King of Beasts

“Let me think.”

Facing such a massive army of Crows, Lu Ran still found it a bit headache-inducing.

For a moment, he wasn’t sure how best to nurture them.

If they were all dark or mental attributes, it would have been easier, as these attributes match the dark crow, making it simpler to manage and nurture.

Matching attributes ensure the legion skill’s power can be maximized.

But there’s no help for it – dark and mental are rare attributes.

With 90% being wind attributes, there are only two options to perfect the dark crow’s management.

Either awaken wind attributes in the dark crow, or awaken mental and dark attributes in the ordinary crows.

Needless to say, Lu Ran would definitely choose the latter.

“Those 12 elite crows that have awakened dark and mental attributes must be given special attention.”

“In the future, for those innately having mental attributes, buy them dark awakening resources. For those with dark attributes, buy them mental awakening resources.”

“These 12 have talents and potential close to yours. Arrange them properly.” Lu Ran looked at the dark crow and said.

“Understood!!!” the dark crow responded without hesitation.

These twelve would become its close confidants!

“As for the rest, regardless of their innate attributes, let’s focus on the mental attribute,” Lu Ran said. “First, filter out those with good potential.”

“I will have the beast taming team and the Jiao Dragon team from Lujia Village farm the secret realms for ‘mental awakening resources’ a few more times every day.”

“When the resources burst forth, they will be used to awaken mental attributes in them.”

As for why not choose dark attributes first, it’s because the large number of dark awakening resources would be difficult to obtain.

Unlike mental awakening resources, which can be acquired through level 1 abyss secret realm, and can be reliably gathered by the Lujia Village and Jiao Dragon teams.

This not only trains them but also yields a large amount of resources.

“Big King, do I need to leave two clones again this time?!” the dark crow asked.

“Yes.” Lu Ran said. “Leave two necromancy clones. You can use a clone to communicate with Manager Ying on how to nurture these crows.”

“The two main bodies will come with me into the secret realm.”

…

After a moment,

Lu Ran arrived at the mountain behind Maple Park.

Instead of choosing Emerald Mountain as the location to open the secret realm, he opted for this place, which was closer to his home.

The main reason was that this was the place where he first met the dark crow, making it uniquely significant.

In the dense forest, Lu Ran took out the secret realm card and activated it directly.

[Would you like to open a secret realm space here?]

Yes.

Lu Ran confirmed, and the secret realm card diffused a faint glow which then burned like a flame, consuming the card entirely.

Subsequently, the ashen remnants of the burn reshaped into a new black card.

[Name]: Exclusive Secret Realm Card

[Introduction]: An exclusive secret realm card for a specific real-world secret realm. It can transform a designated item into a secret realm key. With the key, the holder can “close the secret realm” and “open the secret realm.”

As the key card formed, a dimensional portal appeared before Lu Ran. It was circular, with a surface shimmering like a lake, glimmering with hues of black, purple, blue, pink, and white, connecting to another dimension.

“Caw!!”

Lu Ran looked at the dark crow, which immediately plucked one of its feathers.

After receiving the feather, Lu Ran transformed it into a secret realm key and handed it back to the dark crow.

From now on, the control of this secret realm would be entrusted to the dark crow.

“Do a good job!”

Afterward, Lu Ran stepped into the secret realm. Its size was roughly that of a small town, not large but sufficient.

The newly opened secret realm was still barren, but the concentration of spiritual energy inside was indeed rich. With appropriate planting of specific attribute spiritual plants, the environment inside would soon be revitalized.

For instance, planting fire attribute spiritual plants could quickly turn the secret realm into a natural environment rich in fire energy, making it ideal for the growth of fire attribute pet beasts.

However, since this was meant to be a habitat for the flock of crows, Lu Ran would definitely need to modify it to focus on wind, mental, and dark attributes…

Hmm, on second thought, the scene might look a bit off. Now staring at the desolate secret realm, Lu Ran guessed that in a month, it might turn into an extremely eerie place.

For the modifications to the secret realm, Lu Ran planned to contact the professor who had given him the sword grass and ask for his assistance.

It took roughly a day, but Lu Ran managed to arrange everything and also prepared a large amount of Loong-type cuisine and soul cuisine.

With everything set, he could head to the breakthrough secret realm without any worries.

…

“Manager Ying, I’m leaving now. I’ll leave everything in your hands.”

Before leaving, Lu Ran once again greeted Manager Ying. At this moment, the weather elf floated to its left, while the winter sword spirit hovered to its right. A newly born elemental creature and a necromancy creature only a few days old were communicating across Manager Ying’s head, one going “pitter-patter!” and the other going “woof!”-neither understanding a word of what the other was saying.

Seeing the look of despair on Manager Ying’s face, Lu Ran cleared his throat. Just as he was about to make a quick exit, Manager Ying grumbled, “Wait a minute!”

“Huh?”

Lu Ran paused the teleportation and looked at it, asking, “What is it?”

“This is for you.” It irritably tossed a box at him. “Ethereal flower, space awakening resource.”

“Hmm?”

Lu Ran was surprised. “You managed to get it this quickly?”

“Hmph, while it’s rare, it’s easier to find than the unique traits and skills suitable for you.”

“This is more expensive than the queen ant egg, right?” Lu Ran chuckled. “Should I make up the price difference for you?”

“No need.” Manager Ying turned its head. “Gu Qingyi and I got this together, so I didn’t lose out. Just focus on nurturing Gu Qingyi’s pet beast after you come back from the secret realm.”

“With your Dragon Cuisine and Dragon Soul cultivation method, she might even make it to the top ten.”

“No problem at all.” Lu Ran weighed the box before placing it into his card pouch. “Also, give my thanks to Dr. Gu. Alright, I’m off.”

“Cloud baby, corpse dog, be sure to listen to Manager Ying. I’ll be back in a month-“

After saying that, Lu Ran disappeared on the spot, ignoring the expectant looks from the weather elf and the winter sword spirit.

…

Infinite City No. 3, Passerby A’s personal room.

This was Lu Ran’s third attempt entering the breakthrough secret realm, and he had been eagerly anticipating it for a long time.

Approaching the pillar platform, he activated the interface and opened the secret realm.

[Name: Breakthrough Secret Realm]

[Secret Realm Level: Level 2]

[Difficulty: Unknown]

[Challenge Crystal Coins: 0]

[Introduction: You will enter an unknown world and undergo breakthrough trials.]

“Let’s do this,” Lu Ran took a deep breath.

“But I’m not sure how long the matchmaking will take.”

He guessed that this time period likely didn’t have many people queuing for Level 2 secret realms.

Among the Fourth Generation beast tamers, most were still at the apprentice or Level 1 stages.

Very few had reached Level 2.

In the Third and Second Generations, there might be some lifestyle-focused beastmasters still at Level 2.

However, their numbers were very limited, making it unlikely to match with someone quickly.

“Please don’t let this take days…” Lu Ran prayed.

[Would you like to enter the breakthrough secret realm?]

“Yes.”

[Matching you with a suitable breakthrough secret realm…]

[Secret realm matching…]

[Please Wait…]

[Estimated wait time: 1s…]

Lu Ran: “???”

“Again, one second?”

“That can’t be right.”

“Are there really that many Level 2 beastmasters entering the breakthrough secret realm at this time?” Lu Ran was baffled.

But soon, his expression changed.

[Match successful.]

[Secret Realm Type: Multiplayer Secret Realm, Cross-World Secret Realm (You have been matched with beastmasters from another world’s Infinite City).]

[Teleport Countdown 10…9…8…]

“Wait, what the heck? Cross-World Secret Realm?”

During the ten-second teleport countdown, Lu Ran stared at the words “Cross-World” in the secret realm type section, momentarily stunned.

Damn.

Damn!

In the brief moments, Lu Ran’s mind raced in confusion, then swiftly began analyzing the situation.

“What the heck is going on!”

Seeing the “Cross-World Secret Realm,” Lu Ran quickly recalled the recent announcement about the world battle feature just updated in Blue Star’s Infinite City.

Originally, many beastmasters on Blue Star speculated that the opponents they’d face would only be projections of powerful figures from a certain era on the Star-Moon Continent.

However, things appeared to be far more complicated.

It might be exactly as Manager Ying and Lu Ran had surmised-the possibility that there are other worlds around Blue Star, and that these other worlds were also selected by Infinite City, turning some individuals into Infinite City beastmasters.

It’s highly likely that this other world is the Star-Moon Continent developed to a modern stage.

Blue Star’s opponents are real living creatures, not mere projections!

“Am I the only one who got matched with beastmasters from another world’s Infinite City, or can all beastmasters on Blue Star get matched as well? Is this preparing us for the upcoming world battle by allowing cross-server matchmaking to let both sides understand each other beforehand?”

“If that’s the case, Infinite City truly is a massive server encompassing at least two worlds.”

“I wonder if the Level 2 beastmasters from the other world are strong. Will I get utterly beaten…” Lu Ran could only wait until he left the secret realm in a month to find out if others could match with other world beastmasters.

The ten-second countdown quickly ended, and Lu Ran was teleported away.

Buzz!

In a blanket of darkness, a further introduction to the secret realm slowly emerged. Lu Ran listened carefully as phantom-like text appeared before his eyes.

[Teleporting…]

[Target Location: Divine Tree Continent, Tree Realm City]

[Era Introduction: In ancient times, the world was wild and untamed. Humans and various ferocious beasts coexisted on this land.

Using the “Beast Taming Power,” humans quickly gained the strength to rival ferocious beasts.

To strengthen their own species, humans and ferocious beasts began an endless struggle for the continent’s resources, severely damaging the natural environment. Rare plant resources became extinct due to excessive harvesting.

Until one day, the world’s rules changed: on this continent, flowers, grasses, trees, and all other plants suddenly gained sapience and demonstrated greater evolutionary potential than humans or ferocious beasts.

Resource-type plants drastically decreased, while ferocious plant species surged. With continuous plant evolution, various fierce beasts, including humans, quickly became food for the ferocious plants.

To survive, some humans researched methods to contract ferocious plants and became “Plantmasters,” turning the tables on ferocious beasts and using them as nourishment for the plants.

Thus, the beastmasters declined, and Plantmasters became the mainland’s mainstream.

Tree Realm City.

One of the super main cities in the human activity area, it houses various beast taming families and plant taming families. Although the beastmasters have declined, there are still some ancient beast taming forces that have preserved their legacies and have not given up on their heritage.]

In the dark, Lu Ran was slightly stunned.

Divine Tree Continent-Isn’t this the world of plant pet beasts?

This time… Have I come to the plant world???

[Breakthrough Task: Achieve a ranking within the top thirty-two in the Plant Beast Championship regularly held in Tree Realm City!]

[Prompt 1: The Plant Beast Championship is a large-scale tournament jointly organized by various factions in Tree Realm City. The contestants are primarily the younger generation from surrounding powers, and it is the main stage for comparing the two supernatural schools of plant taming and beast taming.]

[Prompt 2: This secret realm is a historical projection…]