King of Beasts

Blocking the leaf flying vessel was a middle-aged man dressed in a purple robe. His hands were clasped behind his back as he stood in mid-air, likely using a Special Beast Taming Skill that allowed him to harness the power of his pet beast.

“It’s us.”

“Qing Lianshan.” City Lord Tian, who stood at the front of the vessel, recognized him with surprise and said, “I can’t believe you’ve become a legend too.”

“And you’re so low-key about it that there’s no news of it in the outside world.”

“I only recently made the breakthrough,” Qing Lianshan admitted. “It seems this is the true City Lord Ye and City Lord Tian.”

“My father is in seclusion,” Qing Lianshan continued. “I’m here to welcome you. I hope that’s alright.”

“Why would there be any issue?” City Lord Tian replied. “Having a super genius like you personally greet us is an honor.”

City Lord Ye, City Lord Tian, and Qing Lianshan’s father were of the same generation. Although it was just the son who came to greet them, neither Ye nor Tian felt it inappropriate.

Since he was now a legend, there was no difference in rank; they were all equals.

Qing Lianshan was a bit surprised himself, not expecting these two legends to have taken on disciples recently.

As for them bringing their disciples to experience the Tree King ruins, he didn’t mind. In fact, many self-proclaimed gifted geniuses came here to challenge it, but they all ended in failure.

Over time, everyone came to understand the difficulty of the Tree King’s legacy. No one really expected to succeed; they just used this place as a trial ground.

If he remembered correctly, City Lord Ye and City Lord Tian had also challenged the Tree King ruins in their youth and both failed. Now, coming back with their disciples was quite interesting.

“Since they’re your disciples, we won’t test their entry qualifications. They can challenge it whenever they’re ready,” Qing Lianshan said.

“Thank you,” City Lord Ye responded, then turned to Lu Ran and asked, “When do you plan to challenge?”

“I’ve been resting and preparing along the way, and I’m in pretty good shape now,” Lu Ran replied. “I can go anytime.”

“Alright then, let’s start now.” City Lord Ye smiled and then turned to Qing Lianshan, saying, “My disciple wants to give it a try now.”

“Oh?”

Qing Lianshan looked at Lu Ran and Gu Yu. When he focused on Lu Ran, he suddenly made a noise of surprise and said, “Why don’t you have the breath of a Plantmaster?”

“Instead, you seem like a beastmaster?”

“Yes, senior.” Lu Ran chuckled and replied, “I am indeed a beastmaster, not a Plantmaster.”

Uh… Qing Lianshan was taken aback. A legendary Plantmaster took a beastmaster as a disciple, but never mind, it was none of his business.

“In that case, I won’t delay you any further. You can go directly to the challenge,” Qing Lianshan said casually. “Hmm, I think I’ll tag along to watch as well.”

City Lord Ye and City Lord Tian exchanged a strange look with Qing Lianshan before returning to normal.

Lu Ran and Gu Yu might not be aware, but they understood.

Qing Lianshan had been challenging the Tree King ruins from level 1 and had been unsuccessful for decades.

A Legend Tian once mentioned to Lu Ran that there were geniuses who could contract with upper overlords but hadn’t succeeded in the Tree King ruins; Qing Lianshan was one of them.

City Lords Ye and Tian were surprised to see Qing Lianshan break through to legend status because once a legend, you can no longer challenge the ruins.

In their view, after trying for so long, Qing Lianshan would not give up until he succeeded. But now… had he abandoned the attempt?

…

The entrance to the Tree King ruins was atop a towering ancient tree in Tree King City.

The leaf flying vessel docked next to a branch, and Lu Ran and Gu Yu followed their masters onto the branch, feeling numerous eyes upon them.

This lush ancient tree likely accommodated many ferocious plants, none of which were weak.

Qing Lianshan also landed on the branch. At the end of the branch was a tree hollow-like entrance to an interdimensional space, connected to the main trunk and the ruins’ interdimensional space.

“You can enter directly.”

“Young people, don’t be nervous. Just keep a calm mind, although being serious doesn’t make much difference, haha.”

Perhaps feeling affected by his own unsuccessful attempts, Qing Lianshan laughed aloud as he saw Lu Ran step forward.

“Senior Sister Gu, I’ll go first then,” Lu Ran said, glancing at Gu Yu.

“Suit yourself…” Gu Yu replied, somewhat resigned-she wasn’t expecting much of a result for herself anyway.

After all, despite Lu Ran’s strength, even their master didn’t have much hope for him.

Lu Ran took a quick look at his master and elder masters before nodding and stepping into the entrance of the ruins.

For hundreds of years, no one had been able to pass the Tree King’s legacy trial in the ruins.

At first glance, it seemed incredibly difficult, almost impossible to clear these ruins.

However, before coming here, Lu Ran had made thorough preparations, including an in-depth investigation of Tree King.

He had sought out Yu Rui and others to gather information.

For City Lord Ye and City Lord Tian, their understanding of Tree King and the ruins was certainly limited to this era.

But for Yu Rui and other future beastmasters of the Divine Tree Continent, continuous archeological efforts had deepened their understanding of the Tree King ruins well beyond current times.

From Yu Rui and his group, Lu Ran learned something crucial: in the future, someone would indeed pass the Tree King ruins!

That person was also a female beastmaster.

Although there weren’t clear records of how she passed the Tree King ruins or what legacy she received, her identity as the one who completed the legacy trial was well documented in later history!

She became the first-and only-level 9 Plantmaster and legend Plantmaster in the history of the Divine Tree Continent.

This archeological discovery didn’t surprise the Star Moon Federation; for such an extraordinary figure like Tree King, only someone with even greater talent could surpass her.

And the only one who could be even more remarkable than Tree King, the epic legend of the Time element, was likely the sole legend Plantmaster of the Divine Tree era.

According to Yu Rui and others, there was an ongoing debate in the Star Moon Federation: did this legend Plantmaster reach her legendary status because she received Tree King’s legacy, or was she naturally destined for legend, merely claiming Tree King’s legacy along the way?

Lu Ran thought it could be a bit of both, as luck and opportunity are also integral parts of a strong person’s abilities.

It’s a pity that this isn’t a real journey back in time. Otherwise, if he managed to clear the challenge, he might snatch away the future legend’s opportunity.

“Bring it on.”

“This is part of the life-changing opportunity for a legendary figure.”

“Let’s see if I have the strength to seize this chance.”

…

Inside the Tree King ruins.

After being teleported, Lu Ran found himself standing on a vast grassland with nothing in sight but an endless sea of grass.

Taking a deep breath, he prepared to summon his pet beast, but in that moment, three phantoms appeared before him.

These phantoms consisted of a tree, a dragon, and a human.

The Moon God Tree resembled a Christmas tree, with lush, vibrant green branches adorned with shimmering golden fruits that swayed gently like moons in a breeze.

While the Moon God Tree appeared magnificent, the Harvest Dragon looked quite goofy; it had a dragon-like shape but appeared more like an oddly-shaped, green banana with slight dragon features. It lay on the ground, squinting its eyes lazily in a juvenile pose.

The humanoid phantom, enshrouded by the flow of time, concealed its face. It stood behind the two pet beasts and, without any warning, commanded them to attack.

In an instant, the moon-like fruits began to sway, emitting a radiant aura, and the Harvest Dragon opened its eyes wide as an overwhelming Dragon Might erupted from it.

Bathed in Moonlight’s glow, its size surged rapidly, growing to several dozen yards in length. Its body became covered with vibrant green dragon scales that gleamed with a golden hue.

“Roar!!” Under the enhancement of the Time element, the Harvest Dragon transformed nearly instantaneously, its eyes shining brightly, its slim and powerful body equipped with strong limbs, massive leafy wings, and whiskers flowing like grassy tendrils-all adding to its aura of power, resembling a verdant Azure Dragon.

Boom.

The astounding Dragon Might surpassed even the intimidation of the sudden death king’s Dragon King power, causing the earth and sky to shatter under its pressure. The full force of an upper overlord was unmistakable. An ordinary challenger, without a pet beast of an overlord species, would likely struggle to endure even this initial wave of intimidation.

“Roar!!” The Harvest Dragon bellowed across the sky, its Dragon Might crashing toward its enemy.

In the next moment, one of the three pet beasts that Lu Ran had summoned suddenly unleashed its power.

“Howl!!!!”

“It said, is that all they have?” Lu Ran smiled and snapped his fingers. General Ha, with the divine deer antler in its mouth, activated its domain, enveloping the entire area-the expansive Infinite Sword Domain-around the Moon God Tree, Harvest Dragon, and the Tree King phantom.

Within the domain, General Ha held the divine deer sword in its mouth, with its tail wrapped around the sword grass, its Pseudo-legendary might clearly evident. It wielded the Dragon Slayer Sword intent, and in a flash, shattered the Harvest Dragon’s overlord-level Dragon Might into pieces.

Boom!!!

The terrifying sword intent swept across, forcing the Moon God Tree and the Tree King phantom to step back in unison, and even the Harvest Dragon in the sky stiffened completely.

“Roar-” Within the domain, the sudden death king cast a sideways glance. Where did this old dragon come from, daring to flaunt Dragon Might in front of General Ha? Could it not keep giving him opportunities to hone his Dragon Slayer Sword intent?

“Caw caw caw, I can finally join the battle now!”

Of course, the most excited was the dark crow. It hadn’t been able to participate in previous tournaments, which bothered it immensely. But now, it felt like it could finally show off its prowess.

In the empty Sword Domain, Lu Ran faced off against the Tree King phantom.

Next to the Tree King, the Moon God Tree swayed, while overhead, the Harvest Dragon looked solemn.

Lu Ran stood on the sudden death king’s shoulder. Beside him, the dark crow, having entered a state of soul enhancement, opened dozens of Evil God’s Eyes. In front of him, the massive General Ha, with the divine deer antler transformed into a giant sword in its mouth, was equally matched in presence to the Tree King.

“Caw caw!! This ruin has been here for hundreds of years, and the phantom is still intact? There’s bound to be some glitches! You three won’t suddenly disappear, will you?”

As the dark crow quipped, the battle erupted in full force!