King of Beasts

The matter concerning Lu Ran’s Twin Crow had actually been a subject of discussion within the Alliance for some time.

Such a unique pet beast, while not the only one of its kind worldwide, was certainly one of a kind in this challenge tournament.

Without a doubt, this unique pet beast form would inevitably stir up controversies regarding the rules.

Those from Xia Country and its friendly factions would naturally oppose any special rules prohibiting the Twin Crow from participating.

At this point, the view of other factions on this pet beast form would be crucial.

In reality, at this current stage, since Lu Ran was deeply tied with necromancy, many countries that weren’t particularly fond of Xia Country wouldn’t bother to oppose the Twin Crow over such a trivial matter.

Allowing Lu Ran’s Twin Crow to compete didn’t really harm them, so why risk souring relations with Xia Country?

From the perspective of countries directly opposed to Xia Country, a level 40 overlord wasn’t much of a threat. Allowing Lu Ran to use it wouldn’t significantly impact the tournament anyway.

As a fourth-generation beastmaster competing mainly in a second-generation tournament, Lu Ran was already at a disadvantage. Targeting him in such circumstances would look somewhat petty.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

“If we were to restrict his pet beast further, and Xia Country replaced him last minute, Lu Ran’s withdrawal from the challenge tournament makes it meaningless.” In Alliance City, Guild Leader Pari of the Eagle Federation swirled his wine glass, looking at the Alliance’s announcement with a slight smile.

If the Eagle Federation targeted Lu Ran over such trivial matters, it would seem as though they feared him.

On the contrary, if they let Lu Ran compete without restrictions, and then during the tournament, watch him suffer a severe defeat, that would truly be entertaining.

He dialed a number, and once connected, Guild Leader Pari said, “Dr. Hayden, are you coming to Alliance City? The Xia Country challenge is next. I’ve arranged quite a show; it’ll be interesting and will make that Lu Ran, who ruined the dinosaur project, look foolish!”

There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by a voice. “Guild Leader Pari, I’ll pass. The resurrection technology for ancient marine creatures is at a critical stage here. I can’t leave…”

Dr. Hayden had lost his spirit. First, his Tyrannosaurus Rex team was wrecked by Erha, then the Shield-winged Dragon King crushed the ancient dragon, and coupled with the subsequent miracles created by Lu Ran, Dr. Hayden had developed a psychological shadow regarding Lu Ran.

Guild Leader Pari had invested significantly in the Dinosaur Revival Project. Although the plan couldn’t be called a failure, its impact fell far short of expectations, all because of Lu Ran’s sudden rise. Dr. Hayden had accepted this fact, but it seemed Guild Leader Pari couldn’t swallow this defeat, especially since he had truly invested money, and the project was linked to his votes for guild leadership, unlike Dr. Hayden who only provided the technology.

“Boring guy,” Guild Leader Pari sneered.

“Mainly… never mind, I’ve changed my mind!” Dr. Hayden wanted to say that even if a second-generation gatekeeper crushed Lu Ran, it wouldn’t mean much since Lu Ran was just from the Fourth Generation.

The real achievement would be if the Tyrannosaurus Rex team, which they had nurtured, could crush Lu Ran, but that goal seemed a bit challenging now, unless Eagle’s technology made another significant breakthrough.

For example, in the field of mechanical pet beasts.

However, after some thought, Dr. Hayden realized their research relied on grants from these people, so he decided to go along with Guild Leader Pari’s wishes and take a look for himself.

“Then I’ll just watch Lu Ran and see Professor Lu come out looking miserable,” Dr. Hayden said, considering it a way to vent…

…

Meanwhile, after Lu Ran arrived in Alliance City, he found himself with some leisure time.

With just a day left, he decided against training his pet beasts, thinking it was better to relax before the tournament.

“The cooldown for the first-stage Evolution Secret Realm is almost over.”

“After coming out of the level 3 breakthrough secret realm, I’ll evolve Cloud Baby in the Evolution Secret Realm, then head to the Star Moon Federation for a visit.”

Currently, the ancient altar discovered by the former guild leader had, after days of exploration, been confirmed as a Cross-World Teleportation Array left by a retainer of the time-space divine dragon.

However, teleportation seemed to require space resources as offerings, and it was quite costly. Xia Country hadn’t begun any attempts yet.

According to Xia Country’s research, they planned to first send Manager Ying’s clone to test the waters. If it was safe, then Lu Ran and the real Manager Ying would go together to search for the divine deer. Safety was the top priority.

The concern wasn’t about potential danger from the Star Moon Federation.

It was about the teleportation circle being too old, possibly causing dangerous transfer issues.

If something went wrong, it would only cost Manager Ying a clone-not a significant loss…

Before they knew it, the day before the Challenge started arrived.

That day, the matchups for the next day’s Challenge were “randomly generated.”

“What the heck, what the heck, what the heck…”

“Aaaahhhh?”

Dean Qin and Youxiong Guild Leader showed little reaction upon seeing the intelligence about their gatekeepers.

Although these individuals were somewhat known internationally, they weren’t considered overpowered adversaries. With some effort, stage 4 was still within reach.

It’s not that Dean Qin and Youxiong Guild Leader thought they couldn’t surpass the gatekeepers of stage 4, but the Challenge required competitors to advance consecutively without breaks, meaning they’d be worn out by three rounds before facing the stage 4 gatekeeper.

This meant they wouldn’t be in peak condition.

Of course, this rule was the same for everyone, so it was no big deal.

However, when these two second-generation Xia Country competitors saw Lu Ran’s lineup of gatekeepers, they were completely shocked.

Not only was Lu Ran scheduled for the first challenge tomorrow, but the list of gatekeepers was incredibly formidable!

The stage 1 gatekeeper was Leon, a third-generation, level 4 beastmaster from Gaul Country. This person was considered a standout among third-generation beastmasters because he once, along with three teammates, successfully passed a level 3 Legendary Secret Realm. Among Gaul’s third-generation beastmasters, he’s likely in the top few.

It’s worth noting that in the long history of the Alliance Challenge, only four times has the first gatekeeper turned out to be a third-generation beastmaster with legendary potential, because such individuals across all generations were quite rare.

Yet, Lu Ran managed to encounter this slim probability.

And this was just the beginning.

The stage 2 gatekeeper was Chris, a second-generation, level 4 beastmaster from Maple Leaf Country. He, too, was a formidable second-generation figure who had teamed up to clear a Legendary Secret Realm. The reason he hadn’t entered a breakthrough secret realm like other second generations was because he had spent too much time in the Legendary Secret Realm.

For stage 3, the gatekeeper was Gao Muxiu, also a second-generation, level 4 beastmaster from Neon Country. He was another big shot who had cleared a level 4 Legendary Secret Realm. Unlike Leon and Chris, who completed theirs with four-person teams, he managed with just three. In Neon Country, he’s considered an exceptionally strong second-generation individual.

Remarkably, Lu Ran randomly matched up against three gatekeepers, each with legendary potential.

With such a terrible matching system, even a fourth-generation like Lu Ran, not to mention second-generations from small countries, would find it tremendously challenging.

However, the most daunting challenge was the fourth gatekeeper.

The stage 4 gatekeeper was Jack Misi, a second-generation, level 5 beastmaster from the Eagle Federation. If the previous three were only famous within their own countries, Jack was renowned worldwide.

That’s because, apart from Lu Ran, he was the only person who had solo-cleared a Legendary Secret Realm, earning him the title of the strongest second-generation.

Even the initial ten top beastmaster kings, during their attempts at the Legendary Secret Realm, couldn’t solo clear it since their pet beasts hadn’t undergone second-stage evolution.

But Jack accomplished it, although at the cost of four pet beasts. However, it was later determined that this sacrifice didn’t affect his strength; in fact, it enhanced it.

He proved his prowess by clearing a level 4 breakthrough secret realm with just one pet beast.

Moreover, his ace pet beast reached the low-level overlord species at the level 50 fusion trait stage, showcasing exceptional potential.

Clearly, when the resources of a solo-cleared Legendary Secret Realm concentrated on a single ace pet beast, it resulted in a significant power boost.

In the Alliance Challenge, Jack having fewer pet beasts wasn’t a disadvantage, as he was the gatekeeper facing challengers one-on-one, allowing him to perform at his best.

So, having Jack as the stage 4 gatekeeper marked a truly dire situation.

“Rigged!”

“Definitely rigged!”

Dean Qin, a high-level member of the academic staff, was expected to maintain his composure, but upon seeing Lu Ran’s list of gatekeepers, he couldn’t help but curse out loud for Lu Ran’s sake.

“Damn,” Youxiong Guild Leader also felt disgusted. What was this nonsense?

This was clearly targeting Lu Ran. Was it necessary for a fourth-generation?

Four consecutive gatekeepers who had cleared the Legendary Secret Realm???

At least the fifth gatekeeper was somewhat normal.

It seemed they believed Lu Ran couldn’t possibly make it past the first four stages, so the gatekeeper for stage 5 didn’t seem rigged.

It was a level 5 First Generation from Egypt, who neither cleared a Legendary Secret Realm nor was rumored to possess any domains. The only highlight was a newly bred overlord pet, but its growth level wasn’t necessarily high… it might not even be as strong or threatening as Jack’s.

Perhaps the only normal one among the five gatekeepers, but… can anyone normally make it to stage 5?

“Lu Ran, you must protest; there’s definitely something fishy here,” Dean Qin urged Lu Ran to contact Councilor Zheng.

Lu Ran replied, “Councilor Zheng is already protesting, but the match-up was indeed randomly generated under the full supervision of the supervisory committee, which includes Xia Country representatives. It just means this rigging, if any, is well-disguised, and normally it’s hard to find a flaw.”

“From the standpoint of the organizers, after so many match-ups, it’s normal to have one unlucky person, right?”

Dean Qin fumed, “Damn shameless.”

As soon as Lu Ran’s gatekeeper list was revealed, the world was in an uproar.

Everyone was baffled by this lineup.

[Oh God, doesn’t this gatekeeper lineup seem like it’s targeting Lu Ran?]

[It must be pure bad luck; if they were targeting him, why not just ban the Twin Crow and make him lose an overlord combat power?]

[Could it be they want to have their cake and eat it too?] fumed a Xia Country netizen.

[Coincidence, really, Lu Ran’s just unlucky! But it doesn’t matter much; as a Fourth Generation, he wasn’t expected to get far anyway. Losing now doesn’t mean losing face.]

[The gatekeeper match-up is supervised, and Xia Country certainly has its own supervisors there. How could there be a rigging… stop arguing…]

Though everyone in Xia Country felt there was rigging involved, world forums largely believed it was just Lu Ran’s bad luck, a sentiment that Xia Country’s netizens couldn’t reverse.

“What should we do?” Even Manager Ying sought Lu Ran’s opinion.

“No worries, no need to protest. Let the high-level members at home rest easy. If I can beat these gatekeepers under these circumstances, wouldn’t that show how impressive we are?” Lu Ran calmly sat on the couch, sipping juice to replenish his sugar levels, leaving the cat astonished. This guy really has confidence!