Chapter 57: Sibling Rivalry for Favor

General Ha has its own temper too.It was quite displeased with Lu Ran’s claim of “three secret realm visits a day.”

It wasn’t because Lu Ran was tired and riding on it.

General Ha was willing to carry Lu Ran through the blizzards, showcasing its strength!

However, General Ha couldn’t accept that while it was carrying Lu Ran, Lu Ran also carried two swords, adding to the weight!

According to Lu Ran, “You’re training with weights, and I am too. This is synchronized behavior, a great victory for super beast mimicry!”

General Ha felt its intelligence was insulted…

But the key point was, Lu Ran said that his super beast mimicry had indeed improved.

This revelation slightly short-circuited General Ha’s brain…

…

“Don’t overthink, I suspect you must be hungry by now.”

Back in their private room.

Away from the icy surroundings, General Ha’s gaze quickly returned to being intelligent and clear, pushing the recent events to the back of its mind. Responding to Lu Ran’s words, its stomach began to rumble.

“Bark!” General Ha weakly called out, making a valid point. Eating was indeed more important.

It was both hungry and tired now.

This caused it to underperform while navigating through the blizzard.

It could be said that had it not been for General Ha cutting through the blizzard at the start, wasting too much energy, Lu Ran’s team might have scored higher.

After all, the rating in this secret realm depended on the efficiency of traversing the blizzard.

“Go ahead and eat.” Facing the hungry dog, Lu Ran smiled as he pulled out the food.

“Woof!” General Ha was eager, sticking out its tongue, drooling.

Apart from General Ha’s usual food, Lu Ran also took out the Seed of Cold Wind that had just burst forth.

This seed looked like a blue peanut, cold to the touch. Lu Ran tossed it to General Ha, indicating it should eat it.

Name: Seed of Cold Wind

Level: Advanced

Introduction: A special seed born in icy environments, it only grows when the cold reaches its extreme.

After scanning with the Eye of Data, Lu Ran found no specific details about the use of the Seed of Cold Wind, and it seemed to be a half-finished product.

But since Dr. Gu mentioned that this item could enhance General Ha’s wind powers to become colder, Lu Ran treated it as having a hidden effect.

This goes to show that the Eye of Data isn’t all-powerful, or perhaps, the level of his primary Eye of Data was simply too low.

“Arf arf arf.” General Ha devoured its food voraciously, while Lu Ran also took out a Wood Scale Fruit to eat, and simultaneously opened the communication interface, as it seemed he had received quite a few messages…

Five Poisons Cult Holy Maiden: Wow, how did you reach level 9? Why did you go to challenge the Blizzard Mountain secret realm? What’s going on, what were you doing in Jinling? Weren’t you supposed to meet your master? How can he help General Ha level up?

Where are you where are you where are you…

“Well, they seem to know everything.”

Lu Ran was momentarily stunned, then quickly understood what had happened—it must be due to General Ha’s performance in the Blizzard Mountain secret realm, which had been detected by the divine beast leaderboard.

It appears that not only battles with living beings are recorded, but even resisting nature and developing skills in a secret realm are considered notable performances.

“Crunch.” Lu Ran bit into the fruit and said, “Now the whole Infinite City knows that General Ha went from level 6 to level 9 in one morning. But it’s not a big deal, these resources were given by Dr. Gu, which further confirms that I’m associated with her.”

“Having such a strong supporter, I should be able to level up peacefully without disturbances from various strange forces.”

Lu Ran then replied to Fang Lan:

Just came out of the secret realm. Hey, I actually met Dr. Gu in person! We had a chat, and seeing my exceptional talent, she gave me a rare resource to invest in. After General Ha ate it, it directly leveled up three levels…

Fang Lan replied instantly.

Her reply was a series of question marks.

Five Poisons Cult Holy Maiden: ?????

“Pfft.” Lu Ran laughed out loud, imagining Fang Lan’s baffled expression at that moment. She had been proud of her connection to Dr. Gu, but now Dr. Gu had first given Lu Ran a gift, which would unsettle anyone.

This was, in a way…

Well, next time he met Dr. Gu, he would ask her to also look out for Fang Lan, and himself. After they finished with the abandoned research institute, they might also temporarily avoid entering the breakthrough secret realm, and help Fang Lan level up.

Five Poisons Cult Holy Maiden: Are you serious? Are you for real? You met Dr. Gu in person?!

Passerby A: Oh, I almost forgot, she also gave me her ID number and asked me to add her as a friend. You should have her as a friend, right? Just ask her yourself.

Saying this, Lu Ran sent a friend request to Gu Qingyi.

Her nickname in Infinite City was “Gu Qingyi.”

She was a warrior who used her real name as her ID in Infinite City.

At this moment, Dr. Gu also seemed to be in Infinite City and accepted the friend request very quickly.

Right after they became friends, Dr. Gu sent a message saying: It seems you had a fruitful experience at Blizzard Mountain.

Passerby A: Yes, it’s a great place, thank you.

Gu Qingyi: Good to hear you gained something. Also, I took some time to understand more about the sword momentum you mentioned.

And, I looked into the higher skill of sword momentum, sword intent.

It feels similar to the advanced techniques of energy shaping. Would you like to learn more about it?

Lu Ran was momentarily surprised and immediately replied affirmatively.

Gu Qingyi: Do you know the classifications of energy shaping?

Let me give you an introduction.

Energy shaping techniques are divided into three levels.

The first level is Form.

At this level, energy is simply shaped into another form; it could be a sword, or it could be armor.

Even, energy can be shaped into a mountain or a meteorite to smash against an enemy.

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At this level, the shape into which the energy is molded doesn’t really matter much.

The key point is the second level, Essence.

At this level, when a pet beast shapes its energy, the creations are nearly real and can embody a certain charm.

For example, a monkey shaping a dragon’s head on its fists to create “Dragon Fist.”

Doesn’t that sound fanciful?

But if this monkey truly understands the species of dragons deeply, and it itself might have merged with some dragon traits,

Then, it is possible for it to grasp the power and spiritual realms of dragons.

At this time, the Dragon Fist it unleashes will truly contain the power of a dragon, and we often refer to this type of energy shaping as Essence Shaping.

Simply put, it makes the shaped item more charismatic, imbued with a certain spiritual will, thereby increasing its power.

I felt that since you had a talent for understanding skills, it was worth putting effort in that direction.

Aren’t you challenging the blizzard? Why not try integrating the power of the blizzard into your sword momentum, achieving something like Blizzard Sword Momentum or Blizzard Sword Intent?

Compared to your current intimidating sword momentum, the forces of nature surely possess a more formidable deterrent power, right?

She really… I’m moved to tears.

Lu Ran, upon reading the tutorial sent by Dr. Gu, was at a loss for words.

No wonder Fang Lan adored Dr. Gu so much. Who wouldn’t like someone like her?

Realizing that she had not only delved into sword momentum and sword intent but also strategized for him left him in awe.

Indeed, the fierce beast sword momentum didn’t seem very sophisticated.

Plainly speaking, the fierce beast sword momentum merely relies on overpowering others through species dominance.

General Ha, at best, is currently akin to a wolf king.

It can intimidate cats, dogs, and the like with its presence.

However, when facing fiercer predators or dinosaurs, the chances of intimidating them with mere presence are slim.

Compared to that, elements like lightning, fire, and blizzard, which embody the mighty forces of nature, if transformed into sword momentum, would undoubtedly be more intimidating.

But understanding such forces is certainly not easy.

Nonetheless, Dr. Gu’s reminder gave Lu Ran a fresh perspective. Next time General Ha is in the Blizzard Mountain secret realm, it could try to harness the power of the blizzard.

Facing the blizzard three times a day, cutting through the blizzard three times, attempting to grasp its essence.

Along the way, it could also collect some teeth.

Passerby A: That makes sense! We’ll give it a try. Thanks to Dr. Gu. But you just mentioned the second level of energy shaping; what is the third level?

Seizing the opportunity, Lu Ran continued to inquire for more information.

Dr. Gu: Oh, the third level? Actually, I haven’t mastered it myself; I’ve only seen it used by a beastmaster from another world during a breakthrough in a secret realm.

The third level is Life Shaping.

If the second level allows the shaped form to possess a spiritual will,

Then the third level can even endow the shaped form with life-like behaviors.

I suspect that the creature projections in those secret realms are created by the founders of Infinite City through Life Shaping.

This level is far from your reach, so don’t delve into it. For now, just focus on reaching the second stage.

Even among second-generation beastmasters, many have not mastered the second level of energy shaping. If you can master it, you will undoubtedly have a significant advantage among fourth-generation beastmasters.

Sorry, I have to go, someone is looking for me.

Thank you, Dr. Gu.

Lu Ran silently noted down what Gu Qingyi had said about form shaping, intent shaping, and life shaping…

Currently, General Ha is still at the first stage.

Initially, it seemed perfect that General Ha had grasped the four major methods of energy use so early, but it turns out it was just a start.

There are two more levels after energy shaping; what about other skills? Could they also have multiple levels?

Meanwhile,

Gu Qingyi received a communication from Fang Lan.

Fang Lan: Senior Gu! I heard from Lu Ran that you’ve met him in person?

Gu Qingyi: Yes, your brother is very talented. I was just chatting with him. You should learn from him, or else it will be difficult for both of you to team up in the future.

Fang Lan’s expression froze, feeling like she wanted to cry. They really had met!

But her parents wouldn’t let her enter the secret realm at all, staying in the arena was already the limit.

Right, I told you he is talented! But this guy likes to court danger. Senior Gu, if possible, please take good care of him, otherwise, it would be a waste if he perished in the secret realm. Once he grows up, he will definitely be very strong.

Despite being reluctant, Fang Lan still tearfully spoke up for Lu Ran.

Sure. Dr. Gu laughed.

Speaking of which, Senior… sob, is there any way I can catch up to him in strength without entering the secret realm? I don’t want to be left too far behind.

Gu Qingyi smiled, noting the competitive spirit among the young. She said: It’s easy. You should know that your pet beast is poison-type, and poison-type has the strongest ability to fight beyond its level among all attributes.

I mentioned Beast Taming University before; it should offer a course in toxicology. Mastering this course could potentially allow a level 10 pet beast to develop a venom capable of killing creatures dozens of levels higher.

Otherwise, how about I mail you some textbooks in advance for you to preview and study? I remember your high school exam scores ranked ninth in the province, right? That shouldn’t be a problem then.

And that’s while also working part-time as a cute pet blogger… Academic excellence + toxicology + experience in raising poison-type pet beasts + a background in animal medicine… Gu Qingyi looked at Fang Lan’s ID and fell into deep thought, wondering just how far these siblings would go.