"Are you Xu Ran?"
A detached and husky voice arose from behind Xu Ran.
A young man in a blood-colored robe, holding a heavy sword of the same bloody hue, watched Xu Ran with a cold gaze.
With the appearance of the figure in the blood robe, the surroundings instantly became much quieter. As the scent of blood spread, even though the sun was shining brightly, it brought with it a faint chill.
Upon seeing the newcomer, a group of students who were watching the excitement gathered around.
In Canaan Academy, Xu Ran was quite famous, but there were only a few who really knew him. Xu Ran had just started at the academy and was always on the move; even if someone had seen Xu Ran, they couldn't recognize him.
Therefore, as Xu Ran went around Canaan Academy, there hadn't been any disturbances. At most, there were only some people secretly watching him and Ruo Lin being affectionate.
"Who are you?"
Xu Ran looked at the blood-robed man in front of him and raised an eyebrow.
Could this be one of his love rivals at Canaan Academy?
Such intense killing intent, he had never felt it in the outer courtyard of Canaan Academy before.
Compared to those students who had been studying inside the Ivory Tower for a long time, the blood-robed man in front of him was obviously much stronger.
"This is Wu Hao, one of the strongest talents in the outer courtyard. He has been tempering himself in the academy's enforcement team for years. He's been at the forefront of many conflicts between the Black Corner Region and Canaan Academy, and his strength has become exceedingly powerful over the years. Even the dean personally mentioned that as long as Wu Hao could maintain his sanity and not be eroded by bloodlust for the next ten years, his strength could potentially reach an extremely powerful level," Ruo Lin reminded him from the side.
"One of Xun Er's pursuers, right?" Xu Ran said.
"Yeah. In the outer courtyard, it's Wu Hao, Bai Shan, and Hu Jia." Ruo Lin paused and her expression turned a bit strange. Hu Jia was the granddaughter of the vice dean of the outer courtyard and her talent was quite impressive too, but her orientation was somewhat disconcerting.
What's going on these days? When there already aren't enough quality girls, if they start keeping it all within, what chance does anyone else have?
Hu Jia was also known as the Little Demoness in Canaan Academy.
With the arrival of Wu Hao, countless students from the outer courtyard quickly spread the word and rushed over.
"Damn, is this that Xu Ran who deceived Xun Er and Xiao Yu when they were still young?"
"We've been waiting for him for a long time. Can't believe he actually dared to come! In Canaan Academy, some seniors said that if Xu Ran showed his face, they'd beat him out of the academy."
"Wu Hao is also one of Xun Er's suitors, and his strength ranks in the top five of the outer courtyard. Moreover, with so many years of tempering in the enforcement team, he has a wealth of real combat experience. Now that Wu Hao has come looking for him, Xu Ran is probably in big trouble."
"Is that the point? This Xu Ran arrived at Canaan Academy and didn't go looking for Xun Er and the others; I don't know where he found such a hot girl, and she's wearing a super short skirt at that, with stockings that are so smooth and shiny, and her figure is so nice too. Damn, where the hell did Xu Ran find such a hot girl? Is she from our academy? How come we never noticed her before?"
A group of people huddled together, chatting with one another.
Xu Ran had already acquired a rather bad reputation at Canaan Academy.
Now, with Xu Ran strolling around the academy with Ruo Lin in his arms, this point was further cemented.
Suddenly, the male students of Canaan Academy were beside themselves with rage.
"Hey, dude, do you guys think that the person Xu Ran is holding looks a lot like Tutor Ruolin? Although you can't see her face, her figure, facial shape, and hairstyle all resemble hers."
"Are you out of your mind? How is that possible? How could Tutor Ruolin ever fancy someone like Xu Ran? Xun Er and the others have all been deceived by Xu Ran. Once Wu Hao proves his strength and who's stronger, they won't like Xu Ran anymore."
"Look at you, I almost got caught." Ruolin buried her face deeply into Xu Ran's chest, and as the name 'Ruolin' occasionally reached her ears from the conversations of nearby students, she felt exceedingly shy.
"Is it my fault? It's others who are looking for trouble. It's always been such, people getting blinded by beauty, not realizing that even without me, they stand no chance." Xu Ran said, curling his lips.
"Hey. I'm saying, what do you want to do, huh?"
Perhaps feeling as if he were back in his spirited teenage years, Xu Ran's mood was fairly good, unspoiled by Wu Hao's challenge.
"If I win, you'll leave Xun Er."
Wu Hao raised his blood-colored greatsword, pointing it at Xu Ran.
His body carried a heavy scent of blood, a remainder of countless slaughters he had been through.
"Is that so? And what if you lose?"
"If I lose, I'll never bother Xun Er again, I'll stay away from her for life," Wu Hao candidly said. He truly disliked Xu Ran, especially now that he saw him holding another woman, he felt even more disdain.
Such a good girl as Xun Er, even if he couldn't win her over, she shouldn't fall into the hands of a guy like this.
"But, doesn't it seem like I'm still at a loss here? You're not with Xun Er in the first place, so there's no question of you leaving her, is there? It's different for me; I kiss Xun Er every day, and we hug each other... wouldn't that mean I'm at a greater loss?" Xu Ran said with a teasing smile.
"You!" Wu Hao was fuming.
And the crowd around was further infuriated by Xu Ran's provocations.
"Damn, is there no justice left? Him kissing Xun Er? I can't stand even imagining it; my goddess, how could she fall so low? She deserves so much better aaah!"
"What a beast."
"Hey, hey, hey. I'm saying, are you even a man? Are you scared of Wu Hao? If you're scared of Wu Hao, why don't you fight me?" The shapely red-dressed girl Hu Jia, who was hiding in the crowd, couldn't help but stand out.
She was only here to watch the drama and, by the way, to see what Xu Ran looked like that made Xun Er, Xiao Yu, and Xiao Mei all fall for him.
As the Little Demoness of Canaan Academy, although she had a fondness for Xun Er, she never really intended to do anything to her. In fact, she even had higher expectations for Xu Ran within the Canaan Academy.
She remembered one time complaining about Xu Ran in front of her grandfather. And then her grandfather said that if she could be with Xu Ran, just like Xun Er, he would be relieved.
This made her even more curious about Xu Ran. Unfortunately, when she inquired in more detail about Xu Ran, her grandfather wouldn't tell her.
Why did Xu Ran have such a powerful allure?
So, when she heard that Wu Hao was causing trouble for Xu Ran, she came right over.
But she was disappointed.
She thought Xu Ran would be some extraordinary figure with supernatural powers, yet here he was, a coward too afraid to even accept Wu Hao's challenge.