Chapter 493: Chapter 493

The next moment, Lu Ran and his team appeared inside the castle.

However, before the Blood Guards could spawn, Dark Crow materialized beside Lu Ran and uttered a single word: “Die.”

“Hmm?” Lu Ran was taken aback.

Dark Crow was also stunned. “Huh? My King, her level is higher than mine, and her vitality is strong. She didn’t die instantly. Let me sacrifice something—”

“It’s a good thing we’re not in a team, or this would’ve been embarrassing. Next time, calculate the damage properly.” Lu Ran frowned.

Meanwhile, sensing the disturbance, several blood clan beasts emerged from the darkness. Before they could attack, Lu Ran’s Soul-Amplification beastmaster skill was applied to Dark Crow.

Against such enemies, making Dark Crow sacrifice an eyeball would be a waste of energy. He didn’t want to waste stamina healing Dark Crow with the Flame of Life, and that would be the same even if he had Happy Beastmaster. It was better to use Soul Amplification as it was less taxing.

With Soul Amplification, Dark Crow’s Spiritual Speech power surged. It continuously repeated the word “die.”

In a distant chamber, a pale, beautiful vampire instantly lost her life. Simultaneously, the Blood Guards exploded into blood.

[Congratulations on completing the secret realm mission.]

[You have received 80,000,000 crystal coins.]

[You have received a unique resource: Upgrade Card x4000.] Latest content published on noⅴelfire.net

[You have received an Epic resource: Progenitor’s True Blood (The true blood of the Vampire Progenitor, the legendary unifier of all bloodlines. Injecting it into a supernatural being will immediately transform them into a blood clan member ranging from Low Overlord to Superior Overlord, depending on their innate potential.

[The Progenitor’s True Blood can also be injected into humans, turning them into blood clan members. However, they will lose their beastmaster space. Conversely, humans who become blood clan members can be contracted as humanoid familiars)]

[You have received the beastmaster skill: Blood Contract (A unique beastmaster skill. For familiars contracted to a beastmaster with this skill, the beastmaster’s blood becomes a top-tier resource. It can accelerate the familiar’s growth, heal their injuries, restore stamina, and subtly enhance their evolutionary potential.)]

[You have received a unique resource: Trait Crystal (Blood Dominance: The familiar gains excellent control over blood, allowing them to manipulate their blood for combat. They can also absorb blood to replenish their nutritional energy.)]

After the system announcements ended, Lu Ran, still standing in the castle, let out a puzzled look. Aside from crystal coins and upgrade cards, there were only three drops. This time, the drops were fewer, but upon closer inspection, they were all high-quality.

As #18 had predicted, blood-control-related resources and traits had dropped. The Blood Dominance trait would allow #18 to gain excellent blood-control abilities, though the “manipulate own blood for combat” and “absorb blood for nutrition” aspects were somewhat redundant for it.

That was unless it fully embraced corruption and evolved into a Blood Angel, but it wasn’t an actual angel. Its angelic form was just an appearance—in the end, it was just an android.

After fusing with this trait, the swordgrass might as well ditch Captain Doofus and team up with #18 for bloody battles.

“What’s this Blood Contract? First, I feed souls to familiars, and now they want me to feed them blood too...? Even dogs wouldn’t learn this.”

Muttering to himself, Lu Ran exited the Legendary secret realm. Naturally, his clearance was broadcast. As the name Pedestrian A echoed through Blue Planet’s Limitless City once more, the beastmasters of Blue Planet ignored it.

Lu Ran had a quasi-Legendary mechanical lifeform. Clearing a level 6 Legendary secret realm by himself was nothing surprising. Even other Kings like the old president had cleared Legendary secret realms solo with their Overlord familiars. Lu Ran clearing a Legendary secret realm couldn’t cause much of a stir.

The arrival of the Overlord era had long made solo-clearing Legendary Secret Realms commonplace. The only thing worth noting was that Lu Ran had also broken through to level 6, joining Blue Planet’s top-tier ranks.

After exiting, Lu Ran checked his crystal coin balance.

“The crystal coins keep increasing. I’ll transfer them to Manager Ying later for purchasing foreign resources.”

At his level, crystal coins were just numbers. Epic and above resources couldn’t be bought with them. They could only be used to procure low-level foreign resources for training the Dark Crow Legion, the Flood Dragon Squad, and developing the Amazon. Lately, they’d been used for empire-building. For the next two months, strengthening his own power took priority.

Having completed the only task necessary after reaching level 6, Lu Ran was about to return to seclusion when several more announcements followed, startling him. These weren’t secret realm announcements but the Road to Kingship announcements.

[Congratulations to Drought Demon for clearing Road to Kingship and entering King’s Domain.]

[Congratulations to Medusa Queen for clearing Road to Kingship and entering King’s Domain.]

[Congratulations to Demon King for clearing Road to Kingship and entering King’s Domain.]

[Congratulations to Snow Maiden for clearing Road to Kingship and entering King’s Domain.]

Within two minutes, four consecutive system announcements left not just Lu Ran but countless Blue Planet beastmasters stunned. Not only had four individuals cleared the Road to Kingship simultaneously, earning the right to challenge the Ten Kings, but these four IDs were completely unfamiliar. No one’s ever heard of them before.

“Drought Demon? What the hell?” Lu Ran was dumbfounded.

This name left a deep impression on him because just this morning, Manager Ying had mentioned them. An ancient ruin discovered by the old president was suspected to be related to the Drought Demon.

Lost in thought, Lu Ran entered an arena to access the King’s Domain. If his guess was correct, these four would likely head there after clearing the Road to Kingship.

Soon after arriving in the King’s Domain, Lu Ran found that aside from himself, many other Kings had already gathered.

People like Dr. Gu, the old president, and even the little mechanic from Eagle Federation were present, all staring solemnly at eight figures standing on an island—four beastmasters and four familiars.

The beastmasters consisted of two men and two women, while their familiars matched their IDs perfectly. There was a scorched humanoid monster, a beautiful snake gorgon, a fully upright black goat-headed demon, and a white-gauze young girl seemingly made of ice crystals.

Blue Planet’s Ten Kings and others that were capable of entering the King’s Domain were shocked because the familiars were all quasi-Legendary species above level 70. In other words, they were four Legendary beastmasters.

The middle-aged man, contracted to the Drought Demon, smiled amiably. “You’re here. Greetings. Allow us to introduce ourselves. You could consider us your senior beastmasters from ancient Limitless City. Limitless City existed in the ancient Blue Planet, although briefly. As you’re well aware.

“The four of us were fortunate enough to find a way to survive until the spiritual energy revival. Normally, human lifespans couldn’t endure like ancient Overlords. In short, like some ancient creatures, we slept until now in our capacity as human beastmasters. After re-entering Limitless City, we’ve investigated the current situation. Rest assured, we mean you no harm.

“We merely wish to obtain a share of Limitless City’s authority through the World War. Given your strength, you likely pose no threat to Stellar Moon’s beastmasters. All four of us are Legendary beastmasters contracted to quasi-Legendary familiars. Under our leadership, you can also reap some benefits.

“Don’t doubt our strength. The ancient Blue Planet was far more perilous than the current environment. Surviving in that era as some of the few remaining proves we are Limitless City’s chosen main force against Stellar Moon. But before that, the four of us will need some World War slots. We’ll challenge for them fairly under Limitless City’s rules.”

Four ancient beastmasters...

After their self-introduction, Blue Planet’s Kings and the others who were capable were astounded.

“So that’s how it is...” The old president was the first to stroke his beard and speak.

So, the reason creatures like the Drought Demon disappeared after emerging from ruins was that they had entered Limitless City. Beastmasters from Blue Planet’s ancient Limitless City, huh?

I guess that makes sense. If Stellar Moon’s beastmasters could survive multiple catastrophes from ancient times to the present, it makes sense that some ancient humans on Blue Planet, which hadn’t experienced major disasters, could also survive.

But how did they prolong their lifespans? Human longevity paled in comparison to ancient creatures. Hmm... The commonality among these four is that their familiars seem sinister and are all humanoid! Hopefully, they are allies, not enemies.

“That’s good news...” Lu Ran was the next to react, smiling warmly.

At this moment, no one was happier than Lu Ran. These ancients, in his eyes, were perfect candidates for generals in the Beastmaster Empire. Strengthening Blue Planet’s forces was just a bonus.

“Good news? You must be Lu Ran. I heard you have a quasi-Legendary familiar and are the strongest beastmaster of this era? Why don’t you fight me? That way, no one can accuse me of bullying the weak.”

The tanned middle-aged woman, contracted to the snake gorgon, smirked.