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

In Shangguan Mengqing's eyes, which were exposed outside her veil and were as calm and indifferent as autumn water, there was no trace of emotion. Just like her words, "That depends on how your young master performs in this secret realm competition. Our Sword Sect still welcomes those who are willing to join us."

Qin Tianying looked at his child and encouraged him, "Did you hear what Miss Shangguan said? Do your best in the secret realm!"

"I understand, Father!" Qin Yi said excitedly.

Qin Yi's gaze lingered on Shangguan Mengqing, his eyes filled with a hidden, barely perceptible lewdness, which Shangguan Mengqing noticed.

Shangguan Mengqing wouldn't reprimand Qin Yi. She had encountered many such gazes before. If she were to lose her temper and kill someone just because they acted this way, it would be beneath her dignity.

Moreover, she now has something she wants to know even more: what exactly happened at the Ancient Dragon Gate?

Qin Tianying's men returned quickly, reporting the situation of the Ancient Dragon Gate to him in detail, including the large hole in the central hall of the Ancient Dragon Gate.

Even Qin Tianying was quite surprised by this, and couldn't help but frown and think, "The central hall of the ancient Dragon Gate actually had a huge hole punched in it. Could it be that the sound we heard not long ago was from the hole punched through the hall?!"

"Patriarch Qin!"

Shangguan Mengqing's voice interrupted Qin Tianying's thoughts. Seeing Qin Tianying looking over, Shangguan Mengqing continued, "Instead of thinking here, why don't we go to the scene and take a look? Maybe then we'll know what happened."

"Miss Shangguan is right!"

Qin Tianying nodded and then instructed his men to notify the other super sects and their affiliated forces.

The convoy continued onward and arrived outside the ruins of the central hall. All the people from the super sects and their vassal forces were extremely curious about the huge noise that had suddenly erupted not long ago and the faint sound of a dragon's roar that had been heard.

Now that they've arrived at the scene, many people can't contain their curiosity and are crossing the ruins to take a look at the central hall.

Shangguan Mengqing followed, and soon arrived at the hole in the main hall. Looking at the seemingly bottomless hole, Shangguan Mengqing squatted down at the edge, gently wiping the edge with her hand. She suddenly said, "I'm going to go down and take a look!"

"what?"

Huang Shishi, who was acting as a bodyguard, didn't immediately understand Shangguan Mengqing's words. Seeing that Shangguan Mengqing was about to jump, he quickly said, "Mengqing, wouldn't it be dangerous to go down like this?"

"There's no danger!"

After Shangguan Mengqing responded, she jumped down.

Many people just watched when they came in, but Shangguan Mengqing was the only one who stood out from the crowd and jumped down after watching for a short while.

"Shangguan Mengqing is still the same old woman!"

At the edge of the hole, a blonde woman with an exotic look, wearing a veil, couldn't help but tease him.

At this moment, her maidservant whispered, "Holy Maiden, would you like to go down and take a look?"

"No, if there's anything, it's not for me anyway. Let's go back!"

The woman, known as the Saintess, casually waved her hand and then walked out into the air, her maidservant quickly following behind.

Anyone who fought alongside Lin Ran against the Spirit Pure Holy Land will recognize her as Gao Tianwen, the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Pure Holy Land.

Judging from those aerial steps, his cultivation level had clearly improved even further than before.

"Father, this..."

The Qin family father and son also stood beside the hole. Qin Yi looked at his father with some anxiety.

Qin Tianying, however, remained remarkably calm. He paced outside and said, "Let's wait outside. There shouldn't be anything left here..."

With the departure of the Qin father and son, the other members of the super sects, who were not fools, probably realized there were no more treasures here. Some left with little interest, while others stayed to admire the murals. People like Huang Shishi had no choice but to jump down and go find Shangguan Mengqing.

After gracefully descending to the deepest part of the cave, Shangguan Mengqing skillfully took out the illumination bead and used the soft light to look around. She quickly noticed several places where the soil had obvious depressions. After investigating them, she went to the narrow entrance.

But Shangguan Mengqing did not go in. She simply touched the edge of the stone door gently and closed her eyes to feel it.

Before long, Shangguan Mengqing, who had noticed the movement above, used her spiritual power to subtly destroy the places she had just discovered, making them appear completely normal.

Shangguan Mengqing looked at the person coming down from above, and when she saw that it was Huang Shishi, she calmly asked, "Senior brother, why did you come down with us?"

"Isn't this because I was worried you might be in danger, junior sister? There's nothing here anyway."

Huang Shishi scratched his head, about to say something, when Shangguan Mengqing gently patted his shoulder and said, "Senior brother, let's go!"

As soon as the words were spoken, Shangguan Mengqing's white-clad figure transformed into an ethereal silhouette, almost disappearing from Huang Shishi's sight.

"Hey, junior sister, wait for me!"

Huang Shishi cried out helplessly, then quickly mobilized his spiritual power and followed Shangguan Mengqing.

Back on the ground, Shangguan Mengqing directed the disciples of the Sword Sect and the vassal forces who had come this time to return to their carriages and prepare to continue their journey. The other forces, seeing that Shangguan Mengqing had gone down and come back up so quickly, assumed that there was nothing of value to them.

Feeling bored, they all returned to their carriages.

Shangguan Mengqing returned to the carriage, and Huang Shishi followed her in. Seeing that Shangguan Mengqing was quiet and didn't speak, Huang Shishi had no choice but to suppress his thoughts and continue to close his eyes to rest.

127. Ancient Battlefield (3.8K)

"Junior Sister Mengqing, why are you so interested in the ancient Dragon Gate ruins?"

Huang Shishi could no longer suppress his doubts. He looked at Shangguan Mengqing, who was sitting by the window, and said, "There doesn't seem to be anything there. If there was, it would have been taken long ago."

Shangguan Mengqing glanced lightly at Huang Shishi, rested her hand on the windowsill, looked at the moving scenery outside, and explained calmly, "Junior Sister was just curious!"

"Just out of curiosity?"

Hwang Se-seok pressed on, because his directness told him that there was not only curiosity involved, but also a feeling that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Shangguan Mengqing turned her head from outside the window, looked at Huang Shishi, and asked in return, "Is Senior Brother Huang very curious?"

"I'm sorry, junior sister, I've been asking too many questions!"

Huang Shishi keenly sensed that Mengqing's tone was off and did not dare to press the matter further.

The atmosphere inside the car suddenly became heavy. Even though the curtains on both windows were open, letting in cool and refreshing air, it still couldn't dispel the stagnant atmosphere.

After arriving at the rest stop, Hwang Se-seok finally had a chance to get out of the car and get some fresh air.

As Shangguan Mengqing watched Huang Shishi flee in disarray, she couldn't help but criticize herself. She, who was always calm and rational, had once again made the mistake of being careless.

Fearing for Lin Ran's safety, she overlooked some irrational or inappropriate behaviors that a Sword Sect Fairy should not have engaged in.

"You could have simply asked directly using the jade bracelet, but you refused to take the initiative. Shangguan Mengqing, look at you..."

Shangguan Mengqing gave herself a little internal scolding. Her eyes were fixed on the distant, vast mountains. As the distance drew closer, her anxiety grew.

Two or three years have passed, and I don't know how he is doing.

……

"Ah!"

Lin Ran rubbed her nose and made a small joke: "I wonder which beautiful lady missed me..."

"Master, how can you be in the mood for jokes in such a gloomy place?" Fu Yuemei said coquettishly from inside the carriage.

"What's the big deal? I've been through plenty of these ghost forests. Just stick to the correct route that's already been discovered!"

Lin Ran smiled. He wasn't so afraid of the forest in front of him, where visibility was less than a few meters and the view was filled with white fog. If he didn't have the correct route, he might have to be more cautious, but Mulan had the correct route map, so this forest was really nothing.

"Sister Mu, aren't you scared?"

Xiao Qian, inside the carriage, looked at Mu Shishuang, who remained as indifferent as ever, and found it unbelievable. Throughout their journey, Mu Shishuang had only shown a different reaction to those related to Mr. Lin; otherwise, she was always cold and indifferent, seemingly unmoved even if the sky were to fall.

As expected, upon hearing Xiaoqian's question, Mu Shishuang shook her head and said softly, "There's nothing to be afraid of!"

The others instinctively looked out the window. The forests on both sides were a vast expanse of white and extremely quiet. The only sound was the clatter of their carriages over the mud, which created a very oppressive atmosphere. At the same time, they all had the same thought.

"Is there... really nothing to be afraid of?"

Fortunately, the girls of Linghua Academy finally escaped the White Mist Forest that had frightened them. Seeing the sun high in the blue sky, they experienced for the first time how enchanting sunlight could be.

Lin Ran glanced around the carriage, then shook his head with a smile. He looked at Mulan beside him and said, "After we pass this forest, we won't be far from Qianlong Mountain, right?"

"Well, there's only the ancient battlefield left. That place should be the most dangerous one along the way. We'll take the safe route that's already been tested, and then we'll be able to reach Qianlong Mountain," Mulan explained.

"How much do you know about Qianlong Mountain?" Lin Ran asked.

Mulan casually flicked the short whip in her hand, frowned and thought, "I know there's very little information about Qianlong Mountain, but from what we mercenaries in Qianzhou have heard, it seems that the existence of a secret realm in Qianlong Mountain has been around for a long time."

"It's been around for a long time?" Lin Ran was taken aback.

"That's right. It's said that someone from the former state stumbled upon the secret realm by accident back then, but they returned empty-handed because the entrance to the secret realm was protected by a powerful restriction."

"After being shelved for so many years, the secret realm's restrictions just happened to be getting weaker and weaker. This news spread wider and wider, and then the Qin family took notice of it. The Qin family couldn't handle it by themselves, so they called in the two academies."

"I heard that the reason they're called the two major academies is because there were problems within the War Alliance, and the Qin family needed outside forces to intervene. These are just rumors, and I don't know if they're accurate or not, but just take them with a grain of salt!" Mulan said with a smile.

These words stirred up a wave in Lin Ran's heart. If the secret realm had been discovered earlier, then Xiao Chong would have been the one to enjoy the big gift when he accidentally entered the Qianlong Secret Realm in the original story. But because of his influence, this big gift is now being competed for.

It feels like a huge loss!

But Lin Ran also believed in her son's strength, that he would definitely be able to outshine everyone else, and that a protagonist is a protagonist, even if he takes a different path, he will definitely become an emperor in the end.

With that thought, Lin Ran's tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and he could continue his slacking-off journey.

But sometimes, whether it was bad luck or the convoy ahead was just really slow, Lin Ran and his group actually caught up with Canglong, Shengqiong and Tianli Academy who were leading the way.

The three academies in front were also quite surprised, especially the Holy Sky Academy, which was completely dumbfounded. They had all asked the Qin family to secretly sabotage them, so why did the Linghua and Songling Academy's caravan still catch up so quickly?

The convoys of the five academies were crowded together on this small hillside, staring at each other.

Finally, it was her old friend, Dean Wenling, who took the initiative to talk to Lin Ran, saying kindly, "Lin Ran, how did you catch up so quickly? It seems like your journey was very smooth!"

"Although we encountered some difficulties at the beginning, we overcame them in the end. Thinking that the five academies are closely connected, and that Songling Academy and I cannot fall behind, we hurried and finally caught up!"

As Lin Ran spoke, she glanced at the convoy of the Holy Sky Academy and the convoy of the Qin family's guide, emphasizing some of the key words, making the meaning particularly clear.

"Humph!"

Jin Qiusheng snorted, flicked his sleeves, and turned to get into the carriage. He didn't want to be harassed by that guy surnamed Lin.

Upon seeing this, Wenling couldn't help but smile a little more on his slightly aged face.

He patted Lin Ran on the shoulder and chuckled softly, "You, never mind, it's good that you caught up. Did anything happen when you passed by the Ancient Dragon Gate?"

"Nothing happened when we were just passing by, but something did happen after we left!" Lin Ran said.

"Oh, Vice Dean Lin, I'm quite interested in this too. Could you tell me about it?" Lin Yi from Canglong Academy stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes always slightly narrowed, and a gentle smile on his lips, revealing his refined and scholarly demeanor.

"Of course that's no problem!"

Lin Ran smiled and then vividly described what they had discovered. Fu Yuemei and the others who were listening in the back stopped halfway through, afraid that they would lose their composure and give Lin Ran away.

The girls in the carriage covered their mouths tightly, their faces flushed red. Mu Shishuang couldn't help but smile faintly as she listened. It was truly rare to find someone like Lin Ran who would lie through his teeth like that.