"Elder? Are you still an Elder?"
Ruo Lin felt as if her entire world had turned upside down at that moment.
"I forgot to tell you before. I am now an Elder in the Inner Court, an Alchemy Elder. However, I'm just holding the title and don't participate in managing Canaan Academy's internal affairs. It was your Great Elder who begged me to take on this role, crying and pleading; otherwise, I wouldn't have been interested in doing it. As long as I'm willing, even the forces in Zhongzhou would have to implore me to become an Elder." Xu Ran chuckled with a hint of pride.
He wasn't boasting; it was just that he hadn't gone to Zhongzhou yet.
Once he did, even the Pill Tower would have to behave.
Not for any other reason but because his "Cultivation Level" was more badass than those old folks.
In the Pill Tower, those who were badass in Alchemy held the real power.
"You're really an Elder?" Ruo Lin's jaw dropped as she looked at the Elder's Token presented by Xu Ran. As a tutor, they occasionally dealt with the Elders, so she was more than familiar with such tokens.
This was a token that only Inner Court Elders possessed.
Those Elders, they were all super bosses with Douhuang "Cultivation Levels."
"So now, I'm definitely not your student, Tutor Ruolin. You don't need to feel any psychological burden, right?" Xu Ran wrapped his arm around Ruo Lin's slender waist and consoled her.
How had he not realized this earlier?
"I've been in Canaan Academy for so many years, and I'm just a tutor. You just set foot in the academy without doing anything and you're already an Elder." Ruo Lin was fuming inside, not at Xu Ran but at her own incompetence.
From her student years at Canaan Academy to her current role as a tutor, it took her six to seven years of hard work to become a tutor in the Outer Court.
And that was already considered defeating countless others.
But Xu Ran, this guy, made her feel quite sour inside.
Yet for the Great Elder to grant Xu Ran the status of an Elder was completely without issue. With Xu Ran's strength and identity, Canaan Academy gaining Xu Ran's allegiance was hugely beneficial.
As Xu Ran would one day move on to Zhongzhou and become world-renowned, no one would dare to provoke Canaan Academy simply because they have an Elder named Xu Ran.
Many great powers, in fact, rely on one or two individuals and no one dares to trouble them.
Aside from those two decisive, powerful figures, the rest may lack foundation, but what of it?
A single supreme powerhouse could annihilate a sect and kill countless people on their own.
It is such powerhouses that truly play a decisive role in a force.
Ruo Lin understood this principle as well.
"Tutor Ruolin, what are you thinking about?" Xu Ran asked, poking Ruo Lin's head with his finger.
"I'm wondering, in the future, which identity should I use to face you. Should it be my student Xu Ran, or Great Alchemist Master Xu Ran, or perhaps Elder Xu Ran?" Ruo Lin mused.
It seemed that each of Xu Ran's identities was extraordinary.
The low stance Han Feng had taken in front of Xu Ran, she had seen it all with her own eyes.
"Of course it's Elder Xu Ran. Now we're both in Canaan Academy. In the future, if there's anything I don't understand at work, I hope Tutor Ruolin can give me a lot of guidance," Xu Ran extended his hand.
"Yes, Elder Xu Ran." Ruo Lin shook hands with Xu Ran in an understanding manner, her face turning red.
Since Xu Ran was an Elder and she was a tutor at Canaan Academy, their romance now seemed to have no issues.
Previously Xu Ran was her recruited student, which was why she had reservations. But now things were different.
Xu Ran had become an Elder of Canaan Academy so quickly that he could be said to be the youngest Elder in the academy's history.
Since its founding, all the Elders of Canaan Academy had spent a long time at the academy before becoming Elders, once their character was established. Xu Ran was an exception.
"So, Tutor Ruolin has decided she's going to fall in love with me now?" Xu Ran teased.
How could he not know what Ruolin was thinking at the moment?
Just one glance, and he had completely seen through Ruolin's thoughts.
"It's possible, but you can't, you can't..." Ruolin blushed, struggling to get the words out.
"Can't what? Be clear."
"You can't be too perverted, nor too intimate with me. I'm still a tutor at Canaan Academy. What would it look like if other people in the academy saw us?" Ruolin said with her face aflame.
She had previously seen Xu Ran getting intimate with Ya Fei, with her, an outsider, present, yet they showed no regard whatsoever.
That was something she couldn't do.
She was too coy.
Especially since she was afraid that gossip would reach Xun Er and the others' ears, then she really wouldn't know how to face others.
Her relationship with Xun Er and the others had always been good, and she didn't want to get a bad reputation.
"Oh? What's there to be afraid of? Does Canaan Academy forbid dating now?"
"I heard that within Canaan Academy, it's no problem for elders and tutors to date. There are several couples within the academy," Xu Ran spoke leisurely.
"Do you think you look like an elder? You even look younger than me. Who in the academy would take you seriously as an elder?" Ruolin said coquettishly.
Of course, in truth, what she feared the most was...
She had discovered that Xu Ran had quite a few perverted hobbies.
Maybe they were normal for Xu Ran, but she found them to be quite embarrassing.
If Xu Ran wanted her to do the same, by herself she might be okay, but if there were others around, she would be utterly unable to bear it. She could foretell the embarrassment as if she could count the rooms with her toes.
"Well, if you call me 'Daddy,' I'll agree to your terms," Xu Ran said, pressing his face against Ruolin's and grinning.
"You, you, you! I've told you not to be so... perverted... and here you go again," Ruolin bit her lip, her face turning even redder. After all, she was Xu Ran's tutor, and even though Xu Ran was now an elder, as long as Xu Ran's student record was still at Canaan Academy, she'd always be his tutor.
And now, Xu Ran actually wanted to...
It was just...
"Just call me once. Xun Er, Yu Er, Mei'er, Ya Fei... they've all done it, you know. Don't believe me? Go ask them?"
Xu Ran hadn't lied; role-play, who doesn't love it?
"But..." Ruolin shot Xu Ran a look, who would actually go ask such a thing, apart from themselves? Wouldn't that be idiotic?
"There are no 'buts.' Are you going to call me or not? If you don't, hehehe... guess how I'll punish you?" Xu Ran pinched Ruolin hard.
"Ah." Ruolin's face turned even redder, "You're asking for it, we're inside the academy."
Ruolin looked around; some students from the Outer Court seemed to be looking their way, making her face turn an even deeper shade of red.
Thankfully, she was wearing a mask, and no one recognized her; otherwise, she feared she would be mortified.
This was all happening outside, and Xu Ran was already brazenly taking liberties with her.
"I'll call you, just stop messing around," Ruolin said helplessly, knowing that if she didn't satisfy Xu Ran, he would continue misbehaving. She definitely didn't want to get intimate with Xu Ran out in the open.
"Daddy..." After much hesitation, Ruolin finally spoke, her voice soft and timid.