Beastmaster King

It was a seemingly ordinary bone sword. In terms of abilities, it might not surpass the Starlight Sword crafted by #18, but it wasn't meant to be wielded directly. It was an evolution artifact.

"Wuwuwu!"

A small blue sword spirit hovered excitedly around Lu Ran, gazing at the bone sword with immense attraction. Like a starving dog eyeing a meaty bone, it dripped saliva-like spiritual energy from its blade.

"Go ahead." Lu Ran smiled.

"Woof!"

Captain Doofus, who was lying beside Lu Ran, also eyed the sword spirit eagerly, urging it to try possession.

If its kin could grow stronger, it would be overjoyed.

"Whoosh, whoosh~!"

The swordgrass floated mid-air, slicing away at the vicious spirits attacking from all sides while watching the sword spirit intently.

As the sword spirit charged forward and merged into the bone sword, a dazzling radiance instantly erupted from the blade.

It was Possession Evolution!

Lu Ran activated his Eye of Detection, clearly seeing the sword spirit's species rank skyrocketing.

A fierce sword wind exploded, sending the swordgrass flying. Lu Ran quickly erected a flame wall to block the shockwave.

"This power... It's... It's a success, a resounding success!" Lu Ran burst into laughter, his eyes gleaming with triumph.

Beside him, Captain Doofus, who had been watching the spectacle, suddenly sensed something amiss.

The sword spirit's species rank was soaring. In the blink of an eye, it stabilized at an unbelievable level. It went from a Superior King to a Superior Overlord. Captain Doofus' jaw dropped, its eyes widening in disbelief. Its own base species rank was only Intermediate Overlord.

"Woof?" Captain Doofus barked in confusion.

Wait, how did a sword spirit forged from my own teeth surpass my species rank? This defies all logic!

As the light faded, the sword spirit reappeared, its form completely transformed. Its spiritual body had vanished and fully fused with the possessed bones. The bones disintegrated into fragments mid-air, swiftly reassembling into the shape of a hellish skeletal dog.

Blue hellfire-like currents flowed within the skeletal frame and radiated an eerie aura.

[Species: Hell Bone Sword]

[Attributes: Undead, Wind, Ice, Space]

[Species Rank: Superior Overlord]

[Level: 55]

[Evolution Talents: Bone Marrow Power, Wind Dominion]

"Woof, woof, woof!"

Captain Doofus stood up, astonished.

"Whoosh!"

The swordgrass flew over as it was equally stunned by the sword spirit's newfound power.

The Hell Bone Dog landed softly.

"Woof."

It felt incredibly strong, as if even Captain Doofus might not be a match for it now.

Lu Ran stroked his chin. "Nothing to be surprised about. Everything went exactly as I predicted. Its species talents are identical to the powers I gain when transforming into a dog demon. Clearly, the Wind Dog God's remains were a top-tier Epic artifact on par with the Transformation Bracelet.

"If I can temporarily reach the quasi-Legendary status with the Transformation Bracelet, it's only natural for Corpse Dog to evolve into a Superior Overlord by possessing a bone sword forged from the Wind Dog God's remains.

"Excellent. Though taking on three Legendaries at once might be tough, with some specialized training, one-on-one against their main forces should be manageable, right? Alright, Captain Doofus. Care to share your thoughts? How does it feel to have your kin surpass you in species rank? Aren't you moved to tears by your beastmaster's genius?"

As Lu Ran boasted, he couldn't help but think that Legendary secret realms were truly wonderful. He wondered if, after Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King evolved, they could help him challenge another one.

"Woof, woof, woof, woof!"

Captain Doofus lowered its head in contemplation.

As expected, the later the evolution, the higher the species rank. Even a tooth's species rank has surpassed Sudden Death King.

"Hey, hey, hey. I fused the Absolute Comprehension Trait into you so that you could summarize useful insights, not so you could have these bizarre thoughts."

"Arf!"

Captain Doofus wore a proud expression.

No! I've thought about this even before fusing with the Absolute Comprehension Trait.

With that, it cast a domineering glance at the Hell Bone Sword.

So what if its base species rank is higher? It's still just a tooth that fell from my mouth!

"Awooo!"

Bone Dog Armor, fuse!

Captain Doofus howled, and Corpse Dog immediately charged toward it. Its body disintegrated into countless bone fragments mid-sprint. As the bone storm-like special effects enveloped Captain Doofus, its appearance transformed. It revealed the long-absent Bone-Dog Captain Doofus form.

Piece by piece, the bone shards assembled into armor on Captain Doofus. The floating bones flexibly reconfigured. Once complete, Captain Doofus looked as if it were clad in sharp bone armor. It exuded an even greater aura. Its face resembled a small, shield-like mask made of white bone.

At the same time, it clenched a sword identical to the original Hell Bone Sword in its jaws.

[Species: Sword Domain Dog (Kin Amplified Form)]

[Attributes: Wind, Ice, Space]

[Species Rank: Intermediate Overlord (Quasi-Legendary)]

"Not bad! It's a very dignified evolution!"

Upon seeing Captain Doofus' old skin make a comeback, Lu Ran's eyes lit up. Finally, he'd elevated Captain Doofus to quasi-Legendary without side effects. After all, even with the Epic-grade Starlight Sword, Captain Doofus could only reach Superior Overlord, which was the same rank as when biting a branch.

The previous sword spirit and swordgrass were the same. They could only boost Captain Doofus to Superior Overlord. For Captain Doofus to raise its species rank to quasi-Legendary using its Sword Sovereign talent, there was only one method. It was by activating the Limitless Sword Domain while biting a top-tier Epic artifact like the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer, relying on the "I Think Therefore I Am" power to simulate the artifact as a sword.

However, this method had major flaws. Simulating an artifact as a sword wasn't the same as wielding a real sword, which led to significant limitations. For example, while biting the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer, Captain Doofus became a tiny pup, with none of its attack, defense, or speed reaching quasi-Legendary. Only its vitality reached that rank.

Moreover, if an enemy disrupted the Limitless Sword Domain and shattered it, Captain Doofus' intelligence would reclaim dominance, nullifying the "I Think Therefore I Am" effect. Additionally, maintaining the Limitless Sword Domain consumed huge amounts of stamina. Captain Doofus was essentially boosting its species rank through an extremely costly buff.

Even without fighting, Captain Doofus couldn't sustain it indefinitely. But now, things were different. Captain Doofus had achieved quasi-Legendary status with just itself and a sword, without relying on the Limitless Sword Domain. It was a first in history. This state was undoubtedly Captain Doofus' strongest form, with zero consumption or strain. It was a permanent combat mode!

"Woof, woof, woof, woof!"

Captain Doofus frolicked around the secret realm with sharp eyes. With just four abilities fused with it, it had already reached quasi-Legendary combat power. If it fused with Critical Hit, Equivalent Exchange, and the Wind God's Heart, it couldn't even imagine how strong it would become!

That damn Dark Crow... That damn Six-Path Flower!

While Captain Doofus and sword spirit celebrated, the swordgrass drifted over to Lu Ran, looking dejected.

"Whoosh... Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh."

It seemed to ask Lu Ran when it would get stronger, too.

"Don't worry. You're Captain Doofus' original sword partner. You won't be left behind. Just wait. Your Bloodthirst talent will be maximized after Sudden Death King fuses with the divine dragon's blood. By then, its bloodline will undoubtedly be the strongest in the team. Slashing it will level you up for sure."

The swordgrass brightened, though it had no eyes.

"In the meantime, here's something to cheer you up."

Lu Ran pulled out a massive frozen beef leg. After thawing it for a bit, drops of blood began to drip from it.

"It's a quasi-Legendary creature's blood..."

Lu Ran was touched that this item had been delivered by Dark Crow as a tribute.

As expected of Dark Crow.

Knowing he'd be hungry after forging weapons, it had sent this beef leg. Now it would serve its purpose. Although it was only a Treasure-grade item, it was among the finest.

As Lu Ran revealed the beef leg, Captain Doofus stopped its celebration, swallowing hard as it stared at the meat.

"The swordgrass drinks the blood, I eat the meat, and you and the sword spirit can have the bones."

"Woof, woof, woof, woof!"