Chapter 628 - Multiversal Beastmaster Championship

The two cats stared at each other until Lu Ran spoke and broke the silence.

"Are you one of the Cosmic beings of the Dream Net, the Gem Queen?"

Although Lu Ran didn’t detect any hostility, he was still tense since this cat was on the same level as the Genesis Dragon. He couldn't afford to be careless just because it looked harmless.

"It seems that you were hiding your strength."

The Gem Queen took a careful look at Lu Ran. The Dream Net’s data indicated Lu Ran was at the peak of the Legendary rank, but now, here, he was clearly at the pinnacle of Primary Divine. There was a blatant discrepancy with the data it had.

It was possible that Lu Ran had also reached the Cosmic rank, but it couldn’t tell for sure. He didn’t exhibit any of the telltale signs of the Cosmic rank. Teacher Ying had seen plenty of Cosmic creatures, and Lu Ran didn’t share any of their characteristics.

"I know all the beings of this universe that have reached the peak of Primary Divine, but I don’t recognize you. That's why I’m here, and now I know why I don’t recognize you.

"You are from a parallel universe rather than this one. Hasn't anyone told you that traveling through the multiverse is against the rules?"

"We really didn’t know. Ignorance shouldn’t be a crime!"

"..."

Lu Ran didn't hide the fact that he came from another universe, but a Cosmic being was able to discover his identity faster than he expected.

"Which time period did you sneak in from?"

"Time period? We didn’t come from a different time period. We are from a universe that’s on the verge of destruction. Our universe is about to be wiped out by a cosmic disaster, so I came to find a better environment for cultivation."

Lu Ran gave the Gem Queen a sincere and honest look. Teacher Ying’s intuition told it that Lu Ran was telling the truth.

"A dying universe... it should be a microcosm, right?"

There were so many universes. Teacher Ying was aware of several which made it realize that it would be somewhat tedious to delve into Lu Ran’s background, so it started to have thoughts of giving up.

It was kind of obvious that Lu Ran’s home universe wasn’t very powerful. It was actually the first time Teacher Ying heard of a universe getting destroyed.

Now that it had cleared up the mystery behind Lu Ran’s identity, things were much simpler. It just needed to make sure Lu Ran didn’t stir up any problems.

Being at the peak of Primary Divine made him one of the strongest beings beneath Cosmic beings, which meant that he could do a lot of damage if left unchecked.

"You want to break through to the Cosmic rank?" the Gem Queen asked.

"Yes, our universe can’t produce Cosmic beings anymore, so I had to come here."

"I see." The Gem Queen nodded. This was in line with what it assumed. It no longer put too much weight on Lin's claims of Lu Ran being at the Cosmic rank.

The version of Lin that was hanging around was just a clone, so it didn’t have the full power of a Cosmic being. On top of that, the Dream Net was a simulated environment, so it was natural for there to be a margin of error.

It used its Gem Eyes to observe Lu Ran several times already and didn’t detect that he was hiding Cosmic-rank power. However, as a human beastmaster, he already had the aura of the leading races of this universe.

"You're new here, so do you have a general idea of this universe's current landscape? You look young, but have such formidable strength. Why don't you join us?" the Gem Queen offered.

“Um...”

"You seemed to recognize me, so you should have a good grasp of the Dream Net, right? The Cosmic leaders of the other forces won’t let someone of your power just wander around. You’ll be recruited by one of them sooner or later. You should consider yourself lucky for having met me first," the Gem Queen said calmly.

"The Karnid Queen will take you for breeding."

Note to self, avoid the Karnid Queen,

Manager Ying thought to itself.

"The Cosmic Overlord, on the other hand, will turn you into a thug. Only we will treat you like a valued employee."

Warning! Warning!

This time, alarms went off in Lu Ran's head.

"If I join the Cosmic Dream Net Corporation, will my familiars be able to use the Dream Net for special training?"

It's common knowledge that the Dream King, Cosmic Mechanical Queen, and the Gem Queen were all on the same side.

The Cosmic Will had previously told Lu Ran that there were two criteria for reaching the Cosmic rank. First, one had to train their power over Time and Space to the max. These were the two essential attributes for the Cosmic rank. Second was to fully develop one’s racial abilities.

Only when those two conditions were met could a being ascend to the Cosmic rank.

#18's proficiency with Space and Time was passable, and with some help from the Cosmic Will, it was the closest to reaching the Cosmic rank out of Lu Ran’s familiars. Another one of the Cosmic will’s abilities was that it could help improve a creature’s proficiency with the Space and Time attributes. The degree of improvement naturally depended on the familiars themselves.

#18 specialized in research, so maximizing its research capabilities was the next priority. To that end, Lu Ran had three options.

First, he could have continued researching Limitless City. With the Cosmic Will’s cooperation, this should have been relatively easy. However, the low difficulty wouldn't yield any significant improvements.

The second option was to have it study the Black Mist. The cosmic disaster was similar to natural disasters on Blue Planet, like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The phenomenon behind things such as earthquakes was already well understood, but even the Cosmic Will itself could only suppress the Black Mist, without having a complete understanding of it.

If #18 could uncover the mysteries behind a disaster that was capable of devouring the universe, it should stimulate rapid growth.

The final option was the Cosmic Dream Net. It was jointly created and maintained by two Cosmic beings, perfectly creating a simulated reality. If #18 could hack in and decipher the Dream Net by itself, it should yield good results as well.

Lu Ran couldn’t make a decision, so he decided to go with all three at the same time.

"You want to use the Dream Network for special training?" The Gem Queen was puzzled. "Everyone is allowed to use the Dream Network for training."

"Well, the training I had in mind might cause some damage to the Dream Net," Lu Ran awkwardly replied.

"Damage? If the Dream Net was so easily damaged, then the two Cosmic beings maintaining it aren’t doing their job. Why are you being so wishy-washy? Are you going to join us or not?

"If it wasn’t for that cat, I wouldn’t even have made you an offer." The Gem Queen glanced at Manager Ying again.

A peak Primary Divine beastmaster wasn’t enough to enter its eyes. It was really giving some face to its parallel universe self.

"Alright, we'll join you." Lu Ran finally decided.

With the Gem Queen's guarantee, he could have #18 to study the Dream Net using brute force. This was his get out of jail free card in case the Dream King or the Cosmic Machine Queen came to beat him up. He always did his best to stay out of trouble.

"Okay."

The Gem Queen’s entire body glowed with a fluorescent light. The glow quickly concealed its figure, and by the time it was visible again, it had taken on a humanoid form. It was now a catgirl wearing a white dress speckled with stars.

"Here, kitty, kitty. Let me take a closer look at you."

"Meow?"

Manager Ying's lips twitched.

You’re a catgirl too?

"Don’t kitty me!" Manager Ying pouted before leaping into the Gem Queen's arms and eventually started purring.

This gal looks like she’s loaded. I should kiss up to her and squeeze her for some intel and cash.

"You’re not contracted?" the Gem Queen asked in surprise.

"Manager Ying prefers its freedom, so we decided to just be friends."

"Ying..." The Gem Queen was stunned for a moment.

"I see. Since you've joined me and you want to become stronger, I'll give you a shortcut. If you're moving forward aimlessly, you’ll never reach the Cosmic rank even if you try for thousands of years."

"A shortcut?" Lu Ran was surprised.

"I see that this is news to you. Very soon, many parallel universes will join together to hold a competition for beastmasters. It's called the Multiversal Beastmaster Championship. It's hosted by a very powerful and outrageous individual.

"The rewards are generous enough to even entice Cosmic beings. If you participate and achieve a good result, you'll receive a huge amount of resources, greatly smoothing out your journey to the Cosmic rank."

"Multiversal Beastmaster Championship? What's the top prize and who’s the host?"

"The Keeper of the Universe," Teacher Ying answered.

Lu Ran's heart skipped a beat. Even the Cosmic Will was a little startled.

"Keeper... of the Universe? What's that? A title for some Cosmic being?"

Lu Ran played dumb.

"Don't worry about it. Just know that even Cosmic beings are nothing compared to the Keeper of the Universe. You can think of the Keeper as the Cosmic Will. I do my best to avoid it when possible. Now do you understand the scale of the Championship?

"Don’t overthink it. You can forget about the top prize. There are countless top-tier beastmasters participating. Among the ones I know, some have already reached the Cosmic rank. You're quite capable, so it would already be fantastic if you reached the top 100. As my employee, I'll find a way to get you a ticket. Just don't embarrass me out there."

The Gem Queen stroked the cat in her arms and thought of those nutcases like Time Emperor and Blessed Rain. This wasn’t even taking into account the powerhouses it

didn’t

know about.