Beastmaster King

After a long period, a fox covered in dust flashed into existence, casting a wary glance in a certain direction.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

It couldn't understand why that dog had attacked without even a greeting. It was completely unreasonable. Back in its prime, even cross-species powerhouses had treated it with respect. This was the first time the fox had encountered such a rude creature.

"I can't go back like this. Only specific things can win it over. Let me think. For a Sword Domain Dog, it's definitely swords. If I can find a good sword..." The Fox God fell into deep thought.

***

"Like throwing meat buns at a dog. There is no going back."[1]

Unbeknownst to the Fox God, everything that had just happened was witnessed by a humanoid plant creature. Standing on a tree, Six-Path Flower shook its head.

This fox isn't very bright.

At first, it thought the fox was rushing off for something important, but it turned out to be trying to seduce Captain Doofus.

"However, it's quite strong. Just like that Nine-Tailed Cat, its escape skills are top-notch. Lu Ran's imperial seal must have grown significantly stronger this time."

Everything in the Beastmaster Empire was under Six-Path Flower's surveillance, and everything was thriving. Although there was a hint of exploiting wild creatures, a glance at #18's direction confirmed this wasn't discrimination.

Lu Ran treated his own children and the empire's citizens with the same policy, royalty and commoners sharing joy. In a way, he was a good emperor.

***

After settling the people from Xia, Lu Ran suddenly sneezed.

"Achoo!Someone must be talking shit about me."

As he rubbed his nose, he shook his head. "It can't be helped. Being this outstanding, it's natural to be talked about."

He patted his own shoulder and returned to his palace while pulling out a roster.

"No, none of these are suitable."

After reviewing the empire's powerful beasts' species several times, Lu Ran shook his head. Unlike most Blue Planet beastmasters, Lu Ran had a unique approach to nurturing familiars.

Others, like Oub, specialized in the Mechanical attribute, while Dr. Gu focused on the Dragon attribute. Then there was Pig God, who specialized in pig breeds. If Lu Ran's nurturing style had to be defined, it would be the kinship legion approach. As the Beastmaster King, why fight alone when you can gang up?

For example, Captain Doofus now had two Overlord kin to strengthen itself, with future Light-attribute sword kin on the way. As for Sudden Death King, shield kin were already being nurtured. Meanwhile, Dark Crow had long begun raising a crow legion. Six-Path Flower itself could also use its talent to create a Wood Asura legion with minimal cost.

So, when Lu Ran asked #18 to build an evolution castle, he made a small request. Although the mechanical castle was Baby Cloud's evolution tool, Lu Ran wanted the castle to accommodate other lifeforms.

Essentially, when the mechanical castle moved, it shouldn't be able to just carry one familiar but also a legion of familiars to assist Baby Cloud. However, after careful consideration, Lu Ran found that the best species to assist Baby Cloud was still elemental lifeforms themselves, specifically the elemental sprites hatched from the Elemental Life Creation Device.

These elemental sprites, being the purest elemental crystals, were the cleanest backup energy sources.

"Although the Divine Deer forbade me from casually creating elemental sprites, I can just let Baby Cloud make them. It's still a child. What does it know?" Lu Ran lay back, resigned.

***

As night fell, Lin Nian and the others had already explored a vast area. When Lu Ran summoned them to the central district for dinner, the sight of the brightly lit, open imperial city and palace in the rainforest made their lips twitch uncontrollably.

Countless fireflies flew across the sky, creating an incredible visual feast. It made Pig God and the others realize just how much Lu Ran knew how to enjoy life.

With the imperial seal strengthened again, Lu Ran personally cooked to entertain everyone. Faced with a table full of delicious meat and dishes, Lin Nian and the others hesitated slightly.

"These dishes... They're not made from familiars who died of exhaustion while mining, are they?"

Lin Nian's words made everyone's hands tremble as they held their chopsticks. It wasn't that they were afraid to eat, but the implication was downright diabolical.

"Of course not. These ingredients were all bought from Limitless City. What kind of person do you take me for?" Lu Ran said, his lips twitching.

Those puppet beasts were all skin and bones. He would never use such ingredients.

"Eat up. It's definitely not poisoned," Lu Ran said.

Bai Lu had enjoyed it immensely before. However, she wasn't in the Amazon now. After seeing Lu Ran return, she had dashed off to Blue Planet's Limitless City and hadn't come back yet.

Just as Lu Ran couldn't resist experiencing Stellar Moon's Limitless City upon arrival, Bai Lu was also fascinated by Blue Planet's Legendary secret realms, the Heavenly Familiar Ranking, and other facilities. However, it seemed she hadn't found a suitable level 6 Legendary secret realm yet.

As for Lu Yao, after rigorous training with Bai Lu to master energy control, it was too exhausted to join the meal and had gone to sleep the moment Bai Lu left.

"Let's feast!" Pig God was the first to dig in, tearing into a large piece of meat.

Shi Zhen also grabbed a lobster, pulling at it while saying, "Speaking of the upcoming second evolution secret realm, aside from Lin Yin, the three of you will probably enter, right?"

"Yes." Lin Nian nodded.

"I evolved two familiars at once in the last evolution secret realm, but I still have two left unevolved," the Pig God added.

"Yeah, I'm going in this time too, but I'll only evolve one familiar. The others aren't ready yet." Lu Ran said.

"Which one?" Lin Yin looked at Lu Ran.

"The catastrophe sprite."

Everyone nodded.

"You're probably aiming to evolve a quasi-Legendary this time, right? Damn it, looks like I'll never get to enjoy the evolution blessing from a second stage evolution secret realm in this lifetime." He sighed while chewing his meat.

Lu Ran shook his head. "It's hard to say. Just relying on traits, it doesn't feel like it'll reach quasi-Legendary. We're still researching a mechanical evolution tool stronger than the Calamity Pistol, but progress is tough. We only have a few days left. I don't know if we'll succeed. If we fail, it might just end up as a Superior Overlord."

"Even if it ends up as just a Superior Overlord, it won't be your average one. In internet terms, it'd be a 'Superior Overlord of Peak Great Perfection, a Superior Overlord of the Invincible Realm.' You're already very strong," Pig God said.

Lu Ran looked at the moon. He wasn't being modest. #18's feedback indicated this was genuinely difficult. Even more so than creating the Elemental Life Creation Device. The device's success was largely thanks to Six-Path Flower's sap, and even then, it only produced Low-Transcendent sprites.

This time, Lu Ran was asking #18, a Mechanical Overlord, to research a quasi-Legendary evolution path. Lu Ran knew it was tough, so he was prepared. If it didn't work out, it was fine. He could let Baby Cloud evolve normally in the evolution secret realm by fusing traits.

There was no need to rush perfection. The mechanical evolution tool could be equipped later once fully developed. However, with normal evolution, Lu Ran couldn't guarantee that Baby Cloud would 100% receive the evolution blessing.

While its Kunpeng Intent had been a solid foundation for its first evolution, that might not hold for the second. After its first evolution, Baby Cloud had fused the traits Size Shifting and Attribute Switching, neither of which significantly boosted its evolution potential. The upcoming fusion trait wasn't much better either.

Now, with the Overlord Era in full swing, Lu Ran wasn't the only one who could solo Legendary secret realms. Top-tier figures like the Ten Great Kings could also solo level 6 Legendary secret realms, though less effortlessly. They might need all their familiars to team up, but their final score would still be Perfect, with rewards not far behind.

Without the Mechanical Armed Evolution tool, Baby Cloud's foundation for its second evolution boiled down to just one Epic dish. However, among the Epic dishes Lu Ran had cooked, the nutritional focus had been on boosting levels, with little enhancement for evolutionary potential or species talents.

This evolution secret realm was the last before the World War. Unsurprisingly, top beastmasters like the Ten Great Kings would likely evolve all their remaining familiars in one go, possibly even multiple at once. The competition and the scramble for evolution energy would be fiercer than ever.

"Hmm...Should I let Captain Doofus evolve first? Nah... If it doesn't evolve in the secret realm, I can still take it to find the Void God. Its space affinity suits Captain Doofus well. However, for Baby Cloud... I won't be able to find an Elemental God anywhere."

***

Several days later, as the next evolution secret realm approached, Lu Ran continued practicing his clone technique with a group of cat clones. Finally, it was time for #18 to deliver the goods. However, instead of the expected triumphant handover, #18 arrived dragging Baby Cloud dejectedly.

"Master, I'm sorry. I couldn't complete the tool you requested in time."

So it really couldn't be done...

Lu Ran scratched his head but didn't blame #18. The sudden project had been a tall order.

Lu Ran said, "It's fine. I didn't give you enough time. It's my fault. You've worked hard these past few days. Once we clear another Mythical secret realm and get an Epic amplification card, I'll let you use it to strengthen yourself."

"Plip, plip!"

Baby Cloud also formed tiny hands to pat #18.

It's okay. I never liked that ugly castle design anyway. This works out.

#18's eyes welled up. "Master, no. I must not be good enough yet."

Manager Ying's clones, watching Lu Ran and #18 mope, couldn't take it anymore and spoke in unison. "Enough, enough! You're exaggerating! So, little one, where exactly did your evolution tool hit a snag?"

#18 looked at Manager Ying. Then, it retrieved the mini mechanical castle from its mechanical space.

"I used memory-shaping metal for this castle. It can grow or shrink, and I've incorporated all the functions master requested—attacks, transportation, and more. But... perhaps because the castle's functions are too complex, the evolution compatibility with the catastrophe sprite's species isn't high enough. I tried simplifying some features, but it's still stuck here."

Manager Ying nodded. "So, it's not that the evolution tool wasn't developed, but that the one you created is too advanced for Baby Cloud to keep up with, right? Also, this dummy only recently learned its domain. It's not the brightest bulb, you know."

"Plip, plip!"

Baby Cloud glared at Manager Ying.

What kind of logic is that? What kind of analysis? Evolution tools are supposed to adapt to the evolvers, not the other way around!

"W-well, you could say that..." #18 admitted sheepishly.

Baby Cloud was even more taken aback.

Manager Ying sighed at Baby Cloud's indignant stare. A moment later, Manager Ying's main body appeared after a flash of light. Its gem-like eyes studied Lu Ran and Baby Cloud before a multicolored cat's eye gem materialized in front of it and was tossed over.

[Name: Illusory Cat's Eye Gem]

[Grade: Treasure]

[Description: A unique crystal and an evolution resource. The more attributes a familiar has before evolution, the greater its potential after evolution.]

"It's a gift for Baby Cloud's evolution. It's only Treasure grade, so you might not care for it, but I don't have anything higher. Plus, even if I did, I wouldn't part with it!"

With that, Manager Ying tossed the gem to Baby Cloud, who froze in surprise.

Upon seeing this, Lu Ran smiled. "Thanks."

It seemed Manager Ying still cared deeply for Baby Cloud, whom it had hatched and raised. None of his other familiars had received specially sought evolution resources from it. Baby Cloud was clearly getting special treatment. It was the unmistakable mark of a beloved daughter.

Lu Ran said, "Actually, there's still a chance. You said Baby Cloud's current species can't perfectly sync with this mechanical evolution tool, right?"

"Right." #18 nodded.

Lu Ran stroked his chin. "Which means the issue is compatibility, not a flaw in the tool itself. Let's gamble, then. We'll try out consecutive evolution! We'll have Six-Path Flower cast a luck blessing on Baby Cloud before it evolves, letting it undergo a normal evolution by fusing traits first. If luck is on our side, its new post-evolution species might just sync up with the mechanical tool."

1. 肉包子打狗，有去无回 is a chinese idiom which means something is gone for good. ☜