Chapter 18
On the surface, the young man seemed to have the upper hand, but he knew he didn’t. It had to be known that his martial techniques and movement techniques were taught by a senior grandmaster.
Even the senior grandmaster in the palace had once praised him for his outstanding talent. He was by no means invincible among his peers, but it was rare for him to find an equal opponent.
Now, Lin Ran was able to fight him back and forth with ease. In just a short while, sweat had already broken out on his forehead, but Lin Ran’s expression remained unchanged.
He realized that Lin Ran was not as ordinary as he claimed to be.
“It seems that you have been hiding your strength. What kind of movement technique is this? It’s so powerful.”
Lin Ran was just inches away from him, but the young man had never managed to touch his clothes with the sword. The young man was well-read and had collected all the supreme martial techniques in the palace’s treasure vault, but he had never seen such a strange movement technique.
“You must be making fun of me. How can I have the chance to learn advanced movement techniques in the deep mountains? I am agile and fast because I used to travel a lot.”
Lin Ran explained with a sincere look face, but the young man didn’t believe a word of it. He raised his eyebrows and said, “It seems that you don’t really want to tell me.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the young man’s attacks became even more fierce. Sword intent interweaved into a sword net that trapped Lin Ran, almost leaving him no room for escape.
Even so, Lin Ran still remained collected and calm. He dodged leisurely as if he was taking a stroll in his own backyard. It was not offensive but very humiliating.
The young man’s face turned red, as if he was blushing. His originally delicate face became even more bubbly. As the two of them were physically close, it was inevitable that there would be contact when their bodies collided.
Lin Ran felt the softness on his palm and couldn’t help but smack his lips. It was too soft, like it was made of water.
Being pushed to the corner, Lin Ran finally became a little impatient.
It was almost dusk. If they continued to fight like this, it would take at least another day.
He gathered strength on his fingertips and released an undetectable sword beam. Lin Ran didn’t want to expose him, so he could only do this.
The cloth was torn open, revealing a bulging chest, and the breasts hidden underneath the cloth were almost visible.
The two of them stopped at the same time, dumbfounded. After coming back to senses, they spoke at the same time.
“You actually—”
“How dare you!”
The young man, no, it should be the young girl, shouted angrily, stopping Lin Ran from continuing.
She adjusted her clothes and looked sulky, and the redness on her cheeks slowly spread out.
Lin Ran was shocked and blown away. She was actually a woman.
No wonder she had all the delicate features. It was just that her aura was too intimidating and dignified that ordinary people wouldn’t dare to look at her face at all, so they ignored her feminine characteristics.
In addition, she had been hiding her identity well. If Lin Ran hadn’t accidentally cut her clothes, even he couldn’t tell.
If this news spread, it would definitely cause a sensation in the Heavenly Saint Dynasty!
Before Lin Ran could digest this huge piece of information, a red light immediately attracted his attention.
When he took a closer look, he saw that it was a ruby pendant the shape of a dragon’s eye that gave off dazzling rays. When the girl was tidying up her clothes, it was accidentally revealed.
“This is—”
Lin Ran recalled the last words left by Sword God.
Could it be that she was the person he had to protect?
Perhaps because Lin Ran’s gaze was too intent, it attracted the girl’s attention. Seeing that Lin Ran was staring at her chest without blinking, she was immediately furious.
She glared at him fiercely, but her cheeks were slightly red. It was unknown if it was because of anger or embarrassment. She did not have her usual intimidating aura. Instead, she looked like a sulking little girl.
Her eyes were like summer breeze and peach blossoms in March, making Lin Ran unable to take his eyes off her.
After Lin Ran realized that she had misunderstood him, he quickly explained, “I wasn’t looking at your chest, and I didn’t see anything.”
As soon as he said that, it sounded like he was really guilty of doing it even if he didn’t.
The girl’s eyes became even more fierce.
“It’s time to eat.”
When she heard the voice coming from outside the cave, the girl’s expression changed. At this moment, she had already tidied up her clothes and her face had returned to normal. However, the tips of her ears were still slightly red and were hidden in her hair. If one did not pay attention, they would not be able to see it clearly.
‘You saw nothing.’
The girl’s voice became deep again. She shot Lin Ran a look before turning to leave.
Lin Ran stared at her departing figure and was lost in thought for a long time.
The emperor of the Heavenly Saint Dynasty was actually a woman!
No wonder Daoist Li asked him to protect the emperor. At that time, he was wondering why the emperor needed his protection since there were plenty of people more powerful than him. So this was what Daoist Li meant.
Daoist Li must know the fact that the emperor was a girl, and so did Ten Miles Sword God.
Lin Ran didn’t take this mind-blowing discovery to heart. He was as calm as usual.
If the empress did not want him to know, he would pretend that nothing had happened.
If he felt threatened and wanted to leave, with his current strength, no one would be able to stop him.
Lin Ran was very confident. In the entire Heavenly Saint Dynasty, unless it was someone above the fifth level of the Senior Grandmaster Realm, no one could defeat him. Naturally, there was nothing to worry about.