King of Beasts

“Let’s go check out the beastmaster square.”

Lu Ran didn’t dwell on it for long.

Right now, all he wanted to know was what form the divine beast leaderboard took.

Would it affect him too much?

“Okay…” Pig Raiser nodded, clearly also very interested in the divine beast leaderboard.

Now, it turned into two people, one pig, one dog, making their way towards beastmaster square.

…

Xia Country, Infinite City No.3, beastmaster square.

At this moment, the square had already gathered several hundred people.

Some former beastmasters felt deeply emotional, having never seen so many beastmasters congregated together before.

At this time, everyone stayed near the divine beast leaderboard, discussing and observing the leaderboard together.

“This leaderboard seems to be regional, calculated separately for each infinite city. A friend from Infinite City No.7 sent me a message saying that someone there has already made it onto the leaderboard.”

“Really? If each infinite city is calculated separately, then it feels like there’s hope, but I wonder how many crystal coins one can earn at settlement…”

“It’s still tough, the number of beastmasters is probably only going to increase, it’ll definitely get very competitive.”

Crystal coins are the universal currency used in infinite cities, needed everywhere, and with the addition of a facility that rewards crystal coins, the beastmasters were naturally very pleased.

Lu Ran and Pig Raiser seemed to have arrived just in time.

After they reached beastmaster square, they coincided with a change in one side of the divine beast leaderboard.

Regional announcement: Divine Beast Leaderboard, Supernatural Species Leaderboard updated.

Leaderboard divine beast: Species, Black Bear.

Attribute: Dark-type

Species level: Upper supernatural

Growth level: Level 8

Beastmaster: Dark Wind

Reason for leaderboard: Evolutionary mutation from a black bear, possessing immense strength, awakened the power of darkness, in the simple-level Novice Secret Realm, Forest of the Demon Cat, surpassed a level 10 middle supernatural species demon cat with a single blow!

The Divine Beast Leaderboard’s Supernatural Species Leaderboard’s first place was immediately occupied by the data of this black bear.

Now, those present at beastmaster square all heard the so-called regional announcement.

Seeing the change in the leaderboard, many of the newcomers who had just arrived in the last few days were shocked.

A dark-type black bear…

What did this guy do in the real world?

“Dark Wind, whose initial pet beast is actually a black bear? And a natural dark-type?” The crowd was abuzz.

It was no surprise, however, that a level 8 dark-type black bear could kill a level 10 demon cat with a single blow. Given its higher species level and more rare and powerful attribute, this feat was not strange.

Before people could further speculate about the identity of Dark Wind and which force’s monstrous newcomer he might be, the leaderboard updated again!

Regional announcement: Divine Beast Leaderboard, Supernatural Species Leaderboard updated.

Leaderboard divine beast,

Species: Tiger.

Attribute: Rock

Species level: Upper supernatural

Growth level: Level 7

Beast Tamer: Loong Tiger Fight

Reason for leaderboard: Evolved mutation from a Manchurian Tiger, a powerful species, awakening the power of the mountains, in the ordinary level Novice Secret Realm Wild Boar Valley, surpassed a level 8 upper supernatural species rock boar!

With this update, Dark Wind, who had just secured the first place for a few seconds, was immediately pushed to second place.

This contract tiger, the fierce one with the ID Loong Tiger Fight, directly topped the leaderboard, suggesting Infinite City considered the rock tiger’s performance to be even stronger than the dark-type black bear.

“Wow, so impressive…” At this moment, just witnessing two people getting on the leaderboard, Pig Raiser was stunned.

He felt completely out of his league with this leaderboard, with its bears and tigers. Although his wild boar was also quite strong, it seemed to be a very challenging task!

“It seems that this Supernatural Leaderboard is specifically prepared for the fourth-generation newcomers.” At this time, someone spoke up.

Because below the Supernatural Leaderboard, besides the settlement countdown, there were a few lines of small text notes.

Note: The Supernatural Species Leaderboard only includes pet beasts of beast tamers who have been in the role for less than one year.

Note: Equipment, items, one-time resources, and teammate assistance that provide combat bonuses to pet beasts will decrease the weight given to their application for the leaderboard.

Note: …

“It seems to be a way to prevent veterans from raising new pet beasts to snatch resources from newcomers. But then again, for the second and third-generation beast tamers who are battling at the front lines, their pet beasts have mostly evolved to commander species, right? Those leaderboards should be even more competitive.”

People’s attention shifted to the Commander Species Leaderboard, Sovereign Species Leaderboard… and while overlord species beasts had not yet appeared on a global scale.

At that moment, the leaderboard updated once again. Since the divine beast leaderboard had just been introduced, its update frequency seemed particularly high.

This time, it excited many because it was no longer the supernatural leaderboard being updated, but rather…

Regional announcement: Divine beast leaderboard and sovereign species leaderboard updated.

Leaderboard divine beast,

Species: Nine-star light tail sparrow.

Attribute: Light, Space

Species level: Lower sovereign

Growth level: Level 43

Beast Tamer: Star

Reason for leaderboard: Perfect evolution in the first stage, a sovereign species with the special attributes of light and space, in the hard level four secret realm Sky Island, continuously crushed a lower sovereign species level 41 Rin Sky Serpent with the self-created finishing move “Star Cluster Flash”!

“Is it Guild Leader Star?!”

Compared to the two unknown newcomers, this ID Star’s beast tamer seemed to have a significant reputation in Infinite City No.3.

Seeing him topping the sovereign leaderboard, the square once again buzzed with activity as a group of veterans patiently introduced this person to the newcomers.

“Star…”

“You know him?” Lu Ran asked, noticing Pig Raiser muttering to himself.

“Yes, the guild I joined is called Star Cluster, and this Star… he’s the guild leader of the one I joined. Sister Shenghua said he’s a prominent figure among the second-generation beastmasters, his family is in real estate…”

“Ah, no wonder that guild is so lavish.” Lu Ran’s expression froze for a moment, thinking about it, his apartment complex was called Starlight, could it also be this person’s family business?

Never mind…

“I’m not looking anymore.” At this point, Lu Ran roughly understood what the divine beast leaderboard was about.

He breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, although the divine beast leaderboard affected him, it wouldn’t have too much of an impact.

It was good that only parts of the battle achievements needed to be exposed under the scrutiny of the public eye, and it wasn’t some sort of completion leaderboard.

It was just capturing a battle highlight, a standout performance, which meant the risk of exposing his epic item was significantly reduced.

Reading the text description, most people would surely focus on the individual performance of the pet beasts.

Although the snowfield dog was common and not particularly strong, there were exceptions, and it wouldn’t be strange for a powerful one to suddenly emerge, especially when there are high-level species bugs around.

Gaining attention was inevitable, but with it came the promise of substantial crystal coins rewards. There were pros and cons to everything.

However, Lu Ran felt that all his thinking might be pointless. After all, considering how formidable the divine beasts on the leaderboard were, it was uncertain whether he and General Ha could even make it onto the board.

Currently, it was challenging for General Ha to compete against those high-level species pet beasts. Their only hope lay in its learning capability and the super beast mimicry 2.0… to see if it could learn some powerful skills ahead of the high-level species pet beasts.

Lu Ran felt that the divine deer pendant could also help General Ha train in powerful skills. The main feature of energy compression techniques was the high load they placed on the user, making them difficult to control. But as long as the backlash could be healed, wouldn’t skill experience be able to increase rapidly?

“I’m going to buy some things, do you want to stay here and keep watching?” Lu Ran asked Pig Raiser.

“Ah, are you done watching?” Pig Raiser looked eagerly at the leaderboard, seemingly willing to continue.

“What’s the use of just watching this? We can’t even get on the board. It’s better to focus on cultivating our pet beasts, which might give us a better chance of making it onto the leaderboard.”

Lu Ran laughed to himself. Ah, the youth… Infinite City is really something, isn’t it? With this new feature, how many guilds and beastmasters will be whipped into a frenzy over the honor of having a divine beast? Isn’t this just the same old online game leaderboard competition tactic?

Wait a second, could the information released by the officials be real? Could Infinite City actually be something created by a civilization to pass on their legacy and cultivate beastmasters?

…

Meanwhile.

Outside, in Green Sea City.

After waking up, Fang Lan thought it over and decided to follow Lu Ran’s advice, telling his parents that he had been chosen to be a beastmaster.

“That’s the situation.”

“It’s a rare opportunity, especially since I’ve been recognized by Dr. Gu! A person of her stature, you wouldn’t want to disappoint her, right? If you don’t support me, I might just start shedding tears.”

Wouldn’t that scare you? Those are precious pearls, not spiders! Fang Lan’s parents furrowed their brows, their expressions solemn. They had naturally seen the overwhelming news, but still…

What a situation this was.

Their daughter being selected should have been a cause for celebration, as it was a testament to her talent. However, the news also mentioned the dangers of the secret realms within Infinite City. No parent would want their child to frequent such perilous places, even if their daughter wasn’t exactly the gentle type.

“No, it’s too dangerous. I forbid you from entering the secret realms. It’s fine to lead an ordinary life. Or perhaps you could consider a lifestyle occupation, like you mentioned?” Fang Lan’s mother suggested. “How about a pet beast veterinarian?”

“How could I do that? That would be a waste of my upper supernatural species! The little spider would cry; it doesn’t heal, it only poisons.”

“…” Fang Lan’s father struggled to keep a stern face and said, “How about, as Dr. Gu suggested, you go to Beast Taming University first? Study and train there for a while, and then decide what to do after graduation? At your age… education is most important. And absolutely no dating, that’s even more out of the question!”

“Also, you need to find Lu Ran and keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn’t do anything dangerous… Both of you are such a worry. If something happens to him, how are we supposed to face his parents in the afterlife?”

“I…” Fang Lan was at a loss for words and feeling disheveled. She was already of age—dating should be the least of their concerns!

That darn Lu Ran. It turned out that him asking her to come clean to her parents was just a ploy to have her charge ahead in convincing them. How cunning could he be, couldn’t he be more like General Ha?