Chapter 550 - #18: My Turn!

Brother?

A flicker of surprise crossed Hel’s eyes, but upon hearing Lu Ran mention Ice Emperor, she didn’t show much excitement.

A faint smile curved her lips as she murmured to herself, “I never expected that useless brother of mine to actually accomplish something. I thought he’d just barely survive, but he actually managed to revive me in this form.”

Lu Ran was taken aback.

Hold on, even if you’re telling the truth, is that really how you should talk about Ice Emperor?

Lu Ran suddenly felt that the relationship between these siblings wasn’t quite what he had imagined. But then he thought of Fang Lan, his childhood tormentor, and instantly understood. If not for the fact that he had surpassed her in strength, Lu Ran suspected Fang Lan would have bullied him relentlessly.

“Time power, faith power, soul power, quasi-Legendary, Legendary...”

After a moment of revival, Hel slowly raised her hand, quickly grasping the composition of her current form. Her existence now was similar to a faith-projected spirit woven from time and faith energies. She was merely a fragment of history plucked from the past.

Yet, even for a Mythical elementalist like her, this method was astonishing. She turned her gaze to Lu Ran, finding it hard to believe such a feat had been achieved by a mere Legendary beastmaster.

Hel said, “Regardless, thank you. My incompetent brother must have caused you a lot of trouble. Even though I feel like less than a tenth of my power remains, in this form, if there’s anything I can assist you with, just ask. But first, I’d like to know where he is.”

Lu Ran replied, “Most likely working hard to earn a living. After all, reviving and sustaining a heroic spirit isn’t something a small-time Legendary like me can afford. The resources required, like the blood of a Time god, are astronomically expensive and incredibly hard to obtain.”

Hel fell silent, not doubting his words. Reviving an ancient legend like her would naturally come at a tremendous cost. If it didn’t, that would be the real surprise.

“Fine. There’s no rush to see him. There will be opportunities. May I ask you a few questions?” Hel turned her attention to #18, her curiosity piqued.

The biological constructs of this era were almost unrecognizable to her.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Has so much time passed? She is neither an elemental lifeform, a plant, nor an animal. She resembles a human, yet she isn’t purely flesh and blood. Her structure is complex. Strange...

Lu Ran explained, “This is a mechanical lifeform. It’s a completely new form of life created by humans. Feel free to ask anything else. Afterward, I also have some questions for you about the Elemental Era.”

Hel nodded. “Very well. My first question is, you must know about that war. What was its outcome?”

Lu Ran paused briefly before answering, “You died at the hands of the Ice God, correct?”

“Yes. I led the rebellion against the Ice God and failed, resulting in my death.”

Lu Ran continued, “From what I’ve heard, not long after your death, the Four Divine Dragons appeared. They sealed away the leading Elemental Gods, imprisoning them in a sealed space to suffer and atone. As for the other rebels, they were simply erased.

“Thus, the Elemental Era ended. The world’s rules underwent drastic changes, and the elemental substances dispersed throughout nature could no longer develop consciousness. After a long period of natural disasters, the animal species rose as the continent’s overlords. One after another, Beast Gods emerged, tempered by the calamities.”

Hel fell into deep contemplation. “The disaster period... The people of the Ice Nation likely couldn’t survive such a catastrophe. In the end, the punishment of the Divine Dragons caught up to us.”

“It wasn’t your fault. The Elemental Gods simply failed to recognize their limits and their disparity with the Divine Dragons.” Lu Ran hesitated before blurting out, “Alright, my turn to ask. Did you... Ever marry?”

She stared at him blankly.

Lu Ran coughed awkwardly and said, “Probably not, right? As the leader of a rebellion, you wouldn’t have had time for romance. Never mind... I was just curious...”

Truthfully, Lu Ran was intrigued by the elemental spirit physique. He wondered if such a constitution could be inherited. Neither on Stellar Moon nor Blue Planet had he encountered anyone with Hel’s or the Tree Monarch’s near-guaranteed path to Mythical physique.

He was curious about what kind of beastmaster physique would result from combining Hel and the Tree Monarch’s bloodlines. In other words, would fusing their blood be an even greater boost for Baby Cloud, who specialized in elements and time?

Lu Ran started with a simple query. “The question I actually wanted to ask is, during your era, what were the numbers, abilities, and locations of the Elemental Gods in each elemental nation? As a Mythical human of that time, you must have some knowledge about this, right?”

He was scouting potential food sources for Baby Cloud in advance.

Hel frowned. “Why do you ask?”

“You’ll find out later,” Lu Ran replied.

Hel studied the young man before her. He was likely no older than 20, younger even than her brother. She sensed something extraordinary about him, as if he harbored deeper secrets.

“Very well.”

***

Two days later, through in-depth discussions with Hel, Lu Ran gained extensive knowledge about the Elemental Era’s hidden truths, including details about the elemental subordinates within the ten great Elemental God-ruled nations. These were things even the Divine Dragon’s kin didn’t know, as beings like the Divine Deer hadn’t even been born yet during that era.

The rulers of the ten divine nations were, at the very least, Superior Legendaries. Among them, the Light God and Dark God stood at the Primary Divine level, on par with the Chaos Dragon God and the Divine Tree. These were not foes Lu Ran could afford to provoke. At most, he could cautiously hunt their kin, who were Low and Intermediate Legendary Elemental Gods, amidst the chaos.

This was merely the most basic intelligence Lu Ran obtained from Hel. In return, Hel learned about the Beastmaster Era, the Divine Tree Era, the Mechanical Era, and the history of Limitless City.

She found the first two eras understandable, but the Mechanical Era and Limitless City left even this ancient legend astonished, especially Limitless City. She couldn’t comprehend it at all. However, Lu Ran assured her that he would take her there to see it for herself soon.

After exchanging information, Lu Ran had #18 cease the manifestation, as maintaining Hel’s summon was too taxing. Soon after, Ghost Mother delivered an evil god’s statue to Lu Ran. It was a massive stone of an underwater squid. After that, he left Stellar Moon.

***

Pedestrian A’s exclusive room, Limitless City, Blue Planet.

Before entering the next ascension realm, Lu Ran needed to further strengthen his abilities. The next ascension realm would be fraught with danger.

First up was #18. It floated beside Lu Ran, brimming with anticipation.

“Since Hel is interested in Limitless City, let her help you clear a Divine secret realm first.”

“Yes, yes, yes!” #18 was ecstatic.

Among the six main forces, it was the only one that hadn’t tackled a Mythical or Divine secret realm yet. If this dragged on, even the dog’s kin would surpass it.

“This one! This one!” #18 pointed at a specific realm on the system, having already chosen its target.

Lu Ran nodded. “Alright.”

[Name: Pearl Island]

[Level: 7–9]

[Difficulty: Divine]

[Description: In ancient times, a malevolent sea god fell in love with a human, breaking species barriers and giving birth to a hybrid creature, the Merfolk Ancestor.

[This ancestor became the progenitor of the merfolk, wielding divine oceanic power. Later, it altered the bloodlines of certain fish tribes, giving rise to the merfolk species that now inhabits Pearl Island.

Powerful and unfathomable, you will face the Merfolk God in the depths of this oceanic island. (Merfolk God, Water attribute, Low Legendary, level matches the challenger’s.)]

Lu Ran and #18 had chosen what seemed like a relatively weak target. Compared to the likes of the Qilin or the Four Fiends, this merfolk boss seemed far less imposing. However, the suitability of a secret realm depended on compatibility. Challenging a realm wasn’t about picking the strongest foe.

This Merfolk God was essentially the ancestor of the Merfolk Empire, a vassal state of the Beastmaster Empire. The Merfolk Kingdom had originated from here. #18 chose this realm because the Merfolk God was a humanoid creature. More importantly, it was a Water-type adept in bloodline modification.

To maximize its blood power, #18 still lacked one crucial attribute, which was mastery over water. After all, blood and water were inseparable. For example, the Divine Turtle, though not specializing in blood power, had modified the Dragon God’s blood through its supreme mastery of water and life energies.

As a mechanical lifeform, #18 was a jack-of-all-trades but a master of none. Among the Mythical or Divine secret realms, there were no mechanical bosses, no blood-power-related bosses, and not even time or space-affiliated bosses remained.

This one was the best fit for it. Whether #18 could gain anything substantial depended on what this Divine secret realm would yield.

Before entering, Lu Ran and #18 each held a Lucky Flower in their mouths, praying for Six-Path Flowers’ blessing.

***

Soon, Lu Ran arrived inside the realm.

A massive, translucent pearl bubble enveloped the entire island, isolating it from the outside world. This enormous pearl absorbed sunlight from the dark depths, keeping the interior relatively bright. The moment Lu Ran and #18 appeared, they sensed an overwhelming presence deep within the island.

“Come forth, my enforcer, Hel!” #18 raised its fair arm and tiny hand, summoning a bewildered Hel before the boss appeared.

Emerging from the Hall of Heroic Spirits, Hel frowned at the unfamiliar surroundings. “Where is this?”

“A secret realm within Limitless City. Didn’t you want to see it? Well, here it is. But first...” Lu Ran pointed at the Merfolk God, which shot toward them like a blue meteor encased in a water sphere, and said, “Help #18 defeat it. This is the secret realm boss.”

#18 immediately hid behind Hel. “Sister Hel, please! Once we defeat this thing, it’ll drop tons of resources! Then I can keep you manifested in the outside world for longer! You can do it!”

Hel’s expression darkened as she observed the terrifying Merfolk God descending before them. As the progenitor of the merfolk, its appearance was far from pleasing. It was nowhere near the beauty of the Merfolk Kingdom’s princess.

However, compared to the Merfolk Prince, who kept pestering Lu Ran to become his brother-in-law, it was at least more dignified, exuding an imposing aura befitting a powerhouse.

With a shark-like tail, blue muscular torso, sunken black eyes, and a bald head, the Merfolk God brandished a stone trident. After sizing up the intruders, it launched its attack without hesitation. With a sweep of its tail, countless droplets, each carrying terrifying penetrative force, rained down like bullets in a preliminary assault.

Hel remained calm while raising her hand. “Fine. Dealing with this thing is simple.”

She didn’t even summon her familiars. With a mere gesture, the water bullets froze into ice crystals mid-air and shattered harmlessly, leaving the Merfolk God stunned.

“Compared to the Water Elemental Gods, this thing’s control over water is pitiful.”

“

Huh?

” #18 was taken aback.

Don’t say that! I was counting on the Merfolk God’s drops to strengthen myself! Calling it trash would make fusing with its resources feel underwhelming!

After the initial exchange, summoning arrays materialized around Hel as she called forth three familiars, each representing different attributes.

The first was a massive, purple-ice slime covered in spikes. It was a mutated variant with a Low-Legendary species rank. Lu Ran was impressed. Slimes were among the lowest-tier elemental lifeforms, yet this one was likely the strongest of its kind.

The second was a phoenix-shaped elemental lifeform composed entirely of white and blue ice crystals, radiating extreme cold. It was another Low-Legendary species, impeccably raised.

The last was a radiant, serpentine light-elemental creature whose form was unmistakably snake-like. It was yet another Low-Legendary species.

As Hel’s voice fell, a wave of frost surged forth. “It’s over.”

The Merfolk God’s next attack froze mid-execution, turning it into an ice statue. The light-serpent then phased into the frozen figure, biting down and devouring the Merfolk God whole.

“Wow!” #18’s eyes sparkled as it clapped enthusiastically, feeling that Hel was even stronger than the Tree Monarch.

Clearing a secret realm has never been easier!

[You have received an Epic amplification card!]

[You have received an Epic-grade resource: Pearl Tears (Unique resource. After consumption, the tears shed by the user will evolve into top-tier resources of the corresponding attribute.)]

[You have received a trait crystal: Ancestor (The more descendants connected by bloodline, the stronger the user’s own bloodline power becomes.)]

[You have received a Legendary-grade resource: Origin Water (A legendary droplet related to the origin of life. After absorption, the user’s mastery over water and life power will reach the Legendary grade, granting the divine ability to modify one’s own or others’ bloodlines.)]

[You have obtained a beastmaster skill card: Super Beast Mimicry (The Beastmaster simulates and learns the behavioral traits of their contracted familiars, gaining beast-like strength and techniques, merging human form with bestial power...)]