This powerful and heavy blow had directly pierced Zhao Xiong's defenses.
Coupled with the mental shock he had endured in the Moon Reading world, he fell into a deep coma.
In the outside world, it appeared as though Zhao Xiong, in a daze, suddenly had his abdomen pierced by a hole, then fell backward, unconscious. Lin Ran also deactivated Moon Reading at this moment.
If it continued, Zhao Xiong might have been rendered a fool.
With his pupils returning to normal, Lin Ran looked at Zhao Xiong lying on the ground, spread his hands, and smiled.
"Brother Zhao is really not much of a fighter..."
"I originally wanted to teach you a few moves, but you're already finished after the first one?"
"Hmm... I guess this counts as my win, right?"
Lin Miao finally reacted, as if waking from a dream, and said, "It counts as your win! It counts as your win!"
"Xian-ge, transfer the credits to Lin Ran."
As she spoke, a soft holy light emanated from Lin Miao's hand, enveloping Zhao Xiong and slowly healing his injuries.
Gao Xian nodded, operated his bio-chip, and Lin Ran received the notification of 1000 credits credited to his account.
His total credit count then reached 1500.
As for the remaining hundred or so special admissions students, they no longer knew what expressions to wear when facing Lin Ran.
These sensational methods were truly terrifying, and they could only feel fortunate that it wasn't them who had challenged Lin Ran.
Otherwise, not only would they lose 500 credits, but they would also fall into such a state of mental breakdown.
If Zhao Xiong had been defeated by Lin Ran in a head-on confrontation, they might not have been so fearful.
But this clearly involved mental power and even soul power, and no one dared to guarantee they could emerge unscathed.
"So strong! So creepy! So terrifying!"
"Is this also a part of his bloodline ability? It's too overpowered..."
"Why didn't he use this move in the college entrance examination instance? He couldn't have been holding back in that instance, could he?"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"If he could hold back and still take first place, and break records by a large margin, what does that make us?"
"..."
No one answered him, but everyone already had their own answer in their hearts.
Moreover, judging from the heavy expressions on everyone's faces, this answer likely did not bring them any satisfaction.
Lin Ran's powerful cutting force attached to his weapon, the mysterious black flame that swiftly defeated the Frost Zombie King, and the terrifying method displayed today, which resembled mental control...
All of it inspired dread.
The most outrageous part was that many people had almost forgotten that Lin Ran was supposed to be a tank.
The extraordinary vitality and recovery speed granted by his Natural Spirit Body made him a being capable of both offense and defense.
Normally, awakened individuals like Lin Ran, whose offense was explosive and whose primary means relied on mental power, would be weaker on defense.
They would be particularly vulnerable to surprise attacks from assassins or burst-type talents, and also susceptible to melee engagement from warriors or dash-type talents.
But the Natural Spirit Body had completely compensated for Lin Ran's shortcomings...
To defeat Lin Ran, one would likely have to rely on a protracted battle, slowly grinding him down until he ran out of mana, and then find a way to win.
Unfortunately, they had no idea that the orange-yellow Ring of Souls on Lin Ran's hand could provide a mana recovery rate of nearly 1% per second.
Otherwise, they would have been spitting blood on the spot.
Lin Ran had no intention of staying around to entertain them. He smiled and turned back to pull the dazed Luo Qingyan.
"Let's go, it's time for dinner!"
Luo Qingyan then rubbed her face and followed Lin Ran out of the conference room.
In fact, in her heart, she was also constantly wondering why Lin Ran was so strong.
Although she had already guessed that Lin Ran would likely not lose when he accepted Zhao Xiong's challenge and wagered 500 credits, she had already suspected it.
After all, Lin Ran was a very cautious person. He would rarely undertake something risky unless he had an overwhelming certainty of success.
However, Luo Qingyan never imagined that Lin Ran would win so easily.
But no matter how Lin Ran obtained such mysterious and terrifying power, it was good that he was becoming stronger.
With this thought, Luo Qingyan felt relieved and ran along happily behind Lin Ran.
Seeing that the spectacle was over, except for Zhao Xiong, who was protected by Lin Miao's holy light and unable to move, everyone else also left the conference room.
However, Lin Miao and the other four did not leave. After Gao Xian returned the tables and chairs in the air to their places, they closed the door again and sat down to discuss.
Xu Lei spoke first.
"Is this also a capability of the Evernight Monarch bloodline?"
Lu Qiufeng sighed.
"The Evernight Monarch bloodline does have some mental attack abilities..."
"But... it shouldn't be able to achieve such a strange effect, right?"
"The ability to freeze a person and create wounds out of thin air, why does it feel more like the effect a Phantom Demon bloodline could achieve?"
Lin Miao laughed heartily.
"Then, do you still remember your promise?"
Lu Qiufeng asked doubtfully.
"Promise? What promise?"
Lin Miao imitated Lu Qiufeng's tone and said, "Let's put it this way, I'll make a judgment right here."
"If this kid named Lin Ran is not of the Evernight Monarch bloodline, I will perform a handstand and spin while washing my hair in front of everyone!"
"Is that strong enough, hmm?"
Lu Qiufeng's old face instantly twisted.
"Ah? This..."
"But, this is just my further speculation..."
"Actually, logically speaking, the Evernight Monarch bloodline is still the more likely possibility."
"After all, things like black flames and red pupils are too distinctive."
"Perhaps Lin Ran is exceptionally talented and has further developed the Evernight Monarch bloodline!"
Lin Miao chuckled.
"Well, in any case, I'll keep your handstand hair-washing commitment noted down. Don't even think about reneging."
"So, what should we do next?"
"Go directly and ask Lin Ran himself what his bloodline ability is?"
Ling Shangqing glanced at Lin Miao as if he were an idiot.
"Don't you think doing that is ridiculously stupid?"
"How could you even say that out loud..."
"If you ask directly, will Lin Ran tell you?"
"Even if he does, it'll probably be a perfunctory answer... It will definitely not be the truth."
Gao Xian suddenly laughed.
"I have a good idea!"
"The reason we can't accurately determine Lin Ran's bloodline is because our understanding of him is still too shallow."
"So, if we arrange a slightly stronger opponent for him..."
"The only downside is that the boss will have to spend some money again."
"But when cultivating such a prodigy, the boss certainly won't be stingy!"