Chapter 362 - Weather Sprite? Catastrophe Sprite?

After Lu Ran finished speaking, the call was abruptly disconnected. Lu Ran pondered for a while, analyzed the situation, and came to a conclusion.

Brother Shi Zhen... might not want to turn back now. What kind of person is this? How can his willpower be so weak?

“What are you zoning out for?”

Manager Ying left quickly and returned just as fast. It slapped a trait crystal onto the bedside lamp table. The light being reflected off the red trait crystal was blinding, making Lu Ran glance sideways.

[Name: Trait Crystal (Catastrophe)]

[Introduction: A creature fused with this trait will have skills that unleash catastrophic effects. Natural disasters such as tsunamis, droughts, typhoons, and earthquakes can be triggered by corresponding attribute skills.]

“Huh? Where did you find this? It looks pretty impressive. But it feels like it wouldn’t be bad for Captain Doofus or Sudden Death King either. At its core, this is just a trait that amplifies skill power, right?” Lu Ran inquired.

“Exactly! But it’s still most suitable for the weather spirit. Baby Cloud currently has, and will have in the future, many, many attributes. Combined with its transformation ability and the Catastrophe trait, its adaptability will be even stronger. Later, if you train Baby Cloud in support abilities, its catastrophe-like skills can also assist more teammates.

“If right now, when it transforms into a divine beast, it can only replicate less than 1% of the divine essence, then after fusing with this trait, it’ll definitely be much closer to perfection. Which legendary divine beast isn’t a living catastrophe?” Manager Ying explained.

“The Divine Deer probably isn’t,” Lu Ran mused seriously.

“Not literally! It’s a metaphor!”

Lu Ran laughed. “Got it. Then let’s upgrade Baby Cloud from a weather sprite to a catastrophe sprite.”

As a weather sprite, Baby Cloud currently had two fused traits, which were Nature Manipulation and Shape Shift. Thanks to these two traits, when it transformed into the Kunpeng form, it truly resembled a divine beast of the water or sky.

But it was only an imitation—a fake transformation. The power of its skills was far from that of a real divine beast, which could unleash disaster-level destruction.

However, if it fused with this Catastrophe trait, combined with natural energy and Legendary materials, in terms of destructive power, it should be able to mimic a hint of Legendary essence. Its presence would definitely be off the charts.

When two Superior Overlords at level 100 fought, no matter how intense the battle, it would barely affect the Stellar Moon Continent. It was like a tickle to the world.

But when two Legendary beings fought, they could easily shake the entire continent. That was why divine beings like the Divine Deer were created. It was to restrain Legendary creatures from wreaking havoc on Stellar Moon and to maintain the stability of the land.

Take the Divine Tree, for example. Its roots were already connected to the entire continent. If it unleashed its power, it could probably flip the Stellar Moon Continent with ease. Even if other Upper or Mid Legendary creatures were slightly weaker, they could still easily trigger catastrophes and leave the continent in ruins.

This Catastrophe trait, in essence, gave a familiar’s skills a divine-like template, allowing them to display terrifying, disaster-level power.

After some thought, Lu Ran decided it could serve as an evolution resource.

Lu Ran said, “The first stage of the Evolution Realm opens in seven days, right?”

“Yup!”

“OK, then. I’ll arrange Baby Cloud’s evolution then. Although I don’t have many Epic resources, I’ve got plenty of Treasure ones. I’ll pick carefully, and it’ll definitely evolve into an Overlord,” Lu Ran said.

“Good. I won’t accompany you then. If you need a bodyguard, find someone else. I’ll be controlling my clones to investigate the situation in the Stellar Moon Federation. One more thing. The Time-attribute Legendary secret realm for level 4 hasn’t been cleared yet.

“The boss is a level 50 Superior-Overlord Time-attribute creature. See if you can clear it in the next few days. Don’t wait until right before entering the next ascension realm.”

“Got it.” Lu Ran nodded vigorously.

With everything settled, Manager Ying left. Lu Ran then checked his familiars’ stats.

[Captain Doofus, level 45]

[Sudden Death King, level 44]

[Dark Crow, level 47]

[Sword spirit, level 45]

[Swordgrass, level 45]

[Baby Cloud, level 42]

This was the current level distribution on Lu Ran’s team. Dark Crow was still far ahead, mainly because it was the best at sucking up and the most ruthless with itself. The Six-Paths Flower had given it a lot of extra training.

It even managed to learn Death Intent, which was something like an “Instant Death Curse” that could directly erase an enemy’s life.

This curse wasn’t only effective against weaker opponents. If the enemy was strong in other aspects but had low vitality or was very old, the Instant Death Curse would still be highly effective and harder to resist. Thus, this curse was also known as the “Old Man Killer.”

In terms of the strength of Dark Crow’s current curses without sacrificial offerings, the ranking would be the Instant Death Curse, the Dark Curse, the Pig Transformation Curse, the Crimson Fur Curse, and then the Anatomical Curse.

The Instant Death Curse directly severed life force, plunging enemies into death. It originated from the Six-Paths Flower. The Dark Curse robbed victims of sight, casting them into eternal darkness. It was Dark Crow’s innate ability. The Pig Transformation Curse warped the soul, inducing madness and incapacitating foes.

The Crimson Fur Curse disrupted energy flow, sealing enemy skills. It originated from the research on unique vicious plants. The Anatomical Curse twisted flesh, inducing grotesque mutations to hinder combat effectiveness.

“Dark Crow gained the most from this realm, followed by Captain Doofus. Originally, its control over spatial abilities wasn’t great, but after training in the Hell Path, it has now mastered Instant Teleportation. The combination of teleportation and slashing makes Captain Doofus’ fighting style even more flexible.”

However, Lu Ran wasn’t sure if his current lineup could clear that level 4 Time-attribute Legendary secret realm. The real issue wasn’t whether he could clear it, but rather that his injuries hadn’t healed yet.

Should I challenge it while still wounded? If I don’t go now and someone else clears it first after I recover, that would be a disaster.

“Fuck it. These injuries are nothing. I’ve already experienced the eighteen layers of hell! I’ll rest for a day and then go tomorrow. I’ll use this boss to test the results of Captain Doofus and the others’ secret realm training.”

***

For the rest of the day, Lu Ran lay in bed recovering while replying to messages. The revelations from fellow secret realm participants had many people asking Lu Ran for details.

Not wanting to bother with explanations, Lu Ran gave everyone the same reply: “Don’t believe it.”

The only two who deserved a proper explanation were Dr. Gu and Fang Lan. However, they were both in ascension realms. Meanwhile, although the official media in Xia also dismissed the leaks as rumors, Lu Ran’s unusual nature still sparked intense discussions among the nations about his emergence from the secret realm.

Snow Federation.

In a snow-covered villa, four young men scrolled through forums, muttering, “Shit. Lu Ran really entered an ascension realm, and he’s already out.”

“He’s definitely going to challenge that Time-attribute Legendary secret realm next.”

“We’ve been working on it for months. Don’t tell me he’s going to clear it first.”

These four were the first team to clear a Legendary secret realm after the update. As third-generation beastmasters, they had reached level 4 long before Lu Ran. In fact, as the strongest third-generation squad, their familiars had already reached level 50.

The reason they hadn’t entered an ascension realm yet was precisely to conquer this level 4 Time-attribute secret realm. The realm was indeed difficult. Even with over a dozen familiars between them, progress was slow.

Their biggest fear was Lu Ran reaching level 4 and competing with them for the secret realm. And now, their fears had come true.

“Don’t panic. We still have time. Lu Ran just broke through. His familiars are probably only around level 40. That boss is a level 50 Time-attribute Superior Overlord. It’s completely different from the bosses Lu Ran has faced before.

“Its strength isn’t much weaker than a level 5 Legendary secret realm’s level 60 Superior Overlord boss. So, even if he tries to clear it, it’ll take him a lot of effort. Especially since Lu Ran always prefers solo clears,” Ice King said solemnly.

”Captain, really? Look at this video. It says Lu Ran soloed four level 90 Superior Overlords.”

The Ice King snapped, “You actually believe that? Anyway, I’ll contact the president and request additional resources. There’s only one Time-attribute Legendary secret realm. If we miss this, who knows when we’ll get another chance?”

While the nations weren’t sure whether the leaks about Lu Ran’s secret realm achievements were true, his breakthrough to level 4 was undoubtedly confirmed.

It wasn’t just the Snow Federation; several major nations had level 4 beastmasters working on that Time secret realm. With Lu Ran’s emergence, panic wasn’t limited to one country. What was originally a normal competition among major nations over a secret realm suddenly became uncomfortable for everyone.

After a night’s rest, Lu Ran, who was still wrapped in bandages, sat in a Rare wheelchair he’d casually crafted and was pushed by Sudden Death King into Limitless City.

Lu Ran was fed up. When he’d first been injured by that tiger, the pain hadn’t been too bad. But after a night’s sleep, the wounds hurt even more, even with the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer continuously healing him.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Now, Lu Ran didn’t even want to walk. He had to rely on the wheelchair, with Sudden Death King acting as his chauffeur.

After entering the Limitless City #3, his journey wasn’t over. His destination was South America’s public realm #1, as the Time-attribute Legendary secret realm was there.

Soon, a peculiar sight appeared in Limitless City #3. A young man, completely wrapped in bandages with his face obscured, sat in a wheelchair pushed by a two-meter-tall mini dragon, slowly making his way toward the transportation square.

“Damn, what’s up with this guy? He’s still playing beastmaster in this state?”

“Wait... look at that dragon. Doesn’t it look a lot like Lu Ran’s Shieldwing Dragon King...”

“No way... no way...”