Chapter 218 - The Evolution Realm Opens

Lu Ran and Captain Doofus continued forging ahead through the blizzard. By this point, they had entered a designated danger zone. Due to the harsh conditions, they were the only team in sight.

Using the map Manager Ying provided, Lu Ran managed to find multiple pieces of Polar Ice. This was great news, but Captain Doofus' mouth was starting to go numb. With every breath, it felt like a blizzard was gushing out.

After eating so much ice, it couldn’t help but wonder—was there a stomach waiting for it in its near future?

Awoo~!

Captain Doofus let out a miserable whine. The ice was delicious, sure, but its mood remained dampened.

"Let me see."

Lu Ran opened Captain Doofus’ mouth and nodded when he saw its razor-sharp teeth had turned snow white.

"My, what great teeth you have. Well, if it works, it works... but I'm getting a little tired." Lu Ran panted.

Woof.

Captain Doofus rubbed its head against Lu Ran’s legs.

If you're tired, let's take a break. We still have to take Sudden Death King to the evolution realm later, so we should pace ourselves. Also, I don’t want to eat any more ice cream—I’m about to throw up! I want beef hot pot!

"You’re right," Lu Ran agreed.

When Sudden Death King evolved, he wanted to ensure its soul strengthened proportionally as well. They had to enter the evolution realm fully prepared.

"I’ll rest for a bit, but you don’t look tired. I’ll make the beef hot pot for you—but you’ll need to eat more ice cream afterward."

Then Lu Ran called out, "Manager Ying, are you there? Can you help me take care of Baby Cloud and Captain Doofus? I’m heading back to Limitless City, so if you could take Captain Doofus to keep searching for more ice cream, that’d be great."

"Are you kidding me?" Manager Ying appeared, looking exasperated. "You’re getting more and more ridiculous."

"I’ll give you some top-secret intel once I’m done in the evolution realm. The kind of intel that could shock the world."

"...Deal."

Grrrr!

Captain Doofus growled.

Antarctica, right? I’ll remember this grudge. Who the hell invented this damn Polar Ice?

***

Lu Ran decided to rest before challenging the evolution realm so he could be at full strength.

There was no concrete evidence proving that evolutionary potential could be increased using amplifying skills during evolution, but it was a common practice. Mostly, it allowed beastmasters to feel like they were contributing to the process.

Now that Lu Ran had an amplifying skill, he planned to use it as well. It only cost him some stamina, and even if the effect was marginal, it was still a boon.

While Lu Ran rested, Sudden Death King slept soundly in its contract card. After days of high-intensity training, Manager Ying had hypnotized it into hibernation to conserve energy and maximize its evolutionary potential.

Lu Ran wasn’t sure how long he had slept before he was jolted awake by a message.

[Pig God: Lu Ran, wake up. Let’s go eat. The evolution realm will open by the time we’re done.]

"Huh?"

Lu Ran rubbed his eyes and checked the time.

A moment later, he was back in Antarctica to retrieve his Ice-Fanged Dog. Then, they hopped over to Limitless City, using the transport square to head to the public Limitless City.

By the time they arrived, the square was already packed. It was even livelier than the busiest major cities, with beastmasters from all over the world gathered.

Lu Ran had put on a mask, but with such a massive crowd, even if he hadn’t, it was unlikely anyone would recognize him as the Dragon Chef.

He made his way to a private dining room inside the European restaurant where Zhu Kaixin had invited him.

"How are your preparations?" Zhu Kaixin asked.

"You look pretty energetic. Not feeling any stress?"

"Not really." Lu Ran yawned. "There are still four hours left, right? Time’s moving so slowly."

"Four hours isn’t much at all. Maybe you’re just too relaxed." Zhu Kaixin smirked. "I got some intel—want to take a look?"

"It’s on who will be entering the evolution realm this time and the familiars with the greatest potential."

"I’m good," Lu Ran replied, shaking his head.

"We’re not here to fight, so that intel won’t do me much good. It’ll just weigh me down mentally. And if the intel is wrong, it might even end up hurting me." Lu Ran sneered.

"Hahaha! Are you talking about Dr. Hayden?" Zhu Kaixin laughed.

"When Manager Ying tried to trade your Stone Dragon Egg, they advertised it to us as something with the potential to mutate into a Diamond Dragon.

"But to the outside world, they hyped it up even further—making people believe it was the descendant of the Diamond Dragon King.

"The crazy part? Most people actually believed it. Since you were the only beastmaster to solo-clear a Legendary Secret Realm at the time, it wasn’t too far-fetched to think you’d receive such a precious reward."

Lu Ran chuckled.

"There’s one thing I

am

curious about. Do you have any intel on whether the Eagle Federation made a major breakthrough in their dragon research?"

"As far as I know, they’ve made some significant progress in their dinosaur resurrection research lately," Zhu Kaixin replied. "Their resurrected dinosaurs have been greatly augmented by their innate Dragon attribute."

“They can perfectly fuse Dragon traits as their first trait, which is a major advantage over other creatures native to Blue Planet.

"The other thing is that earlier this month, teams from two other countries cleared dragon-related legendary secret realms. These two countries are both lackeys of the Eagle Federation, and most of their resources have been sucked up by the Dinosaur Research Institute.

"This means the institute should now have access to high-quality Dragon resources.

"Additionally, they seem to have persuaded the 'Evolver' to join them. The Evolver is a third-generation beastmaster from the Eagle Federation. He obtained a unique beastmaster skill called 'Evolution Blessing' from an ascension realm that increases the success rate and potential of a familiar’s evolution.

"It also works on the evolution granted by the evolution realm.

"They have good reason to be confident. Based on what we know, Gu Qingyi thinks they actually have a real chance of creating a Dragon-attribute creature this time."

"Got it."

Lu Ran nodded. From what he heard, he also felt that the institute might actually evolve a dragon.

"Well, none of that will matter. I will intervene."

Now that Lu Ran and Pig God had gotten to know each other, Lu Ran was much more open.

"Awesome!" Pig God gave him a thumbs-up.

Lu Ran, you don’t look like someone who likes to brag, so we’re counting on you! He’s still so confident despite how well-prepared the Eagle Federation is. I can’t wait to see his familiar evolve.

As they continued to chat, they took a moment to place their order.

Suddenly, Lu Ran interjected, "Dr. Gu is coming later!"

"Huh?" Pig God was startled.

"If she’s coming, then it seems that she really cares about you. She’s been busy with affairs related to the Fishman Empire, but she still found time to come here."

Gu Qingyi didn’t have a familiar to evolve herself, so the only reason for her to come was to see Lu Ran.

"Oh? Principal Shi said he’s coming too," Lu Ran continued as he read through his messages.

"Dang, are they worried I can't protect you by myself?"

Beastmasters were allowed to kill each other in public secret realms. Zhu Kaixin felt that Gu Qingyi and Shi Zhen wanted to come because they were afraid something might happen to Lu Ran.

Zhu Kaixin personally didn’t think that was a likely scenario. Ordinary beastmasters definitely wouldn’t dare attack Lu Ran in such a public place.

"Rich people. Nothing you can do about them," Lu Ran sighed.

***

As time passed, the crowd near the transmission area for the evolution realm began to grow. Some people had arrived earlier to get a better spot.

Although it wasn’t yet time for the evolution energy to erupt, people could enter the evolution realm as long as they paid the entry fee.

Before the right time, there wasn’t anything special about the realm. The main difference from the outside world was the scenery—countless craters like the surface of the moon and an infinite number of stars twinkling in the sky.

Many regional beastmaster powerhouses had come in advance just to see the beautiful starry sky.

People with money could do whatever they wanted.

Very soon, four figures appeared in the evolution realm.

They were Lu Ran, Zhu Kaixin, Gu Qingyi, and Shi Zhen.

Lu Ran was here to evolve his familiar and had shown up with an entourage of first-generation bodyguards.

"Fuck, how do you have the balls to be outside today? Damn it! You let me hug you in your normal state, so why can’t I hug you in your female state?" Zhu Kaixin wrapped an arm around Shi Zhen's neck.

"We go way back, and I’ve never even held hands with a girl before."

"Fuck off."

Shi Zhen, who looked very handsome in his male form, tried to break free but couldn’t, since he wasn’t as strong as the fatty.

"Cut it out, you two." Gu Qingyi frowned.

"Don't you see there’s a child here?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Ahem.

Lu Ran felt a bit pressured, being the only junior in the group.

"Let's find a spot for ourselves," Gu Qingyi said.

The evolution realm wasn’t large, but it wasn’t too crowded either.

If this were the only evolution realm, it might have been a different story. But with three more set to open in the near future, many beastmasters decided to wait instead of piling into the first one.

Of course, besides those who had come to evolve their familiars, there were also spectators like Gu Qingyi. The entrance fee of 100,000 crystal coins was a huge barrier for most, far beyond the budget of an average person.

Most spectators simply rode flying familiars around in the air, avoiding competition with the beastmasters below.

"This is a good place." Lu Ran’s team chose a relatively remote area.

Remote as it was, given the team’s composition, it was impossible to keep a low profile. A foreign beastmaster wandering nearby soon noticed Lu Ran and his team.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Wow. Isn’t that Dragon Chef Lu Ran? He’s here as expected. That beauty beside him should be the Dragon Tamer, Gu Qingyi."

As everyone waited, a constant hubbub filled the air, and soon enough, the dinosaur research team some distance away also caught wind of Lu Ran’s arrival.

"Dr. Hayden, do you want to go take a look?" a researcher asked.

"No need to rush. It won't be too late to head over once the evolution is complete," Dr. Hayden replied calmly.

At this point, teams from each country had found their own areas to wait for the evolution energy to erupt.

"It's almost time. Pig God, Lu Ran, the two of you should release your familiars to make some final preparations before the evolution.

"By the way, Zhu Kaixin, take your familiar far away from Lu Ran’s later. It won’t be good if the two of you end up competing for evolution energy," Gu Qingyi said, having calculated the timing and giving some final instructions.

"Okay." Lu Ran nodded.

"Ugh." Zhu Kaixin was upset.

He had known Gu Qingyi for three years, but why did it feel like this woman only cared about Lu Ran? She was even afraid of him stealing Lu Ran’s evolution energy.

Oink, oink.

Wind and snow whipped up as a giant pig with snow-white fur appeared beside Zhu Kaixin.

[Name: Snowstorm Pig King]

[Attribute: Ice]

[Species Rank: High Champion]

[Level: 31]

Lu Ran didn’t just release Sudden Death King—he also released Captain Doofus and Dark Crow, intending to let them watch Sudden Death King’s evolution with him.

Roar!

Sudden Death King let out an excited roar after waking from its deep slumber.

However, once it sensed the numerous powerful auras around it, it instantly reined itself in and looked around cautiously.

So many powerful auras...

"Wow."

Dark Crow, on the other hand, was very calm as it gazed at the starry sky.

"King, are we finally going to march into the sea of stars and become the emperor of the universe?"

"Captain Doofus, freeze it," Lu Ran ordered.

Captain Doofus blew out a gust of powdered snow, instantly freezing Dark Crow's mouth shut.

Mph!

Dark Crow cried.

Sudden Death King also glared at it.

Stupid crow. What nonsense are you babbling about? Don’t you sense the countless powerful people here? If your arrogance attracts a horde of enemies, then the one on the front line will be me—the tanker.

"How ambitious!"

Zhu Kaixin fed his Snowstorm Pig King while gazing at Lu Ran's crow with admiration.

It was worthy of being the one who mastered the Pig Transformation Curse.

It had quite the personality.

As for Gu Qingyi and Shi Zhen, they had seen the Dark Crow before, so they were familiar with its personality but still shook their heads lightly.

Lu Ran then took out the precious resource he had collected—the Diamond Dragon Heart—and tossed it over to Sudden Death King.

"You can eat it now. The eruption of evolution energy will help maximize the resource’s nutritional value."

Sudden Death King nodded and devoured the diamond heart.

Finally, a system message rang in the ears of the participants.

[Countdown to the eruption of evolutionary energy: 60 seconds.]

[Hint 1: Once the evolutionary energy erupts, it will envelop familiars that meet the evolutionary conditions, allowing them to enter the 'amplified' state.]

[Hint 2: In the amplified state, the top ten familiars with the highest evolutionary potential will receive the Stellar Blessing, further increasing their evolutionary potential.]

[Hint 3: Entrants will temporarily obtain the Eye of Detection and be able to see information on their familiar's evolution.]

60... 59... 58...

As the beastmasters waited nervously, the ground suddenly cracked, and countless white lights gushed out!