King of Beasts

Not long after, Lu Ran and General Ha teleported back from the Mantis Jungle secret realm.

This time, Lu Ran was surprised to find he hadn’t received a pile of messages, indicating that the divine beast leaderboard had not been updated.

Indeed, General Ha’s performance this time was no different from the last time it split the blizzard.

Even if the power of the Storm Slash had increased, it was due to the Wind Meteor Sword, not because General Ha had undergone a transformation.

After emerging, Lu Ran checked his backpack.

Crystal Coin Balance: 12345

Equipment: Divine Deer Pendant (Epic), Wind Meteor Sword (Advanced), Wind Cutter Sword (Advanced)

Resources: Blade Grass x2 (Advanced), Blade of the Mantis x6 (Advanced), Wing of the Mantis x7 (Advanced), Heart of the Bug x1 (Advanced), Wood Scale Fruit x16 (Ordinary), Antidote Herb x8 (Ordinary), Dog Food x60 Days (Advanced)…

Most of these items had just been obtained from the Mantis Jungle.

As for materials exploded from the Forest of the Demon Cat and Blizzard Mountain, Lu Ran had sold them all.

Items like Grass Sprite Cat’s Heart, Grass Sprite Cat’s Claw, Demon Cat Mint, and Ice Crystal Ore, which were easy to sell, were directly sold to the official store.

The value of an advanced resource could range from a hundred to several thousand crystal coins.

For instance, Lu Ran’s meteorite mine was among the higher valued materials, worth several thousand, whereas the items exploded from the Grass Sprite Cat were considered trash, only worth a few hundred crystal coins when bundled together.

Ordinary items like the Demon Cat’s Fingernail, which no one bought, were tearfully tossed by Lu Ran into the material recycling station of Infinite City and sold for a low price. Every little bit counts, contributing to a few free teleports at least; otherwise, they were of no use to him.

Now, having gathered another batch of resources, apart from the Blade Grass, Wing of the Mantis, and Heart of the Bug, which General Ha could use, Lu Ran felt the rest could also be sold.

Take the Blade of the Mantis, for example. Although it was a material for weapons, Lu Ran didn’t value it as highly as meteorite ore. If he was to upgrade his weapons in the future, he would definitely use rare materials instead of these.

Perhaps in time, the quality of the Blade of the Mantis would even be surpassed by General Ha’s teeth.

“Should I crush this and apply it to my body?”

Lu Ran pulled the Wing of the Mantis from his backpack and General Ha also looked over, both staring at each other.

This was a topical resource, which was somewhat messy to use. Lu Ran figured General Ha would end up sticky, but fortunately, he had already taught the dog to bathe and dry itself.

“Woof!” However, General Ha wasn’t concerned about that, asking when it could eat the Heart of the Bug.

“No rush, no rush.”

“Let’s rest for a bit, and then we can try challenging Blizzard Mountain again later…”

“Woof!” General Ha made a face, indicating its impatience.

Unknown food, eh…

That day, Lu Ran once again led General Ha to challenge Blizzard Mountain.

This time, Lu Ran didn’t have General Ha start by slashing through the blizzard, so their efficiency in moving through the area instantly improved.

They scored an SS rating.

They earned 450 crystal coins and 3 Seed of Cold Wind. The seeds burst out three times, but there was no ice crystal ore, which was a pity for Lu Ran since it was quite marketable. Although not as versatile as meteorite mine, which was usable in all attribute weapons, ice crystal ore was still a core material for ice attribute equipment.

But having three Seed of Cold Wind wasn’t bad, as General Ha could use them.

After the challenge, Lu Ran allowed General Ha to slash through the blizzard once more, and of course, he also tried it himself with the Wind Cutter Sword.

The result, after several hours of effort, neither he nor the dog had mastered the Blizzard Sword Momentum, but they did end up collecting a bunch more Wind Dog’s Fangs…

Following the ordeal, General Ha and Lu Ran tearfully returned, intent on having a hefty meal back home… Energy compression skills were indeed very difficult to master.

…

“Wow ka?”

Rainbow Heaven Dojo.

Lu Ran and General Ha had returned after a long absence.

Back at the dojo, Lu Ran was still deep in thought.

Meanwhile, the dog was busy tinkering with a bunch of Seed of Cold Wind and Wing of the Mantis.

At this time, Sudden Death King also woke up, but seeing Lu Ran and General Ha busy with their own tasks, it felt utterly isolated and unable to blend in.

Nobody’s paying attention to me. I’m going to have a meltdown! Sudden Death King felt dejected.

“Where exactly am I lacking?”

Lu Ran had been wielding his sword in the blizzard for over 12 hours now.

Seeing General Ha’s demeanor, Lu Ran didn’t expect it to master the Blizzard Sword Momentum before him.

As General Ha slashed through the blizzard, Lu Ran also engaged in super beast mimicry, hoping to grasp that profound state himself.

However, comprehending a sword momentum that embodies the power of nature was still too challenging.

“The key lies in integration! In achieving unity between heaven and man!”

“Heaven and earth were born with me, and all things are one with me.”

Lu Ran kept summarizing.

Initially, he had understood the Fierce Beast Sword Momentum before General Ha because his swordsmanship experience was richer. Another crucial factor was his use of super beast mimicry to emulate General Ha’s aura.

Unintentionally, he infused General Ha’s aura into his sword techniques, thereby creating the Fierce Beast Sword Momentum.

It could be said that the Fierce Beast Sword Momentum was a fusion of the fierce beast’s trait, himself, and the sword.

At that moment, he, the momentum, and the sword were one.

Similarly, to grasp the Blizzard Sword Momentum, he would surely need to merge the blizzard’s traits into his body, imagining himself as the storm.

Then, he would integrate it into his sword techniques, displaying the coldness of the blizzard.

Lu Ran guessed that this would be difficult for General Ha.

Because it felt no cold in the blizzard, rather, it was excited, which made it hard for General Ha to perceive the terror of the storm.

On the contrary, after two attempts, Lu Ran himself had numerous cuts from the blizzard, his brain nearly frozen solid, and the biting cold almost made him give up.

If not for General Ha carrying him to the finish line, relying solely on himself, Lu Ran would never have made it through.

Not achieving an SS rating, Lu Ran figured he was the one holding them back.

“Try to recreate that feeling of the brain being frozen, the cold wind cutting like knives…”

“It’s still abstract, but thankfully, super beast mimicry has recorded that experience.”

Lu Ran tried, in the imaginative space afforded by super beast mimicry, to visualize a snowstorm.

In the midst of the storm, he and General Ha moved together, feeling again that fierce cold current.

This time, he even placed himself in the perspective of the blizzard, facing General Ha’s Storm Slash.

As the north wind howled, regardless of the strong sword qi, it couldn’t stop the vast force of nature; soon, the energy was frozen, and the sword qi swallowed by the blizzard.

The grandeur of nature is not something small entities can contend with.

“Dear disciple, I heard you’re back?”

“Lu Ran, are you there??”

“Is anyone there, I’m coming in.”

Outside the door, Elder Jiang Dou held a sword, his expression puzzled. Huh?

Hadn’t a disciple said that Lu Ran’s dog had run out with a backpack?

Lu Ran had been back for two days, busy with his own affairs, and hadn’t consulted him on swordsmanship, which made the elder quite anxious.

He wouldn’t be planning to play with guns again, would he?

Now that he finally waited for Lu Ran to return from Infinite City, he decided to take the initiative.

“Why is it so cold?”

“Is the air conditioning on when no one’s here?” At this moment, outside the room, Jiang Dou could feel a chill, very cold.

He paused, worried about the situation inside, and chose to push the door open.

However, the moment he entered, he widened his eyes, only to see Lu Ran, whom he had been calling for a long time without response, actually sitting on the carpet with his eyes closed.

And on his lap lay a sword, which he held in his hand.

What surprised Jiang Dou the most was that the chill he felt was not from the air conditioning; the air conditioner in the room wasn’t on at all.

It was the sword in Lu Ran’s hand that was emitting bursts of cold air.

“A supernatural weapon?” Elder Jiang Dou quickly thought that this was an ice-based supernatural weapon, but then, he realized something was off.

No, no, this chill wasn’t caused by traditional cold air.

Instead, it felt like the internal coldness caused by physical weakness, nervous tension, sympathetic nerve debilitation, and insufficient vital energy!

Elder Jiang Dou shivered, nearly staggered by what he saw. What the heck, had Lu Ran turned into a zombie? Or was he absorbing people’s vital energy?

At this moment, as the noise outside grew louder, Lu Ran instinctively opened his eyes.

As Lu Ran and Jiang Dou made eye contact, for a moment, Jiang Dou seemed to see a deep icy-blue world reflected in Lu Ran’s pupils, as if he were being sucked into the other’s gaze, stepping into a blizzard.

In that instant, Master Jiang Dou felt an even more bone-chilling cold, as if a frigid wind were slicing through him, making his body shiver with intense pain and his thoughts momentarily freeze. He could sense an even more terrifying blizzard about to sweep over him, so he quickly steadied his mind and regained clarity, staring incredulously at Lu Ran.

“Eh? Master, how did you get in here?” Lu Ran was puzzled at Master Jiang Dou’s sudden appearance.

However, seeing the shocked expression on Master Jiang Dou’s face, Lu Ran suddenly realized something.

“Master, are you all right? You look so pale…”

“Damn, lad, have you grasped a new sword momentum??” Master Jiang Dou suddenly exclaimed loudly.

That must have been an ice and snow sword momentum, right???

He had experienced something similar from an old rival in a snowy country, but clearly, Lu Ran’s was far more terrifying!

“I have indeed been trying to understand a new sword momentum, but… it’s not quite mature yet,” Lu Ran said.

“How long have you been trying?” Master Jiang Dou asked eagerly.

“All things considered… half a day?” Lu Ran counted the time including two blizzards in the secret realm.

“Damn.” Hearing that it was only half a day, Master Jiang Dou couldn’t help but curse. “Do you even realize what you’re saying, kid?”

Half a day… How do you expect others to compete!

Although it had been evident since childhood that Lu Ran had a once-in-a-decade talent for swordsmanship, with the enhancement of his supernatural abilities, this was becoming terrifyingly powerful. He had still underestimated the lad.

“Just now, from outside, through the doors and windows, I felt a chill…”

“Ah ha?” Lu Ran was startled and looked at the Wind Cutter Sword in his hand, saying, “It might be that I accidentally activated its Force of Wind, but… a chill?”

“It couldn’t be that you’re having health issues, Master? After all, you’re not getting any younger, and you didn’t take good care of yourself when you were younger…”

Normally, the Force of Wind would at most create a cool breeze, hardly a chill.

“Get lost, just look around the room!”

Lu Ran quickly scanned the room and didn’t see the Sudden Death King at first. But after a thorough search, he found it had burrowed into the bed covers, shivering.

It’s so cold, I’m going to die suddenly!

“…” Lu Ran fell silent.

Could it be… that I unintentionally released the Blizzard Sword Momentum while gaining insight just now?

“It seems that the method is correct, it’s about achieving harmony between man and nature!” At this moment, Lu Ran looked somewhat excited.

Good, after being shown up by the dog for so long, it seems I’ve taken a step ahead in terms of sword momentum. Now I can teach it again.

“Hey, hey, hey.” At this time, Jiang Dou stared at the monstrous Lu Ran, somewhat bewildered.

What have you been up to these past two days?

“Master, join me in another trial of the Blizzard Sword Momentum! Help me refine it.” Lu Ran quickly spoke up, almost forgetting that such a master of swordsmanship was present.

He hoped that with his master’s guidance, his Blizzard Sword Momentum could be perfected more quickly.

“I really am…” Jiang Dou fell into thought, always feeling a bit unable to keep up with the younger generation, worried that it wouldn’t be long before he was further challenged by Lu Ran.

At his age… is it too late to become a beastmaster?

…

That evening, General Ha returned and stared at Lu Ran, stunned.

By then, it had already eaten three Seeds of Cold Wind and had applied all the Wing of the Mantis externally.

Because of this, upon returning, it could distinctly feel the chill emanating from Lu Ran!

Seeing that Lu Ran had become like an air conditioner just by sitting and holding a sword after it had been out for a while, it was greatly shocked.

Such a comfortable feeling, Boss Lu is so cool…

Saying this, it wanted to get closer.

But before that.

“Woof woof!” It asked the Sudden Death King, lying next to the heating pad, what was going on.

“Wow ka. (This is… the Sudden Death Sword Momentum!)” the Sudden Death King explained.

But General Ha was even more confused.

“It’s the Blizzard Sword Momentum!” At this moment, Lu Ran also opened his eyes.

“Doggy, want to learn? I’ll teach you.” Lu Ran’s expression was profound.

Blizzard Sword Momentum… very strong! Certainly stronger than any fierce beast sword momentum!

Most importantly… these two sword momentums seem not to conflict, perhaps they can be integrated for use!

“Scram!!! Don’t stick close, respect the Blizzard Sword Momentum! If you want to cool off, go turn on the air conditioner yourself!”