Chapter 122 - Return (Part 1)

Limitless City, Pedestrian A’s personal room.

Even after being transferred back, Lu Ran’s thoughts lingered on the Ascension realm.

“

Woof!

”

Captain Doofus looked at Lu Ran in surprise, sensing his apparent regret in leaving the Ascension realm.

“Not at all.”

Lu Ran waved the battered Wind Slashing Sword in his hand and shook his head.

“It’s just that the Flame Dragon King was clearly giving us special treatment, and returning this early feels premature. If I could’ve stayed another half-month, my Flame Sword Intent would’ve been perfected.”

Lu Ran sighed regretfully. In the final two days, he had finally comprehended the Flame Sword Intent. Through the continuous absorption of the Flame Dragon’s aura using the Flame Spirit skill, Lu Ran had managed to grasp a new sword intent, akin to when he first understood the Blizzard Sword Intent.

Lu Ran felt that achieving this outcome would have been impossible without Emperor Flame Quake’s signature beastmaster skill and the Flame Dragon King’s generosity.

He was now convinced that Flame Spirit was a growth-type beastmaster skill. Similar to Super Beast Mimicry, which could emulate different contracted familiars to obtain varied feedback, Flame Spirit could absorb external fire elements to enhance itself.

However, the Flame Spirit in its initial stick figure state was too weak to absorb high-grade energy, which explained why Lu Ran failed to absorb the Flame Dragon’s aura at first. Fortunately, the Flame Dragon King, realizing Lu Ran’s capabilities, extended special treatment out of respect for the Divine Deer.

“

Woof!

”

Captain Doofus stuck out its tongue, annoyed. It had been competing with Lu Ran to see who could master the Flame Sword Intent first. But Lu Ran outright exploited the Divine Deer’s reputation to make the Flame Dragon King go easy on him.

Isn’t this more shameless than marrying into a family for resources?

“The strength gained from this ascension realm is secondary. But mastering the Flame Culinary Intent combined with the Spirit-Converting Pot? On the Blue Planet, my culinary skills should rank among the best, right?” Lu Ran pondered.

Moreover, unlike the beastmaster chefs of Blue Planet, Lu Ran had mastered the exceedingly rare Dragon Culinary Intent, even by Stellar Moon Continent standards. In other words, if he were in the Beastmaster Empire, his title would be the highly prestigious “Dragon Chef.”

Why was a Dragon Chef so respected? Because their dishes, prepared using Dragon Culinary Intent, could potentially nurture dragon-types.

If Lu Ran previously had no confidence in Sudden Death King’s evolution into a purebred dragon, he now brimmed with assurance.

“Let’s check for any messages.”

Lu Ran wanted to return to Blue Planet immediately to contract Sudden Death King, but he glanced at his communications before leaving.

One message was from a month ago, sent by Fang Lan, informing him of her entry into the ascension realm. She would return in about three hours.

I wonder what her ascension realm experience was like.

Another message was from Dr. Gu Qingyi, sent not long ago.

[Gu Qingyi: The Natural Manipulation Crystal, Endurance Trait Crystal, and Fusion Beastmaster Skill you requested are ready. You can pick them up from Manager Ying when you’re back.

[The shop’s now a cafe in Green Sea City. I’ll be busy for a while and might be unreachable, so contact Manager Ying for help.]

[Lu Ran: Got it.]

His spirits lifted. Everything was perfectly in place!

“This sword can be discarded.”

Before logging off, Lu Ran glanced at the Wind Slashing Sword in his hand. It was merely an advanced weapon with poor energy conduction, and after several days of use, its durability was depleted.

Lu Ran figured it was time for him to upgrade his weaponry as well. With his current wealth, he wasn’t short on crystal coins.

The ascension realm had rewarded him with 100,000 crystal coins, and the monthly settlement for the Heavenly Familiar Ranking brought in another 100,000 coins.

Even after spending most of his funds before entering the realm, he still had over 200,000 crystal coins in savings.

...

Blue Planet, Green Sea City.

Space rippled, and Lu Ran’s figure appeared in his home. Returning to familiar surroundings, Lu Ran felt a wave of comfort. Being on the Blue Planet was more relaxing than being on the unfamiliar Stellar Moon Continent.

“

Beep—!

”

Taking out his phone, Lu Ran walked onto the balcony and dialed Zhao Chen, the Green Sea City Association’s director. The call was quickly answered with excitement.

“Lu Ran? You’re back from the ascension realm? How did it go? Have you advanced?”

“Yes,” Lu Ran replied.

“I’m officially a level 1 beastmaster now. Uncle Zhao, how’s the red-eyed crocodile skink I left with you?”

Zhao Chen laughed. “Rest assured, it’s thriving! Your choice of familiar was extraordinary as its talent is outstanding.

“To date, no level 4 beastmaster in Green Sea City has managed to break through its physical defense. Just its raw defensive power alone is impenetrable!

“And that’s not even counting the energy-formed armor it can summon, which makes its defenses even more absurd.

“The most remarkable part? Despite repeated attacks from challengers, its lightning armor has become so stable that even prolonged contact with opposing elements doesn’t destabilize it. It’s ridiculously durable. Do you know the craziest thing?

“Some time ago, it fell asleep during a battle because the challengers’ attacks were so weak. But even while sleeping, its energy armor didn’t dissipate.

“It’s as if maintaining the armor has become an unconscious reflex! Can you believe it? A whole group of beastmasters attacked a sleeping familiar and still couldn’t wake it?”

“Ugh...” Lu Ran felt a headache coming on.

Sudden Death King seems to have awakened some strange new talent again and can unconsciously manipulate energy? Even Captain Doofus can’t do that.

Still, Lu Ran wasn’t dwelling on how overpowered Sudden Death King was. Instead, he was marveling at how weak Green Sea City’s level 4 beastmasters seemed.

Sudden Death King was at best gifted with decent innate talent, a slightly higher level, and consistent advanced and rare dragon food, resulting in solid development. Yet, it hadn’t even fused any traits and was already being treated like an unbeatable boss.

If I add the Red Lightning Trait and the Endurance Trait, wouldn’t these people have an even harder time scratching it? The so-called talents in Green Sea City probably aren’t even as strong as Snakeskin, the Mountain Adventurer, or Deer Masking Horse.

Can they really represent Green Sea City and achieve good results in the beastmaster competition?

Besides, was Sudden Death King’s defense really that strong? Lu Ran grew curious and planned to test it against Captain Doofus soon.

Captain Doofus had been sharpening its sword intent for days against the Flame Dragon King’s aura, making great progress. Once Sudden Death King fused its traits, it might be time to test sharpness versus sturdiness. Sword versus shield.

“Where is it now?” Lu Ran asked.

“It should still be at the Green Sea Stadium,” Zhao Chen replied.

“Alright, I’ll head over. It’s about time I contracted it.” Shortly after, Lu Ran hung up the call and headed out.

...

Green Sea Stadium.

After a month of intensive training, Green Sea City’s beastmasters had become numb to the chaos brought by their sparring sessions. The arena’s most unwelcoming sparring partners were two familiars, Sudden Death King and Dark Crow.

Sudden Death King frustrated everyone with its unbreakable defenses, while Dark Crow, though strong, constantly taunted its opponents with trash talk and mock commentary.

By comparison, the other familiars assigned as sparring partners, though equally strong, were at least more approachable.

At this moment, only Sudden Death King remained in the stadium, as the others were busy maintaining border security. The large lizard lounged in a corner of the arena, sound asleep. Initially, it had been annoyed by its role as a sparring partner.

But after realizing its opponents were too weak to pose a threat, it happily turned the job into a chance to nap. Over time, it even perfected its sleeping armor, making its defenses flawless even in slumber.

The Green Sea beastmasters eventually stopped wasting their energy and started treating Sudden Death King as a testing device for their skills rather than an opponent.

Rumors circulated. Whoever could develop a skill capable of breaking its armor would dominate the freshman competition and become unstoppable.