Chapter 309 - Finally Meeting the Divine Deer

Within the ruin space, Captain Doofus and the sword spirit were training with Sudden Death King.

Woosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Captain Doofus wielded the sword grass in its mouth, and as it slashed left and right, its drool froze into icicles that flew everywhere.

Woof!

The sword spirit transformed into a crescent blade. Curved sword lights constantly flew through the air and struck Sudden Death King.

Roar!

Sudden Death King felt a headache coming on.

If it were just Captain Doofus, it could at least fight back. That would simply mean ramping up the husky’s training intensity. It would finally get a chance to show off some of its true power as a Dragon King.

However, with the newborn sword spirit tagging along, Sudden Death King couldn’t go all out. It didn’t want to accidentally insta-kill the little baby.

Even the Divine Deer Pendant couldn’t save someone from instant death.

Actually, there was a simple solution: the sword spirit could just possess Captain Doofus instead of fighting alongside it.

For now, it was just watching as Captain Doofus used Dragon-Slaying Sword Intent, learning through the good old monkey-see-monkey-do method.

Letting it learn through possession wasn’t a bad idea either—it would let the sword spirit personally experience sword intent.

That way, Captain Doofus would take the brunt of the damage and shield the sword spirit from harm.

Captain Doofus was one step ahead of everyone else. It didn’t choose the second method because only an idiot would walk straight into a beating.

Unfortunately, Lu Ran didn’t let things go as Captain Doofus had hoped. Watching from the sidelines just wasn’t cutting it.

The sword spirit wouldn’t gain anything beyond a shallow understanding of sword intent, and Sudden Death King wouldn’t benefit either—aside from toughening its defense a little.

Now that they had the Nine-Colored Meteorite Fragments, Lu Ran, the slave driver, decided to intensify their training regimen.

He handed a fragment to Sudden Death King and cruelly changed its routine from getting beat up... to cosplaying a meteor.

He also made the sword spirit possess Captain Doofus. Once they fused as one, the training switched from animal abuse to slicing up “meteors.”

This new training regimen wasn’t just brutal for Sudden Death King—even Captain Doofus and Corpse Dog were devastated.

Failing to stop Sudden Death King midair meant getting smashed into the ground and left half-dead in a crater.

On Sudden Death King’s end, besides sword wounds, it also risked severe blunt-force trauma from slamming into the ground at high speeds.

The good news? The new method was working.

Sudden Death King was learning a new intent.

Corpse Dog was getting better at possession.

Captain Doofus’s resilience was leveling up.

Three birds, one stone.

“I’m so proud of myself!” Lu Ran exclaimed, admiring his own brilliance.

He wasn’t too worried about the ruin space getting wrecked either. It had been created by a level 8 Legendary plantmaster—its durability was three times that of the training realm.

If his familiars actually managed to break it, he’d happily hand over the beastmaster title to them.

***

“Hey! I was only gone for a few minutes. Are y’all playing hide and seek with me?”

Once he was done adjusting Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King’s training, Lu Ran returned to Baby Cloud.

Through Dark Crow’s eyes, he saw the deer spirits had moved on—they’d finished grazing and had already run off.

Lu Ran immediately ordered the weather sprite to follow them.

He quickly discovered the deer spirits had a routine: they grazed when tired and resumed moving after they finished eating. It was a consistent pattern.

Since he didn’t know where they were heading, Lu Ran could only follow patiently.

Of course, he didn’t just spend the whole trip staring at them—he kept busy preparing extra food.

***

Three days later, Fang Lan finally emerged from the ascension realm.

She had reached level 2 as a beastmaster, but she still couldn’t help with the Black Dragon King incident. They’d have to wait for the old president to return.

With his level 60 Overlord Qilin and beastmaster skills, he was on par with the Guardian Panda and Guardian Crane.

“Hm, I should check on Fang Lan later,” Lu Ran muttered.

If it weren’t for the Black Dragon King, Lu Ran would be happily planting trees in Green Sea City, recreating the Death Forest and putting Fang Lan in charge of cultivating poisonous plants.

But those plans had to be put on hold—he was too busy preparing for war.

Lu Ran continued following the deer spirits. Over the last few days, the Divine Deer’s name had spread far and wide.

The deer spirits were growing stronger, able to run longer without stopping.

Eventually, his hard work paid off. The herd had crossed multiple provinces and finally stopped when they reached a nature reserve in Jingchu.

Once there, the deer spirits began to get excited. Lu Ran sat on the cloud, quietly observing them from afar.

A few more days passed, and Lu Ran was approaching a state of zen.

He didn’t move, no matter what the deer spirits did or didn’t do.

He just kept waiting—calmly and patiently—for his true target.

"Meh~!"

This time, the deer spirits finally began to show signs that their journey had come to an end. After they arrived, they let out a few excited calls before disintegrating into motes of light and vanishing.

Lu Ran's heart skipped a beat when he saw a secret entrance appear where the deer spirits had once stood. It looked like some kind of dimensional gate.

"This..."

Lu Ran anxiously jumped down from the cloud and approached the gate. Without any hesitation, he stepped forward—but nothing happened. He passed right through it without entering.

He’d failed.

He was missing the key.

"Oh yeah, the horn."

Lu Ran took out the pendant and held it in his hand. The weather sprite shrank down and hid inside his hat. Together, they tried again.

This time, Lu Ran passed through without issue. It felt like he was being transported through space. With a flash of light, he appeared in an entirely different dimension.

Buzz!

Lu Ran's brain felt scrambled. Light gradually lit up the area around him until everything was pure white. This place was distinctly different from anything created by Limitless City.

Normally, secret realms triggered system messages upon entry. But this time, there was nothing. Not a single sign that this was part of Limitless City.

Lu Ran looked around, and just as he was about to call out, he saw a white deer lying quietly on the ground with its eyes closed.

It looked like the extinct branch-antlered deer. Twelve antlers spread out like the limbs of a great tree, and its white fur shimmered with golden specks, radiating an air of sacred elegance. It was absolutely stunning.

"Are you the Divine Deer?"

Lu Ran's heartbeat quickened as he pulled up the information panel.

[Name: ? ? ?]

[Attributes: ? ? ?]

[Species Rank: ? ? ?]

[Level: ? ? ?]

"Piece of shit!" Lu Ran couldn’t help but curse.

The Eye of Detection showed nothing but question marks. Was his skill too low to analyze the Divine Deer? How the hell was he supposed to get a better version?

He’d scored several triple S’s already, but Limitless City still hadn’t upgraded his Eye of Detection.

His grumbling finally caused the deer to stir. The sudden movement made Lu Ran freeze on the spot.

Its golden-green pupils shimmered like stars, and the weight of its gaze made Lu Ran realize just how small he was in comparison.

"Divine Deer..." he whispered.

The weather sprite tucked itself even deeper into his hat.

"Are you the Divine Deer?" Lu Ran asked again, nervously.

The deer slowly stood, revealing its majestic form.

“I didn't expect so much time to have passed.”

After scanning the area, its gaze finally landed on the broken horn in Lu Ran’s hand.

“I am

a

divine deer, but not

the

Divine Deer. You could say I’m an energy avatar.”

It can use Life Formation...

"Lord Divine Deer!" Lu Ran didn’t care whether it was the real body or just an avatar.

This was the first Legendary creature he’d ever met—and he was thrilled.

"I am your loyal believer!"

The Divine Deer looked at him for a moment, then shook its head.

“I don’t feel any faith energy from you.”

Lu Ran froze, then responded awkwardly.

"That... shouldn’t be the case..."

“Well, that’s not important,” the Divine Deer said calmly.

“The fact that you were able to find this place means that Blue Planet’s spiritual energy has been revived. I’m sure you have questions. Go ahead. I will answer them.”

Lu Ran nodded enthusiastically. He had so many questions—and with the Divine Deer in front of him, he believed he might finally uncover the truth behind this world.

"Lord Divine Deer, as far as I know, you are a follower of the Life Dragon—one of the four Supreme Divine Dragons of the Stellar Moon Continent. Also, the Stellar Continent isn’t located on Blue Planet. How did you come here, and why? Why did you become the patron saint of our Lu Village?"

“There was a disaster on the Stellar Moon Continent,” the deer said, “and some of the creatures were teleported here to survive the apocalypse. I came to ensure that life would flourish in this new world.”

Lu Ran’s mind reeled.

Did that mean the humans of Stellar Moon and Blue Planet shared the same roots?

“As for why I sheltered a human tribe—" the deer continued, "—I only intended to remain on Blue Planet temporarily. I hoped to form a group of believers who could help maintain this planet’s ecological balance.

But before I could fully execute my plan, the environment changed dramatically, and I was forced to leave. This clone is all that remains. Before I left, I entrusted a piece of my horn and my blessings to the humans. I hoped that one day, someone with great talent would inherit it and come here to awaken me.”

“It appears that you are the one that I have been waiting for.”

Lu Ran was silent for a moment before asking his next question.

"Do you know about the existence of Limitless City?"

The Divine Deer shook its head.

“I know that it exists, but I don't know where it came from. Even the Mecha God couldn’t create something like it.

I believe that only something on the level of the four Supreme Divine Dragons could create something so grand. However, the Life and Death Dragons have been missing for a long time. It’s not likely for Limitless City to be related to either of them.”

Even the Divine Deer doesn’t know where Limitless City’s origins...

Lu Ran couldn’t help but be confused.

What is the true background of Limitless City?

“Human cub, do you have any other questions?”

Human cub?

Lu Ran's mouth twitched. Although he was still young, he was still an adult. How could it call him a ‘human cub’?