Chapter 113: Return

Infinite City No. 3, Passerby A’s exclusive room.After being teleported back, Lu Ran’s thoughts were still lingering in the breakthrough secret realm.

“Woof!” General Ha looked at Lu Ran in surprise. Why did it seem like Lu Ran was reluctant to leave the breakthrough secret realm?

“Not really.” Lu Ran shook his head, waving the battered Wind Cutter Sword in his hand. “It’s just that the Flame Dragon King was clearly giving us special treatment. Returning this early feels a bit premature.”

“If I could have stayed for another half month, my Flame Dragon Sword Intent would have been more refined.”

Lu Ran felt a pang of regret. In those final two days, he had finally comprehended the Flame Dragon Sword Intent.

By continuously using the Flame Sprite skill to absorb the breath of the fire dragon, Lu Ran had learned a new swordsmanship will, similar to how he had once comprehended the Blizzard Sword Intent.

Lu Ran believed that achieving this result was thanks to both Yan Sizhen the Emperor’s signature beast taming skill and the Flame Dragon King’s cooperation.

He was now certain that the Flame Sprite was indeed a growth-oriented beast taming skill. Much like how super beast mimicry could simulate different contract pet beasts to gain various feedback, the Flame Sprite could also absorb different fire elements from the outside world to grow.

However, the initial state of the stickman Flame Sprite was too weak to absorb high-level energy, which was why Lu Ran couldn’t successfully absorb the fire dragon’s breath at first. Fortunately, in the end, the Flame Dragon King recognized Lu Ran’s potential and, out of respect for the divine deer, decided to give him special treatment.

“Woof!” General Ha stuck out his tongue. Initially, it had been competing with Lu Ran to see who could master the Flame Dragon Sword Intent first. Lu Ran had totally cheated by involving the divine deer to get the Flame Dragon King to go easy on him.

“Just tell me, did you learn it or not?”

Isn’t this more honorable than marrying into a wealthy family?

“This breakthrough secret realm, the increase in strength is secondary.”

“With the Dragon Culinary Intent mastered and the Spirit Transformation Pot, I should be among the top in culinary manship on Blue Star, right?” Lu Ran pondered.

Moreover, unlike the beast taming chefs on Blue Star, Lu Ran had mastered the Dragon Culinary Intent, which was extremely rare even on the Star-Moon Continent.

In other words, his current title, if in the Beast Taming Empire, would be the highly esteemed “Dragon Chef.”

Why Are Dragon Chefs So Esteemed?

Because the dishes they cook with dragon culinary intent have the real potential to nurture Loong-type species.

If before, Lu Ran had no confidence in evolving the Sudden Death King into a purebred giant dragon, now he felt much more assured.

“Let’s see if there are any messages.” sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NøᴠᴇlFire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

At this moment, Lu Ran wanted to return to Blue Star as soon as possible and contract the Sudden Death King. But before heading back, he checked his communication records.

One message was from Fang Lan, sent a month ago. She had left Lu Ran a message about the time she would enter the breakthrough secret realm. In about three hours, she would be returning as well.

Lu Ran wondered how Fang Lan’s experience in the breakthrough secret realm had been.

Additionally, there was a message from Dr. Gu sent not long ago.

Gu Qingyi: “I’ve prepared the ‘Nature Control Trait Crystal,’ ‘Overlord Body Trait Crystal,’ and ‘Fusion Beast Taming Skill’ you requested. You can pick them up from Manager Ying when you get back. It has opened a café in Green Sea City. I’ll be busy with some matters soon, and you might not be able to reach me. If you need anything, just ask Manager Ying for help.”

Lu Ran: “Okay.” Lu Ran replied, feeling quite pleased. Everything was ready; all that was left was to seize the opportunity!

“This sword can be thrown away.” As Lu Ran prepared to log off, he glanced at the Wind Cutter Sword in his hand. The Wind Cutter Sword was merely an advanced weapon, and its energy conduction was subpar. After a few days of use, its durability had hit zero.

General Ha already had a rare weapon, so Lu Ran felt it was time for him to upgrade his weapon as well.

Currently, he wasn’t lacking in crystal coins. The breakthrough secret realm had rewarded him with 100,000, and after a month of absence, the divine beast leaderboard had settled again, adding another 100,000 crystal coins to his account.

Even though he had nearly spent all his crystal coins before entering the breakthrough secret realm, he still had a hefty balance of over 200,000 crystal coins.

…

Blue Star, Green Sea

A spatial ripple flickered, and Lu Ran’s figure appeared in his home.

After returning, Lu Ran felt relaxed and content. He always felt more comfortable on Blue Star, while the Star-Moon Continent always carried a sense of unfamiliarity.

“Beep—”

Taking out his phone, Lu Ran walked to the balcony and dialed Zhao Chen’s number. Soon, the chairman of the Green Sea Association answered with delight.

“Lu Ran? You’ve returned from the breakthrough secret realm? How did it go? Did you advance?”

“Yes,” Lu Ran replied. “I’m now a level 1 beastmaster. Uncle Zhao, how is the Red-Eyed Eagle Lizard I left in your care?”

Zhao Chen chuckled on the other end of the call. “Don’t worry, it’s thriving. The pet beast you chose has exceptional talent.”

“To this day, no fourth-generation beastmaster in Green Sea City has been able to break through its physical defense. Its pure physical defense is impenetrable! And that’s not to mention its energy-shaped armor. Factoring that in, its defense is even more formidable.”

“Its proficiency in energy shaping has also improved rapidly during this time. Typically, if a Thunder Armor is frequently subjected to attacks of different attributes, it becomes unstable and generates uncontrollable energy reactions. But its Thunder Armor, after constant refinement, is unusually stable. Ordinary attacks can’t even create a ripple on the armor. Do you know the most ridiculous part?”

“Due to the challengers’ weak attacks, it even fell asleep during battle out of boredom. The impressive thing is, its energy armor didn’t dissipate while it slept. It seems wearing the armor for defense has become an instinct, requiring no conscious effort to control the energy…”

“Can you imagine it? A bunch of people attacking a sleeping pet beast, and they can’t even wake it up…”

“Uh…” Lu Ran was speechless. What strange talent had the Sudden Death King awakened now? Unconscious energy control? Even General Ha couldn’t manage that.

However, Lu Ran’s immediate reaction wasn’t to marvel at how ridiculous the Sudden Death King had become but to question the strength of the fourth-generation beastmasters in Green Sea City!

The Sudden Death King just had a bit of good talent, a high level, advanced, rare dragon food for continuous development, and it hadn’t even fused with any traits yet. How could it seem like an invincible boss?

If the Sudden Death King were to fuse with the Red Lightning and Overlord Body traits, wouldn’t these people find it even harder to deal with it?

The so-called geniuses of Green Sea City might not even be as strong as She Pi, the explorer, and Deer As Horse. Could they really represent Green Sea City and achieve good results in beast taming tournaments?

Also, was the Sudden Death King’s defense really that strong? Lu Ran was curious and planned to have General Ha test it out later…

General Ha had been honing its Dragon Might for quite some time, significantly strengthening its sword intent.

Once the Sudden Death King merges with its traits, it might be interesting to test sword sharpness against shield thickness.

“Where is it now?” Lu Ran asked.

“It should still be at the Green Sea Arena,” Zhao Chen replied.

“OK, I’ll go find it. It’s about time I contract it.”

Before long, Lu Ran hung up the phone and headed out.

…

Green Sea Stadium

After a month, the beastmasters trained by the Green Sea City Beast Taming Association had become numb to their rigorous training regimen.

What kind of odd sparring partners had the association found for them?

If there were a ranking for the most unpopular sparring partners in Green Sea City, the Sudden Death King and the Dark Crow would definitely top the list.

One was impossible to break through, making battles frustrating, while the other, despite its considerable strength, loved to trash talk. It even provided voiceovers for the Sudden Death King!

In comparison, the other five beasts, although strong, were much friendlier.

At this moment, in the Green Sea Stadium, the other Six Generals beasts were not present, as they were needed to maintain border security.

Only the Sudden Death King was dozing off in a corner of the stadium. Initially, it was quite resentful of its sparring job. However, it soon realized that its opponents were so weak that they couldn’t break through its defense even while it slept. This allowed it to comfortably settle in the stadium, even developing a skill called Sleeping Armor, making its defense impenetrable.

Over time, the beastmasters of Green Sea City stopped bothering to challenge it, instead using the Sudden Death King as a tool to test the destructive power of their skills rather than an actual opponent.

There was a rumor circulating: whoever could develop a skill that could break through its energy armor would undoubtedly shine in the Freshman Tournament, becoming unstoppable.

“Lu Yilang, how’s the progress with its compressed mental bullet?”

In the vast Green Sea Stadium, many fourth-generation beastmasters were paired off, sparring with each other.

Lu Teng, who had contracted a Flame Lion, turned to Lu Yilang, the only one with a mental-type pet beast in Green Sea City, and asked.

By now, many knew that Lu Yilang’s Border Collie had impressive learning capabilities. With the resources of the Green Sea Association, it had already mastered three major techniques: energy release, energy shaping, and energy flow.

It was even working on mastering a fourth technique: energy compression.

Everyone speculated that perhaps only by mastering energy compression could they hope to break through that lizard’s defense.

“No luck,” Lu Yilang shook his head. “Compressing two mental bullets into one is too difficult. Each time, the mental bullet explodes unpredictably. Practicing requires extreme caution, let alone deploying it in actual combat.”

“If it weren’t for Director Zhao healing my pet beast, it would still be lying down.”

“Woof!” The Border Collie glanced unhappily at its beastmaster, thinking that even a dog wouldn’t practice energy compression—it’s too dangerous!

“Frustrating,” Lu Teng said, scratching his head. “How can we break through that guy’s defense? If only we could fuse with a trait. I really want to obtain a trait.”

“Roar!!!” The Flame Lion agreed but then looked in a particular direction.

As the two Green Sea prodigies were daily troubled by the Sudden Death King, suddenly, a figure walked towards the sleeping lizard.

“Is someone challenging the Red-Eyed Eagle Lizard again?” Lu Teng followed his pet beast’s gaze and said, “It’s been a month, why are people still trying?”

“Who is that? I’ve never seen them before. A newcomer?” Lu Yilang asked, puzzled.

In the past month, the number of beastmasters had been steadily increasing, so the Green Sea Association was continuously absorbing new talents, adding a few more trainees to the training camp periodically.

Seeing an unfamiliar face approaching the Sudden Death King, they guessed it might be a newcomer who had just joined the training and wanted to test the infamous beast.

But then, their expressions froze.

Because as soon as this person got close to the Sudden Death King—who never woke up from attacks and only woke up for food—the dragon-like beast suddenly opened its eyes.

“Roar!!” It even let out a delighted roar upon waking.

“Wow, you’re already at level 19.”

The person was none other than Lu Ran.

Lu Ran’s intermediate Eye of Data could now detect the level, attributes, and species information of supernatural beings of the same level. He could view data on pet beasts from level 1 to level 20 through his Eye of Data, even if he hadn’t contracted them himself.

As for beings above his level, that would require an advanced Eye of Data, which Lu Ran didn’t possess yet. He had only experienced cross-level data viewing in the novice secret realm.

Currently, the strongest being Lu Ran had seen was the Flame Dragon King. An upper overlord species, fire and Loong-type, at level 86—a strategic-level monster that could easily destroy a nation on Blue Star.

However, Lu Ran smiled at the Sudden Death King, believing it would eventually become a Thunder Dragon King of similar stature.

“Roar!!”

“Yes, I know you’ve been working hard, very hard at eating.”

“Come on, let’s go home. I brought you a feast from the breakthrough secret realm. After eating, you might reach level 20…” Lu Ran had saved a Mutated Dragon Fish, perfect for the Sudden Death King’s final push to level up.

At level 20, it could fuse with two traits!

It would undergo an epic transformation!

“Roar!!” The Sudden Death King was eager.

With that, Lu Ran turned and walked out of the stadium, and the Sudden Death King followed him on two legs like a little monster, attracting quite a bit of attention.

“What’s going on!” The beastmasters present were stunned to see the Sudden Death King following a stranger.

“Could it be the Red-Eyed Eagle Lizard’s beastmaster? That Lu Ran?”

Someone spoke up, instantly jogging everyone’s memories. This Red-Eyed Eagle Lizard did have an owner—a beastmaster.

However, its beastmaster had been missing for 30 days, and people had nearly forgotten.

But now, seeing the Sudden Death King being called away, many were dumbfounded. So, it really did have a beastmaster? The one Director Zhao Chen mentioned, one of Green Sea City’s strongest Fourth Generation, on par with the Five Poisons Cult Holy Maiden—Lu Ran!

What kind of monster could tame a lizard with such astonishing defense?

[The Sudden Death King’s beastmaster has appeared!]

[That man has finally shown up!]

[Now that I see the Red-Eyed Eagle Lizard really has a beastmaster, I feel reassured. Both he and Fang Lan should easily make it into the Freshman Top 100, right?]

Someone quickly snapped a photo of Lu Ran and the Sudden Death King from behind and posted it in the Green Sea training camp’s group chat, sparking intense discussion.

Zhao Chen: [smile]

Shenghua: [smile]

The responses from the group owner and admin made the excited crowd a bit uneasy…

…

“Almost two months now, and so many changes.”

At this moment, Lu Ran was walking down the street, waiting at a crosswalk, with the Sudden Death King waiting beside him.

In just a month, pedestrians had grown accustomed to seeing such little monsters walking down the street, making Lu Ran marvel at how quickly times were changing.

Soon, led by a crow in the sky, Lu Ran and the Sudden Death King arrived outside a newly opened maid café.

“Anyone here?” Lu Ran pushed the door open, and a cute cat-eared maid immediately came out to greet him. “Hello~ oh my, it’s Passerby A!”

“Uh.” Lu Ran’s face darkened as he recognized the cat-eared maid. Wasn’t this Little Ling from Infinite City No.3?

“What brings you here?”

“I-I-I’m studying in a nearby city and Manager Ying asked me to work at this new café,” said Fengyu Piaoling.

She never expected to run into Passerby A in Green Sea City.

She had initially been puzzled when Manager Ying decided to open a physical store in Green Sea, but seeing Lu Ran made her realize the city was special, especially since not only Lu Ran but the Five Poisons Cult Holy Maiden was also in Green Sea!

Moreover, the city’s policies were quite different from other cities.

She felt like she was getting a promotion, right?

“Alright, is your manager here? I need to talk to it.” Lu Ran figured Manager Ying had called her to work here because they knew each other and it would be convenient.

“Yo, you’re here.” Inside, a large white cat was playing a handheld game. As Lu Ran entered, it yawned and said to the cat-eared maid, “Go brew him some tea. And by the way, using foul language will dock you half a month’s salary.”

Fengyu Piaoling: ???

Wuwuwu, she had just gotten excited seeing Passerby A!

Fengyu Piaoling wiped her tears and went to brew tea for Lu Ran. Meanwhile, Lu Ran looked over at Manager Ying and noticed that besides Manager Ying, there were quite a few other cats around, sleeping in various spots.

They all seemed to be stray cats from Green Sea City—many of them looked familiar.

“Um, Manager Ying, I’m here to pick up the trait crystal that Dr. Gu left with you,” Lu Ran said.

“Wow ka!” The Sudden Death King, who had followed him in, also lit up with excitement.

“Here.” With that, Manager Ying placed two crystals and a card on the table.

Still engrossed in its game, it asked casually, “How was your first breakthrough secret realm? Did you encounter any danger? What’s your score?”

“Not bad, no real danger. Oh, by the way, Manager Ying, do you like fish? I honed my cooking skills in the breakthrough secret realm!” Lu Ran, seeing Manager Ying uncharacteristically generous in offering tea, couldn’t help but want to show off his secret realm-acquired skills—his unparalleled culinary prowess!

He wondered if his Ice and Snow Sashimi could impress an advanced being’s palate!

“Hmm?” Manager Ying looked up, puzzled. What? You practiced cooking in the breakthrough secret realm? It suddenly realized that Lu Ran must have entered some peculiar breakthrough secret realm.

“What was your breakthrough task?”

“To become a superior chef.”

Manager Ying: “…?”

Sudden Death King: “That’s awesome!”