Chapter 126: Too Harsh

Wu Le was evidently in a bit of a mood.The third examinee who followed just wandered around the field for half a minute before being eliminated.

“Ah, this.”

Lu Ran and Fang Lan returned to the stands and found the Pig Raiser. Their expressions were quite dismal.

They never expected that Lu Ran and Fang Lan, after breaking through to level 1, would be so formidable.

One’s second pet was as strong as a monster, and the other’s mastery of the Fusion Skill was so vicious that they almost took out the examiner and the entire audience.

The main problem was that this examiner seemed to have been driven mad by the two of them. His whole demeanor had changed, and it felt like the following examinees were going to have a tough time.

The misdeeds of predecessors bring disasters upon those who follow…

“It’s over.”

The Pig Raiser said, “Won’t we be targeted by Examiner Wu as well…”

“Don’t be nervous.” Lu Ran glanced at the fourth examinee, who was also eliminated within seconds, and said, “Examiner Wu is still very reliable. Although his suppression seems much stronger than in the previous two rounds, he still leaves space for the examinees to showcase their abilities.”

“The last two were just too weak.”

“Moreover, passing the preliminary assessment involves three stages: battling the examiner, the examiner’s scoring, and…”

“The official review of the battle video by the beast taming university. If the assessment is not up to standard, Examiner Wu himself will be punished. So, just go and battle with peace of mind!”

Lu Ran’s words did little to comfort the Pig Raiser and the others…

They only felt that Examiner Wu was now very fierce…

…

Meanwhile…

Unbeknownst to Lu Ran, the beast taming forum was already in an uproar.

At many examination sites across the country, third-generation beastmasters were methodically assessing the Fourth Generation’s abilities.

Although the assessment process did not allow for video recording or photography, it didn’t stop examinees from sharing their experiences online.

Just shortly after the assessments began, many examinees were already venting their frustration on the new section of the beast taming forum, complaining that the third-generation beastmasters were too strong, making the whole process very frustrating.

But amidst all these complaints, a few posts stood out.

[In Jinling, OMG, the first examinee knocked out the examiner’s pet beast in one hit, and the second examinee forced the examiner out of the field…]

[Help needed: Red Lightning trait, base species is red-eyed eagle lizard. Does anyone know which beastmaster has this setup?]

[Breaking News! The Five Poisons Cult Holy Maiden has learned a Fusion Skill, transforming into the Spider Queen. Her poison gas is now even more brutal, capable of covering the entire arena. Even advanced pet beasts’ energy constructs and flowstones can’t fully block it! If you face her in a tournament, just surrender!]

As soon as these posts from Jinling appeared, the forum exploded.

Netizens were amazed.

Examiner Wu Le’s name quickly became known among the many forum lurkers in a rather unusual way.

He might even get the title of “Unluckiest Examiner” after all this.

The user “Start with Panda” from Rong City replied: [Maybe this Examiner Wu Le is just too weak. Damn, why doesn’t he come to our side to be an examiner? I really want to face him.]

The user “Flame Lion King” from Jinling replied: [Weak my foot. The later examinees are already crying. Can you call a third-generation beastmaster with a sovereign species pet beast weak? It’s just that those two are freaks!]

After posting, Lu Teng from Green Sea City started looking for Lu Ran and Fang Lan.

The user “Taekwondo Kangaroo” from Stone City said: [Wu Le… seriously? Wu Le is a member of the ‘Stone Age,’ one of the Four Major Guilds of Infinite City, specializing in rock species. He’s quite famous. How could he lose to the fourth generation… unless he drank some fake wine today.]

A beastmaster from Stone Age came out to refute the claims, saying they didn’t know Wu Le. Whether it was true or not remained uncertain.

The news continued to spread to other communities…

[What the heck? An examiner getting repeatedly beaten by dozens of examinees during the assessment?]

[What?! An examiner got beaten to death by freshmen during the assessment?]

…

Lu Ran’s team members were all assessed in the morning, and soon, it was the Pig Raiser’s turn.

Just as Lu Ran had said, although Examiner Wu Le seemed crazed, he still retained some sanity.

While he might harshly beat down examinees, any Fourth Generation with sufficient strength could still pass his assessment.

Whether they could pass the other three scoring examiners was another matter entirely.

This passing standard was quickly speculated online.

The beastmaster must have mastered a beast taming skill.

The pet beast must have a fusion trait or have awakened a second attribute.

The pet beast must be proficient in two of the four major energy manipulation techniques, which can form a combo technique.

The pet beast must be of an upper supernatural species.

The beastmaster must be at level 1, and the pet beast must be above level 10.

When an examinee meets two of these five conditions, their strength is generally not weak. As long as they can apply these in actual combat, they can pass the assessment even if their performance is somewhat lacking.

These conditions were naturally met by Lu Ran’s team, who frequently challenged the abyss secret realm, so they passed the assessment without any doubt.

However, most examinees didn’t meet even one of these conditions. As a result, they were given a harsh lesson, coming to terms with their own strengths and broadening their horizons by observing other examinees.

“Though it was painful, we finally passed.” The Pig Raiser cried with joy, “Mom and Dad! I’m finally making something of myself!”

“That Yak King was so strong, it scared me to death.” Lu Bing was still in the shadows, recalling how many examinees that sovereign species Yak had beaten down that morning… She hoped that Wu Le wouldn’t be their combat class instructor in college; she didn’t want to face him again.

“I’m so hungry, how about we go eat something?” Lu Xiao Wu, who completed the assessment last, looked pale, his stomach growling.

“You guys go ahead.” Lu Ran was about to join them when he suddenly received a message.

Manager Ying: [Come find me at the Beast Taming Edifice in Jinling after you’re done.]

Lu Ran speculated that Manager Ying wouldn’t be contacting him just to congratulate him on passing the assessment perfectly.

Could it be that they had caught an assassin who was after him?

Or perhaps, its avatar had finally found the slumbering ancient creature and was planning to take him to see it?

“I have some business to attend to,” Lu Ran quickly explained the situation to Fang Lan and the others.

“No problem, you go ahead,” said the Pig Raiser and the others.

“Go on, go on. By the way, are you going back to Green Sea later, or heading straight to Sky City?” Fang Lan asked.

Sky City.

This is a massive city in the sky of Xia Country, created by several First Generation big shots using supernatural powers.

It appears to be designed as an academy city specifically for nurturing beastmaster talent.

Several campuses of Beast Taming University are located here.

The Freshman Tournament, following the preliminaries, will also be held here.

Both Lu Ran and Fang Lan felt they could become seeded players, so they would have plenty of time to arrange their schedules before the main tournament began.

“I’m heading back to Green Sea,” Lu Ran said, waving his hand, and then quickly left, eager to meet Manager Ying.

…

In the park outside the Beast Taming Edifice.

Lu Ran looked at Manager Ying, who appeared instantly, and said, “Manager Ying, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing much, I just got some ingredients and thought you could fulfill your promise to cook a meal for me,” Manager Ying said.

Lu Ran: ?

Lu Ran: ?

Damn, I skipped out on a gathering just for this—to cook a meal!

Lu Ran’s mouth twitched, “Fine, no problem, I’ll do it! By the way, I have some Dragon Fish here, should we grill it together?”

“Advanced Dragon Fish? Even dogs wouldn’t eat that!” Manager Ying snorted, “You better give it your all. I went through a lot of trouble and spent a lot of money to get these exquisite-level ingredients. If you mess it up and it turns out bad, such a waste…”

It extended its little furry paw, revealing pink paw pads, and with a “shing” sound, sharp claws extended.

“Exquisite-level ingredients?!” Lu Ran was shocked, ignoring the threat.

“Yes, it’s premium meat from a Dragon King Bird, a sub-dragon species of a lower overlord species,” Manager Ying explained. “Back then, the official strategy team teamed up with several First Generations, and it took the combined effort of over a dozen sovereign species pet beasts to barely take it down.”

“Do you understand the value of this meat now?”

“Cook it carefully. The meat is already sliced into pieces. I managed to get 10 slices this time. After cooking, I’ll give you half a slice, which you can feed to your Dragon Lizard. So if you mess up, it’s a loss for both of us, got it?”

“Really?? Boss, you’re so generous!!” Lu Ran exclaimed with joy, “Just ordinary grilled bird meat slices, right?”

“I’ll put my heart and soul into this…” Lu Ran said, “Wait, are you in a hurry to eat? If not, give me a few days!”

“I’ve never grilled exquisite-level ingredients before. I’m worried I might mess it up. Give me a few days to practice my dragon culinary intent, and I’ll cook it once I’m confident.”

“Alright,” Manager Ying agreed, although it was eager to eat, it knew giving Lu Ran some time was the prudent choice.

The Dragon Cat’s culinary debut must not fail!

This exquisite cuisine of the dragon was its initial attempt.

Next, Lu Ran returned to Green Sea.

Originally, he had planned to challenge a level 1 secret realm during this time.

But now, forget the challenge. He needed to practice cooking with his Flame Dragon culinary intent every day, aiming to create a dish of “Exquisite Cuisine of the Dragon.” Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NøvᴇlFirᴇ(.)nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

After all, Manager Ying had promised to give him half a slice. Even half a slice of this caliber of ingredients was exponentially more valuable than rare ingredients. Lu Ran could only say that the sudden death king was in for a treat.

If it could eat that half slice, the boost in its strength would be immense, and its path of Loong-type evolution would certainly become smoother.

It’s important to note that those powerful creatures over level 40 appearing in human-restricted zones achieved their strength by consuming exquisite-level resources suitable for them, quickly mutating to levels capable of countering various military measures. The benefits of suitable exquisite cuisine are undoubtedly unimaginable.

Soon after, Lu Ran confirmed his training plan for this period.

For General Ha, he decided to give it the divine deer pendant to further practice energy compression and release control. Combined with a bunch of Sky Tree fruit he had just bought, this would help it steadily increase its level. Once it reached level 20, its strength would undergo a qualitative change.

As for the sudden death king, it would consume the dishes Lu Ran grilled using his Flame Dragon culinary intent daily, practicing the shaping artistic conception of the dragon. Temporarily, it would set aside the basic skills like energy flow and energy compression, focusing on advanced techniques with shaping artistic conception as the core training goal.

This approach would maximize the benefits brought by the food.

General Ha mastering the artistic conception of the dragon seemed unlikely. Despite practicing for a long time, it hadn’t even achieved the basics. This proved that even with good comprehension, one must follow the right path.

Lu Ran had to pin his hopes on teaching the artistic conception of the dragon to the sudden death king, a sub-dragon species.

This was also related to their evolution paths. General Ha was evidently more suited to comprehending artistic conceptions like the Blizzard Conception, which contained nature force.

On the other hand, the sudden death king’s evolution path was biological evolution. It relied on its thin dragon blood to understand the powerful artistic conception of pure-blooded Loong-type dragons. This was its path.

Of course, Lu Ran also prepared another special training for the sudden death king. The Red Lightning trait had been fused for so long, yet its abilities hadn’t been fully developed. It was time to explore that further.

“Hey, Uncle Zhao.”

“Lu Ran!! Amazing!! I got the news from the assessment side,” Zhao Chen laughed heartily. He never expected that a third-generation beastmaster could be outdone by a fourth generation.

With Lu Ran and Fang Lan, Green Sea City’s importance would surely rival that of provincial capital cities now.

“Ah… haha,” Lu Ran chuckled, “Do you remember the power plant I mentioned last time? I might need to use it soon.”

“The power plant? No problem,” Zhao Chen said.

To help the sudden death king with body forging, Lu Ran specifically requested a power plant and asked Zhao Chen to help modify it. This would significantly boost the efficiency of the training. Compared to entering a thunder secret realm and enduring electric shocks from thunder-type creatures, this method was much faster.