Beastmaster King

Third day was the match between Gu Qingyi and Kado. Kado's main familiar was only a level 63 Intermediate Overlord. However, due to its potent ancestral bloodline, it possessed a rare talent that allowed it to revert during battle and temporarily boost its species rank. Once activated, it too became a Superior-Overlord familiar. Even so, this 3v3 battle exceeded everyone's expectations.

Gu Qingyi relied solely on a single level 60 Superior-Overlord dragon to suppress all three of Kado's familiars and claim total victory. Her overwhelming 1v3 performance seemed to deliberately mirror Lu Ran's tactics. It reminded everyone once more of the Dragon attribute's inherent power.

As people gasped at her incredible strength, Shi Zhen commented from the sidelines, "Gu Qingyi's dragon isn't your average Superior Overlord... Compared to my familiar, her dragon is closer to a quasi-Legendary species.

"Pure-blood dragons are born with the Attribute Fusion Trait. Add in fragments of an Epic Dragon Pearl and Limitless City's blessings... even without the third stage evolution, if she fuses just two more powerful traits, her familiar's rank could easily reach quasi-Legendary."

"Seriously?" Lin Nian crossed her arms and glared at Gu Qingyi with clear displeasure.

She used to be the strongest female beastmaster in Xia. Lately, though, she felt Gu Qingyi was catching up fast. That wouldn't be too concerning, but a quick glance at Shi Zhen beside her made Lin Nian realize that she wasn't confident she could defeat him either.

Shi Zhen said, "Why would I lie? The Dragon attribute is a natural fusion attribute, while the Mechanical attribute is artificial. Both are incredibly powerful. Fusion traits are the path to reaching Legendary. You saw what that dragon can do.

"Nian... getting nervous? Looks like your crown as Xia's top female beastmaster isn't so secure anymore."

Lin Nian responded by blasting Shi Zhen with a telekinetic burst. "Shut up. So what if it's a fusion attribute? I'll figure it out too."

"Damn!" Shi Zhen hadn't expected the strike and didn't defend in time.

Fortunately, Lin Nian didn't go all out, and only cracked a few ribs. Just as Shi Zhen tried to summon a familiar to stop his fall, he felt himself slam into something solid. He looked up only to see Lu Ran's face.

"Easy there." Lu Ran gently set him down.

Shi Zhen said, "You're pretty strong. I'm surprised you caught me. But what are you doing here? You didn't show up for my match yesterday, but you came for Gu Qingyi's? What gives?"

Lu Ran's mouth twitched. "Are you seriously jealous? I didn't come because I trust your strength. If you lost, Ghost Mother would've shown up and handled you itself. Dr. Gu, on the other hand... Well, she clearly didn't need my help either. I was overthinking."

Lu Ran glanced at Dr. Gu's Azure Sea Dragon. After the second stage evolution, its power already surpassed Sudden Death King. By comparison, her opponent had decent familiars but lacked Attribute Fusion. The Dragon attribute held a clear advantage.

Lu Ran also noticed the biggest flaw in the enemy team which was poor synergy. Their team was more like a video game setup where there was a tank, DPS, and support. It was far easier to pick off one by one than teams capable of two-way or three-way fusions. Limitless City had released the 3v3 rules too late. Many early contestants hadn't built ideal team comps.

[Winner: Gu Qingyi.]

[Blue Planet World War roster updated.]

[Battle concluded.]

On stage, Gu Qingyi smiled gracefully. Her dragon, covered in wounds, coiled behind her. Even in pain, its majesty remained undiminished. The scene left beastmasters across the globe in stunned silence. With that, Xia now occupied five slots for the upcoming World War.

Although all participants were technically fighting for Blue Planet's interests, the fact that Xia now held five slots made other countries uneasy. Then came the bigger issue.

[After the event, the top 10 Blue Planet beastmasters will receive special rewards and represent Blue Planet in a World War against the Stellar Moon Continent. Loss penalty: Limitless City version downgrade. Victory reward: partial admin privileges over Limitless City.]

From the beginning, Limitless City had promised special rewards to Blue Planet's representatives. It was clearly meant to enhance their power. If Xia monopolized five of those, it would be a massive win regardless of whether Blue Planet ultimately won or lost the World War. However, that wasn't even the main concern.

The real issue was the victory reward—admin privileges over Limitless City. That was the true prize. If Blue Planet won, and ten representatives received admin powers, how would those powers be distributed? Would all ten receive equal privileges? Or would only a few or even just one be granted authority? Limitless City hadn't clarified.

If all ten received privileges, then Xia alone would hold five administrators, and that made many nations extremely uncomfortable. Perhaps sensing the unrest, a deep, omnipresent system voice suddenly echoed in everyone's minds.

[Significant changes detected in Blue Planet's World War lineup. Now releasing the full World War rules.]

[Battle Mode: Arena Combat (Two-Round System).]

[Battle Format: 3v3.]

[Admin Privilege Rules: All ten victorious contestants will gain partial admin access to Limitless City. However, authority levels will vary. World War scoring system activated. Each match will be scored. The highest-rated contestant among the winning side will receive super admin privileges.]

[Scoring Criteria: Single familiar defeating three opponents]

[Scoring Criteria: Winning at half strength against a full-strength opponent]

[Scoring Criteria: Faster victories]

[Scoring Criteria: Each additional defeated opponent]

[Scoring Criteria: Display of advanced combat or tactical skills]

Limitless City continued to explain at length, leaving many beastmasters stunned.

"Holy shit."

"What's happening?"

"Limitless City's finally laying out real rules?"

"Hold on... this scoring system is brutal!"

As soon as Limitless City finished, a wave of shocked profanity exploded through the arena.

Shi Zhen stood blankly beside Lu Ran, staring at his serious expression.

"Hey, hey, you heard that, right? Limitless City's really pulling this crap. A scoring system?" He asked.

Lu Ran nodded. "Yeah, I heard. I originally thought it'd just be straightforward 3v3 battles. Who knew they'd actually encourage 1v3s... To pull that off, you'd need both species rank and level advantages. But there's not enough time. Blue Planet's already behind on development."

Shi Zhen rubbed his temples. "Dude, Limitless City just threw out a suggestion—you don't need to take it so seriously."

Lu Ran scratched his head awkwardly. "But didn't you hear? The MVP gets super admin privileges. Just for that, everyone's going to go nuts these next few months trying to max out their combat power. Aren't you curious what those privileges are?"

"My guess? Basic privileges will let you enter secret realms without a fee. Maybe get extra resurrection chances."

"But super admin... that's on a different level. Don't you want to know what it can do? What if you can issue cards? Or assign titles to other Limitless City beastmasters?"

Shi Zhen replied, "Even if you're right, it'll be an absolute bloodbath. I bet the other side's got at least three Epic Legendary beastmasters. Not to mention their three divine messengers. They won't be weaker than us. Instead of obsessing over super admin privileges, maybe focus on how to secure a Blue Planet victory first."

Lu Ran nodded. "True. Step one. Let's make sure all ten Blue Planet representatives are from Xia. You heard it. All ten on the winning side get admin privileges. It'd be a shame to give those up."

Shi Zhen was taken aback. "Huh?Do you really think that's possible? Unless you assassinate every foreign beastmaster stronger than our old pig..."

Lu Ran looked thoughtful. "I'm not some murder maniac. I won't go that far. At most, I'll help the first-generation Beastmaster Kings get opportunities. Whether they reach the top ten will be up to them. And it better not take up too much of my time..."

Waving a hand, Lu Ran said goodbye to Shi Zhen and walked away. He didn't even stop to congratulate Dr. Gu.

Super admin privileges... Limitless City really knows how to tempt people. Could super admin privileges bring back beastmasters who died in secret realms? Could they revive historical figures from Limitless City's memory, like it did with Six-Path Flower? If so, then I have to obtain it.

He wanted to resurrect his parents, bring back his senior martial brother, Condor Hero, whom Master Jiang Dou had raised like a son. That had always been a major reason behind Lu Ran's relentless preparation for the World War.

He could only hope this so-called super admin privilege could truly accomplish that. And to become the overall MVP beastmaster, Lu Ran had to follow Limitless City's criteria exactly. When the opponent sent three familiars, he had to counter with only one to gain maximum points. Of course, the precondition was winning. If he lost, he'd gain nothing.

To achieve that goal, each of his familiars needed to be outrageously strong. At minimum, quasi-Legendary. Lu Ran estimated that by the time the World War began, people like Bai Lu and Death Gun might also have quasi-Legendary familiars. As divine messengers, there was no way they'd fall behind.

He was also wary of the Stellar Moon Federation's top three Epic-Legendaries. Would they manage to raise quasi-Legendaries in time? With Limitless City's power at their disposal, anything was possible. Those would be formidable enemies. In that case, beyond Six-Path Flower, he needed to raise at least one more Legendary familiar to be safe.

"There's still time. I've got to make it happen. If my main familiar's kin sweep the field, the score's bound to be high! Maybe I won't even need to summon a familiar. I'll just go up myself!"

***

Green Sea Secret Realm.

Fang Lan, having just finished watching the matches, was quite pleased. She checked the time and it had been a few days. It was time to give the Crow Legion its scheduled poison bath. It was a necessary training step for Poison-attribute familiars. However, upon returning to the Green Sea Secret Realm, she froze completely.

"Huh?" She stood in place, utterly dumbfounded.

Everywhere she looked—across the ground, in the air—there were baby crows swarming. In the trees, on the ground, crows were actively mating. All around the secret realm, Silk Tree Albizia was stoking the fire.

Fang Lan's mind went blank.

It's only been a few days. What the hell happened here?