King of Beasts

Lu Ran observed the four individuals closely.

All in their early twenties, they had healthy wheat-colored skin and were muscular regardless of gender or body size—even the assertive female hunter who spoke first seemed tough, as if she could knock out five unworthy men with a single punch.

In response to the female hunter’s inquiry, Lu Ran offered what he considered a warm smile. “Your outfits look familiar to me.”

“My grandfather wore similar clothes; he was also a hunter in Lu Village in his early years.”

“Later, though, our family moved to the city and seldom returned.”

As Lu Ran finished speaking, all four individuals were visibly taken aback. The most muscular among them, a young man, asked in surprise, “Fellow villager? What’s your grandfather’s name?”

“My granddad is Lu Hai,” Lu Ran replied.

“That name… sounds vaguely familiar,” the female hunter murmured thoughtfully.

“There are many named Lu Hai in Lu Village, but if you’re talking about someone who moved away… Village Chief Lu Hai?!” Suddenly, a lean hunter exclaimed in astonishment.

With that, memories clicked into place for the group. The village chiefs of Lu Village were elected based on their hunting skills, the village was known for its fierce customs, and yearly hunting events were commonplace. Thus, each village chief was well-known; children grew up listening to their stories, and their influence far exceeded that of chiefs in other villages.

The name of Village Chief Lu Hai, not too distant in their memory, was familiar: indeed, there had been such a chief in Lu Village, who moved to the city as his children progressed well in life. The elders often mentioned that Lu Hai’s children had regularly donated money for the village, even funding the construction of a school and a health clinic.

“That’s the one you’re talking about; he indeed served as village chief. My grandfather fell ill in his later years, and the medical facilities in the village were inadequate, so we had to move him to a major city for treatment. Eventually, our family settled there,” Lu Ran explained.

“You’re the grandson of Village Chief Lu Hai?!” The initially cautious group, upon hearing Lu Ran’s introduction and finding it matched their memories, suddenly looked astonished. Their gaze towards Lu Ran softened significantly, as there’s a saying, “Fellow villagers meeting each other, tears well up in their eyes.”

Infinite City No.3 spans seven provinces, so it’s quite a stroke of fate to meet someone from the same village, especially when Lu Ran’s elders are well-known in the village!

“Really a fellow villager!”

“Hahaha, have a seat, come on, don’t be shy. Let’s eat and talk, we’re treating,” the most robust youth said generously.

“Really? Then I won’t hold back!” Lu Ran was pleasantly surprised to hear he could join them for a meal.

“I never thought I’d meet the grandson of Village Chief Lu Hai here in Infinite City…” the female hunter remarked thoughtfully.

“Let me introduce everyone,” she began, pointing to the most muscular youth. “This is Lu Yi. We’ve formed a beast taming team, and he’s our leader.”

Lu Yi smiled and nodded; judging by his build, he was indeed the strongest.

“This is Lu Dingding,” she continued with a laugh, introducing the lean man. “Not ‘exposed Dingding,’ but Lu Dingding

1

.”

“Lu Bing, shut up!” the lean young man showed a displeased expression, clearly annoyed at people using his nickname – he was far past the age for split pants.

“Uh…” Lu Ran could only twitch the corners of his mouth, trying hard not to laugh. Such a name… his parents were truly creative!

“My name is Lu Bing, and this is Lu Wu; we all call him Little Wu,” Lu Bing said, pointing to the shortest among them, a young man just over 1.6 meters tall.

“And you, what should we call you?” she finally asked Lu Ran.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Lu Ran. I didn’t expect… Lu Village to have produced so many beastmasters,” Lu Ran said.

“It’s not just us,” Little Wu chimed in cheerfully. “Many of the village’s youth have become beastmasters, dozens of them, and all have passed the novice trial. We’re just one team.”

“Pfft…” Lu Ran almost spit out his drink. “What, dozens??”

Even if a county town had so many beastmasters, Lu Ran wouldn’t be so surprised, but Lu Village was indeed just a small village with not many people. It seems the hunting heritage really added a lot to the village, giving everyone the potential to become beastmasters!

“Haha, there are quite a few of us. Actually, from the first, second, and third batches, our village also had people become beastmasters,” Lu Yi said regretfully. “But although there are many of us, we’ve also been quite unlucky.”

“How so?” Lu Ran asked.

“The first generation was all about exploration and making mistakes, so the big brother chosen from our village had an accident not long after. He was the son of the current village chief and was very strong in hunting. In the second generation, we had two more beastmasters chosen, but unfortunately, they both…”

“In the third generation, it was the same. Everyone entered with great enthusiasm, but it was as if our village was cursed; none of the beastmasters lived long,” Lu Yi couldn’t help but curse.

“Maybe it’s also because our people love to stubbornly challenge the secret realms and prefer to team up with their own species for hunting…” Lu Dingding touched his nose, noting the downside of their fierce local customs, which often led to reckless behaviors.

Moreover, since the third-generation beastmasters from Lu Village always teamed up together, usually when one person was in trouble, the whole team was wiped out.

“This…” Lu Ran was totally taken aback, blurting out, “Does this mean that now in Lu Village, we only have the fourth-generation beastmasters left?”

“That’s right,” Lu Yi nodded and said, “But although those big brothers and sisters are gone, each one of them prepared many resources for the village while they were alive.”

“So, when the fourth beast tide came, the selected beastmasters in the village received a lot of initial resources. This time, Lu Village will definitely rise,” Lu Yi looked forward with anticipation. “At that time, the whole village will prosper together.”

“Do you all have any plans, like joining an official organization or a guild?” Lu Ran asked.

“No,” Lu Bing said, crossing his legs, “The village has decided to establish its own guild. Given our traditional customs, it’s hard for the young people who stay in the village for a long time to integrate into the outside world, so it’s better for us to band together.”

“Honestly, hunting in the secret realms makes much more money than hunting outside.”

“Although we’re slower than other major guilds, Lu Village has always made its own way. Who is worse than whom?”

“Little brother Lu Ran, do you want to join us? Since you’re the grandson of Village Chief Lu Hai, you should be able to join. We’ll find someone to help you level up,” Lu Bing smiled.

“Uh… that might not work. My elders want me to go to the beast taming university first…” Lu Ran said.

“Beast taming university, huh?” Lu Yi said. “That’s a good path too. Our village has many hunters, and few have the talent for academics. It’s rare for us to have a college student every decade or so. No worries, though. Since you’re from the same village, we can still keep in touch and help each other out when needed.”

“Right,” Lu Ran nodded and said, “Speaking of which, Lu Yi, could you tell me more about Lu Village? I barely remember visiting a few times, and I’ve almost forgotten everything. I must visit when I have the time and pay tribute to our ancestors.”

“This… I’ll let Lu Bing handle the introduction.”

“Beast taming university?” Lu Yi said, “That’s also a good path. Our village has many hunters and few with a talent for academics; it’s rare for us to produce a college student every decade or so. No worries, though. Since we’re from the same village, we can still exchange ideas frequently, and you can always come to us if you face any difficulties.”

“Right,” Lu Ran nodded and said, “Speaking of which, Lu Yi, could you tell me more about Lu Village? I remember I’ve only been back a few times and have almost forgotten everything about it. I’ll definitely have to visit when I get the chance and pay respects to our ancestors.”

“Um… I’ll leave that to Lu Bing to explain,” Lu Yi said with an embarrassed smile, feeling he might not do the best job at introducing the village.

Rolling her eyes, Lu Bing said, “You guys have forgotten all about our ancestors!”

She looked warmly at Lu Ran and began, “The history of Lu Village goes back a long way, perhaps even four or five thousand years.”

“That’s incredibly long!” Lu Ran exclaimed in surprise.

“Cough, that’s the legend, anyway. But whether it’s really that long, who can say for sure? The village has moved several times, and its history has been interrupted over and over…” Lu Bing cleared her throat and continued:

“Back then, wasn’t totem culture popular? Our village actually has its own totem as well, a divine deer. The elders in the village say it’s thanks to the protection of the divine deer that our lineage has continued to this day.”

“Even now, there’s a temple in the village where we worship the divine deer.”

“However, this culture has kind of faded over the last hundred years. Aside from some of the elders, the younger people rarely go to worship the divine deer anymore, and if they do, it’s usually because they’re dragged there,” Lu Bing explained. “We’re called Lu Village because of this deer, ‘Lu’ being a homophone for ‘deer’ in our language.”

Unbeknownst to Lu Bing, as she spoke, Lu Ran’s heart was stirring wildly, his legs trembling involuntarily.

Damn.

He just knew that there was some indistinct connection between the divine deer antler and Lu Village.

Totem culture, huh?

Generally, the totems worshiped by ancient tribes were supposed to be mythical, fictional creatures. But why did Lu Ran feel like the totem worshiped by Lu Village was real…

Could the official version also be true? That in ancient times on Blue Star, supernatural forces truly existed!

And now, it was the era of the resurgence of spiritual energy!

“Why does our village choose the divine deer as its totem?” Lu Ran suppressed his astonishment and asked.

“I don’t know about that,” Lu Bing shrugged, “Perhaps some of the elderly in the village know some of the history, but I doubt it; after all, it’s been so long.”

“It’s impressive that the faith in the divine deer has lasted until today.”

“Okay,” Lu Ran nodded. It seemed he really had to visit Lu Village. If he didn’t understand the matter of the divine deer, he wouldn’t feel at ease.

“Shouldn’t we order something now?” At this moment, Little Wu, patting his stomach, spoke up.

The restaurant operated on a self-service ordering system. They had been sitting and chatting for quite a while, yet they hadn’t ordered anything.

“If you’re interested in the village history, you should visit when you have time,” Lu Bing said. “We can introduce you to some respected elders; maybe they know something.” She glanced at Little Wu, who was clearly hungry, then added, “Let’s order first. Lu Ran, you go ahead and see what you’d like. Don’t worry about saving crystal coins.”

“Okay…” Lu Ran nodded with a slight smile, but just then, the restaurant suddenly became noisy.

People were shouting about public secret realms, wild bosses, and rushing to claim monsters, using gaming terminology that filled the restaurant with a restless energy, as if spring had arrived.

Footnote:

1. Lu Dingding(路丁丁):

   In Chinese, Lu Dingding(路丁丁) and expose penis(露丁丁) are homophones, making it an embarrassing name.