King of Beasts

“When are we going?”

Having confirmed the lineup for the secret realm team, Fang Lan inquired.

“Don’t you need some rest?” Lu Ran asked, glancing at her.

Taking Fang Lan, who hadn’t slept all night, into the secret realm made him worried she’d collapse from excitement.

“Why don’t you take a nap in one of the rooms? We can go when you wake up,” Lu Ran suggested.

“That sounds good.” Fang Lan had initially thought of pushing through without rest, but she was indeed feeling a bit sleepy…

“I’ll head over then!” She stood up and randomly picked a room.

Meanwhile, Lu Ran shrugged and started scrolling through his phone…

The convenience of advanced technology meant he could keep up with global events without stepping outside.

“What?” Opening the trending searches, he was immediately struck by shock.

It turned out that a special mutated beast had appeared in a small South American country—a colossal python several hundred meters long with a massive girth!

It had directly caused the paralysis of several cities!

According to the International Beastmaster Alliance certification, this python seemed to be at level 44.

Having a level of over 40 in the early stages of spiritual energy resurgence undoubtedly meant it had consumed an “exquisite-level resource.”

After all, the nearby Amazon rainforest was unimaginably rich in resources, so it’s not impossible for an exquisite-level resource to suddenly appear.

Although this python hadn’t been cultivated by a beastmaster, an “exquisite-level resource” to them was akin to some kind of trait, bestowing it with extraordinary abilities.

Enlargement might be one of its abilities—the python’s unprecedented size directly inflicted catastrophic damage on human cities.

[Supernatural beings evolving in the wild also have a chance of awakening ‘traits,’ but their traits don’t originate from trait crystals. Instead, they come from ‘special resources’ with effects similar to trait crystals.]

[Trait crystals are just Infinite City’s standardized representation of ‘special resources.’ Therefore, some mutated beasts in the wild on Blue Star could evolve to be just as challenging as secret realm bosses, possessing multiple attributes and traits.]

[Some highly intelligent and powerful mutated beasts might eventually establish their own nations and stand on equal footing with human countries…]

In the comment section, an advanced beastmaster shared their insights, gaining considerable approval.

However, there was something to be thankful for: in the major countries, there had yet to be reports of similarly powerful mutated beasts taking over cities.

The countries that were heavily struck by powerful mutated beast attacks were generally smaller nations.

[Our country’s vast territory surely has plenty of formidable mutated beasts. The reason we’ve been less affected must be because first, second, and third-generation beastmasters have nipped the dangers in the bud.]

[Indeed, although we face some minor calamities now and then, we haven’t seen the kind of mass panic affecting multiple cities like in other countries. That’s already a win, given how unpredictable the resurgence of spiritual energy can be.]

Lu Ran kept scrolling through the comments. Most people were expressing their relief at living in a strong country. To some extent, Xia Country’s current level of technological and beast taming prowess was indeed world-class. Even if such a mutated beast appeared, they’d probably manage to control the situation swiftly, preventing a prolonged rampage.

“A level 44 mutated beast… That’s terrifying. If it showed up in the Green Sea, General Ha and I would face sudden death,” Lu Ran mused, shaking his head as he looked at satellite images of the ravaged city.

He kept browsing and found similar news dominating the headlines. In addition, there were hot topics about Xia Country deciding to establish Beast Taming Associations in every city, news about beast taming universities, and reports that the first batch of fourth-generation beastmasters had already entered breakthrough secret realms. There were also trending news about certain first, second, and third-generation big shots dealing with various mutated beasts.

Among the trending topics, Lu Ran even saw his own name in the top 20.

Although his popularity was gradually declining, it was still quite impressive for a newcomer to be so widely discussed.

The trending topic was linked to the Infinite City No.5 incident. Pluto and Passerby A had returned to Infinite City No.3 to vie for the top spot again, causing quite a stir. However, the primary focus of the discussions revolved around the sword-holding dog, a species that had merged with the trait of weapon mastery.

Many comments were questioning, “Can a dog really wield a sword?”

Seeing Passerby A’s high ranking prompted many beastmasters who had contracted with canine species to become intrigued.

Some people even recorded videos of their own dogs holding swords—and even their cats—posting them in the comments section asking for advice. “Why doesn’t it look impressive?”

“Ah, this,” Lu Ran muttered, slapping his forehead. Indeed, bad trends start this way.

What are you all learning for? Do you want to perish in a secret realm?

Lu Ran couldn’t take it any longer. He thought about commenting to warn everyone against such actions… but as his fingers hovered over his phone screen, he hesitated.

If people actually listened to advice, there wouldn’t be so many novice beastmasters dying in secret realms.

These situations are clear-cut: those with sense won’t try it, or if they do, they’ll succeed. And those without sense won’t be deterred by warnings. Why waste his breath?

“Let go of the urge to help everyone; respect their fate.”

Besides, he didn’t have to step in personally. Lu Ran had already seen several first-generation beastmasters in the comments advising novices not to follow trends.

They explained that no pet beast in the world currently can perfectly merge with the weapon mastery trait. Passerby A’s situation is shrouded in mystery.

Seeing these comments, Lu Ran felt it was adequate…

…

While Fang Lan was napping, Lu Ran’s phone scrolling also lulled him into sleep on the sofa. It was General Ha who eventually woke him up with a lick.

“Woof!!”

General Ha stood in front of the sofa, his blue eyes fixed on Lu Ran.

“What’s up?” Lu Ran asked groggily, hugging a pillow.

“Woof!” General Ha indicated that Fang Lan had asked him to wake Lu Ran up. It was time to head to Infinite City.

“Where is she?” Lu Ran asked as he slowly got up.

“Woof woof.” General Ha glanced toward the bathroom, suggesting she was probably touching up her makeup.

Lu Ran: ?

“Why does a dog like you even know what touching up makeup means?” Lu Ran questioned soulfully.

General Ha pointed at the television.

Lu Ran’s heart skipped a beat. This dog was getting smarter.

No, still not too smart… He thought about it… Fang Lan didn’t even have a habit of putting on makeup. At most, she wore colored contact lenses, or got her nails done to match her purple hair, and even bare-faced, she was quite striking.

This dog just learned a new term and is misusing it!

“I’m going to make a call. You stand in the corner and reflect. You judged well, but no more random judgment next time.” Lu Ran dialed Lu Bing’s number again.

“Lu Ran, little bro?”

“It’s me. We’re entering the Abyss Secret Realm for the first time soon. We need one or two more people. I’ll contact you from Infinite City with the exact number.”

“Great!” Lu Bing responded excitedly. “If you need just one person, I’m in!”

“If you need two, I’ll bring the captain. He’s the best among us.”

“Sounds good.” Lu Ran smiled slightly and hung up. He planned to check if Pig Raiser was online once he got to Infinite City to discuss the situation with him.

Lu Ran had a feeling Pig Raiser was quite lucky. Well, not just him—it was his pig that had the luck. During a swine flu outbreak when hundreds of pigs died, his pig survived. After contracting it, the pig even had an ancestral mutation, greatly increasing its power. With the resurgence of spiritual energy, the pig then encountered a rare resource to consume, enabling Pig Raiser to climb up the Divine Beast Leaderboard. Whatever allowed the pig to qualify for that leaderboard wasn’t just any rare resource…

Rare resources vary greatly in type, acquisition difficulty, and price. Cheaper ones can be purchased for a few thousand crystal coins, while more expensive ones can go for tens or even hundreds of thousands or more.

The Mental Flower that Dr. Gu gave Lu Ran and General Ha belonged to the expensive and highly scarce category, tough to acquire. Meanwhile, the Giant Spirit Ore that Master Lin used to forge the Ice Sky Greatsword for General Ha cost over 30,000 crystal coins.

The Life Dandelion that Lu Ran found in Green Sea City and fed to General Ha was of much lower value in comparison.

“You’re awake… Wait, why is General Ha standing in the corner?” Fang Lan emerged from the bathroom, seeing General Ha gloomily staring at the wall, puzzled.

What’s wrong with this dog?

“Woof woof woof.” General Ha barked, not keeping silent. It blamed everything on the TV shows. This grudge, it would remember!

“Just teasing and interacting with him a bit,” Lu Ran said with a laugh. “Are you ready to go to Infinite City?”

…

Infinite City.

After returning once more, Lu Ran attempted to get in touch with Pig Raiser to see if he was online.

Three minutes later, just as Lu Ran thought Pig Raiser might be unavailable and was about to ask Lu Bing to find two people, Pig Raiser responded.

Pig Raiser: [Big shot, I’m here!]

Seeing Pig Raiser’s reply, Lu Ran immediately initiated a voice call: “I heard from Shenghua about your situation. So are you solo right now?”

Pig Raiser: “Yes… I ultimately didn’t join the Star Cluster guild. Even though they later invited me again, there’s a saying, you know, a good pig doesn’t eat the same grass twice!”

Lu Ran fell silent.

“How strong are you now? I heard you even made it onto the Divine Beast Leaderboard.”

Pig Raiser: “Hehe, I can solo normal difficulty novice secret realms without any issues and get an A-level rating or above. But as for hard difficulty, I can’t handle it at all…”

Lu Ran thought that wasn’t too bad, so he explained his situation and asked if Pig Raiser wanted to join his small team as a support member.

Just as Lu Ran finished, there was a brief silence from Pig Raiser’s end, likely shocked by the good fortune, before excitedly saying, “I’m in!”

“Alright, we’re going to enter a secret realm for the first time soon. Let’s see how it goes. Wait in the dedicated room for now.”

“Got it, got it.” Pig Raiser sounded delighted. Lu Ran, being able to solo the Abyss Secret Realm and rank first on the Divine Beast Leaderboard, leading a team was far more reliable than any elite raid squad from the big guilds. Knowing Lu Ran truly paid off.

Indeed, when the wind is in your favor, even pigs can soar!

Meanwhile, in his dedicated room, Lu Ran sent a message to Lu Bing, updating her that they only needed one more person this time.

He then opened the secret realm portal. Faced with the options of [Solo Challenge Mode] and [Multiplayer Challenge Mode], he chose Multiplayer Challenge Mode.

He created a [Team] and started sending invitations to [Five Poisons Cult Holy Maiden], [Pig Raiser], and [Road Ahead Icy] from his friends list.

…

[Teleportation complete.]

[Current location: Flame and Thunder Ruins Secret Realm (Novice Secret Realm)]

“……”

The system announcement echoed as four figures materialized: Fang Lan, Pig Raiser, and Lu Bing had all accepted Lu Ran’s team invitation, and were thus teleported together into the secret realm.

Once inside, the three of them—aside from Lu Ran—looked at each other in stunned silence.

Particularly Pig Raiser and Lu Bing; they were both taken aback when they noticed a purple-haired woman standing next to Lu Ran—Fang Lan. Their expressions shifted instantly to one of shock and fear.

They both stepped back in unison, as if they had seen a major villain. Pig Raiser was the first to stammer out, “Five Poisons Cult Holy Maiden!!”

Lu Ran could understand Pig Raiser’s panic. After all, Fang Lan had once poisoned both him and his pig. But why was Lu Bing so alarmed?

At this point, Fang Lan finally noticed Pig Raiser and Lu Bing as well. She said, “I thought the voices sounded familiar earlier… Road Ahead Icy… We’ve fought in the arena before.”

Lu Ran’s mouth twitched in response. So, how many people in Infinite City No. 3 have you poisoned, Fang Lan? You’ve scarred these folks to the point of having psychological trauma.