Even judging solely by this aura, Lin Ran could unerringly pinpoint the arrival of the person.
"Su Lie?"
Lin Ran suddenly laughed, and it was a hearty laugh.
The old man snorted coldly:
"A junior dares to utter my name so casually..."
"It seems I must teach you a lesson on etiquette!"
The fortress inhabitants, who had been cheering with joy, were stunned by this sudden turn of events.
What was going on? Who was this Su Lie who had appeared out of nowhere?
And what was more outrageous was that this Su Lie's attitude was so impolite, as if he was here to pick a fight with Lin Ran.
Did he not know Lin Ran's current status?
To target Lin Ran was to go against the entire student-teacher community, to go against the entire Dragon Nation's populace!
The viewers online who were still watching Lin Ran exploded with outrage.
"Damn it! Who is this old bastard?"
"Does he really think he's someone important? Putting on airs!"
"He just said he was Su Lie... Isn't that an old ancestor from the Su family in Xiangchu?"
"Su Family Ancestor! One of the elders with the longest tenure, a tenth-tier awakened being!"
"If he's so capable, why didn't he show up to fight when the Fallen Army attacked and the portal was in peril?"
"Now that God Ran has destroyed everything, he pops out to stir up trouble!"
"Exactly! If he dares to question God Ran again, I'll skin the Su family alive!"
"..."
Inside the venue.
Seeing Su Lie's murderous gaze, Lin Ran suddenly recalled something and couldn't help but smile playfully:
"Cough, cough, that's right, Su Lie, Old Master Su, right?"
"May I ask when you arrived in the City of Ruins?"
Su Lie stared fixedly at Lin Ran, his mouth twitching as he said:
"Just now, of course..."
"I must commend you, for achieving such a great feat at such a young age."
"If you were given more time to grow, I can't even imagine..."
"Therefore, I must eliminate you, this great disaster, for my Su family!"
The smile on Lin Ran's face deepened.
Yes! Just as he thought.
This old man did not know that the Xiangchu network was currently broadcasting everything that was happening here to the entire internet, a consequence of the Fallen's prior actions.
It had not stopped even after the central area of the City of Ruins was turned into a wasteland.
Otherwise, how would he have the audacity to speak of eliminating him?
In his eyes, the Xiangchu network, infiltrated by the Fallen, had undoubtedly collapsed completely, and thus he had no reservations.
However, Su Lie could never have imagined that the Fallen, in their pursuit of spreading fear and doctrine, had chosen to occupy rather than destroy the Xiangchu network, and were even livestreaming the entire process!
In that case, he really had to tease him a bit more, to make him say more.
Outside the venue.
Su Lie's words shocked not only the viewers across the net but also the students and teachers within the fortress.
"What did that old man just say? Is he crazy?"
"Eliminate Lin Ran... Eliminate our Dragon Nation's great hero? Eliminate the savior of nearly twenty thousand students in the City of Ruins?"
"And the reason is for the Su family... Does the Su family want to ascend to heaven?!"
"Ascend to heaven? I say, they want to betray their country!"
"To do something so outrageous in full view of everyone... Do they think our Dragon Nation has no one?"
The viewers' curses became even more direct.
"Damn it, who does this son of a bitch old bastard think he is, saying he'll eliminate someone?"
"Heh, meek when facing foreign races and the Fallen, but heavy-handed against his own people! A fine Su Lie, a fine Su family!"
"Truly a scumbag... Disregarding the interests of our entire Dragon Nation for personal gain?"
"Cultivating to the tenth tier only to produce such a thing? A pure beast!"
"Damn it! If something were to happen to God Ran, this old bastard and the entire Su family must pay with their lives!"
"..."
Inside the venue.
Lin Ran, holding Luo Qingyan, sighed softly:
"Since Old Master Su wishes it so, I can only offer my neck for slaughter!"
"Who told you to be a tenth-tier? I have absolutely no power to resist..."
"However, there's something I've always been curious about, and I wonder if Old Master Su could enlighten me?"
Hearing Lin Ran say this, Su Lie's arrogance became evident:
"Oh? Speak!"
Lin Ran put on a pained smile:
"The first thing is..."
"How did you, Old Master Su, get in here?"
"I heard that the main force targeting the City of Ruins was the Fallen, with the Nightfall organization assisting."
"How did you, a member of the Su family, get involved with them?"
Su Lie burst into laughter:
"Youth! So young!"
"Poor young man, haven't you heard that the enemy of my enemy is my friend?"
"As far as I'm concerned, as long as it touches the interests of the Su family, there is no one I cannot ally with, and no existence I cannot eliminate!"
"Even if the King of Heaven himself came, I would prioritize my family!"
So true, bro!
Lin Ran never expected Su Lie to pull off such an epic stunt right off the bat.
It felt like even if Lin Ran were to write his lines for him, they wouldn't be much different from this.
Lin Ran suppressed his laughter and continued:
"Then, how did you contact the Fallen and the Nightfall people?"
"There must be someone acting as a go-between, right?"
Su Lie chuckled:
"After all, you're from a humble background, you really don't understand the ways of influential families!"
"Which influential family nowadays doesn't have multiple escape routes?"
"They more or less all have some connections to the outside world..."
"And my Su family is ahead of all of them!"
"Let alone Nightfall and the Fallen, even if it were ferocious beasts or alien races, if there's a need to connect, we connect!"
Right, right! Even more so, bro!
Lin Ran desperately fought to control his impending laughter and continued:
"Then, I have one last question..."
"Are you aware, Old Master, of the Eternal Life Plan by Su Chang Gong, the head of the Su family, and his ex-wife Qin Lan?"
Hearing this, Su Lie's laughter grew more triumphant:
"Hahahahahaha!"
"How could I not know about such a major event?"
"Originally, if their plan had succeeded, those like me with dwindling lifespans would have been the first to benefit."
"Not to mention that when collecting materials like corpses, blood, essence, and souls, they often relied on me."
"Do you know why I'm talking so much to you?"
"Heh heh, because your vibrant body, brimming with life force, is the best nourishment for us!"
"Only by letting you be a ghost who knows all, the stronger your resentment and unwillingness, the better the effect of the medicinal catalyst will be..."
"As for this little girl, she can serve as an auxiliary, a mere scrap!"
"Well, knowing the whole truth, are you in despair?"