Chapter 136 - Is This Really a Fourth-Generation Beastmaster?

Early morning, around 6 a.m., Lu Ran and his team gathered outside the newly constructed Golden Hill Beastmaster Arena in Golden Hill.

“I was so nervous, I couldn’t sleep at all last night.”

“Same here.”

The group from Lu Village looked at each other helplessly. Next to them, Lu Ran and Fang Lan were quiet. In truth, they felt the same. Both had been busy all night, with one refining the Lightning God Tactics, and the other working on Fusion Skills.

Luckily, as beastmasters, their stamina was exceptional, and with access to resources that helped refresh their minds, they managed fine without much rest.

“Let's head in,” Lu Ran said with a yawn.

The Golden Hill Beastmaster Arena featured spectator seating capable of holding 50,000 people. However, the number of examinees participating in the exam was less than one-tenth of that, so the interior seemed quite spacious once the group entered.

After all, the audience was composed only of examinees. This pre-selection exam was not open to the public as only relevant staff and the examinees themselves were allowed in.

“These people look so full of energy.”

The current number of people at the arena was already exceptional. The examination was divided into time slots, and examinees with later numbers could take their tests in the afternoon, evening, or even on the following days.

The Beastmaster University app had already provided an estimated schedule for each test. However, it seemed many examinees preferred to arrive early to gather intel and thus had risen before dawn.

At that moment, within Lu Ran’s small team, Lu Ran led the way, Fang Lan and Lu Bing followed closely behind, while the remaining four trailed further back.

Their arrangement resembled the expedition into a Beginner Trial Secret Realm, where the strongest, Lu Ran, would handle the battles up front, leaving the others to scavenge materials in the aftermath.

“examinees entering the venue, please take your seats promptly and avoid loitering in the passageways or arena floor. Examinees with earlier numbers, please sit closer to the front rows.

“The examination will begin at 7:00 a.m., sharp. When your number is called, proceed directly to the battle zone and summon your familiar. The next examinee should also head to the waiting area promptly...”

The arena's announcement system continuously repeated the guidelines. Checking his watch, Lu Ran saw it was 6:40 a.m. and said, “I'll head to the waiting area first. There’s just 20 minutes to go.

“You guys find a place to sit.”

“Got it.” Pig Farmer nodded.

“Good luck, Boss Lu!”

“I'll come with you,” Fang Lan said as it was her turn right after Lu Ran.

“Sure. Wait for me over there while I take a quick bathroom break...”

Fang Lan was speechless.

“Fine. I'll wait outside the restroom.”

At the waiting area leading to the central arena, a staff member in a work uniform was already present.

Seeing Lu Ran and Fang Lan's approach, he confirmed, “examinees 0001 and 0002, correct? The exam will begin shortly. Please wait here and scan your face at the gate when it’s time.”

“Thank you,” the two replied simply.

Not long after, the examiners also arrived.

Seated in the best viewing spots on the platform were three individuals in formal attire of varying ages. These were third-generation beastmasters who were temporarily assigned from the Rock City Society within Limitless City.

To ensure fairness, a few second and third-generation local beastmasters from Golden Hill were also involved in the event. Soon, a young man wearing a blue windbreaker also entered the arena.

These four people made up the examiners for the day, with the man in the windbreaker, also a third-generation beastmaster, responsible for the battle assessment.

The other three would sit on the platform, observing and evaluating the examinees’ performance. Should the main battle examiner tire and need a break, one of the other third-generation beastmasters would step in. Hence, additional backup examiners had been brought along from Rock City for this purpose.

“examinee 0001, please enter the arena within two minutes for your examination. examinee 0001...”

The arena’s announcements started calling out the numbers.

“Good luck!”

Fang Lan waved her small fists in encouragement at the waiting area. Even though Lu Ran was skilled, his opponent was a third-generation beastmaster.

Fang Lan was worried that he might feel nervous. After all, it was normal for fourth-generation beastmasters to struggle against third-generation beastmasters.

Lu Ran smiled in response. “Hmm.”

As Lu Ran stepped into the arena, the three examiners on the platform, the battle examiner, and all the examinees in the stands turned their attention to him.

“Lu Ran???”

In the audience, a group of beastmasters from Green Sea City suddenly exclaimed, setting off a chain reaction as others from their city also stood up to look.

They had traveled together, being examinees from the same city. Only Lu Ran and Fang Lan had been absent from their group earlier, having been transported here via a cat familiar. Seeing Lu Ran take the test first, they were all surprised.

“He’s going first," Yang Xishuai remarked in shock.

“Damn it, my lifelong rival—!”

“The first person is our Green Sea City’s strongest beastmaster,” Li Teng muttered.

Among Green Sea City beastmasters, debates over who was stronger, Lu Ran or Fang Lan, were ongoing. Some believed that Sudden Death King, Lu Ran’s familiar, might be an Overlord Species and possibly stronger than Five Poisons Saintess’, or Fang Lan’s, familiar.

Others argued that since the Five Poisons Saintess had appeared on the Heavenly Familiar Rankings, her’s was undeniably more powerful.

Regardless, these two were undoubtedly the strongest fourth generations in Green Sea City. Naturally, the city’s beastmasters were eager to see how Lu Ran would perform.

Other than them, few were familiar with Lu Ran. Limitless City, spanning several provinces, was home to numerous adventurers. Although some knew of Lu Ran, they were based in other examination zones outside Golden Hill.

Even Pluto, potentially present in Golden Hill, had shown no interest in the event and had not arrived early.

Dressed in a black casual outfit with red lightning patterns, Lu Ran stepped into the center of the arena.

“Summon your familiar according to the exam rules, and give it your all. Don’t overthink it. Just focus on demonstrating your talents,” the windbreaker-wearing examiner said into a microphone that projected his voice across the venue.

“To all examinees listening, I’ll say this once. When you come up here, unleash your full strength. Don’t complain later that you weren’t given a chance to shine. And remember this: My name is Wu Le, a third-generation beastmaster. Fight as if you’re aiming to defeat me!”

Wu Le obviously couldn’t take his time sparring with every examinee, giving them instructional fights. The most efficient approach was for each examinee to demonstrate their full potential immediately upon entering the arena.

He would hold back just enough to suppress the examinees, achieving the purpose of filtering talents out one by one. As he spoke, he summoned his familiar.

On the field, a summoning array lit up, and a burst of light materialized into a colossal rhino. The beast was over six meters long, with a shoulder height exceeding two meters.

Its limbs resembled iron pillars, its head was massive, and its body was covered in a hide that looked like a suit of armor. On its muzzle were twin sword-like horns, exuding a fearsome lethality.

“

Humph-moo!!!

”

The rhino let out a deep bellow the moment it was summoned, making the ground tremble faintly.

”A rhino!?”

The examinees couldn't help but groan in frustration.

This was the advantage of third-generation beastmasters. Secondary and tertiary familiars could be fierce beasts. For fourth-generation beastmasters, first familiars were usually small creatures like cats or dogs.

Just the thought of battling something as imposing and troublesome as this rhino left them feeling stumped. This type of beast had high defense, high attack power, and wasn’t slow either. It practically had no weaknesses. They could already picture how badly examinee 0001 was going to get beaten.

[Name: Giant Rock Rhino]

[Attribute: Rock]

[Species Rank: Intermediate-Champion]

[Level: 29]

Inside the arena, Lu Ran, one of the few equipped with a Mid-level Eye of Detection, was able to read the data on this rhino. Seeing the information, Lu Ran was surprised.

Why didn’t this examiner use a familiar above level 30?

For frontline third-generation beastmasters, familiar levels typically exceeded 30. So, was this not his main pet? Well, it made sense. With so many examinees to assess, all familiars would need to be used eventually. Starting with this one wasn’t a bad call.

For fourth-generation beastmasters, even a level 29 Giant Rock Rhino had immense suppressive power. Levels 1 to 20 were relatively easy to level up, it could be considered a period of rapid growth.

However, beyond level 20, progression slowed significantly, and even a one-level difference became substantial. At this moment, Lu Ran also summoned his own familiar.

“

Rawr!!!

”

Red lightning crackled, and the black dragon-like Sudden Death King made its earth-shattering appearance! Standing over three meters tall, this lizard-like creature stood upright on two legs like a kaiju, immediately stunning the other examinees.

The sheer aura of Sudden Death King was no less imposing than the Giant Rock Rhino’s. Its black-scaled armor, red pupils, and thunderous roar screamed power. This was no weakling.

“Is this his second familiar?”

Lu Bing and the others were taken aback.

So cool... way cooler than Captain Doofus.

“Who is this guy? That familiar, isn’t its base species the Red-Eyed Crocodile skink? Such a small lizard and he managed to grow it this huge?”

As Lu Ran summoned his familiar, the three examiners on the platform exchanged glances of surprise. This lizard didn’t look weak. Unfortunately, they didn’t have detailed data on the examinees.

Generally, a strong fourth-generation beastmaster could be identified just by the species of their familiar. However, Lu Ran kept a low profile. Unless he summoned Captain Doofus, the examiners wouldn’t know who he was.

And these preliminary examiners didn’t seem particularly high-profile themselves. Without a Mid-level Eye of Detection, they could only rely on experience to judge that Sudden Death King had a strong species and high level.

But they didn’t dwell on it. No matter how strong a fourth-generation beastmaster was, they couldn’t possibly match one of the third-generation. Examiner Wu Le himself thought the same.

Meanwhile, the audience seats were abuzz. The beastmasters from Green Sea City were busy explaining to examinees from other cities.

“That’s one of our Green Sea City beastmasters.”

“That Red-Eyed Crocodile Skink is incredible. Its defense is insane.”

“It’s got amazing defense? Even if a lizard has a good defense, it can’t possibly beat a rhino. Plus, the examiner’s familiar is of a higher level. That lizard is basically a punching bag.”

The others from different cities laughed.

As the chatter continued, Sudden Death King, who had taken quite a beating earlier in the morning, was already starting to charge up as the match began.

"

RAWR!!!

"

Even a clay figure has its temper. An overlord cannot be insulted! Can you handle this charged-up attack, born from enduring so many hits? Hmm? Can you!?

Just as Wu Le calmly prepared to toy with this fourth-generation junior for a bit, a terrifying surge of energy erupted from the arena! With a deafening roar, red lightning exploded from Sudden Death King’s body, stretching more than ten meters into the sky.

The immense energy condensed into a massive projection of an even larger Sudden Death King, this one clad in armor and wielding a shield! The enormous beastly projection instantly stunned everyone.

Even Wu Le and the other examiners were left jaw-dropped.

What the hell is this? This... This is a fourth-generation beastmaster's familiar skill?

The examiners were shocked, and the examinees in the audience were equally dumbfounded. Even Fang Lan and others familiar with Lu Ran were floored.

What’s up with this lizard?

“Examiner Wu, we’re about to attack. Are you not going to defend?” Lu Ran reminded politely.

This energy surge was entirely the result of Sudden Death King enduring a morning of blows! If Examiner Wu had summoned a familiar of level 30 or more, Lu Ran wouldn’t have hesitated to let Sudden Death King unleash its attack.

But seeing that this was only a level 20-something secondary pet, Lu Ran worried that the attack might be too much and end up electrocuting the poor rhino to death, so he gave a warning in advance.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Is this an illusion?”

Wu Le refused to believe a fourth-generation beastmaster could be this strong. He immediately commanded, “Amplifying Rock Charge!

“Go all out!” He encouraged his familiar.

Against a fourth generation, Wu Le hadn’t even considered activating his familiar’s Giant Trait or Berserk Trait, let alone using any advanced beastmaster skills. After all, he was a third-generation beastmaster.

Plus, he could already tell what Sudden Death King’s traits were. The red lightning was clearly the Body Reinforcement Trait, which meant that the familiar was likely focused on physical strength. That energy projection? Probably just for show.

The Giant Rock Rhino’s entire body surged with Rock-attribute energy, forming a close-fitting armor as it charged forward. Its twin horns, compressed and enhanced by multiple energy layers, aimed straight for Sudden Death King’s massive projection!

Three advanced energy techniques converged. It was a serious show of effort on Wu Le’s part.

Seeing this, Lu Ran didn’t hesitate either. The projection’s massive form leaned forward, slamming its Lightning Shield directly into the charging Giant Rock Rhino!

BOOM!!!

The massive shield came crashing down. Feeling an overwhelming pressure approaching, the Giant Rock Rhino’s expression shifted for the first time.

Disregarding its beastmaster’s orders, it instinctively began to enlarge its body, activating its Giant Trait in an attempt to resist, discarding all notions of pride as a “senior familiar.”

Halfway through enlarging, however, the pressure still loomed. The rhino roared desperately, calling for its beastmaster to use a skill! But it was too late.

A devastating wave of red lightning erupted out, shattering across the field as bolts of crackling electricity surged through the air. The thunderous blast forced all three examiners to stand up abruptly, while many examinees clutched their ears in shock.

When the chaos subsided, all that remained was a scorched, smoking rhino lying on the ground, muttering incoherently as it expelled puffs of black smoke.

At that moment, every beastmaster in the arena stared at the monstrous projection of Sudden Death King, and the calm Lu Ran standing behind it, in utter silence.

“Holy shit!”

The silence was soon replaced by gasps of disbelief. Beastmasters from other cities turned to Green Sea City’s representatives, their eyes wide with incredulity.

Is this what you meant by “insane defense”!?

By “insane defense,” you meant slamming a Lightning Shield down and instantly knocking out a third-generation beastmaster’s familiar!?

This is absurd! Who the hell is this guy!? Wasn’t Examiner Wu supposed to assess the students? How had he been defeated in less than thirty seconds?

The Green Sea City people were baffled. At this moment, Examiner Wu Le himself stood frozen in the arena like a defeated little shark.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Wait a second! Something feels... off here...