After Lin Ran's electrifying and earth-shattering performance, everyone present looked at him with a changed gaze.
There was fear, admiration, concern, goodwill, hostility, jealousy…
But one thing was common: a profound acknowledgment of Lin Ran's terrifying strength.
Faced with the situation that just unfolded, no one dared to claim they could have handled it better than Lin Ran.
Furthermore, Lin Ran's display of intellectual superiority and exquisite maneuvering further elevated his standing.
He was undoubtedly a colossal obstacle in this year's freshman exchange competition…
Countless people mused.
As for Su Quan, a uniquely foolish and detestable individual even within the circles of influential families, no one paid him any mind, despite the backing of the Su family.
The fact that not a single person stepped forward to defend Uncle Zhang when the guards took Su Quan away clearly showed how unpopular he truly was.
Meanwhile, Lin Ran's teammates flocked to his side.
Xu Sheng, beaming, clasped his fists towards Lin Ran and said:
"Brother Lin, your talent is astonishing, truly an eye-opener!"
"Although the Xiang Chu Su family behind that prodigal son Su Quan is powerful, if they dare to trouble Brother Lin, my Jiangdong Xu family will be the first to object!"
"Let alone others, even if that old scoundrel from the Su family himself were to show up, I would surely send him packing in defeat!"
Xu Sheng's voice was loud, showing no intention of hiding his stance.
The other children of influential families were startled by Xu Sheng's words.
Good heavens, the Jiangdong Xu family was actually taking a firm stand and supporting Lin Ran, even at the risk of antagonizing the Su family!
Could it be that the Xu family intended to absorb Lin Ran as an outer family patriarch?
If so, the stable order of the Dragon Country's influential families might be on the verge of a seismic shift!
The Jiangdong Xu family was renowned throughout the circles of powerful families, a presence that no one dared to provoke.
Firstly, it was due to the Xu family's profound heritage and established power, ranking among the top five families in the Dragon Country.
Secondly, it was because the Xu family was unique among influential families in its bold absorption of external forces.
While other influential families also established outer branches and recruited members not of their direct lineage to bolster their image, it mostly remained a relationship of mutual utilization.
They would never have an outer family patriarch with power comparable to that of an inner family patriarch.
This was also a safeguard to prevent the family's authority from falling into the hands of outsiders during succession.
They would rather decay and decline than have their family's fruits reaped by outsiders.
The advantage of stagnation was naturally the guarantee of family lineage and blood purity…
The disadvantage, of course, was falling behind families that dared to innovate and pioneer.
As the saying goes, every advantage has its drawback.
However, many families, envious of the Jiangdong Xu family's remarkable development speed, had begun to loosen their restrictions on absorbing external forces to further strengthen themselves.
Yet, they still dared not delegate power to the same extent as the Xu family, remaining largely superficial.
Although better than before, they were still far inferior to the Xu family.
Following Xu Sheng's strong declaration of support, Lin Ran's other teammates also joined in.
Lan Ruo Qiu stepped forward:
"My Xichuan Lan family will also always be Brother Ran's strong backing!"
Bai Zi Ye and Lu Qian Qian clasped their fists in unison:
"Modu Bai family, Modu Lu family, pledge our loyalty to Brother Ran!"
Sun Yun Tian, Huang Chong, Xiong Yuan, and Guo Yu Zhou were not to be outdone:
"Bianzhou Sun family, Changshan Huang family, Sanjin Xiong family, Jingxiang Guo family, stand with you as well!"
Lin Ran had already screened out individuals with poor character when selecting his teammates.
Those who remained were basically people with intellect and insight.
And after so many days of interaction and cooperation, they had come to highly respect Lin Ran.
Now was the perfect opportunity to pledge their loyalty, and a fool would miss out!
In any case, with Xu Sheng of the Jiangdong Xu family leading the charge, the Xu family alone could suppress the Su family.
Moreover, Su Quan was so unpopular…
This was an overwhelmingly favorable situation, requiring no hesitation!
Hiss…
These resolute pronouncements caused the onlookers to gasp in amazement.
"Good heavens, are these influential families so optimistic about Lin Ran, who comes from humble origins?!"
"Nonsense, that's what happens when you have strength! If you could achieve his legendary feats, you'd be favored too."
"To be fair, never mind commoners, even among the scions of influential families, none have ever garnered the favor of so many influential families simultaneously!"
"To win the hearts of countless influential families with his own capabilities alone, Lin Ran is undoubtedly the unparalleled, unprecedented, and unrepeatable number one!"
"Is this the charisma of a Dragon Country hero? It's too powerful…"
"…"
The crowd looked enviously at Lin Ran and his entourage.
It wasn't just envy of Lin Ran's favor with many influential families.
Many legitimate heirs of influential families envied those who had become Lin Ran's teammates.
However, quite a few influential families remained indifferent to Lin Ran, even harboring disgust and resentment, and directing their anger towards those influential families friendly with Lin Ran.
In the eyes of these more extreme individuals, associating with a commoner like Lin Ran was already demeaning enough.
And these influential families were actually fawning over Lin Ran unilaterally!
They were simply disgrace to the influential families, a profound humiliation to their esteemed circles!
Alas, their anger ultimately could not change the minds of others…
As for those families that were slightly less prominent, not quite top-tier influential families, they could only look on in silent admiration.
They knew that the vortex of doom Lin Ran had created at this moment was not something they could possibly get involved in!
Because of Lin Ran's presence, the influential families were clearly divided into three attitudes.
Support, observation, and opposition.
When gods fight, mortals suffer.
With half of the top influential families, openly or covertly, already embroiled, venturing into the fray now would mean dying without knowing how.
Therefore, it was better to wait until the situation clarified before choosing a side.
While they wouldn't feast like kings at the victor's celebration, they might at least get a taste of the soup.
There was always something to gain.
Otherwise, if they backed the wrong horse, could they really escape repercussions later? That would be a joke!
Those who could closely follow the top influential families and grow into significant families were clearly astute individuals.
They were well aware of the art of survival in the cracks and would not commit such a fundamental error.
Since the vortex wouldn't actively seek them out, why should they actively approach it?
Unless there was absolute certainty of victory, they were unwilling to place their bets until the final decisive moment.