Beastmaster King

"You've grown up. You've finally awakened."

After Sudden Death King roared out its heart, Lu Ran looked at it with relief. It was like a hardworking old father finally seeing his mischievous son start taking studies seriously.

Truth be told, Lu Ran had already been considering this. Captain Doofus had materials from the Wind Dog God. Dark Crow had the support of the Ghost Mother. Among the original three generals, only Sudden Death King was lagging behind in terms of treatment.

Although it had the Nine-Colored Meteorite to devour, its effects were still unknown. And when it came to resources and benefits, no one would ever complain about having more.

This time, while visiting the Divine Turtle, Lu Ran had also hoped to seek a blessing for Sudden Death King.

"Good. Then I'll leave the rest to you."

The Divine Turtle simply refused to wake up, so Lu Ran gave up and lay down on the floating Baby Cloud, handing the task of waking the Divine Turtle to Sudden Death King.

"Roar!"

Sudden Death King clenched its fists, its expression firm as it psyched itself up.

You can do this, Sudden Death King!

The next moment, it began pondering how to wake the Divine Turtle. First, since Lu Ran's shouting hadn't worked, it meant the Divine Turtle was in a deep sleep.

At times like this, only physical contact would likely rouse it, but the Divine Turtle's defenses were undoubtedly incredibly strong. Ordinary contact would be nothing more than a mosquito's itch to it. It was definitely not enough to wake it.

After some thought, Sudden Death King decided to wake the Divine Turtle with its strongest attack. At only level 50, its ultimate move definitely couldn't harm the Divine Turtle, making it the perfect alarm clock.

With that thought, Sudden Death King spread its wings. Lu Ran, Baby Cloud, and Manager Ying watched as the surroundings instantly transformed.

Domain expansion!

Although the ground remained the same, the sky's appearance completely changed. Lu Ran and the others were pulled into Sudden Death King's domain.

The domain was breathtakingly beautiful, resembling the Evolution secret realm. The sky was like a starry expanse, glittering with countless dazzling stars.

Upon seeing Sudden Death King activate its Meteor Domain out of nowhere, Manager Ying stared in shock. "Holy shit. Sudden Death King, you brat, are you planning to wake the Divine Turtle with a domain skill?"

"Rawr!"

Sudden Death King gave Manager Ying a thumbs-up.

Don't worry, my domain skill can distinguish friend from foe!

In the next moment, it cast a defensive halo over Manager Ying, Lu Ran, and Baby Cloud.

"Go for it, Sudden Death King." Lu Ran voiced his support, not objecting to Sudden Death King's approach.

It was just a way to tickle the Divine Turtle awake. Once it woke up, it surely wouldn't complain. It wasn't like they were polluting the nearby water source, as Ghost Mother had suggested—thatwould be truly disrespectful.

"Roar!"

Encouraged by Lu Ran, Sudden Death King also wanted to impress the Divine Turtle. With a wave of its hand, hundreds of lights lit up the sky. Then, gravity within the domain seemed to multiply a hundredfold.

At the same time, the lights grew brighter. They were meteorites wreathed in red lightning, hurtling toward the turtle shell at high speed.

Meteor Domain!

After consuming the Earthen Ape God's heart, Sudden Death King gained the power to manipulate gravity. Combined with its Meteor Intent and Rock-attribute abilities, it had developed this domain skill.

Under normal circumstances, any enemy caught in this domain would be lucky to escape with their life. This domain also had another ridiculously overpowered aspect. The durability of Sudden Death King's domain shell was several times stronger than that of Captain Doofus, Dark Crow, or even Lu Ran.

For Captain Doofus, slashing through Lu Ran's or Dark Crow's domains wasn't too hard. But trying to break Sudden Death King's domain would take considerable effort, leaving it exhausted like the dog it was. Thus, Sudden Death King's domain could also function as a sealing domain to trap enemies. If Sudden Death King were the same level as Manager Ying, its sealing prowess might even rival its.

In an instant, countless meteors crashed down. Each impact was like a missile explosion, sending massive mushroom clouds into the air.

Sheltered within Sudden Death King's defensive halo, Lu Ran and the others watched the spectacle like it was a fireworks display, utterly mesmerized. However, while Lu Ran's group enjoyed the show, the turtles on the island were cursing up a storm.

To ensure the meteors could hit the ground, Sudden Death King had created a semi-open domain. As a result, the barrage of meteors caused the entire island to quake violently. Tsunami-like waves erupted around the island. Countless turtles were flipped onto their backs, shells on the ground, as their legs flailed in the air.

Finally, the violent tremors elicited a furious roar from beneath Lu Ran and the others. It sounded like the Divine Turtle was swearing up a storm, too.

"What kind of flies are these?" The colossal beast awoke in an exceptionally foul mood.

But the next moment, a clear voice reached its mind.

"Lord Divine Turtle. Lord Divine Turtle! I am a messenger of Lord Divine Deer, sent by it to visit you."

Standing at the center of the meteor impacts, Lu Ran waved the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer.

Only then did the Divine Turtle realize that a certain idiot dragon had been pelting its shell with rocks for fun.

Hm? Wait, a messenger of the Divine Deer?

The Divine Turtle's limbs, head, and tail emerged from its shell as it psychically scanned Lu Ran and the others on its back.

"I see. But can that lizard calm down? If you keep smashing, I'll kill you. Is this how you wake someone up? With a domain skill?"

Sudden Death King shuddered, immediately stopping its wake-up call with a pitiful expression. This wasn't how it had imagined things going. In its mind, the Divine Turtle would wake up and exclaim in awe. Instead, it got threats.

Frustrated, Sudden Death King began pounding at its own scales, trying to draw the Divine Turtle's attention to its shining qualities.

"The Divine Deer sent you? What's the matter?"

Ignoring Sudden Death King, the Divine Turtle focused on the broken horn in Lu Ran's hand, a nostalgic expression crossing its face.

It has been so long since I last caught up with that old friend. How many years has it been? Hundreds? Thousands? I slept for too long—I can't remember.

"Lord Divine Turtle, so what happened was..."

Lu Ran proceeded to explain the situation with Limitless City, the Divine Deer's speculation that it might be connected to the Four Divine Dragons, and their hope to locate the dragons to prevent potential Legendary disasters after the spiritual energy resurgence.

The Divine Turtle looked surprised. "So much has happened while I slept. Limitless City... It sounds more like something the Mechanical God created by humans would make. But even at the Primary Divine level, it shouldn't be capable of such a miracle. Besides, it's already been destroyed.

"Very well. Since it's an old friend's request... and the Life Dragon Lord has been missing for so long, it's about time we searched properly."

Lu Ran said, "Lord Divine Turtle, I've brought 100,000 high-quality human blood samples. If you'd prefer not to enter the human world, perhaps you could select a suitable messenger by examining these."

The Divine Turtle nodded. "Oh?How thoughtful of you. Then let me take a look."

Lu Ran retrieved the spatial equipment he'd prepared earlier. The Divine Turtle, like Ghost Mother, began inspecting the blood samples. However, after a long examination, it fell into the same silence as the Ghost Mother.

"Is this all? Only one of these samples is barely passable."

With that, it pulled out a single test tube. Lu Ran fell silent upon seeing it.

"Lord Divine Turtle... That's mine."

Here we go again.

Divine Turtle was taken aback. "Aren't you the Divine Deer's messenger? Why did you include your own blood?"

"If you truly can't find a suitable candidate, I suppose I could—"

"No need. I won't fight the Divine Deer for personnel."

The Divine Turtle then pulled out another test tube. "Upon closer inspection, this one seems somewhat acceptable, too."

"Uh..." Lu Ran and Manager Ying froze.

This tube didn't belong to anyone from Beastmaster University. Aside from students, Shi Zhen had also collected blood samples from some of Xia's top beastmasters. But this one...

Zhao Huanshi.

It was the old president's name. Lu Ran was stunned. The Ghost Mother's pick had already been absurd enough, but now the Divine Turtle was also...

The old president was older than Lu Ran's grandfather. Though he was currently one of the strongest beastmasters on Blue Planet aside from Lu Ran, his potential couldn't possibly compare to the younger generation.

"The owner of this blood sample... is quite old by human standards, though."

The Divine Turtle said, "Indeed. For someone of his age to still possess such strength—and with relatively little training time—his talent may have been underestimated. Young people are too impulsive. An older individual would be more mature and steady. I choose him.

"As my messenger, I can arrange for one of mine to form a contract with him. My clan, the Longevity Turtles, possesses a unique trait. The older they or their contractor are, the greater the power they can unleash. Tell him to find me."

"Understood." Lu Ran nodded, silently mourning for Dr. Gu and Fang Lan in his heart.

They lost. They lost completely! They'll have to rely on themselves now.

Most of the Divine Dragon's kin were Low Legendary anyway. Being their messenger wasn't all that great. Right now, Lu Ran had no energy to worry about Dr. Gu and Fang Lan.

Before the Divine Turtle could usher them away, he quickly added, "Lord Divine Turtle, I have one more presumptuous request. I've heard that your defensive prowess is unparalleled, hailed as the strongest among Legendaries. My dragon familiar here also specializes in defense. Could you maybe... offer some guidance?"

"Roar!"

The dopey Sudden Death King immediately straightened up proudly.

The Divine Turtle assessed Sudden Death King and, after a moment of contemplation, said, "It's hopeless."

Sudden Death King was very taken aback.

"Huh?" Lu Ran was stunned as well.

"Like us... its innate foundation is too weak. Its bloodline is too weak. Without altering its fate, it will be extremely difficult to develop its defensive attributes to the limit. Defense relies more on physical constitution than offense or speed.

"I can tell its innate qualities are poor. Although it evolved using the Dragon King Bloodline, that bloodline is still too weak. As a defense-focused creature, it will struggle to reach quasi-Legendary status with the Dragon King Bloodline. Superior Overlord is likely its limit.

"If I were a dragon, I might be able to help refine its bloodline. But alas, I am not. With a different species and attributes, its growth will depend on your own efforts."

Sudden Death King and Lu Ran fell silent. In the Divine Turtle's eyes, the Dragon King Bloodline was actually weak. But it made sense. A dragon king was merely a top-tier Overlord dragon. Even the Diamond Dragon King was just the trump card of an Epic-Legendary beastmaster. For Sudden Death King to rely on the Dragon King Bloodline to excel in defense was indeed a tall order.

Sudden Death King was a Dragon-attribute familiar fused with Lightning and Rock attributes. To prevent the latter two from overshadowing its main attribute, it had to continue down the Dragon path. In fact, its current formidable defenses were largely thanks to the Dragon attribute's exceptional qualities.

The Divine Turtle said, "I won't let you leave empty-handed. If you can obtain the blood of a Legendary-rank Dragon and bring it to me, I can help it perfectly refine and fuse the bloodline, extracting the essence and discarding the impurities.

"Blood is a liquid, and as the God of Oceanic Life, this is the extent of what I can do. If it tries to refine its bloodline alone, it would take millennia just to begin. This is the only shortcut."

The blood of a Legendary-rank Dragon...

Lu Ran's first thought was the Dragon Secret Realm within the Mythical secret realms.

"Thank you, Lord Divine Turtle."

"Rawr!"

Lu Ran and Sudden Death King hurriedly expressed their gratitude. Regardless, the Divine Turtle had provided a highly feasible suggestion. This trip was worth it.

***

Eventually, Lu Ran and the others left Turtle Island. Seeing that Lu Ran had successfully secured benefits from yet another Legendary, Manager Ying chuckled.

"As expected, shamelessness reigns supreme. I bet if it were Bai Lu or Death Gun, they wouldn't have had the nerve to outright ask the Divine Turtle for favors."

Lu Ran's face reddened. "Ahem. It's all for the sake of my familiars. As a beastmaster, what's a little shame? I've realized that lacking a conscience only makes capitalists richer, and lacking shame only makes familiars stronger!

"Still, the blood of a Legendary Dragon won't be easy to find. Captain Doofus and the others are still far from being able to clear a Mythical secret realm. The chances of succeeding before the World War are minuscule.

"Even if they evolve to Low Legendary, it won't change much. After all, the opponents are veteran Legendary bosses with deep reserves. Only the Six-Paths Flower can suppress them. Newly ascended Legendaries can't compare in terms of foundation..."

Manager Ying pouted. "We'll see. If you could retrieve a Legendary-grade potential resource like the imperial seal in your last ascension realm, who's to say Limitless City won't arrange Legendary-grade dragon blood for you in the next one? Now that your task is complete, go level up. Take the gamble and let Sudden Death King become Legendary!"

Lu Ran shuddered. "Tch. You're even bolder than I am. I've got it. I'll ask Daddy Limitless City to send me to the era when the Divine Tree and the Chaos Dragon God were fighting. I'll just scoop up some blood dropped by the Primary Divine-rank dragon and make a run for it! I'll gamble it all so that Sudden Death King becomes Legendary!"

Manager Ying was confused. "Scram, scram. Are you sure the Divine Turtle can help Sudden Death King fuse with the Primary Divine-grade dragon blood? You'd blow it up! Why not just go drain the blood of the Four Supreme Divine Dragons while you're at it?"

"They're not even real dragons..."

***

The banter between Lu Ran and Manager Ying continued throughout the journey.

Now, Lu Ran could finally focus on his own affairs. To save time and teleportation resources, he decided to split up with Manager Ying. He would enter Limitless City directly from Stellar Moon World and proceed to the ascension realm.

Meanwhile, Manager Ying would return to Blue Planet to deliver the good news to Principal Shi Zhen and the old president, as they'd been chosen by Legendary divine beasts. At the very least, this meant the Stellar Moon versus Blue Planet messengers count was now a fair 3v3.

To avoid delaying the World War, they needed to hurry over and receive enhancements from the Legendary divine beasts. As messengers, they'd surely get some welcome gifts, right?

"Then it's settled."

Some time later, Lu Ran and Manager Ying went their separate ways. Lu Ran entered his private room in Limitless City.

[Name: Ascension Realm]

[Secret Realm Level: 4]

[Difficulty: Unknown]

[Entry Fee: 0]

[Introduction: You will enter an unknown world and undergo an ascension trial.]

***

What era will it be this time...

Despite having experienced this many times, Lu Ran still felt a twinge of nervousness as he entered.

[Matching you with a suitable ascension realm...]

[Matching in progress...]

[Please wait...]

After a long wait...

[Matching successful.]

[Secret Realm Type: Multiplayer, Cross-World (You have been matched with beastmasters from other worlds' Limitless Cities.)]

[Teleportation countdown: 10...9...8...0!]

[Destination: Stellar Moon Republic (Capital)]

As the teleportation began, Lu Ran's body, which combined traits from a dog, a dragon, a crow, a cloud, and a flower, jolted violently.

Holy shit. Stellar Moon Republic! This is... The Mechanical Era!

Lu Ran was completely unprepared.

This is bad!What happened to the Divine Tree vs. Chaos Dragon God battle period?