King of Beasts

Arctic Ocean, Public Infinite City.

Learning from past mistakes, this time Lu Ran didn’t travel physically but teleported directly from Xia Country’s Infinite City.

Another branch of the cat-eared maid café.

“The protagonist has finally arrived.”

Seeing Lu Ran enter, Gu Qingyi, who had sent him several messages in a row, relaxed.

The other First Generation big shots from Xia Country in the café also turned their attention to Lu Ran.

Apart from them, there was only one cat-eared maid in the shop, and no other customers-it seemed that today was a special day, not open to the public.

“Sorry for being late because of some intensive training, big shots. Thank you for waiting.”

Lu Ran found a place to sit and explained with a smile, though he wasn’t really late; there were still two hours before the secret realm opened.

As soon as Lu Ran sat down, Zhu Kaixin’s comment almost made him leave.

“Do you have cola???” Lu Ran asked loudly.

“Kopi luwak tastes good!” Zhu Kaixin insisted.

Lu Ran was disdainful.

At that moment, a tall, sexy cat-eared maid dressed in a maid’s uniform walked out. Her demeanor starkly contrasted with that of Gu and Lin.

“Lu Ran, let me introduce, um, my contractee, Tang Changpu.” Lu Ran had just noticed that Manager Ying was also there, curled up asleep in a corner. Ying only woke up when Lu Ran came in, still groggy.

“Uh.” Lu Ran looked at the smiling cat-eared maid standing before him and immediately stood up to greet her, saying, “Manager Tang, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I’ve heard much about you.”

“Manager Ying has mentioned you several times.”

“Hello, it’s actually I who have long heard of your reputation.” Tang Changpu, although referred to as Manager Ying’s beastmaster, was actually mentored by Manager Ying herself, effectively making her Manager Ying’s top employee. She had been working abroad, helping Manager Ying gather intelligence and establish branches.

She smiled warmly at Lu Ran, saying, “Mentor Ying has also often spoken of your unparalleled talent.”

Manager Ying: “???”

“Ah?” It instantly woke up and, with its fur on end, said, “Coffee can be drunk indiscriminately, but words must not be carelessly spoken, Xiao Tang. Be polite, but don’t drag me into this. When did I ever say that!”

“Manager Ying is wise,” Lu Ran remarked again.

Soon, the shop was filled with a cheerful atmosphere. Seeing someone mixing drinks, Lu Ran finally switched from kopi luwak to a chilled cola, which was more to his liking-he wasn’t one for fine things, much like a mountain pig wouldn’t eat fine bran.

With some time left before the opening of the Evolution Secret Realm, everyone had gathered and started to chat leisurely.

Zishu, looking like a rebellious youth, was about to undertake an important task yet was still sipping vodka.

“Lu Ran, has the mandrake flower been absorbed?” he asked.

“It has,” Lu Ran replied.

“That’s good.”

“It must be thanks to my ‘devouring agate,’” Wu Ma said calmly. “It seems your dark crow’s potential for evolution is promising.”

“With the combination of evolution energy and star blessing, it might even reach the status of a lower overlord!”

“I’m envious. Us from the First Generation might have to wait for the second-stage evolution to have an overlord pet beast,” he lamented.

Lin Nian, sitting nearby, found the discussion boring and chose not to join.

Lu Ran said, “Hasn’t Infinite City updated the realm for second-stage evolution yet? There should be one, right?”

“No updates yet, and who knows if there will be,” Shi Zhen replied. “Pet beast second-stage evolution, hmm, still a few levels short. The later level advancements are truly difficult.”

“Even eating an enhancement-type exquisite resource won’t raise it by two levels.”

He was actually quite looking forward to the pet beast’s second-stage evolution. If it developed a powerful talent, it could potentially break through the curse with the power of the pet beast, and then he wouldn’t need to bother others.

“Actually, the former guild leader’s pet beast reached level 60 a while ago.”

“I’ve heard that the strategy team of the International Alliance has also recently had a batch of ace pet beasts reach level 60, but as of now, it seems none have undergone the second-stage evolution.”

“The overlord pet beast ranking remains solely Lu Ran’s.”

“After all, with the Evolution Secret Realm for first-stage evolution already available, Infinite City might just update to include a second-stage evolution version in the future. It seems like everyone is waiting for that,” Gu Qingyi said as she sipped her grape shaved ice.

“Compared to that, the global population of beastmasters must be nearing 10 million by now. I wonder what kind of updates Infinite City will implement when that happens,” Zhu Kaixin remarked.

“I feel that soon, the beast taming domain is likely to undergo significant changes again.”

Zhu Kaixin added, “Do you think they might update the real-world secret realm?”

“In the Ancient era, didn’t Infinite City update with a real-world secret realm gameplay? Once the number of beastmasters reaches 10 million, they might update it again, it’s possible.”

Manager Ying chimed in from the side, “They might also update to include a specialized area for training ‘ferocious beasts’. By then, beings like the Fishman King and the Ancient giant panda might even enter Infinite City on their own for training, without relying on a beastmaster.”

Everyone: ??!!

“What!” Zishu exclaimed in shock, looking at Manager Ying, “Do you have some special intelligence?”

Manager Ying shrugged and said, “Not really, it’s just a feeling. Something like Infinite City can’t be created by human efforts alone. To create it, you’d need the power of something like the Four Great Creator Divine Dragons. If such beings exist, it doesn’t make sense for them to favor humans so much.”

“With the resurgence of spiritual energy and supernatural beings gradually gaining intelligence, perhaps one day even ‘beasts’ could enter Infinite City for specialized training…”

Everyone fell silent; although Manager Ying’s statement sounded far-fetched, it also wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility.

Essentially, Manager Ying is still an unclaimed supernatural being. Viewing issues from the perspective of supernatural beings, it’s not surprising to arrive at such conclusions.

If that day truly comes, the human way of life might become even more perilous.

However, Lu Ran, who was listening on the side, found the idea rather intriguing. If that were to happen… although humans might be at a disadvantage, he wouldn’t be!

After all, his retainer skill clearly steered him towards developing a Pet Beast Legion.

If beasts not bound by contracts could also enter Infinite City, then it would be much easier for him to train them.

“I do wish… Infinite City would upgrade to a hospital facility that cures all ailments…” At this moment, Shi Zhen, no, it should be Shi Xia-he has been maintaining his sister’s identity for some time now, feeling quite helpless, but having promised Lu Ran, he came to serve as a bodyguard.

Everyone looked at Shi Zhen, who seemed like a resentful wife, wondering why he was still fixated on changing back.

Things are fine as they are now.

If Shi Zhen used those resources aimed at breaking the curse to adapt to living as a daughter, Xia Country might already have another warrior goddess.

“…”

“Boring, let’s talk about the upcoming Evolution Secret Realm,” said Lin Nian, the petite superpowered girl. “How about we let Lu Ran go evolve his pet beast alone, and we hide?”

“If we’re all around him, the enemies won’t dare attack him, and that would be no fun.”

“This…” Lu Ran twitched the corner of his mouth. What are you all planning?

“I think it’s a good idea,” chuckled Zishu.

“Interesting,” Pig Deity also looked forward with anticipation.

It was clear these folks were all unstable elements and the type not afraid of stirring up trouble.

Lu Ran looked for help from Dr. Gu, who seemed contemplative.

“Not bad,” said Gu Qingyi. “This time, let’s see who dares to make a move; they definitely need a lesson.”

“…” Lu Ran forgot, she too had been the target of assassinations multiple times. Now that she had grown, she was excited to turn the tables on her hunters.

So, I’m just the bait then.

“Alright, alright, as long as my safety is guaranteed, it’s OK. You don’t have to stay close; I’ll just have a cat with me, not too much to ask, right?”

Lu Ran looked at Manager Ying.

“Not too much,” Gu Qingyi said. “Manager Ying has many clones and hasn’t really made a move before. Except for the domestic high-level members, most people don’t know about its capabilities. Having it stay by your side will indeed be quite misleading.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” said Manager Ying, who was intrigued and eating melons, startled.

Damn, with so many First Generation around, you still choose it to stay by Lu Ran’s side on the front line?

What a joke.

“That’s settled then,” Lin Nian said. “Lu Ran, be a bit aggressive and force their hand. Don’t worry, I’ll be there to keep you safe.”

Lu Ran gave a wry smile, hoping for the best…

Seeing this, Manager Ying could only resign itself to its fate as a bodyguard.

“It’s okay, then I’ll just hide by Lu Ran’s side. Don’t underestimate me, I can be quite intimidating too!” it declared.

The group expressed their doubts.

…

Before long, they set off.

It was best to enter the Legendary Secret Realm a bit early.

Ideally, having Lu Ran stand in one spot for an hour to show his face was a good strategy.

Otherwise, those who harbored ill intentions towards Lu Ran wouldn’t even know that he was also attending this Evolution Secret Realm, rendering the trap useless.

Since there were many bodyguards, Lu Ran didn’t bother with sunglasses, a mask, or a cap.

He walked directly to the Beastmaster Square dressed in a simple black casual outfit. Given the crowd, it would have been difficult for anyone to recognize him, but Lu Ran was too famous, and this time he made no attempt to disguise himself.

Soon, as Lu Ran passed by, someone stopped, staring at him in utter surprise.

“Lu Ran?? Is that the Lu Ran, Passerby A??” he said in an accent that was difficult to place. Following his outcry, more gazes turned towards Lu Ran.

“O! It really is Lu Ran!! It’s him!!”

“He really did come to this Evolution Secret Realm.”

“Lu Ran, can I get an autograph? Sign on my belly!”

“Sorry, I need to get ready to evolve, maybe next time.” Lu Ran responded quickly and soon reached the teleportation gate, transporting directly into the Evolution Secret Realm.

At that moment, the news of Lu Ran appearing in the Arctic Ocean’s Infinite City exploded on international forums.

Lu Ran is here again!

But it’s not surprising, given that many from the Golden Generation who passed through the Legendary Secret Realm were present, and Lu Ran’s other pet beasts hadn’t fully evolved yet, so it made sense for him to come.

Everyone was curious about which pet beast he was planning to evolve this time.

Inside the Evolution Secret Realm.

Upon entering, Lu Ran immediately summoned Sudden Death King, General Ha, and Dark Crow.

“Roar!!!” Returning to the place of its rise once again, the Sudden Death King gazed at the starry sky, feeling nostalgic.

“Woof.” Meanwhile, General Ha silently watched the Dark Crow, unsure of how far it could evolve.

But General Ha firmly believed that the last one to show up would definitely be the strongest.

Letting the Sudden Death King and the Dark Crow get a head start? So what!

It showed an expression of wisdom.

Letting the strengthening Sudden Death King and Dark Crow work for it.

Work towards stronger resources.

Then itself would evolve.

General Ha felt that it was exceedingly clever.

“Sudden Death King, take us to a quiet place,” Lu Ran said as he climbed onto the giant back of the Sudden Death King, followed by General Ha and Dark Crow, causing the Sudden Death King to pout.

“Roar!!!”

Upon hearing the instruction, the Sudden Death King still obeyed Lu Ran’s command, flapping its wings, and took off flying towards a sparsely populated area.

In the sky, the Shield-winged Dragon King appeared, and countless gazes turned towards it; at this moment, the beastmasters in the Evolution Secret Realm also instantly realized that the man had come again.

…

The second Evolution Secret Realm had opened, and the level of competition might be even fiercer than before.

At the moment, many First to Fourth Generation beastmasters had arrived in the realm even earlier than Lu Ran.

These young talents of various skin colors squinted their eyes watching the Domineering Energy of the giant dragon flying past, and then slightly shook their heads.

Some were overly curious about Lu Ran and immediately followed him, wanting to get closer.

For instance, just as Lu Ran had landed, three people quickly followed him.

Boom!

When the Sudden Death King landed, it majestically looked towards these three people, with Lu Ran, General Ha, and Dark Crow also gazing at them.

These three individuals, one male and two females, the man dressed in blue trousers and a floral shirt with curly hair, looked young and wore a smile. One of the women also had curly brown hair, bearing some resemblance to the man, but her attire, like the other woman, was a white saree, exuding an exotic charm.

“Can I help you?” Lu Ran asked.

“Big Shot Lu Ran,” the man began, “my name is Jialan.”

“This is my younger sister, Jiana, and our teammate, Monasa,” he introduced them one by one to Lu Ran, saying, “Both Jiana and I are superhumans. I heard that you are too, so I wanted to meet you.”

“Oh, it’s you guys,” Lu Ran recalled. These three were from the Golden Generation of Ah San Country, the first team to clear the Legendary Secret Realm as fourth-generation beastmasters-quite impressive.

“Hello.” The two young women also smiled and greeted Lu Ran. As scions of a great nation, they couldn’t lack pride, but none of that would show in front of Lu Ran.

Lu Ran alone was enough to overwhelm all other fourth-generation beastmasters.

Before any other fourth-generation could solo clear the Legendary Secret Realm, Lu Ran was unequivocally the top among them.

“I know you, but I’m not looking to make friends anymore, so goodbye,” Lu Ran waved his hand, dismissing them.

Sorry, he now only hangs out with the First Generation.

Also, fooling around with foreign girls would worry his family. What if it was a honey trap or a spy?

Better not to make contact at all.

The trio didn’t expect Lu Ran to dismiss them so bluntly: “…”

Jialan said, “Lu Ran, big shot, don’t be in a hurry to refuse. Do you want to know what superhuman abilities truly represent? In India, a superhuman powerhouse, there are ten superhumans, and the depth of research into superhuman abilities is profound…”

“Screech!!!” The dark crow, seeing the others still talking, was about to shoo them away, but Lu Ran waved his hand, musing internally, “Let’s talk after evolution.”

Since these three didn’t want to leave, they shouldn’t blame him for any fright they might experience soon.