Chapter 244 - Possession of the Crow, Curse of Despair

Possession!

The scene before the onlooking beastmasters instantly reminded many of them of the unique traits of the Undead attribute!

Invisibility, phasing, and possession!

Among their many abilities, an Undead-attribute familiar’s greatest power was its ability to possess a beastmaster, thereby enhancing their combat prowess.

This Death Crow was an Undead-attribute familiar, or rather a spiritual entity, so naturally, it could also possess things—but no one expected it to actually possess its own second body.

In that moment, an earth-shattering surge of cursed energy erupted from the thousand-eyed evil crow. The sinister fluctuations of this curse power even made some of the level 50 plus familiars beside the first generation’s elites turn pale.

They felt fear.

This thing... It could fuse both of its bodies together?

Who knew what kind of qualitative change would result from the fusion of two Low Overlords?

“What kind of joke is this? Does such a familiar really exist?”

“A single being with two souls, possessing itself... This is way too much!”

“What is it trying to do?”

At that moment, General Dark Crow entered its full battle-ready state. Its jet-black wings spread wide, each feathered with Eyes of the Evil God—all of which snapped open at once. Those eerie vertical pupils, seemingly alive, resonated together as Dark Crow uttered in a deep voice:

“Remember, the King must not be humiliated!”

As Dark Crow spoke, the elite beastmasters from various nations were still puzzled—until, in the next moment, they saw its countless eyes sweep across those beastmasters who had been severely wounded by Lin Nian.

“

Aaaahhh

!”

Suddenly, those already heavily injured beastmasters let out shrill screams. Even those who had fallen unconscious abruptly awoke in agony, their screams piercing the battlefield.

“What?”

The top beastmasters from different nations were utterly shocked. They thought Lu Ran was delivering a finishing blow—but in truth, all of this was Dark Crow’s independent action. However, once Lu Ran realized what was happening, he didn’t stop it.

Instead, he was pleased. Dark Crow could indeed fuse its twin bodies. This was an excellent discovery. While Lu Ran was pleased, the beastmasters from other nations were filled with dread.

The moment Dark Crow finished speaking, the injured beastmasters’ bodies began to writhe. Under everyone’s horrified gaze, their bodies twisted and mutated into grotesque shapes!

“

Oink!

”

“

Oink... Oink...

”

Disturbing sounds came from their mouths. Then, in less than a minute, the battlefield fell into stunned silence as everyone witnessed unbelievable transformations.

All of those severely wounded beastmasters and their familiars—under the relentless writhing of their own flesh—had collectively turned into pigs.

“Oh my god.”

The beastmasters that watched it unfold were filled with horror as they saw internationally renowned beastmasters suddenly transform into pigs. They turned their gazes toward Dark Crow and felt a deep chill run down their spines.

What is this? A curse technique?

“Holy!” Even Pig God was stunned.

What? The Pig Transformation Curse has evolved into full-body shapeshifting?

“What?”

Even Principal Shi Zhen was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Dark Crow to have reached this level.

However, Lu Ran wasn’t surprised. After consuming the Soul Scarecrow, Dark Crow had already nearly mastered using sacrificial pig blood to achieve something similar. It just hadn’t been this strong before.

“Trash, repent as pigs!” Dark Crow declared as he landed beside Lu Ran, who was clad in his Undead Holy Robe. Now, the gaze of many powerful beastmasters turned toward Lu Ran with even greater terror. They hadn’t expected his familiar to possess such a terrifying ability.

Turning people into pigs... Is this guy the devil?

This was worse than killing them. These were elite figures known internationally, after all. If they returned to their home countries in pig form, how could they ever face the world again? But this was no longer Lu Ran’s problem.

Lin Nian cast Dark Crow an intrigued glance. She had thought herself ruthless, but Lu Ran was even crueler.

I guess there was need to kill, huh? It’s better to just tear down their ego.

“Those reporters left too early...! A whole group of international elites getting cursed into pigs by Lu Ran’s Twin Crows—now that’s a top-tier headline!”

“From now on, we must never, ever provoke Lu Ran!”

***

In the Cat Maid Cafe.

As soon as Lu Ran and his group exited, Shi Zhen couldn’t contain himself.

“Lu Ran! That crow—has it mastered the ‘Pig Transformation Curse’? Does that mean—?”

Lu Ran knew Principal Shi Zhen would be excited upon seeing this technique.

He replied, “Calm down. Its curse still isn’t that refined. Those people will actually turn back to normal in a few days. The Witch Council’s version is definitely stronger—they must have sacrificed some rare Treasure-grade resources...

“My crow’s level is still too low. Besides, this is a transformation curse, not a gender-swapping curse.”

“Alright, alright. I’m not in a rush.”

At least I’ve seen hope. This is a good start!

“Damn, this curse is insane.”

Pig God was amazed.

“If it becomes permanent, could you curse a dragon egg so that when it hatches, it’s a pig-dragon?”

The potential was thrilling. Actually, Pig God had a beastmaster skill called Pig Tribe Enhancement. It was unexpectedly effective, and since he didn’t want to waste it, he had gone all-in on raising pigs.

“Can you guys focus on serious matters? Xia, or rather Lu Ran, is about to be at the center of international controversy. His safety is about to become a much bigger issue.”

“That’s fine. The emergence of the Undead attribute is bound to disrupt a lot of major interests. I've prepared for this,” Lu Ran responded calmly.

However, despite his words, Lu Ran still hoped to quickly enter another ascension realm and become a level 3 beastmaster.

With that, his familiars could reach level 40. A level 40 Overlord would be strong enough to contend with a level 50 King. At that point, only the absolute top first-generation beastmasters would be able to challenge him.

And once he mastered Kinship, combined with his Green Sea Legion, his strength would undergo a dramatic transformation.

By then, not only human nations, but even feral beast territories wouldn’t be able to restrain him.

“Until we figure this out, don’t leave Xia. If the International Beastmaster Alliance wants to investigate, they can come here,” Gu Qingyi boasted.

Gu Qingyi’s confidence came from the old guild leader. Xia could study the Undead attribute, and the International Alliance couldn’t stop them.

Would other countries really dare to tear apart relations with Xia, the nation with the strongest first generation?

As long as Xia’s research had a significant impact on the beastmaster field and could reshape the global balance, then no matter what they studied, countless nations would inevitably bow to them. At that point, the International Beastmaster Alliance’s stance would shift once again.

“What a pity. I’m too busy—otherwise, I’d love to be Lu Ran’s personal bodyguard.” Zhu Kaixin sighed regretfully, then turned to Lu Ran.

“By the way, Lu Ran, your next... the next one to evolve should be your first familiar, right? That swordsdog? Compared to Dragon-attribute evolution, Undead and Curse-attribute evolutions seem even harder.

“But don’t worry, I’ve already started looking for the right evolution materials for it. As soon as I find something, I’ll get it for you immediately.”

“Ah... Thank you so much.”

Lu Ran didn’t refuse. He needed power. In fact, it wasn’t just Zhu Kaixin—even Gu Qingyi and Manager Ying had also started searching for Captain Doofus’ evolution resources.

If finding them before had been difficult, things were completely different now.

Lu Ran had suddenly become an international focus, the core figure in unlocking the Undead attribute’s potential on Blue Planet. Moving forward, countless factions would want to curry favor with him.

At that point, evolution resources for Captain Doofus wouldn’t be an issue as there would be plenty of options.

Captain Doofus’ plan was sound. It had compressed its ice power dozens of times to sharpen its intelligence and carefully planned the perfect progression order.

First, Sudden Death King evolved, unlocking Kinship skills and the Legion trait. Then, Dark Crow evolved, riding the Undead attribute momentum, allowing Lu Ran to collect another wave of resources.

Following this pattern, the next batch of resources should logically go to Captain Doofus. Waiting for the final evolution wasn’t a loss.

With wisdom surpassing an ordinary huskie, Captain Doofus endured the temptation to evolve first and patiently waited to see if its plan would prove successful.

***

The group didn’t stay in Limitless City for long before transferring back to Xia. The undead incident in the ascension realm still required the first-generation beastmasters to handle it.

At this moment, Cherry Blossom Kingdom was furiously condemning Lin Nian’s ruthless slaughter. However, Lin Nian simply ignored them.

While the person condemning Lin Nian did hold an Interpol status, at this moment, the International Beastmaster Alliance had no intention of backing them. Instead, they also chose to ignore them and prioritized verification of Lu Ran’s claims with Xia instead.

In international conflicts, only fists and interests defined the truth. Everything else was just a leash for the weak.

As for the growing international backlash, the International Alliance quickly announced that it would dispatch a research team to Xia to verify the authenticity of the claims.

Meanwhile, Lu Ran was already back in Green Sea City, enjoying a peaceful moment alone with his familiars while waiting for the International Research Team to arrive.

Once the International Alliance completed the verifications, based on Dr. Gu’s assessment, Lu Ran would be able to exchange his Undead research results for massive benefits from multiple countries.

“Captain Doofus, oh Captain Doofus, what do you think we should do?”

Even now that both Sudden Death King and Dark Crow had grown so strong, Captain Doofus remained surprisingly calm—so calm that Lu Ran couldn’t resist teasing it.

“

Woof!

”

Captain Doofus gripped its Longleaf Swordgrass, narrowed its eyes, and casually swung. A mosquito was instantly sliced in half.

“

Woof

. (And that was just eliminating another insignificant opponent.)”

Ignoring Lu Ran’s provocation, Captain Doofus focused entirely on comprehending its sword soul, sword heart, and sword intent.

“

Hahaha!

Dark Crow.” Lu Ran laughed heartily and called out.

Dark Crow instantly emerged from the void, its eerie voice cackling.

“

Caw, caw, caw!

My king, I have been waiting for this moment for so long!”

Lu Ran raised an eyebrow. “Oh? You already know why I called you?”

At this moment, the Cursed Crow had already been dispatched to train its crow legion.

Meanwhile, Dark Crow had come up with a bold idea. Could it use its own Eye of the Evil God as rewards? Would gifting them to deserving ordinary crows create a stronger cursed crow legion—one that was more suited for its control?

The intelligence of these crows had definitely increased. And now, the Death Crow seemed to have guessed Lu Ran’s intentions. Its expression turned shy.

“My king, I’m sure you must want to merge with me! Once we fuse, you will gain control over undead energy. Combining it with your Flame Spirit will make soulfire even easier to wield! You also plan to use soulfire to forge a new weapon for Captain Doofus!”

Dark Crow’s analysis left Lu Ran slightly stunned.

He gave the crow a look of approval.

“Not bad. But why the hell are you blushing?” Lu Ran’s mouth twitched.

Aren’t you a damn undead familiar? Why would you even blush? And for what? This wasn’t even a fusion ability, just undead possession—so what the hell was there to be embarrassed about?

“Enough nonsense. Let’s do this.”

In the next instant, Dark Crow dove into Lu Ran’s body.

“Ugh.”

A surge of black mist erupted from his body as a wave of spiritual energy radiated outward. During the process, Lu Ran’s hair changed from its usual clean-cut short length to a long, unruly, and wild length.

Lu Ran wasn’t surprised. He wasn’t worried about turning into some half-human, half-ghost monstrosity. After all, in the last ascension realm, he had seen plenty of beastmasters possessed by Undead familiars.

Unlike fusion, undead possession didn’t change a beastmaster too much. It was just spiritual energy reshaping the body.

At most, it would alter a hairstyle, change eye color, or—if the familiar was Dark Crow—perhaps even give him a set of crow wings, granting him flight. Honestly, that would be pretty cool.

As expected, in the next moment, the spiritual energy manifested. A pair of massive, black-feathered wings then burst from Lu Ran’s back! His wings spread wide. The dense, dark plumage emanated a terrifying undead aura.

With a single flap, Lu Ran soared into the air, bursting into laughter as he felt amazing.

However, just as he was enjoying the new sensation, his expression suddenly froze. Then, in an instant, his face darkened.

Because his mouth...had also been reshaped by the spiritual energy. Now, he had a crow’s beak. And on that beak, two glowing red Eyes of the Evil God flickered ominously.

“Fuck! Why the hell is your crow genetics so damn strong? This looks awful!”

“

Caw?

”