Chapter 57 - Sibling Rivalry

Captain Doofus had its own pride. It wasn’t happy with Lu Ran’s idea of “three secret realms a day.” Not because Lu Ran rode on its back when tired—Captain Doofus was perfectly willing to carry Lu Ran through the blizzards; it only made it look stronger!

But what it couldn’t accept was that while it carried Lu Ran, he had the nerve to add extra weight by carrying two swords! And Lu Ran’s reasoning?

“You’re in the middle of weight training, and so am I. It’s Super Beast Mimicry in full synchronization, a victory for all beastmasters!”

Captain Doofus felt its intelligence had been insulted. And the worst part? Lu Ran said his Super Beast Mimicry had indeed improved. Captain Doofus’ mind went blank for a moment.

“Don’t overthink it. You’re probably hungry now.”

In their private room, free from the icy environment, Captain Doofus' eyes regained their usual clarity, quickly forgetting the earlier annoyance. At Lu Ran's words, its stomach growled.

“Woof!”

Captain Doofus barked weakly.

It made sense. Eating was more important right now because Captain Doofus was both hungry and exhausted. That was why it hadn’t performed as well while navigating the blizzard. If not for the energy it had wasted slicing through the blizzard at the start, their score could have been higher. After all, the scoring for this secret realm was based on the efficiency of traversing the blizzard.

“Eat up.” Lu Ran smiled, laying out the food in front of the starving dog.

“Woof!!!”

Captain Doofus eagerly showed its drooling tongue.

Aside from its usual food, Lu Ran also took out the recently acquired Cold Wind Seed. The seed looked like a blue peanut and was icy to the touch. Lu Ran tossed it to Captain Doofus, signaling for it to eat.

[Name: Cold Wind Seed]

[Grade: Advanced]

[Description: A unique seed born in freezing environments, only growing when the cold peaks.]

Lu Ran scanned it with the Eye of Detection but didn’t find a detailed explanation of its effects. It seemed like a half-finished product. But since Dr. Gu had mentioned that it could make Captain Doofus’ wind-based powers colder, Lu Ran assumed there were hidden effects.

Clearly, the Eye of Detection wasn’t all-powerful. Or maybe his low-ranking Eye of Detection wasn’t powerful enough yet.

“Om, nom, nom.”

Captain Doofus gobbled down its food while Lu Ran also ate a Wood Scale Fruit and checked his communications.

It seemed he’d received quite a few messages.

[Five Poisons Saintess: Whoa! You’re at Level 9 already? Why are you challenging the Blizzard Mountain Secret Realm? What’s going on? I thought you went to Golden Hill to find your mentor. How is he helping Captain Doofus level up? Where are you? Where?]

Lu Ran raised an eyebrow.

“How does everyone know?”

He realized quickly that it must have been Captain Doofus’ performance in the Blizzard Mountain Secret Realm getting monitored by the Heavenly Familiar Ranking. Apparently, not only battles against living creatures but even mastering skills in a natural environment counted as a flashy performance worthy of documentation.

Lu Ran bit into his fruit, saying, “Well, now everyone in Limitless City knows that Captain Doofus leveled up from 6 to 9 in just one morning. No big deal.

Dr. Gu’s resources just make it all the more obvious that I’m under her wing. With someone like her backing me, I should be able to level up without being harassed by all kinds of shady groups.”

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Lu Ran then replied to Fang Lan.

[Pedestrian A: I just came out of the secret realm and ran into Dr. Gu in real life. We talked, and she saw my amazing talent, so she gave me a rare resource as an investment. Captain Doofus ate it and instantly jumped three levels.]

Fang Lan replied almost immediately.

[Five Poisons Saintess: ???]

Lu Ran laughed aloud, imagining Fang Lan’s stunned face. She had been so proud of knowing Dr. Gu, and now Dr. Gu had gifted him something first. Anyone would feel thrown off by that.

Next time when I meet Dr. Gu, I will ask her to look after Fang Lan as well. After clearing the Abandoned Laboratory Secret Realm, I can hold off on entering ascension realms first and help Fang Lan level up instead.

[Five Poisons Saintess: Are you serious? You met Dr. Gu in real life!?]

[Pedestrian A: Oh! Almost forgot. She gave me her ID and asked me to add her as a friend. You have her as a friend already, right? You can ask her if you don’t believe me.]

With that, Lu Ran sent a friend request to Gu Qingyi. Her nickname in Limitless City was simply “Gu Qingyi.” Using her real name as her ID was definitely a bold move.

At that moment, Dr. Gu seemed to be online as well, accepting the request almost instantly. As soon as they connected, Dr. Gu sent a message.

[Gu Qingyi: Looks like you had quite the harvest in Blizzard Mountain.]

[Pedestrian A: Yeah, it’s a good place. Thanks.]

[Gu Qingyi: Glad it worked out. By the way, I’ve done some more research on the Sword Momentum you mentioned. I’ve also looked into an advanced technique known as Sword Intent. It seems quite similar to higher-level Energy Formation. Are you interested?]

Lu Ran paused, then quickly replied that he was.

[Gu Qingyi: Do you know the different levels of Energy Formation? Let me explain. There are three levels.

The first level is Form. At this level, energy is shaped into different forms, like a sword or armor. It could even be shaped into a mountain or a meteor to strike the enemy. Pretty simple, right?

At this stage, the exact shape doesn’t matter much. The key lies in the second level, Intent. At this level, the energy takes on more than just form; it carries a deeper essence.

For example, imagine a monkey forming the energy of a dragon’s head into its fists and calling it a “Dragon Fist.” Sounds pretty flashy, right? But if that monkey deeply understands what a dragon truly is by its power and spirit, then the punch could actually carry the force of a dragon.

This is what we call Intent Formation. In other words, the formation of energy becomes more meaningful as it is imbued with a spiritual will which greatly enhances its power.

Given your talent in skill comprehension, I think you could start moving in this direction. Since you’re tackling Blizzard Mountain, why not try infusing the blizzard’s power into your Sword Momentum?

Whether it’s Blizzard Sword Momentum or Blizzard Sword Intent, the forces of nature should be more intimidating than your current beast sword style, right?]

Lu Ran felt overwhelmed by her generosity. No wonder Fang Lan liked her so much. Gu Qingyi had not only taken the time to understand his efforts in swordsmanship but also offered guidance.

She was right, the beast sword style didn’t seem all that impressive. In the end, the beast sword style was about dominating with one’s species.

At best, Captain Doofus could be considered a wolf king. It could intimidate cats and dogs, but against ferocious raptors, beasts, or even dinosaurs, relying on pure aura wouldn’t get very far.

Compared to that, if the forces of nature like lightning, flames, or blizzards could be harnessed into Sword Momentum, the intimidation factor would be much higher. Mastering it wouldn’t be easy, but Gu Qingyi’s advice had sparked a new idea.

Captain Doofus could try to learn it during their next run through Blizzard Mountain. They could fight the blizzard three times a day, slash through it three times, and attempt to grasp its power. And while they were at it, they could collect a few more Wind Hound Fangs.

[Pedestrian A: You’re right! We’ll give it a try. Thanks for the tip, Dr. Gu. By the way, you mentioned the second level. What’s the third level of Energy Formation?]

Seizing the opportunity, Lu Ran asked for more information.

[Gu Qingyi: Oh, the third level? I haven’t mastered it myself. I’ve only seen beastmasters from other worlds use it while tackling the ascension realms. The third level is Life Formation.

[If Intent Formation brings spiritual will into the form, Life Formation takes it a step further, giving the form actual life-like behaviors. I suspect the creature projections in secret realms are created through Life Formation by the founders of Limitless City.

[But you don’t need to worry about that now. Focus on mastering Intent Formation first. Even many second-generation beastmasters haven’t reached that stage.

[If you can master it, you’ll have a huge advantage among fourth-generation beastmasters. Anyway, I have someone looking for me. Talk later.]

[Pedestrian A: Thanks again, Dr. Gu.]

Lu Ran mentally noted everything Gu Qingyi had explained about Form Formation, Intent Formation, and Life Formation.

Currently, Captain Doofus was still at the first stage. Lu Ran had thought its mastery of four different energy techniques was impressive, but it turned out they were just scratching the surface.

If Energy Formation had three levels, what about other techniques? Were there more levels to them as well?

Meanwhile...

Gu Qingyi received a message from Fang Lan.

[Fang Lan: Senior Gu! Did you really meet Lu Ran in real life?]

[Gu Qingyi: Yes, I did. Your brother’s quite talented. We were just chatting. You’ll have to work hard to keep up with him, or you might struggle to form a team together later on.]

Fang Lan froze. So they really had met! But her parents wouldn’t let her enter secret realms! Training in the arena was already pushing it.

[Fang Lan: I told you he was talented! But this guy has a death wish. If you can, Senior Gu, please keep an eye on him. It’d be a shame for him to waste all that talent by getting himself killed in a secret realm. Once he grows stronger, he’ll be a real force to be reckoned with.]

Though she felt a bit robbed of Dr. Gu’s favor, Fang Lan still spoke up for Lu Ran.

[Gu Qingyi: Don’t worry.]

[Fang Lan: By the way... is there any way for me to catch up without entering secret realms? I don’t want to fall too far behind...]

Gu Qingyi smiled and replied, sensing the competitive spirit.

[Gu Qingyi: That’s easy. You know your familiar has the Poison attribute, right? Poison-attribute familiars are the strongest when it comes to fighting above their rank.

The Beastmaster University I told you about should have toxicology courses. If you master those, you could cultivate poisons strong enough for a Level 10 familiar to kill creatures dozens of levels higher.

I could send you some study materials to get started if you’d like. If I recall correctly, you ranked ninth in the province in your college entrance exams, right? You should be able to handle it.]

Gu Qingyi looked at Fang Lan’s ID thoughtfully. With her top-tier grades, poison cultivation expertise, experience in familiar medicine, and background in animal biology, she and her brother would both grow into something remarkable.