Since the shocking martial arts exam rankings were reported by the person in charge that day, Qin Longhu became interested.
To be honest.
At his age, apart from worrying about the future of the human race, there was little that could pique his interest. He, Qin Longhu, had abandoned medicine for 'martial arts,' and from an ordinary person, he had risen to become the strongest in the Great Xia Kingdom. What hadn't he experienced?
However, Chen Ran's appearance was indeed different.
Not only did he send his granddaughter to the wine capital to be responsible for Chen Ran's recruitment, but he also sent people to specifically find Chen Ran for some footage of his Rider Awakening.
That crimson, handsome Rider exuded an aura of unrestrained freedom from the inside out.
A young man, full of spirit!
"Confessing to the school beauty, haha, what an interesting kid," Qin Longhu chuckled to himself.
Now, Chen Ran had joined the Dragon Tiger Knight Academy, and when school started, he would definitely have to meet that interesting young fellow.
As a Rider sequence never before seen in the history of Rider Awakening, Kamen Rider Decade...
As one who broke the martial arts exam record of decades.
Among those in the know at the three major Knight Academies, he was even called the 'Son of Hope.'
This old man, he wanted to pass the torch.
Qin Longhu looked forward with deep anticipation.
He looked at the mirror in the room, and a majestic red mechanical dragon faintly appeared.
"If possible, we should rest too, right, old friend?"
This strongest man who had suppressed the Great Xia Kingdom for decades now seemed more like a benevolent elder than the invincible, unbeatable... God of War in the eyes of the Great Xia Kingdom!
...
Time passed to the next day.
The news of Chen Ran joining the Dragon Tiger Knight Academy was not widely publicized. In fact, when the civil and martial arts exam results came out and Chen Ran's name was nowhere to be found, leading people to believe he had failed, those who had been intensely envious and jealous of Chen Ran on the day of his Awakening would completely 'change their tune.'
Mockery and sarcasm would be commonplace.
However, Chen Ran did not care about that.
To be honest, hiding himself was not his style. Even in another world, Chen Ran would still emit an incomparably dazzling light uncontrollably, just like now.
But since this was the consensus of the bigwigs from the three major Knight Academies, Chen Ran naturally would not object.
He had always cherished that saying.
Question: If the world bullies me, slanders me, insults me, laughs at me, despises me, I will face it how?
Answer: Just endure him, let him be, let him do as he pleases, avoid him, be patient with him, respect him, and do not pay him any mind. After a few more years, you will see him.
Besides, he wasn't really that weak.
Quite the opposite.
He was already very powerful now.
But in a few more years.
He would only be stronger!
After breakfast, he went to the park.
Chen Ran was practicing his boxing.
Not Tai Chi.
But...
Baji Quan!
This world had martial arts, skills passed down from ancient times to the present, not mere routines but truly lethal techniques. In ancient times, possessing such a skill would be enough to guard a household for others.
According to Chen Ran's memory.
If the world had not entered the era of Riders, martial arts would have gradually turned into 'dance arts,' with techniques focusing more on flashiness and aesthetics rather than lethality.
But with the invasion of monsters and the awakening of Riders, martial arts were also learned by people.
Applied in actual combat after transforming.
They could often produce miraculous effects.
In the Rider era.
During high school.
Before awakening.
Students who dreamed of becoming Kamen Riders could, in addition to learning basic combat skills, choose to major in a martial art.
It was not mandatory.
Chen Ran, out of interest, had chosen Baji Quan back then.
However, he had neglected it somewhat later due to certain matters.
Not practicing daily!
But Chen Ran had already memorized how to perform those moves. Even if he impulsively practiced a set of punches now, there would be no errors.
After quickly finishing a set, Chen Ran felt a slight warmth in his body, a very comfortable feeling.
Just then.
The familiar ringtone of his phone sounded.
He took out his phone and looked at it.
The caller ID displayed: Abbot!
His brow furrowed slightly.
He answered the phone.
"Hello?"
"Chen Ran, have you returned from your travels and adventures?"
Fang Wen's familiar voice came through.
"Yeah."
"The class is organizing a dinner party this afternoon to say goodbye to our high school life. Are you going?"
Chen Ran glanced at the class group chat; there were no messages.
It seemed they hadn't officially notified everyone yet.
Fang Wen's sources of information were as impressive as ever.
Chen Ran wasn't like that.
The girls in the class coveted his body.
The boys in the class felt inferior to him.
Therefore, in the class, besides Fang Wen, he didn't have as many true confidantes as one might imagine. They would exchange pleasantries when they met, but it was impossible to have heartfelt conversations. If it were like the 'heart-to-heart' talk that Uchiha Madara, the filial son of Naruto, did, Chen Ran thought he might be able to probe a little.
Chen Ran was handsome.
Even if his grades were average...
Many girls pursued him.
Therefore, his high school life was perhaps different from others. He had not accepted the confessions of girls and become a notorious playboy, nor was there a 'white moonlight' who occupied his heart.
Chen Ran's three years of high school were ordinary in every aspect except for his good looks.
The only extraordinary thing he did was during the Rider Awakening ceremony: confessing to the school beauty!
Mu Qingzhu was the dream lover of many students at Jiudu First High School.
However, Chen Ran only used her as a tool to awaken the Decade driver.
"Will Teacher Li be going?"
Chen Ran did not answer directly but asked.
During his three years of high school,
In the class, apart from Fang Wen, only Teacher Li, the homeroom teacher, had a good relationship with Chen Ran.
"No."
"Then never mind, there's no point in going. Turn it down."
Chen Ran shook his head subtly.
Generally speaking,
In the novels he had read before, class reunions were usually meant for showing off and making others feel inferior.
There would either be a class beauty or a school beauty.
But this time, there was none of that.
Teacher Li wasn't going.
Chen Ran's relationship with them wasn't particularly close, so he naturally didn't feel like going.
With that time, he might as well cultivate himself and hone his combat skills, which would be more practical!
"Good buddy, I knew it!"
Fang Wen's excited voice came through.
"I had already decided not to go. I heard that many strange things have been happening on Mount Sanjiang recently. Want to go explore together?"
He loved gossip.
He had extensive sources of information.
And he liked excitement.
In Chen Ran's opinion, he had great potential to be a journalist!
Fang Wen was indeed not timid.
He was even reckless.
When Chen Ran had said he was going on a trip earlier, if it weren't for his family's objections, he wouldn't have remained an internet addict playing 'Rider Era.'
"Mount Sanjiang? Tell me about it."
Chen Ran was somewhat interested.
This was not a world of the supernatural.
Therefore, creatures like ghosts and spirits did not exist. The only beings were monsters like Madarami and Garuborg.
Mount Sanjiang had always been a tourist destination with a good reputation in Jiudu.
A few people would go for a walk together.
On weekends, couples would go for picnics.
There were no spatial rifts there.
There were wild beasts on the mountain.
But they were not in the developed areas.
The occurrence of strange events at this time
had to be blamed on the monsters.
"Yeah." Fang Wen briefly organized his thoughts and continued, "Indeed, very strange things have been happening on Mount Sanjiang recently. Starting a few days ago, people have been getting high fevers inexplicably, which the hospital couldn't diagnose. Some of them were even Level 15 Kamen Riders!"
His tone was filled with surprise.
Level 15 Kamen Rider...
Not very powerful.
At this level, going to the battlefield on the other side of the spatial rift against various monster tribes, there was an eighty percent chance of being cannon fodder. However, in a peaceful city with hardly any powerful monsters lurking, a Level 15 would generally not pose a significant safety hazard.
But this was precisely what had happened.
"Chen Ran, are you going?"
Fang Wen asked.
This time, he was much more excited than when he asked Chen Ran if he wanted to attend the class reunion.
"Yes."
"Alright, we'll meet at the foot of Mount Sanjiang."
"Okay dokey~"
With the sound of 'beep, beep, beep,'
the call was directly hung up.
"Mount Sanjiang... It's been a while since I've been there. It's a good time to go and see," Chen Ran murmured with a slight smile.
He took out his driver.
And summoned Decade's exclusive motorcycle, the Machine Decader.
Mount Sanjiang was some distance away.
Chen Ran was too lazy to take a car.
He decided to ride his motorcycle there.
This world was special.
Ordinary cars and motorcycles required a license to drive.
But it was different for Rider Machines.
As for how they were 'identified,'
Chen Ran could only confirm for now that the person in charge of this matter had special methods!
Riding the motorcycle, with the roar of the engine, he sped away.
Behind Chen Ran, only a cloud of dust was left.
...
At the foot of Mount Sanjiang.
Fang Wen, carrying a hiking backpack, was waiting for Chen Ran. He was already here when he called Chen Ran.
He trusted that his good buddy Chen Ran would definitely come.
'Gulp, gulp, gulp.'
He drank another large bottle of water.
"Oh no, I need to pee. I'll go to the restroom first," Fang Wen muttered softly.
He had just hung up the phone.
Chen Ran couldn't possibly have teleported to his side so quickly, right?
For any reason, he simply didn't believe it!
Fang Wen walked towards the public restroom.
A gaunt middle-aged man quietly followed him.
And not far away, in a hidden spot.
Three people were stealthily 'hiding.'
Their appearances were unremarkable, the kind of people who would 'disappear' in a crowd if thrown into one, almost never being noticed by anyone.
However, they all possessed extraordinary identities!
The Worms!
Monsters from the Kabuto world.
But in this world, they came from... the other side of the spatial rift!
The man standing at the front, seemingly of higher status, slowly stood up. After tidying his collar, a strange light enveloped his body. In just the blink of an eye, he had transformed into Fang Wen's appearance.
"That guy will be dealt with by others. Our mission objective is Decade, a new Rider sequence that will inevitably affect our Worm tribe in the future. So, what we need to do is to nip it in the bud!" the Worm disguised as Fang Wen said slowly.
After some time for the news to spread.
The news of Chen Ran awakening as the new Rider, Decade, had even reached the monsters on the other side of the spatial rift.
In the past, new Riders had appeared.
Some were strong like Agito and Kuuga.
Some were like fodder like Kamen Rider ZO.
There were strong and weak ones!
So.
Whether it was the human side selectively cultivating them or the monster side exhausting their resources to eliminate new Riders, it was all a challenge.
Tribes like the Orphnoch, Grongi, and Fangire had all heard of Decade.
However, the ones who actually took action were the Worms, who had been in a 'war' with the original insects!
Of course, they dared not openly charge through the spatial rift.
The stationed armies were not to be trifled with.
If they were to force their way through...
It would truly result in heavy casualties.
Therefore, they chose a method similar to the moth Fangire who had pursued Nannan earlier. Through some small spatial rifts scattered throughout the world, a small team of worms not exceeding the restriction level came to human society.
Their first stop was Mount Sanjiang, a place with high foot traffic.
They perfectly concealed their identity as Worm monsters.
When they mimicked someone,
they quietly investigated some information about Chen Ran. Later, they discovered the close friendship between Chen Ran and Fang Wen.
They also learned about the 'characteristics' of Fang Wen's personality.
So, borrowing the venom of the centipede undead.
They created such a mess on Mount Sanjiang.
Every few days, the Rider patrol units responsible for responding to special events would not come. Unless such strange occurrences continued to happen consistently, even for a long time, they would rush over to investigate.
'Rumble...'
With the roar of a motorcycle.
Chen Ran, driving the Machine Decader with Decade's characteristics, sped in from a distance.
The Worm disguised as Fang Wen took a deep breath and prepared to step out from the shadows, instructing, "I'll go out first to find an opportunity. You two ambush and strike when the time is right!"
"Yes!" x2
The remaining two immediately nodded in agreement.
Chen Ran stopped and got off the motorcycle.
The motorcycle suddenly turned into a phantom data stream and disappeared.
However, as they were in the Rider era,
this rather bizarre scene did not cause any commotion.
Moreover, due to the frequent 'strange events' on Mount Sanjiang in recent days, the number of tourists had decreased considerably.
Chen Ran got off his bike and looked around.
"Fang Wen hasn't arrived yet?"
He felt a little strange.
Although he had driven over immediately after hanging up the phone with Fang Wen, it was a considerable distance and would take some time. Based on his understanding of Fang Wen, he should have arrived already when Chen Ran got here?
"Chen Ran!"
At this moment, Fang Wen's figure flashed out from behind a tree not far away, waving his hand and running over.