Beastmaster King

A little later, Lu Ran and Shi Zhen bid farewell to Ghost Mother and returned to Blue Planet. Lu Ran rode on Baby Cloud while Shi Zhen summoned a giant rhinoceros beetle as a mount.

When the pair soon arrived at the teleportation array, Shi Zhen couldn't help but ask, "Lu Ran, did you get a lot of resources out of your most recent ascension realm? It's so hard to get from level 50 to 60. Many first-generation beastmasters couldn't even make that much progress in a year. How did you do it immediately after coming out of the ascension realm? Don't tell me Ghost Mother helped you."

"No, it wasn't Ghost Mother. How can I bother it about something so minor?" Lu Ran smiled. "My ascension realm this time was set in the Mechanical Era. Although it wasn't at the peak of the era, I still managed to make a killing. Dark Crow leveled up using an Epic resource."

"Dang, you landed in the Mechanical Era? Now it makes more sense."

Shi Zhen was amazed. He quickly began to think about how, if people from the Xia could continue to explore ascension realms set in the Mechanical Era, then they could quickly bridge the technological gap between the Stellar Moon Federation and themselves. The Eagle Federation would no longer be able to maintain its technological superiority either.

"You shouldn't be entering another ascension realm any time soon, right?" Shi Zhen questioned.

"No, haste makes waste. Leveling up too fast without the skills to back it up will only create problems. I plan to gather some second-stage evolution materials and traits for a while. Once all my familiars have evolved, I will shoot for level 6.

"Didn't the old president, Lin Nian, and others say that the level 5 ascension realms are guaranteed to pit you against a Legendary force? The danger and difficulty of them are significantly higher than any ascension realm before them. I don't want to spend my entire time there hiding in a corner. How can I do any proper exploration in that case?"

Shi Zhen's mouth twitched.

You don't think your familiars are strong enough? I still can't figure out that Dark Crow of yours. Does it utilize some sort of incantation? Wait, based on what he's saying, to clear the level 5 ascension realm, I'll need to beat a Legendary creature as a level 5 beastmaster?

"Whatever. Talking to you is just pissing me off." Principal Shi took out his phone to scroll around for a bit.

"Wimp," Lu Ran joked.

It didn't take long for Shi Zhen to lose his cool after seeing a few headlines.

"Holy shit! 'Lu Ran Reopens the Elemental Era by Inventing an Elemental Life Creation Device and Elemental Equipment to Win First in an Invention Competition'? Explain yourself!"

"Calm down. Relax, bro."

"How did you do it?"

"It's all thanks to Death Gun."

"What?"

***

Beside the teleportation array, the Squirrel God was finally enjoying some alone time. Ever since the array was reactivated, Lu Ran and his friends had been running in and out a little too often. Activating the array consumed a lot of resources. These people really had too much money.

The Squirrel God wasn't aware that to fund the group's transportation expenses, Xia's Secret Realm Raid Team had been working seventy-two-hour weeks to grind resources out of Space secret realms.

Over on Blue Planet, Lu Ran and Shi Zhen stepped out of the array.

"You can head back to Xia first. I have some personal matters that I need to attend to first."

"Okay." Shi Zhen nodded before leaving.

Lu Ran took out the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer to point him in the deer's direction and pinpointed its location to an island in the Pacific Ocean.

"Let's get going as well," Lu Ran said as he summoned Baby Cloud again.

In the Pacific Ocean, there was an uninhabited volcanic island called Cinnabar Island. When Lu Ran arrived, he unexpectedly discovered a large crowd of people in various costumes and beastmasters from various countries. It wasn't apparent what had drawn them to gather.

While he was still trying to get a sense of what was going on, the Divine Deer was walking around in the quiet forest. Although people periodically passed by the area, no one was able to detect it. Its mind only returned to reality when Lu Ran arrived.

"Lord Divine Deer."

"Lu Ran, you bastard!"

Crap, what did I do? Why are you yelling at me the moment you see me?

Lu Ran was confused by the sudden abuse.

"Was your most recent ascension realm in the Mechanical Era?"

"Yes..."

"And, during your ascension mission, you invented a machine that creates elemental life forms?"

"Yes..."

Lu Ran wasn't surprised by the Divine Deer's knowledge of this, as there must have been other people from Blue Planet in the same ascension realm with him. Once they got out, news must have spread like wildfire, like it did in Stellar Moon. He had accomplished something completely revolutionary, and it was definitely a hot topic of discussion, so the Divine Deer would have inevitably heard about it eventually.

"Don't you know that the Element Gods were sealed by the Divine Dragons, and elemental life forms can no longer be born into this world as a direct result of that? Your invention is a direct provocation to the Divine Dragons!"

The Divine Deer didn't know how Lu Ran achieved it, but reopening the Element Era was an act of defiance that should never be committed by a messenger of a Divine Dragon's kin. The Element Era ended in the first place because the Element Gods rebelled against the Divine Dragons, and now Lu Ran seemingly committed the same crime.

"Um, I think this is a misunderstanding. I definitely didn't mean any offense by it. I was simply trying to see if I could draw out the Divine Dragons in the ascension realm. Everything was for the sake of completing the mission you gave me. Unfortunately, it didn't go as planned. After completing the ascension mission, forget meeting the Divine Dragons—I didn't even meet one of their kin."

"..."

"I swear to not create any more elemental life forms without permission," Lu Ran promised. "I did all of this for you, my lord! Take a look at this!"

Lu Ran summoned his feather-shaped Flame Spirit. The Divine Deer was astonished once it got a good look at the flame.

"This explains the familiar aura I detected earlier."

"Lord Divine Deer, I have completed my mission. Although I failed to obtain the Divine Phoenix's direct inheritance, I was able to get its Flame of Life."

Looking at the flame, it took the Divine Deer time to calm its emotions. When it did, it let out a long sigh.

It seems that this flame is all that remains of you, my friend.

"You are quite capable."

The Divine Deer concluded that it had misjudged Lu Ran. He was clearly a cut above Bai Lu. He was able to get hold of items left by the Divine Phoenix at level 4 or 5.

"Is all this fate?" The Divine Deer muttered to itself.

"What's wrong, Lord Divine Deer?"

"Nothing. I'll let the matter of creating elemental life forms go for now. You actually came back at the perfect time. Fate works in funny ways. I have another task for you."

"What is it?"

"I discovered this island while exploring Blue Planet. Besides myself, many human nations also detected the strange phenomenon that occurred on this island. The International Beastmaster Alliance discovered a secret realm related to a Legendary creature native to Blue Planet."

"Really?" Lu Ran was astonished.

"You must have just come out of the ascension realm pretty recently, because a major event happened a few days ago. The concentration of spiritual energy increased again, and many higher-level creatures that were hibernating started to reawaken. I have already found two reawakened Quasi-Legendary creatures. One of them is even worshipped as a deity by one of the nations.

"This secret realm appeared while all of this was happening. The creator of this secret realm was very powerful, and when the spiritual energy of Blue Planet waned, it sealed its eggs, which have reappeared in modern day. It must have been aware of Limitless City and the existence of beastmasters and had contact with those who could enter Limitless City as well.

"This secret realm appears to be designed for humans to adopt its children. It must have believed that the beastmasters of Limitless City were the only ones capable of raising its offspring to become Legendary.

"Although I can force my way into the secret realm, I have decided not to. That is why I want you to go in and defeat the secret realm's boss and bring out the eggs."

"It's no wonder I feel that the spiritual energy quality here is almost on par with Stellar Moon. Aren't the offspring of Blue Planet ancient beasts only Quasi-Legendary? Why do you care so much? Shouldn't they be below your radar?"

It would be natural for Blue Planet beastmasters to get excited, but for a major figure like Divine Deer, it should be able to just create a Quasi-Legendary creature on a whim.

"This is why I said that fate works in funny ways. The creator of the secret realm is a Legendary fire phoenix, just like the Divine Phoenix. I just want to..."

The Divine Deer didn't speak any further, but Lu Ran understood what it was trying to say. It was obviously sentimental over an old friend and wanted to take the cub under its wing. It would be like having its friend back.

"Leave it to me, Lord! We have cleared a Mythical secret realm in the Stellar Moon Federation. We will have no problem clearing this secret realm here," Lu Ran confidently replied.

"Since you have the Divine Phoenix's Flame of Life now, it would be fitting for you to raise a phoenix chick. I will also grant you a wish as a reward."

"Lord Divine Deer, I can clear the secret realm, but if I get the egg, can you raise the phoenix chick yourself?"

Divine Deer: ?

"I already have enough familiars as is, and I also have raised kins and legions. As they reach the higher levels, it gets increasingly hard to find resources for them. Adding a phoenix to my plate right now, even if it is a Quasi-Legendary, would be too much for me to handle," Lu Ran lamented with tears beading up.

For his next familiar, he was hoping to contract a fully mature familiar like the Divine Deer, or maybe even Ghost Mother. Raising another cub was too much hard work. He didn't want to do it, even if it was a Quasi-Legendary familiar.

"I have overlooked that point. Cultivating too many familiars is indeed difficult. In that case, if you bring out the egg, I will raise it personally."

"Okay, no problem. I'll go right now."

"No need to hurry. Although this secret realm wasn't designed to be dangerous, you still aren't powerful enough to clear the secret realm just yet, even with the Six-Path Reincarnation God at your side."

"You are underestimating me." Six-Path Flower appeared after hearing its name.

"That is not my intention, but your enemy will be a Fire-attribute level 80 Low-Legendary creature. You will be at a disadvantage, but if you insist, I won't stop you."

Six-Path Flower thought it over for a moment before replying, "Forget it. I'll let Lu Ran deal with this one himself."

"Huh? How can you just abandon me like that? Lord Divine Deer, are you sure it's a level 80 Low Legendary? Is the creator of the secret realm flat out crazy? How does it expect anyone to clear the secret realm?"

The Divine Deer shook its head.

"The creator didn't want just anyone taking away its offspring. It set standards for its inheritor. Talent doesn't always equate to strength. Only Epic-Legendary beastmasters are strong enough to raise its children. It could only feel at ease if its offspring are raised by a powerhouse. I can understand where it's coming from.

"An Epic-Legendary beastmaster can have up to 9 familiars with a level cap of 90. Even if not all of them are Legendary, just by relying on their level superiority, they can beat a level 80 Legendary boss with a decent chance of success. This means that the secret realm was specifically designed for a higher level, so I don't think it'll be a good fit for you as a level 5 beastmaster."

"I understand now. When I clear the secret realm in the future, will you really grant me a wish?"

"What is your wish?" Divine Deer asked carefully.

"Will you become the guardian deity for my Beastmaster Empire?"

"..."

"Please hear me out! Although this seems to be an act of defiance against the Wishful-Dream God, we are keeping the scope limited to Blue Planet. If you become our guardian deity, then the imperial seal might reach the Legendary grade. If that happens, then I will be strong enough to complete more tasks on your behalf."

"No. I am a kin of the Divine Dragons. We must remain neutral and not choose sides."

"This empire was established by me, your messenger. We are all on the same side in the first place!" Lu Ran argued.

The Divine Deer remained silent for a moment.

The biggest question is, why did you establish an empire in the first place?

"Lord Divine Deer, it will only be in name. I won't ask you to take direct action or do anything that goes against your principles as a kin of the Divine Dragons," Lu Ran persuaded.

"We'll talk about this later." The Divine Deer didn't want to discuss the subject anymore as Lu Ran's wish was nothing short of outrageous. It wasn't something that it could ever agree to.

"Alright. Then, I have a backup wish."