Chapter 513 - Unfathomable Strength (Part 2)

With a cold snort, Yu Mu instantly summoned three combat familiars. One of them was a quasi-Legendary War God Tree. It was a towering plant-mechanical hybrid, its branches transformed into cannons and rifles, with numerous fruit-like miniatures wielding various weapons.

The other two were Superior-Overlord plant familiars, a Light-attribute Rainbow Flower and a Water-attribute Millennium Dew Lotus. They stood atop the War God Tree, not as combatants, but as support, nourishing it with light and water.

The two supports and one core, at levels 77, 78, and 79, respectively, gave many Stellar Moon Beastmasters hope. After all, Yu Mu’s familiars were significantly higher-leveled than Battle God’s. The War God Tree, nearing level 80, was the strongest among them.

“I’d like to see—“

Suddenly, Lu Ran snapped his fingers. A spark appeared in mid-air. In an instant, the spark transformed into a feather resembling a phoenix’s tail, glowing with fiery light.

In the blink of an eye, the feather was engulfed in flames, at the center of which burned an orange-red radiance. Then, with a piercing cry, a terrifying phoenix’s aura erupted, and towering orange flames painted the sky.

Amid the dazzling flames, a colossal figure emerged. It was a giant red bird with long tail feathers and a crown-like flame crest. Even though it was entirely composed of fire, like an elemental lifeform, everyone could recognize its form.

It’s a phoenix!

The crowd was stunned, thinking Lu Ran had summoned a phoenix familiar, or perhaps a phoenix-shaped flame elemental.

“I remember! Blue Planet unearthed an ancient ruin said to belong to a Low-Legendary flame phoenix. Did Lu Ran secretly conquer it?!”

“Is that a baby phoenix from the ruins?”

“No, wait. Even though it has intense life energy, my Eye of Detection can’t scan any familiar data!”

“What

is

this?”

“Could it be the beastmaster skill, Flame Spirit? Remember, Lu Ran trained in the Flame Spirit skill that he got from Emperor Yan Shizhen. It can imbue familiars with fire attributes, be used for cooking or forging, or even attack directly...”

“Bullshit! Since when was Flame Spirit this overpowered? This phoenix’s aura feels stronger than the two quasi-Legendaries we’ve seen so far. Would Emperor Yan even be able to create a Flame Spirit this strong?”

No one’s Eye of Detection could identify what Lu Ran had summoned. However, Yu Mu, drenched in sweat, felt the overwhelming power of the flames firsthand.

Worse, fire inherently countered plant life, and the flames before him were alarmingly potent. A sense of impending doom washed over Yu Mu.

The flame phoenix surged forward. Before it even reached its target, the sheer heat ignited the War God Tree’s defensive barriers. As if that weren’t enough, Lu Ran amplified the Flame Spirit with the malevolent energy he’d accumulated.

The previously expressionless divine phoenix suddenly contorted into a demonic visage, its fiery maw widening into a horrifying grin as it engulfed Yu Mu and his familiars. The demonic phoenix’s face burned into the minds of every spectator, sending chills down their spines.

What the hell is this thing?

As the divine Flame Spirit closed in, the War God Tree desperately fired cannons and lasers, but all were swallowed by the huge phoenix. Even attacks that pierced through, blasting off half its head or severing a wing, healed instantly, leaving no lasting damage.

The overwhelming life force radiating from it rivaled that of a Legendary lifeform, forcing Bai Lu to her feet in shock. In an instant, the divine Flame Spirit enveloped and devoured the War God Tree and Yu Mu, blasting them toward the arena’s edge like a fiery hurricane before slamming them into the ground.

“DAD!”

From the Stellar Moon contestant area, Yu Rui’s horrified scream echoed as the flames dissipated, leaving only charred figures on the arena.

The crowd stared in stunned silence.

[Battle concluded.]

[Winner: Pedestrian A.]

[Combat Score: S]

[Scoring Reason 1: Defeated the enemy without summoning familiars, using only the beastmaster skill, Flame Spirit.]

Everyone was taken aback.

[Scoring Reason 2: The Flame Spirit has absorbed the Legendary Life Flame of the Intermediate-Legendary god, Divine Phoenix, making it a Legendary force. Although it’s lacking consciousness, its life rank approaches that of a true Legendary lifeform. The victor possesses a Legendary-grade beastmaster skill.]

The crowd remained frozen. Lu Ran’s earlier words echoed in their minds.

“This time, I won’t even send out a kin.”

He meant it! What kind of beastmaster skill had combat power comparable to a Legendary lifeform?

However, what silenced the audience and other contestants even more than their shock was Lu Ran’s complaint.

“Seriously, still just S? What more do you want from me? Is it because the opponent was too weak?”

This monster actually has the balls to call Battle God and Stellar Moon’s second-ranked plantmaster weak? Sure, they were one-shotted, but still!

The real issue was Lu Ran’s absurdity. It was one thing for his familiar’s kin to inherit techniques from a god, but no one knew how his beastmaster skill had Legendary-grade power, too. Of course, Lu Ran wasn’t concerned about his secrets being exposed. By joining the World War, he had already prepared to be thoroughly dissected.

Right now, he was fixated on the scoring system. Lu Ran had deliberately used his beastmaster skill alone, hoping for an SSS score. However, Limitless City’s standards seemed different from what he’d imagined.

An S was decent, but to reach SSS, what exactly was required? Or was it because his opponents were too weak? Would he need to defeat an Epic-Legendary beastmaster or a Legendary familiar to earn it?

That last move had drained about 10% of his stamina. If he’d known this would happen, he would’ve just sent out the kin as the main attacker to conserve energy.

[You have received the Super Trait Crystal: War Soldier. (A familiar fused with this trait crystal can separate war soldier clones at the cost of a body part (leaf, fruit, fur, scale, etc.). These clones inherit a portion of the original’s attributes and fight independently. The degree of inheritance depends on the medium used to summon the clone.)]

[The next round of challenges will begin in 5 minutes.]

“It must be because the opponents were too weak. Whatever. Next.” Lu Ran turned his gaze to the silent Stellar Moon side.

For now, he focused on the battles ahead, ignoring the newly dropped trait crystals.

While the Blue Planet audience erupted in frenzy, the Stellar Moon side was utterly dumbfounded. Their wildest guess had been that Lu Ran had inherited the legacy of Blue Planet’s phoenix ruins. But no... Lu Ran’s Flame Spirit had absorbed the life flame of Stellar Moon’s Divine Phoenix.

What kind of joke is this?

In the Stellar Moon contestant area, many knew the Divine Phoenix’s identity.

“Isn’t the Divine Phoenix one of the Life Dragon’s kin?” the Divine Throne murmured.

“Correct. And according to historical records, it’s already perished. Another bizarre Legendary inheritance. It was probably an opportunity from an ascension realm,” The Sprite Queen said.

“Miss Bai Lu, if I’m not mistaken, you’re the Divine Deer’s messenger, aren’t you?” The Mechanical Leader spoke up.

He studied Bai Lu, who had risen to her feet during the battle. At his words, Dragon Rider, Ice Emperor, and the others turned to the white-clad girl in surprise.

The Divine Deer... One of the three great kin of the Supreme Divine Dragon of Life, alongside the Divine Phoenix and the Divine Turtle...

Although Bai Lu’s group had never revealed their identities, for someone like the Mechanical Leader, piecing together clues from their familiars, power systems, and growth trajectories to guess their backgrounds wasn’t difficult.

“Yes... But I don’t know anything about the Divine Phoenix’s flames. Pedestrian A must’ve obtained it in an ascension realm,” Bai Lu admitted, equally baffled.

“You don’t know

anything

?” Death Gun quipped.

“Shut up.” Bai Lu pressed her lips together, her gaze fixed on the lingering sparks in the air.

No wonder... no wonder.

Back when the Divine Deer had helped her develop her exclusive beastmaster skill, Bai Lu had asked when it would teach Lu Ran.

The Divine Deer had simply replied, “Him? Forget it.”

Now Bai Lu understood. Lu Ran had already obtained an even more powerful beastmaster skill. It was a Flame Spirit fused with the Divine Phoenix’s power. The sheer life energy radiating from it had made her realize the gap between them.

Yu Mu was teleported back to the Stellar Moon contestant area. The Sprite Queen immediately summoned a familiar to heal him. Lu Ran’s feat of defeating a defender without familiars cast an even darker shadow over Stellar Moon’s morale.

“D-don’t panic.”

“Didn’t you notice? The bracket order seems to be arranged by strength!”

“The strongest are placed later by Limitless City.”

“Bai Lu, Death Gun, and Kongkong Yi are Stellar Moon’s top geniuses. As level 6 beastmasters, they could already defeat Legendaries.”

“At level 6, Bai Lu was hailed as Stellar Moon’s strongest healing-type beastmaster.”

“Death Gun is even more formidable, considering that he revived the lost Undead attribute and perfectly integrated it with machinery.”

“And Kongkong Yi, though enigmatic, has a record of defeating a Legendary with a single familiar at level 6, just like Pedestrian A! Now that she’s a Legendary, she’ll be even stronger!”

“The three Epic-Legendary powerhouses go without saying. And let’s not forget Ice Emperor, who contracted a Legendary elemental god. He’s the younger brother of the Legendary Hel!”

“Meanwhile, Pedestrian A is undoubtedly one of Blue Planet’s top five. No, one of the top three beastmasters. He might even be

the

strongest. His easy victories now don’t mean much. Our real aces are still to come!”