Chapter 252 - Another Epic Item!

"Oh my god, is that Lu Ran fighting with Youxiong Anlin?"

The tension in the air was palpable. No one expected to see Lu Ran in Youxiong Ancient Town.

Is he also here for the Youxiong clan’s secret realm? How did he end up getting in a fight with Youxiong Anlin?

Also, why does Youxiong Anlin look like that? He looks so domineering!

Anlin’s bearman form was completely covered in armor, making his species indiscernible. His black armor had white light streaking across it, giving it a mysterious vibe, and the helmet covering his face made him look especially frightening.

“What is that?”

"I’m not quite sure either."

Even Dean Kong of Beastmaster University, who was there to study the history of the Youxiong clan, was surprised. She had never encountered anything like it in her research.

Although they didn't recognize the beast, everyone could guess that Youxiong Anlin's unique form had something to do with the return of their guardian.

Youxiong Anlin previously surrendered to Lu Ran immediately during the freshman competition. Lu Ran had since been crowned the number one fourth-generation beastmaster, but Anlin still dared to face him in a fight. His strength must’ve increased significantly.

"It's not his Shieldwing Dragon King or the twin crows. He’s using his unevolved sword dog."

"It’s hard to tell who will win."

The crowd discussed the fight amongst themselves.

"C’mon, Lu Ran."

The transformation seemed to have an impact even on Youxiong Anlin’s mind, making him more domineering and confident.

Boom!

Huge black and golden flames burst out of Youxiong Anlin and intertwined, making him all the more intimidating.

"

Hahaha!

" Youxiong Anlin laughed wildly. He could already imagine the scene of his victory and subsequent fame.

However, reality panned out differently, making him freeze.

Lu Ran didn’t react to Anlin’s transformation at all.

"Bro, your transformation is messing with your brain. You should avoid using it. I will teach you the proper way of using body modification."

Huh?

Captain Doofus also looked at Anlin with disdain.

Captain Doofus then barked nonchalantly. Although their opponent looked strong, it couldn’t compare to Sudden Death King or Dark Crow.

This will be a piece of cake.

Wind energy erupted out of Captain Doofus as it underwent body modification. It wasn’t as sophisticated as Youxiong Anlin’s or Sudden Death King’s as it was still based on intent formation.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

As Wind energy continued to gather, its aura took a humanoid shape.

This was the technique that Captain Doofus had shown Lu Ran previously.

"What is that?"

Youxiong Anlin assumed that Lu Ran wanted his husky to also imitate a powerful creature.

He soon found out that he had underestimated the duo. Captain Doofus formed a wolf phantom and wrapped it around itself.

"A werewolf?"

The surrounding beastmasters’ expressions blanked out.

Werewolves weren’t known to be powerful creatures. Many beastmasters around the world evolved werewolves, and most of them ended up with lower species ranks than Captain Doofus.

What happened next completely shattered everyone’s expectations. Captain Doofus didn’t create a werewolf phantom to transform into one. It did so solely for the sake of making it easier to hold a sword.

Awoo!

The phantom stretched out its hands and compressed Wind energy down to thirty times its density, creating a pair of Frozen Gale Swords.

Captain Doofus then passed the Winter Fang from its mouth over to the phantom’s.

"

Umm...

"

Everyone in the area was confused by Captain Doofus’ new technique.

This is the correct way to use body modification? Isn’t this the most pointless thing ever?

The Guardian Panda’s mouth twitched. "It’s useless!"

It believed that the power of the armored bear was even above that of dragons and phoenixes. The power gap couldn’t be bridged by just adding more weapons.

Hmph.

Youxiong Anlin didn’t believe that Captain Doofus’ transformation was enough to defeat him either. He bent his legs and lunged forward with all his strength. He then threw a powerful punch at the werewolf phantom, attempting to tear it apart.

Anlin’s aura was exceedingly violent and gave off a sense of oppression that could only originate from a peak lifeform. It even surpassed Dragon Intent.

The Guardian Panda was already prepared to celebrate their victory, but its expression froze the very next second.

Woof.

The three-sword-style werewolf phantom's eyes glinted as it looked at the creature rushing toward it. It didn't even show a hint of fear.

Awoo!

Captain Doofus hypnotized itself.

That armored beast must be a dragon!

Dragon-Slaying Sword Intent.

Soul-Slaying Sword Intent.

Blizzard Sword Intent.

Three sword intents erupted at the same time, simultaneously targeting the body, soul, and mind.

Quantity over quality!

The three sword intents intertwined and shone with a blinding brilliance, startling the Guardian Panda.

Three? It’s utilizing three intents at the same time? Is this a joke?

Everyone else was just as stupefied. This was the first time any of them had seen a familiar use three intents at the same time—special sword intents, no less.

Although it hadn’t comprehended a sword domain, with Captain Doofus’ comprehension abilities, it could be very effective to study swordsmanship in this form.

Triple sword intent, secret technique!

Captain Doofus swung all three of its swords.

The werewolf phantom and the armored beast flew past each other, their brief collision resulting in a brilliant burst of light and violent winds.

They stopped with their backs facing each other, holding their respective stances.

A moment later, before everyone’s incredulous gazes, the armored beast's transformation shattered.

Youxiong Anlin and the Dark-Light Panda were then forced to separate.

The Dark-Light Panda fell heavily to the ground, and Youxiong Anlin’s face turned pale as blood trickled from the corners of his mouth. He knelt over on his panda with a devastated look.

My strongest state... was defeated in just seconds?

"Impossible."

The Guardian Panda froze in disbelief. It was so mad that it then stomped right through the roof of the car that it had been standing on to get a better view of the fight.

Its jaw dropped at the unpredictable result.

My car!

Youxiong Jiyuan silently complained.

With the winner decided, the crowd once again affirmed that Lu Ran was worthy of being crowned as the strongest of the fourth generation. However, no one dared to say anything due to the guardian’s face.

Everyone had caught up to the situation by this point.

The guardian probably wanted its clan member to give Lu Ran a challenge, but Anlin ended up losing instead.

Still unable to accept the reality, the Guardian Panda incomprehensively asked Lu Ran and his familiar, "How can a dog simultaneously use three intents?"

"Ah?"

The duo couldn't help but be confused.

"What's wrong? Are we not allowed to do that? Is it something very difficult?" Lu Ran inquired.

The sword domain he had drafted for Captain Doofus involved integrating several sword intents, so using multiple sword intents at the same time came naturally. In fact, it was just a foundational skill to them.

Pffft.

Anlin Youxiong spat out blood again. It wasn’t due to his injury; Lu Ran’s words were just too infuriating.

What the hell?

He looked at the Guardian Panda in confusion.

Didn't you say that I would be absolutely invincible amongst the Champion-rank familiars? How did I end up like this? Lu Ran won without even using a beastmaster skill.

"I..."

The Guardian Panda was terrified.

Isn't that dog just a Superior-Champion-rank familiar? Why did it seem as strong as a Low Overlord? What kind of skill configuration does it have to be capable of juggling three different sword intents?

Looking at the smiling Lu Ran, it suddenly understood why everyone said that he was the strongest fourth-generation beastmaster and had even suppressed an entire generation.

Damn it. Even if Anlin’s familiar evolved, it still might not be able to beat his Overlord-rank familiars.

The Guardian Panda lost all sense of confidence, making it feel empty inside. Its plan to bring pandas back to glory collapsed before it even began. Of all the species that existed, they lost to a dog.

For shame!

"Hey, hey, hey. Now that we’re done fighting, why don't we go find somewhere private to chat?" Lu Ran offered as he looked at the continuously growing crowd.

The fight gave Lu Ran a bunch of questions for the Youxiong clan.

"Oh, and don't forget about our agreement." Lu Ran smiled.

This trip definitely wasn’t going to end in a loss.

***

Back at the Youxiong residence, the Guardian Panda was questioning its entire life. It knew that something was off. It just couldn’t figure out how Lu Ran’s husky could be so strong.

President Youxiong took An Lin away to get medical assistance and left Lu Ran alone with the guardian.

"Lord Guardian, was my guess earlier correct? The secret realm key in your possession is related to a powerful creature and most likely even a part of its body."

"So what?” The Guardian Panda sulked.

"Is it an Epic item?"

"Yes."

"Damn."

Lu Ran knew that several major countries had some Epic-grade national treasures, but he had never seen one in person. It turned out that the Youxiong clan had one as well.

The panda was pretty open about it, making it clear that it wasn’t afraid of getting robbed. Given its strength, it wasn’t a likely scenario either.

"What do you want to know? Go ahead and ask."

"Is it an item from a Legendary-rank species?" Lu Ran asked.

"No, but you're close. It's above Superior Overlords."

“And Youxiong Anlin's familiar learned its body modification technique from that item,” Lu Ran deduced.

"Yes. Do you want to learn how to do it too?"

"Of course. I will grind food from the secret realm in exchange!”

Lu Ran's objective was finally exposed. He wasn’t interested in the armored beast. Rather, he wanted his familiars to comprehend the technique using the Divine Deer Pendant!

Maybe the Guardian Panda was hiding some special skill that he could use as a reference.