Chapter 254 - The Tempting Overload Heavenly Familiar Ranking

“Huh?”

In Pedestrian A’s exclusive room, Lu Ran looked at the two amplification cards in his storage, his expression shifting slightly.

An item that can enhance the grade of resources? Wouldn’t that mean its effect is similar to the Spirit-Converting Pot?

However, the Spirit-Converting Pot could only enhance flesh-based and plant-based ingredients—and at most, up to the Rare grade. Yet this amplification card had no such limitations, and its enhancement cap was at Treasure grade!

At first glance, Lu Ran didn’t think much of it. But after giving it more thought, his expression started changing.

The Overlord Heavenly Familiar Ranking rewards were this overpowered?

This amplification card was practically divine. Limitless City truly understood beastmasters, especially top-tier beastmasters, and knew exactly what they lacked.

Did beastmasters like Lu Ran, Gu Qingyi, and Manager Ying lack Treasure-grade resources? The answer was no. What they lacked were Treasure-grade resources that suited their familiars.

Treasure-grade resources existed, but Treasure-grade resources that matched one’s familiar were incredibly rare. Because of this, barter trading was highly popular among top-tier beastmasters. But even so, since Treasure-grade resources were scarce, over 90% of beastmasters struggled to find the perfect match.

For example, Treasure-grade Light and Dark attribute resources were nearly nonexistent. On the other hand, Treasure-grade Water and Rock attribute resources were significantly more common.

However, if beastmasters had amplification cards, the resource market would change dramatically. Even though Treasure-grade Light and Dark resources were rare, Rare-grade Light and Dark resources were abundant.

If needed, a beastmaster could use an amplification card to upgrade Rare-grade resources before giving them to their familiars. This would greatly alleviate the resource shortage problem among top-tier beastmasters.

There might be too few Treasure-grade resources, but that didn’t mean Advance-grade and Rare-grade resources were in short supply.

The moment Lu Ran saw the two amplification cards, his first thought was—

Captain Doofus is in for a treat! Didn’t Captain Doofus want to learn domains?

To help it, Lu Ran had spent countless Soul Cleansing Fruits just to boost its comprehension temporarily. But honestly, at this point, Soul Cleansing Fruits barely made a difference.

The effect was minimal—practically useless in helping Captain Doofus comprehend domains. So, Lu Ran had asked Manager Ying to search for a Treasure-grade resource that enhanced learning ability and comprehension.

But how could such a thing be found so easily? Until now, there had been no leads.

Now, things were different. With an amplification card, Lu Ran could directly upgrade a Soul Cleansing Fruit from Rare to Treasure-grade. He can turn it into a Treasure-grade comprehension-boosting resource, and then give it to Captain Doofus.

“This is excellent. With the vast variety of low-grade materials available, this is practically giving beastmasters the ability to customize their own Treasure-grade resources.”

Lu Ran was thrilled and very satisfied with the Overlord Heavenly Familiar Ranking rewards.

***

“Amplification card? So after contract cards, ID cards, and upgrade cards, yet another new type of card has appeared?”

After obtaining information from Lu Ran, Manager Ying looked shocked. It instantly understood the true value of the amplification card.

If its judgment was correct, once this information got out, beastmasters’ desire for Overlord-rank familiars and a place on the Overlord Heavenly Familiar Ranking would reach insane levels.

“As long as Captain Doofus’ evolution resources are no longer a problem.”

Inside the Cat Maid Cafe, Lu Ran smiled.

That idiot,Captain Doofus, actually made a smart move for once.

Sudden Death King and Dark Crow, which had evolved early and made it to the rankings, ended up as free labor. The ranking rewards all landed in Captain Doofus’ lap.

“There’s always a supply drop before a big battle. First, the Legendary Secret Realm, then the Evolution Secret Realm, and now the updated rewards from the Overlord Heavenly Familiar Ranking. I have a bad feeling about this.”

Unlike Lu Ran who was pleased, Manager Ying frowned pessimistically.

Lu Ran was confused. “Don’t scare me.”

Manager Ying had Time-attribute abilities and had previously demonstrated foresight. Lu Ran took its words seriously.

“Just focus on getting stronger and keep expanding on what you’re good at.” Manager Ying dismissed him.

“Alright.”

Lu Ran took a final sip of orange juice, set the glass down, and patted his pants.

After informing Manager Ying about the ranking rewards, he immediately left for the training secret realm to enhance resources and reward Captain Doofus.

***

After entering the training secret realm, Lu Ran’s figure appeared on a grassy field. He took out a contract card and summoned Captain Doofus, who had just finished a battle.

“

Wuu~!”

Captain Doofus shook its head and yawned. Taking advantage of its open mouth, Lu Ran shoved the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer into it.

“

Wuu?

”

Captain Doofus looked utterly confused as it was still chewing.

“Actually, the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer is also a sword.” Lu Ran said.

Captain Doofus widened its eyes.

Are you trying to fool a dog?

Seeing Captain Doofus looking at him like he was an idiot, Lu Ran got mad.

“You can mistake a bear for a dragon, so why can’t you see a deer horn as a sword? It’s not like you’re losing anything. If this is a sword, doesn’t that mean you have an Epic-grade sword? Even without evolving, wouldn’t Sudden Death King and Dark Crow be helpless against you?”

Captain Doofus suddenly looked sharp.

That’s true.

But, looking at the shape of the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer, Captain Doofus’ brain completely shut down. Even a piece of grass or a stick looked more like a sword than this. It just couldn’t do it.

Although it had used Dragon-Slaying Intent against that panda, Captain Doofus could tell that the sword intent wasn’t as strong. And the only reason it worked was that Captain Doofus didn’t recognize the panda.

But the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer? Captain Doofus was too familiar with it. Even with its low intelligence, it couldn’t fool itself this time.

“No rush. Take your time. In the end, the power of my what-I-think-becomes-real ability is still a form of willpower. Your mind just isn’t strong enough yet.” Lu Ran patted Captain Doofus’s head.

Without it realizing, he embedded Flame Spirit into its body. The next moment, Captain Doofus’ eyes turned scarlet, and the tips of its black-and-white fur took on a crimson tint. An extreme heat engulfed its brain, causing its gaze to turn hazy—wild and violent like a raging fire.

Sensing that Captain Doofus’ thoughts were slowing down, Lu Ran asked again, “Does this look like a sword to you now?”

He waved the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer in front of Captain Doofus’ eyes. Under its hazy gaze, the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer started to blur and distort...

As Lu Ran continued talking nonsense and waving it around, Captain Doofus let out a bark.

It... kind of looks like a sword.

Lu Ran was delighted and immediately stuffed the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer back into Captain Doofus’ mouth. However, after waiting for a while, Lu Ran noticed that Captain Doofus’ grade didn’t change at all.

He sighed and pulled it out again.

Forget it. Developing the power of belief is a delicate process—rushing won’t help.

Lu Ran withdrew the Flame Spirit, and Captain Doofus’ eyes gradually cleared up. At that moment, Lu Ran took out a Soul Cleansing Fruit.

“You should just focus on learning your Sword Domain.”

“

Woof!

”

Captain Doofus eagerly stuck out its tongue to grab the Soul Cleansing Fruit. But Lu Ran pushed its face away and instead pulled out an amplification card.

“Hold on, let me buff it first.” Lu Ran grinned mischievously.

Then, under Captain Doofus’ stunned gaze, Lu Ran pressed the amplification card onto the Soul Cleansing Fruit. Immediately, the amplification card vanished, merging into the fruit.

A golden-blue light burst forth from the Soul Cleansing Fruit, making its aura even more enticing. Captain Doofus’ nose twitched frantically as it was overwhelmed by the fragrance.

[Amplification successful.]

[Name: Soul Cleansing Fruit (Amplified)]

[Grade: Treasure]

[Description: Significantly increases the consumer’s learning ability and comprehension for one day. Permanently provides a minor enhancement to comprehension.]

“Permanent enhancement?” Lu Ran was momentarily stunned.

Nice. Even if Captain Doofus doesn’t comprehend a domain this time, it won’t be a complete waste.

“

Woof?

”

Captain Doofus stared at the Soul Cleansing Fruit, then looked at Lu Ran.

Lu Ran nodded, and Captain Doofus excitedly gulped down the fruit in one bite.

Gulp.

It swallowed it whole. Then, without hesitation, Captain Doofus ran up to Lu Ran and demanded swords. Lu Ran didn’t hesitate either and tossed over the Longleaf Swordgrass, the Void-Slashing Sword, and Winter Fang.

After constantly acting as Captain Doofus’ sword rack, Lu Ran was getting tired of it.

The Space attribute was powerful because of its various tricky effects.

Some of the strongest Space-attribute familiars could even create spatial storage pockets to carry their weapons. For example, Manager Ying had its own independent space storage.

Once Captain Doofus mastered Space abilities, it could develop similar skills, and Lu Ran wouldn’t have to carry its swords anymore. It could just store them itself.

Having received the swords and eaten the Soul Cleansing Fruit, Captain Doofus immediately ran off to train.

Lu Ran originally planned to slack off for a bit, but after realizing how rare the Treasure-grade Soul Cleansing Fruit was, he gritted his teeth, raised his hand, and casted Soul Amplification.

He temporarily boosted Captain Doofus’ comprehension by using a beastmaster skill,

At that moment, Captain Doofus felt as if it had stepped into an entirely new world with Soul Amplification active, Soul Cleansing Fruit in its belly, and a sword in its mouth.

“

Woof!

”

With a low growl, a wind ripple spread rapidly from Captain Doofus’ body.

Domain, activate.

Boom.

In an instant—too fast for the naked eye to perceive—Captain Doofus found itself inside a wind barrier. However, despite holding the Void-Slashing Sword, Captain Doofus still felt lost. It looked around but still couldn’t make the domain resonate with the void, causing it to bare its teeth in frustration.

Half a day later, Captain Doofus who was panting heavily, still failed to comprehend the domain. It felt like something was missing, but it couldn’t figure out what.

Meanwhile, Lu Ran was also feeling drained. He checked the time and realized that he couldn’t last much longer

.

Soul Amplification drains too much energy!

“Let’s head to the Youxiong Clan’s trial secret realm instead.” Lu Ran called off Captain Doofus’s training.

“

Rawr!

”

“

Caw.

”

He also summoned Sudden Death King and Dark Crow, who had been warming up. Seeing Captain Doofus’ frustration, they decided to offer their own suggestions as good friends.

“My King, maybe the amplified Soul Cleansing Fruit just isn’t good enough. I have an idea.”

Dark Crow flapped its wings and said, “Why don’t we have General Doofus learn from me? Just take out its brain, enhance it with the amplification card, and then use the Divine Deer’s power to put it back in. Its learning ability will be flawless!”

“

Rawr!

(You’re a genius!)”

Sudden Death King looked at Dark Crow like it was staring at a demon.

This guy was seriously evil. But... I support the idea!

“

Woof, woof!

”

Beside them, Captain Doofus’ eyes widened in rage. It wanted to kill Dark Crow on the spot.

A crow can say something like this? And Sudden Death King, too. It needed a beating.

They were only bullying it because it hadn’t evolved yet!

Crack.

Captain Doofus glared at them with burning fury.

This grudge...

Ding, ding, ding, ding.

The Void-Slashing Sword in its mouth trembled as its teeth clenched tightly. It could barely contain its murderous intent. It couldn’t let this grudge slide. It had to settle it right now.

“

Woof!

(I’m going to cut you both down!)”

Domain, activate!