Chapter 77: Tremendous Gains

Abandoned Testing Ground Secret Realm.General Ha and Lu Ran slowly descended to the ground.

As soon as they landed, Lu Ran began to inspect their gains from this expedition.

[Name]: Shadow Ore

[Level]: Advanced

[Introduction]: Possesses excellent dark energy conductivity and amplification effects, suitable for crafting weapons and equipment.

Lu Ran shook his head after a quick glance. Though shadow ore might be more valuable than ice crystal ore from the Blizzard Mountain Secret Realm, it still didn’t compare to meteorite mine; it was not enough to make Lu Ran wealthy.

Next, Lu Ran took out a card.

It looked similar to the contract card and identity card, in full gold with various beast patterns of diverse species.

[Name]: Upgrade Card

[Introduction]: Can be used to upgrade a contract card.

“An upgrade card actually dropped; our luck is really good this time.” Lu Ran smiled slightly as he glanced at General Ha, who was baring his teeth at the Demon Bull Commander nearby.

When Lu Ran first obtained the black card, there was a prompt like this:

Prompt ④: [The capture success rate of a contract card depends on the user’s mental strength and the card’s quality. Beware of capturing creatures beyond one’s control, as it may result in card damage or a pet beast backlash.]

Contract cards come in different qualities!

The contract cards that rookie beastmasters receive are of the lowest quality.

To obtain higher-quality contract cards, you can’t rely solely on Infinite City’s distribution; you need to upgrade them using resources.

Abyssal difficulty secret realms have two featured drops: upgrade cards and trait crystals.

Compared to trait crystals, upgrade cards drop slightly more frequently, but not by a significant margin.

Lu Ran could only describe this drop rate as outrageous.

If Lu Ran remembered correctly, the information he saw indicated that the first upgrade of a contract card only required one upgrade card.

After upgrading, a contract card’s capabilities were not limited to capturing stronger creatures. The space within the contract card would also gain a special effect.

For instance, after the first upgrade, when a pet beast rests within the contract card, its stamina recovery rate would increase.

This function might seem useless at first, but if you have multiple pet beasts, it becomes very handy. You could alternate your pet beasts in and out of battle; one beast could rest while another fights, thus saving substantial stamina recovery resources.

The exact number of times a contract card can be upgraded remains unknown to Lu Ran. He only knows that the first upgrade requires one upgrade card, the second requires ten, the third a hundred… and the fourth a thousand…

According to an informer on the beast taming forum, the number of upgrade cards needed after this point is massive, so no one knows the upper limit.

The specific effects brought by each upgrade naturally differ as well.

It’s said that at an extremely high level, the contract card can even have a “time pause” effect, allowing a critically injured pet beast to enter and temporarily stop its life from fading away.

At this moment, having secured an upgrade card, Lu Ran wasted no time. He took out his contract card and pressed the two cards together.

In an instant, a flash of light appeared, and the two cards fused together.

The original black-edged contract card now had a thin silver border, indicating that the upgrade was complete.

“Next.”

Having used the upgrade card, Lu Ran then turned his attention to the resource that made his heart race – the trait crystal.

[Name]: Trait Crystal (Weapon Mastery)

[Introduction]: Upon fusion, it allows the pet beast to master any weapon as if it were an extension of its own body.

“This is it!” Lu Ran laughed. His unlucky senior brother had farmed for this item for two months, but Lu Ran got it on his first try – an incredible stroke of luck.

He had mentally prepared himself to waste ten days to half a month of time for this, but here it was, in no time at all!

Feeling elated, Lu Ran decided not to fuse the trait crystal with General Ha right then and there. General Ha wasn’t in the best condition at the moment; better to wait until he was fully rested.

However, after examining the three reward resources, Lu Ran fell into contemplation.

He had used the upgrade card for himself and planned to keep the trait crystal, so he certainly wasn’t going to sell it. The shadow ore probably wasn’t worth much.

Thus, looking at it this way, the 50,000 crystal coins he owed for forging the Ice Sky Greatsword weren’t going to be resolved with this secret realm trip alone.

It seemed… the Dragon Blood Crystal from the Sudden Death King wouldn’t be redeemed any time soon…

“No worries. Once General Ha fuses with the new trait, soloing the abyss secret realm will be a breeze.”

“It won’t take long before I can repay not only the crystal coins I owe for the Ice Sky Greatsword but also what I owe Dr. Gu.”

“Looking at it this way, the future does seem promising!” Lu Ran comforted himself.

He then turned his gaze toward the abandoned testing ground and said to General Ha, “General Ha, although this place has already been dismantled, could you break it apart again? See if you can help me dig out anything valuable…”

“Woof?”

When it came to breaking things, General Ha’s fatigue vanished, his eyes lit up. However, he glanced at the already ruined testing ground and fell into deep thought.

It felt like this task would require some skill.

…

Meanwhile, the news of Lu Ran reaching the top of Infinite City No.5 continued to spread.

Currently, both within Infinite City and in the outside world, the hot topic was still the revival of spiritual energy.

For instance, in an African country, troops were dispatched to encircle and annihilate a mutated Lion King.

Or take a well-known beastmaster who went to livestream from a forbidden zone and vanished without a trace after encountering ferocious beasts.

Within Xia Country, the beastmasters were focused on similar news.

Changes in newcomer leaderboards like the supernatural leaderboard usually didn’t garner much attention anymore.

However, today, for some unknown reason, news of changes in the divine beast leaderboard managed to sneak into the top ten trending topics on Xia Country’s internet—a rare achievement, even if it was just at the tenth spot.

News Headline: “A Day of Shame for Infinite City No.5.”

Beastmasters crossing servers to climb leaderboards wasn’t unprecedented, but never had two people done so simultaneously, taking the first and second spots in one go.

Determined to Raise a Beast-Eared Girl: [I’m not surprised that Pluto’s pet beast from the Star Cluster Guild showed such results after fusing traits. But what’s going on with Passerby A? A Snowfield Dog of middle supernatural species severely injuring a middle commander species with a slash?]

Tales of Ordinary Beastmaster: [A lot of people don’t know much about Infinite City No.3. As a local, let me explain. Passerby A’s pet beast is a Snowfield Dog adept at wielding swords. A week ago, it managed to one-shot a lower commander species in a public secret realm. So, this performance is just basic for the big shots; we ordinary folks can’t comprehend. But it’s a bit strange for two people to go over at the same time. Do you think Pluto wanted to switch leaderboards, and Passerby A just happened to have business there? Hmm, better stop guessing or I’ll get assassinated. (stifles laugh)]

Cause of Chaos: [I’m a beastmaster from Infinite City No.5. I’m really upset about this. I hope ‘Sister White Tiger’ can knock both of them off the leaderboard.]

Sister White Tiger, whose ID is Bai Ling, is a fourth-generation beastmaster from the Four Saints Guild. Her contract pet is an Albino Bengal Tiger, and she was the previous top ranker of Infinite City No.5.

But this time, not only was she pushed to second place by a Thunder Eagle, but soon after, she was overtaken by a dog. This isn’t just a case of “when the tiger falls from grace, the dogs take over”…

Many beastmasters in Infinite City No.5 hope that Sister White Tiger can restore her beast king’s dignity and take down these two outsiders.

Bai Ling herself was also in a room, clenching her fists as she watched the news. She couldn’t fathom what she or her guild did to provoke these two powerhouses from Infinite City No.3.

Various factions and many newcomers were watching the spectacle.

The news quickly reached Lu Ran’s acquaintances. Fang Lan, who was gathering poison herbs in Green Sea City, paused when she saw that Lu Ran had hit the trending topics just half a day after he left.

“Severely injured the boss—so did he finish it off?”

“If he did, I wonder if he got the trait crystal…”

“Hey, this news is useless! No valuable information! Never mind, I’ll wait for Lu Ran to tell me himself.”

She continued her task of collecting poison herbs.

“Has it started?”

Gu Qingyi, who was in Shanghai, also received the news.

Seeing the trending topic, she immediately understood that Lu Ran had begun his challenge of the abyssal difficulty secret realm.

After some thought, she logged into Infinite City and sent Lu Ran a message.

Gu Qingyi: [Let me know when you’re ready to fuse the trait crystal. I want to watch.]

After sending the message, she prepared to log off.

To her surprise, Lu Ran replied almost instantly.

Passerby A: [I already got the crystal. I’m planning to fuse it today. Do you want to come over, Dr. Gu?]

Gu Qingyi: [?]

[You completed the secret realm? How many attempts did it take? What was your score?]

Passerby A: [I passed it on the first try. Although my score was only S, just enough for the minimal trait crystal drop rate, I guess I was really lucky… I also got an upgrade card.]

Gu Qingyi was momentarily stunned in her private room. Even she couldn’t help but mutter to herself, “What kind of luck is this?”

She had spent half a month grinding the abyss secret realm just for one trait crystal!

And Lu Ran managed to get one on his first try with just an S rating?!

The comparison made her feel quite miserable.

Gu Qingyi: [Where are you now?]

Passerby A: [I’m planning to head back to Infinite City No.3 soon.]

Gu Qingyi: [When you’re ready to fuse the trait, contact me. I’ll take you to a public secret realm for the fusion. That way, you can immediately test your new strength against suitable opponents.]

Passerby A: [Sure.]

…

Besides Gu Qingyi, Lu Ran had received other private messages.

One message, in particular, left him feeling puzzled.

Pluto: [?]

“What are you even asking?” Lu Ran was confused.

But wanting to maintain a friendly relationship with Pluto, he replied with a [smile].

Without any further delays, he teleported back to Infinite City No.3. Sᴇaʀᴄh the ɴøvᴇl_Firᴇ.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Upon arrival, he prepared a day’s worth of food and a large cup of Ice Honey Tea for General Ha.

Lu Ran’s eager smile made General Ha a bit wary.

“General Ha, recover quickly. Once you’re up to it, I’ll take you to fuse the trait! This so-called ‘minor evolution’ could be a game-changer, your first and most crucial step to surpassing even the divine beasts!!”

Pet beasts undergo a major evolution at level 30, but every 10 levels, they can also fuse traits and awaken attributes, events often referred to as “minor evolutions.” These minor evolutions carry a chance to upgrade the species level as well.

Evolution—

General Ha looked calmly at Lu Ran and patted him with a dog paw, signaling him to relax.

I’m not going to let you down!

In its entire life, General Ha had never known failure.

“Showing off now, are we?” Lu Ran joked, taking the Ice Honey Tea for himself and sipping it. “You may not be nervous, but I am. Let me take a sip of this vintage ’82 Ice Honey Tea to calm my nerves…”