Chapter 315 - The Name of the Fourth Generation, Rivaling the First

With the black dragon sealed, the uproar it had caused finally came to an end. Many beastmasters who had been closely following the event sat in front of their screens, swallowing hard.

“So strong.”

The Level 70 Superior-Overlord ancient dragon had an absurd stack of buffs, yet an Intelligence Cat effortlessly suppressed it. Before this, no beastmaster in Xia could have imagined that their nation possessed such hidden strength. Those who had frequented the Cat Maid Cafe, including its own employees, watched the screen in disbelief.

Is that... really Manager Ying?

Even though the black dragon was now sealed, not everyone felt at ease. Someone even posted about it online.

└It’s not dead, just sealed. What if it breaks free? Normally, we only seal creatures that are extremely difficult to kill or defeat. This is just treating the symptoms, not removing the root cause.

└What’s there to be afraid of? Didn’t Manager Ying say that the black dragon wouldn’t be able to break free for at least a year? I trust it. Sure, the claim that even a random dog from the fourth-generation beastmasters could easily annihilate the black dragon in a year might be a bit exaggerated, but by then, surely at least one first-generation beastmaster will have reached the Legendary level, right?x

└Trust in the wisdom of future generations!

└You mean us in a year, right?

└Relax! So what if it breaks free? If it was sealed once, it can be sealed again!

└If we keep sealing it, that’s basically a permanent seal!

└Until the day it sees daylight again, it’ll be surrounded by dozens of familiars even stronger than it... Haha.

“But what if the other creatures from Dragon Palace try to break the seal and rescue it?” Someone voiced their concern.

Having a terrifying creature sealed right outside Mystic City was like having a nuclear bomb buried next to one’s home. In fact, it wasn’t just sea beasts that people were worried about. There were plenty of external forces that disliked Xia and would love to interfere.

“The other creatures from Dragon Palace? Did you not notice that when the black dragon invaded, dozens of superior sea beasts gathered near the coastline? Even so, Lu Ran’s Twin Crows still instantly obliterated them.

“They drowned on the spot! Even if the remaining sea beasts of Dragon Palace had more guts, do you think they’d dare come here now? Holy shit, wait... How did Lu Ran even do that? I’m only just realizing how insane that was...”

Beastmasters stationed along the coastal regions replayed the shocking scene in their minds, still unable to describe their feelings.

Lu Ran had completely disappeared for a month after evolving his Sword Domain Dog. Everyone assumed he had entered the ascension realms. But even if he had returned from there, as a level 3 beastmaster, his highest-level familiar should still be only level 40.

If so, then his level 40 Twin Crows had somehow wiped out enemies spanning multiple cities in the blink of an eye. The sheer terror of the curse annihilation made many beastmasters feel that Lu Ran’s Twin Crows were even more terrifying than Manager Ying or the black dragon. After all, even those two might not be capable of such an unimaginable feat.

Foreign beastmasters, upon receiving intelligence reports, were utterly shaken. They couldn’t understand how a fourth-generation beastmaster had become the centerpiece of a city-wide disaster response.

Lu Ran was a groundbreaking, once-in-a-lifetime genius, but that was just potential. evel 40 Twin Crows were no match to a first-generation beastmaster’s level 60 King familiar in terms of overall combat power.

Even multiple first-generation beastmasters working together might not have been able to perfectly resolve the crisis that had struck Xia’s coastal cities. And yet, Lu Ran had.

“What kind of monster is he?”

Intelligence agencies worldwide were at their breaking point. However, after analyzing Lu Ran’s records, they found clues about how his Twin Crows gained such absurd combat strength. According to reports, Lu Ran had solo-cleared a legion-type Legendary secret realm while he was still a level 2 beastmaster.

Such a feat would have surely rewarded Xia with legion-type beastmaster skills or techniques capable of uniting a large number of familiars into a singular, overwhelming force. If Lu Ran had used a legion skill, then his Twin Crows displaying such devastating power would have been at least somewhat reasonable.

***

In the Ancient Capital, a female beastmaster who had been closely following the black dragon incident trembled with excitement as she read through the online theories. Just a few days ago, she had personally witnessed Lu Ran retrieve his familiar from a swarm of crows.

With Dark Crow making its grand entrance, Xia’s recent crow migration event was brought up once again. Only now did people realize that it wasn’t a sign of impending disaster. On the contrary, the crows had been silently protecting Xia.

Green Sea City’s residents were the most ecstatic about the revelation. They had long grown accustomed to flocks of crows patrolling their skies. Hence, seeing their city’s guardian rise to become the nation’s guardian filled them with immeasurable pride.

“That guy... acting all sneaky again...”

“This kid...”

“Lu Ran is insane.”

Of course, Lu Ran’s involvement in the black dragon incident had been kept secret from those close to him. Only the first-generation beastmasters had been informed of the full details. People like Fang Lan, Elder Jiang Dou, and the Lu Village team had only learned about Lu Ran’s Twin Crows through the news, breathing a sigh of relief while feeling a mix of emotions.

This time, Lu Ran hadn’t just broken another record; he had showcased terrifying strength in actual war. Youxiong Anlin,the Princess of Light from the Golden Generation, and even some first-generation powerhouses found themselves twitching in disbelief.

It didn’t matter how Lu Ran had accomplished it. The fact was that his achievements in this battle could be said to rival those of the first generation. Even the first-generation beastmasters could not have done better.

“Good thing legion skills require a massive number of familiars and can only be used on Blue Planet. If they worked in Limitless City, Lu Ran would be completely unstoppable.”

While the whole world was talking about Lu Ran, he and Dark Crow continued their surveillance along the coastline. Only after confirming that no more sea beasts from Dragon Palace were appearing did they finally relax.

Lu Ran grinned as he stood on Dark Crow’s back. “Well done. I’ll have the Alliance reward you with some extra food.”

“Nice!” Guardian Dark Crow was in high spirits.

[Name: Twin Crows (Legion Form)]

[Level: 61]

At first, over a hundred thousand crows gathered. Then, Xia granted the entire flock unrestricted access to its supplies. In a short span, not a single crow remained below level 20.

Among them, a few particularly talented ones that were enhanced through a combined effort of national resources and Lu Ran’s personal investment in Treasure-grade resources had even reached level 40, matching Dark Crow in strength.

This high-quality legion had instantly propelled Dark Crow’s Legion Form beyond level 60, surpassing even the ace familiars of the first-generation beastmasters. In truth, the only thing limiting it was time. Otherwise, Dark Crow’s Legion Form could have been even more terrifying.

Since ensuring that the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer retained enough energy for today’s battle had been the top priority for the past few days, there had been no opportunity for Dark Crow to bestow its own eyes upon the most talented crows.

Otherwise, Lu Ran was certain that even without Pig God’s Treasure-grade sacrificial offerings, the Crow Legion and the Broken Horn would have been enough to annihilate their enemies.

Soon, Lu Ran received a call from Mystic City. It seemed that things over there were finally stabilizing.

“What’s the situation? Is Dark Crow doing alright?”

“It’s fine. Thankfully, we had the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer. No major issues. All in all, mission accomplished. Every Dragon Palace sea beast that entered Xia’s waters has been cursed and killed. Now, the local Beastmaster Association can focus on collecting resources. What about your side?”

“Things are stable here, too. As expected, the black dragon hasn’t been able to break free from Manager Ying’s domain seal. After being sealed, it’s been relentlessly attacking from within, using every technique it has, but to no avail. Based on Manager Ying’s assessment, in its current state, breaking the seal is impossible for at least a year. However...”

“However, what?” Lu Ran asked.

“Manager Ying says that casting this seal took a heavy toll on it. It won’t be able to recover for at least two and a half years unless we can provide an enormous amount of Treasure-grade resources. Only then could it guarantee that even if the black dragon breaks free, it would be able to seal it again immediately. Otherwise, when it does break free, Xia will have to handle it on its own.”

Lu Ran fell silent.

Is it extorting us?

He couldn’t really find any fault with its reasoning, though. If Manager Ying said the cost was enormous, there was no argument against it.

“A year is enough. By then, forget about the first-gens. Even Captain Doofus will probably be able to one-shot that black dragon,” Lu Ran said casually.

Gu Qingyi was surprised. “Wait, have you been watching the livestream?”

“What livestream? I’ve been coordinating Dark Crow’s reconnaissance of the sea.”

“Never mind then.”

Manager Ying really knows him too well,

Gu Qingyi thought.

Lu Ran suddenly remembered something. “Oh, right. Didn’t we originally plan to kill the black dragon, extract its dragon blood and dragon soul, and use them as evolution materials for your familiar? But now that it didn’t take the bait and just got sealed instead, we’re out of resources...”

He sighed with a hint of regret.

Dr. Gu Qingyi was speechless.

Of all things, he’s worried about missing out on evolution resources? We just avoided a national disaster!

“It’s fine. Now that Dragon Palace has lost its leader, we can just hunt other dragons in the deep sea.”

Lu Ran said, “If you ask me... you shouldn’t rush Azure Sea Dragon’s evolution just yet. Focus on training your other familiars first.

“Since the Azure Sea Dragon has already fused with the Dragon Pearl Fragment, there’s a high chance that the Black Dragon King has absorbed the other Dragon Pearl Fragments as well. That means its remains would be an absolutely perfect evolution material for the Azure Sea Dragon.

“Even if we have to wait six months, it’ll be worth it. Once Xia’s beastmasters have the strength to hunt the black dragon, then you can consider evolving your ace dragon familiar. Prepare thoroughly. Use the Phase Two Evolution Secret Realm. Aim to evolve it into a Superior Overlord, just like the old president did.”

“

Hmm?

” Dr. Gu Qingyi considered his suggestion for a moment. “We’ll see. Let’s wait until the old president returns before deciding. One thing is certain: until we have the power to one-shot the black dragon, we’re not going to release it on purpose.”

Lu Ran shrugged. “

Hehe,

if you don’t claim it now, plenty of others are already eyeing the black dragon’s corpse. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“And what about you?” she asked.

Lu Ran’s eyes gleamed. “Me? The black dragon doesn’t matter anymore. My next move is to work with Dragon Palace’s Prime Minister Turtle from the inside and take over Dragon Palace! Dr. Gu, want to join me? The ocean’s resources are limitless! It’s far more valuable than the black dragon itself! As long as I have the guts, then the sea is my home!”

Dr. Gu Qingyi was dumbfounded.