Chapter 551 - Epic-Legendary Ascension Realm! (Part 1)

Lu Ran listened quietly to the secret realm’s rewards.

Pearl Tears, Ancestor trait, Origin Water...

At first, he remained calm, neither overly excited nor disappointed. However, when he heard the skill reward Super Beast Mimicry, Lu Ran couldn’t stay still. He quickly pulled the skill card from his backpack and examined it, his expression shifting subtly between amusement and exasperation.

“What?”

Damn... This skill was the very first beastmaster skill I ever got back in my beginner trial secret realm. Why is it dropping again here...?

Lu Ran couldn’t help but laugh.

So the question was, had his beginner secret realm reward been absurdly overpowered, dropping a top-tier beastmaster skill that should only appear in Divine secret realms? Or was this Divine secret realm’s reward just underwhelming, giving him something only fit for a beginner? This was a question worth pondering deeply.

“Daddy Limitless City, what’s the meaning of this?”

Was this meant for me to pass down my legacy and train a disciple who would also defy the norms?

As Lu Ran was lost in thought, #18’s impatient voice sounded beside him. “How is it? How is it?”

It wasn’t too interested in beastmaster skills but was eager to know if they had obtained the resources they were after. Beside it, Hel, who had just obliterated the secret realm’s boss, also cast a questioning glance at the skill card. She had heard that slapping something like this onto one’s forehead could grant a beastmaster skill.

Was this what the merfolk had dropped?

She still couldn’t quite wrap her head around it. Lu Ran smiled faintly under the gaze of the two.

“There were some surprises, but overall, it aligns with our goals.” He put away the skill card and tossed the bottle of Origin Water to #18.

This resource was undoubtedly their target. Origin Water was capable of enhancing water and life energy manipulation. It would significantly boost #18’s research into blood-based powers. Once fully absorbed, it might even be able to create a cloning machine that could replicate transcendent creatures based solely on their blood, with the clones inheriting strong species and levels.

As for the other two resources, they each had their value. The Ancestor trait in particular made Lu Ran ponder. It seemed perfect for Dark Crow and Six-Path Flower. The former often shared its flesh and blood with its subordinates, allowing them to fuse with its bloodline.

Meanwhile, the plant species awakened by Six-Path Flower could also inherit part of its bloodline if it willed it. Historically, it had done so. The Three-Life Flower was a top-tier plant species infused with a portion of Six-Path Flower’s bloodline.

Hel, seeing Lu Ran lost in thought and #18 happily clutching the Origin Water, couldn’t help but marvel at the wonders of Limitless City.

“Are there any more enemies?”

The Legendary resource in #18’s hands was something she could tell was incredibly rare just by sensing its elemental fluctuations. However, what surprised Hel more was that neither Lu Ran nor #18 seemed particularly shocked by how easily she had dispatched the enemy.

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Well, even if their strength isn’t extraordinary, given their ability to command the Hall of Heroic Spirits, their knowledge must far surpass ordinary people. Seeing legendary combat power might not faze them. How on earth did he get to know these oddballs?

In Hel’s eyes, both Lu Ran and #18 were peculiar. She was curious how her younger brother had formed such a life-and-death bond with Lu Ran.

“Nope, no more!” #18 grinned at Hel.

Hel nodded and began dissipating. “Summon me if you need anything. I can handle most enemies for you. But I hope the next time I’m summoned, I’ll get to see that useless brother of mine.”

Hel had a feeling there was more to Lu Ran’s relationship with her brother than he let on. However, that wasn’t important. When she had first been revived, she could faintly sense that the Winter Knight she had gifted her brother was still alive.

That was enough for now. She probably wouldn’t get more answers from Lu Ran. She’d have to wait until she reunited with her blood relative. Then, through her brother or his familiars, she could learn more about this world from an ancient’s perspective.

“As you wish, Senior.” Lu Ran smiled and watched Hel disappear. “Actually, meeting Ice Emperor too soon might not be a good thing,” he muttered to himself.

Because when that time came, Hel would learn the truth about her impending blood extraction. Lu Ran was no philanthropist. A deal was a deal, and he would collect his due.

“#18, let’s go.”

“Yes!”

***

Lu Ran’s repeated conquests of the Divine secret realms had left the beastmasters of Blue Planet numb. As for Lu Ran himself, having already hunted an Intermediate Legendary, clearing another Low-Legendary secret realm held little novelty. Without hesitation, he left Limitless City and returned to his nation.

After some time of development, the Beastmaster Empire had grown increasingly prosperous. Several human cities had been established, and active trade with other nations had begun. People of all skin colors could often be seen moving about here.

With the various guardian sacred beasts and military forces stationed here, there was no need to worry about troublemakers or poachers.

“Has everything been running smoothly while I was away?”

Lu Ran arrived at Manager Ying’s office, his expression darkening as he saw the gem-studded, wealthy-looking cat sprawled on the desk, snacking on dried fish while binge-watching dramas.

This was Manager Ying’s true form, and it didn’t seem to be working hard at all.

“Everything’s fine. A few poaching groups tried to sneak around, but they were easily caught and dealt with. The Asura Legion threw them to the wild boars mining in the pits.” Manager Ying lifted a bag of dried fish and offered some to Lu Ran.

Lu Ran waved his hand dismissively. “Wait, with the current lineup of the Beastmaster Empire, people still dare to poach here?”

Manager Ying shrugged. “Who knows what they were thinking? Maybe their brains are wired differently. Anyway, if everyone in the world were normal, that would be the real abnormality. So, what do you need? Spit it out. Don’t interrupt my drama.”

“My parents...”

Manager Ying sighed. “No news. No idea what’s going on. You should prepare for the worst.”

Lu Ran nodded. “Fine. Nothing else, then. In a few days, I’ll be heading to an ascension realm. Take care of the empire while I’m gone. Also, let’s extract a few more tons of blood.”

The cat’s drama-watching face twisted into a snarl, and it slammed its paw on the keyboard.

Lu Ran didn’t bother arguing. He simply pulled out #18 and plopped it onto Manager Ying’s desk before walking away, leaving the negotiations to it. Next, Lu Ran strolled through the empty gardens of the imperial palace, breathing in the fragrance of flowers and plants.

“This trip to the Elemental Era will be extremely dangerous. Even if we’re not planning to hunt the Superior-Legendary elemental gods, just targeting their subordinates doesn’t mean we won’t provoke them. If their followers and subordinates are hunted, those Superior Legendaries will surely rage.

“We’ll be in constant trouble. Six-Path Flower, you probably can’t single-handedly take on seven or eight Superior Legendaries, let alone hold your own against a group under the pursuit of the Light and Dark Gods, right?”

Six-Path Flower’s human form appeared in the garden, walking beside Lu Ran. “Obviously. One-on-one is manageable, but against two or more Superior Legendaries, I’d be outmatched. Not to mention... Divine-level beings.”

“Too bad we can’t bring the Tree Monarch.” Lu Ran missed the experience of being boosted to Mythical by the Tree Monarch.

If he were Mythical in the Elemental Era, things would be much easier. His human identity limited his potential. While Captain Doofus and the others could reach level 100 momentarily with just a Time Fruit, the same didn’t work for him.

He needed the combined efforts of the Tree Monarch and the others to see significant improvement. After all, the Tree Monarch was essentially a beastmaster, and the resources she created were primarily tailored for transcendent creatures.

Lu Ran patted his face. “It doesn’t matter. Relying on others is worse than relying on oneself. To be safe, Six-Path Flower, you’ll act as my doctor. Let’s perform a breakthrough surgery! Once we’re done, even if I don’t reach the level of the Tree Monarch’s enhancement, my strength should still see a massive improvement.”

“

Huh?

” Six-Path Flower tilted its head, wondering what crazy idea this kid had come up with now.

Lu Ran sat on a stone bench, formed his hand into a blade, and stabbed it into his chest, piercing a bloody hole. He then pulled out his heart and placed it on the stone table. Instantly, Lu Ran’s face paled, and he coughed up blood. The wound gushed at first until fiery spirits emerged, staunching the bleeding.

He looked at his still-beating heart on the table and summoned the death energy he had learned from his familiars, severing the last traces of life in it. His complexion worsened, but he managed a strained smile at Six-Path Flower.

For a normal person, such a condition would make survival questionable, let alone movement. However, thanks to the Life Link and Life Contract with Six-Path Flower, Lu Ran could remain alive even with a dead heart.

Six-Path Flower felt a headache coming on, understanding what Lu Ran intended.

[Name: Legendary Heart]

[Grade: Treasure]

Lu Ran looked at his heart and grinned. “See? Even with my physique this strong, many of my organs are only at the Treasure grade. There’s still plenty of room for improvement.”

With that, he took out an Epic amplification card and slapped it onto his lifeless heart. Under the enhancement waves, the Legendary Heart underwent an immediate transformation.

[Name: Epic Heart]

[Grade: Epic]

“Next, I’ll put this heart back in. Six-Path Flower, I’ll need you to use your Superior Legendary Life Bestowal ability to heal me. It’s still my heart, so there shouldn’t be any rejection issues.”

Six-Path Flower stared at Lu Ran, its vision blurring slightly as it almost saw a crow’s head superimposed over his. “You and that crow... I can’t tell who’s influencing whom.”

It rolled its eyes but complied with Lu Ran’s request, assisting him with the “heart transplant surgery.”

Internal organs, limbs, skull, bones... every part of his body, in Lu Ran’s vision, was to be enhanced to Epic grade.

Epic-grade body parts were incredibly rare. Even the God of War, an Intermediate Legendary, only had an Epic-grade heart.

After this enhancement, Lu Ran could confidently say that aside from lacking a Legendary core resource like those Legendary Beast Gods, the gap between him and them in other physical aspects had narrowed significantly.