Chapter 280 - The Preliminaries Begin

“Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit.”

Soon, Lu Ran and Shi Ze left the Death Forest. Once outside, Shi Ze looked visibly shaken.

“Brother Lu, City Lord Ye actually wants to take you as a disciple? You’re basically about to ascend to heaven!”

“Hm?” Lu Ran looked at him in confusion.

“

Ahem,

I almost forgot your background. You’re this calm? Don’t tell me... your parents are Legendary-rank powerhouses too?” Shi Ze’s lips twitched.

A child of legends!

No, even children of Legendary-rank figures couldn’t compare to Lu Ran. After all, this guy seemed to have had direct contact with Legendary-rank beings.

The more Shi Ze thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

“Don’t go spreading what I said to City Lord Ye just now. I don’t want people to know I’ve encountered Legendary-rank beings. I only told you because I trust you, Brother Shi.” Lu Ran patted Shi Ze on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry! I won’t even tell my own father! I’ll keep it sealed in my stomach. Otherwise, I’ll be damned! But speaking of which, City Lord Ye wasn’t wrong. With your background, not just any plantmaster would dare to take you as a disciple. That would basically be stealing from the Beastmaster Lodge...” Shi Ze mused.

“Since City Lord Ye doesn’t mind and even wants you to keep your beastmaster identity while learning, it might be because she also transitioned from beastmastery to plantmastery. She wasn’t originally a plantmaster either.

“Do you remember what I told you before? There were rumors that City Lord Ye wanted to take in a disciple to inherit her clan’s beastmaster skills. Maybe she’s interested in your beastmaster talent, and the plantmaster knowledge is just a bonus.”

“It doesn’t matter. As long as I can learn advanced plantmaster knowledge, that’s enough for me. By the way, does City Lord Ye have any long-time rivals? She mentioned inviting a friend’s disciple to participate, but this doesn’t sound like a friend at all... She clearly wants me to eliminate that person’s disciple, right?” Lu Ran asked.

Shi Ze was momentarily stunned.

“I have no idea... But it makes sense. For City Lord Ye to reach her level of strength, she must have had a few formidable opponents along the way. However, a level 3 plantmaster with an Overlord plant familiar is going to be a tough fight. There are six days left, Brother Lu. Can you break through to level 3?”

“No way!” Lu Ran replied without hesitation.

That was the downside of being a beastmaster in Limitless City. Advancing was not up to the beastmaster alone. Limitless City imposed level restrictions, forcing beastmasters to complete specific ascension missions to reach the next level.

But honestly, ignoring the benefits while only pointing out the flaws was just being unreasonable. Although their growth level was restricted, Limitless City provided an alternative path—familiar evolution.

On the Stellar Moon Continent and the Divine Tree Continent, there was no such thing as phase 1 and phase 2 evolution at level 30 and level 60. Evolution methods for familiars were secrets that ordinary people had no access to. But beastmasters from Limitless City were different.

As their familiars fused with traits, Limitless City granted them evolution opportunities. Even the weakest beastmaster could have a moment where their familiar defied fate through evolution.

“So what’s the plan?”

Shi Ze was concerned for Lu Ran. He sincerely hoped Lu Ran would become City Lord Ye’s disciple. After all, Lu Ran had a good relationship with the Shi Clan. If he became the city lord’s disciple, the Shi Clan would benefit greatly.

“Even if I can’t break through, I still need to make preparations. I should put my familiar through intense training this week. Don’t forget, its abilities are somewhat effective against plant life, so there’s no need to worry too much.”

Lu Ran spoke calmly. Besides, he didn’t just have Captain Doofus. He still had Sudden Death King. Honestly, if he wasn’t worried about committing too much slaughter and leaving a bad impression on City Lord Ye, he would have just let Sudden Death King fly up high and drop down in Lightning-Flame Dragon mode. The entire Death Forest would become a crater. Not a single participant would escape, and not a single vicious plant would survive.

***

Because of Lu Ran, Death Forest was quickly cleared. Some participants who had come early to familiarize themselves with the preliminary trial area didn’t dare complain after hearing it was an order from the city lord herself.

“Sister Yang, can you find out what happened today?” Liu Man, a plantmaster from Stellar Moon University, asked a local of Tree World City.

Just like Lu Ran, the three beastmasters from another world—Yu Rui, Liu Man, and Jiang Ming—had been quickly recognized as extraordinary by the locals. They were invited by different clans. Since Yu Rui and Liu Man were plantmasters, they naturally sought out plantmaster clans.

Jiang Ming, on the other hand, was a beastmaster nurturing a dragon. However, considering the ascension realm this time was unusual, he didn’t dare separate from them. He abandoned the invitation from beastmaster clans and clung to Yu Rui instead.

“I’ll try to find out. Today’s events were indeed strange,” said a tall woman in a floral dress, deep in thought.

From Liu Man and the others’ perspective, this ascension realm was truly bizarre. It was impossible to grasp what was really going on.

***

Lu Ran returned to the Shi Clan again. This time, he requested a training ground from them and began training with Captain Doofus. He also instructed them not to disturb him. Shi Ze wanted to help, but considering that the Shi Clan’s capabilities weren’t on the same level as the Beastmaster Lodge, he refrained from making a fool of himself.

However, Lu Ran understood the importance of maintaining relationships. He didn’t want to completely exclude the Shi Clan, so he asked Shi Ze to gather a few vicious plants for Dark Crow to study.

And so, Captain Doofus trained in the vicious plant territory, Sudden Death King tried to adapt to the Lightning-Flame form, and Dark Crow started researching new curses. This was how Lu Ran and his team started to prepare for the upcoming Plant-Beast Tournament.

Lu Ran was confident in performing well in a normal competition. But since this involved an apprenticeship under a strong beastmaster, he didn’t dare be careless. He trained intensely to ensure a 100% success rate.

At the same time, Yu Rui and his group were searching for the source of the disturbance they had encountered in Death Forest, hoping to uncover a hidden side quest. Unfortunately, Shi Ze remained tight-lipped. City Lord Ye wasn’t someone just anyone could approach, and no matter how much they investigated, they didn’t find much.

At that very moment, City Lord Ye arrived at a different city, one that was also home to a Legendary-rank powerhouse.

“What are you doing here?”

An elderly woman stepped out of the city. From her aura alone, she bore a striking resemblance to City Lord Ye.

“Senior.”

If anyone from Tree World City were present, they would have been utterly shocked. There had never been any rumors that City Lord Ye had a senior.

“I’ve found a promising beastmaster and intend to take him as my disciple. However, skills should not be passed down lightly, so I plan to give him a test. That’s why I’d like to borrow your disciple and have her participate in the Plant-Beast Tournament in Tree World City to put some pressure on him,” City Lord Ye said.

“Huh?” The red-haired elderly woman was stunned. “What kind of person could possibly make you consider taking on a disciple? But... a beastmaster? What are you trying to do? Are you still being sentimental? Beastmasters are relics of the past. The Divine Tree Continent no longer has a place for them.”

“That may be true, but I still have some regrets. Back then, I struggled with this myself. Why couldn’t beastmasters surpass plantmasters? I see a glimmer of hope in him,” said City Lord Ye.

Born into a beastmaster clan, she had been exposed to beastmasters from a young age. Naturally, she had a deep affection for beastmastery. But in the end, beastmasters couldn’t match plantmasters and that was a fact. She had ultimately chosen reality over dreams.

The reason she hosted the Plant-Beast Tournament was to see if a beastmaster could ever defeat a plantmaster, even if it was only in the small city of Tree World City. But unfortunately, to this day, not a single beastmaster had won the championship.

“So, you’re saying this beastmaster you found has extraordinary potential?” City Lord Ye’s senior asked.

“Even your precious disciple might not be able to beat him,” City Lord Ye chuckled.

After all, Lu Ran was from the Beastmaster Lodge, his familiar was an Overlord, and he had even encountered a Legendary-rank being.

“

Hehe.

” City Lord Ye’s senior shook her head in disdain. “Fine, do whatever makes you happy. I’ll send her over. But if the one you’ve got your eye on loses and gets crushed, don’t blame me.”

“Of course.”

With that, the invitation was complete. City Lord Ye was satisfied and returned to Tree World City. On the other hand, a genius plantmaster who was almost 20 years old, followed her master’s orders to set off for Tree World City to participate in the Plant-Beast Tournament.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye. Soon, it was the day of the Plant-Beast Tournament Preliminaries. Since the preliminaries were conducted in a forest, there were no spectators. That day, only a few hundred prodigies from the surrounding cities, along with judges recruited from the nine great clans, gathered around Death Forest.

“Brother Lu, you sure know how to endure. You actually trained for days without resting.”

As Shi Ze and Lu Ran waited outside Death Forest, Shi Ze couldn’t help but express his admiration for Lu Ran’s ability to remain in secluded training for so long.

“Are you out of asses to kiss? Isn’t this basic?” Lu Ran replied.

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

“Of course not! If I train in seclusion for just two days, I start feeling like ants are crawling all over me. I need to watch the flower dancers perform a set to calm my mind before I can continue training. Ah, I totally forgot to take you to see the flower dancers of Tree World City! What a sin! Let’s go after the tournament?”

Lu Ran fell silent for a moment. He had almost forgotten that beastmasters on the Divine Tree Continent also had to train themselves, focusing their minds through deep meditation. Comparing their training styles, beastmasters on the Divine Tree Continent did seem to have it rougher. It was no wonder Shi Ze couldn’t last two days.

Unlike them, Lu Ran didn’t need to meditate in deep focus. He just arranged for his familiars to train on their own. For him, training mostly meant refining beastmaster skills, but that was far more exciting than silent meditation. It was never boring.

Whether he was simulating his familiars, using Flame Spirit to cook, or experimenting with new techniques, everything had a sense of novelty. Like with this previous training session, Lu Ran was studying Sword Domain, seeing if he could learn it just like Captain Doofus. Once he got absorbed in it, time flew by. It was never dull.

“The preliminaries are about to begin! All participants, prepare yourselves!”

Just as Shi Ze and Lu Ran were talking, the voice of a judge rang out. Beside the judge stood a Devourer Flower. As his voice fell, the expressions of the hundreds of participants present turned serious.

“Let me explain the preliminary rules once again. You will start from here and traverse the entire forest, attempting to reach the other side. Those who successfully make it through will advance to the next round.

“During the traversal, you are allowed to interfere with each other, eliminate competitors, and fight freely. There are no restrictions on life or death. So, please ask yourselves once again: Do you still wish to participate?”

No restrictions on life or death!

Many beastmasters took deep breaths. But for the sake of the tournament’s huge rewards, they were willing to risk it. Compared to searching for resources in the wild, this was actually safer.

On the other side, Yu Rui looked at Liu Man and Jiang Ming.

“Be careful. This preliminary round is more dangerous than the main tournament. We’ll move as a team, so don’t fall behind me.”

Since they were all beastmasters from the same place, and this ascension realm had no respawn mechanism, he couldn’t just leave them to fend for themselves.

“Thank you, thank you!”

Liu Man and Jiang Ming looked at Yu Rui with gratitude.

At the same time, the three of them turned to look in Lu Ran’s direction. They were deeply concerned about one thing. As trial participants from different worlds, they still didn’t know where Lu Ran stood. If Lu Ran saw them as enemies, a battle between them was inevitable.

But at least Lu Ran was alone, while they were three. Thinking of Yu Rui’s strength, Liu Man and Jiang Ming felt a bit more at ease. Even if conflict broke out, surely Lu Ran would be the one to lose.

“The preliminaries have begun!” The judge shouted once more.

While the rules allowed for fighting, most of the real conflicts were between the nine great clans since eliminating participants from other clans would increase their own clan’s rewards. But even so, very few started fighting right away. That would just make them an easy target for others.

Buzz!

The preliminaries began. One by one, beastmasters and plantmasters summoned their beasts and plants, swiftly entering Death Forest. But at that moment, as three particular participants summoned their familiars, the entire entrance to Death Forest fell into silence.

Boom!

Right from the start, Yu Rui summoned his towering Ancient War Tree, a Legion-type plant. Countless fruits and branches covered its body, each bearing distinct faces like an army of soldiers.

“An Overlord!”

Sensing the aura of the Ancient War Tree, many participants’ expressions shifted. With an Overlord leading the way, Death Forest would be a breeze for Yu Rui.

But he wasn’t the only one. Among the participants, another beautiful young woman also summoned an Overlord-rank plant. It was a humanoid Floral Empress.

The Floral Empress had elongated dark green leaves as arms, while its lower body was wrapped in pale tulip-shaped petals that resembled a flowing skirt. It lifted its head that was covered by flowers, its gaze filled with arrogance. The surrounding plant familiars instinctively bowed under its presence.

“Low Overlord, the Floral Empress!”

In an instant, the appearance of two Overlord plants sent a wave of unease through the participants. Something felt different about this year’s Plant-Beast Tournament. The beastmasters present felt a heavy weight settle in their chests. But before the pressure could fully sink in, the final Overlord appeared.

This time, it wasn’t a plant.

“

Awoo!

”

A massive and imposing Captain Doofus emerged amidst a flurry of snow and wind. Just looking at it caused a piercing sting to many of the weaker participants’ spirits.

[Species: Sword Domain Dog]

[Attribute: Wind, Ice]

[Species Rank: Low Overlord]

The information instantly registered in Yu Rui’s mind, causing his expression to shift.

He turned to Lu Ran.

“An Overlord? This guy... he’s definitely not ordinary.”

“What? He has an Overlord too?” Beside him, Liu Man and Jiang Ming were equally stunned.

It is already shocking enough that the NPC girl has an Overlord plant. But now, you’re telling me that this alternate-world beastmaster also has one? Is Lu Ran just as special as Yu Rui? Or, are beastmasters from the alternate world all equipped with Overlords?