Beastmaster King-Chapter 284 - Coexisting Peacefully

City Lord Ye fell silent. When she was young, prodigies carried an extraordinary aura and were naturally elegant. Every move they made could make countless girls scream in admiration. In her view, Lu Ran’s strength far surpassed those individuals, but she felt as though he was too frivolous.

City Lord Ye couldn’t understand. Maybe it was because she had spent too little time traveling the continent and couldn’t keep up with the current trends.

“Forget it. Just don’t do that next time. A tree that stands out in the forest is bound to be toppled by the wind. Even though you have an extraordinary background, you must learn to act with humility. That is the best way to protect yourself. Neither the force behind you, nor your parents, nor even I as your master, can always be there to protect you.”

“I understand.” Lu Ran nodded solemnly.

But there is no choice. That is just how the scoring system works. I’ll still do it next time because fortune comes to those who dare to risk their lives.

“Before I teach you, I want to know what exactly it is that you want.” City Lord Ye said with a serious expression.

Lu Ran pondered for a moment and then looked at City Lord Ye with utmost seriousness.

“I want to combine beastmastery and plantmastery. I don’t want to give up on familiars, but I’m very interested in plants. So, I want to explore whether it’s possible for a familiar to gain absolute control over a plant lifeform without a contract and whether the familiar can enhance itself by harnessing the plant’s power. Master, have you heard of kinship?”

City Lord Ye replied, “Of course. Legend has it that the Divine Tree has four kin stationed in the four cardinal directions of the continent, guarding against threats from beyond the seas. Are you saying that you want to—”

“Yes! It’s said that legendary beings at the level of Primary Divine or above always have a few divine kinships. There exists a special bond between Primary Divine beings and their kin—one that allows their powers to influence and strengthen each other.

“So, I was wondering whether it is possible for an animal to nurture a plant into one of its kin? After all, no one ever said that kin must be of the same species. Of course, that’s my ultimate dream. Right now, I don’t even know how to awaken intelligence in my swordgrass.” Lu Ran sighed.

City Lord Ye chuckled. “You really do dream big. Don’t be too ambitious. Take it step by step. What you’re suggesting doesn’t sound entirely impossible. As for the swordgrass, you may need to visit Ten Thousand Leaves City and consult the Ji Clan. It is where the great plantmaster clan is. They might know the method for awakening the swordgrass.”

“The Ji Clan?” Lu Ran asked.

“You know them? Well, then that makes things easier. In that case, I’ll visit the Ji Clan on your behalf. Consider it my gift to you as your master.”

“Thank you, Master!” Lu Ran happily bowed.

Ye Ying glanced at Lu Ran and said, “By the way, the plantmaster you encountered in the preliminaries—the one who commands the Floral Empress—is my senior sister’s disciple. By that connection, you two are considered fellow disciples. You should visit her later.

“And that plantmaster named Yu Rui is also not from a normal background. Fortunately, you didn’t go too hard on him. Otherwise, dealing with the aftermath would have been troublesome. When you have time, go and build a connection with him. It won’t hurt.”

“Uh...”

That made sense. Lu Ran had been relatively kind toward the three beastmasters from the alternate world, mainly because he wanted to establish some reputation before prying open their mouths for intel.

“You’re staying at the Shi Clan for now, right?” City Lord Ye asked.

“Yes.”

“Move to the city lord’s mansion instead. But first, as I said, go visit Gu Yu and Yu Rui. I’ll arrange your accommodation. Go check on Yu Rui first. Gu Yu is receiving treatment from my senior at the city lord’s mansion, so wait until she’s a bit better before visiting.”

“Okay. By the way, when will we hold a formal apprenticeship ceremony? Like a banquet where we invite all the major clans, your fellow disciples, and the powerhouses from the nearby cities,” Lu Ran asked.

“No need for a formal ceremony.”

“Huh?”

“What ‘huh’?” City Lord Ye shot Lu Ran a sharp look.

She mainly worried that if the forces backing Lu Ran arrived, the situation would get out of control. Keeping things simple was best.

Lu Ran’s heart sank.

Where am I supposed to collect my gifts then? Forget it, forget it. Priorities first. I’m no longer broke anyway.

***

As Lu Ran left, he felt satisfied and began looking forward to his new life as the young city lord. Following his master’s suggestion, he headed toward Tree World City’s medical center to visit the people he had beaten up.

Unlike on the Stellar Moon Continent, healing abilities were incredibly common on the Divine Tree Continent. This place not only had vicious plants but also various plant familiars proficient in healing and support.

Unfortunately, Blue Planet had done little to explore the capabilities of plant life, elemental forces, and mechanical creations. Otherwise, its healing methods wouldn’t be so scarce. Speaking of healing, Lu Ran found something interesting in his rewards as he walked.

It was the Flourishing Vitality beastmaster skill, a unique beastmaster skill that allowed a beastmaster to convert the natural energy of plants into life-healing power.

The moment Lu Ran saw this skill, he was speechless.

This is literally the power of the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer! I cleared an ascension realm and got a skill that mimics the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer. You’re telling me there’s no warehouse inspection?

Lu Ran felt conflicted. Healing-type beastmasters were highly sought after on Blue Planet. If he didn’t already have the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer, he would’ve learned this skill immediately and embraced his role as a healer.

But unfortunately, he already had the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer, and given its quality, it would likely serve him well until level 70 or 80. So, while Flourishing Vitality was valuable, it was a bit redundant for him.

That said, everything else in his rewards collection was excellent. For example, the Lucky Clover Trait. He already considered himself lucky, but who would complain about having more luck?

If he contracted a familiar with this trait, he would always get unique rewards when farming public realms. For a Limitless City beastmaster, this trait was an absolute game-changer. There was no way he would sell or trade it. He planned to save it for one of his future support familiars.

Unfortunately, his swordgrass was a vicious plant specializing in attack. It wasn’t suited for the Lucky Clover Trait. But that was fine. Lu Ran also received a Low-King plant seed, which was basically a familiar egg in seed form.

Lu Ran felt a headache coming. It was another random prize just like Weather Sprite back in the day. There was no species information provided. It was frustrating not knowing whether the plant would be compatible with Lucky Clover.

“And this Miracle Seed feels like the most useless one. Letting animals grow plant organs? What’s the point...?”

Lu Ran vaguely remembered seeing a news article on Blue Planet about a beastmaster cultivating a familiar with grass growing on its head. That must’ve been done with a resource similar to the Miracle Seed.

For now, none of his familiars were suited for it, as they didn’t have the Grass, Earth, or Water attributes. He’d probably sell, gift, or trade it later.

After reviewing his rewards, Lu Ran arrived at the city’s official medical center. It was a facility built among several giant trees. When he arrived, he put on a mask and a new outfit. After all, he had just won the tournament and beaten up quite a few people. Trouble could come knocking on his door.

“Do you know where the plantmaster who contracted the Ancient War Tree is being treated? Take me there.” Lu Ran stopped a passing medic and flashed a token from City Lord Ye to show his status.

“Yes, my lord!”

Although the medic didn’t know who Lu Ran was, he immediately bowed upon seeing the token.

Soon, Lu Ran arrived outside a healing chamber. He knocked lightly, and a female voice responded.

“Come in...”

Lu Ran pushed open the door. Inside, there were three people—Yu Rui, Liu Man, and Jiang Ming. Yu Rui was lying on a bed made of wood. He was awake but still in poor condition after treatment. Liu Man and Jiang Ming stood by his bedside.

Hearing the knock, they initially thought it was another medic. But when Lu Ran stepped in, their expressions changed drastically. Liu Man and Jiang Ming shot to their feet.

“Relax.” Lu Ran smiled, waving his hand. “If I wanted to harm you, you wouldn’t even be here. We may come from different worlds, but we were all trained in Limitless City. That means we don’t have to be enemies. We can peacefully coexist.

“We didn’t know each other before, but now’s a good time to get acquainted, isn’t it? Oh, and sorry for eliminating you guys in the tournament. But surely you wouldn’t hold a grudge over that, right?”

Lu Ran’s words left the three momentarily speechless. But no matter what, he was right. If Lu Ran had wanted to kill them, they would’ve died back in Death Forest. Yu Rui was now conscious and realized his injuries weren’t fatal. He was surprised that Lu Ran had shown mercy.

“Y-yeah. Even if we’re from different worlds, we were all raised by Limitless City. We can be friends!” Jiang Ming chuckled nervously, seemingly intimidated by Lu Ran’s strength.

“Mm...” Liu Man let out a breath of relief.

As long as Lu Ran remained friendly, being allies wasn’t a bad idea.

Lu Ran smiled. “Call me Lu Ran. No need for formalities. By the way, are we the first batch of trial participants to match up from different worlds?”

“Seems like it...” Yu Rui adjusted his posture. “Either way, thanks for going easy on us.”

“No problem. We don’t really have any grudges, after all.” Lu Ran shrugged. “Most importantly, you didn’t show hostility toward me. If you had, you wouldn’t just be lying in a hospital bed right now.”

As soon as Lu Ran said that, Jiang Ming felt his heart drop. He had suggested capturing Lu Ran for information early on.

I really walked past the gates of hell back then.

He then started coughing violently which made Lu Ran look at him.

“N-nothing!” Jiang Ming almost dropped to his knees. “Brother Lu, you’re really strong! Are all beastmasters from your world this terrifying?”

Lu Ran replied nonchalantly, “They’re alright. I’m just average over there. There are plenty of people stronger than me at my level. Well, as a favor in return, how about you answer a few of my questions?”

The three of them were taken aback.