King of Beasts

“I understand.”

“I know you didn’t mean it that way.”

Old Gentleman Jiang Dou’s eyes were teary.

General Ha contracted with a sword spirit.

He also contracted with a sword spirit.

Thinking pessimistically, he was on the same level as Erha.

But such matters shouldn’t be viewed negatively.

Lu Ran, with all his filial piety, couldn’t possibly be such an ungrateful disciple.

One must think positively.

By equivalence, he had the same configuration as the strongest swordsmanship creature on Blue Star!

Thinking like this felt much more comforting.

“Ahem, Master, let me take you to meet your new pet.”

Lu Ran smiled slightly and waved his hand, causing a spatial fluctuation to appear around them.

Although Master Jiang Dou was curious about what this was, he still eagerly followed him.

Inside the ruins space.

Lu Ran’s pet beasts were not training at the moment.

As a beastmaster, Lu Ran was quite considerate.

Unlike a capitalist exploiting people, pet beasts only needed to train for a few hours each day, leaving the rest of the time for rest.

Of course… due to the presence of the divine deer antler, these few hours of training held hidden complexities, and the intensity might be somewhat unusual.

At this moment.

When Lu Ran led an old man into the ruins, General Ha’s eyes lit up first, and he excitedly ran over.

“Woof!!”

“General Ha.” The old gentleman saw that General Ha was growing bigger and chuckled, “I always thought you had potential, and now you’re getting more and more impressive.”

“The sword domain is so cool.” The old man patted General Ha’s thigh in praise.

General Ha panted happily, showing a smile.

“Woof woof woof woof!”

Master Jiang Dou turned back and asked Lu Ran, “What is it saying? It doesn’t sound like it’s happily accepting the compliment.”

“Uh.” Lu Ran stood by with a facepalm.

He immediately kicked General Ha away.

“Nothing…”

Lu Ran huffed with annoyance; what General Ha had just said was that the sword domain was nothing special, as even Boss Lu had comprehended it by now.

That nasty dog!

If it weren’t for others being present, Lu Ran would certainly educate this dog.

He might even let it experience the Hugging Beast Kill from the sudden death king or the pig transformation curse from the dark crow.

“You really got a couple of sword life forms for Erha!”

At this moment, Master Jiang Dou also noticed the two sword spirits and sword grass.

By now, he wasn’t a complete novice beastmaster and could instantly tell these were necromancy life and plant life.

“Rebuilding the Glory of swordsmanship, General Ha is obliged!” Lu Ran said earnestly.

Jiang Dou was puzzled: ???

Then what are you up to?

He glanced at Lu Ran.

This kid might still be thinking about firearms.

Old Gentleman Jiang Dou was well aware that in the other world there was a school of mechanical pet beasts…

According to online resources, there were things like firearm life, tank life, fighter jet life, and mech life.

Young people seemed to like these…

“Master, take a look at this.” At this point, Lu Ran called over the Wind Thunder Sword Spirit.

Under General Ha’s training, the Wind Thunder Sword Spirit already understood that it was to follow this old man for training next.

However, after comparing the vibrant vitality of Lu Ran with the less vigorous energy of Master Jiang Dou, it immediately started to wail loudly.

This old man looks so weak!

Seeing this, Old Gentleman Jiang Dou’s mouth twitched.

Great.

First Lu Ran refused to follow this old man, and now the sword spirit seemed to disdain him as well.

Have people and pet beasts become so realistic these days?

“Now, now…”

Old Gentleman Jiang Dou looked at the Wind Thunder Sword Spirit, unsure how to comfort it for a moment. Seeing this, Lu Ran chuckled and said, “Master, just show it something impressive.”

“Something impressive?” The old man instantly understood, then solemnly raised his right hand and extended two fingers.

Buzz!!!

In the next instant, with a flick of his arm, a dazzling light surged between his fingers, and a sharp sword intent soared to the skies.

Lu Ran and the others only noticed a flash in front of their eyes, and then it seemed like a rainbow sword qi hung at the edge of the distant sky, particularly spectacular.

“Impressive.” Lu Ran was taken aback, not expecting the old man’s sword intent to reach such a level.

He was just an apprentice beastmaster.

The Wind Thunder Sword Spirit was also amazed by the display.

Regardless of what species it belongs to, all life forms “admire the strong.” The little sword spirit sensed the powerful sword intent released by Master Jiang Dou and immediately changed its impression of him. In an instant, it moved closer.

“Hahaha.” Seeing the Wind Thunder Sword Spirit approach him voluntarily, Master Jiang Dou beamed with joy.

“Little one, you won’t be wrong following me.”

“In time, I’ll make you the second creature on Blue Star to master the sword domain!!”

Next to him, Lu Ran was tempted to correct him that it would actually be the third… or possibly the sixth. However, seeing how happy the Old Gentleman was, he didn’t want to burst his bubble. As long as he was happy, that was enough.

“Old Gentleman, if you decide to enter the breakthrough secret realm, remember to be cautious,” Lu Ran advised. “Previously, you were likely only to be matched with beastmasters from Xia Country, which wasn’t too concerning. But now, the chances of encountering beastmasters from the Star Moon Federation are increasing… Stay safe.”

Master Jiang Dou chuckled, “Yes, I’ll be careful. If it were just me and something happened, it wouldn’t matter much-I’ve lived this long anyway. But now, with the little Golden Eagle and the little sword spirit, I must ensure they grow smoothly, haha.”

“And don’t underestimate me. If your former guild leader could become the world’s strongest at his age, give me a few years, and I should at least make it into Xia Country’s top ten.”

“Alright, alright,” Lu Ran conceded. The old man’s competitiveness had resurfaced; as the saying goes, men remain young at heart until they die, still eager to grow stronger even at an age where they might not always hit their mark.

Still, with his sword intent technique and a sword spirit, this setup might make it hard for him not to become stronger.

After entrusting the Wind Thunder Sword Spirit to Master Jiang Dou, Lu Ran returned to the Green Sea with satisfaction. By this time, the dark crow had already given the stone tablet of the dragon to the black turtle, whose combat power had further leveled up.

…

As Lu Ran returned to the Green Sea, news of the Alliance Challenge had already spread across various countries. Although not a traditional tournament, it was the first large-scale beast taming event inviting challenges from all over the world.

According to the international beast taming alliance, the Alliance Challenge invited First, Second, and Third Generation gatekeepers from 51 countries to be challenged by second, third, and fourth-generation beastmasters from over 200 countries.

Each challenger would be randomly matched against a lineup of five gatekeepers from different countries, making it a grand beast taming event.

Every match would be broadcast live around the globe.

Ultimately, based on each country’s results, resources accumulated over the past three years in the international alliance’s resource pool would be allocated.

It was clear to the discerning eye that this challenge tournament was primarily designed for second-generation beastmasters. After all, to secure more resources, participants needed to clear as many gates as possible.

While some third and fourth generations might have stronger potential, they couldn’t compete with the longer development time of the second generation, theoretically making them stronger.

Facing fellow second-generation gatekeepers, they would have a better chance of winning.

However, as long as there are no strict regulations, there are always variables.

At the headquarters of the Xia Country Beast Taming Alliance:

The former guild leader reviewed the final recommended lineup for Xia Country’s participation and fell into contemplation.

Qin Ming, Xia Country’s strongest second-generation beastmaster and the Dean of the combat department at the beast taming university, recently promoted to Level 5 beastmaster. No problems there.

Youxiong Guild Leader, a newly promoted Level 5 beastmaster of Xia Country, who recently advanced through the breakthrough secret realm, a leading figure among the second-generation beastmasters, whose strength had been significantly bolstered by the guidance of the Panda Guardian. Also, no problem.

And then, there was Lu Ran, a fourth-generation beastmaster at only level 3.

“Five main gatekeepers: one third-generation, three second-generation, and one first-generation.”

“The third-generation one is likely a Level 4 beastmaster, relatively strong among the third generation.”

“The three second-generation ones are probably two at Level 4 and one at Level 5, plus the final Level 5 first-generation…”

“Having Lu Ran, a fourth-generation, Level 3, challenge out of his league is interesting. The fact that the twelve branches recommended Lu Ran suggests this kid has a lot of confidence in his capabilities.”

The former guild leader stroked his beard thoughtfully, and then immediately noticed an attached encrypted intelligence report.

[Lu Ran has mastered the beast taming skill, Retainer. His first pet beast, the Sword Domain Dog, has additional contracts with two sovereign pet beasts: the Long Leaved Sword Grass and the Winter Sword Spirit. They can be integrated into a contract card, forming a powerful trinity capable of defeating a First Generation opponent in a 3v1 match-Manager Ying and Gu Qingyi.]

“Hmm?”

After pondering for a moment, the former guild leader made a call to Lu Ran.

“Former Guild Leader??”

On the other side, Lu Ran was a bit surprised to receive the call.

“The Alliance Challenge is about to begin, and I saw your name on the Xia Country roster.”

“Yes, Manager Ying mentioned there could be a lot of resources to gain, so I had Dr. Gu and the others get me selected. Although the opponents are mainly Second Generation, my pet beasts have a certain species advantage, so it’s not impossible to compete.”

Lu Ran didn’t have any specific resource targets in this tournament; he was purely participating to help Xia Country win more resources. After all, his dark crow legion depended on Xia Country’s resources for sustenance.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“The Stage 4 gatekeeper will likely also have overlord species pet beasts, so your advantage won’t be that huge. Many Second Generation beastmasters around the world have already cultivated new overlord species pets.”

“However, I read in the encrypted intelligence from Gu Qingyi that you have three pet beasts contracted on one contract card???”

“That’s right. If I can use this ace up my sleeve, I might stand a chance against not just the Second Generation but even First Generation opponents.”

“Do you think this challenge is worth revealing this card?” Lu Ran asked.

The former guild leader paused, then laughed: “Hahaha, the design of Stage 5 itself wasn’t intended for anyone to clear it. If you can clear all five stages, the resources Xia Country would gain would be immense, enough to recoup the resources invested in the Black Dragon incident instantly.”

“But how much you wish to reveal is up to you.”

Lu Ran contemplated and said, “I don’t mind much. I’m only level 3, and my power isn’t fully developed yet; my combat style is always evolving. Showing the retainer skill isn’t a big deal; I’m just concerned that if I truly defeat the gatekeeper First Generation, others might not acknowledge it.”

The former guild leader replied, “You don’t need to worry about that. The fact that even Infinite City recognizes them as a unified entity-what’s an international alliance compared to that?”

“Indeed, I initially thought that in this competition involving the Second and Third Generations, Xia Country would once again just be a spectator. Seeing that you have the confidence to participate puts my mind at ease.”

“Go for it, strive to clear all five stages. If you succeed, the Feather of Kunpeng is yours-no need to wait for the Star-Moon mission to conclude.”

“Really??” Lu Ran exclaimed.

“Would I lie?”

“This is just the Alliance Tournament!!! I promise to dominate!!!”