King of Beasts

“Shall we have a match?”

Lu Ran crossed his arms, unsure how the other party planned to test the power of the Dark Crow Legion.

“Is that necessary?”

Shi Jialiang chuckled, “Didn’t the meeting state that its strength lies in long-range reconnaissance and strikes?”

“Then show us that, shall we?”

“How to demonstrate? Is there a target?” Lu Ran asked.

“Yes!” Shi Jialiang grinned.

“In fact, besides your Pet Beast Legion, the capabilities of Manager Ying also need to be certified by the Alliance. Although it claims to have the strength to oppose the Black Dragon, words are not enough, right? Everyone should understand each other’s strengths better to fight together. So soon, the twelve branches will also conduct a strength certification for Manager Ying. I was thinking… you could join in and be responsible for long-range sneak attacks to add some difficulty to the game for it, haha.”

Lu Ran: ?

“I refuse.” Lu Ran shrugged, “Manager Ying and I are as close as siblings. I won’t do sneak attacks like that…”

“Alright, alright, no sneak attacks. But you can at least inform it about this aspect beforehand, right?”

“That sounds more reasonable.” Lu Ran stroked his chin, interested in participating in the sparring between the twelve branches and Manager Ying. Interesting.

Honestly, he also wanted to see how strong Manager Ying’s main body really was.

Hmm… Recently, the Dark Crow actually developed a new curse, perhaps he could test it on Manager Ying?

“Then it’s happily decided!” Shi Jialiang smiled slightly, “I’ll notify them.”

…

Shanghai.

After looting dozens of exquisite resources from the Alliance’s resource pool, it was said that Manager Ying’s main body had awakened.

Even though the main body had awakened, Manager Ying’s main body never showed up, claiming to be adjusting its state.

If not for the clone still being around, the Alliance would have almost thought it had run away.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

After further communication between both parties, Manager Ying stated that it could spar with experts from Xia Country soon to reassure the twelve branches.

“Shall I take the lead?”

Ultimately, the expert chosen by the twelve branches to engage in the challenge was Chouniu-Niu Youtian. Among the twelve branches, he is a beastmaster with the most distinctive personal combat style, and all his contracted pet beasts serve to strengthen him.

Before becoming a beastmaster, he had a unique occupation as a wrestler, hence his robust physique.

At this moment, faced with Lin Nian’s task, he asked, “Why is it me?”

“Haven’t you always wanted to spar with the Guardian totem of the Youxiong Clan?” Lin Nian replied. “Although that giant panda refused you, Manager Ying is also an ancient creature. You can make do with it.” 𐍂

Niu Youtian was dissatisfied.

How could they be the same?

There’s quite a difference between a panda and a cat, alright.

“Never mind.” He clenched his fists, ready to go. After all, ancient creatures have been awakening for a while, and he hadn’t sparred with any before. He was eager to see what differences there were between ancient creatures and secret realm bosses.

On the outskirts of Shanghai.

Chouniu VS Manager Ying.

Many from the twelve branches gathered on-site to watch. With so many resources invested to awaken Manager Ying, if it ultimately proves unreliable and can’t deal with the Black Dragon, the twelve branches felt that when the former guild leader returned, their lives would be at risk.

For sure, they would be reprimanded by the former guild leader.

Although the old man seldom managed affairs, he did care greatly about the development of the beast taming domain in Xia Country.

Resources must be used wisely.

In an abandoned factory, some members of the twelve branches sat on fallen utility poles, some stood on rooftops, and others floated in the air…

Chouniu, dressed casually, looked towards a white ragdoll cat clone that appeared instantly, raising an eyebrow.

“What’s going on? Isn’t your main body a nine-tailed cat? Where’s the main body? What’s the meaning of sending a clone?”

“Hah~” Manager Ying yawned and said, “Since my main body has awakened, for me, there’s no distinction between main body and clone; each clone is the main body. As for the nine-tail state, it consumes a lot of power. Let’s see if you can force it out.”

“?” Chouniu looked at the confident Manager Ying, twitching his nose.

“Enough chit-chat,” Lin Nian said. “Manager Ying, you’re aware of Chouniu’s strength. The Black Dragon’s power will exceed his by far, with its abilities being even more mysterious. So now it’s up to you.”

“In addition to Chouniu, there’s another unknown opponent skilled in the dark power like the Black Dragon. Your task is to defeat them effortlessly.”

“No problem,” Manager Ying replied, glancing leisurely at the twelve branches present.

Meanwhile, Chouniu grunted as his form began to change. First, a pair of horns sprouted on his head, and his body expanded several times, transforming into a massive figure several meters tall.

This was clearly a Fusion Skill.

Then, a suit of crimson-black armor appeared with a flash, enveloping him.

This was a beast taming skill that turns pet beasts into armor, which the beastmaster can wear to enhance their strength.

But it wasn’t over yet. Chouniu extended his hand, and a massive black hammer appeared in his grip with another flash.

This was another beast taming skill, allowing him to transform pet beasts into weapons!

It’s safe to say that when the Beastmaster Chouniu of Xia Country’s twelve branches fights, it’s difficult to see what any of his contracted pet beasts actually look like, because his skill setup ensures that these pet beasts exist solely as his accessories!

At the same time…

In the Green Sea.

The scene at the abandoned factory was being broadcast live, allowing Lu Ran and Shi Jialiang to watch.

In the footage, the mighty Warrior Niu swung a hammer directly at Manager Ying.

This single swing incorporated an incredible amount-energy compression, the power of artistic conception, various traits, and talents of the pet beasts-all layered together.

A strike to the ground could potentially cause the collapse of a town’s buildings, yet astonishingly, this strike hit Manager Ying’s mental power shield and vanished without a trace, like a stone sinking into the sea, not causing even a ripple.

“This cat’s mental strength is absolutely far superior to Lin Nian’s pet beast, even with the enhancements from Lin Nian, it can’t compare,” Shi Jialiang observed keenly.

“Manager Ying rarely exaggerates. It often downplays its own strength; it’s rare to hear it boast,” Lu Ran remarked, familiar with Manager Ying’s tendencies.

“It’s your turn,” Shi Jialiang said. “We can’t rely solely on Old Niu; he’ll just get trampled.”

“I doubt it’ll help… but let’s give it a go,” Lu Ran shrugged.

What Shi Jialiang witnessed next was a scene he would never forget.

All across Green Sea City, a massive flock of crows took to the sky, forming a black, ominous cloud. They soared towards the Emerald Mountain, as if guiding the souls longing for the abyss.

A terrifying figure emerged, traced out by the countless supernatural crows, numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

This figure reminded Shi Jialiang of the ancient giant beasts he had seen wreaking havoc on human cities abroad, yet the aura of this figure was even more sinister, evil, and powerful.

“The divine crow,” Lu Ran announced, as the entity he referred to as the divine crow turned its gaze towards Shanghai.

[Is it really possible??]

While Green Sea City and Shanghai aren’t incredibly distant, Shi Jialiang was sure that, currently on Blue Star, no creature could launch a precise attack over such a vast distance.

The mere energy expenditure of skills over such a distance would be headache-inducing…

However, not long after, an incredible scene unfolded, leaving Shi Jialiang astounded. He leaned closer to his laptop screen, taking a deep breath while watching the livestream.

In the video, dark red eyes began to open in the void, watching the fierce battle between Chouniu and Manager Ying.

The appearance of the Evil God’s Eye caused the pupils of the twelve branches present to contract, and the battling Chouniu and Manager Ying quickly realized something was amiss.

“This is…”

Recognizing the familiar eyes, Manager Ying’s expression changed. Relaxed within the mental power shield, the attacks from Warrior Niu hadn’t affected him at all. Whether using space techniques to easily evade or mental power to strongly resist, it had been effortless.

Manager Ying had been waiting for the master of dark power mentioned by Lin Nian while teasing Warrior Niu, but never imagined that this so-called dark master was actually Lu Ran and the dark crows-those unfortunate beings.

“Old Niu is no match for this cat. He even tried to unleash his domain, but the cat blocked it with its sophisticated space mastery.”

“And this cat hasn’t even activated its own domain yet.”

At this moment, the twelve branches had come to believe in the power of Manager Ying after its main body awakened. Even Gu Qingyi was astonished at how strong Manager Ying turned out to be. However, there was no doubt they still wanted to see the full extent of Manager Ying’s capabilities.

They were also eagerly anticipating the appearance of the dark master Lin Nian had mentioned.

There was some confusion about whom this so-called dark master was.

When the Evil God’s Eye made its appearance, their reaction mirrored Manager Ying’s surprise, not expecting that the person referred to was actually Lu Ran…

But what astonished them even more was yet to come.

“Those unlucky things!!!” Manager Ying cursed from within the mental power shield, slightly panicking. It wasn’t really afraid of facing strong power, but it was more anxious about facing bizarre powers.

Even though Manager Ying had lived for many years, it had never deeply researched the curse power nor encountered this type of opponent before.

If it had any research on the matter, it would have cured Shi Zhen’s curse long ago.

“Hopefully, nothing will go wrong?” Manager Ying muttered, quickly shifting into a hidden state while still shielding itself with the mental power shield. However…

The species talent of the dark crow is target lock, and once locked, there’s no escaping it.

Next, under the grave eyes of everyone watching, the white ragdoll cat within the mental power shield started to sprout red hairs, emitting an ominous aura.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear these weren’t red hairs at all but something akin to red dandelion fluff, resembling a kind of red plant!

“Caw caw!!” In Green Sea, the eyes of the divine crow began to bleed. Before it, countless floating red dandelion seeds disintegrated. This was the product of the dark crow’s only successful study of a plant curse from the secret realm dungeon.