Chapter 236 - Super Bodyguard Lineup

"Lord Guardian, maybe that isn’t such a great idea. I’m not against fighting, but doing so right now might be a bit unfair. Although my panda is also level 30, it has yet to evolve unlike Lu Ran’s familiar."

It was obvious that Youxiong Anlin didn’t want to fight Lu Ran.

"Can we schedule this match once my familiar evolves?"

Jumping realms was unfair. His request was actually quite reasonable.

"If you beat an evolved familiar with an unevolved one then wouldn’t it highlight our strength even more?" the guardian beast replied.

Everyone could only remain silent.

Are these two a comedy duo? They’re not that bright, are they?

"But his familiar is a level 30 Intermediate Overlord which is only one rank below you, Lord Guardian. It won’t be an easy opponent." Youxiong Anlin wanted to cry.

Overcoming a ranking gap wasn’t easy. Legendary secret realm bosses could annihilate familiars of the same level.

"What?"

The Guardian Panda was startled and looked at Lu Ran incredulously.

"You have an Overlord-rank familiar?"

This was something beyond its expectations.

"Yes, Youxiong is correct. It is indeed a bit unfair for him to fight an evolved familiar with an unevolved one. Why don’t we wait until his familiar evolves as well?" Lu Ran offered.

Lu Ran didn’t have anything against Youxiong Anlin so he didn’t have the heart to ruin things for him. Otherwise, he could’ve made it fair by putting Captain Doofus on the stage.

"See? He agrees!"

Youxiong Anlin clung onto the lifeline Lu Ran threw him.

"

Hmm."

The guardian beast pondered for a moment, finding the situation too outrageous. It had only taken a nap, yet by the time it woke up, the new generation of beastmasters had already become this powerful?

Lu Ran was only a level 2 beastmaster, yet he had already contracted an Overlord species? No one had achieved this back in its day.

Although the guardian beast had great confidence in Youxiong Anlin, it couldn’t help but hesitate. Finally, it shook its head.

Fine, forget it.

Lu Ran was right. They should wait for the junior from their clan and his dual-attribute familiar to evolve so they could have a fair fight.

"Alright, we’ll do as you say," the guardian beast acquiesced.

Youxiong Anlin finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Damn, that was a close call.

The Youxiong clan wasn’t large, but it wasn’t small either. He was lucky to be favored by the guardian, and he obviously didn’t want to lose this opportunity. If someone else were chosen for training, he’d be devastated.

He was still hoping to ride his patron saint’s coattails until he could solo a Legendary secret realm.

You’re a real bro,

Youxiong Anlin thought, giving Lu Ran a grateful look.

Thanks for showing mercy! We’ll have a proper fight once my familiar evolves.

"Hey, big panda!" Manager Ying suddenly interrupted. "You must have used the Super Hibernation trait to sleep through ancient times, right?"

Back when spiritual energy faded, not every creature had the ability to hibernate. Those without it had perished.

Manager Ying assumed the Guardian Panda had mastered some variation of the Super Hibernation trait, allowing it to slow its metabolism and survive. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be this energetic.

"Yes.

"Hmm? You’re that ancient cat the clan mentioned, right?"

Since they were both ancient creatures, the Youxiong clan had naturally informed their guardian about Manager Ying, piquing its interest.

"That’s right," Manager Ying replied calmly.

"Youxiong Guardian, do you have any treasures left from ancient times? My main body is still sleeping, and I urgently need resources to replenish my energy.

"I’ll trade you modern resources for them."

"No." The guardian beast had a bad feeling about this cat.

"Transcendent resources from ancient times have long since decayed unless they were of particularly high quality. How could I have anything like that?"

"I knew it..." Manager Ying’s spirits visibly dampened.

Lu Ran was astonished by the conversation.

The guardian beast is broke? I wanted to trade for some resources, but it doesn’t have any?

After some thought, it made sense. The guardian beast relied on the Youxiong clan to gather food for it. It was in an even worse condition than Manager Ying.

Lu Ran felt this trip had been a waste—well, not completely. He had at least learned about the exclusive secret realm.

He planned to return to Lu Village and investigate where the ancestral land had been.

What if Lu Village also has an exclusive secret realm on Blue Planet? Could the Divine Deer Pendant be the key to Lu Village’s exclusive secret realm?

The guardian beast had said that some exceptionally powerful resources wouldn’t decay even when spiritual energy faded. The secret key held by the guardian beast was still functional, and the Divine Deer Pendant fit that description.

The only transcendent item that had survived through generations in Lu Village seemed to be the Divine Deer Pendant.

"If the Stellar Moon Continent is prehistoric Blue Star, then the historical timeline becomes clearer," Gu Qingyi commented.

"During the Mythological Era, the Four Supreme Divine Dragons created the world. Countless years later, humanity rose on the Stellar Moon Continent and developed beastmasters.

"Sometime after the establishment and fall of the Beastmaster Empire, human civilization reached its peak.

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Coincidentally, the Stellar Moon Continent then suffered a catastrophic event—most likely the first spiritual energy decline.

"All transcendent beings disappeared. To preserve their knowledge, an advanced civilization established Limitless City to pass on the beastmaster system when spiritual energy returned.

"Countless years later, it finally happened. Countless lifeforms evolved into transcendent beings once more.

"This was the era when Manager Ying and the Guardian Panda lived.

"When Limitless City first appeared, it selected a group of ancient humans to become beastmasters, but before long, spiritual energy began to fade again.

"In response, powerful wild transcendent creatures chose to protect human tribes in exchange for faith energy.

"This was the Totemic-Tribal Era.

"The Guardian Panda belonged to this era and learned about Limitless City from the Youxiong clan.

"Manager Ying, however, was a lone wolf, isolated from the world, so it remained largely unaware of these events.

"But nothing could halt the passage of time. Spiritual energy disappeared once again, and Limitless City closed.

"A few unique ancient creatures—Manager Ying, the Guardian Panda, and the Merfold King—entered hibernation.

"And now, in the modern era, spiritual energy has revived once more.

"Limitless City has reappeared. Beastmasters have returned. And ancient creatures have awakened again."

Everyone nodded at Gu Qingyi's analysis. In her view, the Stellar Moon Continent being the prehistoric era of Blue Planet was undeniable.

The Divine Deer had been a follower of the Supreme Divine Dragon and later became the guardian spirit of Lu Village in ancient times. If Blue Planet and the Stellar Moon Continent weren’t the same world, then how could the Divine Deer exist in both places?

Perhaps a group of Legendary creatures, led by the Divine Deer, had successfully hibernated from the Stellar Moon Continent’s era until the early days of the Xia Empire.

"Alright, everyone. This should put your hearts at ease. The Guardian Panda has been protecting humanity since ancient times and is completely trustworthy.

"Spreading this news will enhance Xia’s international influence while preventing the Merfolk Empire from encroaching on our land. Of course, we can’t provide enough resources for the guardian beast on our own," Youxiong Jiyuan continued.

The guardian beast yawned and reclined lazily in a chair.

The reason it had become the guardian of a beastmaster tribe was simple. First, the clan’s familiars were mostly pandas, and they were highly skilled at raising them.

Second, when spiritual energy faded, it had felt powerless and wanted to find a "retirement home" where it could relax and enjoy the rest of its life.

Now that spiritual energy had revived, the Guardian Panda had grown accustomed to being pampered with food and other benefits.

So, it continued serving as the clan’s guardian. It knew its strength was unrivaled in the current era. Plus, pandas were considered national treasures in this country, which only made its life even better.

"Okay." The first-generation beastmasters felt reassured now that they understood the situation.

As the Youxiong chief had explained, the Guardian Panda joining Xia was definitely a good thing.

"Then let’s do it. Can we challenge that secret realm right now?" Lin Nian, the petite girl with special abilities, suddenly asked.

"Sorry, while the secret realm can be challenged repeatedly, it has a cooldown period. It can only be opened once every seven days. However, when it’s open, there’s no limit to how many people can enter.

"We’ll notify everyone when it’s available again," Youxiong Jiyuan explained.

"Fine, forget it. I’m not interested in the Armor skill or Super Hibernation trait anyway." Lin Nian waved a hand dismissively and turned to leave—only for Gu Qingyi to grab her.

"Hold on," Gu Qingyi said.

Lin Nian wasn’t interested in the Armor skill or Super Hibernation trait, and neither was anyone else. Although those rewards were decent for newbies, first-generation beastmasters were more interested in rare and powerful traits.

Even Lu Ran, a fourth-generation beastmaster, wasn’t particularly interested.

This meant that challenging the secret realm wasn’t all that appealing to those gathered. According to the Youxiong clan, anyone could challenge the exclusive secret realm, but most of its resources had to be used as food for the Guardian Panda.

No one wanted to be a food supplier for a panda.

Instead, they would leave the secret realm open for the public tomorrow. There were still plenty of unexplored secret realms in Limitless City.

"What are you doing?" Lin Nian asked Gu Qingyi.

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave. Since you’re already here, why not let the Youxiong clan treat you to dinner before you go?"

The three Youxiong clan members were speechless.

Even if that’s how you feel, should you really say it out loud?

"I also have something to discuss with the five of you, so please stay for a moment," Gu Qingyi added.

Lu Ran already knew what she wanted to talk about.

Dr. Gu probably wanted to take advantage of having so many first-generation beastmasters present to discuss the Undead attribute.

Once Dark Crow evolved, the Undead attribute would inevitably become public knowledge. At that point, the beastmasters from around the world who shared the evolution realm with him would witness Lu Ran evolving an Undead familiar firsthand.

Contracting an Undead familiar wasn’t widely accepted—at least not yet—and it would likely cause a major uproar. Lu Ran could become a target of public criticism, giving other countries a valid excuse to go after him.

They might even try to eliminate him on the spot.

If that happened, Xia would have to send a team of bodyguards to accompany him into the evolution realm.

The six first-generation beastmasters gathered here would be the perfect candidates.