Chapter 216 - The Secret of the First Generation

After Manager Ying assured him that the Merfolk Kingdom wouldn’t target Green Sea in the short term, Lu Ran shifted his focus back to the evolution realms.

"Are you planning to teleport there through Limitless City, or do you want to travel to Antarctica in reality?" Manager Ying asked while tidying its fur.

"Is there a difference? Which is easier?"

"It’s definitely easier to teleport through Limitless City," Manager Ying explained. "But ever since the spiritual energy revival, Antarctica has become a prime location for Ice-attribute creatures. It’s even better than most ice secret realms, with a higher concentration of natural energy.

"A first-generation beastmaster from our country who recently contracted a new familiar is leading an Ice-attribute beastmaster expedition to Antarctica—fully funded by the government. I think it would be a great opportunity for you and your husky to tag along."

"Even though it doesn’t have the Ice attribute, with its Blizzard Sword Intent, it could still be considered an honorary Ice familiar. It should feel right at home there."

Despite its disdain for dogs, Manager Ying still shared relevant information with Lu Ran as it became available.

"Really?" Lu Ran glanced over at Captain Doofus, who was still working on its sword domain.

After a week and dozens of Soul Cleansing Fruits, Captain Doofus had finally grasped the second stage of energy acceleration, though it was still some distance away from fully forming its sword domain.

Maybe a short trip to Antarctica isn’t a bad idea. A simulated arctic environment couldn’t compare to Antarctica’s naturally abundant Ice and Wind energy.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Ran said, "Alright, I’ll check out if there are any interesting spots in Antarctica later... but I am a little worried about getting assassinated.

"You coming?" He turned to his exclusive bodyguard.

"Me?"

Manager Ying shook its head.

"No way! The team leader is a first-generation Xia beastmaster. He’ll be watching over you, and he’s even stronger than me. You’ll be fine."

"Perfect. I was internally debating on whether to bring Weather Sprite with me. If I go alone, who’s going to take care of it when I enter the evolution realm?"

Realizing that Lu Ran was trying to dump more babysitting duties on it, Manager Ying was livid.

This familiar was born just a week ago! What’s the point of taking it along? Just let it stay home and sleep!

Before it could refuse, Lu Ran moved on to the next topic.

"Who’s the first-generation beastmaster? And what’s his familiar? Is it strong?"

"It’s... okay," Manager Ying muttered, curling its lips.

"The beastmaster’s name is Zhu Kaixin, and his ID in Limitless City is Pig God. His new familiar is an Ice-attribute pig king and he’s leading this expedition to find an Ice- and Time-attribute skill for it.

"If he succeeds, his combat effectiveness should rank near the top among all first-generation beastmasters in Xia."

"Oh, it’s him."

Although Lu Ran had never met him in person, he had heard of him. Pig God was the “pig” of the Alliance’s Twelve Zodiacs and an idol to Pig Farmer.

His family had been in the pig farming business for generations, and yet, he had gone from a simple pig farmer to a prominent figure among first-generation beastmasters. It was quite the feat.

Pig God was an interesting character. He had developed various methods for raising pigs, and all of his familiars were pigs of different attributes.

He was so devoted to pig-related beastmastery that some even suspected he had comprehended a pig-enhancing beastmaster skill.

***

Nothing noteworthy happened in the two days leading up to the expedition. When the departure day finally arrived, Lu Ran and Manager Ying packed their bags and headed to Sky City Airport.

When they arrived, the airport lobby was bustling with beastmasters of all generations. Some were headed for vacations, while others were also preparing for their journey to the Evolution Realm.

"Isn’t that Lu Ran?"

"Hey, isn’t that Manager Ying with him?"

Lu Ran and Manager Ying were well-known figures among Xia’s beastmasters—one was the strongest fourth-generation beastmaster, and the other was the most famous information broker in the Xia Empire.

As they entered the lobby, looking around for something to eat, a chubby young man who had been chatting nearby suddenly stopped mid-conversation and walked over.

"Manager Ying! I’m glad you’re here! And this must be the famous Pedestrian A! Hello, I’m Pig God." The cheerful man greeted them with a wide smile.

"You’re too kind. I’m just a small fish. You’re the real celebrity," Lu Ran replied politely.

"No, no, no, I just got lucky and became a beastmaster a few years earlier. I’m no big deal. You’re the real star—the brightest among millions of fourth-generation beastmasters!" Zhu Kaixin complimented him.

While Zhu Kaixin ranked in the top 100 of his generation, the number of first-generation beastmasters was relatively small, so he was only considered average among them.

Lu Ran, on the other hand, was different. He was a rising star, capturing the attention of the entire world.

"You’re too modest. I owe a lot to the benefits provided by the first-generation veterans," Lu Ran responded.

"Ugh, you two are so annoying. Quit being so polite and just shut up."

Manager Ying rolled its eyes.

The surrounding beastmasters, who had wanted to strike up a conversation with Lu Ran, exchanged awkward smiles. Politeness was standard etiquette in Xia, after all.

"Haha, Lu Ran, let's go chat in a VIP room,” Zhu Kaixin invited.

"C’mon, I'll introduce you to some other major figures..."

"Alright."

Lu Ran smiled bitterly. If he had known, he would not have come to the lobby for food.

What a pain. This is all Manager Ying’s fault. She said that there would be a famous chef here.

Lu Ran collected a bunch of business cards as he walked along. Finally, just as Lu Ran was about to reach his breaking point, boarding time arrived.

Zhu Kaixin led Lu Ran into a VIP room, and once they got settled, they began to discuss more sensitive matters.

"Lu Ran, you should be going to the evolution realm to evolve your draconic lizard, right? You have cleared the draconic Legendary secret realm so you should be aiming to evolve it into a full-fledged dragon, right?"

"That’s all up to fate. Hard to say for sure." Lu Ran smiled.

"Hahaha, don't be modest. I'm waiting to see your dragon crush the dinosaurs from the Eagle Federation." Zhu Kaixin laughed.

"This time, there are many media teams already waiting in Antarctica. Some of them even want to follow the beastmasters into the secret realm just to get first-hand intel on the evolution realm.”

"Those people really think that the world is peaceful." Lu Ran shook his head.

"There’s nothing we can do about that." Zhu Kaixin shrugged before finally moving on to a topic that he was really interested in.

"By the way, Lu Ran, are you studying curses for Ms. Stone? Your new familiar should have curse powers, right?"

"..."

Who the hell is Ms. Stone? Principal Shi Zhen?

[1]

"Yes," Lu Ran confirmed.

"Really? I think Shi Zhen has been going in the wrong direction. Instead of trying to undo the curse, he could just accept his female body and regain his peak strength. Don’t you think so?" Zhu Kaixin sighed.

"There are more men than women in the first generation. It wouldn’t be a bad thing for one of our peers to become such a beautiful woman, but he still insists on retiring.

"I didn’t expect your third familiar to not be the egg he brought back. Mr. Lu, would you be interested in a Time-attribute familiar?"

"Hmm?" Lu Ran was intrigued. "Of course."

Around the world, there were more familiars that had mastered the Time attribute than beastmasters. Lu Ran wanted Captain Doofus to acquire the Space attribute, but he didn’t dare to aim for Time. The main reason was the lack of resources, and the training difficulty was off the charts.

"To be honest, I acquired a time-related Ice attribute trait that can freeze time within a limited area. I plan to use it to cultivate a new familiar. When my pig gives birth to a litter one day, I’ll gift you one!"

???

What good is a piglet?

Lu Ran had thought Pig God was offering him the Ice trait!

"What are you getting at?"

Lu Ran's mouth twitched. He was sure Zhu Kaixin had some hidden agenda.

"Heh."

Zhu Kaixin chuckled.

"Once I raise this Ice pig, I want to see if I can cultivate a Dragon-attribute pig next. I’ll need your help when the time comes."

"That’s not a problem," Lu Ran replied. "Just provide the materials, and I’ll prepare Dragon-attribute food for it."

"You’re a real one! If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out. I promise I’ll come through!"

Zhu Kaixin patted his chest—which was even more ample than Shi Zhen’s.

"By the way, where did you get that Ice trait?" Lu Ran asked out of curiosity.

"It dropped from a boss in a public secret realm. Let me explain.

"The boss isn’t as strong as Hell- or Legendary-difficulty ones, but its attributes are randomized. The rewards are also random, just like in an ascension realm. If you try it out, don’t waste time challenging it on Hell difficulty. Just camp it out instead.

"If you don’t have time to camp all day, get someone else to do it for you. When you get word, rush over as fast as possible to take it down. If you do it enough times, there’s a chance you’ll pull a one-of-a-kind trait.

"You know what trait I want most?" Zhu Kaixin asked.

"What?"

"Luck traits! Traits that enhance luck! I don’t know if any exist, but if I could breed a lucky pig, that would be amazing. It might not be great for combat, but it’d be invaluable in a place like Limitless City. Over time, I could rack up a ton of rare resources."

"You’re really something else." Lu Ran chuckled. Since Limitless City had its own consciousness, it would probably be better to pray to it every day rather than rely on luck.

The two of them kept talking for a long time. Even though there was a gap in power between first- and fourth-generation beastmasters, they were around the same age, so it was easy to get along.

The key thing was that Lu Ran’s status was almost on par with the first generation. On top of that, Zhu Kaixin obviously had a big mouth and wasn’t afraid to say anything.

Lu Ran got to hear things he would never find on the Internet or from other first- and second-generation beastmasters.

"This time in the evolution realm, out of all the beastmasters from Xia, I think only the two of us have a real shot at securing one of the ten spots.

"I don’t think anyone else’s new familiar is that impressive." Zhu Kaixin shrugged.

"You should thank the president. You fourth-generation beastmasters have it pretty good! The second and third generations were only marginally better than the first generation at first. They definitely didn’t have it as cushy as you guys do."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Zhu Kaixin was silent for a moment before excitedly asking, "You don’t know? No one ever told you? Okay, let me fill you in!"

Lu Ran perked up his ears.

I gotta hear this tea.

"There were actually a lot of powerful beastmasters in the first generation of the Xia Empire. We had plenty of people, but like in any large group, there were bound to be some bad apples.

"For example, the resources in various public secret realms were strictly controlled by powerful beastmasters back then. Limitless City didn’t care at all—it even condoned one generation exploiting the next.

"That kind of thing still happens today, but it’s nowhere near as bad. The Alliance has opened up a lot of public secret realms, and there are more ways to gather resources now. But back then? It was impossible. The monopoly was suffocating, and resources were completely concentrated at the top."

Lu Ran had expected as much. "How did that change?"

Zhu Kaixin grinned.

"One day, our current president wanted to enter a public secret realm to collect some resources, but he ran into trouble everywhere he went. He ended up making enemies with some organizations and was even targeted in real life.

"The end result? The old man single-handedly killed over a dozen first-generation masters. And strong ones at that.

"Who would’ve thought such a terrifying powerhouse had been hiding in the first generation, never showing his fangs? His strength didn’t match his age at all.

"After that incident, he was recognized as the strongest first-generation beastmaster in the Xia Empire.

"Shi Zhen, Gu Qingyi, Lin Nian, and the rest of us first-generation beastmasters weren’t very sociable. We never fit in with the factions at the time. We were too focused on conquering secret realms. But after the old man wiped out the first generation, Xia’s beastmaster world couldn’t be left without someone holding down the fort, so we had to step up and take over various positions.

"The old man became the leader purely because of his strength. He enjoys his freedom, but he was invited—practically forced—by different groups into becoming president."

Zhu Kaixin chuckled. "Talking about the good ol’ days is getting boring. You never went to college, so you wouldn’t know how the first generation operated. It was just like those student unions at no-name universities—people using what little power they had to push others around. The bureaucracy was insane. It even reached the point where human life was treated like nothing. They got so arrogant that they finally pissed off the wrong person."

Lu Ran sucked in a breath of cold air.

Damn. No wonder Manager Ying claims Shi Zhen is the strongest in the country. Even Lin Nian, with her special ability, couldn’t match up.

This battle record is straight out of a manga, except Shi Zhen would be a very old protagonist.

Looks like I didn’t have to suffer much because that group of first-generation beastmasters got wiped out. Limitless City definitely didn’t pick that old man as a beastmaster for no reason.

Lu Ran had always known there was something special about President Shi Zhen.

He continued chatting with Pig God.

What kind of intel broker is Manager Ying? This is what a real intelligence broker looks like!

Zhu Kaixin went on to explain the international situation—how second-generation beastmasters in other countries fought with their first-generation counterparts for resources and status.

But since it was a long journey, Lu Ran eventually got tired. He headed to another VIP cabin to rest.

Until...

"Hello, we have arrived in Antarctica."

1. Shi Zhen’s surname, Shi (石) means stone ☜