Chapter 209 - Three Familiars on the Heavenly Ranking

Limitless City, Pedestrian A’s private room.

To further experiment with Dark Crow’s abilities, Lu Ran opened the secret realm panel and casually browsed through easy level 2 secret realms.

[Name: Azure Wolf Plateau]

[Secret Realm Level: 2]

[Difficulty: Easy]

[Entry Fee: 1000 crystal coins]

Lu Ran selected Azure Wolf Plateau without much thought and entered immediately.

***

[Mission: Defeat the Azure Wolf Leader]

“Dark Crow, it’s all on you now.”

Standing in a barren field of withered grass, with no one else around, Lu Ran had only his three familiars for company.

Captain Doofus gazed indifferently at the plateau, sensing the presence of kindred—though they were far too weak. Even Sudden Death King felt no sense of urgency upon entering this realm. To it, this was nothing more than a casual sightseeing trip.

As expected, being an easy level 2 secret realm, the boss here was merely a level 30 Low-Champion Species. If not for the pack mentality of the Azure Wolves, most level 2 beastmasters should have been able to clear it solo.

“Caw! The Azure Wolf Leader, huh?”

Dark Crow shut its eyes, expanding its senses to locate the strongest presence in the realm.

Moments later, amidst a cluster of wolves searching for prey in the distance, the Azure Wolf Leader suddenly lifted its head.

As it raised its gaze, the rest of the pack followed suit, soon spotting a massive, ominous eye forming in the sky, staring down at them.

“Awooo!”

The Azure Wolf Leader bared its fangs, glaring warily at the eye. But when no immediate attack followed, it began condensing a compressed wind projectile in its mouth to destroy the eerie Eye of the Evil God.

Before the attack could fully form, a chaotic burst of destructive energy erupted inside the wolf leader’s mouth, obliterating its head in an instant. Its body swayed briefly before collapsing.

The remaining wolves scattered in terror, their eyes filled with fear. Meanwhile, the Eye of the Evil God remained cold and unyielding.

[Congratulations on completing the secret realm mission!]

[Score: SSS]

[You have received 1000 crystal coins]

[You have received a Rare resource: Hurricane Ore]

[You have received an Advanced resource: Azure Wolf Fang]

[You have received an Advanced resource: Azure Wolf Hide]

“What a joke. The wolf leader tried to copy General Doofus with energy compression. No wonder it blew itself up.” Dark Crow scoffed, glancing at Lu Ran.

Lu Ran, however, simply smiled, his gaze fixed on the crow’s faintly glowing red eyes.

“Half a minute. You cleared a secret realm in just half a minute. As expected of you, General Dark Crow.”

“Your Majesty flatters me! It’s all thanks to your divine guidance!” Dark Crow spread its wings, fawning. “You are the truly powerful one, Your Majesty!”

“Woof! Woof!”

“Rawr!”

Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King exchanged startled glances.

That was it? The realm was already cleared? Such efficiency... And could this crow stop buttering up its beastmaster? Even we are starting to cringe.

“Captain Doofus, Sudden Death King, take notes from Dark Crow’s determination.”

The comparison stung. Lu Ran sighed dramatically, turning his gaze to Captain Doofus, whose eyes gleamed with mischief and overconfidence. This one always thought itself smarter than its beastmaster.

Then there was Sudden Death King, who always looked utterly despondent whenever Lu Ran came up with tactics or training plans—acting as if it were being bullied.

Look at Dark Crow—such loyalty! Even with its eyes hurting, it still found time to kiss ass. Lu Ran felt truly gratified.

“Keep at it, Dark Crow. Work hard, and one day, you’ll surpass Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King, becoming the leader of this team.”

Lu Ran gave a thumbs-up.

“

Caw!

I wouldn’t dare.”

Dark Crow shot a sly glance at Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King.

Deep down, a seed of ambition had sprouted. It genuinely wanted to be the number one ace!

“Woof.”

Captain Doofus scoffed. Like hell Dark Crow could surpass it. Not even Sudden Death King could.

“Rawr!”

Sudden Death King shook its head indifferently. It had no interest in being the team leader. Its only goal was to master an impenetrable defense—one that no teammate or enemy could ever break.

“When you all evolve and stand on equal footing, we’ll hold an internal tournament to see who’s the strongest.” Lu Ran chuckled.

Captain Doofus, Sudden Death King, and Dark Crow were momentarily stunned.

“But that’s for later. For now, come, Dark Crow—let’s test your eye’s range and tolerance.”

***

Meanwhile, while Lu Ran was still experimenting with his familiars, the commotion he’d caused had already sparked a frenzy in Limitless City.

Beastmaster Square, Limitless City #3

As more beastmasters gathered, the square grew livelier. It had become the go-to spot for couples on dates, resource trading, and even high-ranking individuals looking to flex while impressing rookie beastmasters.

Of course, the hottest topic today was the latest news about Lu Ran.

“Pedestrian A, the Undead Holy Son. Do you believe it?”

“I saw some online chatter about an organization called

The Other Shore

. This is the first time I’ve heard of them. Could Lu Ran’s flashy displays have drawn their attention? Maybe they’re trying to brainwash him into defecting?”

“Bullshit! Someone that brilliant wouldn’t fall for an evil group’s tricks. And if he did, what the hell is the government even doing?”

“Probably just another smear campaign from international media. It’s not like this is the first time they’ve tried something like this.”

“Exactly. Besides, who even likes Undead familiars? Unless it’s some gorgeous female ghost... Otherwise, aren’t sword dogs cooler?”

“Boring.”

At that moment, a group of beastmasters in Galaxy Guild battle uniforms entered the square, led by Pluto. Their destination was the public realms.

Pluto scoffed the moment he saw the news. If someone had claimed Lu Ran crushed the Knights of Light in an ascension realm, he’d believe it. But Lu Ran delving into undead power?

Absolutely ridiculous.

“It’s Pluto!”

The crowd noticed him immediately. Though not as famous as Lu Ran, Pluto was a rising star in Limitless City #3. His second familiar, the Lightning Horned Ant, had even made it to number ten on the Champion Species Heavenly Familiar Ranking, cementing him as one of the elites of his generation.

“Pluto, what’s your take on this news?” someone called out as Pluto passed by.

“Use your brains and think. Pedestrian A won a King-rank familiar egg during the freshman competition, and it’s even a unique species. Why would anyone in their right mind ignore a gem like that to pursue undead familiars? Unless he’s bored out of his mind, why waste time researching the Undead attribute?

“Mark my words. You’ll soon see Lu Ran’s King Species familiar on the Heavenly Familiar Ranking. Most likely an elemental type. That’s the proper path for a beastmaster...”

[Regional Announcement: Heavenly Familiar Rankings, Champion Species Ranking Updated!]

[Heavenly Familiar added.]

[Species: Evil-Eyed Crow]

[Attributes: Dark, Spirit]

[Species Rank: Superior-Champion]

[Level: 26]

[Beastmaster: Pedestrian A]

[Reason for inclusion: Evolved from a crow, awakening exceptional potential in Dark and Spirit attributes. Demonstrated its abilities by instantly killing a level 30 Low-Champion Species Mutant Azure Wolf from over extreme range in an easy level 2 secret realm, Azure Wolf Plateau.]

[Rank: No.2 on the Champion Heavenly Familiar Ranking!]

Pluto’s Lightning Horned Ant was bumped off the top ten. The crowd instinctively checked the Heavenly Familiar Ranking, Pluto included.

Pluto was dumbfounded.

“Bro... it looks like Pedestrian A just knocked you off the list. Why didn’t he contract a King Species familiar?” one of Pluto’s guildmates asked.

“Motherfucker!” Pluto’s eyes burned with rage as he glared at the name Pedestrian A.

What was this guy’s deal? Ignoring a King-rank familiar to contract a mere Champion-rank crow?

He started to wonder if Lu Ran intentionally targeted him, knowing he’d just secured a spot on the ranking.

Meanwhile, the crowd couldn’t help but exchange awkward glances as Pluto fumed silently.

“Forget what I just said! Someone needs to investigate that crow. Its species name alone screams bad news!” Pluto roared.

***

Lu Ran remained oblivious to what was happening, unaware that he had unintentionally upset his pal, Pluto.

After extensive testing, Lu Ran had finally determined the limits of the Evil-Eyed Crow’s abilities. The Eye of the Evil God currently had an observation range of nearly 20,000 meters.

When targeting enemies more than 10,000 meters away, the crow’s eyes began to strain, causing them to bleed. At 20,000 meters, they would go completely blind.

The crow’s tracking ability, which was tightly linked to the Eye of the Evil God, still retained about 5% effectiveness when cursing or attacking enemies at maximum range.

This level of suppression was almost like cheating. Initially, Lu Ran had envisioned Dark Crow as a sniper for his team. But now, it was much more than that. It had become long-range artillery, capable of detecting and striking enemies across an entire map.

“You’ve got this.”

Lu Ran felt that if Dark Crow kept improving, by the time it hit level 60 and beyond, it would essentially be a strategic missile launcher. It could observe and curse someone from across an entire nation.

“Caw! Caw!”

Dark Crow puffed out its chest in pride, clearly enjoying the praise.

“However, your Eye of the Evil God is too noticeable. From now on, our training will focus on making your abilities stealthier, so enemies won’t even realize they’re being targeted.

“In those situations, even if your skills are weaker, you’ll still be able to control the battlefield through surprise attacks.”

“Understood!”

Dark Crow nodded eagerly.

“Phew...”

With Dark Crow’s abilities sorted, Lu Ran felt his team’s balance improve significantly.

Though his team had improved, Lu Ran was still cautious about challenging a level 2 Legendary Secret Realm. The boss there would be a level 30 Low-Overlord Species.

Considering how difficult it had been for Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King to deal with a Superior-King Species at level 20, it was clear that an Overlord Species would be far more challenging.

Lu Ran had no intention of acting recklessly, so he decided to wait until Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King had evolved further before attempting the challenge.

By then, they would likely reach the Superior-King Species rank. At that stage, the pressure of the challenge would be far more manageable. With Dark Crow added to the team, he was confident that soloing the realm would be possible.

Soon after, Lu Ran left his room and noticed an unread message.

[Pluto: 6]

“Huh?” Lu Ran blinked in confusion. What was Pluto up to?

Could it be that Pluto had messaged him to boast about crushing the Knights of Light and single-handedly defeating the Imperial Army? That was the only thing Lu Ran could think of.

[Pedestrian A: Thanks.]