King of Beasts

“Woof woof woof woof.”

By simulating the breath of the divine deer antler, General Ha successfully cosplayed as the divine deer.

It stood tall in the golden-green halo, flaunting antlers intertwined like tree roots. Like the legendary deer that commanded the divine office of plant life, it caused countless plants to bow in reverence.

In the glow, although General Ha emitted peculiar sounds uncharacteristic of a deer, the aura of the ferocious plants was undoubtedly suppressed.

However, what made General Ha a bit regretful was that although it successfully simulated the breath of the divine deer, it did not acquire the capabilities of the divine deer.

As a result, although these ferocious plants did not dare to attack General Ha actively, General Ha couldn’t control them in this state either.

Seeing this, the intelligent General Ha couldn’t help but feel a sense of frustration. Should it rely on the sword domain?

“Lu-Ge, what species is this dog of yours exactly?”

Seeing General Ha’s astonishing transformation and feeling the unusual behavior of the surrounding ferocious plants, Shi Ze couldn’t comprehend and asked.

To say it’s a deer, initially, it did look like a dog.

To say it’s a dog, but this deer form looked even more powerful than the dog form.

Shi Ze had lived long enough to see many things, but it was the first time he’d seen such a creature.

“It’s just shaping artistic conception of the creature.” Lu Ran said, “I told you, sending it out might cause trouble.”

“Uh.” Shi Ze knew about shaping artistic conception, but the transformation from a dog to a deer was indeed a bit much.

Besides, what level of deer could be so formidable to cause such a stir among these ferocious plants?

However, Lu Ran seemingly wasn’t lying. At that moment, the commotion was indeed significant. Shi Ze looked into the distance…

The vegetation seemed like green pythons dancing, and the trees in the forest looked like many giants waving their hands, extraordinarily terrifying.

Such a disturbance had never before been seen in the Death Forest, and he did not know what the consequences might be…

“Bro, I regret it. Please make it stop.”

“This commotion is too much. If something goes wrong, our Shi Family won’t be able to handle it.” Shi Ze almost knelt before General Ha.

The Moon Swallowing Dog had been scouting just fine; why on earth did he insist on Lu Ran summoning this dog?

Wouldn’t a beastmaster understand their pet beast better than anyone else?

“The issue shouldn’t be too significant.”

Having seen many grander scenes, Lu Ran didn’t really care.

He glanced at General Ha, slightly blaming himself for not explicitly instructing General Ha to activate the sword domain, which resulted in General Ha having the space to act on its own. Ȑ

This insight of General Ha’s was something Lu Ran hadn’t anticipated.

It could be considered the first manifestation of the Ultimate Perception Trait after General Ha’s evolution.

It allowed General Ha to cross species and simulate the breath of the divine deer.

Lu Ran was quite pleased; without this unexpected turn of events, General Ha probably wouldn’t have cleverly cosplayed as the divine deer.

This was quite a gain; to outsiders, it should make General Ha seem somewhat related to the legendary divine deer, making it easier to boast, create background stories, and intimidate others!

Just as Lu Ran had this thought, a powerful pressure suddenly came from afar, causing Shi Ze to involuntarily look up.

Due to the commotion in Death Forest, layers of white clouds rolled in the distant sky, like white waves sweeping over.

Somewhere in Death Forest, Yu Rui, the Child of Legend from another world, was calming his pet beast while saying, “It must be a species with a very strong suppression effect on plants that appeared…”

As he spoke, he also looked up at the sky.

[Species]: Dandelion Overlord

[Attribute]: Grass, Wind

[Species Level]: Upper Overlord

[Growth Level]: Level 77

“That’s… the City Lord’s pet beast.” A woman traveling with Yu Rui and others also looked at the sky, quite surprised.

“Something must have happened.” Beside them, two other beastmasters from Star-Moon University suddenly became excited.

Could it be that they triggered some hidden side quest?

At this moment, the legendary City Lord of Tree Realm City had indeed come to search for the source of the disturbance. Upon arriving at Death Forest, she instantly locked onto the source of the chaos.

Standing on the Dandelion Overlord, she looked down at the two men and two dogs, deep in thought.

At this moment, Lu Ran and Shi Ze also looked up at the old lady over the Sea of Dandelions, swallowing nervously.

“Ci-City Lord.” Shi Ze felt a headache coming on, not expecting to attract the City Lord.

Unlike Shi Ze, Lu Ran was quite pleased as he gazed at the elder, silently commending General Ha for a job well done.

He thought this might be an opportunity-not only could they skip the tournament, but they could also meet the legendary City Lord in advance!

“Did you create this disturbance?” The legendary City Lord looked at the deer dog, frowning.

“Are you from the Shi Family? Is this anomaly because of you?” She eyed Shi Ze, then turned her attention to Lu Ran, feeling that the source of the change lay with him rather than Shi Ze.

“Respected elder, I am Lu Ran from the Beast Taming Hall, here for the Tree Realm City tournament.”

“To drive away the ferocious plants and prevent them from attacking, my pet beast used a special ability. I didn’t expect such a significant reaction, and I apologize sincerely,” Lu Ran explained.

“Beast Taming Hall…” The legendary City Lord’s gaze turned to General Ha, showing a hint of surprise.

She could immediately tell that General Ha’s species level far surpassed that of a sovereign. Moreover, the life form this canine beast had shaped was highly likely of a pseudo-legendary species level, otherwise, it couldn’t have caused such drastic changes in the ferocious plants.

Truly, the Beast Taming Hall, one of the oldest and most mysterious beast taming legacies on the continent, had an arrangement that surprised even her, a legendary figure.

“…Do you recognize the creature it shaped?”

“First, have it return to its normal state. The ferocious plants in this forest were transplanted here and can’t withstand such severe agitation,” the legendary City Lord said.

“Understood.” Lu Ran quickly signaled General Ha with his eyes. General Ha immediately let out a “woof” and returned to its clear-eyed, adorable look, gazing at the legendary Plantmaster with a pleading, cute pet expression.

“Yes, I recognize it. It’s a divine deer. We once had the fortune to encounter one. According to ancient texts in the Beast Taming Hall, the divine deer is a legendary life form that commands the natural life force.”

“Divine deer…” The legendary City Lord was somewhat incredulous. Legend has it that all legendary creatures on the continent had vanished. Yet, this beastmaster had encountered a legendary life form?

No, it was more than just a mere encounter. If it were only an encounter, this canine beast wouldn’t be able to mimic the divine deer’s power with such authority. The legendary City Lord’s immediate judgment was that Lu Ran was most likely a beastmaster blessed by a legendary creature.

Although being blessed by a legend was an incredibly rare occurrence, it wasn’t unheard of in the history of the Divine Tree Continent. Considering that Lu Ran came from a top-level beast taming force like the Beast Taming Hall, she gradually realized that Lu Ran’s identity was anything but ordinary.

Could he be the heir of the Beast Taming Hall?

But why would the heir of the Beast Taming Hall come to participate in the Tree Realm City tournament?

The prizes shouldn’t be enticing enough for someone like Lu Ran.

“…” Shi Ze was equally astonished. He never expected that Lu Ran had encountered a legendary creature. This guy, just what was his background?

“You’re not just an ordinary member of the Beast Taming Hall, are you?” The legendary City Lord looked deeply into Lu Ran’s eyes.

Lu Ran scratched his head sheepishly and laughed, “My parents sent me out for some experience.”

“Ahem, actually, I’m quite interested in Plantmaster techniques. As you can see, with the divine deer’s power, my canine beast has a certain suppressive effect on ferocious plants.”

“We don’t have a Plantmaster in the Beast Taming Hall, so I wanted to see if I could find a skilled Plantmaster outside to mentor me and learn more about this occupation.”

“Shi-Ge can vouch for me.”

Shi Ze: ????

Huh.

“A genius from the Beast Taming Hall wanting to study Plantmaster techniques? Aren’t you afraid your parents will break your legs?” Lu Ran’s words seemed to stir a memory within the legendary City Lord, causing her brows to furrow once more.

This kid… is he going through a rebellious phase?

“City Lord, it’s not like that,” Shi Ze added, “Lu-Ge’s idea isn’t to become a Plantmaster himself but to let his pet beast master the Plantmaster techniques. I’ve battled with him before; his canine beast had a sword grass in its mouth and defeated my Moon Swallowing Dog in one swift move…”

“He wants to let humans master beasts and beasts master plants, sort of like in ancient times when grass-type beastmasters had grass-type pet beasts that could control various plants.”

“At first, I didn’t believe it was possible either,” Shi Ze admitted, “But after seeing his canine beast’s ability to suppress ferocious plants today, I suddenly feel like it might actually be possible…”

Beast controlling plant…

The legendary City Lord fell silent.

However, as she continued to watch Lu Ran’s canine beast, her interest piqued.

She chuckled and asked, “So, you want to apprentice under a skilled Plantmaster?”

“Uh, yes,” Lu Ran replied.

“With your background, no Plantmaster would dare take you as a disciple. If you were to switch to Plantmaster techniques, they’d fear your family might come after them.”

“Besides, you’d never give up beast taming. If you were to switch to Plantmaster techniques, it would make even less sense for anyone to take you on as a disciple.”

“As a beastmaster, how would anyone be willing to teach you their skills?”

“You really know how to create problems for yourself.”

“It’s no big deal,” Lu Ran said confidently, “Even if no one helps me, I’ll figure it out on my own. After all, the First Generation Plantmasters figured it out by themselves too.”

“What big talk,” the legendary City Lord said as she landed on the ground, her Dandelion Overlord forming a ring that hovered behind her.

“How about we make a bet?”

“A bet?” Lu Ran looked at her intrigued.

“If you can win first place in the Plant Beast Championship, I’ll teach you Plantmaster techniques. You don’t have to switch to Plantmaster-just keep focusing on beast taming, but I’ll help you fulfill your wish of beast controlling plant. How does that sound?”

Lu Ran was overjoyed, exclaiming internally. He hadn’t expected this legendary Plantmaster to be so agreeable.

“Is this for real???”

“Huh???” Shi Ze was still in shock beside them.

Lu-Ge, this…

“It’s true. But, I will be increasing the difficulty of this tournament. I plan to invite a friend’s disciple to participate.” The City Lord said calmly, “She’s a level 3 Plantmaster with a lower overlord species plant pet under her contract.”

“Okay,” Lu Ran agreed without hesitation.

“Alright, since you’re so confident, then prepare yourself. As for this forest,” she looked at the surroundings, “don’t come back for now.”

“These ferocious plants have been quite shaken and their vitality has diminished. I need to nurture them; otherwise, they won’t be of much use on the day of the tournament.”

“Understood. By the way, may I ask your name, senior?” Lu Ran, seeing they were about to leave, didn’t mind. He had already set up a path to apprenticeship, so the Death Forest didn’t matter anymore-he could explore it later as he wished.

“Ye Ying,” City Lord Ye glanced at Lu Ran and said her name calmly.