Chapter 353 - Potential Development, Hellish Training

Perhaps because it had high hopes for Lu Ran and his team, the Six-Path Flower sent them into the hellish domain of cultivation, where both body and spirit would be tortured.

Before Lu Ran’s eyes, the scenery instantly transformed. In the void, a massive iron clamp appeared. The surrounding rocks were engulfed in flames. The Six-Path Flower’s figure remained hidden, but its icy voice had already reached Lu Ran’s ears.

You want to train, don’t you? Sure. First, I’ll let you experience the first layer of hell, the Tongue-Pulling Hell. Here, an iron clamp will grip your tongue and tear it out—not in one swift motion, but slowly, stretching and tugging... This process will be excruciating.

Of course, my goal isn’t to torture you but to temper your mental will. What you’re about to experience is an illusion, but the pain won’t lessen. In fact, it will intensify several times over. Anyone who endures this layer of torment will have their potential directly enhanced by me.

After speaking, the Six-Path Flower expected to see expressions of terror on Lu Ran and his team’s faces. However, it was stunned to find that the usually talkative crow suddenly wore a look of disdain.

“Training? Tongue-pulling? You call this training? Is tongue-pulling even painful?”

As soon as Dark Crow said that, it extended its wing, plucked out one of its eyeballs, and swallowed it whole.

“I’ll take on this layer of training first! But newbie, what exactly do you mean by ‘enhancing potential’?” Dark Crow asked.

Although Dark Crow was surprised by the Six-Path Flower’s ability to create a domain so effortlessly, strength aside, it felt it couldn’t afford to lose face as the trusted subordinate of its king.

The Six-Path Flower was shocked.

“

Awooo...

”

Can we pull teeth instead?

Tongue-pulling sounds a bit painful, so maybe dental training would be better.

“

Roar...

”

What about pulling scales?

Sudden Death King chimed in.

They didn’t fully understand the situation, but the Tongue-Pulling Hell didn’t seem as intense as their usual training. They doubted it was even effective.

The Six-Path Flower was even more shocked.

“

Plip, plip...

” Baby Cloud sighed in relief as it was glad it didn’t have a tongue.

“A bunch of ignorant fools. You’re so weak, yet so arrogant. At your level, I could take all of you on by myself!” The Six-Path Flower fumed.

“I’ll sit this one out...”

While the familiars showed no fear, Lu Ran sheepishly retreated.

At the same time, he summoned the sword spirit and swordgrass to divert the Six-Path Flower’s attention.

“Six Flower, look, there are other plant lives besides you. How about focusing on training them instead?”

“

Woof!

”

“

Whoosh!

”

The sword spirit and swordgrass immediately circled around Captain Doofus.

The Six-Path Flower couldn’t care less about other plant lives. Transcendent plants were rare, but it had seen them before.

“I’ll start with you.” It pointed at Lu Ran.

It had figured it out. A crooked stick would have a crooked shadow. It needed to start correcting things from the top, starting with Lu Ran.

“Their strength doesn’t matter. What’s important is you. Only by leveling up quickly can you fight alongside me.”

“Huh?”

***

Several days later, just as Lu Ran had anticipated, the major imperial clans and Legendary families had all reacted. Although Emperor Yun had opted for simplicity due to the ongoing war, forgoing any grand ceremony for accepting a disciple, the event still stirred waves.

Many families, especially smaller ones, sent lavish gifts as a gesture of goodwill. On the other hand, the imperial clans only sent representatives with token gifts of average value. Even so, Lu Ran was overjoyed and nearly overwhelmed by the sheer volume of presents.

There was no helping it. This was the heart of the Beastmaster Empire, where the most powerful families were concentrated. The gifts couldn’t be so few.

Meanwhile, as the imperial descendant of the Yan family, Lu Ran inherited all the recipes and forging blueprints passed down by Yan Sizhen.

Of course, these were minor gains. The real reward was the Six-Path Flower’s grueling training. Lu Ran was on the verge of collapse. This flower was dead serious.

It seemed to go out of its way to torment Lu Ran and his team. However, as long as they endured the training, the Six-Path Flower would reciprocate with substantial enhancements, helping them grow stronger.

Whether it was physical strength, mental fortitude, energy, or soul power, no attribute was beyond the Six-Path Flower’s ability to develop.

At first, Lu Ran didn’t understand how the Six-Path Flower was doing this, as its talents didn’t include such abilities. Later, he realized it was simply because they were too weak. The Six-Path Flower only needed to channel its energy to help them grow stronger.

It was like how some familiars without awakened attributes could have them unlocked by more powerful familiars merely by controlling energy flow.

Hmph, I’m not purposely torturing you. Without enduring the corresponding pressure, the hidden potential in your bodies can’t be unlocked. Just bear with it.

In the Six-Path Flower’s eyes, even Captain Doofus, Sudden Death King, and Dark Crow, who dominated their era on Blue Planet, were weaklings. It wasn’t because of their species rank or level, but rather because of their underutilization of their existing power.

In the hell world, the Six-Path Flower now appeared in its Mortal Path form. Its humanoid appearance wasn’t a full transformation but a human-like shape, similar to treants, elves, or werewolves.

The Mortal Path-form Six-Path Flower had arms wrapped in black leaves, resembling gloves, while its lower body was clad in tulip-shaped black leaves like a dress. Its feet were formed by flower-like organs, delicate and light. Its face, regal like a queen’s, was adorned with a six-petaled, six-colored flower. Beneath it, black leaves cascaded like hair with golden eyes that exuded nobility.

They may seem strong, but their mastery of physical power is lacking—far from the limits of their current level.

The Six-Path Flower floated gently, placing a hand on Captain Doofus’ head as if unlocking its potential.

Lu Ran, Sudden Death King, and Dark Crow watched eagerly. After a moment, Captain Doofus’ eyes widened, and it let out a wise howl.

Stupid dog, how do you feel now?

If there was one familiar the Six-Path Flower despised the most during this period, it was this dumb dog. Since Lu Ran and his familiars were training, not being judged, the hell world couldn’t be too intense.

This gave the dumb dog an opening. It kept trying to gnaw on the torture tools in the hell world like it genuinely wanted to tear down the domain.

“

Awooo!

”

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Although Captain Doofus also thought the Six-Path Flower was a devil, the potential awakening made its eyes flicker like a flashlight being turned on and off.

“

Awooo!

”

It howled again, and under the stunned gazes of Sudden Death King and the others, its massive body began to shrink. Soon, it had returned to the size of a normal pet dog—the size it had been before Lu Ran contracted it.

Lu Ran looked at the Six-Path Flower in delight.

“Impressive. It mastered the core ability of an Overlord so easily.”

The core ability of an Overlord was body control. Due to their short training time, Lu Ran’s team hadn’t even fully developed their attributes and skills, let alone researched this.

Unexpectedly, the Six-Path Flower had directly helped Captain Doofus master it through potential awakening. Although Captain Doofus was exhausted and starving after training, it now felt less hungry after shrinking, and its stamina consumption slowed significantly.

If it wanted to fight at full strength, it could even enlarge its body beyond its original size to unleash greater power.

Next.

The Six-Path Flower crossed its arms, watching the husky shake its head with a smirk.

During the subsequent training, Sudden Death King and Dark Crow also mastered body control and size shifting. Sudden Death King could shrink to the size of a two-to-three-meter-tall dragon hatchling, while Dark Crow could revert to the size of a normal crow and perch on Lu Ran’s shoulder, which moved it deeply.

Undoubtedly, the hellish training, combined with the Six-Path Flower’s potential development, significantly boosted Lu Ran’s team’s strength. However, after all the torment, Lu Ran was the only one truly suffering. Captain Doofus, Sudden Death King, and Dark Crow were already used to intense daily training, so the hell world’s pain wasn’t too bad.

Only Lu Ran, Baby Cloud, the sword spirit, and the swordgrass, being weaker, struggled. But with the resources Lu Ran had brought and the gifts he’d received, his entire team’s foundation improved at an astonishing rate.

If Lu Ran were to participate in the Alliance Tournament now, he was confident that Captain Doofus, Sudden Death King, and Dark Crow could defeat their opponents without resorting to self-destructive bursts. Even in normal combat, they could easily secure victory without overexertion.

At this moment, Lu Ran’s Overlord familiars weren’t just the first on Blue Planet to evolve to the Overlord rank, they were also the first to fully unlock their Overlord potential.

Yet, amidst their growth, Lu Ran felt a growing uncertainty.

The current Six-Path Flower is just an illusion. After the secret realm ends, even if it were to return with him in a new form, would it still be itself?