Chapter 176 - Abducting a Chef

In the dormitory, Lu Ran had just ended his call with Fang Lan. Actually, Fang Lan had always been interested in Dragon-attribute familiar. She had previously discussed her idea with Lu Ran, saying that she wanted to evolve a Poison-attribute dragon.

However, as her understanding grew deeper, her thoughts changed. Now, Fang Lan only wanted the ultimate poison. She no longer wanted to waste a trait slot to make a Poison dragon.

After all, Dragon attributes offered no significant enhancements to poison. Instead, she wanted to continually stack various Poison-attribute traits to make her familiar’s poison even stronger. She’d rather just directly contract with a Poison-attribute dragon.

Once Lu Ran developed a stable route for draconic evolution, with dragonkin familiars available in various attributes, a Poison-attribute dragon baby would naturally be born.

Lu Ran couldn’t help but feel that Fang Lan’s approach was becoming more extreme. Her identity as a Poison-attribute beastmaster was growing more focused—a bit too focused. In her path of cultivation, she refused to introduce even the slightest impurity.

It seemed like the title of the world’s top poison master in the future would undoubtedly belong to her. She refused to deviate even slightly from her chosen path.

Soon, Lu Ran finished packing. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed Manager Ying returning with a yawn.

“You’re back again?”

Seeing its half-asleep state, Lu Ran assumed it hadn’t found Principal Shi Zhen and had come back to take a nap.

But to his surprise, Manager Ying tossed a Trait Crystal to him with a calm expression.

“Here.”

“Hm?”

Lu Ran caught the crystal and glanced at it with his Eye of Detection.

“No way! This fast? Did you negotiate with Principal Shi Zhen, or did you rob him?”

“Of course, I... Never mind, it’s not important. He was actually planning to give this Trait Crystal to one of his favorite nephews. But as a favor to me, he decided to trade it with you instead.”

Manager Ying wore a smug expression as if waiting for thanks.

“Also, he didn’t take your Stone Dragon Egg. All he asks is that you put in some effort later to research a curse-lifting cuisine. When the time comes, just return the favor with a Treasure-grade dish that can lift curses.

“Dragons are the creatures with the highest resistance to curses. You can research curse-lifting effects as part of your dragon cuisine studies. Once you have ideas, you can apply to the university for resources.”

“No problem.” Lu Ran nodded.

“

Hehe

.”

Manager Ying added, “As for compensation, I’ll deduct it from the proceeds when we sell the Stone Dragon Egg.”

It shot him a smug smile and headed to its room. Lu Ran watched it, deep in thought, feeling like something was off.

Forget it. It doesn’t matter. The Eye of the Evil God Trait is in my hands. The Stone Dragon Egg and the Diamond Dragon’s Blood can still be traded for other resources. Letting Manager Ying take a cut is reasonable.

He looked at the Eye of the Evil God Trait in his hands. Unfortunately, he needed to contract Dark Crow before he could use it.

That process would take about two months.

Maybe I should train Dark Crow’s vision in advance. They say you are what you eat, so I better start feeding it eyeballs for a month.

***

After finishing his packing, Lu Ran decided to return to Green Sea City. But just as he stepped out of his dorm, he saw a short-haired girl in a black training uniform holding her phone, seemingly navigating to a location.

“Lu...”

She stopped in front of a villa and was momentarily stunned to see Lu Ran coming out of the house.

“Lu Ran!”

Lu Ran looked at the short-haired girl and said in surprise, “Xia Ri? Were you looking for me?”

The person was none other than Xia Ri, the successor of the old rival of Master Jiang Dou, and a freshman beastmaster who had mastered spear intent.

“Mhmm... Congratulations on clearing the Legendary Secret Realm,” Xia Ri said, lowering the phone in her hand and blushing slightly.

After seemingly making a significant decision, she said, “I came to ask if you’re still taking students... Didn’t you say in the arena before that if I followed you to learn cooking, it would take my spear intent to the next level?”

“That’s right,” Lu Ran replied.

“But you left right after, so I thought you weren’t interested.”

That was over a month ago.

“I asked the school about transferring majors, but they said your classes are advanced and not currently available. They told me to contact you privately,” Xia Ri said seriously.

“However, during that time, I was working with school advisors to choose my second familiar, so this matter was delayed.

“There is also another reason I’m looking for you. I initially thought I could improve my spear intent on my own. But after hearing about you soloing the Legendary Secret Realm today...”

The capable are worthy of teaching. She no longer cared that Lu Ran was younger than her. As long as she could learn, she was willing to follow Lu Ran and learn cooking. Anything to grow stronger.

“You want to learn how to use spear intent independently of your familiar’s power, right?” Lu Ran asked.

He had studied this subject deeply, having mastered the technique himself. Although he learned it through Super Beast Mimicry, the sword intent became entirely his own once mastered. Moreover, Lu Ran had a natural talent for such things.

By combining enhanced brain development with precise control of his body, he had perfected the Precise Knife Technique. This led him to develop a profound understanding of how he, as a human, learned and mastered sword intent.

Not only had he mastered it, but he also understood how to teach others to do the same. In fact, Lu Ran had been experimenting with creating martial arts, trying to invent a system similar to the Precise Knife Technique to help ordinary people grasp sword intent.

This research was primarily for Master Jiang Dou, as Lu Ran wanted to surprise him. After all, the old master had pursued sword intent his entire life. Missing the chance simply because he wasn’t a beastmaster would be a shame.

Thus, as someone already working on creating skills, Lu Ran was more than qualified to guide Xia Ri. Master Jiang Dou’s praise of Lu Ran as a rare swordsmanship prodigy in a decade wasn’t without reason.

Even Captain Doofus had easily grasped sword intent, largely due to the weapon talent feedback gained through Lu Ran’s Super Beast Mimicry. Otherwise, Captain Doofus would likely have only understood ordinary intent, not sword intent.

“Yes.”

Xia Ri felt she had reached her limit. Challenging an ascension realm of Hell difficulty at the same level might be manageable, but attempting a Legendary Secret Realm was far beyond her current capability. Clearly, she also aspired to challenge a Legendary Secret Realm, perhaps even clearing it solo like Lu Ran.

“Besides, there’s also Dark Spear Intent,” Xia Ri added.

“This spear intent—I want to wield it independently without relying on my familiar.”

“Hm? What spear intent?”

Lu Ran blinked, then asked, “What is this Dark Spear Intent?”

Xia Ri explained, “Something my second familiar can use. I ultimately formed a contract with a Black Panther. Its comprehension ability was exceptional."

“Through my nurturing, it mastered the Night Intent Formation, enabling it to use Dark energy to completely devour sunlight within a specific area, creating a night-like domain. It can also deprive opponents of their vision through attacks.

“After fusing with it, I developed a similar ability akin to Dark Spear Intent, which contrasts sharply with Scorching Fire Spear Intent. However, I can’t wield either one independently. I feel that to elevate my strength further, I must learn to wield the power of intent formation on my own.”

“Another one? Why does it feel like intent formation is such a common thing for you?” Lu Ran couldn’t help but comment.

“Hm? Isn’t it the same for you?” Xia Ri retorted.

Lu Ran went silent.

“It might also be related to my beastmaster skills. My first beastmaster skill is fusion, and the second, acquired after breaking through an ascension realm, is Comprehension Boost, which enhances a familiar’s ability to comprehend.”

“I see.”

Still, that is impressive.

Comprehension Boost was a unique beastmaster skill that he hadn’t heard of before.

Lu Ran fell into deep thought.

As expected of the fourth-ranked freshman.

In the absence of Lin Yin with special abilities, Xia Ri, despite her simple background, had risen to fourth place, defeating Overlord Species like those Pluto and Dog King had. There was clearly a reason for her success. She must have learned spear intent early and used it to perform well in ascension realms. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have earned such a rare skill.

“That’s doable. Techniques are interconnected. Once you grasp one, the rest will naturally follow. If you had come earlier, I might not have been free, but I’ll be relatively free for the next month,” Lu Ran said.

“Come with me to Green Sea City. By the way, that’s my hometown.”

Lu Ran maintained a composed expression, but inside he was pleased. Having Xia Ri follow him to Green Sea was a stroke of luck. Her Scorching Fire Spear Intent, which could temporarily be called Solar Culinary Intent, was perfect for cooking. His Flame Spirit could absorb and grow from this energy.

Moreover, she could refine her Dark Culinary Intent by creating Dark Cuisine for Dark Crow. Lu Ran had been troubled that the food he prepared wasn’t suitable for Dark Crow.

After all, his Blizzard Culinary Intent and Flame Dragon Culinary Intent were suited for Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King, respectively. There was nothing in the realm of Dark, Spirit, or Curse-type culinary intent to benefit Dark Crow. And now, here was a ready-made culinary genius.

She could practice culinary intent by crafting dishes as rewards for his familiars. This unexpected culinary apprentice was a delightful surprise. He had to bring her to Green Sea as a temporary cultivator for Dark Crow!

Of course, Lu Ran wouldn’t take advantage of her for nothing. He intended to teach her his techniques, including the experience of wielding sword intent and culinary intent independently. He might even impart advanced techniques like Dragon Culinary Intent.

“All right.” Xia Ri had no objections to going to Green Sea City.

“Then let’s go. Buy a ticket to Golden Hill City now, and we’ll transfer there,” Lu Ran said.

“So soon?” Xia Ri was startled.

“Time is money.”

***

Green Sea. After requesting leave from the Combat Department, Xia Ri followed Lu Ran to his hometown. For accommodations, Lu Ran’s house was spacious enough that he simply assigned her an empty room.

After taking a taxi from the airport to Starlight Mansions District, the two got out of the car. Suddenly, Xia Ri noticed a black bird of prey swooping down from the sky. It was a giant crow!

“Enemy attack!”

Xia Ri’s eyebrows furrowed as she pulled out her spear, scaring Lu Ran into hurriedly intervening.

“It’s one of ours,” Lu Ran quickly clarified.

Of course, that was none other than Dark Crow, who ignored Xia Ri and looked directly at Lu Ran.

“

Wu, wu, wu, wu

, my king, I was busy practicing sniping and didn’t notice your return.”

With that, Dark Crow pounced on Lu Ran, leaving Xia Ri bewildered. Naturally, Lu Ran pushed it away.

“A talking crow! Wait, what does it mean by sniping?” Xia Ri remained confused.

“And why does it call you its king?”

“Well, it’s a long story. Anyway, welcome to Green Sea City. This is, uh, my future third familiar, I guess. Hmm. Dark Crow, this is Xia Ri, a culinary apprentice following me here.

“She’s skilled at grilling and creating Dark Cuisine,” Lu Ran said with a sly smile, rubbing his chin.

“From now on, you’ll be responsible for tasting her Dark Cuisine.”

“Ah?”

Xia Ri tensed up.

Grilling? Dark Cuisine?

She quickly composed herself.

Fine, whatever Lu Ran says. As long as I can grow stronger...

“Understood!”

Dark Crow then scrutinized Xia Ri. “You scared me. I thought she was the queen consort, but she’s just a cook.”

“What?” Lu Ran was as shocked as Xia Ri was.

“Maybe you should just shut up.”

Lu Ran, exasperated by Dark Crow’s antics, pulled out an egg.

“Go hatch this egg.”

“What???”

Now, Dark Crow was the shocked one.

Hatch an egg??? My king! I am your subject, not your consort.

Beside them, Xia Ri’s vision darkened.

Isn’t this the familiar egg from the competition? And he’s giving it to a crow? The people and creatures of Green Sea City are so strange!

“It’s just for supervision,” Lu Ran explained.

He wanted Dark Crow to get acquainted with it. When he entered the next ascension realm, he would need the help of Manager Ying and Dark Crow to calm the baby. Since they’d be teammates in the future, Dark Crow needed time to adjust.