The villains are redeemed, and the heroines cry and beg for forgiveness.

In her haste, she grabbed Gu Ran's sleeve again, but this time Gu Ran was serious. So the moment Cheng Caimeng grabbed Gu Ran's sleeve, she realized that the piece of sleeve she was holding had suddenly slipped off.

Cheng Caimeng watched Gu Ran leave in astonishment, knowing that he was determined to go and that her invitation had truly failed.

"If you change your mind, the Reverse Origin Martial Arts Academy will always be open to you! And if there's anything you need the Reverse Origin Martial Arts Academy's help with, the Academy will do its best to assist you!"

Cheng Caimeng gritted her teeth and said these words before Gu Ran had gone far.

This attitude was undeniably subservient, which greatly displeased the younger sister.

"Hmph, sister, see? I told you so! He himself admitted that he has no talent in martial arts. He really is a martial arts waste. We don't need to beg him. He can't help the Niyuan Martial Arts Academy at all!" Cheng Youmeng said smugly.

"Cheng Youmeng!"

The older sister's voice startled the younger sister, who was terrified by her sister's suppressed anger.

"Have you grown too big for your britches? You dare to talk back to me now? If you continue like this, how can I entrust the Reverse Origin Martial Arts Academy to you?"

"Sister, he admitted it himself..."

"How many times have I told you? You can't judge a book by its cover, and you can't be arrogant. Don't you think the martial arts gym has enough enemies already?"

“I…I just don’t want to see you begging others so humbly, I don’t want you to suffer…If he doesn’t want to join, then he doesn’t have to join…Our Niyuan Martial Arts Academy can definitely solve those problems on our own.”

The older sister paused for a moment before saying, "That's not humility, it's just being respectful to the virtuous. In the era of lord city-states before the establishment of the main city, this was a skill that every lord had to learn. I can sense that he has a connection with our Reverse Yuan Martial Arts Academy. If he practices our Reverse Yuan Martial Arts Academy's techniques, it might have unexpected effects."

"But there's not a single trace of spiritual energy emanating from him. Isn't this the kind of situation only seen in martial arts failures who are completely incapable of cultivating martial arts? How could he be the savior of our Reverse Origin Martial Arts Academy?" The younger sister said, somewhat unconvinced.

"Sigh... You're such a grown-up now, how can you still be so willful? It's all because I spoiled you in the past."

Because of that ability to blend into the surrounding environment, even though Gu Ran didn't listen attentively, he could still hear the two sisters talking behind him even after walking a distance. However, as he walked further and further away, his ability to blend into the environment decreased, and the sisters' voices gradually disappeared from his ears.

What did my sister mean by that?

Did she see through my current special circumstances?

Gu Ran couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

Thinking of this, Gu Ran suddenly became more wary of Cheng Caimeng.

Sure enough, Canglong City was a place where hidden talents resided. Even a random person from a martial arts gym he encountered in the slums could sense his special abilities.

Gu Ran became even more cautious.

Walking through the slums, Gu Ran found that the security here was indeed as good as the legends said. He hardly saw any robberies, only some thieves wandering the streets looking for targets.

Moreover, these thieves generally don't steal from locals, nor from outsiders who are obviously not easy to mess with.

They only focused on those who looked like they came from out of town, but didn't seem to be very capable.

Even in the slums, Gu Ran saw signs along the way such as "Killing civilians is prohibited, violators will be severely punished" and "Private fights are prohibited here, violators will be heavily punished." Moreover, every now and then, there was a small team that was obviously full of martial artists patrolling, seemingly checking if anyone dared to violate the rules of Canglong City.

Those thieves weren't even afraid of some powerful outsiders; their boldness seemed to stem from this.

"The nineteen cities of the alliance are truly unique, each with its own distinct character," Gu Ran thought to himself.

If the people in the slums of Saint Yor City and New Yor City knew the situation in the slums of Azure Dragon City, they would probably be green with envy. They barely survive, let alone hope for the good thing of having warriors patrolling to guarantee the personal safety of the slum residents. This is a treatment they can never get.

As Gu Ran walked down the street, he was glanced at by several pickpockets, but they only looked at him once before ignoring him completely.

There's absolutely no money to be made out of such a poor wretch.

Gu Ran was happy that no one was bothering her.

Gu Ran traveled without hindrance until he reached a light blue river.

river?

Gu Ran suddenly remembered that in the book he had read before, there was indeed information about a river in the description of Canglong City. This river should be the famous river in Canglong City - the Dragon Blood River!

It's a terrifying name. The main city is called Azure Dragon City, and this river is called Dragon Blood River, as if the river was formed from dragon blood.

However, because the history of this river's name is too ancient and completely unverifiable—various unofficial histories and legends are unreliable, and the river has remained the same pale blue color for thousands of years without any other changes, all the speculations are just that—speculations. It is difficult for later generations to explore the historical origin of this river being called the Dragon Blood River.

Recalling the information about the river, Gu Ran suddenly realized why no one had stopped him, who clearly looked like a resident of the slums, along the way. It was because the encircling river was a natural barrier separating the inner city from the slums.

The authorities could control the passage between the slums and the inner city by building bridges and ferry crossings in a few places. Moreover, the authorities did not strictly restrict communication between the inner city and the slums. Residents of the slums could obtain a temporary pass to travel to the inner city by paying a certain amount of "money" and "military merits". They could move freely in the inner city within a specified time.

Of course, to obtain a permanent residence permit in the inner city, one must earn a high number of military merits and be "specially recruited" as a student or disciple of certain martial arts schools.

What if you have neither money nor military merit?

So either don't go into the inner city, or swim across the river.

If you choose to swim across the river, the guards at the bridges and ferry crossings will not stop you even if they see you. Instead, they will watch with great interest to see if you can actually swim across, which is one of their great pleasures.

If you were a superhuman with the ability to fly, would you want to fly there?

The guards won't stop you even if they see you flying; instead, they'll watch you fly with even more interest—because that's even more fun.

These guards were all aware that the airspace above the Dragonblood River was off-limits.

Whether it's modern technology or personal ability, as long as something is floating, and as long as you don't exceed a certain height above the Dragon Blood River, you will definitely fall if you pass over it.

Unless one possesses the abilities of a martial arts master or an S-class superhuman, such a powerful individual could fly freely.

No one understands the principle behind this. Lanxin University has been studying the Dragon Blood River for countless years, but has not come up with any results.

Such a peculiar river naturally attracts the curiosity of many people, and many even travel long distances specifically to visit this riverbank and, incidentally, join the guards in enjoying the spectacle.

Because this river is so unique, many martial artists and people with supernatural abilities want to test its depth.

Martial arts masters and S-class superhumans swam across this river just like any other river, posing absolutely no challenge. Over time, no martial arts masters or S-class superhumans became interested in this river anymore.

However, those below the level of martial arts masters and S-class superhumans almost every week come to challenge this river—even though someone dies every week as a result.

This river is considered very strange by those who challenge it. The difficulty of swimming across this river does not increase with your strength. Those who have swum across this river include people who are considered strong, such as those who have achieved martial arts mastery and those with A-level superpowers, as well as those who have just started martial arts training and those who have recently awakened their superpowers.

Moreover, martial artists and superhumans of all levels are distributed throughout the community, making it extremely difficult to discern any pattern. The fatality rate is approximately one-third—only one-third of the challengers succeed.

Oh, no, we need to exclude ordinary people who are neither martial artists nor superpowered individuals, because all ordinary people who tried to swim across the river died without exception.

Gradually, the locals of Canglong City developed a tacit rule: if you are not a martial artist or a person with superpowers, you should never go near the Dragon Blood River.

Those who succeed in the challenge don't actually receive any special reward; they simply gain the recognition of Azure Dragon City—the qualification to permanently reside in the inner city of Azure Dragon City.

For many martial artists and superhumans, this is not particularly attractive. However, the permanent residency qualification in the inner city of Canglong City is still very attractive to some people. These people would even risk their lives to obtain such a qualification, while the success rate of swimming across the river is as high as one-third. Therefore, every now and then, people will still come to the river to risk their lives to challenge it.

These people include those from local slums and those who have come from other cities.

This information was derived by Gu Ran by combining knowledge from books he had read and information he gathered on-site.

Today, quite by chance, there were a few people on the riverbank looking at the Dragon Blood River with tense yet expectant expressions; they were clearly people who wanted to take on the challenge.

Meanwhile, the guards on the other side watched these challengers with delight and anticipation, finding it rare for someone to add a bit of excitement to their mundane lives.

For these guards, all the risks and benefits of the Dragonblood River were clearly stated on the notice board. Since these people still decided to take on the challenge, they would not stop them.

Only those clueless, clueless fools who try to swim across the river will be stopped and given a warning if they see them.

Gu Ran originally intended to enter the inner city through the proper bridge passage, but when he looked through his pockets, which were so full even a mouse would cry, he couldn't help but fall into a brief silence.

He doesn't seem to have any money at all, and he's also an outsider with no military achievements. It seems he won't be able to enter the inner city of Canglong City for a visit.

Gu Ran prepared to leave Canglong City for Zhuque City with some regret.

As for the challenge of swimming across the Dragonblood River?

Don't joke around. He's now a 100% "ordinary person," with neither superpowers nor martial arts skills. According to Long Xuehe's past records, the success rate is zero.

Gu Ran would never risk his life for a chance to go to the inner city, not because he was afraid of dying, but because it was unnecessary.

However, since there was plenty of time, Gu Ran also planned to stand aside and watch the challengers' process to see how many of them would succeed.

"Come......"

Suddenly, Gu Ran, who was standing to the side, faintly heard an old voice.

?

Gu Ran frowned slightly, carefully trying to discern the direction from which the sound was coming.

"thump!"

One challenger jumped into the water first. Instead of being cautious, he jumped in as fast as he could and swam frantically to the other side.

Everything was done at top speed; it seemed his speed helped him escape death and succeed in his challenge.

Unfortunately, he failed. When he reached the middle of the river, his body seemed to cramp up, and he stiffened up before slowly sinking into the river.

The other challengers were startled; the challenger practically sank right in front of them.

"Come......"

That ancient, seemingly ancient voice rang in Gu Ran's ears once again.

Gu Ran finally grasped the direction of the sound, but when he looked in the direction of the sound, he felt a chill run down his spine.

That voice actually came from the Dragonblood River?!

Dragon Blood River is talking to him?!

116. The destined one? A dragon's roar startled the entire city. (4k)

A river is actually talking to me?

Gu Ran couldn't help but be a little surprised.