Chapter 1: Li Ran’s Attitude (Part 2)

Luo Jie said, “All altar-level professionals of the Gu Mi family must… accept one of my soul talismans!”
Guo Shier was stunned. His master’s move was devastating, hitting right at their weak point. The altar-level professionals present included almost all of the Gu Mi family’s experts. Once a soul talisman was implanted in their altars, their lives would be entirely under Luo Jie’s control.
Mi Chong shouted weakly from the side, “You… don’t go too far!”
Luo Jie sneered, “So… you refuse to surrender?”
Mi Chong glanced secretly at Li Ran before collapsing on the altar, wailing, “No, I… I…”
Under Li Ran’s overwhelming strength, Mi Chong and the others couldn’t even think of resisting. Defying him now would be suicide—no one would survive. With his experience, Mi Chong knew full well that Li Ran could kill him with a single strike. He was filled with extreme regret—how had he even thought of asking Li Ran for help?
After some discussion, Mi Zhengji had no choice but to agree to the condition, as he had no room for negotiation. Desperately, he realized the city had already been set up as a trap, one from which no one could escape. If they persisted in defiance, the Gu Mi family would be completely destroyed.
Luo Jie ordered, “Activate your altar defenses!”
Mi Zhengji sighed and commanded, “Activate the altar defenses now!” Once activated, the defenses meant these altar-level experts were completely defenseless, standing bare-faced before their enemies.
Everyone’s faces turned deathly pale, but they dared not disobey their clan leader and had no choice but to activate their altar defenses.
Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan simultaneously sent out black shadows, firing soul talismans at everyone without exception. Each talisman was embedded in the altar, merging with their souls.
Li Ran smiled slightly and retracted his altar. Guo Shier asked, “Brother Li Ran, when did you advance beyond the ninth-tier altar? Last time in the Land of Blood, you still had a sixth-tier altar…”
Li Ran replied with a smile, “I advanced just yesterday…”
Guo Shier shook his head. “Don’t lie to me. How is that possible?”
Li Ran said, “If you’ve already reached the fourth-tier altar, why can’t I go beyond the ninth?”

Guo Shier couldn’t help but smile bitterly. He knew that likely, even when he first met Li Ran, Li Ran was already a being beyond the Ninth-Level Altar. This guy was really good at hiding it—unexpected that he had the same professional level as Qi Wuzhen, an absolute top-tier figure. He sighed and said, “Brother Li Ran, last time you said… I’d go to you when I became a High-Level Great Sage. Unfortunately, I got lost on the outer continent and couldn’t find my way back.”

Li Ran laughed and said, “Lost? Hehe, it’s normal to get lost here. Without a Great Cross-Realm Talisman, it’s easy to lose one’s way back if you’re not careful.”

While the two chatted casually, Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan had already dealt with the Soul Talismans. The Gu Mi family had been completely wiped out. Although they weren’t killed, they lost their life safeguards. If Luo Jie wanted to kill them, he could simply activate the Soul Talismans to burn their souls and utterly destroy them.

Luo Jie said indifferently, “Alright, go to your Gu Mi City!” He wouldn’t discuss any conditions here. Having already taken control of the Gu Mi family’s leaders, he could get whatever conditions he wanted.

Mi Zhengji said with a bitter expression, “Yes.” He ordered the city’s defenses to be shut down and the city’s teleportation array activated. A few altar-level professionals and over a dozen Great Sages were left to handle the remaining issues in the city, while he obediently followed Luo Jie and the others to the city’s teleportation array.

Mi Peng, piloting the altar, flew unsteadily. His mind was in chaos. He knew that once he returned, he would surely be the perfect scapegoat.

Guo Shier asked Li Ran, “Brother Li Ran, are you the founder of the Recruitment Association?”

Li Ran smiled and said, “Yes, why?”

Guo Shier said, “Look… there are only a few of us, and we can’t handle many things. Could we hire professionals from your association to help?”

Li Ran laughed and said, “Of course. But… our Recruitment Association charges quite a bit. Can you afford it?”

Guo Shier shrugged and said, “It’s fine. If I can’t afford it… someone else can. The Gu Mi family will cover all the costs.”

Li Ran burst into laughter and said, “Haha, you’re really bad! Alright, how many professionals do you want to hire?”

Guo Shier replied, “The more, the better!”

Li Ran waved and called over an altar-level professional, one of those who had just withdrawn from battle. He said, “Go back to the Recruitment Association and issue a task.” He took out a jade talisman, entered the task into it, and threw it over. “Go ahead. Bring the hired people to Gu Mi City!”

The man respectfully took the jade talisman and said, “Yes, Ancestor.” He immediately left the group and activated his own talisman gate. Since the city’s defenses had been lifted, the talisman gate allowed them to leave. Luo Jie and the others used the city’s teleportation array—since it was useful, they didn’t bother creating their own talisman gates to get there. Guo Shier and the rest were the first to enter the teleportation array, with Mi Zhengji following behind with a group of surrendered professionals. In the blink of an eye, they arrived at Ancient Mi City. Li Ran stepped out together with Guo Shier, looking very happy as he said, “This city is an extremely large… um, metropolis. Hehe, you should be able to feel that.” Guo Shier looked up and was deeply moved, as he saw dense arrays of talisman towers—just like the skyscrapers from his past life. Though not as numerous, it certainly gave the impression of a large metropolis. He smiled and said, “Yes, just like skyscrapers…” Others didn’t understand what skyscrapers were, but Li Ran’s eyes lit up as he said, “Do you think this world is special? Hehe, skyscrapers—yes, it’s quite similar.” Ever since meeting Li Ran for the first time, Guo Shier had been puzzled, as this man seemed connected to his past life. Now it seemed not only connected, but he might even be from the same era as him—after all, he had seen skyscrapers. No wonder he treated him so well. Mi Zhengji asked cautiously, “Are we going to the headquarters?” Luo Jie replied, “Do you think I still need to find a place? Lead the way!” Mi Zhengji said, “You… um, should I let them go first?” Not daring to let the other ancestors leave first, he anxiously asked Luo Jie. Luo Jie replied indifferently, “Go together!” Without daring to argue, Mi Zhengji said, “Let’s go together—hurry up!” He soared into the air toward the city. A large group of altar-level experts flew over the city on their altars. The professionals in the city didn’t know what was happening; they only saw a group of ancestors flying in the sky, looking extremely majestic, prompting many professionals to cheer. Guo Shier burst into laughter and said, “Damn it, what are those bastards cheering about?” Mi Zhengji’s face turned dark; Mi Peng wanted to go down and slap them. Fortunately, Guo Shier didn’t press the matter, and the group quickly arrived at the headquarters of the Ancient Mi family.

After entering the council hall, Luo Jie sat down at the main seat without hesitation—seat that originally belonged to Mi Zhengji. Qi Nanshan sat beside him, in the seat that used to belong to Mi Zhong. Guo Shier pulled Li Ran to sit aside, while the others sat wherever they could, with no particular seating order arranged.

Once everyone was seated, the atmosphere turned dull, and no one spoke for a long time. The ancestors of the Gu Mi family all felt as though they couldn’t breathe.

Guo Shier had imagined many possible outcomes, even ones where they failed, but he never expected the Gu Mi family to surrender. He didn’t know what to say for a moment.

Mi Zhong kept his head lowered, seemingly deep in thought. Mi Zhengji’s face was pale, his expression blank. Mi Peng trembled slightly. The other ancestral figures were all at a loss.

Luo Jie coughed, causing almost all the ancestors of the Gu Mi family to shudder. Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh. Li Ran whispered, “Do you realize the people here think differently from us? They’ll do anything for the family’s legacy, hehe.”

Guo Shier also spoke softly, “Apart from that, they’re pretty much the same as us, right?”

Li Ran scoffed, “Not at all. The people here are weird. By the way, are you a reincarnated soul?”

Guo Shier didn’t hide it. He nodded and said, “This is a strange place. I don’t know if I can go back.”

Li Ran replied, “If you die here, you won’t be able to return. You’ll keep reincarnating here…”

Guo Shier was shocked. It wasn’t that his past life was perfect, but since he had lived on Earth in both lives, he always longed to return. With a wry smile, he said, “Damn it, why can’t I go back?”

Li Ran replied calmly, “This is a closed world, a soul world. If you want to leave… you must die outside so that you can be reincarnated elsewhere.”

Guo Shier asked, “Sacrificing to the stars?”

Li Ran was surprised. “Huh? You know about sacrificing to the stars too?”

Guo Shier said, “Why shouldn’t I know about sacrificing to the stars? I’ve known about it for a long time. Someone even invited me to go.”

Li Ran smiled bitterly. “You can’t go. To sacrifice to the stars, you need at least the strength of an eighth or ninth-tier altar. And to tear open space, without strength beyond the ninth-tier altar, there’s almost no hope. Most importantly, you need two or more experts of equal strength. So far… I haven’t found a single professional above the ninth-tier altar!”

Guo Shier laughed. “I know one. Plus you… that’s exactly two!”

Li Ran grabbed Guo Shier’s shoulders and shook him vigorously. “Really? Really? There’s someone who surpasses the ninth-tier altar… How is that possible?” His voice suddenly rose, drawing all attention in the hall. Luo Jie asked, “Shier, what’s wrong?”
Guo Shier smiled. “Nothing, master. I was just discussing something with Brother Li Ran.”
Li Ran’s eyes shone with extreme joy. Guo Shier couldn’t help but wonder, “Professionals who surpass the ninth-tier altar… are they that rare?” He thought he had already seen two such people, so finding a few more shouldn’t be difficult. He had no idea about the complexities involved.
“Surpassing the ninth tier… do you know how hard that is? Without special opportunities, it’s absolutely impossible!”
Guo Shier replied, “But I’ve seen two, haven’t I?”
Li Ran sighed and said, “I’ve searched countless continents and visited numerous ancient clans. I’ve only seen a dozen or so professionals at the ninth-tier altar, but none who surpass it!”
Guo Shier scratched his head in confusion. He had never thought about this. By then, Luo Jie had already started negotiations with the Gu Mi clan, with Luo Jie mainly setting the terms.
Li Ran’s expression was bright. With a flushed face, he asked, “When will you take me to find that person?”
Guo Shier said, “There’s no problem with that. But, Brother Li Ran, I still don’t understand… why can’t we find professionals who surpass the ninth-tier altar?”
Li Ran replied, “Because… among the locals, I haven’t found anyone with such potential yet…”
Guo Shier couldn’t help but ask, “Do I have such potential?”
Li Ran smiled happily and said, “Yes!”
Hearing this word, Guo Shier immediately understood why Li Ran cared so much about him. Besides the factor of being from the same place, his potential was also Li Ran’s hope.
Li Ran said, “Since I can’t find anyone… I have to cultivate one first. Hehe… But Shier, you’ve given me a huge surprise!”
Guo Shier said, “Even if you can’t leave… you’re not afraid, right? You can always reincarnate and start over.”
The two spoke in very low voices, and Li Ran had specifically used a spell to muffle their sounds. Apart from hearing Li Ran’s earlier exclamation, no one in the hall could hear their conversation.
Li Ran shook his head and said, “Without leaving this world, I can’t communicate with my main soul. I’m just a fragment of my soul right now…”

Guo Shier was stunned. He said, “Slow down, slow down… I don’t understand what you’re saying. What’s a main soul and a split soul? What is this?”