Chapter 533 - First Encounter with the Divine Tree!

Lu Ran quietly observed his senior brother, Condor Hero.

Great, another one’s gone mad.

Condor Hero laughed until he was exhausted, and the air suddenly fell silent. He stared at Lu Ran in silence, then pulled out a dagger and poked his own face. Blood then dripped down...

“

Ouch...

that hurts. You... are really Lu Ran? I’m not dead?”

Lu Ran sighed. “Of course you’re not dead, Senior Brother.”

“Then where is this?”

“Have you heard of ruin spaces?”

Condor Hero froze. “Wait, let me sort this out again... So, you were also chosen by Limitless City and became a beastmaster? Your ascension mission collided with my resurrection mission? Something still doesn’t add up!

“You’re only a level 6 beastmaster. How could you possibly take on a Mythical plantmaster as your disciple? And what’s up with this dog?”

He glanced at Captain Doofus, who was staring at him, its information filled with question marks. Captain Doofus looked at him with the expression of someone watching an idiot.

Lu Ran rubbed his chin, thinking. “That’s a long story. Anyway, if you can get the coordinates of the other participants, I’ll help you get them. Master has missed you dearly. I need to make sure you complete your mission with a 100% success rate. You can’t actually die in this realm.”

Condor Hero fell silent again. Although he didn’t fully understand what was happening, he knew he had encountered family.

Tears welled up in Condor Hero’s eyes as he suddenly broke down, lunging forward to hug a leg. “Little Junior Brother, being a beastmaster is so hard. These past few years, I’ve been walking on thin ice.”

Lu Ran’s face darkened as he watched Condor Hero cling to Captain Doofus’ leg.

This senior brother is truly too much of a clown.

“

Huh?

” Noticing the odd texture, Condor Hero opened his eyes and realized he’d hugged the wrong target.

“Grrr!”

Don’t touch me randomly. I’ll remember this grudge.

Captain Doofus gave him a disgusted look.

“Senior Brother, after you died, were you always alone? Did you team up or interact with any other deceased individuals?” Lu Ran asked the critical question.

“No. After death, you receive one resurrection mission after another. The locations are all isolated secret realms, similar to ascension realms. You are the first person from Blue Planet I’ve met since dying,” Condor Hero said.

Lu Ran sighed. That meant Condor Hero couldn’t have seen his parents.

“You reached level 6 during the resurrection missions? That’s fast,” Lu Ran remarked.

Condor Hero grinned. “Well, I

was

a super genius who scored an S-score in the beginner trial realm and a champion in international swordsmanship competitions. If I hadn’t been clueless about how to play the beastmaster class at first, I wouldn’t have died. Now, I’ve got plenty of experience. But Junior Brother, what’s your deal—”

Before Condor Hero could finish, a voice came from outside.

“Master, the Flower God has returned. We can go see the Divine Tree now. Come out quickly.”

It was #18’s voice. The Condor Hero’s expression froze again.

Divine... Tree? Is this the Primary-Divine Divine Tree I’m thinking of?

“Senior Brother, I have some matters to attend to first. You can rest here, and we’ll talk later. Or if you’re in a hurry, you can take Captain Doofus to complete your trial mission. It’s very strong.”

With that, Lu Ran left, leaving only Captain Doofus and the dumbfounded Condor Hero behind.

“

Woof!

”

Captain Doofus poked Condor Hero.

“

Awooo!

”

I heard your swordsmanship is impressive. Let’s spar?

It picked up a branch from the ground and suppressed its strength to the King Species rank.

Condor Hero’s eyes widened again.

What is this form supposed to mean?

***

In the Flower God’s secret realm, Peanut had completely submitted to #18’s wisdom. Although she had broken through to the Mythical level, she still hadn’t done one crucial thing. It was elevating her exclusive beastmaster skill to the level of a divine beastmaster skill.

The core effect of a divine beastmaster skill was the ability to enhance a familiar to the Legendary rank. Perfecting such a skill wasn’t something the Flower God, or even the Divine Tree, could teach. Peanut had to travel the continent to broaden her knowledge.

To her surprise, this little angel seemed to have an in-depth understanding of her exclusive beastmaster skill. With just a few words, #18 had illuminated the path for her. It truly saved her ten years of detours.

Upon seeing Peanut earnestly discussing and learning from #18, the Flower God was mildly astonished.

It seems this messenger really has some skills.

Soon, Lu Ran emerged from the ruin space and met with the Flower God. “Can we go see the Divine Tree now?”

The Flower God looked at Lu Ran. “Yes. I’ve told the Divine Tree everything about you. It wishes to meet you as well.”

“Good.” Lu Ran’s mind stirred as he followed the Flower God.

The World’s Root Secret Realm was a space the Divine Tree had carved deep underground, where it remained rooted in seclusion year-round.

At the center of the realm stood a colossal tree that pierced the clouds. Its roots were intertwined with the earth, exuding an ancient and profound divine aura. Although, aside from its golden color, its appearance was that of an ordinary tree.

However, the moment Lu Ran entered this secret realm, he felt the disparity in their life hierarchies. He was like a tiny ant gazing up at the vast cosmos.

[Species: World Divine Tree]

[Attribute: World]

[Species Rank: Primary Divine]

[Level: 100]

After Lu Ran arrived with the Flower God and looked up at this god who had ushered in the Plant Era, he took a deep breath.

“You do carry the aura of a unique Time-attribute god. At the same time, you only appeared in this world recently.” The Divine Tree spoke, its voice steady and authoritative.

It carried both the detachment of a being beyond the mortal realm and the insight of one who could perceive the truths of the world. Hearing this, the Flower God finally fully believed Lu Ran’s identity. As a World-attribute god, nothing in this world could escape the Divine Tree’s gaze.

If Lu Ran had been born in the Stellar Moon Continent, his entire growth trajectory would have been recorded by the Divine Tree. Since the Divine Tree confirmed Lu Ran had only recently arrived, his identity was likely legitimate.

Lu Ran said, “Lord Divine Tree, forgive my intrusion. Crossing time and space was a last resort. I’ve interacted with other divine dragons’ kin. Logically, time travel is a grave crime. The timekeeper’s duty is to prevent others from crossing time.

“That is the law set by the Time Dragon. However, the Four Supreme Divine Dragons have gone missing. The future of Stellar Moon is fraught with crisis, and many kin are searching for them. Resorting to time travel as a last-ditch effort was unavoidable.

“To prevent accidents, my journey was supervised by the timekeeper. Additionally, to ensure the timeline can be repaired and stabilized afterward, I likely can’t stay in this world for more than 30 days before being forced to return.”

The Divine Tree fell silent for a moment. “Old friend, come out. I know you’re watching.”

As the Divine Tree spoke, Six-Path Flower emerged from Lu Ran’s contract space. “Divine Tree.”

In truth, this was its first time meeting the Divine Tree as well. In its original timeline, it had befriended the Divine Tree and Void Grass only after the empire’s fall, long after it had left with Lu Ran during the empire’s mid-period.

Six-Path Flower remained silent, and the Divine Tree studied it before sighing. “You are it, yet not it. It seems the timekeeper didn’t resurrect you at your peak but rather revived you from a specific point in time. That’s understandable. That would indeed be easier.

Six-Path Flower waved it off. “Being reborn is enough. Who cares about the details? Hey, big guy, since we fought side by side once, do me a favor. With your Primary-Divine strength, helping me recover some power shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

The Divine Tree’s laugh resonated with the power of nature, echoing in their hearts. “Your personality has changed, too. Different experiences, I suppose.”

Six-Path Flower scoffed.

Void Grass was much more straightforward.

“Lord Divine Tree, our purpose here is simple. In the future, you and the Chaos Dragon God will battle, leaving you gravely injured and in slumber. So, I’ve come to ask two things. First, if you have a way to help your future self recover quickly and awaken, would you let us know? Second, if you can help Six-Path Flower regain its strength faster, would you?

“That way, once you recover and Six-Path Flower grows even stronger, we can permanently resolve the Chaos Dragon God threat in the future.”

“You only have 30 days, correct?” The Divine Tree asked.

“Yes.”

“I understand. Within 30 days, I will assist you in achieving your goals. But in exchange, I hope that if you ever meet the Four Supreme Divine Dragons in the future, you will ask them a question for me.”

“What question?” Lu Ran asked.

The Divine Tree spoke slowly. “Why did they impose restrictions on this universe? After creating the world, they established laws for the surrounding cosmos. The levels of all lifeforms would be represented as level 1 to 100. Upon reaching level 100, no lifeform can progress further. It’s the same way the beast god lineage restricted the levels of plant life and humans.

“The Four Supreme Divine Dragons also limited the levels of all life in the surrounding universe. From my observations of world history, the elemental gods of the Elemental Era rebelled against the Divine Dragons precisely to break free from these world-imposed shackles and gain the right to advance beyond level 100.”

Lu Ran was stunned. This was the first he’d heard of such things.

So, the level cap of 100 was a law set by the Four Supreme Divine Dragons?

He pondered for a moment before replying, “If I ever meet them, I will seek the answer to this question and relay it to you.”

“The disappearance of the Four Supreme Divine Dragons may also be related to this,” the Divine Tree said. “Very well, messenger of Time. Time is short. I will now assist Six-Path Flower in recovering its past strength. Actually, no. I will assist it in using its past strength to forge a new path.”

“

Oh?

What do you plan to do?” Six-Path Flower looked at the Divine Tree.

The Divine Tree sighed. “The remnants of your body after you sacrificed yourself to annihilate four Superior-Legendary beast gods were recovered by me and sealed away. After reaching the Primary-Divine rank, I attempted to resurrect you all with my power, but failed. Although external forces couldn’t revive you, you might be able to assimilate your own remains.

“Through this resurrection and assimilation, you may finally attain the Reincarnation attribute you’ve always pursued. If you can obtain that attribute and break through to the Primary-Divine rank, you might be able to single-handedly counter the beast god lineage.”

***

Later, Lu Ran accompanied Six-Path Flower to dig up its own grave. As for Peanut and his senior brother, Lu Ran left them in the care of #18 and Captain Doofus.

It had to be said that Condor Hero possessed extraordinary talent. He had already comprehended multiple sword intents and even a sword domain. Yet, under Captain Doofus’ blade, he gradually learned the meaning of despair and being worse than a dog.

Upon seeing Captain Doofus chasing him with a branch in its mouth, Condor Hero’s eyes bulged as he fled in panic. “Junior Brother, where are you? Control your familiar! It’s been chasing me for hours! I didn’t even offend it! We have no beef! Dog... doggo, wait! A new mission coordinate just appeared!”

“

Awoo?

” Captain Doofus stopped and looked at him.

“Let’s go complete the resurrection mission together. Stop slashing at me. Slash the enemies instead!” Condor Hero was on the verge of tears.

“

Woof!

”

Captain Doofus nodded.

Fine. Since Lu Ran is busy, I’ll help out for now!

It stepped forward and placed a paw on Condor Hero’s leg.

“

Woof!

”

Teleport!

Jiang Man’s teeth ached as he activated Limitless City’s built-in teleportation function. Soon, Jiang Man found himself dragged by Captain Doofus to the mission target. To his shock, the target took one look at Captain Doofus and dropped to his knees.

“Pedestrian A’s sword dog! Big bro, spare me! I’ll kill my disciple right now! I forfeit the mission!”

Jiang Man was taken aback.

Junior Brother, what the hell have you been doing out there?

Meanwhile, Lu Ran fell into deep thought. “It can be completed early?”

[Detected that all other participants’ disciples have died...]

[Bound disciple Peanut has perfected the divine beastmaster skill theory. Evaluation: Perfect.]

[Congratulations on completing your ascension mission ahead of schedule.]

[Score: SSS]

[You have received 80,000,000 crystal coins.]

[You have received a Contract Card (Bound).]

[You have received an Epic-grade resource: Millennium Soul Cleansing Fruit.]

[You have received an Epic-grade item: Legacy Stone (One-time use. Can encode a beastmaster or familiar’s ability and easily pass it to another lifeform.)]

[You have received a trait crystal: Instant Amnesia (A familiar fused with this trait will lose all ability to learn new things, but will master existing abilities at an accelerated rate.)]

[You have received a beastmaster skill: Evolution Eye (Unique-type beastmaster skill. All lifeforms possess evolutionary potential. After learning, the user can discern the evolutionary chains of most lifeforms. Usage consumes significant stamina.)]