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

"Why don't we hurry up and see what's going on inside that secret realm?" Lin Ran quickly changed the subject.

"Go and see!"

Shangguan Mengqing did not continue to make things difficult for Lin Ran. Even if the old man really wanted to see her, she would not allow him to meet her master at this stage. She would only allow the two to meet when the time was right.

Before leaving, Shangguan Mengqing put her veil back on. She only took off the veil when she was alone with the old man; she usually wore it to avoid a lot of trouble.

The two arrived near the square one after the other, and soon Lin Ran spotted Mulan and Mu Shishuang in the crowd. He led Shangguan Mengqing over.

"Mulan, Shishuang, how long have you been watching here?" Lin Ran asked with a smile.

When Mulan and Mu Shishuang looked at Lin Ran and Shangguan Mengqing, they weren't particularly surprised. Mulan pointed to the scroll and said, "We just arrived here too. There's a fierce battle going on inside that secret realm right now. Several factions are fighting each other, it seems they're vying for some kind of key..."

"Didn't expect it to have reached this stage already?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Ran also looked at the scene in the scroll. Sure enough, the scene in the scroll showed more than a dozen young talents fighting each other, using all kinds of martial arts techniques and trump cards, seemingly for the chance to enter the bronze gate in the distance.

After Lin Ran arrived, Mu Shishuang's attention shifted from the painting to Lin Ran's lips; she seemed to have noticed something...

Shangguan Mengqing, who was standing to the side, noticed Mu Shishuang's unusual behavior. She also looked at Lin Ran's face and happened to see the lipstick on the corner of Lin Ran's mouth. Her pretty face under the veil couldn't help but blush slightly. She couldn't help but transmit her voice and say, "Lin Ran, there's something dirty on the corner of your mouth. Remember to wipe it off."

"dirty stuff?"

Lin Ran glanced at Shangguan Mengqing. He subconsciously wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Just as he was about to say that there was nothing dirty, he saw a faint crimson stain on his sleeve. He immediately understood and quickly wiped it a few more times. Then he pretended that nothing was wrong and continued to look at the scene in the scroll.

But in reality, he was communicating with Shangguan Mengqing.

Why didn't you tell me when you went out? Did someone see you?

“Even if someone notices, they won’t connect it to you or me,” Shangguan Mengqing said.

"why?"

“Because old men and fairies don’t match!” Shangguan Mengqing replied with a faint smile.

"Hey, I think you're wrong about that. If you ask me, an old man and a fairy are a perfect match!" Lin Ran said, unconvinced.

"What could be the reason for this?"

“Old men have experience and can help fairies cultivate their Dao heart. Isn’t that a good match?” Lin Ran said with a smile.

"Oh, so you mean you've experienced more of the mortal world and have more experience, which can help me cultivate my Dao heart?" Shangguan Mengqing's voice suddenly turned cold.

Upon hearing this, Lin Ran broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly explained, "I meant rich experience, not worldly experience. Please don't misunderstand, fairy!"

"Next time, please be more accurate, old man, otherwise it could cause misunderstandings!" Shangguan Mengqing said calmly.

"Can you stop calling me 'old man'? It feels weird!" Lin Ran felt like he was some kind of greasy middle-aged man when he heard the term "old man," even though he was a perfectly handsome young man!

“Fine, old man!” Shangguan Mengqing showed no remorse whatsoever.

Lin Ran: "..."

Alright, as long as the fairy is happy, how could he possibly spoil her fun?

……

Several forces within the secret realm were locked in a fierce battle over the key to the inheritance. To Lin Ran's surprise, Mo Qingyi from the Tianshan Sword Sect possessed exceptional swordsmanship, which Lin Ran considered outstanding. Her destructive power was astounding, having severely injured many other young talents and managed to seize a key to the inheritance.

Lin Ran also learned from Mulan that this square has several lineages.

The bronze key that everyone is currently vying for is the most precious key in this plaza of the secret realm—the key to the central bronze gate. No one has yet been able to secure that bronze key.

At this moment, the bronze key was still floating in mid-air in the square. Anyone who dared to take it would be stopped by the other side.

The inheritance inside this bronze gate is said to be the lifelong legacy of a Saint Realm expert. If one were to obtain it, it would truly be a ticket to the Saint Realm.

What Lin Ran was curious about was where his son Lin Chong was, and where his apprentice Yue Mei was. He held the soul jade tablets of all the children in his hands, and they were all shining brightly, indicating that they were in excellent condition. But he did not see these children in the painting. Had they all given up competing for this inheritance?

Knowing her son as Lin Ran did, this should be impossible. But why were these guys nowhere to be seen? Could it be that they were planning something, like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind?

"Someone has gotten their hands on that bronze key!"

A commotion suddenly erupted in the square.

Lin Ran immediately turned her gaze back to the scene in the painting, where a somewhat thin man dressed in black had obtained the bronze key.

"It's actually him?"

Shangguan Mengqing, who was standing to the side, said something in surprise.

"You know him?" Lin Ran turned around and asked, somewhat surprised.

Shangguan Mengqing nodded and said, "That's Qin Tianying's son, Qin Yi. Qin Tianying brought his son to me before to try to build a relationship, hoping that his son could enter the Sword Sect."

"If this kid meets the requirements, would you take him in?" Lin Ran asked with burning eyes.

He hoped to get an answer from Shangguan Mengqing that matched his own heart. He disliked the Qin family, and naturally did not want Shangguan Mengqing to accept such a person into the Sword Sect.

Shangguan Mengqing glanced at Lin Ran and said calmly, "No, he has the wrong temperament!"

.......

160. Have you heard of Song Jiang?

Lin Ran was delighted by Shangguan Mengqing's answer and was thinking about how to praise the fairy when Shangguan Mengqing continued to transmit her voice, saying, "Old man, don't be too happy yet. If that child has the right character and enters the required ranking, I will naturally extend an olive branch to him for the benefit of the Sword Sect. I will not sacrifice the interests of the Sword Sect because of personal feelings."

Hearing Shangguan Mengqing's words, Lin Ran wasn't particularly displeased. On the contrary, he was quite happy and said with a smile, "Fairy, you have such a strong sense of principle, I feel I like you even more!"

A slight blush rose to Shangguan Mengqing's pretty face beneath her veil. She lightly tapped her toes on the ground and calmly said, "Why do you like everything?"

"It's precisely because it's you that I like everything about you!" Lin Ran said with a smile.

"Oh!"

Lin Ran: "..."

It seems he shouldn't say such cloying sweet nothings anymore; the fairy doesn't seem to like it.

As Lin Ran turned back to continue watching the events following Qin Yi obtaining the bronze key in the painting, he failed to notice a pair of deep, smiling eyes calmly watching his back, and through the light gauze, he could almost see the lips trembling slightly.

"Me too…"

Shangguan Mengqing silently added a sentence in her mind.

……

After Qin Yi obtained the bronze key in the painting, Qin Tianying, the head of the Qin family, was filled with barely suppressed excitement. In contrast, Canglong, Lin Yi from the Holy Sky Academy, and Jin Qiusheng did not look too good.

Everyone was scheming for that bronze key. Although they appeared to be cooperating, they were secretly competing with each other. Now that their rivals had gotten there first, it would be a lie to say they weren't resentful. But in this situation, they still had to be careful.

They could only secretly pray that someone would step forward and snatch the key from Qin Yi's hands.

Jin Qiusheng cursed inwardly at the other factions that hadn't made a move: "Why are the other factions in the War Alliance just standing there without doing anything? Do they want to see the Qin family produce a peerless genius?"

Looking at the scene depicted in the painting, Lin Ran said with some surprise, "They really let Qin Yi return to the group with that bronze key? Is no one willing to intervene?"

Mulan, who was standing nearby, stepped in to explain, "Mr. Lin, the young master of the Qin family is surrounded by many experts from small and medium-sized forces. It seems that they were bought off by the Qin family. Their fighting style is extremely fierce. Among the forces present, no one dares to say that they can easily defeat the Qin family's side, and it is also inevitable that some people will turn their attention to themselves..."

"I see!"

Lin Ran nodded and joked, "If there isn't a traitor among Qin Yi's subordinates, then he should have secured the bronze key and officially obtained that coveted inheritance. With the blessing of the inheritance, Qin Yi should be invincible in the final ranking competition!"

The chaotic battle between the various forces in the square quickly subsided, and the inheritance keys in the square all found their owners.

Looking at the six ancient gates in the square, Lin Ran was also a little surprised. She couldn't help but say, "It's really rare to see so many treasures of inheritance clustered together in one place. It seems that the level of this secret realm is even higher than I imagined!"

To Lin Ran's dismay, her son was not present and likely wouldn't be able to obtain a share of the inheritance, as several other factions were preparing to open the gates to the inheritance.

As the Qin family patriarch watched his son, Qin Yi, stride confidently toward the central bronze gate, his hands beneath his robes clenched into fists as he desperately suppressed the joy in his heart.

Around the plaza, greedy eyes were fixed on the central square, and some of the men were breathing heavily and rapidly. Clearly, they did not want the key of inheritance to fall into the hands of these forces so easily.

The leaders of the younger generation of Canglong and Shengqiong Academy looked in Qin Yi's direction with a sense of dejection. They were no longer able to fight against Qin Yi's side. They wondered where the Qin family had hired such a group of thugs. They were so powerful. If it weren't for those thugs, how could the Qin family, with its limited strength and manpower, possibly be a match for the two sides working together?

Standing before the bronze gate, Qin Yi's eyes burned with fervor, and his right hand, gripping the bronze key, trembled uncontrollably. But he knew he had to do something first.

Qin Yi turned around, bowed respectfully to the group behind him, and said, "Everyone, we were able to obtain this inheritance key thanks to your great help. Once we leave the secret realm, our Qin family will certainly reward you handsomely. If you don't believe me, I have some pills here; please take them..."

Qin Yi took out a spatial ring and walked straight to the thin man with an upright face, saying, "Brother Song Jiang, you can give these to your brothers!"

"hehe!"

The gaunt man called Song Jiang couldn't help but sneer, saying, "Can this little bit of stuff compare to the inheritance of a Saint Realm expert?"

Qin Yi's heart skipped a beat. He took a small step back, but still smiled as he said, "Brother Song Jiang, what do you mean by this?"

"What could it mean?!"

Song Jiang sneered and said, "Of course we hope Brother Qin will return the bronze key to us!"

Qin Yi's pupils contracted involuntarily, and his body tensed up, ready to flee immediately. However, Song Jiang already knew what Qin Yi was about to do. The pale blue sword energy pierced through Qin Yi's limbs with unparalleled precision and sharpness, pinning Qin Yi to the ground like nails.

"It's the Qin family! Come and save me!" Qin Yi's face was contorted with rage as he let out a sharp wail.

The changes at the Qin family's side in the square immediately attracted everyone's attention. Even the forces that had already obtained the inheritance key couldn't help but stop opening their doors to see what had happened at the Qin family's side.

"Stop shouting, no one can save you!"

Song Jiang slowly walked up to Qin Yi, squatted down, and took the bronze key from Qin Yi's body. Qin Yi had just experienced a great battle and was powerless to stop what was happening.

"Song Jiang, why did you betray me!" Qin Yi raised his head with difficulty and roared.

"betray?"

Song Jiang shook his head and chuckled, "I'm not even one of your men, so how could I betray you? I'm just a nobody you can't even remember, back to take revenge on you!"

"Revenge? What did I do?" Qin Yi asked instinctively, startled.

"You've done so much, especially your Qin family, to..."

Song Jiang shook his head, unwilling to say anything more. He searched through Qin Yi's spatial ring and found Qin Yi's spatial token. He then placed it on the edge of Qin Yi's palm, which had already been pierced by the cyan sword energy.

Qin Yi stared wide-eyed at the scene, shaking his head vigorously and shouting, "No, Brother Song Jiang, please don't! What did I do wrong before? I will make it up to you! Our Qin family will make it up to you!"

No matter what Qin Yi said, Song Jiang remained expressionless and unleashed a sword aura that shattered the spatial token. The powerful silver spatial force instantly enveloped Qin Yi, and she was teleported away.

When Qin Yi was sent away and the remaining group of men in black became the owners of the bronze key, everyone, both inside and outside the secret realm, was surprised by how quickly this had happened.

Of course, some people had different emotions. For example, Qin Tianying from the Qin family, who was originally unable to suppress his joy, turned into unable to suppress his anger. His face was terribly gloomy, and he was even unwilling to continue watching the scene in the secret realm. This kind of falling from heaven to hell in an instant probably refers to Qin Tianying's situation.

The leaders of the Azure Dragon Academy and the Holy Sky Academy looked much more relaxed and happy, almost bursting out laughing. Although the bronze key didn't end up in their hands, as long as it wasn't obtained by the Qin family, it was still an acceptable outcome.

Seeing this sudden turn of events, Lin Ran was shocked that his casual remark had actually become a reality. Facing the gazes of Mulan, Mu Shishuang, and Shangguan Mengqing, Lin Ran spread his hands helplessly and said, "I was just saying it casually, who knew it would actually happen..."