Chapter 140: The Legendary Secret Realm!

Sky City is located at the center of Xia Country, within the boundaries of Infinite City No.7.The Commander Divine Beast Leaderboard that Lu Ran wanted to challenge was actually in an awkward position.

This is because, whether it’s the First Generation, Second Generation, or Third Generation beastmasters, their main pet beasts are generally above level 30, having undergone a period of evolution.

In other words, the main pet beasts of the more powerful beastmasters from the first three generations have a species level of sovereign or higher.

Therefore, there are generally only two types of divine beasts on the commander leaderboard:

Newly cultivated pet beasts under level 30 by beastmasters from the first three generations.

Main pet beasts of beastmasters from the first three generations that failed to evolve properly and thus have a species level below sovereign.

This is the general environment across all Infinite Cities.

Although the rise of fourth-generation beastmasters has led to some regions’ Commander Divine Beast Leaderboards featuring beastmasters like Zhou Mo, Youxiong Anlin, Du Yuan, and Lin Yin, they are still in the minority.

Lu Ran believed that it would be easier to get on the domestic Infinite City leaderboards compared to the Public Infinite City leaderboards at the borders of various countries, which is actually correct.

However, Lu Ran overlooked one crucial detail.

If he wanted to find a leaderboard with less competition, he shouldn’t directly challenge the secret realm in Infinite City No.7 where Sky City is located.

Whether he returned to Infinite City No.3 or went to Infinite City No.5, both would be better options than here.

This is because currently, Infinite City No.7 is undoubtedly the most competitive leaderboard among the seven cities in Xia Country.

After all, once Beast Taming University was established here, it gathered fourth-generation beastmasters from all over the country, as well as the elites from the first three generations.

So now… the leaderboard of Infinite City No.7 might even surpass that of the Public Infinite City in terms of prestige.

Lu Ran just hadn’t looked.

Otherwise, he would have seen that the Rank 1 on the Commander Divine Beast Leaderboard in Infinite City No.7 is none other than Qin Ming, the Dean of the Combat Department, and the publicly acknowledged strongest second-generation beastmaster’s new pet!

[Species]: Void Whale

[Attribute]: Water, Space

[Species Level]: Upper Commander

[Growth Level]: Level 29

[Introduction]: Mutated evolution from an orca…

It was clearly a pet beast evolved from the top-level marine creature, the orca.

Moreover, the other nine spots on the Commander Divine Beast Leaderboard of Infinite City No.7 are also occupied by new pet beasts of the leaders and professors from Beast Taming University. These elites from various regions, with nothing better to do, have effortlessly turned the leaderboard of Infinite City No.7 upside down, without needing any input from Lu Ran…

Passerby A’s Exclusive Room.

Lu Ran, who had just opened the pillar platform for the secret realm, quickly locked onto a secret realm.

But at that moment!

Lu Ran suddenly noticed that an additional page had appeared in the list of secret realms.

“Has the secret realm updated?”

The number of secret realms in an infinite city isn’t constant. Every once in a while, new secret realms are added.

Therefore, exploring new secret realms is a pleasure for various factions.

The official strategy team includes members of all levels, not just high-level beastmasters, because even low-level secret realms occasionally introduce new maps.

A new secret realm inevitably brings new resources and new cultivation strategies. While exploring it can be dangerous, the rewards are substantial.

Lu Ran showed a look of interest and waved his hand lightly, wanting to see if the new secret realms included any with abyssal difficulty…

Starting with a new abyss secret realm also seemed like a good idea…

However, after flipping the page, Lu Ran’s brows immediately furrowed!

[Name]: Dragon King’s Nest

[Level]: Level 1

[Difficulty]: Legend

[Secret Realm Introduction]: The Diamond Dragon, a mutated form of the Stone Dragon, is the ace pet beast of the legendary Loong Tamer “Yi Du” from the Star-Moon Continent.

Dragon King’s Nest, the birthplace of the Diamond Dragon. Here, you will face the growing Diamond Dragon in its untamed state and experience its power…

(Diamond Dragon, Loong-type, upper sovereign species, level 20.)

[Challenge Crystal Coins]: 0

“What the heck!” Lu Ran was stunned.

Then, he rubbed his eyes.

He was sure he hadn’t seen it wrong.

What’s going on!

He had thought that the infinite city would, at most, update a few ordinary secret realms. But when he saw “Legend Difficulty” and “Challenge Crystal Coins 0,” Lu Ran was baffled.

“Let’s go check it out.”

Originally planning to challenge an abyss secret realm, Lu Ran immediately exited the infinite city and returned to the “Professor Dormitory.”

Without saying a word, he took out his phone and opened the forum.

Sure enough, the forum was flooded with newly posted discussion threads.

[Ha! What’s this legendary difficulty secret realm ‘Dragon King’s Nest’? Did your secret realm platform update with this secret realm too?]

[Whoa, I’m a level 2 beastmaster, and my level 2 secret realm just updated with a legendary secret realm ‘Death Cemetery.’ According to the secret realm introduction, the boss seems to be a juvenile version of the overlord species, the Asura Centipede, which once devastated a province of the Beast Taming Empire.]

[Huh? You all got new ones? Why didn’t the novice-level secret realms get any legendary secret realms?!]

[By the way, the challenge crystal coins are set to 0. Is the infinite city doing charity now?]

Beastmasters from all generations were drawn to the sudden update of legendary secret realms in the infinite city.

Although the legendary secret realms had been updated for only a few minutes, well-known influencers were already speculating and issuing warnings.

[Legendary difficulty seems to be a level above abyssal difficulty. In abyss secret realms, you typically encounter overlord species bosses starting at level 5 secret realms. But with legendary difficulty, it looks like you can face overlord species bosses starting from level 2 secret realms.

Additionally, the challenge crystal coins being set to 0 is not necessarily a good thing. Everyone should be cautious. The infinite city is not doing charity; it simply believes that no one can clear these secret realms, so it doesn’t matter if they don’t charge an entrance fee.

When someone is not interested in your money, they are definitely interested in your life!

Just from the introductions, it’s clear these secret realms are not easily surmountable. They must be extremely dangerous inside. If you can’t clear abyssal difficulty secret realms, don’t even think about attempting the legendary ones!]

Many beastmasters agreed with this influencer’s reasoning and decided not to take advantage of the free entrance.

Lu Ran read the posts for a while and discovered that from novice to level 5 secret realms, there were new legendary difficulty maps for each level, except for novice-level secret realms.

Moreover, only one legendary secret realm appeared per level, making them quite rare.

Level 1 Legendary Secret Realm: Dragon King’s Nest. The boss is a pure Loong-type, a mutated Diamond Dragon, which is destined to become the ace of a legendary figure in the future.

Level 2 Legendary Secret Realm: Death Cemetery. The boss is an overlord species, the Asura Centipede, a ferocious beast that, once fully grown, can devastate an entire province of an empire…

Level 3, Level 4… also feature overlord species bosses.

This update was quite explosive.

Not just domestically, but internationally as well. Just a second ago, there were discussions about dinosaur resurrection, but the next moment, all attention shifted to the legendary secret realms, with people questioning the purpose of the infinite city.

A boss that is an overlord species???

It’s not just a challenge for low-level beastmasters. Even the strongest echelon, the First Generation, would struggle to strategize against an overlord species boss. And this is assuming their pet beasts have reached the upper sovereign species level.

Low-level beastmasters, with their incomplete team configurations and insufficient pet beast development, would have an almost negligible chance of clearing such a secret realm, even if they teamed up. They’d likely be wiped out by a single skill from the boss!

Legend: This is a title given to a beastmaster on the Star-Moon Continent after reaching level 7.

Using this term for secret realm difficulty… does it imply that only those with legendary potential have a chance to clear a legendary secret realm?

“Will there be a legendary difficulty secret realm in the future, with a boss that’s a legendary species creature?”

Lu Ran was just musing over how things were getting interesting when an unknown number took over his phone screen.

“Who is this?” Lu Ran initially didn’t want to answer, but noticing the IP was local, he figured it might be someone from the school and decided to pick up.

Sure enough, a familiar voice came through immediately.

“It’s me, Pluto.”

“Why is it you? How did you get my number?” Lu Ran was taken aback.

“Your contact information isn’t a secret at the Jinling Association. My brother is a member of the Jinling Association’s board. But let’s not talk about that, Passerby A! Did you see it? The level 1 legendary secret realm, Dragon King’s Nest!”

“Next, tackling the legendary secret realms will be the top priority for beastmasters of all levels, various guilds, and the official strategy teams. How about we team up? We can find two more people and challenge the legendary secret realm together.”

“Exploring new secret realms, especially those of a new level, offers unimaginable benefits.”

“No,” Lu Ran replied decisively. Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ n0vᴇl(ꜰ)ire.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

So, this guy came to ask for a team-up.

“Why not?”

“You’re too weak.”

Pluto: ???

Pluto felt a stab in his heart. Although he did come to seek help from Passerby A, Lu Ran’s bluntness was too much.

“I’m not that weak… Didn’t you watch the tournament? I made it to the top 32. Think about it!”

“Alright, alright. If I need you, I’ll let you know,” Lu Ran laughed.

Dragon King’s Nest!

Lu Ran was curious. What special traits or beast taming skills would a pure Dragon Clan boss drop?

In truth, Lu Ran wasn’t particularly eager to challenge the Dragon King’s Nest secret realm. As the forum influencers had noted, the legendary secret realms were likely to be extremely difficult and dangerous.

Yet, not challenging it left Lu Ran curious about what rare resources the Diamond Dragon might drop. This was particularly enticing for Lu Ran, who was researching Dragon Cuisine.

Getting others to challenge it and waiting to reap the rewards didn’t seem realistic either.

Could a team capable of clearing a legendary secret realm really be found among level 1 beastmasters? Lu Ran doubted it.

Unless the team included General Ha, the dragon slayer, making it so that he would have to participate himself.

After all, once he reached level 2, he wouldn’t be able to challenge this secret realm anymore, meaning he would completely miss out.

“No, whether it’s the Divine Beast Leaderboard, global evolution, or this update of legendary difficulty secret realms, they should all be considered ‘era dividends

1

.’”

“If I don’t seize these era dividends, I’ll be left behind by those who do.”

“If the federation obtains some extremely rare loong-type resources from the Dragon King’s Nest and I miss out, I might fall behind.”

After careful consideration, Lu Ran decided to bring the divine deer pendant and take a tentative look inside the Dragon King’s Nest.

“General Ha, Sudden Death King!”

Lu Ran stepped out of the house and went to the training ground in the backyard, summoning General Ha and Sudden Death King.

Both pet beasts were puzzled. Lu Ran had previously mentioned challenging the Abyss Secret Realm. Why were they in the yard now?

“The situation has changed.” Lu Ran explained the matter of the Dragon King’s Nest to the two pet beasts.

“We’re going to challenge this secret realm later. It’s a brand new secret realm with unknown resources and rewards. But since the boss is an upper sovereign species purebred giant dragon, the drops shouldn’t be bad. Sudden Death King, you’re in for some luck.”

Sudden Death King didn’t seem happy; instead, it had a bad premonition.

Sure enough, the next moment, the clever General Ha anticipated Boss Lu’s thoughts and patted Sudden Death King on the back with its paw.

“Woof”

“The boss is likely very strong. Before we go in, let’s prepare for ‘Thor Tactics’!”

In other words, Sudden Death King needed to get ready to take hits and accumulate Domineering Energy! This secret realm was definitely not on the same level as the Abyss Secret Realm. They had to be fully prepared.

Sudden Death King was stunned and felt particularly pained inside. The first secret realm they were to challenge was a loong-type secret realm. It should have been a joyous occasion to collect loong-type resources, but why…

…

Before long, Lu Ran and his team re-entered Infinite City and, with tense anticipation, entered the legendary secret realm: Dragon King’s Nest.

The moment they stepped in, Lu Ran felt something was wrong. The Dragon King’s Nest turned out to be a diamond cavern, but the activity space was too small.

“Woof!”

“Roar…” General Ha and Sudden Death King followed closely beside Lu Ran, cautiously observing their surroundings.

However, when General Ha saw the sparkling diamonds growing in the cavern, its eyes lit up with a wise expression.

Could these diamonds be chipped off and sold for money?

“Clang.” General Ha bit the Ice Sky Greatsword and tried to slice off a piece of diamond, but the cavern diamonds were unexpectedly tough. Even General Ha couldn’t cut them and ended up with sore teeth.

“Don’t mess around!!!” Lu Ran’s heart ached. This dumb dog didn’t realize these were companion diamonds, connected to the lifeblood of the entire cavern. If the diamonds were damaged, the whole cavern would collapse!!

He had always told it to study more about secret realms, but it never listened.

They might get crushed to death by the collapsing cavern before even seeing the boss.

“Woof!”

General Ha, realizing it might damage the cavern, immediately stepped back. Beside it, Sudden Death King, entering the secret realm for the first time, cast a mocking glance… General Ha didn’t seem very smart…

Although Sudden Death King didn’t understand much either, it knew better than to move recklessly!

“Roar!!!!”

At this moment, as Lu Ran and his team entered the secret realm, a powerful Dragon Might accompanied by an astonishing roar echoed from within the cavern!

Rumble.

The cavern began to shake.

In the next moment, a towering creature, combining features of a theropod and a western dragon, without wings and with scales shining like diamonds, stepped out. Its deep blue eyes glared angrily at the intruders.

Behind it floated nine circular blue diamonds, extraordinarily beautiful, emanating intense mountain-like vibrations, giving a sense of immense weight. Just by looking from a distance, Lu Ran’s expression changed, feeling as though a mountain was pressing down on him.

Each of these diamonds, not only incredibly hard but also extremely heavy, contained a special artistic conception!

“We’re retreating.”

As the terrifying Dragon Might swept over them, Lu Ran realized the disparity in strength. He immediately activated the teleport function and chose to exit, fearing that lingering any longer would result in them being wiped out.

However, during the 10-second teleportation, Lu Ran and his team had to endure the wrath of the Diamond Dragon.

In these 10 seconds, the best choice was actually to run. There were several branching paths around, likely meant for challengers to escape. But despite recognizing the difference in power, Lu Ran still wanted to test just how vast this gap was between them and the Diamond Dragon.

After all, they couldn’t leave empty-handed.

“Sudden Death King, hold the line! General Ha, attack!”

With a mighty roar from the Diamond Dragon, the nine circular diamonds behind it shot forward like cannonballs!!

Rumble!!!

The vibrations echoed through the cavern. Seeing this, the Domineering Energy-charged Sudden Death King immediately shaped its Thunder Dragon armor, transforming into a giant dragon itself, standing firm against the diamond barrage. In this state, it could even withstand several times the sword qi from General Ha’s Dragon Slayer Sword.

However, the moment the nine circular diamonds struck Sudden Death King, its Thunder Dragon armor rapidly shattered. Although the force weakened slightly, it still smashed through Sudden Death King’s scales, creating bloody holes and sending it flying with a painful roar.

“Roar!!”

Sudden Death King had taken the hit for Lu Ran and General Ha. Meanwhile, General Ha wasn’t idle either. Clamping the Ice Sky Greatsword in its mouth, it compressed the powerful ice and snow Dragon Slayer Sword qi—still not fully mastered—over twenty times its usual strength. It then transformed into a blue hurricane, hurtling towards the Diamond Dragon to impede its next attack.

Despite the extraordinary force of General Ha’s strike—so intense that its own mouth was bleeding—the attack merely caused a tiny crack in the Diamond Dragon’s scales, leaving only a slight trace of Dragon Blood. The impact was almost negligible!

“Woof!” General Ha and Sudden Death King were both wide-eyed in disbelief. At this moment, Lu Ran, equally shaken, used the power of the divine deer pendant to quickly heal their injuries.

In the next second, amidst the Diamond Dragon’s furious roar, Lu Ran and his team were teleported out.

“Who could possibly pass this?” Lu Ran couldn’t help but curse the moment they left. His first plan upon returning was to have Manager Ying freely share this intelligence with all major factions. This dragon was not to be challenged lightly.

The federation’s resurrection of that sovereign species Tyrannosaurus Rex couldn’t hold a candle to the Diamond Dragon.

Meanwhile, during Lu Ran’s challenge of the legendary secret realm, the leadership of Beast Taming University was holding a meeting about the legendary secret realms.

Principal Shi Zhen said, “Qin Ming, you need to reinforce to the new combat department students not to challenge the legendary secret realms. The other department heads should do the same; make sure the warnings are clear.”

“These freshmen might not understand what an upper sovereign and purebred loong-type represent.”

Only these First Generation students knew just how formidable Gu Qingyi’s upper sovereign purebred divine loong truly was.

Under the same species, they still couldn’t cope. Moreover, these freshmen at most only had commander-level pet beasts. And who was Yi Du? As Dean Kong just explained, he was an extremely powerful level 8 beastmaster from a certain era on the Star-Moon Continent. That Diamond Dragon, which could become his ace in the future, undoubtedly had top-level talent and potential.

“Alright,” Qin Ming, the dean of the combat department, nodded. However, he doubted any freshman would think they were qualified to challenge a sovereign species dragon.

He pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked at Chu Yan, the dean of the cultivating department. They exchanged glances, both feeling a bad premonition.

If any freshman dared to have that kind of confidence, then…

“Latest intelligence.” At this moment, a young man who looked like a secretary knocked and entered, saying, “We have new information about the legendary secret realm. As expected, a fourth-generation beastmaster has recklessly challenged a level 1 legendary secret realm.”

Upon hearing this, many department heads felt a headache coming on. Hadn’t they already issued a notice not to challenge it casually?

“Who was it?” Qin Ming asked angrily, hoping it wasn’t one of their combat department freshmen. He added, “Did that person survive?”

The secretary replied, “It was… Passerby A, Professor Lu Ran.”

“He seems to have made it back alive, although he didn’t pass the legendary secret realm.”

“Where is this intelligence from?” Qin Ming asked, suspecting it was indeed Lu Ran.

“This guy, he gets a little success and it goes to his head.”

Having crushed a low-level sovereign Tyrannosaurus Rex, Lu Ran surely wanted to try the Dragon King’s Nest. But the outcome was probably quite tragic.

“It’s from Infinite City No. 7, the divine beast leaderboard,” the secretary said with a peculiar expression. “Dean Qin, Professor Lu’s Gale Sword Dog and Scaled Dragon Lizard both made it onto the divine beast leaderboard of Infinite City No. 7. The Scaled Dragon Lizard ranked tenth for withstanding a direct hit from the Diamond Dragon, while the Gale Sword Dog pushed your void whale down to second place, ranking first for causing some damage to the Diamond Dragon. This incident has sparked a heated discussion in the beastmaster square of Infinite City No. 7.”

All the school leaders looked at Qin Ming…

Dean Qin: ???

How is this related to him? That Lu Ran just can’t stay out of trouble! His orca had less potential than that Erha? Dean Qin’s face darkened, suddenly not caring much about the legendary secret realm, but rather how the fourth-generation freshmen would compare him to Lu Ran tomorrow…

Footnote:

Era Dividends(时代红利):

“Era Dividends” refers to the significant economic, social, or other benefits that a country, region, or group experiences as a result of major transformations or developments in technology, economy, society, or politics during a specific historical period.