King of Beasts

Antarctica.

The continent is nearly entirely covered by glaciers, which extend from the center to the sea, forming enormous ice barriers. Numerous floating icebergs make the scenery here remarkably majestic.

The plane from Xia Country finally landed in an area free from snow and ice, touching down in a man-made base.

“We’ve arrived!!”

Although this group of tourists ranged from the First Generation to the Fourth Generation, everyone was young, and many were visiting Antarctica for the first time, feeling a heightened sense of curiosity about the place.

Lu Ran also stepped out with the crowd. Unlike the beastmasters clad in cotton and down jackets, he kept it simple with just casual clothes. His good physical condition coupled with being a fire species human allowed him this luxury.

“Where can I capture penguins?”

“I want to see the seals.”

“Are there polar bears? What, this is Antarctica? Never mind then.”

The people were extremely excited. Zhu Kaixin stood on the aircraft ladder and said, “Everyone, register at the base first, then you can move around freely.”

“But be careful. Although you are the elite from Xia Country’s beast taming domain, there are still large areas of Antarctica that the international alliance hasn’t conquered.”

“There are still many powerful ferocious beasts here.”

“On the other hand, this is an ice species paradise. If anyone wants to contract an ice-type pet beast, this is the best place to capture them. Penguins, seals, sea lions, albatrosses… Their quality here is far superior to the ice species creatures back home.”

“However, you need to apply to the international alliance before any capture attempts!”

“Of course, besides ferocious beasts, you also need to be cautious of natural disasters. This is the coldest land on Earth with the most storms and highest wind speeds. A single mistake could mean being swallowed by nature…”

“There’s a safety guide in the base. Take your time to understand it; I won’t nag. Even though I’m the team leader, I can’t keep tabs on all of you.”

This group had gone through several levels of approval to join Zhu Kaixin on this trip to Antarctica and possessed some level of skill, so he wasn’t too worried about them.

“Pig Deity, don’t worry. We won’t head to dangerous places.”

“That’s right, I’ll just take a look around the edges of the danger zone, I won’t go in.”

“Yes, you’d better do that… Oh, and don’t get into conflicts with beastmasters from other countries!!” Zhu Kaixin added seriously. “Of course, if you both simultaneously discover a rare species you want to contract or come across a rare resource and end up in a dispute…”

“Don’t hold back, call for backup and deal with it immediately.”

“Got it!!!” everyone agreed.

At this moment, Lu Ran couldn’t help but smile when he heard the words “coldest and most stormy”-General Ha, you should thank me. After enduring such a long flight to bring you here…

His butt was sore from sitting so long.

Such a wonderful environment, General Ha must thoroughly enjoy it …

Soon, per Zhu Kaixin’s instructions, everyone headed to the base to register. As for accommodations, there was no need. If they needed rest, they could just enter the Public Infinite City from where they were and rest in their respective rooms.

From here, one could directly enter the huge Public Infinite City in Antarctica, which was very convenient.

“Ha~~” Manager Ying, visibly tired, groggily approached Lu Ran and said, “You’re really something, making me look after it the whole way, I’m exhausted.”

A backpack hung from Manager Ying’s back, and the weather elf was sound asleep inside it.

“Haha!” Lu Ran chuckled and scratched his head. “Old Zhu talks way too much, can’t help it… Ahem, I’ll become a level 3 beastmaster as soon as possible…”

“Alright.”

“But let’s be clear.”

“Before you become a level 4 beastmaster, don’t you dare already have your next pet lined up without an available contract slot.”

“I don’t want to babysit your pet beasts anymore!”

Manager Ying gritted her teeth. What kind of person gets new pets lined up before they’ve even got a contract card?

The key is if Lu Ran could manage his pet beasts himself, but always delegating the care is unacceptable!

“Absolutely, absolutely…” Lu Ran muttered.

Shouldn’t be an issue.

For a fifth pet, he didn’t have any plans at the moment.

He also wasn’t interested in “capturing penguins,” “capturing sea lions,” or “capturing seals” like the other beastmasters around him.

With General Ha and the weather elf, he had enough ice species pet beasts already.

“There’s still some time before the Evolution Secret Realm opens. Boss Lu, any plans?” Zhu Kaixin approached Lu Ran from a distance and suggested with a mischievous grin, “How about we research the pig transformation curse together?”

Along the way, Lu Ran couldn’t help but share the intriguing pig transformation curse with Zhu Kaixin while listening to other gossip. Zhu Kaixin was utterly fascinated by the curse and expressed a keen interest, even offering various pig-related sacrificial materials to assist Lu Ran in his research.

“Another day, another day,” Lu Ran laughed wryly, overwhelmed by Zhu Kaixin’s enthusiasm. “I want to take my pet beasts out for some activity first. I have some training plans.”

“Alright then!” Zhu Kaixin chuckled. “Manager Ying, I’ll leave Lu Ran’s safety in your capable hands.”

“Since you’re also here, my burden is lighter,” Zhu Kaixin added confidently. Although no one had seen the full extent of Manager Ying’s combat prowess, its escape abilities were second to none.

“Fine,” Manager Ying replied impatiently.

“Well, I’m off then.” With a wave, Zhu Kaixin turned and walked away.

…

Shortly after, on a remote white glacier, far from civilization.

Lu Ran inhaled the cold air as he walked alongside Erha, a large dog, both moving in tandem.

“Awooooo~~~~~”

General Ha let out an excited howl.

“Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter!!”

Like General Ha, the weather elf transformed into a snow cloud, drifting beside Lu Ran and reveling in the surroundings with immense excitement.

It was indeed very comfortable.

“It really is a great place,” Lu Ran could sense General Ha and the weather elf’s joy through telepathy.

Unlike the ice secret realms, Antarctica had a distinctive feature: the natural energy of the Blue Star was continuously strengthening here. The revival of spiritual energy was far from over, and this place was where natural energy surged most intensely.

The sensation of constantly being bathed in bursts of natural energy was difficult to experience elsewhere.

“Woof!!” In this tranquil environment, General Ha immediately began to study the blizzard sword domain, methodically breaking down and analyzing the hybrid sword domain.

Observing this, the weather elf also diligently summoned more snow and wind, “pitter-patter! pitter-patter-” to cast a weather blessing on General Ha, enhancing its affinity with ice energy.

Under the swirling snow, General Ha appeared majestic like the wolf king of the north wind, with sharp eyes and a striking presence.

Holding the Ice and Snow Sword in its mouth, it sensed the Frost and Snow in the area.

“Though you call it a vacation, it’s just training in a different place,” Lu Ran sat on a rock, resting his chin in his hand, looking at the ice clouds in the sky.

“This is probably General Ha’s peak intelligence moment, isn’t it?”

“Let’s test it.”

Lu Ran glanced at General Ha, who was focused on the icefield with concentrated eyes, and interrupted its spellcasting. “General Ha.”

General Ha: ?

“Do you like it here? Would you want to stay here forever?”

“Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!!!” General Ha stuck out its tongue, panting and smiling.

Really?

“Do you know what the most famous resource in Antarctica is after the spiritual energy revival?”

“Woof!” General Ha shook its head in confusion.

“Extreme Ice, it’s a very rare resource.”

“It only has the chance to form in snowy environments during bursts of spiritual energy.”

“Even the secret realms in Infinite City don’t have this resource.”

“It’s incredibly rare. Right now, you can only find it in Antarctica. Due to the difficulty in mining and preservation, it hasn’t been commercially exploited or sold yet.”

“Woof!” General Ha blinked.

Extreme Ice.

What’s that?

Can it be eaten like a popsicle?

Nice, it likes it.

But, proving its peak intelligence, General Ha’s expression turned serious in an instant.

It ran over frantically and covered Lu Ran’s mouth, signaling him to stop talking.

Extreme Ice!

Better not have it!

There’s no such thing as free popsicles.

However…

“You’ve tried the Seed of Cold Wind before, haven’t you? The one that allowed your wind energy to have cold properties? Thanks to that, we were able to comprehend the Blizzard Sword Intent!”

“Extreme Ice is a similar resource, except it can make claws, teeth, and bones as strong as millennia-old ice. According to research, if a non-ice pet beast wants to comprehend the ice and snow artistic conception, Extreme Ice is the best resource.”

“You, of course, don’t lack the ice and snow artistic conception, but if Extreme Ice can imbue your teeth with ice power, forging the Ice Fang Sword will be much easier. Compared to post-forging enchantments, this innate enchantment has a clear advantage.”

“This was the most valuable intelligence I gathered before coming here… I’ve already set it as our main mission.”

“You guessed right; you really are getting smarter…”

General Ha: ???

“Awoooo!” General Ha’s eyes widened, feeling its intelligence being outmatched by Boss Lu once again.

Too late, it’s all too late.

Why didn’t it think about enhancing its Ice Fang before coming to Antarctica…

At this moment, Manager Ying’s figure slowly appeared in the snowstorm. This time, it was another clone, with a snow-white body, resembling a majestic snow leopard!

“Lu Ran, your intelligence on the location of Extreme Ice has come through. Remember to pay the intelligence fee.”

“OK, OK.”

General Ha covered its mouth, watching Lu Ran and Manager Ying… feeling once again like it was being perfectly arranged by them.

What about the promised vacation?

“A vacation includes enjoying good food,” Lu Ran said. “But don’t rush the sword domain training… balancing work and rest is important too.”

“Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter!” The weather elf tilted its head in confusion, not understanding why Uncle Ha seemed possessed by Uncle Sudden Death King at this moment.

…

Afterwards, Lu Ran led General Ha on a quest to find Extreme Ice.

The main activity was breaking through ice layers to find “Ice Heart-Extreme Ice” to be eaten like ice pops.

To soothe General Ha’s emotions, Lu Ran was very gentle and even brought various fruits to make fruity ice pops from the Extreme Ice.

At this point, General Ha was both happy and pained; savoring fruity ice pops on the Antarctic continent was truly enjoyable, but the thought of having a thousand teeth knocked out to make weapons made its head throb faintly.

“General Ha’s ideological awareness is still not up to par,” Lu Ran mused. “Its status within the team is just too high. Whether General Ha willingly forges the Ice Fang Sword depends on Sudden Death King.”

As long as Sudden Death King evolves strong enough this time, General Ha will definitely sense the crisis and won’t worry so much about losing teeth.

Speaking of Sudden Death King’s dragon transformation…

While browsing his phone, Lu Ran raised an eyebrow. The fact that there was internet access here made him happy, but seeing the latest annoying news about the Dinosaur Life Research Institute trying to take a shot at him made him quite unhappy.

These guys never give up, huh?

“Dr. Hayden, the Evolution Secret Realm is about to open. Currently, there is significant international interest in the second dragon transformation experiment by the Dinosaur Life Research Institute. However, some speculate online that Lu Ran, the Dragon Chef from Daxia, might also enter this Evolution Secret Realm. What are your thoughts on this?”

In the interview video, Dr. Hayden from the Dinosaur Life Research Institute spoke. After the brutal defeat of the Tyrannosaurus Rex team last time, he was the most affected.

Hayden: “I do not deny Lu Ran’s talent; he is indeed one of the most outstanding beastmasters from Xia Country that I have ever seen. However, it is unfortunate that he was born in Xia Country, where the best research environments aren’t available to him. If he could join the Eagle Federation, perhaps we could join forces to cultivate the strongest Loong-type!”

“But as it stands, it’s regrettable. Even if he manages to cultivate a pure Loong-type in this Evolution Secret Realm, its potential will inevitably fall short of our Dinosaur King!”

Reporter: “Dr. Hayden, but Lu Ran solo-cleared a Loong-type Legendary Secret Realm. Could the rewards from there significantly enhance the potential of his pet beast?”

Dr. Hayden: “Heh, it’s quite a coincidence. We in the Eagle Federation also have a second-generation beastmaster who solo-cleared a Legendary Secret Realm. I happen to know the rewards he received. While precious and unimaginable, they are not that remarkable. Our investments in dinosaur life for this experiment are not inferior to those rewards!”

“Besides, Lu Ran’s Dragon Lizard is just a middle commander species, inherently inferior to dinosaur life.”

“Moreover, I have received intelligence that Lu Ran, the Dragon Chef, has already contracted a quasi-Loong pet beast. Thus, he traded one of the precious resources from the Legendary Secret Realm, the ‘Diamond Dragon King’s Egg,’ for other benefits. If he had fully nurtured this egg, there might have been hope of surpassing dinosaur life. But if it’s just that Dragon Lizard, then it’s truly unfortunate…”

Lu Ran: ?

“Ridiculous!” Lu Ran exclaimed, “I sold an ordinary Stone Dragon Egg, how did it turn into a Diamond Dragon King’s egg in the rumors?!”

Shaking his head, Lu Ran knew that false intelligence could be damaging. However, this guy was confident-maybe that’s a common trait among researchers?

Yet, what he said did have some truth to it.

Sudden Death King’s innate species was indeed far inferior to a Tyrannosaurus Rex-a Red-Eyed Eagle Lizard simply couldn’t compare.

Although Lu Ran had prepared many precious resources for Sudden Death King’s evolution, the resources he could acquire might also be available to his opponents. Many teams worldwide have cleared Loong-type Legendary Secret Realms, and the Eagle Federation could easily trade for excellent resources. That might also be the source of their confidence.

One dragon king bloodline might not be enough to overpower the opposition.

But unfortunately for them, they overlooked one crucial point.

In the breakthrough secret realm of the necromancy cult, Sudden Death King devoured several “True Dragon” souls, including the souls of Loong-type overlord species offered by the elders of the cult.

The degree of cultivation in Sudden Death King’s Dragon Soul was unparalleled-not just on Blue Star, but even on the Star-Moon Continent, it would be unrivaled.

In Lu Ran’s view, the enhancement that the Dragon Soul provided to Sudden Death King was far greater than what a dragon king bloodline could offer!

“Don’t worry, soon enough, you all will witness what it means to be the true King of the Dragon Clan,” Lu Ran thought to himself.