King of Beasts

“Oh? Have you given it thorough thought?”

Gu Qingyi was quite surprised, especially since Lu Ran had only become a beastmaster a week ago.

At this time, she was still worried about her pet beast’s food.

“Yes!”

“Let’s hear it.”

“Okay, first about the ‘weapon mastery trait.’ A pet beast that absorbs this trait has a natural talent for using weapons; the weapons become as natural to them as their own limbs, right?”

Gu Qingyi nodded.

“Manager Ying mentioned earlier that globally, no beastmaster’s pet beast has ever achieved perfect evolution with the ‘weapon mastery trait’ at its core.”

“They all fail because of the compatibility between the pet beast and the trait…”

“That’s right, if the trait melds well with the pet beast, it will awaken a species talent, which greatly enhances its combat strength. However, there has never been a case where a pet beast awakened a species talent after integrating the weapon mastery trait,” explained Manager Ying.

“That includes your senior brother’s pet beast, who died overseas. After it absorbed the trait, it didn’t awaken any talents.”

Lu Ran nodded; his senior brother had lamented this in his diary.

“I think one key to successfully melding this trait is the pet beast’s proficiency with the weapon it will use in the future, before integrating the trait.”

“For example, if a monkey is already skilled in staff techniques before integrating the trait, the chance of it awakening a species talent is much higher than if it knew nothing beforehand.”

Dr. Gu said, “So what you mean is, your Erha currently shows a lot of talent in swordplay, and you are confident you can perfectly integrate it.”

“That’s one of the key points. My beast taming skill, developed by me, can synchronize my sword training experience with it, giving it double the sword experience. So in this regard, it won’t be lacking.”

“It can grasp sword momentum because of this,” Lu Ran explained.

Nearby, General Ha tactically leaned forward, dismissing the notion—it was clearly because of its own unique talents!

“You should know my master, Master Jiang Dou, a grandmaster of swordsmanship in Xia Country who has grasped sword momentum—one of the very few even among humans to reach such a level. Yet, an Erha has achieved this, which speaks volumes.”

Gu Qingyi and Manager Ying twitched at the corners of their mouths. If your master knew you were comparing him to an Erha, he would beat you up for sure.

“This premise already gives General Ha an advantage over other pet beasts integrating the weapon mastery trait, but that’s not even the most crucial point. I’ve thought of another method to increase the success rate!”

“Have you ever read a fantasy novel…” Lu Ran cautiously asked.

“What are you getting at?” Gu Qingyi said.

“In fantasy novels, the protagonist’s weapon usually undergoes a blood oath to bind it closely to them. Beyond that, there are also so-called ‘life-bound magical treasures’ that grow in power alongside their owner…”

“The advantage of the weapon mastery trait is that it allows a pet beast to leverage an external force.”

“Indeed, with the help of a weapon, a pet beast can see a significant increase in combat power. But no matter how familiar it becomes with the weapon, it’s still an external force. Relying solely on ‘experience’ and ‘feeling’ to connect the weapon with the pet beast might not achieve a perfect fit…”

“So, is there a possibility to find a sword for General Ha that can grow with it, a life-bound weapon that is tightly connected to it? Such a weapon, combined with a solid foundation in swordsmanship, should be able to fully adapt to the ‘weapon mastery trait,’ right?”

“How do you plan to do that?” Gu Qingyi was taken aback.

Lu Ran smiled. “When I was exploring the Forest of the Demon Cat secret realm, I came across a demon cat’s fingernail, which seems usable in weapon forging.”

“So, I was thinking, why not incorporate General Ha’s teeth as part of the materials for forging the weapon? By integrating them into the weapon, we can also increase the connection between it and the weapon!”

General Ha: ? ? ?

“Whimper!” General Ha covered its mouth, eyes filled with panic.

Boss Lu, be a human!

“You’re planning to… forge a weapon from parts of your own pet beast?” Gu Qingyi and Manager Ying were shocked. People usually defeat monsters to gather materials for crafting equipment, but this was about disassembling your own pet beast for parts.

“Are you a devil?”

Lu Ran gave General Ha a reassuring look.

“Don’t worry, General Ha, it’s okay.”

“We have the divine deer pendant, remember?”

“Previously, General Ha had an incident in the secret realm where its teeth were shattered by the bones of a demon cat, but they were restored by the divine deer pendant.”

“So, since it can be restored, using a bit of its teeth as wind-element materials in the weapon should be reasonable.”

After Lu Ran finished explaining, Gu Qingyi, Manager Ying, and General Ha all fell into deep thought.

Using one’s own body parts as a material for forging a closely linked lifebound weapon…

This idea was indeed novel. Considering that this dog seemed to have a good grasp of swordsmanship, Gu Qingyi was momentarily lost.

She couldn’t determine if evolving according to Lu Ran’s plan could actually succeed.

“Alright, since you’ve made up your mind, go ahead and give it a try,” Gu Qingyi said. “If it really can evolve perfectly, you would have pioneered a completely new evolutionary system.”

“Think about it, it’s quite interesting. None of the previous three generations of beastmasters considered this…”

“Do you need any help from me?”

“Not at the moment… Right now, General Ha and I just want to quickly reach level 10 to meet the standards for tackling the ‘Abandoned Testing Ground secret realm.’ After all… there probably aren’t any weapons mastery traits available on the market, and even if there were, I likely couldn’t afford them.”

“True, that trait is quite unpopular in the market and has been neglected for a long time. If you want to acquire that trait, you’ll have to rely on yourselves,” Gu Qingyi said. “In that case, let me recommend a couple of secret realms suitable for you two to strengthen yourselves.”

“As for the intelligence on the ‘Abandoned Testing Ground secret realm,’ I will find and give it to you.”

“Thank you!” Lu Ran was happy. Since he already owed a Mental Flower, asking for a few more pieces of intelligence wasn’t a big deal.

That way, he could avoid having to buy them at the maid café.

Manager Ying, spotting that Gu Qingyi was about to provide some intelligence for free—especially since Lu Ran had initially planned to purchase it from Manager Ying’s café—suddenly felt a bit dizzy.

Oh, how wonderful… Really great!

After all its efforts to help out and make connections, it ended up at a big loss!

“I recommend the novice secret realm of Blizzard Mountain at ordinary difficulty,” Gu Qingyi suggested.

“And the novice secret realm of Mantis Jungle at hard difficulty.”

“Blizzard Mountain is quite special. There are no monsters inside. The challenge is to navigate through blizzard zones, testing the pet beast’s cold resistance, defense, and reaction awareness…”

“In terms of cold resistance, it should have no problems. Moreover, in the blizzard, the wind and snow slash like knives, continuously damaging both the pet beast and the beastmaster. This is the difficult part. Additionally, hail often falls within the blizzard. How to successfully navigate through this perilous environment is the key challenge.”

“After clearing this secret realm, you can obtain an advanced resource called the ‘Seed of Cold Wind.’ Consuming the ‘Seed of Cold Wind’ allows a wind-element pet beast to release even colder breezes.”

“While it’s not as effective as awakening to the ice element combined with the wind element, nor is it like the ‘North Wind Trait,’ it is a very suitable resource for your stage, especially since, as a snowfield dog, understanding the power of cold can further enhance its combat potential.”

“This secret realm…” Lu Ran’s eyes lit up as he remembered such a place.

So that’s what this secret realm is like? That’s great. As Gu Qingyi said, it does seem very suitable.

“As for the Mantis Jungle secret realm, it is primarily inhabited by a species called Blade Mantis, an upper supernatural species. These creatures are wind-element, can fly, and have both high attack power and speed, making them extremely dangerous.”

“Since you’re determined to train your pet beast in swordsmanship, this secret realm would definitely be suitable for you.”

“In the Mantis Jungle secret realm, there is an advanced resource called ‘Blade Grass,’ which is hoarded by the Blade Mantises and is their favorite food. This resource can effectively enhance the cutting properties of wind-element powers, increasing the attack strength of wind-element attacks.”

“Defeating the Blade Mantis also has a chance to drop an advanced material called ‘Wing of the Mantis,’ which is similar to a medicinal substance. When crushed and applied, it enhances a pet beast’s sensitivity to wind and air currents,” Gu Qingyi explained.

“There was once a beastmaster who used this resource to train their butterfly pet beast, allowing it to dodge attacks based on air flow changes even with its eyes closed.”

“Of course, they can also drop ‘Blade of the Mantis,’ which is a material used in forging wind-element weapons.”

“The materials I mentioned are those that ordinary Blade Mantises might drop. The boss of this secret realm is a level 10 Blade Mantis, possessing both metal and wind elements, making it much stronger.”

“If you defeat it, you would have completely conquered the secret realm, and the rewards are even more substantial. For example, the advanced resource ‘Heart of the Bug’ which, when consumed, enhances the sharpness and hardness of a pet beast’s teeth, claws, scales, and other such organs.”

“Oh, and if you achieve an S-level rating or higher, there’s a very small chance of dropping a beast taming skill called ‘Wind Enhancement,’ which makes the loot quite worthwhile. This secret realm is worth ‘settling’ in for a long time.”

“Indeed, if you can solo both secret realms and achieve an SSS rating, I think you would then be capable of challenging the abyssal difficulty of novice secret realms. However, for abyssal difficulty, I highly recommend teaming up. The first three difficulty levels of the secret realms may be soloable for a skilled beastmaster, but abyssal difficulty is quite challenging…”

“You could call your sister and find some like-minded beastmasters to form a team and take on the challenge.”

“Okay,” Gu Qingyi finished, and Lu Ran took a deep breath. Well, it seems he and General Ha have more training to look forward to with the Blizzard Mountain and Mantis Jungle secret realms… they sound far more rewarding than the stingy Forest of the Demon Cat.

If they strategize through a few rounds, wouldn’t General Ha really take off?

Lu Ran looked towards General Ha, who also showed a sharp gleam in its eyes!