King of Beasts

Since Dr. Gu entrusted Lu Ran with a significant responsibility, he was very concerned about the situation in Green Sea City and felt that he absolutely couldn’t mess things up.

To further consolidate his influence in the local wildlife community, Lu Ran entered Infinite City early the next morning. He spent a whopping 1,200 crystal coins to purchase several days’ worth of advanced food in gold, water, fire, earth, ice, and dark attributes.

He then returned to Green Sea City and distributed the food to the Bug King, Black Turtle, Fire Snake, One-Eared, Ice Bird, and Dark Crow.

Though these creatures had all evolved to around level 10 or higher, they were still in a nascent state, having just awakened. In terms of knowledge and combat prowess, they lagged behind pet beasts like General Ha, who had been carefully nurtured by a beastmaster.

These advanced foods hit the spot—they were precisely what these creatures needed but could never find in Green Sea City.

Initially, a few of the animals were disgruntled, but upon witnessing the tangible benefits of following King Lu, they became fiercely loyal. Fire Snake was the most notable example; its attitude changed dramatically before and after receiving the advanced food.

Without question, Green Sea City’s first batch of advanced mutated creatures had been efficiently won over by Lu Ran.

While other cities were still struggling with how to expel or eliminate advanced mutated ferocious beasts, Green Sea City had already managed to have a group of advanced mutated beasts self-proclaim as “The King’s Seven Beast Generals.” They didn’t even need contracts—they just began working for Lu Ran, helping to maintain city order.

Whether this was truly effective was secondary; at least, it was a promising start.

Over the next week, Lu Ran didn’t engage in any other activities. He personally led General Ha and the Sudden Death King to continue recruiting more minions.

Although he had already won over the advanced mutated beasts above level 10, this didn’t mean that those below level 10 were without value.

With the cooperation of The King’s Seven Beast Generals, Lu Ran spent today talking to an evolutionarily advanced wild boar, tomorrow conversing with an evolved mouse species, and the day after that negotiating with an evolved queen bee…

After a week, Lu Ran had overseen and guided the majority of the wildlife species in Green Sea City. The process went very smoothly, especially since a good portion were already his “old friends.” Like rolling a snowball, the size of Lu Ran’s team grew larger and larger.

If one week ago, the title of King of Green Sea felt somewhat hollow, it was now completely justified. With General Ha, The King’s Seven Beast Generals, and the allegiance of Green Sea City’s top hundred wild species, Lu Ran’s status as the King of Green Sea was now solid and unwavering.

Knock, knock, knock.

“You’re here,” Lu Ran said as he got up that day, seeing Fang Lan had already come to find him early in the morning.

After opening the door, Lu Ran saw Fang Lan looking at him with a somewhat resentful expression.

“A whole week! That’s too long!”

“There was no other way…” Lu Ran sighed. “To win them over one by one, I only slept four hours a day, relying entirely on Ice Honey Tea to keep going…”

“But now it’s all set. I’ll take you around and introduce you to the Five Poison Species. From now on, they’ll be your responsibility.”

“Ice Honey Tea, that stuff is delicious! Do you have any more?” Fang Lan asked, licking her lips with a hint of desire.

“Yeah, I’ll get you some from the fridge.”

Ice Honey Tea is a fruit tea drink that Lu Ran made using Ice Heart Tea Leaves from the small mountain and honey brewed by the bee species from supernatural plants.

The Ice Heart Tea Leaves help alleviate mental fatigue, while the supernatural honey, limited by the variety of Green Sea City’s supernatural plant resources, mainly helps restore physical strength.

But when combined, the two make an excellent drink for restoring both mental and physical energy.

At this moment, Lu Ran was already reaping the benefits of being King of Green Sea. These tea leaves and honey came for free, although every time he picked the tea leaves, Ice Bird would cry, and the Queen Bee was reluctant to offer the honey. But Lu Ran understood that deep down, they wanted him to have these resources!

This was far better than the Wood Scale Fruit—even General Ha wouldn’t touch those anymore!

Now when General Ha gets tired, he just takes a sip of Ice Honey Tea to restore his energy and stamina.

In short, Ice Honey Tea was the first tangible benefit Lu Ran enjoyed after becoming King of Green Sea. After making a batch, he even sent some to Fang Lan’s place via local express delivery and kept some to reward those who had been tirelessly working for the stability of the city without much rest.

Judging by Fang Lan’s current reaction, it seemed she had taken quite a liking to the Ice Honey Tea…

“Glug glug~” After drinking some Ice Honey Tea at Lu Ran’s place, Fang Lan flicked her purple ponytail, feeling refreshed. She wiped the droplets from her lips and said cheerfully, “This stuff is amazing. If you sold it in Infinite City, you’d make a fortune.”

“There aren’t many leaves on the Ice Heart Tea Plant. I’ve already enlisted a few grass-type mutated beasts to help Ice Bird take care of the tea plant. We’ll talk about it once the yield goes up,” Lu Ran replied.

“Hmm,” Fang Lan murmured, feeling that Lu Ran was living the life just like the local emperor of Green Sea City!

“Alright, let’s go. I’ll call General Ha and Sudden Death King, and take you over there,” Lu Ran said. “You two, come out.”

At his call, a door in the inner room was immediately pushed open. General Ha came scampering out, wagging his tail. Seeing Fang Lan, he barked warmly.

“Woof!”

These days, General Ha had grown to the size of a tiger and looked quite majestic.

Fang Lan smiled slightly at him; who would’ve thought that the little puppy Lu Ran picked up would now firmly hold the top spot in potential among pet beasts?

“Wow ka.” But what surprised Fang Lan even more was the Red-Eyed Eagle Lizard she had given to Lu Ran.

Although Lu Ran had mentioned that the lizard had undergone a supernatural evolution, seeing the Sudden Death King now, over half a meter long, still caught her off guard.

Especially given the current state of the Sudden Death King!

Its robust body looked as if it were made of rock, with colors interweaving black and brown, and white electric currents flickering between the scales.

On the outside of its body, its neck, skull, long tail, sharp claws, and teeth, along with its four powerful legs, were all encased in a thick layer of spiked Thunder Armor, as if it were bathed in lightning and using electricity to shield itself!

Coupled with its fierce, orange-red eyes, it looked even more impressive. No wonder it was considered the most handsome in the lizard world.

“Is this the Red-Eyed Eagle Lizard?? Energy Shaping??”

“Yes,” Lu Ran replied with a smile as he looked at it. “So, how do you think I did with the birthday gift you gave me?”

“Wow ka!” Sudden Death King had also noticed his second master and was eagerly looking for approval. This Thunder Armor wasn’t just for show; it was earned through near-death experiences!

Sudden Death King had no idea how many times General Ha had tormented him.

At one point, he thought he was done for.

“Why is it still using Energy Shaping inside the house?” Fang Lan wondered.

“Um, maybe…for a sense of security?” Lu Ran speculated.

After all, General Ha tended to ambush him from time to time.

Initially, Lu Ran thought he might be too harsh on Sudden Death King. But within a few days, Sudden Death King managed to comprehend Thunder Shaping, covering itself in armor. Lu Ran was left speechless.

For a moment, he didn’t know whether to praise Sudden Death King’s comprehension ability, General Ha’s effective methods, or his own wisdom in assigning General Ha the task of training him.

For a timid creature like Sudden Death King, random ambushes were clearly effective in pushing him to his limits.

To protect himself, Sudden Death King had no choice but to quickly master his Thunder Armor.

As of now, General Ha no longer ambushed him because after mastering the spiked Thunder Armor, General Ha’s claws and teeth alone couldn’t hurt Sudden Death King.

Instead, Sudden Death King’s spiked Thunder Armor could even paralyze General Ha with its electric shocks.

Despite this, Sudden Death King never let his guard down, fearing that any day General Ha might use Sword Qi to ambush him. So, he constantly maintained his Thunder Armor state. Fortunately, this state consumed minimal energy; as long as he wasn’t over-exerted, it merely tested his willpower and focus.

Of course, over the past week, General Ha and Sudden Death King had been well-fed. Dominating Green Sea with Lu Ran, they encountered both obedient and disobedient supernatural beings.

For example, a few days ago, they came across a swarm of mutated mosquitoes that refused to submit. Without hesitation, Lu Ran rallied his forces and wiped them out, feeding them to Sudden Death King.

Feasting on supernatural beings, combined with the resurgence of spiritual energy, had finally improved his malnourished state.

“Alright… alright,” Fang Lan reluctantly accepted the explanation, though she couldn’t shake the feeling that Sudden Death King looked a bit pitiful.

Lu Ran chuckled and recalled General Ha back into the black card. Seeing this, Sudden Death King immediately deactivated his Thunder Armor and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Let’s go. Today is your birthday. The poison pets of Green Sea City will be my birthday gift to you. Later, they can all celebrate with you,” Lu Ran said.

Fang Lan was stunned for a moment and then said, “I thought you had forgotten my birthday.”

“No way,” Lu Ran replied. “Why else do you think I called you over today?”

“Oh, and I have something else for you.” As he spoke, Lu Ran handed her the Dragon Scorpion Tail Needle that had been dropped earlier. “Another birthday gift.”

“Poison resource, Dragon Scorpion Tail Needle, which contains petrification poison. You should find it useful.”

“Where did you get this! That public BOSS? Great, you kept it a secret till now!” Fang Lan exclaimed with joy. “You’re thoughtful; it’s worth all the time I spent preparing your gift.”

“Huh?” Lu Ran was taken aback. “What did you prepare for me?”

Fang Lan huffed, “Didn’t you mention before that you wanted to challenge the ‘Demon Bull Commander’ in the ‘Abandoned Testing Ground Secret Realm’? Once the matters in Green Sea City are settled, you’re definitely going there, right?”

“I did some research. That BOSS has high defense and strong life force, making it tough to defeat. Also, I bet you’re planning to solo it, Mr. Lone Wolf.”

With that, she pulled out a bottle of white potion and said, “I bought some materials and concocted a poison specifically aimed at dark-type creatures. After you injure the Demon Bull Commander, find a way to inject this poison into its wound to hasten its demise.”

“You could buy a crossbow or something from the Forge House. Just don’t apply the poison to General Ha’s sword. Although the poison is meant for dark types, I’m worried that with General Ha’s intelligence, he might accidentally poison himself. Even if the effectiveness is reduced, it’s still very dangerous!”

“In any case, don’t be too reckless. If you can’t handle it alone, I’ll go with you and assist. Don’t underestimate our poison species’ ability to fight across levels.”

Lu Ran was taken aback by how helpful Fang Lan was. He couldn’t suppress a smile. “As expected of the Five Poisons Cult Holy Maiden. I was really worried about this. Originally, my plan was if General Ha couldn’t handle it, I’d upgrade his weapon. But with this poison combined with the weapon upgrade, I think we’ve got a sure win.”

Fang Lan rolled her eyes at Lu Ran and said, “Hopefully. By the way, I remember there isn’t an Abandoned Testing Ground secret realm in Infinite City No.3, right?”

“That’s right. To challenge that secret realm, I’ll need to go to a nearby Infinite City… and the divine beast leaderboard is about to close soon, making things easy for that Pluto guy,” Lu Ran said.

Each pet beast can only appear on one divine beast leaderboard. If he went to another Infinite City to challenge the Abandoned Testing Ground secret realm, General Ha would have to appear on that city’s divine beast leaderboard. Naturally, he and General Ha would disappear from Infinite City No.3’s leaderboard…

Pluto, that lucky fool, would probably be over the moon, potentially securing the top spot. But whoever was at the top of the leaderboard in the other Infinite City might not be so happy. Then again, what did that have to do with him!