King of Beasts

A few days later!

Lu Ran and General Ha had made considerable progress.

During this time, not only were they resisting the Flame Dragon Might, but they were also attempting to “integrate” it.

They aimed to transform the power of the Flame Dragon Might into Sword Intent.

Flame Dragon Sword Intent!

Or perhaps, Flame Dragon Culinary Intent!

Lu Ran had already consumed several lucid fruits, but unfortunately, each time he failed to grasp that special feeling.

Using fierce beast sword momentum as a foundation and upgrading it to Flame Dragon seemed feasible, but it was incredibly difficult. After all, Lu Ran didn’t have a Dragon Pet, and this Flame Dragon Might was an external force he couldn’t directly leverage.

Just like when he resisted the blizzard, immersing himself in the Flame Dragon Might to learn from it didn’t seem to work this time either.

The reason he succeeded in comprehending the Blizzard Sword Momentum was that General Ha was originally a snowfield creature. Lu Ran used super beast mimicry to take on its traits, which made him more attuned to the blizzard environment, allowing him to succeed.

Currently, the Flame Dragon Might had a significant difference in nature compared to the Blizzard Sword Momentum.

However, Lu Ran wasn’t entirely disconnected from the essence of the Flame Dragon.

With the Flame Sprite in his body, Lu Ran was essentially a fire attribute creature, making him somewhat compatible with the Flame Dragon Might.

After numerous attempts, Lu Ran decided to abandon other methods of learning the Flame Dragon Sword Intent and focused entirely on this new beast taming skill, Flame Sprite.

Lu Ran could only say that this beast taming skill came at the right time. Otherwise, his decision to come to Dragon Valley for training might have yielded zero results.

Over several days, Lu Ran and General Ha took turns practicing.

When Lu Ran was exhausted, he would apply the Flame Sprite to General Ha, letting him learn.

When General Ha was tired, Lu Ran would retract the Flame Sprite and practice himself.

“How can I get the Flame Sprite to absorb the Flame Dragon’s breath?”

While training, Lu Ran thought about Yan Sizhen’s suggestions regarding the development of the Flame Sprite skill. He tried to have the Flame Sprite absorb the Flame Dragon’s breath and even used two lucid fruits to deepen his understanding of the Flame Sprite skill, but it still didn’t work…

…

“What caliber of creature dares to try and absorb my breath?”

At this moment, Lu Ran was unaware that his attempt to have the Flame Sprite absorb the Flame Dragon’s breath had been detected by a massive creature within the valley.

Deep in the valley, it slowly opened its eyes and stretched its dark wings.

Its strong body was covered with red scales, the colors of fiery red and dark intertwining, resembling the embodiment of purgatory.

Its domineering dragon eyes glanced outward, and its deep red whiskers fluttered in the wind.

It was none other than Yan Sizhen’s main combat pet, the Flame Dragon King.

“Who is it?”

The Flame Dragon King, awakened by a gradually approaching powerful breath, soon discovered a small life form with the Flame Sprite skill trying to absorb its breath.

Its breath was naturally beyond the ability of such a Flame Sprite to absorb, and it sneered at the weak human wielding the Flame Sprite.

“Not one of the princes from the Imperial City.”

“A bastard child? How many illegitimate children does Yan Sizhen have out there, and how many romantic debts has he left behind?”

“Or perhaps, this person is a descendant of one of Yan Sizhen’s generals.”

On the Star-Moon Continent, beast taming skills, when cultivated to a certain extent, could be passed down to the next generation through inheritance.

Yan Sizhen had several offspring, all of whom had the chance to inherit the Flame Sprite. Besides that, Yan Sizhen had also tried to teach the Flame Sprite to deserving subordinates. On Blue Star, no one had yet mastered this skill, but in this era, Yan Sizhen clearly would not let this skill die with him.

Unfortunately, despite Yan Sizhen’s desire to pass on the skill, neither his descendants nor his generals had lived up to his expectations in learning the Flame Sprite.

The Flame Dragon King took another look at Lu Ran, who was trying to use the Flame Sprite to absorb the Flame Dragon’s breath. It seemed clever, as he had grasped the essence of the Flame Sprite to some extent. Nearby, the dog was holding a sword in its mouth, using sword intent to counter the Dragon Might. The Flame Dragon King found this duo curious but didn’t pay them much more attention.

It continued to search for the breath that had awakened it, but soon, it suddenly realized that the breath that had awakened it was emanating from this very human and dog!

Although very faint, the breath was indeed coming from them.

As an upper overlord species, the Flame Dragon King was highly sensitive to the breath of powerful beings, particularly this breath, which it had sensed up close before!

“Divine Deer, they carry the breath of the Divine Deer.”

Quickly, the Flame Dragon King made its judgment, its gaze sharpening.

The other party had definitely had close contact with the Divine Deer!

“Roar!!!” It let out a roar, causing the ground and sky around Dragon Valley to shake. Many cultivators nearby were startled, looking towards the interior of Dragon Valley in shock, unsure of what had happened.

At this moment, the most bewildered were Lu Ran and General Ha, who were in the midst of their training.

They felt a sudden blur before a powerful force whisked them away to an unknown place.

“What’s happening?” Lu Ran exclaimed.

“Woof!”

When Lu Ran and General Ha regained their senses, they found themselves staring into a pair of enormous, crimson eyes, larger than lanterns, scrutinizing them.

“Holy crap.”

Lu Ran took a step back, swallowing hard at the sight of the Western Giant Dragon that owned those massive eyes. The scorching breath it exhaled made him feel like he was about to pass out, and he wondered if he had gone mad practicing the Flame Dragon Sword Intent.

Was this… the Flame Dragon King, rumored to have been asleep for decades? How did it appear before him?

No, rather, how did he end up in front of it!

General Ha was equally dumbfounded. It was hot, unbearably hot, making it too lethargic to think, but it still stood protectively in front of Lu Ran, cautiously eyeing the Flame Dragon King.

“You鈥””

At this moment, the Flame Dragon King spoke, its words shaking Lu Ran to his core.

“You, have you seen the Divine Deer?”

It knew about the Divine Deer!

At that moment, Lu Ran remembered the Vampire Count, fearing he might be pummeled by this giant dragon next.

However, there was a difference.

The Vampire Count knew about the Divine Deer Pendant, likely from Lu Ran’s parents. After encountering the supernatural, Lu Ran’s parents must have learned more secrets about LuJia Village. Ultimately, they chose to leave the Divine Deer Pendant to Lu Ran, rather than taking it in secret.

But this Flame Dragon King had probably detected the breath of the Divine Deer Pendant and suspected they had encountered the Divine Deer itself!

Lu Ran never expected that the Divine Deer Pendant, which had always been in his identity card, could be detected by the Flame Dragon King. It was also possible that he and General Ha had used the Divine Deer Pendant too frequently, thus becoming imbued with its breath.

Lu Ran’s mind raced as he sweated profusely but managed to respond, “Guardian Sacred Beast Flame Dragon King?? You… know the Divine Deer?!”

“Hmph鈥”” The Flame Dragon King glared, saying, “I once saw it from afar and sensed its power up close. Its breath is unforgettable. As a legendary living creature, the Divine Deer’s breath is hard to replicate. You haven’t answered yet, why do you carry its divine breath?”

Lu Ran was surprised at how easily he got the Flame Dragon King talking. Realizing that the Flame Dragon King wasn’t hostile to the Divine Deer and that the Divine Deer seemed even stronger than the Flame Dragon King, Lu Ran’s courage grew.

“I… am kind of an emissary of the Divine Deer.”

Flame Dragon King: ?

General Ha: ?

Lu Ran was puzzled. Wasn’t the Divine Deer a totem beast from ancient Blue Star? How did it become a legendary living creature in the mouth of the Flame Dragon King of the Star-Moon Continent?

What was the relationship between the Star-Moon Continent and Blue Star? Could the Star-Moon Continent be some ultra-ancient version of Blue Star?

“What?!” The Flame Dragon King, seemingly not the brightest, genuinely showed a shocked expression.

It couldn’t believe that the Flame Sprite wielder it had dismissed was actually an emissary of the Divine Deer.

“Actually, I don’t quite understand it myself. I don’t know much about the Divine Deer. It seems my ancestors had some connection with it, so I have received its protection,” Lu Ran added.

“No wonder.” The Flame Dragon King didn’t doubt him. Apart from such a situation, it couldn’t think of any other reason for Lu Ran to have encountered the Divine Deer.

“You…” The Flame Dragon King wanted to ask more but then felt drowsy. Forget it; Lu Ran already said he didn’t know much about the Divine Deer, so he probably wouldn’t get anything useful.

After ensuring there was no danger, it said, “Alright, there’s nothing more. I’ll send you away now…”

“Wait, wait a moment!” Although Lu Ran wanted to leave this dreadful place quickly, seeing that the Flame Dragon King seemed approachable, he seized the opportunity to ask, “Flame Dragon King, can you tell me more about the Divine Deer?”

“Even though I’ve been under the Divine Deer’s protection and have even received dreams from it, I know very little about it. I want to understand what kind of existence it truly is.”

“Huh?” The Flame Dragon King looked at Lu Ran and said, “I don’t know much either. I’ve only heard Yan Sizhen mention that the Divine Deer is one of the three major followers of the Life Dragon, one of the Four Great Creator Divine Dragons of the Star-Moon Continent. It is a living creature of the legendary species.”

“You’ve received dreams from it?” it asked in surprise.

“Yes, the Divine Deer once sent me a dream, instructing me to search for information about the Death Dragon, which is also one of the Four Great Creator Divine Dragons,” Lu Ran said, stitching everything together in hopes of extracting more information from the Flame Dragon King.

Unfortunately, despite being as powerful as it was, the Flame Dragon King knew very little about the Divine Deer or the Death Dragon.

It was taken aback by Lu Ran’s words, then furrowed its brow, shook its head, and said, “The follower of the Life Dragon, searching for information about the Death Dragon. I don’t understand.”

“I can’t help you. There are very few records of legendary creatures in the entire Beast Taming Empire. Since it’s a task given to you by the Divine Deer, you’ll have to work hard on your own.”

However, it looked at Lu Ran with unexpected interest. It hadn’t anticipated that this guy, who inherited the Flame Sprite, would be entrusted with such an important task by the Divine Deer.

Humans chosen by legendary creatures typically achieve remarkable feats. As far as it knew, the First Emperor of the Beast Taming Empire had gained the recognition of a legendary creature, which enabled him to grow strong enough to conquer the continent.

Otherwise, it would not have been easy for humans to rise. The legendary creatures that remain unseen on the Star-Moon Continent, living for countless years, are the true rulers of this land. In fact, they could be considered a part of this world.

“I’ll send you away now.” Given that its beastmaster had already passed away and it had retired, the Flame Dragon King, after decades of battles, was not eager to get involved in matters concerning legendary creatures. Confirming that Lu Ran was indeed connected to the Divine Deer, it yawned and prepared to see him off.

“I…”

Lu Ran wanted to say something, hoping to use the Divine Deer as leverage to converse more with the Flame Dragon King. However, in the next moment, he and General Ha were unceremoniously sent out.

Outside, Lu Ran’s mouth twitched. This dragon, how could it have such social anxiety? Would it kill to chat a bit longer?

But suddenly, Lu Ran noticed something different from before…

He quickly looked at the sky and around him, suddenly realizing that the previously overwhelming Dragon Might seemed a bit gentler towards him.

“I can absorb it!” Lu Ran was astonished to find that his stickman-like Flame Sprite inside him could finally absorb the dragon’s breath.

“Whoosh, whoosh!” The stickman greedily absorbed the breath, and Lu Ran finally established a special connection with the Dragon Might.

Seeing this, Lu Ran grinned. It seemed the Flame Dragon King had granted him some privileges. Despite claiming not to care, upon hearing about the Divine Deer Emissary, or perhaps because of his identity as the Flame Sprite inheritor, it had chosen to give him special treatment!

Good dragon! Such a tsundere!

Since that was the case, Lu Ran decided not to be polite. He drew out the Wind Cutter Sword and fully activated the Flame Sprite. Time was running short; he needed to quickly master the power of the flame dragon!

At this moment, General Ha sensed the gentle Dragon Might gathering around Lu Ran and showed a bewildered expression.

Boss Lu, was this also part of your plan?

…

A few days later, under the secret observation of the awakened Flame Dragon King, Lu Ran made rapid progress. Wielding the Wind Cutter Sword, with hurricanes and flames swirling around the blade, a single swing sent out a projection of a giant dragon!

“Not bad talent, I’m glad I gave him special treatment,” the Flame Dragon King nodded in satisfaction. However, on this day, it suddenly noticed that Lu Ran, who had already mastered the Flame Dragon Sword Intent, had abruptly disappeared before its eyes.

“What is going on?!”

This incredible scene made the Flame Dragon King widen its eyes. Quickly, it sensed a higher-dimensional terrifying force interfering with its existence.

The surrounding world shattered like an illusion. The Flame Dragon King’s expression turned dazed as it watched Lu Ran’s departing figure, finally realizing something.

“So that’s it. I had already died long ago. My existence was resurrected through a historical projection by a great will, solely to train this guy. Unbelievable power, unimaginable methods… What has the future become…”

With its confused voice, this breakthrough secret realm completely vanished.

The six challengers of Infinite City, once the time was up, all returned!