Chapter 485 - The Sanction Came Quick (Part 1)

Overall, an SSS score wasn’t Lu Ran’s limit. It was just the highest score the ascension realm could give. Hunting a level 100 Intermediate Legendary and even obtaining a Legendary resource along with numerous Epic resources as drops—if the rewards from Limitless City were only capped at Epic-grade, it would feel far too stingy.

Thus, Lu Ran felt that given the circumstances, neither the Three Heads and Six Arms trait nor the Hunting Instinct beastmaster skill was particularly groundbreaking.

This Legendary beast egg ought to grant him a grand prize worthy of his hunting achievements. Even if the reward’s value surpassed Zhu Yan itself, hatching an even more powerful beast should still be considered reasonable.

Of course, it was also possible that Limitless City had factored in the assistance of the two Divine Dragons’ kin, Squirrel God and the Divine Deer, which might have diminished the reward’s value relative to the hunt’s difficulty.

However, Lu Ran believed that since the realm had already projected so many Legendary beasts, there was no need to skimp on these minor spoils. Being able to enlist Squirrel God and the Divine Deer’s aid was his own capability. Using the cat to leverage the Life and Space kin didn’t count as cheating.

From the current perspective, if we exclude the ascension mission rewards, my greatest harvests now are the Nine-Tailed Fox’s Heart Crystal and the Zhu Yan’s Corpse.

After slaying Zhu Yan, they had attempted to dissect it further, only to discover peculiar changes in its body. Upon death, Zhu Yan’s entire body began petrifying and repairing itself, including its soul and spirit, eventually transforming into something similar to a stone puppet.

According to the Divine Deer’s analysis, the Legendary resource on Zhu Yan’s body was likely its entire corpse, which could still unleash the combat power of a level 100 Low-Legendary beast even after death.

If the user possessed suitable enslavement methods, they could directly control Zhu Yan’s war-beast form for battle. Since it was already dead, it couldn’t resist commands anyway.

While they hadn’t obtained any edible resources from Zhu Yan, gaining a Legendary combatant wasn’t a loss. Additionally, its weapon counted as an Epic-grade resource.

With the Zhu Yan puppet as an endlessly exploitable Legendary combatant, it could become the main force for hunting other Legendaries in the future, potentially yielding even more Legendary resources.

Battling Legendaries was inherently dangerous. This time, despite thorough preparations, Sudden Death King had still ended up on the brink of death, barely clinging to life. Fortunately, the Divine Deer had instantly healed it.

Baby Cloud had also suffered terribly. The mechanical evolution castle that #18 had painstakingly developed, along with the Kunpeng Feather inside, had been smashed to pieces by Zhu Yan’s club. This made Baby Cloud revert to a Superior Overlord.

If #18 perfected the Hall of Heroic Spirits and could summon the Tree Monarch, Baby Cloud might not even be a match for #18 anymore.

For safer battles against Legendaries in the future, it would be wiser to let constructs like the Zhu Yan puppet charge ahead as meat shields and distractions.

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

“Time to break through.”

With the mission finally complete, Lu Ran exhaled and began his breakthrough quietly. The power of Limitless City washed over his entire body. All of Lu Ran’s attributes skyrocketed at this moment.

A shocking vortex of energy gathered around him, crackling with sparks and lightning. Anyone witnessing this would be astonished, as beastmaster breakthroughs usually lacked such spectacle. Even most Transcendent beasts’ evolutions paled in comparison to his current display.

Soon, Lu Ran reached level 6, which was just one step away from the generalized “elite standard” and “top-tier combatant” threshold.

“Next level, and I’ll be a Legendary beastmaster.” Lu Ran clenched his fist, feeling the obvious surge in strength.

He wasn’t particularly eager to reach the Legendary rank. As things stood, he could already overpower ordinary Legendary beastmasters despite being a level lower. What he truly anticipated was becoming an Epic-Legendary beastmaster, where his familiars could reach level 90. The real gateway to power would be during the third-stage evolution.

Currently, aside from Manager Ying and #18, all of Lu Ran’s familiars were resting within their contract cards, recuperating ever since their return. Although their injuries had been treated, the mental and physical exhaustion required time to heal.

Their levels had also undergone noticeable changes. #18 was the highest at level 63. Six-Path Flower followed at level 62. Captain Doofus, Sudden Death King, Dark Crow, and Baby Cloud were all at level 61.

The four kin’s levels were more uneven. The swordgrass and sword spirit had reached level 60, while the newest addition, the comical shield, had managed to hit level 50.

Aside from the Nine-Tailed Fox Heart, the fox’s flesh and bones can be cooked into dishes that enhance Spiritual strength. The Spirit attribute is a universal attribute, so no resources would be wasted even if the entire team took it. However, for maximum efficiency, feeding it all to Dark Crow would be best.”

These resources were equivalent to Epic-grade materials, which Lu Ran could process immediately. However, aside from Dark Crow, the absorption effects wouldn’t be ideal for the others.

#18, despite also having the Spirit attribute, could level up faster by honing its spiritual strength through research. It’s a method more suited to its artificial lifeform nature. Although it could consume food, this wasn’t the optimal nutrient source. What it truly needed was large amounts of electricity and spiritual energy to sustain its research.

Electricity was #18’s original energy source as it’s convertible into essential power for its systems. Spiritual energy, essentially soul force, became a new energy source after #18 modified some components using the soul-forging techniques Lu Ran provided from the Undead Cult, granting it the Undead attributes.

As for Six-Path Flower, though it also integrated the Spirit attribute, its unique plant lifeform thrived best on good and evil emotional fluctuations. While some vicious plants fed on flesh and blood, Six-Path Flower wasn’t among them.

Without emotional fluctuations, unique soil, water, or light sources were more suitable than flesh. Thus, the fox meat was best left to Dark Crow, whose species could fully absorb its nutrients.

After some consideration, Lu Ran decided to feed Dark Crow first, pushing it to level 70. If there were leftovers, he’d consume the remnants to bolster his own spiritual strength.

Fox meat was nourishing for deficiencies. Having already devoured the creature’s soul, Lu Ran had no qualms about eating its flesh. Although he’d never tried it before, he figured it couldn’t be much different from dog meat as both were canines, after all.

“There’s still time left. Let’s see if we can hunt more ferocious beasts besides Taotie and Qiongqi.” Lu Ran stood up.

These resources alone couldn’t satisfy his needs. With barely over two months until the World War, he needed his entire team to reach level 70. The ideal scenario was not only reaching level 70 but also fusing a new trait within these two months, one that could significantly boost their combat power.

The recently acquired Three Heads and Six Arms trait was a decent candidate. Lu Ran pondered whether to fuse it into one of his familiars. Captain Doofus, Sudden Death King, and Dark Crow were all suitable candidates. Even #18 could theoretically fuse with it, although the result would be unconventional.

The trait isn’t bad. Imagine Dark Crow with three mouths and three pairs of eyes, or Captain Doofus wielding six swords with six arms...

Although the Sword God talent meant Captain Doofus gained more bonuses the more swords it mastered, swords controlled by sword intent and those held physically offered different boosts.

Additionally, comprehension was largely tied to brain activity. Though Captain Doofus wasn’t the brightest, the Three Heads and Six Arms state might allow it to grasp even more defying-the-heavens sword techniques.

Soon, after imprinting Happy Beastmaster as his new beastmaster skill, Lu Ran roused his slumbering familiars, signaling that it was time for another hunt. This time, with the Zhu Yan puppet helping them. Hunting Taotie and Qiongqi would be far easier, requiring little concern.

“

Plip, plip!

”

Upon waking, Baby Cloud immediately asked Lu Ran what the plan was. The mechanical castle was gone, and so was the Kunpeng Feather. Even if #18 could build another mechanical castle, without the Kunpeng Feather as an energy converter, it wouldn’t fly as fast.

Should we... hunt a Kunpeng?

“That thing is probably no weaker than Zhu Yan, maybe even stronger. Can we even hunt it? It’s okay, you’re useless now.”

Baby Cloud was taken aback.

Lu Ran said, “I mean, the Kunpeng Feather is useless now. It’s outdated. Since it’s broken, just let it go. Haven’t you enjoyed Squirrel God teleporting us all over Blue Planet lately?”

Baby Cloud had an epiphany.

So... we’re going to kill Squirrel God before leaving and have #18 build a mechanical Squirrel God?

Lu Ran smiled. “What you should do now is find your mother. It’s the timekeeper, a hundred times more powerful than a Kunpeng. No matter how fast a Kunpeng is, it can’t outrun time. If you don’t hurry, Dark Crow will lick up all of Manager Ying’s inheritance.”

Soon after, Lu Ran heard some incomprehensible muttering like “Don’t touch me!” and “Isn’t it time for a new cloud to replace the old cat?”

Since Baby Cloud’s second-stage evolution had already been heavily influenced by Manager Ying’s powerful genes, even resembling it in appearance, Lu Ran decided to go all out and entrusted Baby Cloud entirely to Manager Ying.

Now might not be Baby Cloud’s transformation moment, but once Manager Ying regained its full power as the timekeeper, Lu Ran believed it would undoubtedly be the strongest among the ten kin of the Four Supreme Divine Dragons. With just a sprinkle of its power, it could probably make Baby Cloud invincible.

For now, the key was to have Baby Cloud try to awaken Manager Ying’s maternal instincts. The other Divine Dragons had nurtured multiple kin, with the highest being Intermediate-Legendary rank. However, the Time Dragon had only raised the timekeeper; it made sense for it to be exceptionally strong.