Beastmaster King

The old president nearly choked on his words when he heard Lu Ran's statement.

What the hell?

"What's going on? What exactly is your relationship with the Amazon Flower God?" the old president asked.

"We're Good friends. It requires territory and followers to cultivate its Legendary talent. Meanwhile, I obtained the imperial seal of the Beastmaster Empire from Emperor Yun in the last ascension realm, so I need a piece of land to activate the seal's special effects. We hit it off and decided to collaborate a bit."

The old president was baffled.

"Don't worry, I won't mess around."

"I..." The old president felt dizzy.

To be honest, he had already considered retiring after the World War and passing his position to Lu Ran or one of the Twelve Zodiacs. Among them, Lu Ran was the best candidate since the president's position prioritized strength.

But this guy actually went and established a nation in the Amazon Rainforest? And what was up with Emperor Yun? How could he just hand over the imperial seal to Lu Ran in less than a month? That was way too casual.

The old chairman wanted to say something, but he eventually realized that joining Lu Ran's organization might not be a bad idea. The reason he wanted to retire in the first place was that he felt too restricted domestically, unable to do what he truly wanted.

As the president, he was under too much scrutiny and immense pressure. If this were just an organization that Lu Ran had casually rebuilt to activate an item, there probably wouldn't be many constraints.

"I'll think about it. By the way, have you activated the intelligent machinery you brought back?"

"Huh?Oh, not yet. I plan to activate it after coming out of the next ascension realm, when I can contract it. I don't intend to use the beastmaster space contract. After all, only familiars contracted with contract cards can fuse traits right now."

"So, when do you plan to enter the next ascension realm? You must already have a familiar at level 50, right?" the old president asked.

"Well... I can go anytime, but I plan to wait a little longer. Captain Doofus, Baby Cloud, and Sudden Death King currently have four fused traits each, with one slot still empty. I want to fill all their trait slots before entering the ascension realm."

Although Lu Ran was strong enough to clear the ascension realm, the stronger he was upon entry, the better. That way, he could use the remaining time to explore the realm more efficiently. The only question was what era his next ascension realm would be in.

"I won't disturb you anymore, then."

Soon after, the old president hung up, and Lu Ran turned back to Manager Ying.

"Manager Ying, work harder! We still need two more traits for Six-Path Flower. The gap is widening, and we urgently need your intelligence network to step up."

Manager Ying lay lazily on its throne, sighing. "I know, I know. Finding suitable traits isn't that easy, and you haven't even told me what you're looking for. How am I supposed to help you?"

"I'm still thinking. Take Six-Paths Flower, for example. There are very few traits that would actually be useful for it. The situation is similar for Captain Doofus and the others. Help me look for Sudden Death King's first. I feel like that should be easier.

"Right now, Sudden Death King follows a Lightning-Rock Dragon system, with Dragon as its primary attribute. Its draconic power includes both Lightning and Rock attributes. The Rock attribute is relatively weak since he only awakened that secondary attribute during evolution due to traits and resources.

"In comparison, its Lightning power is much stronger, as it's both an innate attribute and fused with the Red Lightning trait. That's why I want to balance and unify its draconic power, ensuring the Rock attribute within it can match the strength of its Lightning attribute."

Manager Ying clarified, "You want Sudden Death King's fifth trait to be a Rock-attribute trait?"

Lu Ran nodded. "Exactly. That sounds relatively easy. Any recommendations?"

"Give me some time. I'll take my leave now." Manager Ying stretched.

"Alright. Then I'll test the effects of cultivating Flame Spirit under the imperial seal's effects next!" Lu Ran declared.

***

From then on, they split up and worked separately. Manager Ying went to gather intelligence for Lu Ran, while Six-Paths Flower began using its Life Bestowal talent to awaken the vicious plants in the Death Forest one by one.

Tasked with managing the Transcendent plants in the Amazon Rainforest, Six-Paths Flower planned to train the forest into its trusted subordinates. It was.

Meanwhile, Lu Ran took the imperial seal and started cooking. He had been making quick progress with his Flame Spirit cultivation recently, thanks to an Epic resource known as Flame Tiger Bones, which he had obtained from the last ascension realm.

Like the Earthen Ape God's heart, he had already turned it into an ingredient. Although he had used a crude method, it still significantly boosted Lu Ran's Flame Spirit level.

Originally, Flame Spirit only contained the power of the Flame Dragon. Now, it had transformed and was imbued with the power of both Dragon and Tiger. The Flame Dragon was on the left, while the Flame Tiger was on the right. However, it existed parallel to the Flame Dragon Intent, preventing it from significantly boosting Lu Ran's strength.

Since then, Lu Ran had been immersing himself in Flame Spirit cultivation. First, he cooked every part of the black dragon, preserving them for Dr. Gu and the Flood Dragon Squad. Afterward, he focused on forging the various forging blueprints that Emperor Yan had left and the materials that he had gathered.

Since his goal was to improve his forging skill, not successfully produce equipment, Lu Ran deliberately aimed to destroy the materials during the forging process—even high-quality ones that could turn into Epic-grade equipment or weapons.

Lu Ran pursued perfection in every step and sought breakthroughs in intricate techniques. He ruined piece after piece of equipment, using his failures to refine his technique and mastery. Though costly, the method rapidly improved his forging level. Naturally, Lu Ran didn't care about the resources. What he lacked now was time, not materials.

Inside the Amazon Palace, Lu Ran shouted, "Fuck!"

A violent surge erupted, drawing Six-Path Flower over immediately. It frowned upon seeing Lu Ran covered in soot, with his hair curled up from the explosion.

"I... I just tried forging the Poison Feather Arrow using the lifebound Epic feather from the Feather Demon Lord..."

"And then? Actually, never mind—I get it. You wasted it. You wasted an Epic-grade resource just like that."

Lu Ran went crazy. "Fucking hell. I thought my level was high enough to forge Epic-grade materials. I didn't expect it to be this hard."

Six-Paths Flower facepalmed. "In the thousand-year-old empire, only Emperor Yan could easily cook and forge Epic-grade cuisines and equipment—and that was after he reached Legendary. You're only level 4, and you think you can already forge Epic-grade equipment? Are you stupid?"

Lu Ran didn't know what to say. Hence, he instead replied, "Right now, the only Epic-grade materials I still have are the Crocodile Ancestor's Hide and two pieces of Star Iron. I can't mess around anymore. I'll wait until after I hit level 5. The crocodile hide can be used to forge a whip, and the Star Iron can be used to forge armor and a shield for Sudden Death King. I can't waste them!"

"Oh~!So, when are we returning to Stellar Moon World? I've just about wrapped things up here. I want to challenge and test my strength against one of the Zodiac Gods in Limitless City's Mythical secret realm."

"No rush. Manager Ying is still looking for two more traits for you. It'll be safer to challenge the realm after fully fusing all compatible trait slots," Lu Ran replied.

"Is that cat even reliable? It's been so long, yet we still haven't received word." Six-Paths Flower sounded suspicious.

Lu Ran pondered. "I'll give Manager Ying a call. If there's been no progress, we'll just head over first. To be honest, I'm getting impatient too."

***

On a snowy slope somewhere in Antarctica, Manager Ying took out its phone with an exhausted expression.

"Meow, meow, meow.Ying here."

"Manager Ying, how's the trait collection going? I've been waiting so long that the flowers have wilted."

"You're one to talk. I'm exhausted. Here's the bad news first: someone has already taken your 'Attribute-Switching Trait.' That Legendary secret realm got raided. No point in having your master or the Flood Dragon Squad challenge it now."

"What?"

"Don't worry, I've also got some good news. I managed to quickly get in touch with the team and bought the trait for you.Haih...I'm running myself into the ground all for Baby Cloud."

Lu Ran scratched his head. He was just about to say it was fine to switch to a different trait, but seeing Manager Ying like this, he truly felt bad for it.

"Moreover, I've also gotten Sudden Death King's trait. I spent a fortune just to get it from a beastmaster in the Snow Federation.

"The trait is called Star Stone. Rock-attribute familiars that absorb this trait can feed on meteorites. The more meteorites they consume, the stronger they physically become. Eventually, they'll subtly transform, allowing them to survive in space and become space creatures.

"Even Legendary divine beasts normally can't survive in space for long. Since Sudden Death King has already mastered Meteorite Intent, combining it with Star Stone should grant another layer of power. The compatibility isn't bad. What do you think?"

Lu Ran nodded firmly. "Great. Really great. This way, Sudden Death King's Lightning and Rock attributes will be better balanced. By the way, did you find any suitable traits for Captain Doofus or Six-Paths Flower?"

"Not yet. There are just too few compatible traits circulating on the market," Manager Ying replied.

"I see..." Lu Ran thought for a moment. "Forget it. Since we can't find anything suitable, just head back for now. Since the blood samples from Beastmaster University have been drawn, we should return to Stellar Moon World! Six-Paths Flower is dying to challenge a Mythical secret realm. But going into this underprepared... I'm honestly worried we'll get stomped..."

Manager Ying reassured, "Failing to clear it isn't shameful. Everyone who has challenged one before has gotten stopped by it at least once in their life. Still, if you somehow clear one, the rewards inside might include Legendary Traits that would solve your urgent needs.

"Oh, right. Aren't the bosses in the Mythical secret realm the Zodiac Gods? Since Captain Doofus is missing a trait, just have Six-Paths Flower challenge the Dog Secret Realm. It seems like a good fit for you guys!"

Lu Ran was stunned.

Wait... Manager Ying also thought of making the strong carry the weak?!