Chapter 491 - Matchmaking by Manager Ying

“So, where’s the Divine Deer?”

Manager Ying’s suggestion wasn’t a bad idea, in Lu Ran’s opinion. However, communicating with the Divine Deer might require some linguistic finesse.

“The Divine Deer is still in the Amazon. After helping Bai Lu develop her exclusive beastmaster skill, Bai Lu entered the ascension realm, but the Divine Deer didn’t leave.”

“Should we go find her now?” Manager Ying asked.

“Let’s go.”

***

Somewhere in the Amazon, the Divine Deer suddenly felt a chill. Before it could ponder the reason, Lu Ran and the others appeared before it.

As soon as Lu Ran arrived, he spoke excitedly, adopting the demeanor of someone reporting significant achievements to their superior.

“Lord Divine Deer, we’re back! Guess what major discovery we made in the ascension realm this time!”

“

Hmm?

”

Upon seeing Lu Ran return in such high spirits again, the Divine Deer felt a sense of deja vu.

Typical Lu Ran.

Noticing Lu Ran’s flushed face, the Divine Deer exclaimed in delight, “Did you find traces of the Four Supreme Divine Dragons?”

“Pretty much! I found the timekeeper, a kin of the Time Dragon!”

“What?” The Divine Deer was even more astonished.

The timekeeper?

As far as it knew, none of the nine kin of Life, Death, and Space had ever met this colleague. From what they understood, after being chosen by the Time Dragon, the timekeeper had remained in the time tunnel. Unless one was an extremely proficient Time-attribute divine beast, even sensing such a place was impossible.

“Do you have any information about them?”

The Divine Deer thought that perhaps the timekeeper might know the whereabouts of the Four Supreme Divine Dragons.

Lu Ran lowered his voice and said, “Yes. The reason I encountered the timekeeper was because they met with an accident while maintaining the time tunnel and was forced to reincarnate. In the ascension realm I entered this time, what I actually met was the reincarnated form of the timekeeper!”

“Where are they?” The Divine Deer suddenly understood.

Indeed, only under such circumstances could Lu Ran have encountered the timekeeper. It wasn’t hard to believe that the timekeeper had encountered trouble. Ever since the Four Supreme Divine Dragons disappeared, the power of their kin had severely declined, far from their former divine might.

However, this also meant the likelihood of the timekeeper knowing the whereabouts of the Four Supreme Divine Dragons was much lower. Even so, if they could meet the timekeeper, the Divine Deer still considered it a significant breakthrough. It had high expectations for the timekeeper.

“To be honest, Lord Divine Deer, I’ve already brought them here.”

Lu Ran took a deep breath, trying to sound as formal as possible.

At this moment, only Manager Ying stood beside Lu Ran. Manager Ying’s gaze was profound, its face filled with worry as it sighed and exuded an air of world-weariness.

The Divine Deer pondered briefly, analyzed the situation, and then tentatively asked, “Are you saying... this cat is the reincarnation of the timekeeper?”

Manager Ying sighed again.

Lu Ran also sighed deeply. “I never expected Manager Ying to be the reincarnation of the timekeeper.”

The Divine Deer stared at Manager Ying in shock.

This is... far from what I imagined.

Lu Ran said, “Although Manager Ying has lost its power and memories, we’ve already verified it in the realm. Besides, this explains why its clones are so special. Perhaps only by using versions of itself from different times as clones could it enter Limitless City and cross the interdimensional teleportation array.”

The Divine Deer still found it hard to believe.

“What... Are you sure?”

Lu Ran nodded. “Yes. The ascension realm we entered this time was the ancient Blue Planet. There, we even saw you and Squirrel God as historical projections. Over there, you and Squirrel God personally verified Manager Ying’s identity.

“To help Manager Ying recover its power and memories, the two of them even went out of their way to help it obtain various Legendary resources, trying to restore its strength.”

As he spoke, Lu Ran pulled out the Taotie’s Stomach and the remnants of the Four Seasons Goddess’s soul, leaving the Divine Deer deep in thought once more.

So it’s true...

“Are you really the timekeeper?”

Manager Ying sighed. “If my memory isn’t mistaken, then yes, I am. Divine Deer, who would’ve thought we were colleagues? Whether I am or not, once I absorb these powers and advance to Legendary, the truth should be clear.

“Reincarnation usually involves regaining past-life powers and memories as one’s strength increases. Since the resources for advancement are already prepared, we’ll know once I try.”

“This is truly remarkable.”

The Divine Deer felt Lu Ran wouldn’t lie about something like this. It had also seen the resources Lu Ran brought out. Without it and Squirrel God’s help, obtaining them would indeed have been difficult.

Moreover, Squirrel God had mentioned more than once how peculiar this cat’s clones were. If it were the reincarnation of the timekeeper, it wasn’t entirely impossible.

“Is there anything else you need my help with?” the Divine Deer instinctively asked, but the moment the words left its mouth, it regretted them.

Lu Ran and Manager Ying both turned to look at it and said, “I’ve prepared three Legendary resources to help Manager Ying break through, but considering how advanced Time powers are, it still doesn’t feel entirely safe. There is one method that might increase the success rate, but it would require your assistance, Lord Divine Deer, as well as Six-Path Flower’s.”

“Continue...” the Divine Deer said.

Lu Ran continued, “That is, have Manager Ying carry the Lucky Flower condensed by Six-Path Flower during its breakthrough evolution.”

“

Oh?

That sounds like a great plan. But what does that have to do with me?” The Divine Deer was puzzled.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Lu Ran explained, “Since the Lucky Flower’s power is a new ability Six-Path Flower learned through a trait crystal, its development isn’t high enough yet. It can only affect those below the Legendary rank. First, I want to use the Divine Faith Fruit to upgrade Six-Path Flower’s Lucky Flower power to the Legendary level.

“However, even that might not be enough. During our time in ancient Blue Planet, with the help of the Divine Deer and Squirrel, we also slew the Qiongqi, one of the Four Fiends.”

Lu Ran pulled out the Qiongqi’s Heart, making the Divine Deer’s eyes twitch.

This level 5 beastmaster really doesn’t rest even in an ascension realm...

“The Qiongqi possesses intense malevolent energy. If we can pair it with corresponding virtuous energy, Six-Path Flower might be able to break through to the Intermediate-Legendary rank. At that point, the Lucky Flower it condenses will be even more powerful.

“That should ensure Manager Ying has a 100% chance of breaking through to Legendary. Luck can’t possibly be that bad, right? As for virtuous energy... if my senses are correct, Lord Divine Deer, you possess a considerable amount of virtuous power. I wonder if you could lend some to Six-Path Flower.”

“

Ah...

” The Divine Deer was taken aback.

Its face darkened immediately.

Virtuous energy? Damn it, you two planned this, didn’t you?

To be honest, it hadn’t even paid attention to how much of this energy it had accumulated. Like faith power, it wasn’t something it focused on cultivating. However, such intangible energy wasn’t entirely useless to it.

Back when the evil god faction was rampant, their attempts to corrupt the Divine Deer had failed largely because of its abundant virtuous power, which made it impervious to evil influences. In the Divine Deer’s view, if too much of its virtuous energy were drained, it might become susceptible to corruption by negative energies.

The Life Dragon had taken a liking to it precisely because of its kindness and compassion for the suffering creatures of the forest. But now that things had come to this, and since it had offered to help, the Divine Deer found itself backed into a corner.

“How much do you need?” The Divine Deer asked after a moment of silence.

“Given Lord Divine Deer’s virtuous power, a small amount should be like a drop in the bucket, right?” Lu Ran mused.

“Fine, take it.” The Divine Deer’s mouth twitched.

As soon as the Divine Deer agreed, Manager Ying stood up, looking moved. “Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. Virtuous energy isn’t my core power anyway. If it can help Six-Path Flower break through and assist you, the timekeeper, in recovering your strength, it’s killing two birds with one stone...”

Killing two birds with one stone...

The Divine Deer pondered. It wasn’t trying to be suspicious, but it couldn’t shake the feeling that Lu Ran and Manager Ying were conspiring to trick it.

However, something as significant as the timekeeper’s identity wasn’t something he would lie about, even if Lu Ran were full of schemes. At this point, the Divine Deer still trusted Lu Ran. It also trusted that Six-Path Flower wouldn’t collude with him.

***

Afterward, Six-Path Flower stayed with the Divine Deer to absorb the virtuous and malevolent energies and begin its secluded cultivation.

It was unclear how long it would take for Six-Path Flower to break through to the Intermediate-Legendary rank, but as Lu Ran and the others had reasoned, Manager Ying planned to wait for Six-Path Flower’s breakthrough and use its blessing for its own evolution.

After leaving the Divine Deer, Lu Ran turned to Manager Ying and said, “There’s something you haven’t reported to me yet, isn’t there?”

“Hey, hey, watch your tone. I’m the Time Dragon’s kin, not the dog’s kin.”

“

Pfft,

you’re indeed not my kin, but you are my intelligence department head. And what I’m referring to are those traits and beastmaster skills I gave you. Have you distributed them?”

Manager Ying looked up, its expression resigned. “Of course I’ve taken care of it. I gave the Plantmaster King trait to Fang Lan.”

“What did she say?”

“I told her it was a useless skill Lu Ran picked up and was giving to her. She just said, ‘

Oh.

’”

Lu Ran was exasperated.

“I’m just kidding. I told her it was a Legendary skill Lu Ran specifically obtained for her, and she was overjoyed.”

Lu Ran nodded. “That’s more like it. What about the other skills?”

“Dragon Amplification, Armor Fusion, Undead Resurrection, and Super Hibernation are all common skills. I just tossed them into the Beastmaster University’s point exchange. I couldn’t even bring myself to gift them.

“Flourishing Vitality, the plant-type healer skill, I gave to Fang Lan as well. As for the Reincarnation beastmaster skill, I haven’t found a suitable candidate yet. Since everyone on our side can receive Six-Path Flower’s reincarnation mark, I plan to sell it to someone wealthy later in exchange for a Legendary resource. That way, we can maximize its value. I’m thinking of selling it to a messenger.

“Not Bai Lu or Death Gun, of course. One’s a messenger of a kin of the Life Dragon, and the other’s a messenger of a kin of the Death Dragon. They wouldn’t have trouble mastering this skill. I think Kongkong Yi seems like a good target. Next time I see her, I’ll ask if she’s interested.”

Lu Ran nodded. Selling the Reincarnation beastmaster skill would indeed maximize its value. As for their own people, they could just have Six-Path Flower add reincarnation marks for them.

“What about the last two, Purifying Hand and Demonic Transformation? Who did you give those to?”

Manager Ying grinned. “I gave them to a high school student who’s a new beastmaster.”

Lu Ran was surprised. “Who? Are they highly talented? Do I know them?”

Manager Ying shook its head. “You don’t know him, and neither do I. No special talent or potential. He’s just an ordinary high schooler from a regular family.”

“Then why give it to him?”

Given Manager Ying’s shrewdness, Lu Ran wasn’t worried it had been taken advantage of.

“The kid’s like you. He had a family heirloom, an Epic-grade one. The local beastmaster association official found out and pressured him to hand it over. The kid refused but was afraid of retaliation, so he secretly entered Limitless City and contacted me through the Cat Maid Cafe. He said he’d rather give it to me, a guardian who had protected Xia, than to some stranger.

“At the time, I was the only one he could reach. Seems like my reputation among young beastmasters isn’t bad. I checked out the Epic resource, and it was indeed decent, so I accepted it. But I didn’t want to shortchange him, so I gave him Purifying Hand and Demonic Transformation.

“With those two skills, becoming a beastmaster with Legendary potential isn’t hard. I’ve already recommended him to Beastmaster University and the Flood Dragon Squad for evaluation.”

“What about that association official?” Lu Ran asked.

“What do you think? He wanted the treasure for himself. He never reported it. If not for Limitless City’s teleportation and the kid’s quick thinking, he might’ve already ‘disappeared.’ That official was no good. He’d done plenty of shady stuff behind the scenes. But I’ve already taken care of him. Don’t worry about it.”

“Alright. What Epic resource was it that caught your attention?”

Manager Ying pulled it out and said, “I thought it’d be useful for you.”

What it revealed was a blood-red stone.

[Name: Dragonbirth Stone]

[Grade: Epic]

[Description: The dragon’s nine sons are each different. After consumption, the user can bypass reproductive isolation, allowing cross-species reproduction to produce hybrid offspring. The offspring will likely inherit the best traits and characteristics of both parents.]

Lu Ran’s pupils dilated in shock, his face a picture of disbelief.

What the hell kind of resource is this?

And what does Manager Ying mean by saying it might be useful for me?

“What are you implying?”

“It’s not about you having a kid with a familiar to create some innate beastmaster prodigy. Here’s the thing. I didn’t know you had obtained a Bai Ze egg in the ascension realm.

“Since you’re about to get a new contract card, my initial thought was that if you couldn’t find a suitable familiar to contract, you could have Captain Doofus or the others find a mate and produce a top-tier offspring for you to contract.

“It’s pretty common among beastmasters to contract the descendants of their own familiars. With this Dragonbirth Stone, the range of potential mates expands greatly, and you wouldn’t have to worry about species barriers.”

Lu Ran was baffled.

“However, this doesn’t conflict with the Bai Ze plan. While Bai Ze is good, don’t you think it’s still lacking? What if it hatches as only a quasi-Legendary base species? When we chatted with Bai Ze, didn’t it mention it wasn’t born at this species rank? It trained its way up.

“But if you breed the hatched Bai Ze with another Legendary lifeform, combining their strengths, wouldn’t the offspring be even more powerful? Captain Doofus and the others aren’t getting any younger. At their age, normal dogs would’ve already had a whole litter.” Manager Ying smacked the ground with its paw.

It was urging Lu Ran to consider marriage for Captain Doofus.