Chapter 289 - The Method to Awaken the Swordgrass

“It was tiring, but at least I gained something.”

“They told you the method to awaken the swordgrass?” Lu Ran was stunned.

Honestly, he hadn’t held much hope. After all, the Swordgrass Clan was a prestigious family with a Legendary plantmaster. Even though his master would be treated as an honored guest, the method to awaken the swordgrass’ intelligence was most likely a core inheritance of their family even if it did exist. They would never share it easily.

“They didn’t. But they confirmed part of my theory. However, they promised that if I take you there, they are willing to help you awaken the swordgrass’ intelligence and evolve it into a Transcendent species,” City Lord Ye replied.

This clan is impressive.

“If you want to awaken your swordgrass’ intelligence, I’ll take you to Ten Thousand Leaves City when we have time. My visit confirmed one thing. It was that the swordgrass needs to slay specific creatures to develop intelligence. As for what those creatures are... only they know.”

“Alright. Thank you, master,” Lu Ran said.

But in truth, he had no intention of going. He couldn’t guarantee that swordgrass could be taken out if it awakened in an ascension realm. Any lifeform in an ascension realm couldn’t be contracted or taken out, unless it was a reward from the realm like his plant seed. Unlike his swordgrass, it was dug up from a secret realm. Technically, it was still classified as a secret realm object.

If it awakened inside, he feared he wouldn’t be able to take it with him. That would be a devastating loss. If the swordgrass was a native plant of Blue Planet, then it would be fine. After all, many beastmasters with too much free time had experimented before.

Some had their two familiars mate inside an ascension realm, producing offspring rapidly. After 30 days, the newborn familiar was teleported out along with the trial participant. The beastmaster who conducted this experiment was naturally condemned worldwide on Blue Planet, but his actions encouraged others to push boundaries.

Some even wanted to breed their familiars with high-ranking species inside secret realms. But unfortunately, neither humans nor familiars could reproduce with projections inside a secret realm.

By now, Lu Ran had a general idea. With confirmation from the Swordgrass Clan and Yu Rui’s information, Lu Ran speculated that the swordgrass’ awakening required slaying a specific number of Metal-attribute vicious beasts.

The swordgrass was famous for its sharpness. If certain Metal-attribute vicious beasts had blood that enhanced sharpness, then it was highly likely that such blood was key to its awakening.

The exact species of vicious beast might not matter. Any Metal-attribute vicious beast could work, but there was probably a quality or quantity requirement. For instance, the swordgrass might need to absorb the blood of Overlord Metal-attribute vicious beasts to awaken.

This hypothesis alone was a huge breakthrough. Lu Ran planned to experiment with Metal-attribute beasts after returning to Blue Planet.

It’s just a pity... Why can’t Sudden Death King be of the Metal-attribute? If it was, things would be so much easier.

“But, Master, I’m not in a rush to awaken the swordgrass. Once it awakens as a living being, carrying it around will be inconvenient. At that point, I won’t be able to store it in a storage space anymore.”

“That’s true.” City Lord Master nodded. “That could be a problem. But the swordgrass isn’t that big. Once you get used to carrying it around, it won’t be a hassle.”

“One swordgrass is fine. But once I have more plant familiars, it’ll be difficult.” Lu Ran laughed bitterly. “Master, I’ve decided to challenge the Tree Monarch’s legacy ruin. If I can obtain the Tree Monarch’s legacy, I’ll acquire a spatial artifact that can store living beings.

Then, I’ll never have to worry about carrying familiars again! I’ll awaken the swordgrass after I clear the legacy ruin!”

“Are you serious?” She looked at Lu Ran, dumbfounded. “The Tree Monarch’s legacy ruin has been there for centuries, and no one has ever cleared it. You...”

She couldn’t understand Lu Ran’s thought process.

He’s trying to obtain an Epic spatial artifact just to carry a King-rank plant familiar more conveniently... Is this how normal people think?

Even though Lu Ran was very strong, she still didn’t think he could do it.

“Master, are you hungry?” Lu Ran suddenly asked.

“Why?”

“Let me cook a feast to welcome you back. Actually, I’m quite skilled in culinary arts!”

City Lord Ye was surprised. “You can cook too?”

***

That evening, Lu Ran took over the City Lord Mansion’s kitchen, taking the head chef’s job for the night. With his Culinary Intent, he prepared a few of his signature dishes. Besides his City Lord Master, Master Tian and Senior Gu Yu were also invited.

After tasting Lu Ran’s dishes, all three were astonished. They never expected Lu Ran to also be a master chef other than just being powerful.

“This is great.”

Gu Yu, who had been upset about losing to Lu Ran, suddenly felt much better. Food really does heal the soul.

At the table, Master Tian sighed in envy.

“Junior, how did you get so lucky? You accepted such an amazing disciple.”

She hadn’t been jealous of Lu Ran’s talent or potential before. But now, she was jealous after tasting his food. If she had a disciple like this, she would get to eat gourmet meals every day.

“Yu’er, you should learn from this. Young ladies shouldn’t waste time on useless things like chess, calligraphy, or dancing. Cooking and sewing are far more practical!”

“I...” Gu Yu chose to keep eating and stayed silent.

“Lu Ran, where did you learn to cook?” she asked.

“From my dog—uh, from my Uncle Gou. Uncle Gou was my father’s sworn brother, and his cooking skills are exceptional.”[1]

Lu Ran broke into a sweat.

I almost slipped up.

Actually, the City Lord Mansion’s chef wasn’t bad either. After all, he was hired by a Legendary beastmaster. Even with Flame Spirit enhancing his cooking, Lu Ran wasn’t outright superior. His flashy cooking style just made it more exciting for first-time tasters.

Master Tian suddenly put down her food. “By the way, have you told your master about the Tree Monarch’s legacy ruin?”

“The Tree Monarch’s Legacy Ruin...” City Lord Ye finally understood. “So that’s why he brought it up. It was because of you.”

“If you’re going, I’ll bring Yu’er along too. I don’t expect her to clear it, but sparring against the Tree Monarch at her level will still be valuable.”

Gu Yu kept eating in silence. She knew what was happening. She was experiencing the pain of being compared to someone else’s disciple.

Meanwhile, City Lord Ye turned to Lu Ran. His eyes were filled with anticipation.

“Fine. We’ll leave in two days.” City Lord Ye shook her head.

Before teaching Lu Ran the path of the plantmaster, she decided to let him witness the strongest plantmaster of the past century first. Dumping knowledge on a disciple immediately wasn’t her style. Broadening his horizons first was the teaching method that suited her best.

Lu Ran grinned. “Thank you, master! By the way, since you’ve challenged the Tree Monarch’s legacy ruin before, what’s her strength at level 3?”

City Lord Ye replied, “At level 3, the Tree Monarch has two contracted plant familiars. One is the Intermediate-Overlord Moon Divine Tree. It was a Grass-Time dual-attribute familiar. The other was a Low Overlord called Harvest Dragon, a rare dragon-shaped plant familiar.”

“Moon Divine Tree... Harvest Dragon...” Gu Yu looked up.

City Lord Ye continued, “They were incredibly troublesome plant familiars. Harvest Dragons are special because their species rank increases naturally with age. As juveniles or during their growth phase, they are Low Overlords. As adults, they become Intermediate Overlords. And in old age, they reach Superior Overlords.

“The older they get, the stronger they become. Meanwhile, the Moon Divine Tree can use Time-attribute skills to temporarily age the Harvest Dragon, granting it Superior-Overlord power. So essentially, this plant familiar is as strong as a Superior-Overlord dragon.”

Lu Ran was stunned.

It was already able to alter age at that level?

This is way stronger than Manager Ying’s Time-attribute abilities... Well, foresight is good too...

It had once told him that the old president was a tragic case. If he had been born a few decades later, like most beastmasters in their 20s or 30s, he could have soloed an entire nation’s beastmasters.

But now, even though some still considered him the strongest beastmaster in the world, he never fought at full power anymore. It was simply because his stamina could no longer keep up with younger beastmasters. Even in battle, he relied entirely on his familiars, refusing to use beastmaster skills to enhance them.

If the old president had a Moon Divine Tree that allowed him to temporarily regain his youth and peak stamina, then maybe Manager Ying’s fantasy of a going stronger as you age match could come true.

“Applying the same principle of the Moon Divine Tree aging its allies, it can also de-age its enemies. Many challengers were transformed into infants, drastically weakening them. On top of that, the Moon Divine Tree can apply time reversal to itself and other plant life.

“If it or its allies suffer serious or fatal injuries, it can reverse time to restore their bodies to peak condition. With such an absurd skillset, defeating them is nearly impossible.”

“That’s ridiculous...” Lu Ran muttered.

“Now do you understand why even prodigies couldn’t clear the ruin?” Master Tian chuckled.

No matter at which level, the Tree Monarch was an unrivaled existence. That’s why she was considered the most talented plantmaster in centuries.

It’s okay.

Hearing all this, Lu Ran acknowledged the difficulty, but he thought that it was still possible. It just meant he would need to use the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer a lot, and perhaps let Dark Crow step in.

To be honest, under normal circumstances, it was the weakest of his three familiars.

However, if Dark Crow had Broken Horn of the Divine Deer assisting it, it could sacrifice dozens of its eyes to unleash a curse. Only a few familiars could endure that.

The Tree Monarch has been dead for so long. Surely, the remodeled ruin space wouldn’t be so up to date that it rejects the Evil God’s powers, right?

1. Gou (狗) is dog in Mandarin. ☜