Chapter 378 - Lu Ran vs. Bai Lu, Battle of the Messengers!

Bai Lu listened to Lu Ran and Manager Ying’s discussion on the side and shook her head.

What a mismatched mess...

Lu Ran’s main familiars were already well-investigated by the Stellar Moon Federation, thanks to other beastmasters from Blue Planet who had entered the ascension realm.

Naturally, they knew about Lu Ran’s sword-wielding dog with a weapon talent. Compared to the initial confusion of Blue Planet’s beastmasters, the Stellar Moon Federation’s acceptance of this was relatively higher.

After all, the Weapon Control talent originated from the Beastmaster Empire of the Stellar Moon Continent, and the birth of Mechanical familiars somewhat inherited this research.

Equipping familiars with various weapons was the prototype of the Mechanical attribute.

However, later on, it became more common to arm familiars with powerful firearms like guns and cannons. Swords and blades fell somewhat behind. Laser swords and the like were mostly reserved for gundams and beastmasters, not dogs.

Bai Lu felt that while Lu Ran might currently dominate Blue Planet and be hailed as the top talent in potential, it was largely due to the advantages accumulated from his identity as the Divine Deer’s messenger. If he wanted to remain a super genius on Stellar Moon, he would need to reconsider the rationality of his cultivation path.

Lost in thought, Bai Lu turned to Lu Ran and said, “Hey, Lu Ran, interested in a spar?”

Lu Ran, who had been chatting with Manager Ying, was stunned. “

Huh?

A spar?”

Bai Lu crossed her arms. “Yes. I’d like to see what the so-called ‘top talent’ of Blue Planet is capable of. Since you’re only a level 4 beastmaster, and I have the level advantage, I’ll use a secondary familiar to fight you.”

Lu Ran chuckled. “A spar sounds fine. But forget about using a secondary familiar. Senior Bai Lu, go all out. I also want to see the gap between myself and a top-tier genius of the Stellar Moon Federation.”

“I’m hardly a top-tier genius. My role leans more towards that of a healer. That said, I do have some combat ability. If you underestimate me because of that, you’ll regret it,” Bai Lu said slowly.

Lu Ran smiled faintly. “No problem. In that case, since you’re being so generous, I’ll take a bit of an advantage. How about this rule: a relay battle. Senior Bai Lu, you send out one of your main familiars, and I’ll challenge you with multiple familiars in succession.”

“That works too.” Bai Lu felt this was more reasonable.

Meanwhile, Manager Ying watched Lu Ran and Bai Lu square off, a smirk playing on its lips.

This’ll be interesting... a battle between two Divine Deer messengers.

Bai Lu seemed brimming with confidence, but Manager Ying coughed lightly, sensing she was about to lose.

Lu Ran spent so much time inside that the Six-Paths Flower must have hatched by now.

Knowing Lu Ran, Manager Ying was certain he wouldn’t miss the chance to have the Divine Deer strengthen the Six-Paths Flower.

While Bai Lu had a two-level advantage over Lu Ran, he wasn’t to be underestimated either.

“Follow me. We can’t fight here or it’ll damage Clear Spring Valley. Let’s go to the training grounds Lord Divine Deer specially prepared for me.” Bai Lu turned and left.

Lu Ran followed without hesitation.

Soon, under Bai Lu’s lead, Lu Ran entered a small, artificially created world.

As expected. Even though the Divine Deer has the Grass attribute, at the Legendary level, it must have some mastery over Space-attribute powers. Creating a pocket dimension isn’t something ordinary Space-attribute creatures can do.

Bai Lu, dressed in a white dress, stepped onto the grass. A breeze ruffled her hair as she glanced at Lu Ran and Manager Ying, who had also entered.

“Here we are.”

Then, with a thought, a massive summoning array appeared on the ground. She didn’t summon the seven-colored deer from before but instead called forth a creature that seemed far more combat-oriented.

“

ROAR!

”

A dozens of meters long snake-like creature emerged, its body a deep brown aged tree bark that was covered in intricate patterns of time. Its eyes were dark green, glimmering like crystal fruits. It was exuding an aura of nobility and arrogance. This was a plant-mimic lifeform, not a real snake.

[Species: Divine Wood Snake]

[Attribute: Grass]

[Species Rank: Superior Overlord]

[Level: 66]

The divine wood snake’s species rank and level were on par with the seven-colored deer. This was already the second Superior Overlord Bai Lu had revealed. Lu Ran couldn’t help but take a deep breath.

As expected of a divine messenger. Her foundation is formidable.

“Who should I send...” Lu Ran pondered before summoning Sudden Death King.

Among his team, it was the toughest. Letting it tank some hits to gather intel on the opponent’s skills seemed like a good idea.

“

ROAR!

”

Sudden Death King emerged majestically from the summoning array. But upon sensing the level gap between itself and the divine wood snake, it fell silent.

[Attribute: Dragon (Lightning, Rock)]

[Species Rank: Intermediate Overlord]

[Level: 47]

A nearly 20-level difference. Plus, it had a lower species rank. Sudden Death King felt like it was about to live up to its name. It hastily layered itself with a thick energy armor and applied Shield Aura to the plating.

“Don’t panic.”

Lu Ran also knew the gap between the two familiars was big, but he believed in Sudden Death King’s defensive prowess to hold out for a few rounds.

“Meteor Fist.”

The opponent was clearly no pushover, so Lu Ran and Sudden Death King went all out from the start. Dark-red energy surged around the dragon as lightning crackled across its body. Sudden Death King soon unleashed a Meteor Fist compressed to sixtyfold its normal energy.

During the Alliance Tournament, Sudden Death King’s limit was fiftyfold. But after leveling up and enduring the Six-Paths Flower’s hellish training, its energy compression technique had reached sixtyfold.

Of course, injuries were inevitable. But without injuries, it couldn’t trigger the devastating Meteor Intent punch.

“

ROAR!

”

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The dark-red fist shadow, like a thunderous sea devouring everything, smashed toward the divine wood snake.

Bai Lu’s expression flickered with surprise before she remarked, “Impressive energy compression training... But don’t forget, I’m also a Divine Deer messenger.”

As she spoke, the divine wood snake swung its massive tail covered in seventyfold compressed Grass-attribute energy. It was like a wooden shield.

With a powerful swing, the snake used the wooden shield as a weapon, clashing directly with the Meteor Fist. The next moment, Sudden Death King’s terrifying punch burst apart like a water balloon. The shockwave rippled through the entire secret realm, forcing Bai Lu and Lu Ran to shield themselves from the gust.

When the dust settled, the divine wood snake stood unharmed. Actually, Lu Ran’s sharp eyes had caught a brief injury to the snake’s tail. But the wound was minor and healed in an instant.

Insane regeneration...

“My turn.” Bai Lu smiled faintly.

The divine wood snake plunged its tail into the ground, and the earth trembled violently as fissures split the terrain. Trees sprouted rapidly from the ground, their roots tearing through the soil as massive branches whipped through the air with enough force to cleave mountains and pierce boulders.

Their target was unmistakably Sudden Death King. Although they appeared to be merely wood, Lu Ran and the dragon didn’t dare to underestimate them. Sudden Death King accelerated the sixtyfold compressed energy across its body, boosting its speed.

It shot into the air like lightning, its Lightning Armor granting it extreme velocity. Yet, unbelievably, the divine wood matched its speed, and almost succeeded in dragging it back down mid-flight.

“Accelerate!” Lu Ran’s heart sank.

At this critical moment, Lu Ran activated his beastmaster skill, Time Acceleration, speeding up the energy flow around Sudden Death King and granting it a burst of power to narrowly evade the grasping branches.

“In that case...” Lu Ran was about to direct Sudden Death King’s next move when something unexpected happened again.

High above, a divine wood branch shot out from a space rift, skewering Sudden Death King in an instant. A fraction of a second earlier, Sudden Death King had sensed danger but couldn’t react in time as the attack was too fast.

Mid-air, Sudden Death King stared blankly as its Lightning Armor shattered, its scales splintering under the divine wood’s piercing strike. The impact left a massive dent in its abdomen, inflicting severe injuries.

Dazed, Sudden Death King plummeted from the sky.

“A Space-attribute ability?”

As Sudden Death King was struck, Lu Ran’s expression changed.

So this is what the Divine Deer and the Six-Paths Flower meant by ‘integrating Space attributes into main attributes.’ That wooden branch could traverse space!

But more importantly, its destructive power was terrifying, shattering Sudden Death King’s defenses in one hit.

“It’s over.” Bai Lu smiled triumphantly at Lu Ran.

You’re still just a newbie.

But the next moment, her expression shifted as she looked skyward. The attack that should have one-shotted Sudden Death King hadn’t incapacitated it.

“Absolute Defense, health locked.”

The strike had indeed dealt critical damage, and even drained Sudden Death King’s energy, but one of its innate talents was triggering an Absolute Defense when facing lethal attacks.

In Bai Lu’s calculations, this level 40+ dragon king should have been knocked out. Yet, after enduring the fatal blow, the dragon unleashed a counterattack even more devastating than its Lightning Meteor Fist.

With its energy depleted, Sudden Death King could no longer use an energy-based skill. It simply relied on its Overlord’s Heart talent and pure physical strength to throw a punch.

The air compressed, and the heavens roared. An air cannon descended like a meteor. The snake and Bai Lu looked up, reacting swiftly.

“Divine Wood Domain.”

In the next instant, every living being in the secret realm was pulled into the Divine Wood Domain. The domain’s expansion outpaced the air cannon, manifesting a wooden plank mid-air to block the punch.

The plank trembled as violent winds erupted around it. Sudden Death King’s desperate counter was blocked once again. High above, Sudden Death King became numb. Exhaustion weighed heavily on it.

After it realized it had barely affected the divine wood snake, a sinking feeling settled in its heart.

I’m done for... I’m gonna get extra training. I feel like dying...

Before it could dwell any further, overwhelming weakness rushed to its brain, plunging it into unconsciousness.

“Return.” Lu Ran sighed and recalled the falling Sudden Death King.

With a lower species rank, level, and skill proficiency, overcoming such a gap was wishful thinking.

“Well? Still want to continue?” Bai Lu grinned brightly.

Lu Ran nodded. “Of course...”

He was about to summon Captain Doofus, who could also summon a domain, when a voice echoed in his mind.

“

ARGH!

That stupid dragon! How could it lose to such a weak opponent? It could’ve done so much better!”

It was the Six-Paths Flower’s voice. Lu Ran was speechless after feeling its frustration.

“No helping it, Flower Sis. The level difference is too big. I’ll let Captain Doofus try—”

“That dog? It’ll struggle too! Let me handle this.”

What?

Lu Ran was confused.