Chapter 171 - Soloing the Legendary, Destroying an Era (Part 3)

“

Roar...

”

The Diamond Dragon let out a low, mocking growl as if proclaiming its victory. But just then, Captain Doofus unleashed another sword qi, perfectly timed to strike while the dragon was distracted.

Boom!!!

The sword qi slammed into the Diamond Dragon, toppling it over once again. It roared ferociously and intended to stand to face the defenseless Captain Doofus who had no Sudden Death King to protect it anymore.

However, the venom had finally taken hold. The dragon’s energy flow slowed dramatically, and its once-imposing strength faltered. Now freed from needing Sudden Death King’s protection, Captain Doofus continuously launched relentless attacks.

“

Awoo!!!

”

Holding the swordgrass in its mouth, Captain Doofus continuously gathered and unleashed sword qi!

Gather, release!

As a Wind-attribute familiar, its skill execution speed was naturally faster than the Diamond Dragon’s.

Now, with the Diamond Dragon weakened by the poison, it had essentially turned into a live target. As long as they could take it down before it recovered, this battle would be theirs!

Of course, even if the Diamond Dragon had other hidden tricks and tried to retaliate, they were prepared. It thought it had completely immobilized Sudden Death King by pinning it to the wall.

Little did it expect for Sudden Death King to suddenly erupt with the power of its Lightning Flame Dragon. Lu Ran activated Flame Spirit, granting Sudden Death King the terrifying strength to break free of its crystallized restraints!

“

RAWR!!!

”

Sudden Death King stood once more, its mighty roar reverberating through the cavern. At this point, the main battle shifted entirely to Captain Doofus and the Diamond Dragon.

The Diamond Dragon, already knocked to the ground, was relentlessly bombarded by successive Dragon-Slaying Sword Qi amidst the lingering smoke. Even then, Captain Doofus was unsatisfied. It then directed its sword to strike directly at the Diamond Dragon.

Swish!!!

Amidst the sword qi bombardment, the Diamond Dragon, while battered and barely standing, lowered its head one last time in desperation. But it was too late. A fearsome swordgrass, overwhelmingly sharp, pierced effortlessly through its chest, penetrating its heart and drawing out its Dragon Blood.

The swordgrass hovered in the air, drinking greedily from its prey. Compared to sword qi, the raw power of the Longleaf Swordgrass itself was far more terrifying.

“We’re done.”

Lu Ran slung the Crow Feather Bow back onto his shoulder just as a system notification chimed in his ear.

[Congratulations on completing the secret realm mission!]

[Score: Perfect!]

[You have received 1,000,000 crystal coins.]

[You have received a Treasure resource: Dragon Heart (Infused with the essence of the Diamond Dragon’s heart, it significantly enhances scale defense and has a small chance of enabling Dragon subspecies to evolve into a true Dragonkin).]

[You have received a Unique resource: 100 upgrade cards.]

[You have received a beastmaster skill: Damage Transfer (Allows the user to transfer received damage to a designated contracted familiar).]

[You have received a Unique resource: Stone Dragon Egg (Low-King Species, Dragon subspecies).]

[You have received a Unique resource: Trait Crystal (Dragon King Bloodline: A unique crystal that imbues the fused familiar with a Dragon King bloodline, granting the potential to evolve into the pinnacle of Dragon species regardless of its original type).]

......

At this moment, the Limitless Cities appeared calm. Within Limitless City #7, Du Yuan and Youxiong Anlin were leisurely sipping their tea. The two had struck up a friendship after competing in the freshman competition.

“What do you think of Lu Ran’s teammates? Why haven’t they cleared the realm yet? Honestly, he’d have been better off bringing us along.”

“My Panda has mastered the second stage of Energy Flow. No matter how strong the opponent’s defenses are, I can channel damage directly into their core.”

“Your Space-attribute familiar is even more mysterious and unpredictable. If we’d teamed up with Lu Ran and his two familiars, we’d have cleared that place ages ago.”

“I heard something. Apparently, Lu Ran has a few fixed teammates. Fang Lan is one of them. But the others? They’re not even in the top 100... Lu Ran wouldn’t have approached them,” Du Yuan said as the corner of his mouth twitched.

Meanwhile, in the Eagle Federation, a first-generation beastmaster was being interviewed by the media. Just like in Xia, no fourth-generation beastmasters from the Eagle Federation or Snow Federation had cleared a Legendary Secret Realm.

The pressure wasn’t new to Xia. During the interview, this first-generation beastmaster, tasked with overseeing the development of fourth-generation elites, made a serious comment.

“Speed doesn’t represent everything. The rewards for clearing a Legendary Secret Realm are affected by the number of challengers.

“Our fourth-generation beastmasters in the Eagle Federation are showing greater courage by attempting duo challenges in the Legendary Secret Realms. Naturally, that means taking longer is to be expected.”

Across other major nations like Island Nation, Golden Nation, Cherry Blossom Nation, and Coffee Kingdom, their fourth-generation elites were also pushing hard to conquer Legendary Secret Realms.

The question lingering in everyone’s minds was clear:

Which beastmaster squad would claim the next Legendary Secret Realm? Who would be its members?

Finally, the day came. The long-anticipated system announcement rang out across the world, echoing in the ears of every beastmaster inside Limitless City.

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

[Congratulations...]

At the sound of this word, countless beastmasters tensed up. Many held their breath, hoping the announcement wouldn’t favor a rival nation.

“Which nation’s squad is it this time?”

“Is it a team from the second generation? Third? Fourth? Or the first generation?”

As speculation swirled, the next line of the announcement sent shockwaves across the globe.

[Congratulations to level 1 beastmaster, Pedestrian A, for solo-clearing the level 1 Legendary Secret Realm, Dragon King’s Nest, with a Perfect Rating and unlocking the path to Legendary.]

***

At that moment, the world fell into chaos. Across every nation, whether they were from the first, second, third, or fourth-generation, every beastmasters froze in shock.

Pedestrian A... Solo-clear... Legendary Secret Realm...? What kind of nonsense was this!?

***

In just a few moments, chaos erupted. Within the Limitless Cities, it was as though an earthquake had struck. Those traveling, eating, or shopping all paused their activities, frozen in disbelief.

The system announcement had ended, but tens of thousands of beastmasters still stood in shock. First came self-doubt, constantly asking themselves whether they were hearing it right. Then came certainty—they didn’t hear wrong. It really happened.

“Dear God, was that just one ID? This guy, did he really just solo-clear a Legendary Secret Realm???”

In the West, many beastmasters screamed in disbelief.

“Impossible! What kind of joke is this!?”

In Cherry Blossom Nation, a fourth-generation squad that had just returned empty-handed from a failed Legendary Secret Realm attempt sat dumbfounded as they heard the broadcast.

Solo-clearing a Legendary Secret Realm... Is that even humanly possible?

“Pedestrian A? Him? No way, absolutely no way.”

Meanwhile, the Tyrannosaurus Rex Squad, who had been suppressing their frustrations and training hard to defeat Lu Ran at level 30, collectively froze when the announcement hit. Their faces turned pale, and it was as if they’d been struck by lightning.

If it had been Xia’s fourth-generation squad clearing a Legendary Secret Realm, they could accept it. That would be normal. But why... was it a solo-clear?

Including England’s Royal Princess’ Knight Order, and the sibling duo with special abilities in Peacock Nation, countless fourth-generation teams that had successfully cleared Legendary Secret Realms stared at the sky.

It was as if they were trying to pierce through the spatial barrier and get a glimpse of the face behind the name Pedestrian A. The same thought lingered in all their minds.

How had someone solo-cleared such a challenging Legendary Secret Realm? Was it thanks to having overwhelming familiars? Special tools? Unique talents? A perfect strategy?

They had all of these too!

What was it that made this person different?

In that instant, Lu Ran’s name was imprinted deeply in the minds of countless fourth-generation elites across the globe.

Of course, the ones most shaken by this announcement were those in Xia.

“Pfft—!”

“Pfft—!”

The moment the announcement rang out, Youxiong Anlin and Du Yuan, who had been casually sipping tea, simultaneously spat their drinks all over each other’s faces. Their expressions were filled with shock.

“Holy shit,” the two exclaimed in unison as a cold chill traveled from their feet to the tops of their heads.

Did we just hear that right?

“Holy shit!”

From all directions, similar exclamations echoed, confirming to the duo that they hadn’t misheard. The Limitless City system had indeed broadcasted that Lu Ran had solo-cleared a Legendary Secret Realm.

“Motherfucker...” Their pupils shrank, their minds thrown into utter chaos.

“So this guy rejected our team invitations and delayed his clear attempts, not because he was dragging along some deadweight teammates, but because he was actually... attempting to solo-clear!?”

Youxiong Anlin abruptly stood up, the sheer madness of Lu Ran’s decision blowing his mind. It was unbelievable. The Royal Princess of England had the background to contract an Intermediate-King Species elemental familiar and was also a highly gifted beastmaster with a strong team of three knights for support.

And yet, even with all her advantages, Lu Ran had surpassed her with just himself.

“This guy actually pulled it off?” Du Yuan muttered blankly.

In Limitless City #1, #2, and #3... everyone erupted into a frenzy. Even in Lu Village, where several familiar figures like Pig Farmer were still grinding materials in beginner secret realms, heads shot up in unison with their mouths twitching uncontrollably.

White Tiger Sis, Snake Skin, and a few others who had previously joined Lu Ran in ascension realms nearly tripped over themselves, letting slip incredulous exclamations.

Even among the first-generation beastmasters, a group led by Gu Qingyi that were deep in discussion about their next Legendary Secret Realm strategy abruptly fell silent. A petite girl with special abilities, Lin Nian, blinked in surprise.

Turning to Gu Qingyi, she said, “This fourth-generation guy you found is pretty solid. Way better than my useless sister.”

“Don’t look at me, I’m just as surprised. I haven’t had any contact with him lately; I’ve been with you all the entire time,” Gu Qingyi responded, equally bewildered.

As a member of the first generation, she was naturally focused on conquering the Legendary Secret Realm and certainly had no time to bother with Lu Ran’s level 1 Legendary Secret Realm.

“Outrageous... A solo-clear...?” A grey-haired youth massaged his temples in disbelief.

“This guy’s ruthless. At this rate, it won’t be long before he catches up to us.”

Around them, several first-generation beastmasters were also jaw-dropped, struggling to comprehend what they’d just heard. It was as if they could sense the second-generation beastmasters being bullied by him on the Heavenly Familiar Ranking.

At this very moment, across all generations, whether it was the first, second, third, or most especially, the fourth, shockwaves rippled due to Lu Ran’s solo-clear. And the internet? It practically exploded.

[I used to wonder why Pedestrian A, such a powerhouse, hadn’t cleared a Legendary Secret Realm with a team yet. Now it’s clear. I was the one lacking vision. He doesn’t need a team. “I’ll take all the rewards myself” was his idea, huh?]

“Fuck, I’ve never admired someone more than I do now. The media’s been calling those fourth-generation teams who cleared Legendary Secret Realms the Golden Era? Forget that. Pedestrian A just single-handedly destroyed an entire era!”

“Guys, I just saw an interview with the Eagle Federation. They said their fourth-generation elites hadn’t cleared a level 1 Legendary Secret Realm yet because they’re attempting duo clears. Quick! Go spam their forums and tell them to try solo clearing!”

Following the Tyrannosaurus Rex Squad incident and now this Legendary Secret Realm solo clear, Lu Ran’s reputation among Xia’s fourth-generation beastmasters skyrocketed to legendary heights.

The phrase “Pedestrian A, one-man destroyer of the Golden Era” began spreading like wildfire, cementing his status as the era’s most talked-about figure.

Meanwhile, Lu Ran himself had maintained a low profile, saying nothing about the achievement. Internationally, the pressure emanating from his mere existence was palpable.

[This guy’s a monster.]

[What kind of insane luck does Xia have? I thought their first generation had already drained every last drop of their good fortune, but now they have a fourth-generation beastmaster like this?]

[I’ve got a bad feeling about this. This guy’s going to be a nightmare for every other nation.]

The buzz wasn’t limited to mainstream beastmaster communities, either. Even dark organizations and international underground forces were abuzz with the news.

And at the center of this storm, back in his private room, Lu Ran was casually sorting through the haul of his latest victory with Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King by his side.

“This haul is insane! Sudden Death King is going to ascend to a whole new level. However, our current strength isn’t enough. I relied way too much on external tools for this clear. The goal for the next one? No outside help— we’re going to truly solo it.” As he sifted through the rewards, excitement surged through him.

A Dragon Heart, Damage Transfer, a stone dragon egg, a Dragon King Bloodline Trait Crystal... Every single item seemed extraordinary. Even the ones he found less immediately useful, like the Stone Dragon Egg or the Damage Transfer Skill, held immense potential.

If sold, they could sell at sky-high prices—enough to trade for one-of-a-kind resources that could propel Captain Doofus into its next evolutionary stage.