King of Beasts

The swarm form of the dark crow, though not as large as some of the beasts that have awakened from the Ancient past, is still impressively large within Lu Ran’s team.

Even General Ha and the sudden death king, who are considered relatively large among pet beasts of the same type, would appear like prey that could be easily grasped under the shadow of this massive black bird.

Lu Ran took a closer look. The enormous body of the flock of crows appeared almost ghostly, with a faint swirl of spiritual power around it. The entire body seemed to be able to shift form like a liquid or gas at any moment. After transforming, no individual components were visible, indicating that this form wasn’t stitched together but rather achieved through the talent of the dark crow, which had truly “fused perfectly” with a multitude of its kin.

After this transformation, even the numerous Evil God’s Eyes of the dark crow were no longer visible. However, Lu Ran could sense that they hadn’t disappeared. When he looked up at the flock of crows’ red vertical eye, larger than his own body, he knew that the many Evil God’s Eyes had also fused together, making their power even more formidable.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!

Especially noteworthy were the three pairs of giant black mist wings newly attributed to the dark crow, slowly bestowing upon it the power of wind. This seemed to relate to the fact that over 90% of the crow flock were wind type.

[Species]: Twin Crow (crow flock form)

[Attribute]: Dark, mental, necromancy (wind)

[Species Level]: Lower overlord

“Level 5…” Seeing the current growth level of the dark crow, Lu Ran was impressed. The swarm transformation had instantly elevated the dark crow’s growth level by 5 levels temporarily. This is notable because it occurred after level 40, where each level up in difficulty compared to before is incomparable.

Even in the few months following 60 levels, Dr. Gu couldn’t raise a pet beast by one level.

Yet now, with just a mere assembly of “supernatural crows that are a dime a dozen,” the dark crow’s growth level surged by 5 levels. Lu Ran pondered, if he invested huge resources into these ordinary crows and expanded their numbers, could it be possible to push the dark crow to over level 50?

This is considering that these crows hadn’t yet undergone any deep training.

Although the crow flock form can’t wreak havoc in the various secret realms of the infinite city, on the blue star, in reality, its combat power is nearly at the top tier.

“Big King!!!” The dark crow’s enormous eyes stared intensely, its voice resonating in Lu Ran’s soul, making him a bit uncomfortable.

“Not bad,” Lu Ran slowly spoke, “If the growth level increases a bit more, it might even be able to clash with some of the weaker ancient creatures.”

“Is it Manager Ying, caw caw?” the flock of crows spoke.

The weather elf and sword spirit were on alert.

“Don’t talk nonsense,” Lu Ran coughed mildly, “Manager Ying hides her strength well.”

“Alright, you can revert now. Let the crows go about their business, or you can adapt to this form in the secret realm. It’s not yet time for this form to engage in battle,” Lu Ran instructed.

Soon after, accompanied by the dark crow’s acknowledgement, Lu Ran summoned General Ha.

“Woof!” As soon as General Ha appeared, it was startled by the dark crow’s immense form, but in a moment, Lu Ran patted its leg.

The reason he didn’t pat its head was that, given Lu Ran’s height, he couldn’t reach it without jumping.

“The dark crow has already fused with the trait crystal. Next, I’ll use the retainer beast taming skill to help you contract a retainer.”

“!!!” General Ha’s eyes lit up.

The two father-figure presences simultaneously directed their gaze towards the sword spirit flying with Cloud Baby.

“Hehe,” Lu Ran chuckled, waved, and Corpse Dog immediately flew over.

At this moment, the weather elf was at level 20, and Corpse Dog was at level 23. Both had already stepped into the level 20 threshold.

Standing in place, Lu Ran directly activated the power of the retainer. In the next instant, as peculiar fluctuations appeared in Lu Ran’s eyes, General Ha’s body was surrounded by special ripples, seemingly formed by a combination of mental power and spiritual power.

It lifted its paw, showing a surprised expression as it sensed the effect of this power, then looked towards the sword spirit flying over.

“Woof~” The sword spirit began to circle around General Ha, and in the next moment, General Ha wisely observed it and gently placed its paw on the sword’s blade.

Buzz!!!

When the two made contact, General Ha seemed unaffected at first, but the Winter Sword Spirit appeared as though it was being “empowered” by General Ha. Its blade began to tremble violently, emitting a traditional sword hum for the first time. The intense, mixed Sword Intent surged from it, as if capable of piercing through the secret realm’s space, relentlessly fierce and formidable.

“Woof!” General Ha displayed a look of surprise as it gradually perceived the contract connection forming with the sword spirit. It also felt that its own breath was becoming increasingly attuned with the spirit.

[Species]: Winter Sword Spirit

[Attribute]: Necromancy, Ice, Space

[Species Level]: Middle Sovereign

[Growth Level]: Level 23

[Skills]: Soul Slashing Sword Intent, Blizzard Sword Intent, Sky-Splitting Sword Intent

Boom!!!

The contract was complete, and the sword intent vibrations from Corpse Dog intensified, releasing an overpowering Sword Intent that even pricked General Ha, leaving it astonished.

Lu Ran was just as surprised. As General Ha’s contracted retainer and having received part of General Ha’s talent feedback, Corpse Dog unexpectedly grasped all three Sword Intents.

Ignoring Soul Slashing and Blizzard Sword Intents, which General Ha also knew, the last one, Sky-Splitting Sword Intent…

[Sky-Splitting Sword Intent]: Once honed to a mighty level, this sword’s will can effortlessly cleave through space!

“Woof!!” General Ha’s eyes brightened once more. It picked up the sword spirit, beckoning it to possess it, eager to try out the Sky-Splitting Sword Intent.

“Woof woof.” However, Corpse Dog seemed displeased at being held in such a manner for battle. After considerable twisting and turning, it resignedly possessed General Ha. In the next instant, General Ha’s entire body was suffused with an ice-blue glow, extraordinarily magnificent.

“What a pity.” Lu Ran mused at how potent the retainer skills were, having already created a miniature General Ha, eagerly hoping to develop this skill further and obtain a second retainer position.

However, Lu Ran still had unfinished business. He turned his attention to the weather elf.

“Pitter-patter…” Seeing Lu Ran finally focus on it, the weather elf looked pitifully at him. At this point, Lu Ran was quite capable of acquiring not just a lower sovereign species, but even an upper sovereign pet beast.

Seeing the weather elf looking so pitiful, Lu Ran couldn’t help but chuckle as he held it in his arms. “Okay, okay, let’s get you contracted,” he said with a smile.

He took out the contract card he’d obtained from the breakthrough secret realm and, under the weather elf’s eager gaze, inserted it into its cloud layer.

The contract card emitted a dazzling light, and Cloud Baby was enveloped in a glow. Almost without resistance, it was absorbed into the contract card.

At that moment, Lu Ran’s mind was filled with curious thoughts. If he were to mimic Cloud Baby as a super beast, what should he do with that ability?

Maybe he could work at the meteorological department to create artificial rain or snowfall? Or use the Flame Sprite to fly into the sky and make it sunny whenever he pleased?

And even if he successfully mimicked the weather elf, what kind of power would it grant him?

“Never mind, I’ll figure it out later,” he thought. With the contract complete, Lu Ran took a deep breath and summoned Cloud Baby again because he still needed to fuse a trait crystal with nature control into it.

Even though there were many unique traits to choose from, none seemed to fit the weather elf species better than nature control.

Throughout the fusion process, the weather elf was full of wonder. The nature control trait didn’t change its appearance much; it only made its cloud layer thicker and fuller. However, its awakened species talent was unquestionably impressive!

[Species Talent]: Shapeshift at Will (For each new ‘nature’ attribute possessed, it gains a special cloud form corresponding to that attribute type, allowing for better control over related natural weather!)

…

Upon returning from the breakthrough secret realm, Lu Ran went ahead with enhancing all his pet beasts.

However, not every beastmaster who returned from the breakthrough secret realm was victorious, with abundant resources to strengthen their pets.

Somewhere in the Star Moon Federation…

Upon returning to the blue star, Yu Rui and his two companions naturally found themselves back in their hometown.

After their return, the trio didn’t even take the time to add friends. They quickly exited the infinite city, eager to report their experiences and findings from the breakthrough secret realm to their “mentor” or “parents.”

After exiting the infinite city, Yu Rui found himself back in his room. He pushed open the door, ready to head out, but then paused in surprise. Sitting in the living room with his eyes closed in meditation was his father, the renowned Plantmaster Legend Yu, well-regarded throughout the expansive Star Moon Federation.

“Dad, how come you’re home today?” he asked in surprise, as his father was usually a very busy man and rarely at home.

“Judging by the time, you should be nearly done with the breakthrough secret realm,” his father said, opening his eyes and emerging from his meditation. He looked at his son with a curious expression.

“Why are you still at level 2?” he asked, puzzled.

“I… I…” Yu Rui stammered, looking conflicted. “Father, that’s not important. I have something else critical to tell you!”

“I… I encountered a beastmaster from another world! During this breakthrough secret realm, I was matched against a beastmaster from another world.”

“Really,” Legend Yu replied nonchalantly.

Yu Rui: ???

“In the past two months, many challengers in the breakthrough secret realm have come across beastmasters from another world. It’s not just you.”

“Is that true?” Yu Rui exclaimed in shock.

“So, Dad, you must understand why I’m still at level 2.”

“Dad, what do we do? Those beastmasters from the other world are all monsters.”

Legend Yu: ?

He paused for a moment before speaking. “Are you trying to tell me that you failed your breakthrough task because you encountered a beastmaster from another world?”

“According to returning beastmasters, those from a place called the blue star are pathetically weak. Most who encounter them in the confrontation tasks manage to complete their missions easily.”

“Ah??” Yu Rui’s eyes widened, feeling like he couldn’t quite wrap his head around it all. “No, that’s not right, is it??”