Chapter 499 - Everyone has a Promising Future (Part 2)

While Lu Ran and Six-Path Flower were experimenting, a lot was happening in the King's Domain. Four of the five non-Xia kings had been dethroned, but they didn’t just take it lying down. Since they couldn’t beat the ancient beastmasters, they targeted the weaker Xia beastmasters.

Lu Ran and the old president were obviously too powerful for them to challenge. Shi Zhen's Sex Change Curse was too traumatizing, so no one dared to challenge him either. This made Lin Nian and Gu Qingyi the only remaining candidates.

While the two ladies could hold their own, they couldn’t defend their seats forever. Gu Qingyi was eventually defeated by the guy from the Snow Federation, while Lin Nian lost to Almi.

The Snow Federation King was the best Time beastmaster on Blue Planet, excluding Lu Ran. Gu Qingyi’s Dragon familiar had a slight edge against Time familiars of the same rank, but Ice was a natural weakness for the Dragon attribute.

Lin Nian actually started off fairly evenly matched against Almi, but ultimately lost because she didn’t have a chance to properly raise the new plant familiar she got from the Amazon. Almi, on the other hand, got a lot stronger after he evolved his Golden Elephant King again following his defeat against Lu Ran. Although the elephant didn’t reach Quasi-Legendary, it integrated a total of seven traits, putting Almi a cut above his peers.

Sigh.

When he took a break and checked the Ten Kings roster, Lu Ran saw that Oub, Jakov, and Almi were still wasting space on the list and felt somewhat frustrated. Those three were really something. Dr. Gu and Lin Nian were good, but they didn’t have the chance to become messengers of Legendary creatures like the old president and Shi Zhen. With that being said, they were still at the forefront of Blue Planet beastmasters.

Since the Ten Kings were about to be finalized, Lu Ran decided to give the two of them a hand. Once Fang Lan was back, they could hog the last three spots. The only pity was Zhu Kaixin. Pig God did his best, but Lu Ran still wasn’t confident that he could beat Fang Lan, who was about to be named as the Squirrel God’s messenger.

"R.I.P. Pig God. Maybe you’ll have a shot if you work harder in the future."

After watching replays of Gu Qingyi and Lin Nian’s battles, Lu Ran saw that there wasn’t that much of a gap between them and their opponents. Even without his help, they would have eventually caught up on their own with the Imperial Seal’s buff, but Lu Ran still planned to send some resources to help them out.

For Dr. Gu, Lu Ran still had some Chaos Dragon God blood, but he didn’t dare to give it to her without getting it purified by the Divine Turtle first. He originally wanted to give it to Little Circle since Sudden Death King no longer needed it. Sudden Death King would be more suited towards the Star attributes, anyhow.

"Sudden Death King has shed a lot of blood during training, which I have painstakingly collected. I was thinking about using it as fuel for #18, but now it looks like it will end up in a medicinal bath for Dr. Gu’s familiar. Sudden Death King’s blood won’t be as effective as the Chaos Dragon God’s, but at least it’s guaranteed to be safe," Lu Ran muttered to himself while sitting on the throne.

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Manager Ying’s voice sounded.

"What are you doing here?" Lu Ran asked.

"You’re just going to give Dr. Gu some of Sudden Death King’s blood? What else do you have for her?”

Lu Ran's mouth twitched, and he replied, "Besides that, there’s only the Chaos Dragon God’s blood, but I don’t think that it’s suitable for her. She doesn’t need to be so strong that she sweeps through the entire World War. She just needs to be strong enough to beat Jakov. There's no need to take such a big risk.

"Besides, if the Chaos Dragon God's blood ends up working, she could end up targeted by the Chaos Dragon God once it reawakens. Sudden Death King is one thing since my relationship with Six-Path Flower means that I will inevitably clash with the Dragon God. However, Dr. Gu shouldn’t get involved if she doesn’t have to.

“Not only that, but even Sudden Death King’s blood needs to be purified multiple times by #18 before it’s safe to use."

Manager Ying snorted.

"You’re right, but don't underestimate Dr. Gu. With the right opportunity, she will be just as strong as any other messenger. For now, though, I guess Sudden Death King’s blood will have to do. Oh, by the way, what you said back in the ascension realm doesn’t count. Gu Qingyi shall henceforth be the only messenger of I, the Timekeeper! Don't go around using my name in the future."

Lu Ran: ???

"What the hell? You’re just going to ditch me?"

"You are the Divine Deer’s messenger!”

"Fine. It doesn’t make sense anyway because I’m technically your boss."

Manager Ying: ???

"How are you going to help Dr. Gu?" Lu Ran asked with a smile. "Based on how you’ve helped Baby Cloud progress so far, Dr. Gu should become stronger than the other two newly minted messengers after you pick her up," Lu Ran commented.

Dr. Gu wasn’t chosen by the Divine Turtle or Ghost Mother, but this cat was giving her a chance. The two of them had a close relationship to begin with.

"By the way, why aren’t you choosing that girl you’re contracted to?" Lu Ran asked.

Logically speaking, Manager Ying should’ve been the closest to the second-generation beastmaster who was its contractor.

"She has a passive personality that’s better suitable for managing the Cat Maid Cafe and managing intelligence. Qingyi is the better choice for becoming my messenger. The added bonus is that I can turn her Dragon familiar into a Time dragon!"

You really have balls. You want to recreate your master? You truly are a kindred soul.

"Anyway, Qingyi is mine now. I will take her and Baby Cloud away to train. I will leave behind a Time domain once I’m back with Baby Cloud. Just give me some time to get familiar with my powers. Lin Nian and Fang Lan will be your responsibility," Manager Ying said.

"Okay, I will have Fang Lan face President Oub and Lin Nian get her revenge on Almi.”

Lin Nian’s talent was definitely enough to make her the strongest ability user in the world. Back during ancient times, that con-artist fox gave Lin Nian's ancestors some basic telekinetic powers that were nowhere near the level of what Lin Nian was capable of.

The only thing holding her back was her physical body, which couldn’t endure the full extent of her power. When she overused her abilities, it would cause a serious headache. This was common knowledge amongst the Zodiacs. She actually looked a bit malnourished because her brain consumed so much energy.

Her body was undeniably weak. Even if she learned some supporting beastmaster skills, it wouldn’t be enough to make a real difference. If she had a monstrous physique like Lu Ran, then she would be able to unleash the true power of her telekinesis.

Lucky for her, Lu Ran had a way to strengthen her physique. She just needed to open a beastmaster space like the ancient beast masters and contract some familiars that supplemented her physical body. This would take her to a whole other level.

As for Almi, Lu Ran actually had something he wanted to ask him. His Golden Elephant King had the Three Heads, Six Arms trait, and the traits’ full capability should go far beyond what the description said.

[Trait Crystal: Three Heads, Six Arms (Grants familiars this form, drastically boosting power.)]

The description was too brief. Lu Ran wanted to know what kind of ability the trait really granted. There must be some sort of hidden effect. He needed to decide whether it was really worth giving to one of his familiars.

***

Over in Ahsan, Almi was meditating in seclusion. Although he didn’t reclaim his spot as one of the Ten Kings from Lu Ran, he accepted that Lu Ran was out of his league and gave up on the idea. As long as he was able to reclaim a spot from Xia, he could save some face in front of his countrymen.

Suddenly, a red pupil appeared in the air. Almi didn’t react. Instead, he had a blank expression as he stared into the eye.

"You will answer my questions. What talent did your Golden Elephant King awaken after fusing with the Three Heads, Six Arms trait?"

"With that trait, besides increased physical strength, my familiar also receives increased reaction speed and comprehension from having three heads. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure that the Three Heads, Six Arms trait is solely responsible for this. I previously gave it the Human Transformation trait, which didn’t give it a species talent, but had the effect of increasing comprehension. I suspect that the two traits synergize."

"I see!" The information made Dark Crow a bit envious.

That monster, Captain Doofus, already had an outrageous comprehension ability with one head. What would happen if it had three heads? Even if the trait wasn’t useful in battle, it would still be perfect for day-to-day cultivation. How could it and Sudden Death King when they couldn’t piece together three heads between the two of them?

—Is there anything else you want to ask, my king?

—No, even though Captain Doofus didn’t integrate the Human Transformation trait, it already has a werewolf form and the Absolute Comprehension trait. Almi's Golden Elephant King is able to make good use of the Three Heads, Six Arms trait, so there’s no reason Captain Doofus can’t do the same.

—Should I kill this person to save Lin Nian some trouble?

No. I can do it personally if I want to kill him. I’m going to keep him as a stepping stone for Lin Nian.

After finishing listening to Almi’s explanation, the eye dissipated, and Almi scratched his head in confusion. He looked around, wondering why he stood up.

Did I need to go poop?

***

In Stellar Moon World, the roster for the Ten Kings was also changed in anticipation of the impending World War. The three Epic-Legendary powerhouses, the Mechanical Leader, the Sprite Queen, and the Divine Throne sat at the top of the list. After them, there was Ice Emperor, who just reawakened with an Elemental God as his familiar.

Then, there were the messengers of Legendary creatures, namely Bai Lu, Death Gun, and Kong Kongyi, who just leveled up and claimed their own seats amongst the Ten Kings.

Finally, there were the local Legendary beastmasters that had their own fortuitous encounters and reached the upper echelons on their own.

The members of the Ten Kings of both worlds were undergoing the final tumultuous changes in preparations for the fated encounter. Limitless City took this chance to add fuel to the fire by releasing another update to the War.

[Major changes to the roster for the Ten Kings in both worlds have been detected. The pre-qualifying rewards will now be announced.]

[After the World War, all participating beastmasters will receive 1 Evolution Crystal (unconditionally increases a familiar’s species rank to Quasi-Legendary).]