Chapter 185 - Before the Ascension

At this very moment, all parties were closely watching out for news on the Evolution Secret Realm. As the newest secret realm update, every generation of beastmasters was curious about its potential rewards.

After all, the entry fee of 100,000 crystal coins was no small expense. For the fourth-generation beastmasters, it was a significant sum. Many fourth gens chose to wait and see.

They wanted to observe the evolution outcomes of others first. If the benefits proved substantial, they were determined to scrimp and save enough crystal coins to undergo evolution there. Of course, not every fourth generation chose to wait.

Just like Lu Ran, the others from the Golden Generation who had already cleared the level 1 Legendary Secret Realm faced a challenging decision.

***

Europe, the Foggy City.

Dressed in her battle attire, the Princess of Light listened to her private teacher’s analysis.

“The first batch of entrants to the Evolution Secret Realm will undoubtedly be numerous. The first-generation, second-generation, and third-generation beastmasters, who are raising new familiars, won’t miss this opportunity.

“But only the top ten familiars with the highest evolution potential will receive Stellar Blessings. If it were only a domestic competition or a competition solely for the fourth-generation beastmasters, your familiar would have a high chance of being blessed.

”However, with entrants spanning all generations of beastmasters, the competitive pressure will be immense. Although you’ve earned rewards from the Legendary Secret Realm, the beastmasters from the first and second generations have gone through numerous ascension realms, each offering rare and unique rewards.

“Their accumulated foundation cannot be bridged by just one Legendary Secret Realm.

“Think carefully. Should you rush into the ascension realm to strive to enter the Evolution Secret Realm with the first batch, or observe and wait for its second opening?

“Although we don’t know when the second opening will occur, it likely won’t take too long—maybe three months at most.”

The golden-haired princess, her features elegant, pondered briefly before responding. “Teacher, there’s no need to deliberate further. I must seize this opportunity. The competition during the first round will be fierce, but the second round won’t necessarily be easier.

“By then, the fourth-generation beastmasters will likely have a chance to access the Evolution Secret Realm. If the rewards turn out to be abundant, even beastmasters from the first, second, and third generations, who originally weren’t planning to nurture new familiars, might reconsider and raise new ones.

“In that case, the competition during the second round could be even more intense. There’s no room for hesitation. If I don’t seize every opportunity, I’ll forever be second-guessing myself and will never be at the forefront.

“If that boy from Xia, Lu Ran, who single-handedly cleared the Legendary Secret Realm chooses to hesitate and wait this time while I forge ahead as a first-batch pioneer, won’t I surpass him and stay ahead?”

“Well said.”

The princess’ teacher smiled with satisfaction. She was truly someone born of royal blood and trained in beastmastering for three years. Such resolve made it nearly impossible not to become strong.

This kind of decision-making scenario occurred among many elite fourth-generation beastmasters. However, the focus of some nations wasn’t on the fourth generation.

***

Eagle Federation, Dinosaur Life Research Institute.

Dr. Haydn, the head of the project, was holding a meeting with his research team.

“Not long ago, our Tyrannosaurus Rex Squad was defeated by Xia’s Dragon Chef, Lu Ran, and we became an international laughing stock! But I’m pleased to see that you’ve turned shame into motivation, achieving significant progress in such a short time.

“This Evolution Secret Realm has appeared at the perfect time. We must leverage this opportunity to conduct our second Dinosaur-to-Dragon Experiment! If we succeed, it will be the best counterattack against the media!”

The Dinosaur Project had already conducted one evolution experiment, where third-generation beastmasters were tasked with nurturing dinosaur familiars to level 30 and then evolving them. However, every single attempt at dragonization failed.

The Tyrannosaurus Rex Squad’s fourth-generation members were the second group of experimenters. Dr. Haydn and his team had prepared custom beastmaster skills for them to enhance the success rate of dragonization.

Due to the level restrictions of fourth-generation beastmasters, this experiment had not yet reached the final step: Phase 1 Evolution.

Now, with the appearance of the Evolution Secret Realm, Dr. Haydn and his team felt they could temporarily shift their focus away from the Tyrannosaurus Rex Squad. They planned to recruit another batch of third-generation beastmasters and let them contract new dinosaur familiars.

After that, using their latest research findings in combination with the Evolution Secret Realm’s power, they would attempt dragonization again! If successful, they would become the greatest beneficiaries of this Evolution Secret Realm.

“If that Dragon Chef, Lu Ran, is also researching dragon-attribute evolutions, his experimental subjects will surely enter this Evolution Secret Realm. No matter what, we must surpass Xia this time,” Dr. Haydn declared.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“I refuse to believe that one man’s research progress can outpace our elite team.”

***

To enter the ascension realm without any loose ends, Lu Ran began delegating tasks. He handed the familiar egg to Manager Ying, entrusting the development of Lu Village to it as well. He decided to transfer his crystal coins to Manager Ying for a “joint investment” in the village’s growth.

The only burden left was Dark Crow. Naturally, Lu Ran planned to leave it behind in Green Sea. However, as he thought things over, he felt like he was forgetting something.

After some reflection, he suddenly remembered that there was still the matter of his chef-in-training. Lu Ran quickly dialed Xia Ri’s number.

“Hey, Xia Ri? Did you see the latest news about the Evolution Secret Realm?”

Xia Ri replied, “I saw it. Are you planning to enter with the first batch?”

“Yes.”

“Then good luck!”

“Why do you sound so relieved...? If I enter the ascension realm, I’ll be gone for at least a month and won’t be able to guide you in learning Spear Intent.” Lu Ran’s mouth twitched.

Xia Ri chuckled. Over the past few days of learning from Lu Ran, she had been slacking off by reading novels, snacking on skewers, and drinking soda. Guilt had been building up.

Now that Lu Ran had finally decided to focus on improving himself, Xia Ri actually felt relieved. “No worries. I can continue practicing Precise Knife Technique and maintaining intent projection on my own for quite a while.

“I’ll try to master these two techniques before you return from the ascension realm. Thank you for being so considerate during this time...”

Lu Ran interrupted, “Not really. I actually wanted to ask you for a favor. While I’m gone, can you help me train General Dark Crow? Your Dark Cuisine is quite beneficial for it. I’ll leave you plenty of rare ingredients so you won’t have to buy your own for practicing cooking. That should save you a lot of money.”

Xia Ri was dumbfounded.

Are you kidding me!?

She suddenly felt this arrangement was less like training and more like becoming a beastmaster caretaker for free.

“You know, it’s part of the training. Having a single Dark-attribute familiar evaluate your cooking won’t yield much progress,” Lu Ran chuckled.

Beside him, Manager Ying remained silent, marveling at Lu Ran’s ability to “perfectly” delegate. The familiar egg and village were entrusted to it, while the uncovenanted Dark Crow was handed off to another prodigy.

This skill of persuading others to work for him had truly reached a legendary level. After hanging up with Xia Ri, Lu Ran turned to Manager Ying.

“Alright, Manager Ying, let’s head to Limitless City. I’ll transfer one million crystal coins to you in advance. Just manage everything in Lu Village for me.”

“Let’s go,” Manager Ying rolled its eyes.

Lu Ran could only say that being rich feels good.

Although giving away a million crystal coins seemed painful at the moment, the upcoming rewards from the Heavenly Familiar Rankings, where Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King would undoubtedly be listed again, would bring in a bunch of crystal coins.

For now, Lu Ran just hoped Dark Crow would pull its weight.

Wait, if both Sudden Death King and Captain Doofus evolve and manage to get ranked on the King Heavenly Familiar Ranking, wouldn’t that mean even more crystal coins?

If Sudden Death King successfully fused with the Dragon King Trait and achieved dragonization, Lu Ran was confident its species rank would be no lower than Superior-King. That level of potential could certainly contend for the King Heavenly Familiar Ranking.

As for Captain Doofus, Lu Ran was still debating whether to let it evolve alongside Sudden Death King. If they were to evolve together, he needed to ensure that Captain Doofus’s evolution potential was also within the top ten to secure Stellar Blessings, making it a worthy investment.

However, the evolution trait prepared for Captain Doofus was the Absolute Comprehension Trait, which didn’t provide as significant a boost as the Dragon King Trait.

“Then again, with Captain Doofus already possessing Intermediate-King potential, wouldn’t evolving once more bring it up to Superior-King? How many familiars could achieve Superior-King potential in just a single evolution?

“The mission shouldn’t be too difficult for me now. I’ll try to complete it as quickly as possible. With the top-tier Dragon King Trait, Sudden Death King’s evolution potential is maxed out. In the ascension realm, perhaps I’ll find something to enhance Captain Doofus further,” Lu Ran said to himself.

***

Once everything was in place, Lu Ran began implementing his plans step by step. First, he asked Lu Yan, the former village chief, to temporarily resume his role as deputy village chief. He also introduced Manager Ying to Lu Yan, facilitating their collaboration.

Next, he sent a substantial amount of Dark-attribute resources along with Dark Crow to Xia Ri in Green Sea City. Having finished these preparations, Lu Ran systematically informed those close to him about his plan to challenge the ascension realm and began stocking up on supplies.

Before setting off, Lu Ran even prayed to the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer, hoping for a reliable experience in the ascension realm.

“Even if it’s not reliable, that’s fine. Whether it is cooking or forging, bring it on. I’m not afraid of secondary profession secret realms anymore. As for combat, obviously, I’m not worried. Unless it involves some bizarre timeline. Just don’t bring in a witch!”

Having completed all his preparations, Lu Ran wasted no time heading to Limitless City to begin his challenge. With only 44 days left before the Evolution Secret Realm opened, every moment counted.

Moreover, he wasn’t sure how long he’d have to queue for the ascension realm. For the first-generation beastmasters, queuing for ascensions sometimes took a day or even a week.

“Let’s go,” Lu Ran murmured, activating the challenge.

[Name: Ascension Realm]

[Grade: Level 1]

[Difficulty: Unknown]

[Entry Fee: 0 Crystal Coins]

[Description: You will enter an unknown world and undergo a breakthrough trial.]

***

[Do you want to spend 0 crystal coins to challenge the ascension realm?]

Yes.

[Matching you with a suitable ascension realm...]

[Matching in progress...]

[Estimated wait time: 1 second...]

“Huh?” Lu Ran was stunned.

That quick?

It was unlikely that Xia had so few pending participants. Could he have been matched with international Golden Era challengers?

[Match Successful]

[Secret Realm Type: Multiplayer]

[Teleportation Countdown: 10... 9...]

Ten seconds later, a flash of white light engulfed Lu Ran’s personal chamber, and his figure gradually vanished.

Buzz!

When his vision returned, he found himself engulfed in darkness. Unlike his first entry into the ascension realm, this time, the darkness was accompanied by a series of notifications.

[Target Location: Stellar Moon Continent, Beastmaster Empire, Ming An City.]

[Description: The Beastmaster Empire, once a brilliant and unparalleled human kingdom, was now on the brink of collapse. Following multiple large-scale wars, many regions had become Lands of the Dead, plagued by disease and devastation.

[Amid this chaos, the power to control the dead emerged. Necromancers rose to prominence, manipulating the souls of both the living and the dead, becoming a scourge upon the empire.

[In a desperate bid to restore stability, the empire called upon civilians to assist the Beastmaster Corps in eradicating necromancers hidden throughout the land.

[Ming An City, once a bustling commercial hub, had been ravaged by war and transformed into a Land of the Dead. Now it harbored countless beastmasters who had succumbed to necromantic power, turning it into a literal city of the dead.]

“What...”

Beastmasters from around the world were dumbfounded. No one had anticipated encountering an ascension realm tied to the necromancer profession. To their surprise, the Limitless City announcements weren't finished yet.

[Mission Type: Faction Confrontation.]

[Please choose your faction identity.]

[Faction 1: Beastmasters assisting in the Ming An City Crusade.]

[Faction 2: Beastmasters lured by necromantic power.]

[The mission will refresh after all challengers have selected their factions.]

“What?” Everyone was shocked.

“Is this even a choice? Who would willingly side with necromancers?”

“My familiar is Light-attributed, which counters necromancers. This might be my chance to score highly in this mission.”

In the darkness, the Princess of Light felt optimistic. Matched with her were three Knights of Glory, equally enthusiastic and sharing the same thoughts.