Chapter 177 - The King and the General’s First Encounter (Part 1)

Lu Ran quickly arranged for Xia Ri to move in. After reaching home, Lu Ran released Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King. Seeing Xia Ri, the two familiars felt puzzled.

However, their confusion didn’t last long as they ran off together to watch television.

Tom and Jerry, start!

As for Dark Crow, it stayed silent at the side, hugging a giant egg...

How the heck do I hatch this thing?

When Lu Ran finished tidying up, Xia Ri had almost completed organizing her room as well. Seeing her, Lu Ran called her over and led her to the adjacent gym. He activated a massive punching machine, prompting a curious expression from Xia Ri.

She watched as Lu Ran calmly struck the punching machine.

Beep beep beep...

The score was 150. He punched again.

Beep...

The score was 150 once more. Lu Ran punched a total of five times, each scoring exactly 150.

After the demonstration, he turned to Xia Ri and said, “Your turn. Punch three times. No need to exert your full strength—just control the force and make sure each punch is consistent.”

“Like this?” Xia Ri followed his instructions and punched three times.

The scores displayed were 163, 142, and 152. Seeing the results, Xia Ri fell into contemplation.

Lu Ran chuckled. “This score reflects the force of the punches. It’s clear your control over strength isn’t perfect yet. To master your spear intent, you’ll need to start by practicing this.

“Your control over strength depends on your brain domain. The key to wielding spear intent lies in spiritual will, which is also linked to the brain domain. Both are closely connected. I have a set of basic knife techniques for you—learn and practice them.

“The main purpose of this technique is to develop your brain domain, thereby enhancing your control over your body. Mastering it is the first critical step toward your path to Transcendence.

“Of course, you don’t need an actual knife. A sword or spear works just as well. When you can punch like I did, keeping the power discrepancy within three points, we’ll move on to the next step.”

“Alright!”

At that moment, Xia Ri was certain Lu Ran could teach her. As she learned the basic knife techniques he taught, she hesitated before asking, “This must be quite rare, right?”

“It’s decent, yeah—pretty rare. But over in the Research Department’s training specialization, there are similar techniques. Honestly, I don’t understand why you all chose the Combat Department.

“All the truly rare theoretical knowledge is in niche fields like the Cultivation Department, Research Department, or Medical Department... You should switch your major as soon as possible.”

“What???” Xia Ri was stunned.

Just like that?

Lu Ran yawned. For a genius, it was exactly like that—the material taught in the Combat Department was largely redundant, already mastered by gifted individuals. It was better to delve into niche fields to further enhance one’s strength.

The training specialization over there had always focused on researching ways to enable Blue Planet humans to unlock the beastmaster space. Beyond that, they explored methods for rapidly elevating beastmaster skill levels and techniques for direct human practice.

Techniques like the Precise Knife Technique for human training were indeed available there. Lu Ran had learned about this from Manager Ying.

However, techniques functionally similar to the Precise Knife Technique didn’t exist. Most were aimed at health preservation or body strengthening.

Including the Precise Knife Technique, Lu Ran felt these skills resembled the martial arts manuals from Blue Planet’s wuxia dramas.

Though they couldn’t match the power of beastmaster skills, they were rare and valuable because they didn’t occupy skill slots or rely on familiars.

Lu Ran speculated that these skills were likely precursors to beastmaster abilities, developed by the humans of the Stellar Moon Continent before the beastmaster civilization was fully established. They were originally used to strengthen the body and combat fierce beasts.

Although eventually replaced by beastmaster skills, they continued to be passed down in small circles.

In short, Lu Ran thought the Precise Knife Technique was quite impressive as a method to develop brain function. The ancestors of the boss lady must have been extraordinary.

It made sense—how could Manager Long have been appointed as the challenger’s guide manager in Limitless City without some remarkable background?

“You should head to the courtyard and practice on your own for now. Once you've got the basics, there’ll be another training task: maintaining spear intent projection.”

“Maintaining spear intent projection?”

“I’ve watched a lot of your combat footage. You usually fight at close range with your spear, right? You rarely use it for ranged attacks.”

“Yes,” Xia Ri admitted.

“Projection-type skills waste too much stamina—it’s impossible to sustain long battles using them.”

In secret realms, relying on projection skills frequently made clearing them nearly impossible. Advancing with a spear for close combat often yielded smoother results.

“Yeah... everyone starts that way.”

Both Lu Ran and Captain Doofus had faced this challenge at first. However, after Captain Doofus fused with the Nature Manipulation Trait, energy shortages were no longer an issue. Its total available energy now far exceeded that of most level 30 familiars.

“Still, you need to practice. This is also part of mastering spear intent. It’ll deepen your understanding of it.

"When the time comes, you’ll take an iron skewer and practice by grilling meat. When you can maintain spear intent on the grilled meat for over five minutes, you’ll pass.”

“Oh, and your crystal coin reserves should be quite ample by now, right? I suggest buying a dozen Soul Cleansing Fruits to speed up your progress.

“Your familiar has the Comprehension Boost skill, and you have Soul Cleansing Fruits. You should pick it up quickly.” Lu Ran pondered for a moment.

“Hmm, you probably don’t have any right now. I’ll lend you ten. Make sure to transfer the coins to me later.”

Having arranged everything, Lu Ran made a grand gesture, and 10 Soul Cleansing Fruits materialized. After becoming wealthier, Lu Ran had stocked up on 100 Soul Cleansing Fruits and now treated them as post-meal snacks.

“This... I’ll practice hard...”

Xia Ri’s lips twitched as she stared at the ten fruits. She guessed that Lu Ran had likely spent a fortune on these resources that temporarily boosted learning ability. It was true, there was nothing scarier than an opponent who was not only talented but also willing to spend extravagantly and work hard.

***

Limitless City #3.

After getting the new chef set up, Lu Ran returned here.

Crystal coin balance: 1,962,000

Equipment: Divine Deer Pendant (Epic), Spirit-Converting Pot (Treasure), Longleaf Swordgrass (Treasure), Inscription Stone (Rare)

Resources: Diamond Dragon Heart (Treasure), Ethereal Flower (Treasure), Trait Crystal (Dragon King Bloodline, Eye of the Evil God), Beastmaster Skill Cards (Undead Resurrection, Damage Transfer), Soul Cleansing Fruits x88, Upgrade Cards x116, various Rare ingredients and minerals.

At this point, Lu Ran could only be described as a wealthy overlord. Even compared to the first-generation beastmasters, his total assets undoubtedly placed him among the richest in the world.

If anyone managed to defeat him and seize his possessions, they would instantly attain immense wealth.

This time, Lu Ran visited Limitless City #3 with the intention of purchasing eye-related resources. Wearing a mask, he quickly reached a shop, made his purchase, and left.

[Name: Dark Sea Pearl ]

Grade: Rare

Description: The pupil of a Dark Sea Octopus King. When consumed by Dark-attribute lifeforms, it effectively enhances spiritual vision and Dark energy intensity. However, consumption by non-Dark-attribute creatures may lead to severe side effects, potentially resulting in permanent blindness.

Price: 10,000 crystal coins per unit

Without hesitation, Lu Ran purchased 60 Dark Sea Octopus Eyes.

Crystal Coin Balance: 1,362,000

When it came to resources, Lu Ran spared no expense. Even Captain Doofus's meals had been upgraded. No longer limited to meager portions costing a few thousand crystal coins per day, each meal was now valued at over 10,000 crystal coins.

Enhancement-type Rare resources, which fourth-generation beastmasters painstakingly saved for occasional purchases, had become Lu Ran's familiars’ daily fare.

At this rate, with his cultivation methods, Lu Ran would undoubtedly catch up to third-generation beastmasters in no time.

After returning, Lu Ran also planned to upgrade Captain Doofus's contract card. He estimated that when he broke through to the next level, Captain Doofus would be close to level 30, even if it didn’t quite reach it.

As for Sudden Death King, it was already over-nourished with an abundance of draconic delicacies. Fortunately, Lu Ran didn't need to buy additional supplies for it—Beastmaster University provided plenty of resources to help him practice Culinary Intent.

Even Dark Crow had been outfitted with a premium collection of Dark-attribute resources. By the time these were fully absorbed, it would likely surpass level 20.

The rewards from the Heavenly Familiar Rankings and Legendary Secret Realm had taught Lu Ran an important lesson:

Crystal coins exist to enhance strength. With greater strength, one earns more coins.

Big money isn't saved—it's earned!