Ma Ran gave a very convincing reason.

Wang Shuyin couldn’t think of a reason to refuse.

When he came to Hubei, his mind was set on making a name for himself, securing benefits from the Grass Hut Academy, and letting his grandma live a good life as soon as possible.

Moreover, he indeed had his grandma’s permission and didn’t leave without saying a word.

But now, with Wang Shuyin awakening [Judge] abilities and being reminded by Ma Ran, he suddenly felt that leaving his elderly grandma alone would make her a lonely old person.

What if…

What if something happened, and he wasn’t there to look after her…

Wang Shuyin felt that he might regret it for the rest of his life.

Initially, he wanted to go back with Ma Ran and Su Qiangwei to bring his grandma over.

But this request from the newly minted National Guardian level ability user was decisively rejected.

The reason given was also very practical.

“You’re too slow, it will waste too much time.”

No argument there.

As a fellow National Guardian level ability user, Su Qiangwei’s [Myriad Transformations] made her a polygonal warrior with no obvious weaknesses.

While Ma Ran and Wang Shuyin, their abilities lean more towards strategic levels, which seemingly offer no help in enhancing their combat power.

However…

The situation with Ma Ran and Wang Shuyin is slightly different.

Besides being a National Guardian level ability user, Ma Ran has also advanced and cultivated his Inner Qi to the fourteenth rank.

Fourteenth rank of Inner Qi!

Just hearing it makes one feel dizzy.

Even without any superpowers, Ma Ran remains one of the top powerhouses of Earth Civilization, whereas Wang Shuyin would be just an unremarkable ordinary person.

Because of awakening a National Guardian level superpower, Wang Shuyin’s mindset had slightly changed, but the harsh reality hit him before he could get inflated.

It was precisely because of this that he quickly conducted a precise self-assessment, adjusted his mindset swiftly, and mingled well with seniors like Wu Di and Li Xing.

…

The process of bringing Wang Shuyin’s grandma back from Gansu Province to Grass Hut Academy is omitted.

With Su Qiangwei and Ma Ran, two major National Guardian level ability users personally picking her up, there’s no need to describe how stable and secure the situation was.

At this moment, inside the large karaoke room of Grass Hut Academy.

Li Xing sat in a corner of the room, set up the perpetual motion camera, and started the recording mode.

The job of serving fruit platters and drinks fell to Wan Haihao, who was forcibly dragged over.

As the oldest present, Wan Haihao is relatively mature and the one most considerate towards companions, the kind who mainly handles the grilling when a group goes to eat barbecue while everyone else is busy eating.

“Ah Hao! Come have a drink! Wow! White wine is so hard to drink, why does Mozi like drinking alcohol so much? I don’t get it!”

Inside Grass Hut Academy, it’s only Wu Di who calls Wan Haihao that.

“Coming, coming! Don’t rush!”

President Huang Weiguo also received news of the newly emerged National Guardian level ability user and rushed over immediately.

Although [Judge] is not as comprehensive as “Martial God,” “God,” “Yi King,” or “Yin Yang Master,” with its relatively singular ability, it holds strong strategic value, reaching its peak upon awakening!

With Netherworld Domain activated, when outer star invaders wage war again, those heroes fighting on the frontlines have an additional layer of protection!

Even if unable to eat or drink in a soul body state, it remains a form of existence after all.

Just as Wang Shuyin expected, Old Huang also believed that with the progress of time and technological advancements, Earth could one day achieve the level of Eternal Civilization in transmitting consciousness at will.

Because of this, President Huang Weiguo, who was “digging the wall,” was harshly scolded by President Cheng of Longyou Academy, yet he still couldn’t hide his excitement.

“Don’t drink alcohol! Drink juice, milk, cola, Sprite, there are so many drinks, why drink alcohol, especially for kids!”

Despite Old Huang’s words, he ended up turning a blind eye, sitting nearby, and chatting with Wang Shuyin’s grandma about the good old days.

Su Qiangwei held the microphone, singing “Embrace.”

“Shedding the mask of a long day…”

The moment she started singing, Ma Ran’s eyelids twitched wildly.

Subsequently, Ma Ran nonchalantly grabbed a bottle of ice-cold beer, sat by the sound mixing desk, donned headphones, and entered a professional tuner mode.

“…Let me enjoy this feeling, I am a proud rose.”

It must be acknowledged that with a competent tuner, even an off-key, singing-without-a-care type of silly girl can instantly turn into a powerhouse singer, drawing cheers from all around.

After tuning, Ma Ran wiped the icy water from his palm, looked toward 98725 hovering invisibly in the sky, spiraling just moments ago, and mentally asked, “What are you doing?”

Little Walnut responded immediately, “Dancing!”

Alright!

Whatever dance that round, golden Little Walnut performed, no one could tell.

As long as it’s happy.

Ma Ran, holding a bottle, settled between Mozi and Su Qiangwei, raising the bottle towards Mozi.

Clinking glasses, drinking.

Beyond that, no words were exchanged.

They appeared to be in a drinking contest.

Sitting beside, Su Qiangwei snacked on barbecue-flavored chips and golden roast duck, sipping plum wine to cleanse her palate—her glass originally filled with cola, however, the superpower [Plum Wine] from Fulan Academy served its stealthy purpose here.

Under Development level superpower [Plum Wine]: Can transform any liquid touched by a finger into plum wine. The superpower erosion is severe alcohol allergy.

It’s actually a highly destructive ability, as it can instantly turn all enemy blood into plum wine upon contact with their wounds, effectively wiping out most life forms.

Its level is capped at Under Development due to a significant conflict between its superpower erosion and its inherent ability.

However, once Su Qiangwei’s Myriad Transformations claimed it, the superpower erosion effects were almost negligible.

Now taking the stage is Wu Di.

Wang Shuyin sat beside, obediently accompanying his grandma and President Huang, listening to their conversation.

After a short while, his grandma urged him off to “go play more with your friends.”

Wang Shuyin listened intently to Wu Di’s singing.

And the more he listened, the more he smiled.

“So awful hahaha! Absolutely a death singer! Pfft!”

Wang Shuyin realized that Wu Di was actually easier to approach than he imagined.

Although this senior’s first impression isn’t great, at his core, he’s a simple, sincere person.

If nothing else, if his Wang Shuyin’s singing was as bad as that, he would never have dared to perform on stage.

However, Wu Di actually has a very good personality. Although he’s not very articulate, when he’s hit where it hurts, as long as it’s factual, he won’t get angry but instead appreciates the other’s honesty and reliability.

Everyone had drunk some alcohol or alcoholic drinks, even the old school president Huang Weiguo was high-spirited, drinking with Wang Shuyin’s grandma.

The atmosphere in the karaoke room quickly heated up.

Encouraged by Wu Di and Li Xing, Wang Shuyin laughed and went on stage, forcefully changing “The World’s Best Mom” to “The World’s Best Grandma”.

His singing skills were poor, only slightly better than Wu Di who stuck to ‘reading lyrics’ level.

But when Wang Shuyin’s grandma heard the song, she was overjoyed, turning the tables and drinking more with President Huang Weiguo.

“Not bad, right?”

“Ugh! It’s as bad as my singing! How could you dare to showcase such mediocrity!”

Wu Di unceremoniously refuted Wang Shuyin’s view, requesting Ma Ran to tune for him.

Originally, Ma Ran was not too willing to do it.

But upon seeing the name of the song Wu Di picked…

“Celestial Strategy: Spear Spirit.”

“Alright, just this one song.”

With Ma Ran’s tuning, Wu Di’s performance level rose noticeably, reaching that of a normal person.

The youthful naive voice, after modification, gave the melody a refreshing and unique taste.

“Listen, the sound of galloping hooves. Chaos, the night is deep and profound.”

“Kill, one spear to decide the universe. Why fear, the white bones and wild spirits…”

At the end of the song, even the demon boy who was said not to understand Earth songs and had been drinking without comment, clapped symbolically.

The atmosphere grew increasingly lively, and Wan Haihao, Li Xing, and President Huang Weiguo all went up to sing.

Su Qiangwei hugged a roasted whole lamb, nibbling and secretly glancing at Ma Ran beside her, feeling somewhat dazed.

For some reason…

She always felt that Ma Ran now had changed somewhat compared to the beginning.

Upon closer thinking…

All these changes seemed to happen after Sword Master Lin Qiubai returned to Cangming Star.

The departure of the Sword Master seemed to have taken away the “arrogance” on Ma Ran.

By using others as a mirror, one can clearly see their gains and losses…

Perhaps, this is what a genius is?

Seeing other people’s strengths and weaknesses, absorbing their excellent qualities, observing and comparing oneself, and changing similar weaknesses.

Suddenly, Su Qiangwei chuckled mischievously, her gaze fell on the demon boy.

Will Ma Ran’s personality change when this one leaves?

If so, then…

What kind of transformation will happen?

“Demon boy, how did you lose your memory?” After drinking some wine, Wu Di started to court disaster again.

The demon boy lounging on the sofa didn’t care about his rudeness at all, just sipped his wine and said, “I shattered the space gate, and during my traversal from Cangming Star to Earth, I was unlucky enough to hit a wormhole reinforced by Sword Master. The two wormholes intersected and caused a spatial vortex.”

Wu Di held a wine bottle, blankly asking, “I guessed right before, didn’t I? You are leaving.”

“Mm.”

“Going back to Cangming Star, to find Sword Master for a duel?”

“Mm.”

The two talked about many things, but everyone listened vaguely and couldn’t remember the details.

Only Li Xing’s camera faithfully recorded everything.

Su Qiangwei, full and satisfied, took out her phone, the chat group showed 99+ messages.

She directly looked at the last message at the bottom—

Xiaoriyue (Dong Huaiming): It was Brother Ran’s idea to have this karaoke event? Boo-hoo! I’m out of town, still rushing a draft, can’t come back! I’m so envious, real name!

That Lotus, That City, That Half Sword (Wan Haihao): It’d be great if you were here. At least there’d be someone to serve tea and water, it’s very lively here, everyone’s in high spirits, so… my workload is heavy!

Blood Flame (Song Chu): Whew… Just slaughtered an alien monster, pretty tricky. Ah Hao, have a drink for me, to the demon boy and Brother Ran!

Sword Master’s Direct Lineage (Zhu Hanyi): Junior Brother Wan, you usually don’t talk like this; it seems you’ve drunk quite a bit too. Then, have a drink for me, to the demon boy and Brother Ran!

Unity (Liu Huadie): Have a drink for me, to the demon boy and the prophet!

Yukong (He Nanguang): Have a drink for me, to the demon boy and Brother Ran!

Qiangqiang (Su Qiangwei): No one toasts the Martial God? Angrily interrupts the repetition!

Ranran Ran: …

Su Qiangwei noticed that Ma Ran beside her picked up a bottle, filling up his empty glass.

Mai Ba Wang Shuyin also put down the microphone, Li Xing hurried over to the control panel, cutting off the remaining song list.

The karaoke room quieted down.

“To the future.”

After giving a short toast, Ma Ran downed his strong liquor in one go.

Wu Di raised his glass filled with baijiu.

Li Xing picked up a glass of red wine from the floor.

Wang Shuyin grabbed a can of fruit beer.

Wan Haihao held a small ink-colored hard iron canister of Erguotou.

Su Qiangwei picked up a bucket of purified water, wiggled her fingers, transforming it all into plum wine.

President Huang Weiguo and Wang Shuyin’s grandma each held a small glass of Shaoxing yellow wine boiled with scallions and garlic.

Everyone’s voices were different, uneven, yet they all expressed a shared hope for “hope”.

“To the future!”

At this moment, even the demon boy seemed touched, his lips slightly curled: “Together.”

He raised the wine bowl in his hand.

Raising his head, he drank it all.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep