King of Beasts

A little after six in the morning.

Lu Ran and his team gathered outside the newly constructed “Jinling Beast Taming Arena.”

“I was so nervous I couldn’t sleep all night.”

“Same here.”

The members from LuJia Village sighed in resignation.

Next to them, Lu Ran and Fang Lan were silent.

In reality, they had been busy all night as well.

One of them had been researching “Thor Tactics” for half the night, and the other had been studying “Fusion Skill.”

Fortunately, they were beastmasters, full of energy, and had access to resources that could keep them alert. So, the lack of rest wasn’t an issue.

The Jinling Beast Taming Arena had a seating capacity of fifty thousand, but the number of examinees in Jinling was less than a tenth of that, so the interior seemed quite empty once they entered.

After all, the only people in the stands were the examinees.

This preliminary assessment was not open to the public; only relevant staff and examinees were present inside.

“These people are really full of energy.”

Actually, the current number of people in the arena was already quite exceptional because the assessment was divided into time slots. Examinees with later sequence numbers could come at noon, in the afternoon, or even on the second or third day. The beast taming university’s app had already provided estimated assessment times.

But from the looks of it, many assessors wanted to gather intelligence early and had arrived bright and early.

At this moment, in Lu Ran’s team, Lu Ran was walking in the front, with Fang Lan and Lu Bing slightly behind him on either side, and the remaining four members further back. They looked like they were about to enter a secret realm. After all, during their secret realm excursions, the strongest, Lu Ran, would clear the way, while the others followed to collect materials…

“Entering examinees, please take your seats promptly and avoid wandering around the arena or corridors.”

“Examinees with earlier sequence numbers, please sit in the front rows.”

“The assessment will officially start at seven o’clock. When your sequence number is called, please proceed to the battleground to summon your pet beast. The next examinee should also promptly head to the waiting area…”

The announcements from the Jinling Arena’s PA system kept repeating the relevant instructions. Lu Ran glanced at his watch it was 6:40. He then said, “I’ll head to the waiting area first. Only 20 minutes left.”

“You guys find a place to sit,” he added.

“Got it,” the Pig Raiser and the others nodded.

“Good luck, Boss Lu!!”

“I’ll go with you,” Fang Lan said, as she was next after Lu Ran.

“Okay, then wait for me over there. I need to use the restroom first…”

Fang Lan rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’ll wait outside the restroom.”

At the waiting area leading to the central battleground, a guide in a uniform was already waiting.

Seeing Lu Ran and Fang Lan approach, he asked, “You’re Examinee No.1 and No.2, right?”

“The assessment will start shortly. Please wait a moment. You’ll need to scan your faces to pass through the gate.”

“Thank you,” Lu Ran and Fang Lan replied simply.

Soon after, the examiners took their positions.

Three people began to take their seats on the platform with the best view in the arena.

Dressed in formal attire, they varied in age and were third-generation beastmasters temporarily assigned from the Stone City Association within the Infinite City region.

To ensure fairness, there weren’t many local second or third-generation beastmasters from Jinling present.

Then, a young man in a blue windbreaker also walked onto the field.

These four comprised the examiner panel for this assessment. The young man in the windbreaker, also a third-generation beastmaster, was responsible for the combat assessment. The other three would sit on the platform to observe and evaluate the examinees’ skills.

If the combat examiner needed a break, other third-generation beastmasters from Stone City, who were on standby, would take over. There were many substitute examiners in addition to the main four.

“Examinee No. 0001, please enter the field for assessment within two minutes.”

“Examinee No. 0001…”

After a short while, the arena’s PA system began announcing the progress of the assessment.

“Good luck!” In the waiting area, Fang Lan waved her fist in encouragement.

Though Lu Ran’s skills were impressive, his opponent was a third-generation beastmaster. Fang Lan was worried Lu Ran might be nervous, as it was common for fourth-generation beastmasters to lose to third-generation ones.

“Thanks,” Lu Ran replied with a smile.

As Lu Ran walked out, the combat examiner, the three scoring examiners, and the examinees in the stands all turned their attention to him.

“Lu Ran???” In the stands, a beastmaster from Green Sea City suddenly exclaimed, causing a chain reaction. Many Green Sea beastmasters stood up to look at the field.

They had arrived as a group since they were from the same city. Only Lu Ran and Fang Lan were absent, having quickly teleported over with the help of a cat…

Seeing Lu Ran appear first, they were all very surprised.

“He’s the first to be assessed,” Yang Xishuai said in astonishment. “Darn it, my lifelong rival”

“The first one is our ‘strongest beastmaster’ from Green Sea City,” Lu Teng muttered. Among the fourth-generation beastmasters from Green Sea City, there was always a debate about whether Lu Ran or Fang Lan was the strongest.

Some believed that the Sudden Death King, a lizard, was powerful and possibly a commander species, stronger than the Five Poison Holy Maiden.

Others argued that since the Five Poison Holy Maiden had been on the divine beast leaderboard, it was unlikely that the Sudden Death King, even if it were a commander species, could surpass it. Therefore, the Five Poison Holy Maiden must be stronger.

Regardless, both were undoubtedly the strongest fourth-generation beastmasters in Green Sea City. The beastmasters from Green Sea City were particularly attentive, eager to see how Lu Ran would perform.

Besides them, not many people recognized Lu Ran.

Infinite City No.3 spanned several provinces. Even familiar explorers who knew Lu Ran were not at the Jinling examination point.

The only possible exception, Pluto, didn’t seem to care about the assessment and hadn’t arrived early.

Soon, Lu Ran, dressed in a black casual outfit with red lightning patterns, walked to the center of the field.

“Summon your pet beast according to the assessment rules and give it your all.”

“Don’t overthink it. Just do your best to showcase your talents,” said the young man in the windbreaker, wearing an amplifier that projected his voice throughout the arena. “The following examinees should listen up. I’ll only say this once: come up and give it your all. Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance to show off.”

“Come at me with the mindset of defeating me in battle!!!”

“Remember my name, third-generation beastmaster, Wu Le.”

To save time, he couldn’t spar leisurely with every assessor, giving instructional battles. The most efficient approach was for the assessors to show their full strength immediately.

Wu Le would hold back slightly, merely suppressing the assessors enough to effectively screen for talent.

As he spoke, he summoned his pet beast.

In the field, the summoning circle glowed and burst with light, revealing a Rhino. This Rhino was nearly six meters long, over two meters tall at the shoulder, with pillar-like limbs, a massive head, and armor-like thick skin. It had twin horns on its snout resembling short swords, making it look extremely formidable!

“Roar!!!!” As soon as the Rhino was summoned, it let out a heavy bellow, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

“A Rhino?!” The assessors couldn’t help but groan inwardly.

Third-generation beastmasters had the luxury of choosing powerful fierce beasts for their second or third pets. In contrast, fourth-generation beastmasters typically started with more common pets like cats or dogs. The thought of battling a Rhino, such a formidable creature, made them feel at a disadvantage.

This kind of creature had strong defense, powerful attacks, and decent speed, with almost no weaknesses.

They could already imagine how Examinee No. 0001 would be thoroughly outmatched.

[Name]: Giant Rock Raging Rhino

[Attribute]: Rock

[Species Level]: Middle Commander

[Growth Level]: Level 29

In the examination hall, Lu Ran, one of the few with an intermediate eye of data, knew the Rhino’s stats.

Seeing the data, Lu Ran was surprised. Why didn’t this examiner summon a pet beast above level 30?

Top-tier third-generation beastmasters typically had pet beasts around level 30 or higher, so this probably wasn’t the examiner’s main pet.

It made sense though. With so many assessors to handle, the examiner would likely cycle through all their pet beasts eventually. Starting with this one wasn’t a bad strategy.

For fourth-generation beastmasters, even a level 29 Giant Rock Raging Rhino posed a significant challenge.

Levels 1 to 20 were easy to level up and considered a rapid growth phase. However, post-level 20, progress slowed considerably, and even a single level difference became significant.

At that moment, Lu Ran also summoned his pet beast.

“Roar!!!” Red lightning flashed, and the Sudden Death King, resembling a black dragon, made a dramatic entrance!

Standing over three meters tall, the lizard-like Sudden Death King, with its monstrous bipedal stance, left the assessors stunned.

The domineering energy exuded by the Sudden Death King was in no way inferior to that of the Giant Rock Raging Rhino. With its black scales, red eyes, and earth-shattering roar, it was clearly no weakling.

“A second pet?” Lu Bing and the others were surprised.

So cool… way cooler than General Ha.

“Who is this guy? This pet beast’s base species should be the Red-Eyed Eagle Lizard, right? Such a small lizard has been nurtured to this massive size.”

As Lu Ran summoned his pet beast, the three examiners on the podium showed unexpected expressions. This lizard didn’t look weak at all. Unfortunately, they didn’t have more detailed information about the assessor.

Generally speaking, if a fourth-generation beastmaster was powerful, their pet beast species alone could reveal their identity. However, Lu Ran was too low-key. Unless he summoned General Ha, these examiners wouldn’t know who he was.

These pre-selection examiners didn’t seem to have much authority and lacked intermediate eye of data. They could only rely on their experience to judge that the Sudden Death King was not weak, with a strong species and high level.

But they didn’t think too much about it. How strong could a fourth-generation beastmaster possibly be? All the examiners, including Wu Le, shared this sentiment.

Meanwhile, the audience was buzzing with excitement. Beastmasters from Green Sea City were introducing Lu Ran to those from other cities.

“He’s a beastmaster from Green Sea City.”

“This Red-Eyed Eagle Lizard is amazing, its defense is incredibly strong.”

“Normal attacks can’t break through its defense at all.”

“Huh? A pet beast specializing in defense? No way a lizard can have stronger defense than a Rhino, plus the examiner’s pet beast is higher level. It’s just a sitting duck,” beastmasters from other cities laughed.

As the conversation continued, the Sudden Death King, who had endured a lot of beatings in the morning, started to unleash its energy as the tournament began.

“Roar!!!!”

Even a clay figure has some fire; an overlord cannot be humiliated!!!

With this near-death accumulated strike, can you withstand it?! Huh?!

Just as Examiner Wu Le was calmly preparing to toy with this fourth-generation junior…

A terrifying energy erupted from the field!

Suddenly, red lightning surged from the Sudden Death King’s body, extending upwards over ten meters. Amidst the terrifying thunder energy explosion, an even larger energy apparition of the Sudden Death King took shape, clad in armor and wielding a shield!

The massive beast apparition shocked everyone present.

Even Wu Le and the other examiners were stunned, their mouths agape.

What the hell is this?

Is this really a beast taming skill from a fourth-generation beastmaster’s pet?

If the examiners were shocked, the examinees in the audience were even more dumbfounded.

Not to mention them, even those who knew Lu Ran, like Fang Lan, were taken aback.

What’s going on with this lizard?!

“Examiner Wu, we’re about to attack. Aren’t you going to defend?” The energy that had exploded was all accumulated from the Sudden Death King taking hits for so long!

If Examiner Wu had summoned a pet beast above level 30, Lu Ran would have had the Sudden Death King unleash its full power without hesitation.

However, considering that Examiner Wu had summoned a secondary pet in the 20s level range, Lu Ran was worried that the Sudden Death King’s attack might be too powerful and could potentially electrocute the opponent’s pet beast. Hence, he gave a heads-up.

“No way, it’s just a trick,” Examiner Wu scoffed. He didn’t believe a fourth-generation beastmaster could be this strong. “Reinforced Rock Charge!”

[Go for it!] He encouraged his pet beast.

Against a fourth-generation beastmaster, he hadn’t even considered using gigantification, berserk traits, or beast taming skills.

What a joke, he was a third-generation beastmaster.

Moreover, he had already discerned the trait of Lu Ran’s pet beast. Red lightning indicated a body forging trait, meaning the pet beast was likely physically strong, and the external energy apparition was probably just for show.

The Giant Rock Raging Rhino’s entire body was now covered in rapidly flowing rock energy, as if enveloped in a layer of rock armor. It charged forward, its twin sword-like horns shaped from compressed energy aiming straight at the gigantic apparition of the Sudden Death King!

Three major energy techniques combined, showing that he was taking this seriously.

Seeing this, Lu Ran hesitated no longer.

The beast apparition lowered its head and slammed the Thunder Shield directly onto the charging Giant Rock Raging Rhino!

Boom!!!

The massive shield came crashing down.

At that very moment, feeling the immense pressure approaching, the expression on the Giant Rock Raging Rhino changed.

Desperately, it ignored its beastmaster’s commands, its body suddenly enlarging as it attempted to use gigantification to resist. It couldn’t care less about maintaining the dignity of a senior beast.

It had only partially gigantified, but the sense of crisis remained… it roared, calling for its beastmaster and skills!

But it was too late.

A shockingly powerful red lightning exploded on the field, with thunderous snakes of energy spreading wildly in all directions.

The deafening noise caused the three examiners to stand up collectively, and many examinees were so shocked they covered their ears.

When it was all over…

All that remained was a Rhino, its mouth muttering curses, lying on the ground completely charred and spewing black smoke.

At that moment, every beastmaster in the arena stared at the Sudden Death King beneath the beast apparition, and further back at Lu Ran, in deep silence.

“Holy crap!”

After the silence came astonishment.

Beastmasters from other cities looked at the beastmasters from Green Sea City with explosive gazes. This… this is what you call amazing defense?!

Incredible defense meant knocking out a third-generation beastmaster’s pet beast with a single Thunder Shield slap, right!!!

This is absurd, who the heck is this guy?

Examiner Wu Le, wasn’t he here to assess students? How come he was out of commission in less than half a minute!!

Green Sea City crowd: ???

At that moment, Examiner Wu Le himself stood dumbfounded in the field like a shark that had lost its dreams… he wanted to say, wait! Something seems off here…

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