King of Beasts

Chapter 34: Spiders and Dogs

After the display of strength by General Ha, who had just been lying on the ground like a dead dog, completely incapacitated.

However, it must be said, the Divine Deer Pendant was indeed trustworthy. Bathed in the golden-green glow, General Ha, who had been too pained to even scream, underwent a rapid and intense change of expression.

First clenching his teeth, then relaxing, and following that, a blissful intoxication as if floating towards the heavens.

A few seconds later, General Ha’s paw twitched, followed by his ear, and finally, he sprang to his feet, lively as a dragon, his expression excited.

Full revival!

General Ha jubilantly leapt into a tail dance, wagging his tail back and forth—a truly fine spectacle. In the future, before battle, he would surely need to consume a Flowfruit!

Lu Ran, reassured by the Divine Deer Pendant, said, “All you think about is eating, and it costs crystal coins! Can’t you give some usage feedback? So, how do you feel, that sensation just now… did you remember it?”

“Woof!” General Ha frowned, closed his eyes, and carefully recalled the experience.

Hmm…

In the next instant, a sky-blue energy fluorescence enveloped General Ha. Then, a remarkable scene unfolded: the energy began to tremble, growing more violent, and in a flash, it transformed into a gale. Just like the energy coat from moments ago, it streamed over General Ha’s body!

General Ha suddenly opened his azure eyes, energy flow technique complete!

Lu Ran: ?

Meanwhile.

General Ha’s contract card, which had undergone changes due to the level up, changed once again!

Species: Snowfield Dog

Attribute: Wind

Species Level: Middle Supernatural

Growth Level: Level 5

Skills: Gale (a basic wind-type skill where wind energy flows rapidly over the body, enhancing the speed of attacks, movement, and skill release), Sword Qi

“Holy smokes, General Ha! You really are my good boy!” Seeing General Ha’s display and observing the changes in the contract card, Lu Ran was taken aback and then overjoyed.

He finally understood why his teachers adored him so much.

Because he was a genius, exceedingly smart, and capable of learning anything!

Now, Lu Ran understood the feelings of those school teachers; General Ha was just the same, capable of learning anything he wanted it to.

The feeling was simply too exhilarating. In Lu Ran’s view, a strong learning ability was far more comfortable than a pet beast’s innate strength.

“Awoo~~” General Ha showed an expression of wisdom. Was there anything difficult for it?

However, the next moment, General Ha’s wise expression turned into one of sheer terror because Lu Ran hugged its dog head and planted a kiss on it.

“Wang wang wang wang!!” General Ha struggled free.

“Not bad, keep it up!” Lu Ran was excited. Very good, Gale, Sword Qi—General Ha now had a total of two basic skills, one stemming from the energy flow technique, the other from the Wind Meteor Sword and energy release technique…

When these two basic skills were combined, they should amount to an advanced skill, right?

Continuous Sword Qi… Gale Sword Qi, perhaps?

Lu Ran stroked his chin and looked at General Ha, saying, “Take a break, we’ll do moving target training later to hone the precision of your Sword Qi.”

“Awoo!” General Ha was indifferent, wasn’t this just like catching a frisbee? Essentially the same thing, right?

And so, a week later!

A week’s time was undoubtedly fulfilling yet monotonous for Lu Ran and General Ha.

But without a doubt, they had undergone a transformation!

First off, General Ha’s growth level had reached level 6!

The reason General Ha had so quickly reached level 5, Lu Ran figured, must have been the combined effort of the “Wind-type Fruit” and the “Flowfruit.”

The Flowfruit seemed capable of quickly stimulating some unactivated potential, converting it into growth attributes, deriving from the daily intake of food resources.

In one week’s time, with a week of top-notch food combined with four Flowfruits, General Ha’s level advancement was impressive, reaching level 6 on the fifth day!

Although it hadn’t caught up with the first tier of the fourth-generation beastmasters, it was close.

After reaching level 6, its physique became stronger, and it generated more wind energy within its body.

Most importantly, its appearance became more handsome, increasingly resembling a wolf, suggesting that General Ha’s bloodline was quite pure.

After consuming five Flowfruits, General Ha gained a deeper understanding of the energy flow technique. Unlike other wind pets that employ Gale, General Ha could induce a more ferocious Gale that it could control, and the only cost was a bit of damage!

Aside from that, there wasn’t much else. While General Ha had a good aptitude for shaping and compression skills, Lu Ran didn’t rush to teach it these. Instead, he focused on having it perfect its energy flow and release skills.

Jack of all trades, master of none.

For seven days, General Ha’s routine involved first wreaking havoc in a part of the training secret realm, leaving it in disarray with complex terrain, and then undertaking agility training with Gale sprints through this challenging landscape.

Next, Lu Ran would forcefully throw pebbles to create moving targets to train General Ha’s precision with Sword Qi.

After a week, General Ha had made significant improvements in its use of Gale and Sword Qi, at least to Lu Ran’s great satisfaction.

During that week, Lu Ran also led a reclusive life, or it might be said he hardly went out at all, taking care of eating and drinking in his private room, because he too was engrossed in training.

While General Ha worked hard, Lu Ran was not idle either, continually improving his own physical condition by mimicking General Ha.

Previously, the limited time didn’t show much effect, but after a week of accumulation, Lu Ran’s physical condition had doubled.

The stones he threw could easily reach a distance of two to three hundred meters, and their speed in flight was astonishing. With a light jump, he could break the world record for height, and the power of his punch could likely kill a cow!

With the Wind Cutter Sword in hand, Lu Ran could enter a very special state where his vital energy could be highly concentrated, his aura dramatically changed, and even General Ha, when holding the sword in its mouth and sparring with Lu Ran, would look extremely solemn, as if Lu Ran had transformed into a fierce beast, making it quite wary.

This made Lu Ran feel as though he had entered the beginner stage of his Super Beast Mimicry, and that in the future, in the secret realm, he would be better able to protect himself.

However, these were not Lu Ran’s greatest achievements. The greatest gain for Lu Ran was the progress on the development of Super Beast Mimicry 2.0, which he had been contemplating.

Using telepathy, Lu Ran mimicked Super Beast Mimicry and persistently transferred his newfound insights to General Ha. It seemed General Ha also began to ponder the ability similar to “swordsmanship momentum” that Lu Ran had mastered—a manifestation of spirit and mental will.

Swordsmanship momentum is when a swordsman, wielding a precious blade, exhibits an aura, morale, and energy field through the variations in sword moves.

This momentum is a tangible presence, particularly common in certain occupations. For example, a fierce bandit’s mere glance can instill fear in others—this is an immature display of momentum.

Lu Ran’s master, who taught him swordsmanship, once said that in the past, many grandmasters of swordsmanship could cultivate this momentum. However, in modern times, there are very few who possess it. Lu Ran had asked his master if he had mastered it. The master only smiled, encouraged Lu Ran to work hard, and mentioned that with Lu Ran’s talent, it might be possible for him to master it in the future.

Then, in the blink of an eye, Lu Ran went off to vacation in Hawaii with his father and took up shooting, much to the old man’s chagrin.

Therefore, Lu Ran wondered if his study of Super Beast Mimicry, which gradually made his aura more akin to that of a fierce beast, combined with his sword moves, had led him to a state of Beast Sword Momentum?

Whether it was true or not was no longer important—it was a good thing, as his strength had increased.

“That’s enough for today!”

After an intense sparring session with General Ha, Lu Ran dropped the Wind Cutter Sword and shook out his numb palms.

“Ow.” General Ha nodded in agreement.

The sparring with General Ha was for the purpose of training it in force control since a careless move could injure Lu Ran, which meant General Ha had to be exceptionally careful… focusing at 200%.

In other words, at that moment, General Ha was essentially Lu Ran’s punching bag.

“Let’s go, we need to buy some food.”

Lu Ran left the training secret realm with General Ha, planning to make a trip outside.

Because… they had run out of food, and he intended to restock.

Despite initially purchasing half a month’s worth of food for General Ha, it was nearly gone in just a week.

The reason was simple: when General Ha was eating, Lu Ran couldn’t resist trying a bite and found it surprisingly tasty.

To better mimic General Ha and develop super beast mimicry, Lu Ran started eating the same food as General Ha. It was more convenient for him, and it served a dual purpose—no need to look for his own food.

Could this also be a reason why his super beast mimicry was progressing well?

What the pet beast eats, the beastmaster eats! They eat together, sleep together, bathe together, and train together!

Apart from actually lying down in an Erha mascot costume to learn from General Ha, Lu Ran had done everything he could. He felt that if he took that step, even General Ha might look at him with a weird gaze. He couldn’t afford to lose that much face.

…

Pig Raiser: Passerby A, are you there?

Before heading out, Lu Ran glanced at his communication device. These days, his grudge-bearing sister Fang Lan had been handling his external affairs, and they had been in frequent contact.

One lived in the arena, and the other toiled in the training secret realm—two entirely different styles.

Passerby A: What’s up?

Lu Ran remembered that the last time he chatted with Pig Raiser was when General Ha made it onto the leaderboard.

Pig Raiser: Um… I have my guild assessment the day after tomorrow. Could you be my sparring partner for the fight? I’m willing to pay with crystal coins.

Pig Raiser’s idea was simple: Lu Ran was a big shot who had been on the divine beast leaderboard and was close to his level, making him the perfect sparring partner.

Why not find an opponent in the arena? Lu Ran suggested.

Recently, there haven’t been many people in the newcomer section of the arena. There’s this Five Poisons Cult Holy Maiden who hangs out there, and she’s fierce. I’ve had bad luck, getting matched with her twice, and each time my pigs got poisoned and collapsed. Afterwards, I had to buy not only healing potions but also antidotes. The losses were heavy, and many newcomers, like me, don’t want to go there.

Lu Ran: “…”

Huh? Is she that strong? Lu Ran was curious.

Pig Raiser, panicked: Very strong. She’s the one who pushed you off the divine beast leaderboard. Didn’t you know? She’s now ranked sixth. Even pet beasts ranked higher than her spider can’t withstand her poison. Anyway, fighting her is pointless, especially since poison-type pet beasts won’t be used in the guild assessment.

Lu Ran chuckled. He was aware of this; Fang Lan had ousted him from the divine beast leaderboard not long ago. She had even come to brag about it, but at the time, Lu Ran was wholly focused on his training. Moreover, with some time left before the leaderboard was finalized, he didn’t pay much attention to the ranking.

However, that poison maiden has climbed to sixth place already? It seems that I have underestimated that mutant wolf spider.

Lu Ran: Heh, so you can’t beat a spider, and now you want to challenge my Erha… If you can’t beat that either, wouldn’t your wild boars be even worse than a spider or dog?

Pig Raiser: ???

Why hadn’t he noticed before that Passerby A had such a sharp tongue? So, on top of losing, he’d have to endure being roasted with idioms too, huh?