Chapter 510 - Prelude to the World War (Part 2)

Lu Ran took out the evolution crystal and summoned the swordgrass, then shook his head. As expected, the evolution crystal couldn’t be used on a familiar’s kin. Although the swordgrass and the others were contracted under his familiars’ contracts, they weren’t directly bound to him. They didn’t meet the usage criteria.

“There’s only four hours to prepare...” Lu Ran sighed.

If he had more time, he could contract the swordgrass through his beastmaster space, upgrade it to quasi-Legendary, and then dissolve the contract to strengthen the swordgrass while leaving time to recover from the side effects.

Technically, he could keep the contract, but then the swordgrass wouldn’t be Captain Doofus’ kin. Summoning both Captain Doofus and the swordgrass would consume two contract slots. It wasn’t worth it. A quasi-Legendary swordgrass would be strong, but not stronger than Sudden Death King, Dark Crow, or Six-Path Flower.

As a kin, a quasi-Legendary swordgrass had great tactical value, but as a teammate, Six-Path Flower and the others were still better.

After some thought, Lu Ran decided against enhancing the kin. He quietly stored the evolution crystal for later. In this situation, one more quasi-Legendary wouldn’t make a difference, and it wasn’t worth straining himself before battle.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

“Too bad the Time Domain’s strain is too heavy for recovery. Otherwise, I’d have Manager Ying turn these four hours into four days,” Lu Ran muttered.

Before the battle, Lu Ran did a final check of his setup. At the same time, beastmasters from both worlds had already arrived at the World Arena ahead of the competitors. As audiences from different worlds, they found themselves separated into two spectator stands, unable to cross over.

“Are they afraid we’ll start fighting?”

“No, wait—we can interact. There’s a common lobby under the stands with drinks and snacks, but you have to pay crystal coins to enter!”

“Damn, is Limitless City just trying to recycle crystal coins?”

Soon, the Stellar Moon side noticed Blue Planet had far more spectators.

“What? Are Blue Planet beastmasters that rich?”

“Their Limitless City appeared much earlier, so it makes sense that they’ve saved more.”

“Hey, do you think Stellar Moon and Blue Planet will fully connect in the future? If I get a chance to visit Blue Planet...”

“What for?”

“During an ascension realm, a Blue Planet Xia beastmaster traded me a money-making tip. Said if I ever go to Xia, I’ll strike it rich. Just say you love Xia cuisine, eat and drink your way through, and people will shower you with tips.”

“That works? You got scammed, you idiot!”

The stands buzzed with chatter. This was the first large-scale contact between the two worlds, and both sides had much to say. Some came purely for the matches, while others, like Blue Planet politicians, had already started engaging with Stellar Moon officials.

Time flew, and four hours passed in the blink of an eye. As Limitless City’s voice echoed again, the arena fell silent.

[Announcing Stellar Moon’s Defender List.]

[1: Battle God. 2: Surpassing the Master. 3: Longqi. 4: Bai Lu. 5: Death Gun. 6: Kongkong Yi. 7: Sprite Queen. 8: Mechanical Leader. 9: Divine Throne. 10: Ice Emperor.]

[Countdown: 10 minutes.]

The list’s release stirred the Stellar Moon competitor area.

Only ten people stood there. There were seven men, three women. They were all in their prime and exuded formidable auras.

A young man with ice-blue hair frowned at his placement. “Tenth? Since I’m defending last, I’ll attack first. Sell me this favor.”

The others glanced at him, the ancient Ice Emperor, but stayed silent. They knew his game. The more battles meant higher MVP chances and more Super Trait Crystal rewards.

“I’m first. Lucky me.” Battle God, a beast-like figure, scanned the group.

However, he only earned frowns. The other nine knew him. Once a marginal Legendary, his recent power surge into Stellar Moon’s top ten likely came from becoming a Divine Beast’s messenger. His human bloodline seemed diluted to 25%, which was the threshold before losing his beastmaster space entirely.

The Mechanical Leader decided to warn him. “Be careful. Blue Planet has plenty of tough opponents.”

Meanwhile, Blue Planet’s spectators erupted.

“Who the hell is this Battle God? I’ve never heard of him!”

“Sounds strong from the name...”

“I checked the lobby and got some intel! He’s a dark horse like the Five Poisons Saintess. He’s recently risen up, so the info hasn’t reached us. But he’s legit. He was just a normal Legendary before, but after some quest, he became a hybrid beastmaster! His bloodline’s insane. His bare fists tore apart a Superior-Overlord familiar without him even needing to summon his own familiar!”

“Holy shit... that brutal?”

Blue Planet’s audience reeled.

Bare-handed, no familiar, and tearing apart a Superior Overlord? What bloodline did this guy mix with? Even Lin Nian paled in comparison. And if he fought together with a quasi-Legendary familiar? Unthinkable. How is their first defender this strong?

On Blue Planet’s side, Lu Ran’s team also received Battle God’s intel. Lu Ran already knew that this guy’s bloodline came from the Intermediate-Legendary Battle God, the tiger under the Chaos Dragon God.

“A physique-focused beastmaster. Want me to test the waters first?” Lin Nian offered.

“No need. I’ll handle it,” Lu Ran insisted.

“Be careful,” Fang Lan said.

Even if Lu Ran was strong, others might have hidden cards too. Lu Ran nodded. The rest of the nine beastmasters on Blue Planet’s side sized him up, wondering how many he planned to take down. With insufficient intel, the other nine couldn’t gauge Lu Ran’s limits.

Soon, the ten minutes ended. A two-meter-tall, beast-like Battle God appeared on the colossal central stage. His hulking frame made Blue Planet’s audience gulp as most had never seen a hybrid.

“Who’s our first challenger?”

Before guesses could fly, Lu Ran materialized on stage. His appearance silenced both worlds. Lu Ran’s reputation in Stellar Moon was colossal. He was Blue Planet’s first quasi-Legendary owner, and was hailed as its most potential beastmaster.

To Stellar Moon, Lu Ran ranked top five, or maybe even top three, of Blue Planet’s lineup.

Is Blue Planet opening with a show of force?

“Pedestrian A... Can Battle God win?” A middle-aged man, Surpassing the Master, frowned.

Longqi shook his head. “It’s hard to say. Pedestrian A is only level 6, but he has at least two quasi-Legendaries.”

It’s not “hard to say.” He’s doomed.

Bai Lu and others sighed internally. Only they knew Lu Ran’s true strength.

“Interesting. The beastmaster who defeated my disciple in an ascension realm has grown enough to threaten Legendary beastmasters so quickly,” Surpassing the Master mused.

Before further chatter, Limitless City’s countdown began.