King of Beasts

Spirit Transformation Pot!

Flame Sprite!

Lu Ran’s heart brimmed with joy when he saw these two rewards.

The Spirit Transformation Pot was absolutely perfect for a beastmaster in Infinite City.

Within the secret realm, the vast majority of plant-based resources were actually immature. The mature ones had all been consumed by supernatural beings. Only the immature ones had powerful ferocious beasts guarding them. Therefore, most of the resources available in Infinite City were not of the highest quality.

Some grass species pet beasts might have the trait to accelerate maturation, but such pet beasts were rare and costly. Sometimes, unless there was a special need, it was more cost-effective to use these resources as food rather than invest in their maturation.

But now, with the Spirit Transformation Pot, Lu Ran could specifically buy rare resources of poor quality. After placing them in the Spirit Transformation Pot for a while, they would be upgraded from the lowest quality to perfect quality.

This meant spending fewer crystal coins without compromising on the quality of ingredients. Over time, this could save Lu Ran a significant amount of money. When the Spirit Transformation Pot was idle, he could even use it to resell ingredients for profit.

With this, Lu Ran could ensure that any culinary dish he prepared for his pet beasts would be made with the highest quality ingredients. It was the perfect cooking utensil for a chef, and a well-suited reward from the chef’s secret realm… Lu Ran found it unexpectedly fitting.

Then there was the beast taming skill, Flame Sprite, which Lu Ran felt was even more appealing than a fusion skill.

With this skill, even if a beastmaster didn’t rely entirely on their pet beasts, they would still have considerable combat power, culinary ability, and forging capability. The limitations were not as rigid anymore.

Having or not having a fire species pet beast was no longer relevant. Through the Flame Sprite skill, a beastmaster could temporarily grant fire attributes to any of their contracted pet beasts.

If Lu Ran learned this skill and applied Flame Sprite to General Ha, General Ha would temporarily possess both wind and fire attributes. At that point, not only could General Ha unleash Blizzard Sword Qi, but also Flame Sword Qi with ease, making his skill set even more versatile.

He could also apply it to the Sudden Death King. Originally a Thunder Dragon, it would become a Thunder Flame Dragon upon gaining the Flame Sprite…

Lu Ran imagined that Flame Sprite could also act as a detonator. When an enemy approached the Thunder Armor-clad Sudden Death King, Lu Ran could directly buff the Sudden Death King. Under the overload of intertwined thunder and fire, the Sudden Death King could explode like a nuclear bomb.

After the explosion, the Sudden Death King, thanks to its strong defense, would be unharmed, while the enemy would be blown to pieces—a dirty trick, indeed.

No matter what type of pet beast he had, combining it with Flame Sprite could create new and exciting skill combinations. Lu Ran thought it through and decided that since this beast taming skill was specifically developed by Yan Sizhen for culinary and forging purposes, he should learn it first!

Currently, no other beastmaster on Blue Star seemed to have the Flame Sprite skill. Lu Ran believed it probably had other unknown applications and potential, given that it was specially developed by the Culinary Patriarch and the Soldier Patriarch. Its upper limits might be quite high.

As for what those limits were, Lu Ran would have to go back and do some thorough research. He only knew that Flame Sprite was one of Yan Sizhen’s beast taming skills. He wasn’t familiar with how deeply it had been developed or to what extent.

Regarding fusion, he could do that anytime in the future; there was no rush.

Although eager to learn Flame Sprite, Lu Ran decided not to break through his current bottleneck immediately. He was still at the assessment site, and while his own breakthrough wasn’t a big deal, General Ha had been suppressing its level for a long time. A breakthrough for General Ha could result in several level-ups at once, which would draw too much attention. It was better to wait until the assessment was over.

“Three examiners, the other assessors are still waiting for their evaluations. Should we wrap this up?” Lu Ran said, seeing the three examiners still eating. He wasn’t particularly concerned about the Mutated Dragon Fish…

“Oh, right.” The Fat Examiner wiped his mouth and took a deep breath.

“Alright, let’s continue with the assessment. Next,” the Female Examiner added.

“Sudden Death King, right? After the assessment, remember to stay behind,” the white-haired elder said to Lu Ran.

Every year, the best performer in the Superior Gourmet Hunter assessment would be recommended to a sacred place for culinary training. If he wasn’t mistaken, Lu Ran was undoubtedly this year’s best candidate. The white-haired elder intended to reserve this spot for Lu Ran.

“Yes!” Lu Ran knew what the elder was referring to, and his mood brightened considerably.

At this moment, General Ha finally didn’t have to slice fish anymore. Its gaze started to wander, and its dog nose kept sniffing the food made by other assessors, making it drool uncontrollably.

Damn, I really want to eat…

“Woof!” General Ha prompted Lu Ran, who then looked in a certain direction and saw Bai Ling had returned. She was carefully working with White Tiger to make boiled eggs!

Boiled eggs might seem simple, but in reality, they are simple.

However, that’s for the usual methods. Bai Ling seemed to have hunted some rare ingredients and wanted to perfectly utilize their unique characteristics. Each stage required strict control over the water temperature. Although Bai Ling didn’t have a fire-type pet beast, she had a water-type pet beast!

At this moment, the pot of water in front of her was entirely condensed by Sister White Tiger using energy release. The stove fire was heating the water, and Sister White Tiger’s paw was painfully immersed in the boiling water, planning to monitor the temperature throughout the process.

It was clear that Bai Ling and Sister White Tiger were giving their all to pass the assessment.

“It’s done!” Bai Ling announced, covered in sweat, after a long while. Now that Lu Ran had passed the assessment, the success of others in this breakthrough secret realm depended on the examiners’ evaluation of this boiled egg.

Bai Ling quickly served the examiners.

“It’s a boiled Dead Crocodile Egg.” This was the second time today that the three examiners had seen a dish made from rare quality ingredients, and they were pleasantly surprised.

The Fat Examiner swiftly cracked open the boiled egg. Each examiner took their utensils, cut a portion including both yolk and white, and put it in their mouths.

Their expressions were equally enraptured.

“Not bad. Although the culinary technique is a bit rough, it has preserved the deliciousness of the Dead Crocodile Egg as much as possible. Given your pursuit of ingredient quality, you are already a qualified gourmet hunter!”

“Pass.”

“Pass.” The three examiners announced Bai Ling’s results, who was anxiously waiting. Sister White Tiger clenched her fist and nearly jumped in excitement.

“Yes!!!” She shouted with joy, and at the same time, the sound of the breakthrough task being completed echoed in her ears.

She seemed quite satisfied with the reward, and with a joyful expression, she looked at Lu Ran. At this moment, besides her contracted pet beast, only another challenger from Infinite City like Passerby A could truly understand her feelings.

“Congratulations,” Lu Ran smiled from afar, offering his congratulations.

Perhaps due to her excellent mood, Bai Ling found Lu Ran much more agreeable to look at.

Time passed quickly, and soon, the entire superior assessment was complete. Out of the 72 assessors, 26 passed. Among them, 24 had elevated ordinary ingredients to the level of special-grade cuisine through their strong culinary skills. One passed by preserving the deliciousness of rare ingredients with ordinary culinary skills. The last one, Lu Ran, stood out with both his exceptional culinary skills and perfect use of ingredients, making him the undisputed top performer of this session.

Next, the many successful assessors were led away by the Fat Examiner to the Association for registration.

As the top performer of this session, Lu Ran was asked to stay behind.

The elder and the Female Examiner looked at Lu Ran with great importance.

“I didn’t expect Canglan Province to produce such a young chef like you,” the elder said. “My name is Gao Tian, a level 4 Gourmet Hunter and a superior chef. I think… we will soon be colleagues.”

“I’m Jin Yan, a level 3 Gourmet Hunter and a superior chef. You’re quite impressive,” the Female Examiner said, admiring the young Lu Ran. “You should know why we asked you to stay, right?”

“Each assessment has a recommendation slot to send a candidate to a special training location for further study. Do you have any thoughts on this?”

“We can apply for it on your behalf.”

Faced with the other assessors, the three examiners didn’t reveal their names, but now, speaking to Lu Ran, they treated him almost as an equal. Clearly, they believed Lu Ran had the potential to quickly become a renowned chef.

“Thank you, Examiner Gao, Examiner Jin,” Lu Ran said, patting the restless General Ha on its head. “I wonder if I have the opportunity to train at Dragon Valley.”

“You want to comprehend the dragon culinary intent and become a Dragon Chef?!” Examiner Gao was taken aback by Lu Ran’s words. He had expected Lu Ran to choose to further study the culinary intent of ice or find a suitable place to refine the culinary intent of fire to enrich his repertoire.

However, Lu Ran’s decision to choose the supreme dragon culinary intent right away was indeed a bold move!

“Are you serious?” Examiner Jin Yan frowned. “Hasn’t your master told you that dragon culinary intent is one of the hardest to comprehend?”

“Choosing this could very well squander this opportunity…”

Everyone dreams of learning from Emperor Yan Sizhen, who cultivated dragons through his cuisine, but alas, not everyone’s culinary skills are up to par.

“I still want to choose this,” Lu Ran said with utmost seriousness. The other options, like flame culinary intent or vegetation culinary intent, he could find corresponding training locations for in the trial secret realms of Infinite City on Blue Star.

But the training environment for dragon culinary intent was not so easy to come by.

“Alright then…” Examiner Gao realized that convincing Lu Ran otherwise was futile. From his choice of ingredients, they already knew Lu Ran’s personality—he pursued the ultimate.

“It shouldn’t be an issue. Since your mind is made up, we will report your request. By the day after tomorrow at the latest, someone will come to Canglan City to take you to Dragon Valley.”

“Thank you!” Lu Ran was delighted—success!

Next, he just had to wait near Dragon Valley until the time ended, then he could return to Infinite City. As for how much he could gain during this period… that was up to fate.

…

Later that day.

Lu Ran returned to the inn.

Upon returning, the first thing he did was unlock the restriction.

[You have met the advancement criteria for ‘Level 1 Beastmaster.’ Would you like to advance now?]

“Yes.”

In an instant, Lu Ran felt a warm current surge within him. His already robust physique and mental strength became even more powerful. He felt that describing himself as superhuman would not be an exaggeration.

Lu Ran quickly used the eye of data to check his attributes.

[Species]: Human

[Beast Taming Level]: Level 1

[Beast Taming Skill]: Super Beast Mimicry

[Special Abilities]: Telepathy, Blizzard Sword Intent

During the novice secret realm stage, whether it’s the novice trial secret realm, ordinary novice secret realm, or novice breakthrough secret realm, Infinite City provides challengers with the eye of data to increase their survival chances.

However, once one moves past the novice stage, this novice benefit is no longer available. The eye of data is incredibly useful, and there are only two ways for a beastmaster to obtain it additionally: through the initial novice trial secret realm or by achieving a high score in each level’s breakthrough secret realm, which may reward them with an eye of data.

At this point, Lu Ran’s eye of data had leveled up from primary to intermediate. Combining it with the temporary novice benefit, he could see much more detailed information about himself. Skills like telepathy and Blizzard Sword Intent, which were previously hidden, were now visible. Of course, Lu Ran could see this information because he was examining his own data. He hadn’t heard of anyone being able to use the eye of data to view other beastmasters’ information, only the basic details of other people’s pet beasts.

Lu Ran quickly pulled out General Ha’s contract card.

With his breakthrough, General Ha’s level had also significantly increased!

[Name]: Sword-Holding Dog

[Attribute]: Wind

[Species Level]: Upper Supernatural

[Growth Level]: Level 15

[Fusion Trait]: Weapon Mastery

[Species Talent]: King of Swords

[Skills]: Gale, Sword Qi, Roar of the Wind, Sword of Wind, Wind Wing, Storm Slash, Blizzard Sword Intent, Sword Control.

General Ha’s growth level, after breaking through the bottleneck, had directly increased by 5 levels. Seeing this, Lu Ran knew it was the result of the rare dog food, the trials in the abyss secret realm, and the culinary training over the past few days.

“I wonder if General Ha can reach level 20 in half a month,” Lu Ran pondered. If by then he had two level 20 pet beasts under contract, his strength would undoubtedly exert a formidable suppressive force over other fourth-generation beastmasters. After all, his configuration was now extremely comprehensive. General Ha’s second trait and Sudden Death King’s second trait were surely already prepared by Dr. Gu.

Next, Lu Ran took out the Flame Sprite skill card and chose [Learn].

The Flame Dragon slumbering in Dragon Valley is of the fire attribute, and its Dragon Might also contains fire attributes. Lu Ran thought that by learning fire abilities, he might better comprehend the flame dragon culinary intent.

As Lu Ran activated the beast taming skill card, a red, ethereal stickman slowly formed within his body.