Beastmaster King

"When are we going?" Fang Lan asked now that the team lineup was finalized.

"You don’t need to take a break?" Lu Ran gave her a concerned look. He was worried she might pass out in the secret realm after pulling an all-nighter.

"Why don't you go take a nap? We’ll leave when you wake up," Lu Ran suggested.

"That sounds good. See ya!"

Fang Lan wanted to say she didn’t need a nap, but she did feel a little drowsy. She stood up and randomly chose another room to go lie down in.

After she left, Lu Ran started scrolling through his phone.

Technology really is amazing. We can see the entire world without even leaving home!

He was looking through the day’s headlines.

"Huh?" Lu Ran muttered as he clicked on the first link.

A special mutant beast had appeared in a small country in South America. It was a giant python, hundreds of meters long, capable of terrorizing entire cities.

According to the International Beastmaster Alliance, the giant python was level 44. To reach over level 40 so early in the spiritual energy revival, it must have consumed a Treasure-class resource. With the Amazon rainforest nearby, known for its abundance of resources, it was definitely feasible for a world-class resource to appear in the area.

While the giant python wasn’t contracted by a beastmaster, acquiring a world-class resource would have a similar effect to fusing a trait, endowing it with extraordinary abilities. Its ability was likely related to the Giant trait. Its unparalleled size caused incalculable damage to the surrounding cities.

[Transcendent creatures that evolve in the wild have a chance of awakening traits. This happens through special resources with effects similar to Trait Crystals.]

[“Trait Crystal” is a generic term used to categorize special resources found in Limitless City. If wild-evolved creatures continue to grow, they will become increasingly difficult to deal with. They may eventually resemble secret realm bosses, acquiring multiple attributes and traits.]

[Some mutant beasts with high intelligence and power could even establish their own nations to compete with humans.]

In the comments section, a senior beastmaster shared his opinions, which many agreed with. Fortunately, there had been no reports of powerful mutant beasts taking over cities in major countries yet. Only smaller countries had suffered significant losses from powerful mutant beasts.

[With such a vast area to cover, larger countries were less significantly impacted due to first- through third-generation beastmasters nipping situations in the bud.]

[Some smaller disasters were inevitable, but at least there weren’t any situations like the one abroad that caused widespread panic. After all, no one could predict the ultimate effects of the spiritual energy revival.]

Lu Ran kept scrolling through the comments, most of which expressed gratitude for living in a powerful country. Xia’s advanced technology and beastmaster capabilities were among the best in the world. Even if a mutant beast like the python appeared, it would be swiftly dealt with and wouldn’t be allowed to wreak havoc.

"A level 44 mutant beast must be terrifying. If it appeared in the Green Sea, Captain Doofus and I would definitely die," Lu Ran muttered, shaking his head as he looked at the satellite images of the ruined South American city.

He found more headlines on similar topics. Other trending discussions included Xia’s decision to establish Beastmaster Associations in various cities, the development of Beastmaster University, and the first batch of fourth-generation beastmasters entering ascension realms. There were also reports of how first-, second-, and third-generation veterans handled mutant beasts.

While browsing, Lu Ran was surprised to see his own name as the twentieth most-searched term. Although its popularity was steadily declining, it wasn’t easy for a newcomer to gain such recognition.

Topics under his name included the incident in Limitless City #5, as well as Pluto and Pedestrian A returning to compete for the number one title in Limitless City #3. The drama was intense. However, the most heated discussions revolved around swordsdogs and the use of the Weapon Control trait.

A lot of people were asking if dogs could really use swords. When they saw Pedestrian A rank so high, many beastmasters who had contracted dogs became curious.

Some even posted videos of their dogs holding swords, and a few even tried to give swords to their cats. These posts often included pleas for advice from others online, wondering why their familiars didn’t look as impressive.

"Aiya!" Lu Ran facepalmed.

This was how ridiculous internet trends got started.

Don’t try things you see on the internet! Are they looking to get killed?

Lu Ran couldn’t stand it anymore. He wanted to write a post telling everyone not to attempt what he did, but just as he was about to type it out, he hesitated.

If everyone listened to good advice, there wouldn’t be so many new beastmasters dying in secret realms. Some people were simply reckless and would try anything they saw. Others were clever enough to succeed but lacked common sense. Trying to convince them felt like a waste of time.

"I need to drop the savior complex and let people face their own fates," he muttered.

After all, it wasn’t his responsibility to step in. Lu Ran had already seen plenty of senior beastmasters in the comments sections advising newcomers not to try it at home. No other familiars in the world could perfectly fuse with the Weapon Control trait, and no one fully understood Pedestrian A’s unique circumstances.

As far as Lu Ran was concerned, the warnings had been sufficient.

***

While Fang Lan was napping, Lu Ran also dozed off while scrolling through his phone. In the end, it was Captain Doofus who woke him up.

"Woo!"

Captain Doofus howled at Lu Ran from beside the couch, staring at him with its blue eyes.

"What are you doing?" Lu Ran asked groggily, still hugging his pillow.

"Woo!"

Captain Doofus communicated that Fang Lan had asked it to wake him up—it was time to head to Limitless City.

"Where is she?" Lu Ran asked as he reluctantly got up.

"Woo."

Captain Doofus glanced toward the bathroom.

Maybe she went to touch up her makeup.

“Huh?”

You understand what touching up her makeup means? Lu Ran wondered.

Captain Doofus gestured at the TV. Lu Ran’s heart skipped a beat. This dog was getting smarter and smarter.

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Actually, it’s still not that smart.

He thought about it: Fang Lan didn’t wear makeup. At most, she used colored contacts and painted her nails to match her purple hair. She looked great without makeup. This dog was just repeating random words it had heard before!

"I’ll make a phone call while you go face the wall. Don’t make up random things next time," Lu Ran lectured as he dialed Lu Bing again.

"Brother Lu Ran?"

"Yeah, it’s me. We’re planning our first run of a secret realm on Hell difficulty. We’re short by one or two people. I’ll confirm once I get to Limitless City."

"Okay!" Lu Bing replied excitedly. "If you’re short one person, I’m first in line! If you need two, I’ll call the captain. He’s the best in our village."

"Alright." Lu Ran smiled as he ended the call.

He planned to check if Pig Farmer was in Limitless City and ask about his situation directly. Pig Farmer seemed incredibly lucky—or rather, his boar was.

When the entire herd succumbed to swine flu, it was the only survivor. Later, when it was contracted, it underwent atavism, significantly enhancing its strength and awakening its spiritual energy. It even encountered and consumed a Rare resource, allowing Pig Farmer to rank on the Heavenly Familiar Rankings. The Rare resource that enabled a boar to achieve such a rank was no ordinary item.

The price of Rare resources varied greatly depending on their type, acquisition difficulty, and effects. Cheaper ones cost only a few thousand crystal coins, while the more expensive ones ranged from tens of thousands to even hundreds of thousands.

The Spirit of the Flower that Dr. Gu gave them was on the pricier end, being both extremely rare and difficult to obtain. The Giant Ore that Master Lin used to forge the Frosty Sky Greatsword for Captain Doofus cost slightly over 30,000 coins.

Meanwhile, the Life Dandelion that Lu Ran had picked up in Green Sea City and fed to Captain Doofus was worth even less.

"Oh, you’re awake. Why is Captain Doofus facing the wall?" Fang Lan asked as she stepped out of the bathroom. She looked confused at the sight of a dejected Captain Doofus staring at the wall.

What’s wrong with this dog?

“Woof, woof, woof!”

Captain Doofus barked indignantly.

It’s all the TV program’s fault! I’ll remember this grudge!

"I was just messing around with it," Lu Ran replied casually. "Are you ready to head to Limitless City?"

***

After returning to Limitless City, Lu Ran tried to reach out to Pig Farmer to see if he was there. After three minutes, Lu Ran assumed that Pig Farmer wasn’t there. He was just about to tell Lu Bing that he needed two more people when Pig Farmer finally replied.

[Pig farmer: Hey boss, I'm here!]

[Pedestrian A: I heard about your situation from Sister Hua, so are you on your own right now?]

[Pig farmer: "Yeah... I didn't end up joining the Galaxy Guild. Although they invited me again later on, as the saying goes, a smart pig doesn't eat grass behind it! [1]"]

Lu Ran didn’t know how to respond to that.

[Pedestrian A: How strong are you now? I heard you made the Heavenly Familiar Rankings.]

[Pig Farmer: Hehe. I can solo Beginner secret realms on Normal and score an A or better, but I can't beat anything on Hard yet.]

Lu Ran felt that the response was reasonable, so he explained the situation and asked if Pig Farmer was willing to join the team just to fill a seat.

Pig Farmer didn’t respond right away—he hadn’t expected such a good opportunity to fall into his lap. But a moment later, he excitedly accepted the invitation.

[Pedestrian A: Okay, then we’ll see how our first run goes. Wait for me in your private room.]

[Pig Farmer: Ok.]

Pig Farmer was thrilled. Pedestrian A was a powerful figure who could solo Hell-difficulty secret realms and was ranked first on the Heavenly Familiar Rankings. A team led by him was far more reliable than the elite raid teams assembled by the major guilds. Pig Farmer couldn’t believe his luck.

Sure enough, in a tornado, even pigs can fly!

Meanwhile, Lu Ran sent a message to Lu Bing, letting her know he was now only short one person. After that, he opened the secret realm menu and chose the multiplayer option. In the Team section, he added Five Poison Saintess, Pig Farmer, and Icy Roads Ahead from his friends list.

***

[Teleportation completed.]

[Current location: Blazing Lightning Ruins (Beginner Secret Realm)]

The system messages chimed, and four people appeared. After Fang Lan, Pig Farmer, and Lu Bing accepted Lu Ran’s team invitation, they were all teleported in together.

Aside from Lu Ran, the three teammates exchanged glances. Pig Farmer and Lu Bing were both visibly startled when they saw Fang Lan, the purple-haired beauty standing beside Lu Ran.

They instinctively took a step back as though they had just encountered a supervillain.

"Five Poisons Saintess!"

Lu Ran could understand Pig Farmer panicking—after all, Fang Lan had poisoned both him and his boar before—but why was Lu Bing also panicking?

At this point, Fang Lan noticed Pig Farmer and Lu Bing as well.

"I was wondering why your voice sounded familiar. Icy Roads Ahead, we fought in the arena before."

Lu Ran's mouth twitched. How many people in Limitless City #3 have you poisoned? You’re traumatizing these kids.

1. Play on Chinese proverb, a smart horse doesn’t eat the grass behind it, meaning to not turn back ☜