On the eve of the school anniversary, many people were reaching out to Lin Ran, mostly classmates—some from high school and even Wu Zhishang.
The reason, of course, was that the Lin family was desperately searching for him.
Over the phone, Wu Zhishang said, "Bro Lin, Lin Jian said that Lin Tianba is at the end of his rope now. If you don’t help them, he’s going to take drastic measures."
Lin Ran scoffed outright.
"Tell him this: If he wants money, he won’t get a single cent. If he’s got a plan, good for him. If not, tough luck."
"Got it."
Lin Ran added, "By the way, don’t forget to promote our short drama during the anniversary event. I’ve already cleared it with Principal Tang—this year’s celebration is being livestreamed nationwide."
Wu Zhishang on the other end immediately perked up.
"Damn, Bro Lin, you’ve got the magic touch. A few words from you just saved us a fortune in marketing costs."
Lin Ran chuckled. "Heh! If it weren’t for fear of you guys losing your jobs, I’d have retired ages ago. Now I truly understand how blissful it is to be pampered by my wife."
Wu Zhishang instantly erupted. "What the hell?! Why’d you have to twist the knife like that? You damn #@%$..."
Before Wu Zhishang could finish cursing, Lin Ran hung up.
His mindset wasn’t just different from his past life—it had changed drastically even compared to when he first reincarnated.
Take this so-called "entrepreneurship" of his—it wasn’t even a drop in the bucket compared to Luo Yao’s achievements.
Still, he had to stay true to his original goal. Once this short drama turned a profit, he’d buy Luo Yao a gift.
After hanging up, Wu Zhishang cursed Lin Ran internally for a long time before finally relaying his message to Lin Jian’s family.
When Lin Jian heard Lin Ran’s exact words, his eyes burned with hatred, his teeth grinding audibly.
"Fine, Lin Ran. Just you wait."
He then repeated the words to Lin Tianba, who flew into an even greater rage.
"That ungrateful brat! I raised him, fed him, and this is how he repays me? If not for me, Lin Tianba, he’d have starved to death long ago! Instead of groveling in gratitude, he won’t even show his face?"
Lin Jian’s tongue had mostly healed, though his speech was still stiff.
"Dad, if Brother refuses to help us, we have no choice but to fight with our backs against the wall."
Lin Tianba frowned. "What’s your plan?"
"Our school’s centennial anniversary is coming up. I wanted to suggest something about Brother... @%#..."
After hearing Lin Jian’s idea, Lin Tianba fell into brief silence.
"But if we do this, that brat’s reputation will be ruined. Won’t he hate us even more?"
Lin Jian’s eyes gleamed with calculation.
"If Brother comes to his senses, he won’t lose everything. Then we won’t have to pressure him further."
Lin Tianba sighed. The plan felt flawed, but they had no better options.
"Fine. If he shows no mercy, then this father won’t either. Since he’s willing to hurt his own family, we’ll force his hand."
"Xiao Jian, you and your mother should go. Even though that brat wouldn’t dare act out in public, I’ll arrange some bodyguards for you."
"Thanks, Dad. Aren’t you coming?"
Lin Tianba shook his head. "No. If he sees me, he might lose control and make things worse."
In truth, Lin Tianba just didn’t want to embarrass himself—this was merely an excuse.
Meanwhile, Liu Yuemei suddenly perked up. Their recent poverty had driven her to despair, and Lin Ran was her only hope for salvation.
"Don’t worry, dear. This time, I’ll make sure Xiao Ran apologizes and returns to the Lin family. You’ll just have to show him more fatherly love afterward."
Lin Tianba sighed dramatically. "Fine. What else can I do? I’m his father, after all."
Time flew, and soon it was the day of Jingda University’s centennial celebration.
Despite meticulous preparations, the campus gates were swarmed with crowds by morning.
As a prestigious century-old institution, its alumni included numerous historical figures—even an academician from the Chinese Academy of Engineering made an appearance.
Dozens of media outlets and education bureau officials also attended.
Zhang Xiaonuan and other volunteers were assigned to greet distinguished guests.
When she checked her list, her heart nearly stopped—Lin Ran’s name was clearly printed there.
But no matter how many times she called his contact number, it never went through. So at dawn, she anxiously waited at the registration desk amidst the sea of people.
Just then, a fleet of luxury cars rolled up. The campus gates swung open, and one extravagant vehicle after another drove in.
At the center of the procession, Lin Ran cruised in a sleek Aston Martin, turning heads effortlessly.
His flamboyance served two purposes: first, to boost Nuanyao Group’s prestige, especially with the media present; second, to rub his success in certain people’s faces.
"Who the hell is this show-off? Parking’s a nightmare today, and they just waltz in like they own the place?"
"You don’t recognize him? That’s Lin Ran—our campus heartthrob."
"So what? Heartthrobs get special treatment?"
"He’s also a young entrepreneur. The library was his donation."
"And that convoy behind him? Probably his security team."
"Oh. My bad."
Hearing this, Zhang Xiaonuan sprinted after the departing cars.
She didn’t notice the icy gaze from someone inside the lead vehicle.
Uncle Fu kept his head down, not daring to meet Luo Yao’s eyes in her current mood.
Inside campus, the convoy split—Luo Yao’s group headed to the administration building, while Lin Ran and most bodyguards went to the parking lot.
As Lin Ran stepped out of his car, a voice suddenly shouted,
"Senior Lin Ran!"
Lin Ran blinked in confusion.
"You’re calling me?"
"Yes! I’m Zhang Xiaonuan, assigned to escort you."
Instead of letting her approach, Lin Ran kept a ten-meter distance.
"You look familiar…?"
"I’m Zhang Xiaonuan! Zhang Xiaolong’s sister."
Recognition flashed in Lin Ran’s eyes.
"Ohhh! Now I remember. Guys, block her—don’t let her near me!"
"I’ll handle myself. Go assist someone else."
Watching Lin Ran vanish instantly, Zhang Xiaonuan stood baffled.
Why did Senior Lin Ran seem… afraid of her?
Disappointed but helpless, she could only sigh.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
