Chapter 320 - The Elemental’s Strongest Trait

Information spreads the fastest. Lu Ran had only just seen Fang Lan’s message when news of the Five Poisons Saintess crushing the Princess of Light had already popped up as push notifications on every beastmaster app.

At this moment, Lu Ran was about to report his trip to the Other Shore to Dr. Gu and the others. But this unexpected news left him momentarily speechless.

“How could it be her?”

That unlucky girl... Looks like she has a long way to go if she wants to catch up with the other members of the Golden Generation.

Lu Ran chuckled. Just as he was about to continue his call to Dr. Gu, a small cat avatar suddenly popped up on his screen, making him freeze.

“Aren’t you supposed to be busy? Why do you suddenly have time to call me?” Lu Ran feigned surprise as he answered.

“Then should I leave?”

“Hey, hey! Tell me. What’s the good news? I know you must have some important intel.” Lu Ran grinned.

On the other end of the call, Manager Ying said, “Expanding my chain stores worldwide is all to strengthen my intelligence network. Without my hard work, how could I have found such a perfect trait for you so quickly? When I was negotiating with the International Alliance, I caught wind of a trait that would be perfect for your Weather Sprite.”

“For real?” Lu Ran’s eyes lit up.

Despite Baby Cloud being over level 20 now, it had only fused with one trait so far, leaving it weak. It couldn’t even make it onto the King Familiar Ranking. In combat, it might even get thrashed by Fang Lan’s little spider. What Baby Cloud desperately needed was a powerful trait.

“You had me looking for traits that matched its weather traits and traits that aligned with speed...”

“So, which is it? A weather-type trait or a speed-type trait?” Lu Ran asked.

“Neither. There were some, but they were all too mediocre. Not worth my attention, let alone yours. The trait I found for you is absolutely perfect. It is the strongest trait for an elemental being. It’s just that acquiring it might be a bit tricky.”

“What trait?” Lu Ran asked impatiently.

Anything picked by Manager Ying had to be top-tier. Whether it was the Eye of the Evil God Trait or the Absolute Comprehension Trait, he had always been satisfied.

“The trait is called Shape Shift.”

Trait Crystal (Shape Shift): When fused with an elemental being, this trait allows it to nearly perfectly reshape itself into any creature using specific materials, gaining a portion of that creature’s abilities.

“Among all types of familiars, elemental lifeforms have the easiest time reshaping and transforming. Shape-shifting is a trait specifically designed for elemental lifeforms. Its effect is somewhat similar to Captain Doofus’ Sword Sovereign Talent, both requiring external assistance...

“After fusion, if you let it envelop Captain Doofus’ teeth, it can morph into a cloud sword dog. If you let it wrap around Sudden Death King’s scales, it can morph into a cloud dragon. If you use the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer, it can morph into a Cloud Divine Deer. Most importantly, it can merge the transformed creature’s abilities with its own.

“For example, if it takes the form of the Divine Deer and performs Rain Summoning, the rain falling from the sky might carry healing properties.

“The reason I think this trait is excellent is because of its high adaptability. As long as you select a high-species-rank creature as its transformation target, you can enhance its control over the corresponding weather. Transform into a Lightning-attribute divine beast, and it will command endless lightning. Transform into a Wind-attribute divine beast, and it will unleash hurricanes...

“Of course, you’ll have to figure out the shaping process yourself. Also, weren’t you looking for a speed-focused familiar? If you train it in a transformation specializing in speed, that issue is solved, too. You could say this is an all-purpose trait.

Lu Ran took a deep breath. “That really is impressive. But when you say it’s hard to obtain, what do you mean?”

Manager Ying replied, “Because the current holder of this trait doesn’t seem to have any intention of selling or trading it. They plan to use it themselves. Also... you two seem to have a bit of bad blood. Just a heads-up that the other party has quite the status.”

Lu Ran was shocked. “Wait... An elemental-type trait...? You don’t mean to say... this trait is in the hands of some beastmaster called Princess of Light, do you?”

“Correct! You’re getting smarter!” Manager Ying grinned mischievously. “I only found out by chance. Princess of Light is planning to use it for her elemental familiar when the Evolution Secret Realm opens next time. If you want to trade for it, it won’t be easy.”

“Fuck.” Lu Ran’s head was about to explode.

For a moment, Lu Ran wasn’t sure who was more unfortunate—Princess of Light or himself.

This really isn’t going to be an easy trade...

“Do you have anything valuable to offer in exchange? What if she’s willing to trade? In my years of experience, nothing is truly non-negotiable. If it’s not enough, just add more,” Manager Ying encouraged.

“The problem is... I don’t really have anything to offer.” Lu Ran fell silent.

He did have valuable items like the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer and Ruin Branch, but there was no way he would trade them. Then there were slightly less valuable ones like the Leaf of Time, Time-Acceleration Legacy Crystal, and Lucky Clover Trait, but he couldn’t bear to part with those either.

As for items he could part with, like the Meteorite Fragments, Flourishing Vitality Skill, Miracle Seed, Blood Drop Stone, and 100% awakening a Low-King Plant Familiar Seed, he wasn’t sure if the other party would even be interested.

“No rush. She definitely wants to wait for the Evolution Secret Realm, so she won’t use the trait right away. There’s still time. I’ll handle the negotiations first and see if she has any specific needs,” Manager Ying said.

“Alright, but don’t mention that I want it.” Lu Ran agreed immediately.

Now that Manager Ying had hyped up the Shape Shift Trait, he was really tempted. But he had a feeling that if Princess of Light found out he was the one who wanted it, even a possible deal would fall through.

“Oh, and by the way, she might not be feeling well right now, so be careful when you meet her.”

“Huh?”

“Check the news. Not long ago, Fang Lan poisoned her in the arena. Even though Fang Lan held back, I’d say she’s still going to be bedridden for at least ten days to half a month...”

Manager Ying was shocked. “Come on! You guys are really making it harder for me!”

***

“Who knew things would line up like this?” Lu Ran sighed after hanging up.

Looks like he needed to accumulate some good karma. But if he could get the Shape Shift trait, then the Weather Sprite’s development path would be set as the ultimate support. Whether it would work out depended on Manager Ying’s negotiation skills.

“I wonder if weapon spirit lifeforms would interest her...” Lu Ran looked at the three Treasure pieces of equipment inside his storage before calling Dr. Gu.

“Done with your work?”

“Yeah. Successfully relocated the Death Forest.”

“Do you need more botanists to help take care of it?” Gu Qingyi asked.

She had seen the Death Forest in the ruin space before. It was filled with high-potential vicious plants. If they could awaken their intelligence, they’d become top-tier plant familiars.

“I’m fine either way. Discuss it with Fang Lan. I’m leaving the forest to her. Doesn’t one of her familiars have a plant-control and modification trait? I brought the forest over from the ascension realm so she could use it as her personal arsenal,” Lu Ran replied.

He already had his hands full with his familiar legion. He had no energy to manage a whole forest.

“You really do dote on her.” Gu Qingyi chuckled.

“

Ahem.

I can’t help it. She’s my only dumb older sister, so I have to look after her.”

“Then when will you dote on me?”

“Ah?” Lu Ran’s heart suddenly started racing.

“Just kidding. You called at the right time. I was about to contact you. You probably had something else to discuss first. Want to go first, or should I?”

“Mine’s small. You go first,” Lu Ran said

“The Merfolk Kingdom’s mermaid princess arrived in Xia as an envoy to further the alliance discussions. To strengthen ties, either the Merfolk prince or the mermaid princess must form a contract with a Xia beastmaster. She seems to have taken a liking to you. Are you interested? She’s a Low Overlord with immense potential.”

Lu Ran was initially interested. After all, it was a top-tier oceanic familiar. But then he suddenly recalled what Manager Ying had just said about the Shape Shift trait. If Baby Cloud could fuse with the trait, it could eventually replicate the form of an Ocean Overlord. In that case, Lu Ran wouldn’t need the mermaid princess as much as their roles would overlap.

Letting her simply become a kin was just a fleeting thought. He seriously doubted that the heir of an Overlord would be willing to become a familiar’s kin.

“I’m not interested for now. Why don’t you negotiate and see if you can contract her instead? The Azure Sea Dragon won’t be evolving anytime soon. If you can contract the mermaid princess, your overall strength would increase significantly.”

After he finished speaking, the other end of the call went silent for a moment before Gu Qingyi chuckled. “She came specifically for you, you know.”

“Contracting her is out of the question. I don’t want any misunderstandings because it’d make finding a wife harder in the future... At most, I could consider making her one of my familiars’ kin, but with her status, that’s probably impossible.” Lu Ran shrugged.

“A kinship contract, huh? I can negotiate for you,” Gu Qingyi offered.

“Maybe let’s not. If it affects the alliance, that’d be bad. Xia is probably still planning to use the Merfolk Kingdom to launch a counterattack against Dragon Palace, right?” Lu Ran said.

“It’s not a big deal. Right now, the Merfolk Kingdom is the one that needs Xia. By the way, what did you want to talk about?” Gu Qingyi asked.

“I’m planning to go to the Undead Secret Realm. I recently forged two pieces of equipment using the Soul Forging Technique. I want to see if I can nurture weapon spirits in them and study Undead weapons a little.”

“Are you going alone?” Gu Qingyi was momentarily surprised.

“It’s fine. With my current strength, I should be able to escape if there’s any danger. Besides, as long as I keep a low profile, it’s not like danger is just lying in wait for me,” Lu Ran said casually.

“Alright. You should contact the local authorities in advance. Right now, the old pig is stationed at The Other Shore Island. Have him meet up with you.” Gu Qingyi advised.

“Got it,” Lu Ran agreed immediately.

During the black dragon battle, the old pig played a significant role, too. To gather enough sacrificial offerings for Dark Crow’s curse ritual, his pigs had to donate quite a bit of blood.