Chapter 163 - First Clear of the Legendary Secret Realm

Lu Ran spent the next two days in Green Sea. During this period, he focused mainly on cultivating Dark Crow and Mystic Turtle. He purchased a substantial amount of Dark-attribute and Spirit-attribute resources from Limitless City to aid Dark Crow.

As for Mystic Turtle, it enjoyed two days of Dragon Culinary Intent meals identical to the ones served to Sudden Death King! Ocean resources were far richer than those on land.

Since the coastal areas near Green Sea fell under Green Sea City’s jurisdiction, Lu Ran naturally couldn’t ignore such bountiful resources.

Previously, he hadn’t paid attention to them due to insufficient strength. Now, as long as the coastal areas didn’t have deep-sea species at level 40 or 50, controlling them would be relatively easy. Besides, Lu Ran planned to use the old turtle as an experimental subject to study dragon-type evolution.

As a Dragon Chef, his ultimate goal was to establish a stable dragon-type evolution path. The single evolution case of Sudden Death King wasn’t enough to draw conclusions. Sufficient experimental samples were essential.

In the future, Beastmaster University, which provided Dragon-attribute resources, would surely send a batch of experimental subjects. However, as a researcher, Lu Ran naturally had the right to expand the pool of experimental subjects.

Therefore, cultivating the Beast Generals of Green Sea as part of his research was entirely reasonable. In truth, Fire Snake would have been the ideal experimental subject.

Its Fire attribute made it well-suited for the preparation of Flame Dragon Culinary Intent. However, Lu Ran wasn’t particularly familiar with it, so he chose the trustworthy old turtle for cultivation.

A few days later, with the start of the academic year approaching, Lu Ran returned to Sky City. By this time, the Dragon-type research lab dedicated to him had already been completed at the university.

Adjacent to it, a Dragon-type resource vault was constructed, stocked with abundant Advanced and Rare Dragon-type resources.

It even housed Treasure Dragon-type resources, including the Dragon King Bird Meat Slices Manager Ying had procured earlier. This time, Dr. Gu and Principal Shi Zhen jointly provided 50 slices for Lu Ran’s preliminary research.

Upon seeing the room filled with Dragon-type ingredients, Lu Ran was dazzled. But he knew better than to just toss them on a grill or something. Although such preparation could be classified as Dragon Culinary Intent, it would undoubtedly be the most rudimentary form.

With such an array of Dragon-type ingredients at his disposal, Lu Ran’s priority was to study complex dishes that combined multiple ingredients to produce unique effects. If he wanted to unravel the Dragon-type evolution path, this was the critical approach.

Sadly, on the Blue Planet, there weren’t any other Dragon Chefs or ready-made Dragon-type recipes, so Lu Ran had to figure things out the hard way—trial and error. Thankfully, his Flame Spirit skill significantly reduced the cost of trial and error.

Additionally, recipes were somewhat transferable. Upon returning, Lu Ran first delved into the nutritional knowledge housed in the university’s library, studying the recipes for blizzard-type cuisine such as extraordinary ice cream, frozen jelly, and chilled fruit tea.

“Let’s do this! As long as I can evolve the first batch of Dragon-types, everything will fall into place. At that point, the next phase of research will shift to breeders. They’ll tackle how to enable Dragon-attributed familiars to reproduce, creating more purebred Dragon-types...”

Right when Lu Ran was gearing up for classes, something huge went down in Limitless City—something that shook entire nations.

On this day, in Xia’s Limitless City #1 to Limitless City #7, beastmasters from all generations were busy with their own affairs. Suddenly, a system broadcast rang in their ears.

[Congratulations to the level 3 beastmasters Ice King, Snow King, Frost King, and Winter King for conquering the level 3 Legendary Secret Realm, Frozen Ground, thus embarking on the path of Legendary.]

The announcement blasted across Xia, stirring up a frenzy. No—scratch that, it rocked the whole world. Unlike the announcements for the Heavenly Familiar Ranking, which were limited to the Beastmaster Squares of individual Limitless Cities, this broadcast was global, similar to the updates when the beastmaster population reached 100,000 or 1,000,000.

“Ice King, Snow King, Frost King, Winter King? Who are they?”

At first, some fourth-generation beastmasters in Xia thought the announcement was about a local team clearing a level 3 Legendary Secret Realm. However, those four names were completely unfamiliar—no one had a clue who they were.

“They’re the four kings of Ice, Snow, Frost, and Winter, the top beastmasters of Snow Federation’s third generation, not from our country.”

“The Frozen Ground Secret Realm isn’t even located here.”

“Shit! A foreign team already cleared a Legendary Secret Realm???”

Since the debut of Legendary Secret Realms, countries have been observing cautiously. Some had even begun their attempts at conquering them.

Yet, almost a week had gone by without a single success. Now, the first clear was finally announced, but to the dismay of most countries, the victors weren’t from their own!

The Eagle Federation, in particular, felt deeply aggrieved. Not only had the announcement been made in such a high-profile global manner, but their old rival had claimed the first conquest.

Having been repeatedly outdone by Lu Ran and now the four kings of Ice, Snow, Frost, and Winter, the elders of the Eagle Federation were seething with rage.

Meanwhile, Lu Ran, who had been diligently working, stopped what he was doing to focus on the news. He was genuinely shocked.

Lu Ran didn’t know exactly how tough Snow Federation’s Legendary Secret Realm was, but Xia’s had an Intermediate-Overlord Species as its boss. Theirs was unlikely to be any easier.

That team is impressive. So, these four were the Snow Federation’s third-generation beastmasters?

By comparison, Lu Ran felt that Xia’s third-generation beastmasters seemed a bit weak.

No wonder the international forums often claimed that Xia’s strength lay only in its first generation. The second and third generations were considered underwhelming.

Unlike Xia’s apparent gap between generations, other nations might not have particularly strong first generations, but their second and third generations boasted numerous powerhouses.

This was also why Xia placed so much emphasis on cultivating fourth-generation beastmasters, even establishing Beastmaster University. If the fourth generation couldn’t step up, Xia’s beastmaster dominance would be done for.

In contrast, the Snow Federation’s third-generation beastmasters were formidable. Some were so powerful that they could easily overpower second-generation beastmasters from other nations.

Now, the Snow Federation’s third-generation beastmaster team had claimed the first Legendary Secret Realm clear. While the details of their strategies, struggles, or sacrifices weren’t public, one thing was certain. They were destined to become globally renowned as pioneers.

[Breaking News! A Friend of Mine in the Snow Federation...]

As Lu Ran mulled over this news, a thread caught his attention on the beastmaster forum, quickly gaining traction with over 2,000 comments.

[Spicy Rabbit Head: Guys, big news! A friend of mine who’s also a beastmaster is studying abroad in the Snow Federation. Can you guys guess what is something unbelievable he found out in their Limitless City #1???

[It’s not about the four kings of Ice, Snow, Frost, and Winter entering the King Heavenly Familiar Ranking! That’s irrelevant! It’s that the Frozen Ground Secret Realm has completely disappeared from the secret realm system after being cleared!

[Once it was cleared, it vanished and was replaced by an entirely new level 3 Legendary Secret Realm! People are speculating that Legendary Secret Realms are one-time only, and the rewards for first clears are unique!”

[Highlighted Comments #1: Is this for real??? If you’re lying, you have a small dick! What about those guys who almost cleared it but didn’t? They must be ready to cough up blood from frustration!]

[Highlighted comment #2: Makes sense. If you’re not strong enough, tough luck. With these insane difficulty levels, the first-clear rewards better be god-tier.]

As Lu Ran read through the post, he frowned. Right then, Manager Ying showed up.

“Lu Ran!!! Did you see the news?”

“Yeah, I did,” Lu Ran said. “I also saw a post saying Legendary Secret Realms might be one-time only.”

Manager Ying replied, “That’s correct, Xia just obtained first-hand intel from the Snow Federation, and I got my hands on it to share with you. Legendary Secret Realms are indeed one-time only.

“Once conquered, they disappear, replaced by a brand-new Legendary Secret Realm. However, these new realms are only accessible to beastmasters who haven’t cleared a Legendary Secret Realm of that level before. Those who’ve already cleared one can’t participate in new ones.”

“So, essentially, every beastmaster can only clear each level of a Legendary Secret Realm once. Am I right?” Lu Ran asked, surprised.

“And get this—the rewards? They're supposed to be insane. Like, once-in-a-lifetime, dream-come-true level stuff.

“Clearing one of these realms? It’s basically your golden ticket to becoming a Legendary beastmaster. Perhaps the very purpose of these realms is to screen and accelerate the development of top-tier beastmasters.

“Additionally, the scoring system for Legendary Secret Realms differs from common secret realms and ascension realms. It’s graded in four ratings with the lowest being Common, Good, Excellent, and then Perfect being the highest.”

“According to the four kings, the score is determined by the number of participants. A four-person team clearing the realm receives a Common rating, a two-person team earns Excellent, and a solo clear achieves Perfect. They speculate that the rewards escalate significantly with higher scores.”

“That scoring system is so brutal,” Lu Ran couldn’t help but mutter.

“What’s the progress on Xia’s Legendary Secret Realm conquest?”

Manager Ying sighed. “The second and third generations? No hope at all. Just one glance at the boss, and they’re practically obliterated. The first generation split into two teams, taking turns at it, but unless they’re ready to throw bodies at the problem, there’s no way they’re clearing it.

“And that kind of sacrifice is something the first generation cannot afford. So, they’re stuck at a stalemate, withdrawing at the first sign of danger.

“In short, we can’t count on the second or third generations anymore. The only ones with real potential are you fourth generations.

“I’m telling you this so you can prioritize challenging the Dragon King’s Nest. Don’t rush into ascension realms just yet. Since each Legendary Secret Realm offers a one-time unique reward, missing out would be a real shame.

“If you find the Dragon King’s Nest too difficult, you could visit the public realms in Limitless City and check out other Legendary Secret Realms. Right now, each region’s got their own Legendary Secret Realms.

”I judge that moving forward, countries will likely actively begin cooperating and send exchangers to swap secret realm challenges. Some realms are just a better fit depending on your beast's attributes and the boss’s type.

“No, the Dragon King’s Nest suits me well. After all, the boss is Dragon-type, which means it’s likely to drop Dragon-type resources. That could be invaluable for researching Dragon-type evolution.”

Lu Ran was not intending to choose level 1 secret realms from other places as he thinks that the Diamond Dragon is sufficient.

Of course, the problem now is that I can’t defeat it. With some extra training and a carefully selected team of Xia’s strongest fourth-generation beastmasters, maybe there’s hope.

However, after hearing about the scoring system’s reliance on the number of participants, Lu Ran hesitated. The Perfect rating’s rewards were bound to be significantly better than the Common rating.

Even so, one thing was clear—the time to enter ascension realms may be delayed. It would indeed be too big a loss to ascend without completing a level 1 Legendary Secret Realm first. The fourth-generation beastmasters were in an advantageous position compared to the earlier generations.

Since the first, second, and third generations could no longer challenge lower levels of Legendary Secret Realms, the fourth generation could work their way up from level 1 to level 3 Legendary Secret Realms, claiming multiple one-time unique rewards along the way.

Originally, Lu Ran had planned to hit the ascension realms in a month, just in time to contract his third familiar once the egg hatched. But on second thought, there was no real need to rush. Delaying the contract wouldn’t be a significant issue.

A newly hatched familiar would be at its most innocent and carefree stage. Immediately contracting it and throwing it into brutal battles to clear secret realms felt unnecessarily cruel. Giving it a little more time to grow seemed kinder.

“Manager Ying, could you help me request a portion of those 50 slices of Dragon King Bird Meat? I’ll allocate some of them to Captain Doofus as well.

“You know how it is. Last time, just a quarter-slice of roasted meat helped it comprehend Dragon-Slaying Sword Intent. If I give it more, it should be able to level up the intent faster and deal greater damage to the Diamond Dragon.

“If we manage to clear the Dragon King’s Nest, its rewards could significantly advance Dragon-type evolution research.”

“That makes sense,” Manager Yin replied.

“Take whatever you need, no need for a formal request. It’s all Little Qingyi’s stuff anyway...”

“Still, we should follow the standard procedures and explain things clearly,” Lu Ran said, somewhat embarrassed.

After all, these resources were officially designated for studying Dragon-type evolution. With so many stakeholders watching, feeding everything to familiars before the research even began might raise a few eyebrows.