dragon Clan or the Azure Emperor, it would be of great benefit to you or Qianyi!" Fan Hua said.

"Just because of what you said, I'm going to throw this punch!"

Hearing Fan Hua's words, Lin Ran had already made up his mind. He stood up, turned around, and looked at Mu Lan and the others standing at the door, saying, "You guys move to the center of the square first. I have some things to do next."

Before Mulan could speak, Fu Yuemei led the group to retreat to the square. Mulan, seeing this, quickly pulled Fu Yuemei aside and asked in surprise, "What are your teachers going to do? Aren't you going to ask them?"

Fu Yuemei's delicate face showed a hint of doubt. She subconsciously scratched her ear and asked curiously, "Why do you ask?"

"What if there's any danger?"

Although Mulan didn't know what Lin Ran was planning, she was still somewhat worried. Although many skilled people had come to this place before but returned empty-handed, it was still an ancient ruin complex, and there was no doubt that they might accidentally cause something.

“But Master is much more capable than us. Even if there is danger, I believe Master can handle it!” Fu Yuemei said, her eyes shining brightly, full of confidence and admiration for Lin Ran.

Mulan led the group from Linghua Academy to the center of the fountain in the square to wait. Seeing that Fu Yuemei and the others were like this, Mulan had no choice but to follow suit. After all, their employer had given them enough!

Seeing that Yue Mei and the others had all left, Lin Ran felt relieved. He took a few steps back, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

When Lin Ran opened his eyes again, a glint of light flashed in them. He felt the surging and abundant spiritual power within his body, and with his will, he channeled it to his right arm.

The pale golden spiritual energy emanated from its body, gradually forming golden scales. In the clenched fist, a ferocious dragon head could be faintly seen roaring. The dazzling golden light illuminated the entire hall.

Looking at the scene inside the main hall from the square, and hearing the loud dragon roar coming from the hall, Mulan and the others couldn't help but change their expressions. Seeing Lin Ran's posture at this moment, a thought popped into everyone's mind.

"Mr. Lin, he's not planning to smash right through the ground, is he?"

Having gathered her strength, Lin Ran took a few steps forward, pressed her feet on the ground, and shot into the air above the main hall like a cannonball that had been charging for a long time.

"Dragon Fist - First Form!"

With a roar, Lin Ran threw a punch toward the center of the hall.

A golden dragon appeared in the sky above the hall. Its body was covered with fine and delicate golden scales. What was most astonishing were the dragon’s ferocious eyes, which shone with black and white light, as if they were the finishing touch on a painting, making it lifelike!

"Roar!"

A resounding dragon's roar echoed for 30,000 miles.

What followed was a tremor powerful enough to make the earth itself shake.

"boom!"

The ground shook violently, nearly causing Fu Yuemei, who was in the center of the square, to fall to the ground. However, the residual force and energy ripples brought by the giant dragon caused dust and stones along the way to be stirred into the air, and the square suddenly became a scene of dust and sand flying everywhere.

As Yue Lei waited at the fork in the road, wondering where the strong energy fluctuations were coming from, the ground he was standing on began to shake.

The students from Songling Academy who had just returned to the group were also startled. They quickly grabbed the carriage to steady themselves, their faces blank, not knowing what had happened.

"What happened inside the main hall? It was just a visit, how could something have gone wrong!"

Just as Yue Lei was about to fly over to the main hall for a quick look, he felt a force pressing down on him as soon as he took to the air. Caught off guard, he landed on the ground in a rather unladylike manner.

Brushing the dust off his clothes, Yue Lei spat to the side and cursed, "Damn it, how can there be such an anti-flight restriction here!"

"You all stay here and don't wander off!"

After instructing his own seedlings, Yue Lei hurried to the main hall to see what had happened.

……

On a mountain more than ten kilometers away from this ancient Dragon Gate, several caravans were camping and resting on a flat area. From their campsite and the carriages, it was clear that these were several caravans of considerable strength.

When they saw the crowd of people coming and going, their tight-fitting clothes and badges on their chests, they realized that this was the caravan of the Azure Dragon, Holy Sky, and Tianli Academy, which had set off the earliest, along with the Qin family and others who were leading the way.

Inside the camp of Tianli Academy, Lin Chong and Wen Ling were having a private conversation.

Lin Chong looked at Wen Ling with an extremely serious expression and said, "Dean, just tell me, why haven't my father and the others caught up with us yet? Has someone done something to sabotage things?"

During this time, Lin Chong felt more and more uneasy. Logically speaking, if the five academies set off together, there was no reason why Linghua Academy and Songling Academy would be nowhere to be seen, while they were getting closer and closer to Qianlong Mountain. It was really hard not to suspect that someone had done something wrong.

When Lin Chong asked Wen Ling this question, he sighed helplessly. He stood up from his chair and paced around the tent, saying, "Linghua Academy and Songling Academy are being targeted by the Qin family. Not only were they notified late, but they weren't provided with good warhorses suitable for the terrain, and they weren't even given guides..."

"this…"

Lin Chong was startled, then his face darkened and he fell silent. He was no longer a naive young man, and he quickly figured out the problem.

It must have been Jin Qiusheng from Shengqiong Academy who instigated the Qin family to do this!

Besides, Lin Chong really couldn't imagine who his father, with his usual cautious nature, could have offended.

"Xiao Chong, Dean, I didn't mean to keep this from you..."

Wenling had been on his way for some time and hadn't seen Lin Ran and the others. He learned about it from Lin Yi. When Wenling heard about these underhanded tricks, he couldn't help but laugh. He believed that Lin Ran could handle them.

However, Wenling chose to keep it a secret from Lin Chong, fearing that Lin Chong would impulsively go to Jin Qiusheng and settle scores with the Qin family.

"Don't worry, Dean, I know what you're worried about. I won't act impulsively!"

Lin Chong raised his head again, his eyes resolute, and said with a murderous intent, "But those who dare to bully my father and the others, I will settle the score with them in the secret realm. I hope they are prepared!"

"Hehe, Xiao Chong, you've grown up a lot over the years!"

Wenling patted Lin Chong on the shoulder with satisfaction. The Lin Chong of today is no longer the spirited young man who just entered the academy, but that does not mean that he has lost his spirit. It is just that it is hidden deep inside. When he is ready to draw his sword, his sharpness will be terrifying.

"boom!"

A barely noticeable sound rang out outside, startling Wenling. He and Lin Chong exchanged a glance and hurried out to see what was going on.

A large crowd had already gathered outside, all heading to the cliff edge in the northeast, gazing into the distance. Just as Wenling was about to ask his student what had happened, he met Linyi's gaze instead.

Seeing Lin Yi looking over, Wen Ling also walked over to Lin Yi, looked northeast, and asked, "Dean Lin, do you know what happened?"

"Ok!"

Lin Yi nodded, her eyes filled with a hint of doubt as she looked northeast, and slowly said, "It seems to be... the location of the ancient Dragon Gate..."

"The Ancient Dragon Gate?"

Although Wenling wasn't exactly a know-it-all from Qianzhou, he had done his research. The Ancient Dragon Gate was a group of ancient ruins of no value, so why...why would there be strange noises at this time? Could it be man-made? Or...?

Wen Ling narrowed his eyes, as if with the imminent opening of the Qianlong Mountain Secret Realm, this vast land was beginning to stir.

……

122. Shimen

"Cough cough!"

Lin Ran had just come to his senses when he inhaled a large mouthful of dust, which made him bend over and cough. After he recovered, he looked up and saw that the faint light seemed within reach.

But he knew that he was quite far from the ground at this moment, conservatively estimated to be at least a hundred meters away.

Lin Ran patted the dirt off his body, and golden spiritual energy flowed into his eyes, turning his black and white eyes a pale gold. He looked around and said to himself, "Fan Hua, if you don't find something, I'll put you under house arrest. Don't even think about leaving Liu Su Palace!"

Upon hearing this, Fan Hua immediately jumped up and shouted unhappily, "I'll definitely find it! I swear on my honor!"