Beastmaster King

In the depths of the Blazing Lightning Ruins.

“Rawr!!!”

A towering bear, its entire body wrapped in red lightning, repeatedly launched attacks forward.

Boom!

Clashing with it was a doofus gripping a greatsword tightly between his teeth.

Doofus firmly planted his four limbs into the ground, gripping the greatsword with determination as it used it to block the fierce lightning-imbued strike of the raging bear. The clash of the sword against the bear’s paw made the bear feel as if its own paw was about to be cut open and frozen.

“Rawr!!”

The bear let out an enraged bellow, puzzled by the unexpected strength of this dog.

“That’s enough, Captain Doofus. Training’s over.”

Following Lu Ran’s command, Captain Doofus’s gaze sharpened, its combat power unleashed as it delivered a tenfold Storm Slash.

Swish!!!

In an instant, under the stunned gaze of the bear clutching red lightning, its body was split into two, the cut surface coated with a layer of chilling frost. Lu Ran fell into thought. A dog wielding a sword?

Without evolving into a humanoid form, Captain Doofus’ close-combat skills were still too crude and simplistic.

But there wasn’t much Lu Ran could do. After all, swords weren’t designed for dogs.

To make Captain Doofus’ swordsmanship more refined, aside from cultivating his Sword Intent, it seemed mastering Gale Sword Style was essential.

Advanced Energy Projection techniques. By controlling the sword with wind energy, Captain Doofus would be able to perform a wide range of high-difficulty sword techniques.

“Woof!”

Captain Doofus, having defeated his opponent, looked back cheerfully.

This time, its tenfold Storm Slash hadn’t caused his teeth to fall out. The dog was quite pleased with its current physique, as he could now perfectly handle the tenfold energy compression!

Of course, this was due not only to its physical strength but also to its growing experience. Each injury and attempt sharpened its energy control, a rare advantage for familiars.

Typically, if a familiar suffered damage, it would need to rest for a long time, and regrowing teeth quickly was rare.

“That means we need to enhance the Energy Compression skill to an advanced level and develop compression up to twentyfold, thirtyfold, or even one hundredfold. Otherwise, how can we get new teeth to forge weapons with?” Lu Ran muttered to himself.

At the same time, he sighed. The reward for this secret realm challenge was truly disappointing.

[Congratulations on completing the secret realm mission.]

[Score: SSS-Rank!]

[You have received 1,000 crystal coins.]

[You have received an advanced resource: Lightning Struck Wood.]

[You have received an advanced resource: Mutant Bear Claw.]

[You have received a special resource: Upgrade Card.]

Not only was there no Red Lightning Trait Crystal, but there was also no lightning-attribute beastmaster skill, and not even a rare material!

The two advanced materials weren’t worthless, but compared to 50,000 crystal coins, they weren’t much. The only consolation was the upgrade card, but since Lu Ran could use it himself, he wouldn’t sell it.

Just nine more to collect, and Captain Doofus’s contract card could be upgraded again.

“Looks like my luck’s running out. Luck is conserved, after all. Since we got a Trait Crystal last time, who knows how many times it’ll take to get another one!” In the ruined forest, Lu Ran scratched his head.

Beside him, Captain Doofus sighed.

His luck was terrible again...

***

After the secret realm mission, Lu Ran and Captain Doofus returned as usual to their private quarters to rest.

Because of his streak of bad luck, Lu Ran was now plunged into deep reflection on life. He realized his efficiency in solo missions was too low. It wasn’t that his monster-killing speed was too slow, but rather, it was his money-earning efficiency!

“Maybe I should find three teammates?” Lu Ran pondered.

The advantage of a four-person team was that the rewards for clearing would be divided into four portions. If four teammates of similar skill levels teamed up, the rewards would naturally be split evenly. But if one skilled person led three rookies, wouldn’t it be fair if the rookies handed over rare materials in exchange for keeping the basic crystal coins?

Lu Ran’s mind spun. Of course, those three people couldn’t be too much of a burden, as they would need to protect themselves.

“If I bring along three people, each challenge would mean four shares of rewards. Four times the efficiency...” Lu Ran’s mind continued to race.

Moreover, after defeating the boss, the four could gather the realm’s resources far more quickly than he could alone.

“Even without the Divine Deer Pendant, Captain Doofus and the Frosty Sky Greatsword can consistently clear the Hell-level beginner realms. Adding three people would be no problem, and it would raise the chances of getting Trait Crystals or beastmaster skills significantly...”

The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. As for teammates, his first thought was Fang Lan. But she would probably be deeply engrossed in her work as the Poison Queen of Green Sea.

Though, he was sure she wouldn’t refuse an invitation to explore the realms together. People from Lu Village could also be options, as they were at a similar level. Lu Ran considered this, seeing another benefit. Those rookies he led would gain power rapidly.

After all, if they handed over rare materials, he wouldn’t be so stingy as to give them nothing in return. At that point, guiding them to secure suitable beastmaster skills and Trait Crystals would naturally strengthen their abilities.

For instance, Fang Lan hadn’t yet learned any beastmaster skills, nor did she have a trait crystal for her Great Xia Wolf Spider. Without a mentor, it would take her a long time to achieve these herself. But with Lu Ran’s help, her progress would be much faster.

This “veteran leading the newbies” approach was a strategy that large guilds used to amass power quickly. Lu Ran figured he could follow this method himself. After all, he was dominating the beginner realms now.

With a handpicked elite team, he could even join the freshman competition at Beastmaster University. Together, they could secure top ranks, like the top 100, top 64, or even top 32, bringing in heaps of rewards.

The more he thought it over, the more it made sense over solo missions.

“Didn’t expect to be forming a team so soon.”

He remembered his initial goal of building a personal secret realm team once he was strong enough. Initially, he had wanted to gather teammates to aid him in Hell-level realm missions. Unexpectedly, his goal had now shifted to earning money more quickly with three people.

Lu Ran shook his head while smiling. Plans never keep up with changes. With this thought, Lu Ran logged off, intending to find Fang Lan first.

***

In Green Sea City, at the Starlight Mansions District.

Lu Ran and Captain Doofus appeared in the living room. As soon as he arrived, Lu Ran instinctively picked up his fully charged phone.

“So many missed calls?”

Lu Ran was surprised to see several missed calls. After taking a closer look, he saw they were all from Golden Hill... from Zhao Chen!

The former supervisor of Surfing White Dragon...? What could he want?

Lu Ran called back.

“Lu Ran?” Zhao Chen’s surprised voice quickly came through.

“Uncle Zhao? What’s up? I was just in Limitless City,” said Lu Ran.

“Mhm, I know. I saw some news about you online. Congrats. I called you about another matter. Did you hear about it on your end?”

“What matter?” asked Lu Ran.

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“Besides several provincial capitals, due to the revival of spiritual energy, there’s an urgent need to consolidate beastmaster forces. The Alliance has started building Beastmaster Towers in second-tier cities to form Beastmaster Associations.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Lu Ran responded.

Currently, in second-tier cities like Green Sea, beastmaster forces were too scattered. Official oversight would indeed improve the situation.

“Do you know the structure of the Beastmaster Association? For instance, at Golden Hill’s Beastmaster Tower, there’s a chairman and ten executive members.

“Like me and the president of the Galaxy Guild, Nebula. I heard that in Green Sea, Dr. Gu secured special authorization for you to oversee extraordinary matters, right?”

“Yes,” Lu Ran confirmed.

“This experimental special zone is significant. Dr. Gu made the decision alone, and not all high-ranking officials are satisfied with it.

“So, there’s a high likelihood they’ll establish a Beastmaster Association in Green Sea, and the Alliance will likely assign a senior beastmaster as chairman, to monitor and restrain you, preventing any missteps.

“Not just a likelihood but it’s almost certain. They should have appointed you as chairman of the Green Sea Association, but in the end, they couldn’t trust a seventeen-year-old to manage an entire city.”

Lu Ran frowned. He had expected complications dealing with officials. Being “King of Green Sea” wouldn’t be easy with a supervisor around. How could he comfortably reign as a king?

But Lu Ran sighed, acknowledging that it made sense. After all, he did lack management experience, and having an experienced beastmaster familiar with other civilizations would benefit the entire city. Lu Ran wasn’t unreasonable so he’d go along with it.

Who knows? The new person might even be quite decent.

“Do we know who it is?” Lu Ran asked.

Here’s the revised version with the spacing preserved:

“Honestly, I’ve got a hint, but if you knew who it was, you wouldn’t tell Dr. Gu or throw shade at him, right?”

Lu Ran paused, saying, “How could I? If he’s a senior I can get along with, Green Sea would welcome him wholeheartedly. But if he interferes with everything, he can handle it all himself.”

In that case, he’d back off and return to Lu Village, where he could just run for village chief because it seemed equally promising. Lu Ran only hoped this person wouldn’t order him around as a subordinate. Ultimately, he still valued his freedom.

“Hah... The person is actually me. I have no idea what the higher-ups were thinking, sending me from Golden Hill to chair Green Sea’s Association!” Zhao Chen complained.

“Lu Ran, you know me. Don’t worry, I won’t interfere. Do whatever you want, as long as there’s no headline-worthy trouble. I’ll just be a mascot, a placeholder.”

Zhao Chen was baffled. Having just moved from Mystic City to Golden Hill, now he was being sent to Green Sea. It seemed like a good thing, but it was exhausting.

“What?” Lu Ran was left stunned.

No wonder there were so many layers of explanations. It’s you!