Beastmaster King

Upon learning that Mystic Turtle was safe and even growing stronger by leveraging the Merfolk Kingdom’s resources, Lu Ran was finally at ease.

The only lingering concern was whether Mystic Turtle might eventually shift its loyalty from the King of Green Sea to the Merfolk King. Still, Lu Ran could live with that. As long as Mystic Turtle remained safe, its location didn’t matter much.

As King of Green Sea, he prioritized respecting his subordinates’ personal choices—so long as they didn’t turn against him, he had no objections.

In the future, when he had the power to retrieve Mystic Turtle, if it wanted to return and retire, he would bring it home. If it chose to stay, that was fine too. Considering their past ties, he might even provide additional resources to help it thrive in the Merfolk Kingdom.

Whether Mystic Turtle remained a general, rose to command legions, or even became the Prime Minister of the ocean, Lu Ran would support it. Having a strong ally in the sea could only be beneficial.

But based on what he knew of Mystic Turtle, it likely still longed for a peaceful life. Its current position was probably forced by external circumstances.

“Haih, what a hard life. Feels like I’ve planted a spy in the Merfolk Kingdom...” He shook his head.

“Stop pretending to complain after benefiting so much,” Manager Ying remarked. “You’ve got a powerful oceanic empire training one of your generals. What’s there to complain about?”

“It’s not quite the same...” Lu Ran muttered before changing the subject. “By the way, how’s Lu Village doing?”

The Mystic Turtle incident had exposed a glaring issue—his forces were too weak. It wasn’t just his own combat strength that was lacking, but also his faction’s overall power.

This time, the Merfolk Kingdom had merely recruited Mystic Turtle for its potential; they hadn’t harmed it. But what if future enemies targeted his people or familiars? Lu Ran wasn’t omnipotent—he couldn’t protect everyone at all times.

The current situation was proof. With Manager Ying accompanying him, the Merfolk Kingdom had taken advantage of the opportunity to act.

However, if his army of crows had already reached a certain level, with thousands of them gathering to unleash a legion-type skill, even without Dark Crow itself, no minor merfolk operative could have caused trouble. Strengthening his forces was now a priority.

“They’re doing well,” Manager Ying replied with a nod.

Lu Village had developed rapidly. It now had nine level 1 beastmasters and 241 apprentice beastmasters.

Among them, three squads were capable of conquering beginner-level secret realms on hell difficulty through teamwork. Many more could handle hard-level secret realms, and nearly all members could at least challenge them.

Not even some major guilds could boast such a solid foundation among their newcomers. But it wasn’t just Lu Ran’s investment in resources that made the difference. Another critical factor was that Lu Village was a joint venture between him and Manager Ying.

Many of the Cat Maid Café’s specialized intelligence resources were freely available to Lu Village, allowing the villagers to rise quickly in power.

“Not bad at all,” Lu Ran muttered.

Even relying solely on rookie members, Lu Village’s strength could rival, if not surpass, many established guilds. Of course, beyond intelligence and resources, much of the credit went to the villagers’ natural talent—they were born hunters.

Such individuals thrived as beastmasters. Without innate talent, even abundant resources wouldn’t be enough.

However, what mattered more to Lu Ran than strength was their faith. Only by gathering sufficient faith energy could he locate the Divine Deer.

That said, strength was also important. Stronger individuals with equal devotion could provide greater amounts of faith energy.

“Let’s contact the nine level 1 beastmasters later. They probably haven’t contracted their second familiars yet,” Lu Ran said.

“It’s time to establish the Flood Dragon Squad as planned. Hell-difficulty secret realms shouldn’t be their limit. They should aim for Legendary Secret Realms!”

“I don’t know. You’ll have to contact them yourself,” Manager Ying replied. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll just...”

“Wait, there’s more!” Lu Ran quickly stopped it. “If there’s any news about the undead attribute, inform me immediately.”

Lu Village, Green Sea, and eventually the undead division—these three might become Lu Ran’s core factions. He planned to develop them as soon as possible.

Lu Village would focus on exploring Limitless City. Ordinary villagers would handle easy to hell-difficulty realms, harvesting common resources.

The Flood Dragon Squad would tackle Legendary Secret Realms, acquiring Legendary resources.

As for Green Sea’s various generals, they would handle affairs on Blue Planet—expanding territories and exploring unknown lands.

And the undead division? Lu Ran considered merging it with Lu Village. Beastmasters in Lu Village whose familiars died could transition into necromancers, giving each familiar essentially two lives. Who could rival that?

The cumulative advantages of Lu Village’s foundation would snowball, growing exponentially.

Additionally, powerful beastmasters in Xia whose familiars perished would naturally turn to the undead attribute. Relying on the undead attribute meant relying on Lu Ran.

Through mutual benefit, loyalty would be ensured. With these strong forces, he could rapidly establish a formidable high-level combat unit.

The first, second, and third generations of beastmasters were highly cautious and adept at survival. Those who had lasted this long wouldn’t waste resources.

When Gu Qingyi had obtained a batch of Undead Resurrection skill cards, she hadn’t immediately established the undead division. The biggest obstacle—aside from not yet mastering the undead attribute—was the lack of transcendent beastmasters with deceased familiars.

There were plenty of fourth-generation beastmasters with fallen familiars, but the skill cards were limited. Unless someone displayed transcendent talent, no one wanted to waste rare skill cards on mediocrity.

Of course, transitioning to a necromancer had additional requirements. The individual needed open skill slots for beastmaster skills; if all slots were filled, transitioning was impossible.

Additionally, the familiar’s body had to be intact, and its death must have occurred recently. A familiar’s soul typically lingered within its body for 3 to 7 days postmortem. Within that window, resurrection via skill cards was possible.

However, if the soul was obliterated—such as by the Soul-Cutting Sword Intent—or if the body was completely destroyed, resurrection was impossible. These strict conditions made transitioning to a necromancer particularly challenging.

“I see,” Manager Ying said with a nod. “That reminds me. Did you see last night’s news?”

“What news?”

“Here.”

Manager Ying gestured for Lu Ran to check. He pulled out his phone and searched.

“Search ‘Four Saints Guild.’”

A moment later, Lu Ran’s expression froze.

[Guildmaster of the Four Saints Guild, Bai Qi, loses four familiars in a battle against a Space-attribute raid boss!]

[One of the Four Major Guilds in Limitless City #5, Four Saints Guild, faces collapse?]

[A retrospective on second-generation beastmaster Bai Qi’s legendary achievements and his five elite battle familiars...]

“What happened?” Lu Ran muttered as he read further.

It turned out that a squad from the Four Saints Guild had been farming materials in a public realm when a level 52 Space-attribute boss randomly spawned.

Although the squad had five members, their leader, Bai Qi, was only a level 4 beastmaster, and none of their familiars had reached level 50. The outcome was inevitable.

To save his team, Bai Qi made a desperate sacrifice, losing four of his familiars to temporarily drive the boss away. Only then were they able to transfer out of the realm.

Other guild members also lost familiars, but since Bai Qi was the most well-known, the reports focused on him.

“What rotten luck...” Lu Ran shook his head.

A randomly spawned raid boss—was that fortune or misfortune?

“What are you trying to say?” he asked, glancing at Manager Ying.

“This guildmaster, Bai Qi, seems to meet the prerequisites for becoming a necromancer. Based on my intelligence, he’s only mastered three beastmaster skills so far.

“The other members aren’t as lucky. Most of their skill slots are already filled with various abilities.

“But I’m not sure if Gu Qingyi will reach out to Bai Qi. The Four Saints Guild isn’t part of the official raid organization; it’s a civilian guild. Plus, its history is... shady.”

“So, you’re saying I could approach him?” Lu Ran asked curiously.

Manager Ying grinned mischievously. “Aren’t you in need of loyal forces? Bai Qi’s family background is questionable, but that’s mostly from his parents’ generation. They’ve been working to clean up their reputation in recent years.

“Besides, Bai Qi’s character seems decent. He had the chance to use his guild members as bait and escape, but he chose to stand his ground instead. His past evaluations are fair, too.

“With his familiars lost, Bai Qi is in a tough spot. The Four Saints Guild is likely on the verge of collapse. If that happens, their affiliated businesses will be swallowed by competitors.

“If you step in now and lend him a hand, you might just secure your first loyal general. But that’s not the real reason I brought this up.

“The real reason is that his younger sister, Bai Ling, is quite pretty. She even went through the same ascension realm as you. I was worried you’d miss the chance to offer help when it’s most needed. Who knows? Maybe you’d gain a girlfriend in the process.” Manager Ying smirked.

“Scram.” Lu Ran glared at him, already used to his schemes.

He and Bai Ling weren’t even acquainted. Like Pluto, she was a second-generation beastmaster. Though she’d performed decently in the freshman competition, her achievements weren’t particularly remarkable. Now, with her support system crumbling, her resources would likely dwindle.

Besides, if he were looking for a girlfriend, he wouldn’t choose a mafia princess. He preferred someone stronger—much stronger than himself. Ideally, someone who surpassed him in talent, strength, and charisma.

Then again, he thought with self-mockery, someone like that probably wouldn’t even look at me.

“You really think he’s a good fit?” Lu Ran asked. “Why not use your foresight to see how he’d fare after gaining the undead attribute?”

Manager Ying was baffled.

“Scram!”

“Alright, alright. I’ll discuss it with Dr. Gu. If she approves, I’ll contact Bai Ling to explore the possibility...”

Recruiting Xia’s first necromancer to establish the Other Shore had officially become Lu Ran’s next objective.

***

Shortly after, Lu Ran called Gu Qingyi.

“Mm?” She was slightly surprised to hear from him so soon after their last meeting.

After he explained the situation with Bai Qi, she immediately understood.

“Oh, I got that intelligence too, but I was abroad at the time and couldn’t investigate further. I planned to look into it upon my return.

“Honestly, my hesitation was due to not knowing much about Bai Qi. As you know, anything related to the undead attribute requires extreme caution—we can’t afford to choose candidates lightly.”

“But if Manager Ying vouches for him, it should be fine, right?” Gu Qingyi concluded. “Are you planning to reach out to him yourself? If so, I can provide you with an item.”

“What kind of item?” Lu Ran asked.

“A Treasure-grade item—the Heartstone. A first-generation beastmaster acquired it during an ascension realm. He infiltrated a major beastmaster faction disguised as a recruiter and swiped it before leaving. While it’s not as impressive as you, it’s still quite formidable.

“The Heartstone has long been a national treasure used for interrogating key suspects. If you need it, I can arrange for you to borrow it and use it to assess Bai Qi’s loyalty.”

“Okay. I need it,” Lu Ran said.

“Alright, I’ll have it delivered to you.”

Lu Ran frowned. “How?”

“Through Cat Maid Express. Always on time.”

...So she’s using Manager Ying’s clones for delivery.

***

Later that day, the Heartstone arrived in Lu Ran’s hands. He found it fascinating. Its mechanics were simple—like a lie detector, it reacted to lies by changing temperature or vibrating.

To be honest, it seemed a bit underwhelming.

Treasure-grade?

He could think of a hundred ways to frame lies as truths. Still, it could catch someone off guard. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

Moreover, Manager Ying explained that its rarity wasn’t due to its functionality but rather its ability to work on targets of any level.

“Manager Ying, am I outstanding?” Lu Ran asked, toying with the stone as Manager Ying prepared to leave.

Manager Ying was caught off guard.

“Average.”

The Heartstone immediately grew cold and vibrated slightly.

“You’re lying.”

“Unbelievable,” Manager Ying muttered, glaring before stomping off. “I’ve never seen someone so shameless.”

Lu Ran smirked and turned to the Weather Sprite lounging in a bowl of ice cream. “Baby cloud, am I handsome?”

“Drip?” The Weather Sprite blinked up at him, then nodded.

The Heartstone remained still.

Good stuff. Too bad it’s government property.

Otherwise, he’d want one for himself.

“What should I wear to meet Bai Qi?” Lu Ran muttered, flipping through his wardrobe.

He paused at the Undead Holy Robe. After a moment of hesitation, he decided that while it fit the undead theme, it might attract too much police attention.

Better to stick with his harmless husky-themed T-shirt. No need to scare Bai Qi into calling the authorities.