King of Beasts

That evening.

Many people connected to Lu Ran sent messages to cheer him on, while some advised him to simply quit.

In response to these messages, Lu Ran replied with a crying surrender emoji.

However, although he seemed calm on the surface, Lu Ran was quite annoyed internally.

He thought to himself, no wonder the Twin Crow was released so comfortably; it was all waiting for this moment. There must be some backstage manipulations.

Fortunately, he had been preparing for stage 5 all along; otherwise, if he had taken it easy over the past two weeks, he would have taken a hard fall here.

“Mind sharing your pet beast’s attributes?”

“So I can have some idea.”

Although Lu Ran expressed confidence, Manager Ying still felt a bit uneasy and decided to ask directly for Lu Ran’s pet beast intelligence.

Manager Ying: ???

Lu Ran muttered to himself, indeed, there’s nothing much!

Besides “a simple enhancement of the pet beast’s basic energy techniques.”

The dark crow had been at level 40 for a while, and Manager Ying knew its setup inside out.

The sudden death king only gained an additional support ability, which barely enhanced its power, merely giving its attack skill some defense.

On General Ha’s side, the only new development was the spatial attribute.

However, developing spatial attributes is challenging; Lu Ran and his team hadn’t had time to explore it in such a short time.

This spatial attribute only slightly upgraded General Ha’s species level and made its domain skill a little bit stronger.

Oh, right, after awakening the spatial attribute, General Ha did gain a new species talent.

Just a “worthless” species talent… not worth mentioning.

[Species Talent]: Space Kill (Pet beasts with this talent can greatly enhance slash damage against space domain-type barriers.)

Hmm, it’s somewhat similar to the Dragon Slayer and soul slashing sword intent. Those skills specialize against the Dragon Clan and souls, while this space kill has enormous destructive power against space domain and space barrier-type skills.

During the sparring session, when Lu Ran released his domain, General Ha effortlessly slashed it in half, leaving Lu Ran speechless for a long time.

Even the sudden death king and dark crow found it extremely difficult to break his domain, which definitely indicated that General Ha’s demolition talent had undergone a second awakening.

He guessed that if he told Manager Ying about General Ha’s species talent, Manager Ying would be speechless with frustration.

That’s because its strongest domain focused primarily on Seal and entrapment, and if there was a skill like space kill, wouldn’t it be countering its domain skill…

“In any case, rest assured,” Lu Ran told Manager Ying. “Even if we can’t win, nothing bad will happen to us.”

“True,” Manager Ying shrugged.

…

The next day.

Unsurprisingly, due to the unfortunate match-up, this Challenge gained unprecedented popularity.

The viewership reached the highest level since the Alliance Challenge began.

Beastmasters from various countries, regardless of time differences, were glued to their televisions and computers to keep up with the developments.

The enormous alliance arena was packed with beastmasters from various nations; they were either gatekeepers or challengers, and at the moment, they were clearly quite interested in the outcome of this challenge.

“The main player is entering the scene.”

On the high pillar platform, a first-generation beastmaster serving as a referee looked to both sides.

From the corridor, a young man with blue hair wearing a blue battle uniform and Lu Ran, wearing a dog-head T-shirt, slowly walked out.

At this moment, Lu Ran’s opponent, Leon, a third-generation beastmaster from Gaul Country, slightly twitched the corner of his mouth upon seeing Lu Ran’s flamboyant appearance.

Becoming Lu Ran’s gatekeeper was unexpected for him, yet facing this prodigy who ushered in the overlord era made him quite anxious.

He had been tasked with winning this match and ideally ending Lu Ran in the first stage.

Even if he couldn’t, he was expected to exhaust Lu Ran significantly.

Leon felt immense pressure.

According to the information, Lu Ran’s strongest pet beast could be the level 40 middle overlord Dragon King, possibly the level 40 lower overlord sword dog with domain skills, or perhaps the level 40 twin overlord crow.

All formidable opponents.

After all, he didn’t have an overlord species pet beast. However, as a Third Generation beastmaster with legendary potential, he had his own strengths. His pet beast had reached level 48, with a growth level cultivated to a very high degree, which involved significant resources and time spent in the arena.

He believed that perhaps, with the advantage of growth level, he could put some pressure on Lu Ran.

A level 40 middle overlord, by traditional calculations, is equivalent to a level 50 middle sovereign. But his pet beast was an upper sovereign!

“Challenger: Lu Ran from Xia Country.”

“Gatekeeper: Leon.”

“Battle Rules: 1V1.”

“Next, please summon your pet beasts. The challenge will begin in 10 seconds!” The First Generation referee, a stateless person within the Alliance, took a deep breath, feeling nervous.

Because the Eagle Federation had contacted him the previous day, suggesting that he could relax slightly during the battle.

What did that mean… The referee understood clearly.

It implied… that if Lu Ran was in danger, he should delay the rescue response as much as possible?

The referee felt tense inside, as though caught in the middle of a great power struggle, but he didn’t dare to voice his concerns.

With the referee’s instructions given, in an instant, on the gigantic arena, Lu Ran and Leon began summoning their pet beasts simultaneously.

“Cluck-cluck-cluck -“

Leon summoned a monstrous bird-like creature, standing seven to eight meters tall. It was covered in explosive muscles and adorned with ice-blue feathers-clearly an ice-type pet beast.

[Name]: Ice Feathered Crown Bird

[Attribute]: Ice

[Species Level]: Upper Sovereign

[Growth Level]: Level 48

“Cluck-cluck-cluck -” As the Ice Feathered Crown Bird appeared, its information was promptly displayed on the big screen of the Alliance arena, evidently revealed by behind-the-scenes personnel with the eye of data.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

At the same time.

On Lu Ran’s side, he also summoned his pet beast.

Holding the contract card between his fingers, he gently tossed it, and as it spun to the ground, a giant summoning circle appeared.

Within this circle, two figures gradually emerged!

What Lu Ran summoned turned out to be the Twin Crow, which had been a hot topic of discussion recently, and indeed, it was the dark crow!

He tossed out a contract card, and two pet beasts emerged from the same summoning circle, seemingly sending a message to the world: Look, it is a singular pet beast, one and the same.

“Caw caw caw…” Above the summoning circle, the two dark crows soared like twin phoenixes, spiraling upward before landing in front of Lu Ran, one on each side, like loyal guardians.

One was the Dark Feathered Crow, adorned with countless Evil God’s Eyes. The other was the Crow of Necromancy, exuding an ominous spiritual power. Though they weren’t as large as the Ice Feathered Crown Bird, their expressions were far more defiant.

As the two crows made their entrance, the battle countdown on the screen reached 7.

“The Twin Crow, huh…” At this moment, seeing Lu Ran deploy the Twin Crow, the audience marveled at his audacity. The Alliance allowed him to use it, and he fully took advantage by sending out both at once!

A three-bird contest, perhaps?

What kind of battle would we witness between two level 40 lower overlords against a level 48 upper sovereign?

If the necromantic crow possesses the Crow of Curses, it might compare to a middle overlord… hard to say.

Just as the audience was curious about how the battle would unfold, something unexpected happened. Suddenly, the Crow of Curses squinted its eyes and said, “Leave this guy to me. You don’t need to intervene. I feel like this opponent doesn’t even require possession.”

The crow of death retorted, “How bold, it should be left to me instead. Don’t you dare steal my glory.”

Audience, opponent, referee: ???

Upon hearing the two crows talk, everyone had a moment of brain freeze.

What is going on? Weren’t they supposed to fight together? How are they fighting over who steps in first?

And aren’t these two bodies supposed to share one consciousness?

Behind them, Lu Ran remained relatively silent. Technically, it’s a single consciousness, but the problem is, the dark crow has a mischievous nature. It talks too much and, out of boredom, has developed the ability to hold conversations with itself…

Crow of Curses: “I’ll take care of this!”

Crow of Death: “No, I will carry you!”

The two dark crows continued their argument on the battlefield, leaving countless spectators dumbfounded, especially when they realized they could speak foreign languages…

A weary Lu Ran didn’t intend to stop them.

He knew the dark crow was using tactics to mess with the opponent’s mindset, using trash talk to disrupt their performance…

Sure enough, listening to the contemptuous conversation of the dark crow, Leon’s face turned pale.

The beastmasters from his country also looked displeased. What a joke, even if the Twin Crow is mysterious, thinking one of them can settle the opponent alone is just dreaming!

It’s important to note that the Ice Feathered Crown Bird has fused with a rather impressive trait, the Void Chill, which can even freeze space itself!!

While soul power and curse power are indeed eerie, they can’t surpass spatial power.

The Ice Feathered Crown Bird, with its mastery of the Void Chill, effectively creates a pseudo-freezing domain around itself.

As soon as the battle countdown hit 0, Leon’s Ice Feathered Crown Bird immediately let out a thunderous roar-

“Cluck cluck cluck-” It glared angrily at its two opponents. As the battle commenced, its wings swept fiercely, unleashing a chilling wind capable of freezing space itself, aimed directly at the two crows!

Crack, crack, crack.

During this, the entire space of the arena seemed to freeze over, creating an ice-sealed domain that locked both the space between the dark crows and the Ice Feathered Crown Bird, as well as the surrounding space around it.

“By freezing the space around itself, it can avoid that crow’s unavoidable curse from landing-“

Leon had calculated well, bolstered by the ice power from his support pet beast.

The audience quickly picked up on Leon’s tactical intent… By sealing off space, he aimed to obstruct the unpreventable curse from striking!

Leon had researched all of Lu Ran’s pet beasts and devised a strategy against each one!

However, in the next moment, Leon and the Ice Feathered Crown Bird felt a jolt of surprise because an unforeseen turn of events occurred.

The two crows narrowed their eyes and calmly watched as the freezing gales approached…

In the next instant-

A burst of fiery light erupted from behind the two crows. Unbeknownst to them, Lu Ran was already enveloped in flames, using his fingers as a sword. Compressing the sword qi 30 times, infused with sword intent, he charged directly into the freezing winds.

“Go.”

With just a word from Lu Ran, there was a sudden “boom” as the terrifying Void Chill was forcibly pushed back. Intense flames appeared right in front of the Ice Feathered Crown Bird, seemingly melting through space. With a bewildered expression, the bird was consumed and knocked over.

“Squawk, squawk, squawk-” The Ice Feathered Crown Bird let out a stunned scream, engulfed in flames. Unfortunately, the fiery sword qi had dissipated much of the Void Chill’s power, leaving it largely unharmed. Still, Lu Ran’s swift finger-sword maneuver to knock the Ice Feathered Crown Bird off its feet caught everyone’s eyes.

“Whoa.” In the audience seats, Qin Ming and the Youxiong Guild Leader were taken aback. What just happened?!

“You two, hurry up. If you don’t act soon, I’ll finish off the opponent myself and leave you with no chance to shine.” Lu Ran’s impatient words echoed in the arena, causing many spectators to gape in surprise.

“Caw!!”

Upon hearing Lu Ran, the two crows immediately fused, whining in compliance… Instantly, the crow of death possessed the Crow of Curses, with the dark crow’s eyes glinting coldly as it pronounced judgment: “Turn into a pig…”

With the freezing space unsealed, the dark crow’s curse descended unobstructed onto the enemy.

However, to Leon’s horror, the curse didn’t seem to target his pet beast, but rather…

Feeling the internal changes occurring in his body, Leon was filled with dread, recalling the dark crow’s exploits in the Evolution Secret Realm- the pig transformation curse!

No, this can’t be!!!

The dark crow, showing no adherence to martial ethics, used the eerie skill to bypass the opponent’s pet beast and target the beastmaster himself.

This curse made Leon let out a wretched scream: “Wait, wait! I surrender!!”

“I surrender…”

He cried out in terror, but it couldn’t prevent the dark crow from continuing its move. However, this time the dark crow didn’t employ any sacrifice, so Leon’s soul merely experienced a brief transformation into a pig, leaving him bewilderedly snorting on the ground.

This spectacle tightened the pants of the next few gatekeepers, even Jack watching secretly. This move was truly disgusting…

At this moment, the Ice Feathered Crown Bird looked utterly startled at its beastmaster. Although it still had the ability to fight, the beastmaster’s declaration of surrender prompted the nearby referee to announce, “The winner is Lu Ran.”

This left the Ice Feathered Crown Bird exasperated, squawking about having a useless teammate!

No one focused on who the winner was; instead, they were all replaying Lu Ran’s fiery sword qi in their minds, each casting a look of surprise at him in the arena. Are you kidding me? Without relying on the power of a pet beast, he managed to directly push back a level 48 sovereign.

Is this guy a human-shaped ferocious beast? Is the Flame Spirit Technique that powerful? Without the Crow taking action, he resolved the opponent by himself? Is this some kind of joke?

“Next…” At that moment, Lu Ran let out a relaxed sigh. Stage 1 was no pressure. If it wasn’t for the concern of wasting energy, there would have been no need to use the dark crow; he could have taken down the opponent with his sword domain alone. The combo of super beast mimicry and Flame Spirit Technique isn’t necessarily inferior to fusing with a pet beast. Good, target acquired. Next up, no one should expect to leave easily…