Chapter 217 - Captain Doofus Wants to Go Home

Antarctica was a continent almost entirely covered by glaciers. These glaciers formed steep cliffs around the land, as if surrounding it with a wall of ice. The scenery was breathtaking.

The plane finally landed at the airbase, one of the few places not encased in ice and snow.

"We've landed!"

Although the passengers ranged from first- to fourth-generation beastmasters, they were all relatively young, and many were visiting for the first time. Their curiosity was piqued.

Lu Ran followed the crowd off the plane. While everyone else wore thick coats and parkas, he was dressed in everyday streetwear. He had a strong physique, so the cold didn’t bother him.

"Where can I catch some penguins?"

"I want to see seals!"

"Are there any polar bears? Huh? We’re in Antarctica? Never mind."

Excitement filled the air. Zhu Kaixin stood atop the boarding stairs and got everyone’s attention.

"Everyone, once you've registered at the base, you can move around freely. But be careful. Even though you're all elite beastmasters, large areas of Antarctica are still unexplored by the International Alliance.

"There are powerful beasts roaming about.

"At the same time, this is a paradise for Ice creatures. If any of you want to contract an Ice-attribute familiar, this is the best place to do it. Penguins, seals, sea lions, albatrosses—any of these are better than domestic pets.

"But before you catch one, you need to submit an application to the International Alliance first!

"Besides the creatures, be mindful of natural disasters. This is the coldest and stormiest place in the world. If you're not careful, you may never make it out.

"The base will provide you with a safety guide. Look through it on your own. That’s all!"

Though Zhu Kaixin was the expedition leader, he couldn’t keep an eye on everyone. Each person had gone through multiple screenings before being allowed to join the expedition. They were all capable, so there was no need to be overly concerned.

"Don't worry, Pig God, we’re not going anywhere dangerous."

"That’s right, I’ll just check out the perimeter of the danger zones without actually going in."

"Good. Also, don’t get into conflicts with beastmasters from other countries!" Zhu Kaixin warned sternly.

"The only exceptions are if you discover a rare species that someone else wants to contract or if a rare resource appears. In those cases, conflict is inevitable.

"If that happens, don’t hold back. Call for backup and wreck ’em."

"Got it!"

While Pig God moved on, Lu Ran was still fixated on the words

the coldest and stormiest place in the world

, and a smile crept onto his face.

You should thank me, Captain Doofus. I sat through that long flight to bring you to this paradise. My butt is still sore. You better enjoy this place properly...

Soon, under Zhu Kaixin's instructions, everyone headed toward the base to register. Lodging wasn’t mentioned—anyone who needed a place to rest could just go to Limitless City.

Antarctica had been zoned for a super-large public Limitless City, making everything much more convenient.

Manager Ying approached Lu Ran, panting from exhaustion.

"I can’t believe you. I had to take care of the weather sprite the whole trip, and now I’m about to pass out."

The weather sprite was fast asleep in a backpack strapped to Manager Ying’s back.

"Hehehe." Lu Ran scratched his head awkwardly.

"Senior Zhu is really talkative, so there wasn’t much I could do. I’ll become a level 3 beastmaster as soon as possible."

"Fine, but promise me one thing right now. Once you become a level 3 beastmaster, don’t get a new familiar before securing a contract card for it.

"I’m not babysitting again!" Manager Ying gritted its teeth.

What’s up with this guy? He doesn’t even have his next contract card yet, but he’s already lining up a new familiar.

It wouldn’t be a problem if Lu Ran took care of the creature himself, but instead, he always dumped the babysitting duties on someone else.

"Yeah, yeah..." Lu Ran mumbled.

It should be fine. He didn’t have a candidate in mind for his fifth familiar yet. He wasn’t planning to catch penguins, seals, or sea lions like everyone else. With Captain Doofus and the weather sprite, he already had enough Ice familiars.

"There’s still some time before the evolution realm opens. Do you have any plans, Mr. Lu?" Zhu Kaixin asked as he walked up to him.

"If not, let’s study the Pig Transformation Curse together!"

Along the way, Lu Ran had shared some information with Zhu Kaixin about the Pig Transformation Curse, and Zhu Kaixin had been astonished.

Intrigued, he had even offered to provide various pig sacrifice materials to help Lu Ran study.

"Let’s set a time for another day," Lu Ran said, unable to handle Zhu Kaixin’s enthusiasm any longer.

"I want to take my familiars somewhere to stretch their legs. I also have a training regimen planned."

"Okay!" Zhu Kaixin smiled. "I’ll have to entrust Lu Ran to you then, Manager Ying. With you around, I don’t have to do everything myself."

Zhu Kaixin felt relieved. Although no one knew the full extent of Manager Ying’s power, its escape techniques were unparalleled.

"Okay," Manager Ying grumbled.

"I’ll go take care of some other things then." Zhu Kaixin waved as he left.

***

A little later, on a glacier far from any signs of people, Lu Ran exhaled a breathe of cold air. His husky was walking right by his side.

Awoo~!

Captain Doofus howled in excitement.

Drip! Drip!

The weather sprite transformed into a snow cloud and floated beside Lu Ran. It also enjoyed the environment and was just as excited.

The weather’s so nice!

"It really

is

a good place." Lu Ran agreed, having sensed his familiars’ joy.

What separated Antarctica from icy secret realms was that the Blue Planet’s natural energy was still steadily increasing. The spiritual energy revival wasn’t over yet, and this was where natural energy was the most concentrated.

The feeling of being constantly bathed in abundant natural energy was something that couldn’t be found anywhere else.

Woof!

With such a perfect environment, Captain Doofus immediately dove into developing its Blizzard Sword Domain. It dissected the Mixed Sword Domain back down to its basic elements to study it in detail.

Seeing this, the weather sprite also tried to summon a blizzard and cast a weather buff on Captain Doofus to boost its elemental affinity.

Surrounded by the blizzard, Captain Doofus looked like the Wolf of the North Wind [1]">

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[/ref], solemn and handsome.

It wielded a sword of wind and snow in its mouth, sensing the blizzard around it.

"It's supposed to be a vacation, but it's really just training in a different place." Lu Ran sat on a stone, resting his chin in his hands as he watched the clouds.

"This should be Captain Doofus' optimal state, right? Let’s see what it's really thinking."

Lu Ran interrupted Captain Doofus, who was intently staring at the tundra. "Captain Doofus!"

?

"Do you like it here? Do you want to stay forever?"

Woof, woof, woof!

Captain Doofus' tongue lolled out as it panted in excitement.

Really?

"Do you know what the most famous resource in Antarctica is after the spiritual energy revival?"

Woof?

Captain Doofus shook its head.

"Polar Ice is a very scarce resource. It can only form in an environment rich in ice and snow when spiritual energy revives. It can't even be found in Ice Secret Realms.

"It's exceedingly rare. Currently, Antarctica is the only known source, but due to the difficulty of harvesting and preservation, it can only be used locally. There isn't enough of it for widespread commercialization."

Woof!

Polar Ice? What’s that? Is it like ice cream? I think I like it.

The environment was truly sharpening its intelligence. In just a moment, a sharp gleam appeared in its eyes.

It frantically ran up to Lu Ran and placed a paw over his mouth.

Shhh... Say no more. Forget the Polar Ice. I don’t want it. There’s no such thing as free ice cream.

However, its fears were realized.

"You ate the Cold Wind Seed, right? It’s what gives your Wind energy that chill. It allowed us to comprehend the Blizzard Sword Intent.

"Polar Ice is a similar resource, but it can turn claws, teeth, and bones into something like millennia-old glaciers. Research shows that for non-Ice familiars to comprehend Blizzard Intent Formation, Polar Ice is the ideal resource.

"Of course, you don’t need help with Blizzard Intent Formation, but if Polar Ice can imbue your teeth with Ice power, it’ll make forging the Ice Fang Sword easier. Rather than injecting elemental power later on, items with an innate element are always higher quality.

"This is the most valuable intel I dug up before coming here. I chose it as our main objective. The fact that you figured it out means you’ve really gotten smarter."

Huh?

Awooo!

Captain Doofus' eyes widened as it realized it had been outwitted by Captain Lu yet again.

It’s too late... I was too late. Why didn’t I think of him using Antartica to strengthen my Ice Fangs before coming here?

As Lu Ran explained the situation to Captain Doofus, Manager Ying slowly appeared in the blizzard. This was another clone, a snow-white form resembling a majestic snow leopard.

"Lu Ran, here’s the intel on where to find Polar Ice. Don’t forget to pay."

"Yeah, yeah."

Captain Doofus gawked at the pair, realizing this had been a setup from the start.

What about the vacation I was promised?

"Vacationing is about enjoying great food," Lu Ran said. "Actually, don’t be in a rush to train in the sword domain. It’s important to balance work and rest."

Drip! Drip!

Above them, the weather sprite tilted in confusion, not understanding why its Uncle Doofus looked so devastated.

***

Soon, Captain Doofus set off with Lu Ran on a quest to find Polar Ice. Their main goal was to break through the ice layers and retrieve the Heart of Ice—Polar Ice—to enjoy as ice cream.

Lu Ran even brought various fruits to make different flavors, further selling Captain Doofus on the idea.

Captain Doofus was conflicted. Enjoying ice cream in Antarctica was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But when it thought about how its teeth would be pulled out later to forge a sword, dread filled its heart.

Captain Doofus still needs to learn how to see the bigger picture, Lu Ran thought.

Captain Doofus was too valuable to the team. If anyone could convince it to willingly contribute to forging the Ice Fang Sword, it would be Sudden Death King.

Once Sudden Death King got a major power-up in the evolution realm, Captain Doofus would feel the pressure. It would gladly give up its teeth to become stronger.

Speaking of Sudden Death King’s dragon evolution...

Lu Ran’s brows rose as he glanced down at his phone. He was surprised he had internet access in the middle of nowhere, but less thrilled to see news from the damn Dinosaur Research Institute. It looked like they were trying to stir things up with him again.

I guess they still haven’t had enough after last time.

"Dr. Hayden, the evolution realm is about to open, and the international community is highly interested in the Dinosaur Life Research Institute’s second dragon evolution experiment. However, some people online are speculating that Lu Ran, the Dragon Chef of the Great Xia, may also be entering the evolution realm. What are your thoughts?"

In the video, Dr. Hayden from the Dinosaur Research Institute was being interviewed. He was still stunned by the Tyrannosaurus Rex team’s defeat.

"I can’t deny Lu Ran’s talent. He is, without a doubt, the most brilliant beastmaster from the Xia Empire that I have ever seen. Unfortunately, as a citizen of Xia, he doesn’t have access to the best research environment. If he joins the Eagle Federation, we could work together to create the strongest Dragon-attribute creature!"

"Too bad. Even if he manages to create a purely Dragon-attribute familiar in the evolution realm, its potential still won’t measure up to our Dino King!"

"But Dr. Hayden, Lu Ran cleared a Dragon-attribute Legendary Secret Realm on his own. Could that have significantly increased his familiar’s potential?"

"Haha, what a coincidence. Our Heavenly Eagle Federation is home to the strongest second-generation beastmaster, who also cleared a Legendary Secret Realm solo. I happen to know what rewards he received. While they were incredibly valuable, they weren’t extraordinary. Our investment in this dinosaur is on par with the value of that reward!

"Besides, Lu Ran's lizard is only an Intermediate-Champion species, inherently inferior to dinosaurs. Also, I have some insider information—Dragon Chef Lu Ran already contracted a quasi-dragon familiar, so he traded one of the Legendary Secret Realm’s most precious rewards, the Diamond Dragon King’s egg, for something else.

"If he had put his full effort into hatching that egg, then maybe he would’ve had a shot at surpassing a dinosaur. But with just that lizard? There’s no contest."

Huh?

"Bullshit!" Lu Ran exclaimed. "I sold an ordinary Stone Dragon Egg. How the hell did it turn into the Diamond Dragon King’s egg?!"

He shook his head. False information could be dangerous, but this guy was too overconfident. Was this kind of arrogance common among researchers?

Nothing Dr. Hayden said made sense. Sudden Death King’s innate species rank was far inferior to the Tyrannosaurus Rex. How could a red-eyed crocodile skink even compare?

Sure, Lu Ran had prepared plenty of precious resources to evolve Sudden Death King, but nothing that was beyond the reach of other teams. Many groups from various countries had cleared Dragon-attribute Legendary Secret Realms. The Eagle Federation undoubtedly had access to superior resources, which likely fueled their arrogance.

A dragon king bloodline alone might not be enough to suppress them.

But there was one thing the research team hadn’t accounted for—Sudden Death King had devoured the souls of several real dragons in the Undead Cult ascension realm. It had even consumed souls from Overlord-rank dragons that the elders had gifted them.

Sudden Death King’s dragon soul was unmatched across the Stellar Moon Continent, let alone the Blue Planet.

In Lu Ran’s opinion, the benefits of Sudden Death King’s dragon soul were far greater than a mere dragon king bloodline.

Don't worry. I'll show you who the real dragon king is.

Lu Ran smirked to himself.

1. Dual element (wind and ice) boss from Genshin Impact ☜