Chapter 500 - Chaotic Stellar Moon (Part 1)

“

Ah?

What’s this?”

The pre-World War supply rewards were announced, sparking joy in nineteen places and despair in one.

After using the evolution crystal, a familiar’s species rank was guaranteed to rise to quasi-Legendary. It was no wonder that beastmasters from both worlds went wild when this reward was revealed.

Evolution resources capable of elevating a familiar’s species rank to quasi-Legendary were at least Legendary grade and required matching attributes. It was similar to what Lu Ran obtained with the Wind Dog God’s Heart. Now, Limitless City planned to distribute 20 such resources outright, with no attribute restrictions.

Even though these 20 individuals were already the strongest beastmasters across both worlds, not everyone possessed a quasi-Legendary familiar. Who wouldn’t want an extra one? Even those who already had one would see an epic boost with another. However, for Lu Ran, this was a bit of a headache.

His familiars, aside from Baby Cloud and #18, were all already quasi-Legendary. Under Six-Path Flower’s guidance, Baby Cloud’s advancement to quasi-Legendary wouldn’t be difficult, so the evolution crystal wasn’t necessary.

As for #18, it hadn’t undergone its second-stage evolution yet, and Time-attribute resources hadn’t been integrated into it. Even with normal cultivation, Lu Ran was confident he could raise it to quasi-Legendary, making the evolution crystal less meaningful for it.

Unlike most representative beastmasters, who struggled to cultivate even one quasi-Legendary familiar, this reward didn’t significantly enhance Lu Ran’s strength. Instead, it provided a massive boost to the other nine from Blue Planet and the ten from Stellar Moon.

With this, each of the ten Stellar Moon representatives would have at least one quasi-Legendary familiar, drastically increasing pressure on Lu Ran.

Lu Ran set down his phone and stared at the ceiling as he muttered, “Though it’s not absolute, I wonder if the evolution crystal can be used on a familiar’s kin. If the sword spirit, swordgrass, and lightsaber can be elevated to quasi-Legendary, that’d be a huge boost for Captain Doofus.

“But even if it’s restricted to contracted familiars, I could temporarily contract Captain Doofus’ kin in my beastmaster space to use the evolution crystal. The key question is whether the evolution crystal is bound. If it’s not and can be gifted, I might find a way to buy the four ancient senior’s crystals. The more, the merrier. I’d be able to make all of my familiars’ kin quasi-Legendary.”

Lu Ran considered many possibilities, but verification would have to wait. The battle rewards would only be distributed after the King’s Battle event concluded and before the World War began. The final roster wasn’t set yet; there were nearly two months left for changes. Now that Limitless City had revealed such rewards, competition for the ten representative spots would surely intensify.

“Calculating the time, Fang Lan should be emerging from her ascension realm soon. We absolutely can’t let one of the ten spots slip away.”

***

In a certain ascension realm.

Fang Lan, who was clad in exotic attire woven from poisonous silk, gazed at the sky. Nearly a month had passed. Although Fang Lan completed her ascension mission, she still felt like she was dreaming.

If Lu Ran were here, he’d be shocked because Fang Lan’s ascension realm was also set in ancient Blue Planet. Blue Planet was gradually becoming a standard ascension realm setting.

“With my current strength, I should be able to defeat some top-tier first-generation beastmasters.”

Fang Lan tucked her purple hair behind her ear, smiling as she pushed open the tribal gates and looked toward the high platform.

She ascended, and below, countless humans knelt, chanting, “Nine-headed serpent, devourer of men, leaving swamps in its wake; the Saintess descends, pities our people, bestows blessings, and slays demons and monsters. We pledge to follow the Saintess and eradicate Xiang Liu, restoring peace to the world!”

Slay my foot.

Fang Lan sighed at her followers. That said, these people had helped her accomplish much during this time, so saving them wasn’t in vain. Her ascension mission type was treasure hunting.

[Ascension Mission: Find the Breakthrough Stone to complete the mission and become a level 5 beastmaster.]

[Tip 1: There are 521 Breakthrough Stones scattered across dangerous locations worldwide. Participants temporarily gain coordinates for all stones.]

[Tip 2: Each Breakthrough Stone varies in difficulty to obtain, with differing danger levels. The more perilous the environment, the higher the mission score upon retrieval.]

[Tip 3: ...]

This was a battle against treacherous natural environments. Now armed with the Plantmaster King beastmaster skill, an Overlord plant familiar, the Ten Thousand Poisons Mother Tree, and an Overlord undead poison whip, Fang Lan could breeze through a level 4 ascension realm.

However, like Lu Ran, Fang Lan wasn’t content with just a standard score given her foundation. Pursuing an SSS score was every capable beastmaster’s goal. Her final target was a Breakthrough Stone in a toxic swamp. This place was extremely hazardous.

According to Fang Lan’s research, the swamp was created by Xiang Liu, an evil god from Xia’s mythical legends. Legend said Xiang Liu had a serpentine body with nine heads, so massive that it could consume nine mountain peaks simultaneously.

Its vomit formed swamps, the stench alone potent enough to poison beasts passing by. It was a creature of extreme toxicity and malice. With Xiang Liu devouring humans and spawning swamps, many human tribes suffered.

Even Legendary beastmasters wouldn’t glance at a toxic wasteland birthed by a Legendary evil god, let alone level 4s. Despite being Blue Planet’s top Poison-attribute beastmaster, Fang Lan was repeatedly repelled by the swamp’s power before finally retrieving the Breakthrough Stone and completing her mission.

Her score was undoubtedly SSS. She also received a reward that thrilled her.

[Name: Xiang Liu’s Blood]

[Grade: Epic]

[Description: Exclusive evolution resource. When fused with a poisonous snake, it awakens Xiang Liu’s bloodline in it, enabling evolution toward Xiang Liu.]

With this resource, Fang Lan immediately used it on her contracted venomous snake. From then on, the toxic environments left by Xiang Liu were no longer hazards but treasure troves for cultivation.

Traveling and resting along the way, Fang Lan gained many enhancements and rescued a group of NPCs, enlisting their help to gather resources. Once again, she became a Saintess within the secret realm. However, faced with her followers’ adulation, Fang Lan inwardly refused.

Me? Kill Xiang Liu’s true form? Don’t joke around. Its leftover venom and blood alone are headaches. Unless you’re a Mythical beastmaster, dealing with these malevolent deities is impossible. Getting a Legendary creature’s resource in this ascension realm is already huge progress for me. Even compared to Lu Ran, I’m not far behind!

Fang Lan was exhilarated. Back when she heard about Lu Ran obtaining Legendary creature resources in ascension realms, she found it unbelievable. Now, she’d done it too. Plus, with the mysterious ancient Blue Planet setting, she believed Lu Ran would be stunned when she shared her experience after leaving.

***

Soon after, Fang Lan, now a level 5 beastmaster, returned triumphantly with her newly evolved mini Xiang Liu. Her first call was to Lu Ran.

Lu Ran answered, saying, “You’re finally out. I have something to discuss.”

Fang Lan couldn’t wait. “You listen to what I have to say first. Guess which era my ascension realm was set in!”

Lu Ran paused. “Ancient Blue Planet?”

Fang Lan was taken aback. “No way, how’d you know? Did you bug me?”

“Uh... Because I recently entered an ancient Blue Planet ascension realm, too. Later, two more batches of Blue Planet beastmasters emerged, saying they’d entered ancient Blue Planet. You’re so excited, so I figured you must’ve gone too. Search online, you’ll see.” Lu Ran said.

Fang Lan was speechless. “So I wasn’t the first...”

Lu Ran chuckled. “So? How’d it go?”

Fang Lan reignited with excitement. “Guess what I encountered. Wait. You said you entered an ancient Blue Planet ascension realm, too. What did you do this time?”

Lu Ran casually replied, “Nothing much. I just killed three Low-Legendary evil gods at level 100, one Intermediate-Legendary evil god at the same level, and brought back a Legendary auspicious beast’s egg. Why?”

Beep, beep, beep...

Lu Ran stared at the notification of the disconnected call, baffled.

She hung up on me again!

On the other end, Fang Lan plopped onto the floor, counting on her fingers, completely bewildered.

Are you kidding me?

She had only deciphered Xiang Liu’s travel routes for an SSS score, while Lu Ran had slaughtered several evil gods on par with Xiang Liu.

Is this humanly possible?

Trusting Lu Ran implicitly, Fang Lan didn’t doubt his words, which made her head explode.

***

After recovering, Fang Lan finally reconnected with Lu Ran.

“I want you to become a messenger of the Sealing God, Squirrel God, to strengthen you so you can defeat Oub from the Eagle Federation. Check out the World War representative rewards; they’re good. There’s no reason to pass them up.”

Fang Lan asked, “Oub? As the Father of Mechanics on Blue Planet, his strength is among the top, right?”

Lu Ran brimmed with confidence. “You can do it. No matter how strong he is, he still lacks a quasi-Legendary mechanical familiar. Now that you’ve broken through to level 5, your familiars’ levels can rise for their second-stage evolution. Your Ten Thousand Poisons Mother Tree is already a Superior Overlord. After being blessed by Six-Path Flower, it has a shot at reaching quasi-Legendary.”

Fang Lan’s Ten Thousand Poisons Mother Tree had its intelligence awakened by Six-Path Flower; it was a shared lineage.

“Besides, I refuse to believe Squirrel God won’t offer any gifts...”

During his recent ascension realm, Lu Ran had witnessed Squirrel’s private stash. Time was tight. Soon, Lu Ran took Fang Lan across worlds to Stellar Moon, but this time, something felt different. Although Squirrel God’s clone still resided on the altar, Lu Ran found it with a troubled expression.

“Squirrel God? Squirrel God?”