King of Beasts

“What?”

“What???”

King of the Vast Sea?

The black turtle general felt a bit dizzy at this moment; there was indeed a lot of information to process.

It sorted things out.

First, Lu Ran and his group, in order to rescue it and bring it back to Green Sea City, took down both the Black Dragon King and the generals of the Dragon Palace…

Although the black turtle found this hard to believe, it felt that the dark crow didn’t have a reason to lie.

After all, if it wasn’t true, it was very easy to uncover this lie since it was inside the Dragon Palace itself.

If things had only progressed to this point, the black turtle would definitely feel “immensely grateful and speechless.”

After all, it would soon be able to return to Green Sea City for a peaceful retirement, which was the life it truly desired.

However, now, the dark crow didn’t seem to have any intention of taking it back…

The implication between the lines was… for it to remain in the Dragon Palace!

“Black turtle general, do you still remember your experiences?” the dark crow leaned close to the black turtle, wrapping its head with a wing, and tempted: “Both the big king and I know that you also wish to retire in Green Sea.”

“But have you forgotten? You had already achieved the retirement life, but the factors from the outside world did not allow you to pursue tranquility.”

“First, you were captured by the Fishman Empire, and then by the Dragon Palace, leaving you powerless to resist!”

“A perfect retirement environment is something you must create for yourself!”

“Now the Dragon Palace is in disorder. If we just walk away, can you guarantee that it won’t be taken over by another sea power, forming a stronger oceanic force?”

“By then, even if you return to Green Sea City, our peace may still be disrupted by them.”

“In my view, why not go all out, just like when you once suppressed the coastal waters of Green Sea City for peace, step in again, take over the Dragon Palace, and dominate this sea region.”

“By then, even if the world is chaotic and you wish to retire, a vast oceanic force will shield you…” The dark crow continuously analyzed the pros and cons for the black turtle general, plunging it into deep thought.

“What you say makes sense, but I’m just a turtle.” It might manage to suppress a city’s coastal waters, but the deep sea is filled with monsters!

“Don’t worry!” The dark crow gave a charming, mischievous smile and said, “The big king will prepare ‘exquisite resources’ and ‘exquisite weapons’ to enhance your strength!”

Black turtle: “What?”

The dark crow glanced at the damaged stone tablet on the back of the black turtle, shook its head, and said, “This thing needs replacing.”

“At that time, the big king will prepare an exquisite quality stone tablet weapon for you, one that nurtures spirits, to lend you a hand.”

“Your task is to climb step by step in this chaotic Dragon Palace using the resources given by the big king, until you rule the vast sea…!”

“Don’t worry!” The dark crow saw the black turtle hesitate and said, “I will leave a clone to fight alongside you, so you won’t have to struggle alone.” Ŗ

Black turtle: %$@%@$@

“Then, with the two of us generals working together, we’ll easily place the big king on the throne as the King of the Vast Sea!”

“Ah.” The black turtle showed a look of despair. The crow with eight mouths had said everything; what else could it do?

“Once we finish this task, you’ll be able to fully retire!” said the dark crow.

“Really…”

“Even if you don’t trust me, you should trust the big king.”

“There are countless sea beasts with talent and potential. If the big king didn’t consider you one of his own and trust you, why would he go to such lengths to invest resources in you?”

The black turtle paused, realizing it was true. Thinking carefully, Lu Ran had indeed treated it well… Despite having many better choices, he specifically chose to find this old turtle.

Yes!! So many talented young sea beasts with potential, why did they always mess with it! It was infuriating!

“Sigh…” The old turtle sighed. Oh well, since Lu Ran trusted it so much, it should at least try to be of some help.

…

“Well done.”

Green Sea City.

The dark crow had returned from scouting.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

From the reconnaissance, Lu Ran could confirm that the Dragon Palace was indeed in chaos and that there was still a massive number of fierce sea beasts there.

Despite the Black Dragon King leading dozens of level 40 to 50 advanced sea beasts to invade Xia Country, that number of advanced sea beasts was far from the limit of the Dragon Palace.

Within the Dragon Palace, there were at least hundreds of level 40 to 50 sea beasts.

Of course, these sea beasts weren’t exactly loyal followers of the Black Dragon King; they were more like subordinates forcibly subjugated by violence and were scattered throughout the ocean, akin to feudal lords.

The loyalty of these sea beasts to the Black Dragon King was questionable; with the Black Dragon King being suppressed by Xia Country, they likely wouldn’t seek revenge.

However, not rescuing the Black Dragon King doesn’t mean they wouldn’t covet his position.

When the Black Dragon King conscripted the various feudal lords, who knows how many resources were plundered? These resources weren’t necessarily all utilized by the Black Dragon King. A large portion may still be hidden within Dragon Palace City, and to acquire these resources, the sea beasts would likely come to the Dragon Palace for a look.

At this moment, it would be the most chaotic stage for the Dragon Palace. Not only sea beasts, but even various human countries might want to join in the scramble.

Although Lu Ran hadn’t received any definitive information, he estimated that the upcoming alliance between Xia Country and the Fishman Empire might lean towards the Fishman Empire supplying “contract sea beasts,” which Xia Country’s beastmasters would contract to help rapidly cultivate an “oceanic special operations team.”

Not a navy that operates on the ocean surface, but a special ops team capable of functioning in the deep sea.

With this, Xia Country would have the strength to quickly stake its claim during this feudal lord sea chaos.

Regarding the exploration of the sea region, Lu Ran didn’t plan to collaborate with the Association; he intended to leverage the dark crow’s unique traits to go solo.

Though the black turtle was weak, those feudal sea beasts weren’t particularly strong either. With a bit of investment from Lu Ran, it could soon muster the strength to contend with them. Moreover, the dark crow could always perform its “dark spirit descent” to eliminate strong foes on behalf of the black turtle-a potential strain on its eyesight, but a manageable expense nonetheless.

Before long, the black turtle would make a name for itself in the deep sea, gathering a large following. Then, around the black turtle, Lu Ran could send the Jiao Dragon from Green Sea into the sea, and soon, he would have some influence in the deep sea.

At that point, the dark crow could venture even further to conquer and help him gather resources.

“Old turtle, this is for your own good. With the world in such chaos and the constant threats of city or nation destruction, how could you simply lie down and be at ease?” Lu Ran shook his head. “Trust me, this is the right path-first gain unmatched strength in the world, then consider retiring peacefully.”

After connecting with the dark crow and the black turtle, Lu Ran checked his phone. Following the Black Dragon incident, he had received messages from Pluto, Master Lin, and Master Jiang Dou.

[You’re strong.]

[Amazing!]

[You little rascal… impressive!]

Lu Ran smiled slightly, responded briefly to most of the messages, and then opened a more significant one.

Lu Bing: [Village Chief, you’re super strong, love it, just wish the divine deer had appeared! Oh, by the way, to report to you: the Jiao Dragon team is now preliminarily qualified to challenge a Legendary Secret Realm with a four-person team. Regarding the choice of the first level 1 secret realm type, they plan to seek your advice. Do you have any urgent need for special fusion traits or skills?]

“It’s starting…”

Reading Lu Bing’s message, Lu Ran let out a long breath. The Jiao Dragon team, nurtured with vast resources, was finally ready to attempt a Legendary Secret Realm challenge.

The Jiao Dragon team was quite considerate, aware that their current strength was entirely due to Lu Ran’s investment. Therefore, for their first Legendary Secret Realm, they wanted to know what Lu Ran needed in terms of resources.

For example, if Lu Ran needed fire fusion traits, they would challenge a fire-type Legendary Secret Realm.

This way, there’s a high probability that they’ll acquire the resources Lu Ran requires.

What Lu Ran needs takes precedence over their own needs.

“What a pity,” Lu Ran thought with a hint of regret as he read the message.

In recent days, he had carried out an experiment to see if non-contract retainers like the sword spirit and sword grass could fuse traits.

Unfortunately, it failed.

It seems that only Main Pets contracted via a contract card can fuse traits.

This was a significant disappointment for Lu Ran because if the sword spirit and sword grass could also fuse traits to evolve, he was confident he could cultivate General Ha’s retainers into an overlord species.

That would elevate General Ha’s strength to even more terrifying levels.

But Lu Ran wasn’t greedy. Having the sword spirit and sword grass share a contract card with General Ha was already satisfying.

Moreover, while they couldn’t evolve through Infinite City’s benefits, it didn’t mean they couldn’t find other means to evolve.

Back when the beastmaster Yu Rui from the Star Moon Federation mentioned that they had evolved sword grass into an overlord species, he didn’t rely on the power of Infinite City. Instead, he used his own evolution techniques.

Just like most wild creatures on Blue Star, which don’t have the benefits of Infinite City but can still evolve using special evolution resources.

Therefore, the sword spirit and sword grass still have a chance to become overlords, though the process is a bit more troublesome.

In any case, since the evolution shortcut of traits is unavailable, Lu Ran can’t have the Jiao Dragon team help the sword spirit and sword grass acquire traits.

This significantly narrows down the options available for the Jiao Dragon team.

“General Ha is at level 40, fused with space-type traits, check. The dark crow has already reached level 40, no current needs, check. So the ones in need are the sudden death king and cloud baby.”

“Let’s arrange for the sudden death king first.”

Lu Ran replied to Lu Bing:

[Find a secret realm boss that excels in support defense.]

Lu Bing: [Support defense? Got it!]

Lu Bing understood what support defense meant. Support-type pet beasts are quite favored during secret realm team-ups.

A single skill buff can massively increase the team’s attack power, defense, and speed. That’s the role of a support-type pet beast.

Lu Ran intended to continue his previous plan: have the sudden death king acquire a new support talent at level 40. This way, while its own defense is strong, it can also enhance the defense of all teammates.

This prevents it from constantly complaining about being the only one taking hits…

After finishing his communication with Lu Bing, Lu Ran called Professor Ye.

Professor Ye, the teacher from Beast Taming University who had given Lu Ran the sword grass, was responsible for the real-world secret realm modification in Green Sea City.

Lu Ran planned to transplant the ferocious plants he obtained from the breakthrough secret realm to Green Sea, and he might need her assistance.

Lu Ran had transplanted the Death Forest to the ruins space, which, thanks to its perfect environment, didn’t pose a risk of killing the plants. However, transplanting them to Green Sea might require expert guidance.

As for why they weren’t left in the ruins space, it’s because the training activities of General Ha and others in the ruins space are becoming increasingly intense. Eventually, those plants might get caught in the crossfire and perish.

Compared to nurturing ferocious plants, using the ruins space as a portable space for pet beasts and legion pet beasts offers a better value.

After getting this botanist (Professor Ye) to lend a hand, Lu Ran cheerfully dialed Fang Lan’s number.

“Do me a favor!” Lu Ran said as soon as the call connected.

“Ugh, what’s up with you?” Fang Lan retorted.

“What do you mean?” Lu Ran feigned ignorance.

“Never mind, I won’t ask. What can I help you with?” Fang Lan said with a pout. The recent actions of the dark crow had turned it into a Guardian in Xia Country, with Lu Ran even being honored in the Grand Ancestral Temple. She felt helpless. During her breakthrough secret realm adventure, she had crossed paths with beastmasters from the other world and managed to take them down with her poison abilities, earning herself an SS rating. She thought she did pretty well, but who knew that one secret realm later, Lu Ran would become a Guardian of Xia Country.

“Of course, it’s your old expertise-researching poison,” Lu Ran chuckled. “You’re at the university now, right? Go find Professor Ye, then head back to Green Sea with her, and you’ll understand.”

“Huh?”

“Huh, what? There’s a surprise waiting for you!”

Here’s the thing: while cultivating the dark crow legion, Lu Ran identified a major issue. Dark and mental resources couldn’t both be standard for ordinary crows, and other attributes didn’t significantly enhance the curse power.

Through extensive experimentation, Lu Ran discovered that some poison-based crows synergized well with curse power, providing the dark crow with even more potent curse energy.

So, Lu Ran decided to focus the dark crow legion on the poison attribute. This trait is relatively inexpensive but still very powerful. However, Lu Ran was not well-versed in poison powers, so he planned to have Fang Lan oversee the Death Forest’s ferocious plants and research poison powers suitable for the crow species.

And besides, this might save her from feeling guilty about receiving such a huge gift, lest she get so moved that she’d want to offer herself in marriage.