Beastmaster King

On the day the evolution secret realm opened, Lu Ran entered Limitless City from the Amazon. Bai Lu was with him as well. By now, Bai Lu had soloed a level 6 Legendary secret realm. To avoid attention, she, like Lu Ran, had temporarily changed her name.

Thanks to her, the entire Blue Planet was now speculating about who Deer Man A was and how they were connected to Pedestrian A.[1] Soloing a level 6 Legendary secret realm was something only the Ten Great Kings could do on Blue Planet. No one knew where this Deer Man A came from.

"Why are you tagging along?"

"Scouting the competition," Bai Lu said bluntly.

Lu Ran rolled his eyes and let her follow.

Meanwhile, at the transportation square leading to the evolution secret realm, Lu Ran's not-so-subtle arrival once again sent the crowd into an uproar.

"It's Lu Ran! He's here after all!"

"During the King's Battle, his catastrophe sprite was already level 60, and was still in its first evolution form. It's so strong! If it was that powerful then, now that he's here for its second evolution, how much stronger will it get?"

"Will it be a Mechanical Evolution?"

"Could it become Blue Planet's first quasi-Legendary?"

Amid the chatter, Lu Ran stepped into the evolution secret realm. This was his first time entering a second-stage evolution secret realm. Compared to the bustling first-stage evolution secret realm, this one was far quieter.

Even with the accelerated spiritual energy revival and the arena for leveling up, few first-generation beastmasters had level 60 familiars. However, while the numbers were small, the quality of the familiars was top-tier, making the competition fiercer than in the first stage.

Then there was the entry fee. Second-stage evolution secret realms cost a fortune in crystal coins. Aside from major media reporters, few bystanders were willing to spend so much just to watch.

As Lu Ran entered, countless eyes turned his way. He noticed many familiar faces like Oub, the Snowfield King, Almi from India, and so on. From Xia, over ten of the Twelve Zodiacs he knew were present, like Lin Nian, Pig God, Shi Zhen, and Dr. Gu.

Had the old president not already evolved all his familiars in the previous second-stage evolution secret realms, the competition would've been even more intense.

Lu Ran's Xia friends noticed him but didn't approach, simply nodding in acknowledgment. This time, they were rivals too. One by one, people began summoning their familiars.

Then, Lu Ran released Baby Cloud in its mist-like form.

"That's the one!"

Upon seeing Lu Ran summon only Baby Cloud, the kings grew silent. This second-stage evolution secret realm was the last before the World War. Lu Ran had only brought this elemental sprite, meaning his other familiars either weren't level 60 yet or lacked evolution resources.

That made sense. After all, Lu Ran had only recently reached level 5. Raising even just one familiar to level 60 in such a short time was already impressive. And the fact that this elemental sprite was the one Lu Ran prioritized with resources spoke volumes about its role in his team.

Starting as a King, evolving to a Superior Overlord in its first evolution, undergoing Mechanical Armed Evolution, and being a rare elemental lifeform, this catastrophe sprite was undoubtedly Lu Ran's current ace. It was his greatest trump card.

Looks like Pedestrian A plans to rely on this elemental lifeform for the World War. That said, this catastrophe sprite is indeed strong. It defeated Almi without even undergoing its second evolution. It's hard to imagine how powerful it'll be after evolving.

As Lu Ran released Baby Cloud, Almi from India summoned a familiar, too. It was a colossal level 70 Golden Elephant King that drew everyone's attention.

"Hey, Almi hasn't challenged for his rank back since losing..."

"The Elephant King has gained the Spirit attribute. It looks like it has completed its first evolution. And now, Almi's bringing it for its second evolution. He must be planning to reclaim his rank from Lu Ran after it evolves!"

"Even though that catastrophe sprite defeated its opponent before evolving, the Golden King Elephant hadn't even fused three traits back then. This'll be interesting. Who'll be stronger after their second evolution?"

Hearing the chatter, Almi snorted. He hadn't rushed to reclaim his king rank because he wanted to take it back from Lu Ran, not someone else. He already had a plan to counter Lu Ran's Time Acceleration. Now, it all depended on how far the Golden King Elephant could go in its second evolution.

"If only the ancient Divine Bull knew where I was, it could've given me advice..."

Dr. Gu released two dragons and a mermaid princess. Pig God summoned two pigs. One by one, the first-generation beastmasters began releasing their level 60 familiars that were ready for evolution. Some even planned to evolve multiple at once. Even without the evolution blessing, simply absorbing the secret realm's evolution energy could elevate a well-prepared familiar to Overlord.

Only a few were here specifically for the blessing. Time passed slowly until the system sound echoed. Everyone suddenly perked up.

[Evolution energy eruption countdown: 60 seconds.]

[Tip 1: Once the evolutionary energy erupts, it will envelop familiars that meet the evolutionary conditions, allowing them to enter the 'amplified' state.]

[Tip 2: In the amplified state, the top ten familiars with the highest evolutionary potential will receive the Stellar Blessing, further increasing their evolutionary potential.]

[Tip 3: Entrants will temporarily obtain the Eye of Detection and be able to see information on their familiar's evolution.]

60... 59... 58...

When the timer hit zero, the ground cracked, and countless beams of white light erupted.

"It's here!"

The first-generation beastmasters immediately handed trait crystals and evolution resources to their familiars. Reporters in the air began recording everything with the mechanical recorder developed by the Eagle Federation, which could be brought into secret realms.

Lu Ran nodded and stuffed several items into Baby Cloud. Among them were the Fusion Trait, Mechanical Evolution Castle, Lucky Flower, and the Illusory Cat's Eye Gem. However, on closer inspection, few were actually for evolution.

"Plip, plip!"

As Baby Cloud was wrapped in these items, it quickly soared into the sky. It silently thanked Manager Ying and #18.

Although the mechanical castle can't be used as an evolution tool yet, it works fine as a support tool for now.

Lu Ran looked at Baby Cloud.

The gem from Manager Ying increased a familiar's post-evolution potential based on its pre-evolution attributes. Lu Ran had no idea where Manager Ying had found it.

Did it pluck out its own eye like Dark Crow?

Regardless, this evolution resource was perfect for Baby Cloud.

Baby Cloud's fifth trait, Attribute Switching, could change its attributes to match its held items. One of its held items, the mechanical castle, had an attack core derived from the Epic-grade bomb, Nature's Wrath, which naturally carried elemental attributes.

Nature's Wrath was a nine-attribute hybrid bomb. It contained the Wind, Water, Fire, Lightning, Light, Dark, Earth, Rock, and Ice attributes. Thus, through trait synergy and held items, Baby Cloud replicated the mechanical castle's attributes.

[Species: Catastrophe Sprite]

[Attributes: Water, Ice, Wind, Lightning, Fire, Light, Dark, Earth, Rock]

Having nine attributes, paired with the Illusory Cat's Eye Gem's effect, was a solid combo. If you added the Fusion Trait, which let familiars temporarily merge multiple attributes, the three factors might produce something extraordinary.

Simultaneously, many familiars in the secret realm were enveloped in evolution light. Some even completed their evolutions in seconds.

"Superior King, Low Overlord, Low Overlord..."

However, to the reporters overhead, these were underwhelming. The second-stage evolution secret realm was a different league from the first stage. Evolving into a Superior King at the second stage was practically a failure.

Low Overlord was barely passable. Intermediate Overlord counted as a successful evolution. And Superior Overlord? That was top-tier, with high chances of earning the secret realm's blessing.

"Last time, it was Xia's Dr. Gu, who evolved an incredibly powerful dragon. Who'll get the blessing this time?"

The reporters focused intently, their gazes shifting between Almi and Lu Ran.

1. Deer Man A (鹿人甲) plays on Lu Ran's Limitless City ID as Pedestrian A (路人甲). The names sound identical but use different characters. ☜