Chapter 482: Chapter 482

After figuring out the anomaly on Lu Ran’s side, the Divine Deer and Squirrel God left the ruin space.

Once they were gone, Lu Ran grew even more enthusiastic. Though #18 was now exhausted and draped over a tree, and the Tree Monarch’s heroic spirit had dissipated, he was undeterred.

“Well done. Excellent work. Judging by the energy fluctuations earlier, she’s definitely among the top-tier Overlord species at the same level. #18, keep refining the Hall of Heroic Spirits. Ideally, the Tree Monarch should regain her self-awareness. That way, her combat power will be even stronger. If her strength meets the standard, I’ll let you participate in the World War, too.”

The spectacle of my familiar summoning a beastmaster in a match, who then summons their own familiar...

Lu Ran was already looking forward to his opponents’ bewildered expressions.

“Understood!” #18 replied excitedly from the tree.

The only one not thrilled was Manager Ying, who was exasperated. It had a feeling that it would ultimately come down to squeezing it for more blood.

Manager Ying’s fur bristled as it stood up for #18. “Lu Ran, can’t you show some concern for #18? Look how exhausted and thin it’s become! Research tasks one after another. Even capitalists aren’t this exploitative. Look how much you’ve squeezed out of it.”

Lu Ran scoffed. “Do you think Captain Doofus and the others got to their current strength by playing house with their kin? If I’d been that lax, I might not even have made it past Pluto, let alone survived those mutated beasts.”

The Broken Horn of the Divine Deer only worked if the familiars were injured. If given to a beastmaster who panicked at every scratch, its value would be wasted.

“If you don’t push yourself, if you’re not ruthless with your own growth, how can you break through your limits? I’ve been very kind to #18. At least it didn’t lose any teeth, scales, or eyes like Captain Doofus, Sudden Death King, or Dark Crow. Right, #18?”

“Master is right; I haven’t worked hard enough. Who’s Pluto, though?” #18 asked.

It’s not like it has anything else to offer. Maybe it should try burning a couple of CPUs? But even the Flame of Life might not be enough to save it then.

Lu Ran smirked at Manager Ying, as if to say, Just accept your fate. #18 wouldn’t fall for your poisonous, slacker rhetoric. It wouldn’t miss this chance to improve.

Manager Ying was taken aback.

Damn it. This is just a black-hearted beastmaster and a bunch of successfully gaslit familiars.

A few days later, Lu Ran used the soul of the Nine-Tailed Fox as a soul cuisine ingredient to rapidly reconstruct a soul clone. Without it, cultivating a soul clone of sufficient strength from scratch would take at least a month of soul reinforcement.

Since foxes were canines, devouring a canine soul greatly aided Lu Ran in condensing a demon-dog soul clone. He felt that the soul clone could even be stronger than the last one and would potentially allow Captain Doofus to maintain its Intermediate-Legendary rank for a longer duration.

“It’s about time. Let’s find Squirrel God and the others to hunt the next target,” Lu Ran murmured, his eyes gleaming.

Outside, Lu Ran promptly roused the Divine Deer and Squirrel God. They knew he was in a hurry.

As Manager Ying and Lu Ran had explained, the time tunnel couldn't be left unattended for long. They had to return to their posts as soon as possible. Who knew if another time traveller might try to cross it?”

Under this reasoning, even if the Divine Deer and Squirrel God weren’t in peak condition, they had no choice but to go all out.

“The Nine-Tailed Fox has been dealt with. For our next hunt, should we hunt the Taotie or the Qiongqi?” Squirrel God asked. “The Taotie has the Water and Dark attributes. It excels at devouring even enemy attacks, and its digestion is terrifyingly efficient, allowing it to consume countless skills without repercussions. It runs rampant everywhere, gorging itself.

“Meanwhile, the Qiongqi has the Fire and Undead attributes. It’s a beast of extreme malice; it feeds on evil energy and is weak to virtuous energy, making it despise virtuous creatures. It befriends evil beasts and punishes the good while rewarding the wicked.

“I suggest starting with the Qiongqi. The Six-Path Reincarnation God wields both virtuous and evil energy. It’s practically its grandmother. With just a little assistance from me, Sister Six-Path Flower can obliterate it with virtue-enhanced skills!”

After learning of Lu Ran’s contract with Six-Path Flower, Squirrel God felt much more at ease. With Six-Path Flower as a safety net, there was no way they’d fail against a Low Legendary, even if Six-Path Flower hadn’t fully recovered its strength. Besides, they had the advantage in attributes.

“Let me think.” Lu Ran pondered, then told the Divine Deer and Squirrel God, “Let’s hunt that white-headed, red-footed giant ape first! I like to call it... Zhu Yan!”

Squirrel God was taken aback. “Huh? That one? It’s really strong, though.”

Sealing a Low Legendary’s power still left it with room to act. However, sealing an Intermediate Legendary not only drastically reduced the seal’s effectiveness but would also leave Squirrel God barely able to move.

“Let’s go for it. I have a feeling this is the best choice,” Lu Ran insisted.

Squirrel God paused. “A feeling?”

If anyone else had said that, it would’ve dismissed it as nonsense. But coming from the Time kin’s messenger, there could be something to it.

Manager Ying also nodded. “I don’t know why, but I also feel like hunting Zhu Yan first is the safer option.”

The Divine Deer fell into thought, unsure why Lu Ran and Manager Ying were so insistent. In truth, their reasoning was tied to the ascension realm’s final mission; the mission’s evaluation would soon be finalized.

While hunting a quasi-Legendary or Low Legendary might yield an SSS score, and while an Intermediate Legendary would still just be an SSS, research indicated that rewards from Legendary secret realms were tied to the boss, while ascension realm rewards were tied to the participant’s experiences within.

In other words, if Lu Ran’s final mission target was the Taotie, the rewards would likely be related to its traits, skills, or resources.

With Squirrel God and the Divine Deer’s assistance, plus their numbers, an Intermediate Legendary was about the limit of what they could challenge.

Go big or go home. Instead of wasting time on the Taotie or the Qiongqi, why not take down the final boss first and use the remaining time to clean up the smaller fry?

“Hunting Zhu Yan carries risks. It’s more troublesome than the other two. Just the leakage of its power has caused the Stellar Moon’s ember to deplete several times worse than the others,” Squirrel God muttered.

Lu Ran nodded. “I know.”

He’d realized that most of Blue Planet’s ancient beasts were the same creatures recorded in the later generations’ Classic of Mountains and Seas.[1] Among them, the low-tier ones were various man-eating beasts like the Four Fiends’ Qiongqi.

Mid-tier ones could trigger cataclysmic events with their mere presence, like Zhu Yan, whose appearance heralded great wars. As Squirrel God said, even the leakage of its power had sparked wars in ancient times. It fed on war and caused countless casualties.

The top-tier ones, Lu Ran guessed, were beings like the Torch Dragon. With their terrifying divine abilities, they stood at the pinnacle of Blue Planet’s ancient world.

The Torch Dragon was definitely off-limits. No matter how unique its powers were, Lu Ran had no intention of provoking it. His life was precious. However, he was willing to give the Intermediate-Legendary Zhu Yan a shot.

Even if they couldn’t win against an Intermediate Legendary, they could at least escape. If things looked bad, Lu Ran planned to use the Time Fruit.

“Don’t worry. We still have a trump card. What we’ve shown so far isn’t our limit,” Lu Ran told Squirrel God and the Divine Deer.

Squirrel God was shocked. “Huh?”

Lu Ran smiled faintly. “Yes. I have a great beastmaster skill that can temporarily elevate a familiar to Intermediate Legendary for a short time. Besides, as a Time messenger, it’s only natural to have some Time-related resources. I also have a Time Fruit that can temporarily boost a familiar’s level significantly. It’ll be useful.”

The Divine Deer and Squirrel God fell silent. No wonder Lu Ran dared to hunt Zhu Yan. They’d lived long enough to witness a level 5 Beastmaster with such formidable reserves.

“Um...” Squirrel God glanced at Manager Ying, hesitating.

Sister Timekeeper, did you embezzle your powers? Using the time-traveling abilities granted by the Divine Time Dragon to cheat for your chosen messenger, like obtaining the deceased Void Grass’ legacy or reviving the Six-Path Reincarnation God... None of this seems normal.

Manager Ying turned away. “Don’t look at me. I don’t remember anything.”

The Divine Deer said slowly, “Then let’s try it. The malevolent gods are too damaging to Stellar Moon’s embers’ legacy. One mishap, and the embers could be extinguished forever. Even if we can’t hunt it, weakening and sealing it for centuries would still be beneficial.”

Lu Ran smiled. “Exactly.”

He wondered what rewards Zhu Yan would give them if they succeeded in hunting it. In any case, the final harvest of this ascension realm hinged on it.

1. An old Chinese book full of myths, strange lands, and legendary beasts. ☜