King of Beasts

At the same time.

Somewhere in Tree Realm City.

Lu Ran also found an inn and checked in.

At the moment, like everyone else, Lu Ran was eager to understand the situation in the other world.

He even considered having the dark crow eavesdrop from a distance using the Evil God’s Eye.

However, given the uncertain situation in Tree Realm City, Lu Ran dared not act rashly.

On the Star-Moon Continent, the Evil God lineage was undoubtedly hated by all, and as for the Divine Tree Continent, Lu Ran was still unsure what the Evil God’s power represented.

Therefore, without a clear understanding of the situation and without a guaranteed way to save himself, he would not easily have the dark crow take action. If discovered by a local strongman, he would be done for. Since there was still plenty of time, Lu Ran decided to investigate slowly.

Now, his main objective had expanded to include gathering as much intelligence as possible about the other world.

Not long after entering the inn, although Lu Ran intended to first look for some books to understand the Divine Tree Continent and Tree Realm City, he hadn’t even started when there was a knock at the door.

“Guest.”

“Are you there?”

Lu Ran opened the door to see the innkeeper standing there with an apologetic look. The innkeeper said, “Sorry to disturb you, but someone outside wishes to see you. They asked me to inform you.”

“See me? There must be a mistake,” Lu Ran said in surprise. Who could it be? It couldn’t be those three beastmasters from the other world, right?

“No mistake.”

“Then lead the way.” Regardless of who it was, since someone had followed him, Lu Ran definitely wanted to meet them. He said this and then followed the innkeeper downstairs. Soon, he saw a young man dressed in fine clothes smiling and approaching him.

This person was clearly not a challenger. Although Lu Ran didn’t know his background, it soon became clear after he introduced himself.

“Are you Lu Ran, Your Excellency?”

“I am Shi Ze from the dog taming family of Tree Realm City…”

“What do you want?” Lu Ran raised an eyebrow. Dog taming family?

What a coincidence, I also come from a dog taming clan!

“I would like to invite Your Excellency Lu Ran to visit my home,” Shi Ze said with a smile. “There are very few beastmasters left now. I heard that you came from the Beast Taming Hall and traveled a long way to register for the Plant Beast Championship. I want to extend our local hospitality.”

“The environment at these inns is somewhat inadequate and not suitable for Your Excellency to prepare for the tournament.”

The news traveled quickly…

The dog taming family is probably one of the organizers of the Plant Beast Championship; otherwise, they couldn’t have gathered his intelligence so quickly and sent an invitation immediately.

“Alright, then I won’t stand on ceremony,” Lu Ran said. “Thank you.”

For such matters, Lu Ran naturally wouldn’t be reserved. Staying in the inn indefinitely would limit the information he could access. Having contact with local powers wouldn’t hurt.

“You are quite straightforward,” Shi Ze said, pleased at how easily he had extended the invitation to Lu Ran.

The Beast Taming Hall is one of the few top-level beast taming legacies left on the Divine Tree Continent. Since Lu Ran came from there, his strength must be substantial.

The beast taming lineage is weak now, so it’s necessary to unite all the forces they can and support each other to survive on the Divine Tree Continent.

…

Not long after, Lu Ran left the inn and headed to the Shi Family with Shi Ze.

Along the way, Shi Ze briefed Lu Ran about the situation in Tree Realm City.

“Tree Realm City is divided among nine major families.”

“Among them, six are mainly focused on plant mastery, and three are based on beast taming.”

“Our Shi Family is one of the three beast taming families, primarily specializing in canine beasts.”

“Apart from the nine major families, the City Lord’s Mansion is the largest force in Tree Realm City. The City Lord herself is a legendary Plantmaster and the strongest person in Tree Realm City.”

“The Plant Beast Championship was originally her idea.”

Walking beside Shi Ze, Lu Ran responded with a curious “Oh?” and asked, “Aside from the competition between plant life and ferocious beasts on the surface, is there any special significance to this tournament?”

Shi Ze laughed and said, “As an outsider, you might not know. The main reason the City Lord initiated this tournament was due to her own inner conflict.”

“The City Lord actually comes from a beast taming family. However, as the beast taming system declined, she ultimately chose to switch to Plant Taming. It’s said that the City Lord made this decision with great determination. Even after her switch, she never forgot her roots in beast taming.”

“Therefore, after she seized control of Tree Realm City, she didn’t suppress the beast taming lineage like other major cities. Instead, she provided substantial support. For instance, this Plant Beast Championship is meant to give our three beast taming families a chance to compete for resources,” Shi Ze said with a sigh. “The City Lord is a good person.”

Lu Ran asked curiously, “What’s there to be nostalgic about? If Plant Taming is stronger, then just choose Plant Taming. If that doesn’t work, why not dual-cultivation?”

Shi Ze looked at Lu Ran in surprise, not understanding why he would say such a thing. He asked, “Then why did you choose beast taming over Plant Taming?”

Lu Ran replied earnestly, “Because my beast pets are very strong. Ordinary plant pets are no match for them, so I chose beast taming.”

“Uh…”

Lu Ran’s straightforward reasoning left Shi Ze momentarily speechless. It made too much sense to refute.

After composing himself, Shi Ze said:

“These days, those in the beast taming lineage persist more out of a sense of tradition and heritage. Take our family, for example. We’ve been involved in beast taming for hundreds of years, passing down a complete Dog Taming system. To suddenly switch to Plant Taming would be a betrayal of our ancestors’ legacy.”

“The City Lord is probably the same way. Coming from a beast taming family yet abandoning her inherited skill to study something else, she might be feeling a bit nostalgic. Deeply ingrained beliefs are hard to change. There’s always been a rumor that the City Lord is looking for a genius adept at beast taming to mentor and continue her family’s beast taming legacy.”

“Of course, not all beast taming powers are like what I described. Many are actively transitioning to Plant Taming. The problem is, some families have a complete beast taming legacy and strong beast taming skills, but they lack any experience with Plant Taming.”

“Rashly switching to Plant Taming is akin to gambling. If it succeeds, you become stronger. But if it fails, you might end up worse off than you are now.”

“So, it’s really a battle between innovation and tradition.”

“As for dual-cultivation, that’s even less feasible. The Beast Taming Space suitable for beast pets and the Plant Taming Space suitable for plant life are not interchangeable.”

“Well, Lu Ran, you probably don’t have to worry about any of this. The Beast Taming Hall is a top-level legacy in the beast taming system. Even if the overall talent and potential of plant pets surpass those of beast pets, this is only true for the average person. The beast pets cultivated by the Beast Taming Hall should easily overpower ordinary plant pets in terms of combat strength,” Shi Ze said, looking at Lu Ran with anticipation.

“Lu Ran, why not represent our Shi Family in the tournament this time?”

“Although the Plant Beast Championship welcomes participants from various forces, it’s essentially a competition among the nine major families of Tree Realm City for related interests. If you represent the Beast Taming Hall, even with a good performance, it would mostly bring some fame. But the Beast Taming Hall is already very well-known and doesn’t really need such rankings to prove itself.”

“But our Shi Family is different. If you compete on our behalf and achieve good results, we can gain tangible benefits, like territory or mining rights in secret realms.”

“Of course, I won’t ask you to compete for us without offering something in return. Regardless of the results, we will give you a generous gift. If your performance is outstanding, the benefits our Shi Family gains will be shared with you. How about it?”

As the conversation deepened, Shi Ze began to reveal his true intention in inviting Lu Ran-to have him represent the Shi Family in the Plant Beast Championship.

Lu Ran wasn’t too surprised. He shrugged and said, “Shi-Ge, I’m indeed not bound to represent the Beast Taming Hall. However, I’m not part of your Shi Family either, and doing this would be like cheating.”

Seeing that Lu Ran wasn’t opposed to the idea, Shi Ze’s face lit up with joy. “Ah, what’s the big deal? It’s all permitted within the rules.”

“Moreover, if you’re still concerned, I have a cousin, an exceptional beauty with remarkable talent…”

“No need for that,” Lu Ran replied. “Since it’s allowed by the rules, I don’t mind. As long as the Shi Family treats me fairly, I’m fine with representing you in the tournament.”

“Refreshing!!” Shi Ze was on the verge of tears, impressed by Lu Ran’s straightforward and unpretentious nature, unabashedly mentioning benefits.

Speaking with someone like Lu Ran felt very comfortable for Shi Ze. However, he still had some doubts about Lu Ran’s actual strength and the extent of the benefits he could secure for the Shi Family.

Given his background with the Beast Taming Hall, Lu Ran’s strength shouldn’t be weak, right?

“Rest assured, we won’t let you suffer any losses. By the way, what would you like in return, and what results do you expect to achieve in the Plant Beast Championship?”

Lu Ran thought for a moment and then looked at Shi Ze, saying, “I’ll likely make it to the top 32, maybe even top 16.”

“As for specific results, I can’t say for sure. I’m not very familiar with the Plant Beast Championship. Shi Ze, could you fill me in on past competitions?”

“Top 16? That’s already pretty good!” Shi Ze seemed fairly satisfied upon hearing this. It appeared Lu Ran had confidence in his own abilities.

Lu Ran’s certainty about making it to the top 16 was due to the breakthrough task requirement being at least the top 32.

He believed that with his strength, he shouldn’t have any difficulty passing the breakthrough task.

Infinite City wouldn’t issue a breakthrough task that was impossible for the challenger to complete. If it was issued, it meant that it was a difficulty level achievable by a level 2 beastmaster.

Since the breakthrough task’s threshold was the top 32, Lu Ran felt confident he could easily make it to the top 32. Given that his strength was a bit above that of a typical level 2 beastmaster, mentioning the top 16 in a modest way seemed reasonable.

Shi Ze continued, “Here’s the thing. The Plant Beast Championship has an age limit of 25 and under, so the overall level isn’t that high. Last year’s winner was a level 4 Plantmaster who owned a level 41 upper sovereign species plant pet.”

“In past tournaments, participants who made it to the top 16 were generally level 3 beastmasters with pet beasts around level 35.”

“By the way, Lu Ran, I haven’t asked about your strength yet…”

“All the past top 16 participants were level 3 beastmasters?” Lu Ran was surprised.

“And the champion was a level 4 beastmaster?”

“What’s the matter, Lu Ran?” Shi Ze asked, noticing the surprised look on Lu Ran’s face and suddenly getting a bad feeling.

“Haha, I’m only level 2. This just got more challenging,” Lu Ran chuckled.

Shi Ze: ???

“But it’s not a big deal,” Lu Ran continued. “My beast pets are strong. Fighting above my level should be fine.”

“Wait, you’re only level 2???” Shi Ze was dumbfounded.

“Yep,” Lu Ran said with a cheerful smile. “Don’t worry. Ordinary level 3 beastmasters won’t be a match for me.”

Even a level 4 beastmaster wouldn’t be too frightening as long as their pet beast was just a sovereign species.

His goal was definitely an SSS rating, and to achieve that, he would need to win the championship, which involved defeating a level 4 beastmaster.

“Alright, alright then…”

Seeing Lu Ran’s confidence, Shi Ze couldn’t argue further. After all, Lu Ran came from a top-level beast taming force, so questioning his abilities wouldn’t be appropriate.

“So, is there anything else you need…” Shi Ze asked with a wry smile.

“Yes, there is. If I want to find a way to help unawakened ferocious plants gain Sapience, does the Shi Family have anything like that?” Lu Ran inquired.

“This?” Shi Ze was completely puzzled. “We don’t have that, to be honest.”

“If you want postpartum care for a female dog, we’re good at that. But plants…”

“Aren’t you a beastmaster?”

Lu Ran shook his head. “Plant pets are very powerful too. It’s worth understanding them. And who says a beastmaster can’t study ferocious plants?”

“Have you ever heard of ‘Dog with Grass in Its Mouth’? It’s a single blade of grass that can conquer the sun, moon, and stars. At Beast Taming Hall, we’ve also been undergoing some innovations recently.”

Shi Ze: ???

He suddenly felt that the beastmasters from Beast Taming Hall were not what he had imagined!