King of Beasts

The collective appearance of the Jiao Dragon team, though not as impactful and shocking as the Tyrannosaurus Rex team, still stirred admiration among many young people within Xia Country.

Who wouldn’t want to raise a dragon?

If one tries to raise a dragon alone, even with resources, they may not succeed in finding the correct nurturing path. However, if they could join this Jiao Dragon team that seems to have been created by Lu Ran, raising a dragon would undoubtedly be much easier.

After all, Lu Ran managed to cultivate a dragon from the overlord dragon clan. How hard could it be to help others raise a sovereign dragon?

Thus, even though Lu Ran and Gu Qingyi never publicly promoted any information about the Jiao Dragon team, the “Great Dragon-Raising Era” inexplicably began. Numerous beastmasters leveraged their connections to probe for intelligence about the Jiao Dragon team, hoping to join and, under authoritative guidance, cultivate a Loong-type dragon themselves.

And the next day’s “culinary class” presented such an opportunity.

A total of “two hundred people” could meet Lu Ran up close in the classroom.

This was a large class, attended by the highest-performing students of the semester from various majors. All of them had found ways to enroll in this class due to Lu Ran’s reputation.

On the day of the class, Lu Ran arrived at the classroom right on time, dressed in a professional chef’s uniform: white on top, black on bottom. This was just one of the lecture classrooms; if practical work was needed, the kitchen was connected at the back. However, Lu Ran evidently did not plan to dive straight into the main subject on the first day.

Before coming to class, he specifically looked up how university mentors conduct their first class. The results he found were:

No need to teach. Just brag to the students about how great you are, how strong the students you’ve mentored are, and then paint a glowing picture of the course’s future prospects… and the class would basically be over.

“Ahem.”

When Lu Ran entered, the classroom was quite noisy, filled with young people whispering to each other. But as soon as Lu Ran’s dry cough echoed through the room, it instantly fell silent.

In the corner, Fang Lan rested her chin on her hand with interest, watching Lu Ran, curious to see how Professor Lu would show off. In some places, several young women gazed at Lu Ran with admiration, even having thought of names for their future children.

With so many people present, there was a mix of expressions; in one spot, a young man was grinding his teeth continuously. Lu Ran took a closer look and realized, isn’t that Pluto? He actually signed up too.

“Hello, everyone.” Lu Ran stepped up to the podium.

“Hello, Professor Lu!” There’s always someone outgoing everywhere, and right after Lu Ran spoke, someone proactively asked, “Professor Lu, how will today’s class be conducted?”

Lu Ran glanced at him, then addressed everyone, “Initially, during discussions with Dean Chu Yan, we had tentatively decided to only teach basic ‘fire skills’ and ‘knife skills.’”

“However, later on, the format of my course was slightly altered. Now, everyone sitting here is a super academic star, so presumably, you wouldn’t be interested in simple ‘fire skills’ and ‘knife skills.’”

Lu Ran smiled slightly, “You came here, surely wanting to learn about rare chef class changes such as ‘Dragon Chef,’ right?”

“In that case, I’ll proceed to explain ‘Culinary Intent’ in my course.”

“Quick introduction to Culinary Intent!”

“Awesome!!!” As soon as Lu Ran finished speaking, many students became excited. They hadn’t expected Lu Ran to be so impressive. They attended the class hoping to learn more about advanced topics rather than just basic knife and fire skills.

Culinary Intent is such a technique that even some culinary professors haven’t mastered it, making it obviously quite advanced.

“Let me first inquire, among the 200 people present here, whose pet beasts have mastered the second stage of energy shaping, ‘shaping artistic conception’?” Lu Ran asked. “Just raise your hand briefly for me to see.”

In the next moment, more than forty people in the classroom slowly raised their hands.

Seeing this, Lu Ran nodded. Not bad; during the Freshman Tournament, only he and Summer had mastered artistic conception shaping. Yet, in just a few months, dozens have managed to learn it.

It seems that the teaching environment at the beast taming university is indeed impressive.

Of course, some of these individuals had been guided personally by him and the sudden death king to master the artistic conception of the dragon.

“Artistic conception, simply put, is the combined application of mental will and attribute energy,” Lu Ran explained.

“Attribute energy is something all of your pet beasts can control, so the key point is the development of mental will.”

“As everyone knows, mental will is also a critical factor in distinguishing between a sovereign species and a commander species!”

“Once a pet beast reaches the species level of a sovereign species, it can use its mental will to materialize its intimidation, causing both physical and mental damage. Some low-level species pet beasts will find their strengths significantly suppressed by a sovereign species; a single gaze imbued with powerful aura from a sovereign species could instantly kill a supernatural being of the same level.”

“However, low-level species pet beasts do have a means to counter sovereign species, which is through artistic conception.”

“So, you can understand that artistic conception is essentially the training of mental will. You can shape your mental will into the mighty forces of nature or even model it after mythological creatures. In essence, you seek every possible way to simulate your currently weak mental will into something far more formidable.”

“And what we call Culinary Intent is the fusion of specialized mental will with cooking utensils…” Lu Ran continued to elaborate on the concept of Culinary Intent. “When the shaping of artistic conception and culinary skills merge seamlessly, the practitioner gains the ability to ‘imbue’ or ‘merge’ artistic conception into their culinary creations. This is considered a branch application of artistic conception.”

“Food infused with Culinary Intent can offer numerous benefits to the consumer, such as enhancing their understanding of the corresponding artistic conception, increasing their affinity for the respective attribute, and some special artistic conceptions can even subtly alter a pet beast’s species.”

“For example, Dragon Cuisine, made through the shaping artistic conception of the dragon, can give pet beasts a significant advantage when evolving into a Loong-type species.”

The students listened attentively as Lu Ran finally provided substantial information. He said, “Of course, for you, the skill of shaping artistic conception is something you might master in the future, whether in six months or a year. However, turning the skill of artistic conception into Culinary Intent can be challenging if you lack a culinary background or experience with cooking utensils.”

“But if any of you are interested in this class change, I can provide a training pathway.”

Lu Ran turned around and wrote the phrases “Weapon Mastery Trait” and “Fusion Skill” on the blackboard in large characters.

“Cooking Utensils are fundamentally a type of weapon. To quickly gain usage experience, there is a shortcut: have one of your pet beasts integrate the Weapon Mastery Trait. I recommend those interested in this path to contract a ‘monkey-type pet beast’ for this purpose, as they are relatively more adept at handling instruments.”

“If a pet beast possesses both the ‘Weapon Mastery Talent’ and ‘artistic conception,’ it may be able to master Culinary Intent, despite being a pet beast.”

“The next step is for you, as the beastmaster, to learn a ‘Fusion Skill’ and fuse with the pet beast that has mastered Culinary Intent. In this fused state, you can share the pet beast’s culinary skills. If you further enhance your learning ability with items like the ‘lucid fruit,’ in just a few months, you might be able to detach from the pet beast and still have powerful Culinary Intent!” Lu Ran said with a smile.

As Lu Ran spoke, many students’ eyes widened, and they scribbled notes frantically. This was pure gold, absolute insider information. In fact, some were already considering contracting monkey-type pet beasts.

Some students with basic culinary backgrounds suddenly saw the light after hearing Lu Ran’s guidance. They realized they could have their pet beasts learn culinary skills first and then use a Fusion Skill to leverage those skills themselves. It sounded a bit like exploiting the pet beasts, but it was undoubtedly a shortcut!

After all, there is such a thing as the Weapon Mastery Trait.

God Lu really doesn’t hold back when it comes to sharing good stuff!

“Hehe,” Lu Ran chuckled as he saw the admiring looks from the students below. What he shared was actually based on his personal experience.

Except, in his case, he had used “super beast mimicry” instead of a similar effect like “Fusion.” After all, super beast mimicry seemed to be unique, and these students had no way of finding something like it.

If these students follow the training pathway provided by Lu Ran, while they may not achieve results as quickly as he did, it would still be far more effective than learning step by step.

“Alright, now let’s move on to the Q&A session. If you have any questions, just stand up and ask; you don’t need to raise your hand,” Lu Ran said, putting down the chalk and dusting off his hands.

“Yes, yes, I have a question,” someone stood up eagerly. “God Lu, is the Jiao Dragon Team established and nurtured through ‘dragon culinary intent’? Are they still accepting new members?”

Lu Ran: ?

“Isn’t that a bit off-topic?”

It appeared that quite a few people were interested in this question as a swarm of curious eyes turned to Lu Ran, awaiting his response.

Seeing this, Lu Ran pondered for a moment and then said, “Well, you could say that, but the Jiao Dragon Team isn’t recruiting externally at the moment.”

“Ah, not even if we bring our own funding?” The person sounded utterly disappointed.

Bring their own funding… Lu Ran’s expression flickered as he adjusted his tone.

“However, there are always exceptions. If you possess a special dragon species or sub-dragon species that could serve as experimental material for the Jiao Dragon Team, there might still be a chance for you to join.”

“In fact, I understand many of you probably share my enthusiasm for cultivating a Loong-type pet beast. Even if you rely on your own efforts, following my methods could still make it possible.”

“Based on what I’ve just taught, first focus on becoming a Dragon Chef yourself, then you can cultivate your own Dragon Pet!”

“Of course, the artistic conception of the dragon isn’t easy to master. So, I’ll give you another shortcut to learn the artistic conception of the dragon.”

Originally, many students felt disheartened when they heard they couldn’t join the Jiao Dragon Team. But seeing that Lu Ran was so open and forthcoming with valuable information and techniques, they instantly became excited again.

Lu Ran continued, “There are actually only two ways to quickly and effectively learn the artistic conception of the dragon.”

“One is through resources.”

“And the other is through experience.”

“I won’t go into too much detail about the resource method. The Eagle Federation’s Tyrannosaurus Rex Team used this approach. Their research institute poured a vast amount of exquisite dragon-related resources into creating an awakening liquid through scientific methods, which helped the Tyrannosaurus Rex undergo its transformation.”

“But this method is extremely costly and isn’t something the average beastmaster can afford.”

“Let me briefly explain the second method. It involves taking your pet beast to fight Loong-type creatures. Through intense battles, you will experience the power of dragon-like creatures. Of course, this method is extremely perilous and requires high talent from your pet beast,” Lu Ran said with a slight smile, ignoring the students’ faces, which were now filled with various expressions. “Additionally, there is an even faster way: directly experiencing the pure Dragon Might of high-level, high-species Dragon Clan members.”

“You might think this is even more dangerous, but actually, it’s not,” Lu Ran chuckled. “Don’t forget, my Shield-winged Dragon King is also a high-species purebred Dragon Clan member.”

The crowd: ??!!

“In the next class, I will work with the Shield-winged Dragon King to help aspiring Dragon Chefs let their pet beasts experience Dragon Might. Of course, this exposure won’t last long. If you can, I recommend preparing some ‘lucid fruit’.”

Yet another fruit- the crowd wondered if Lu Ran was simply promoting products.

“Additionally, since all of you are top students, you should learn to negotiate with the school. Form teams and ask the combat department mentors to take you into public secret realms where Loong-type bosses reside for practice and experience.”

“Ahem, don’t say I told you this.”

With everything Lu Ran explained, it seemed he was paving a way for the Fourth Generation of Xia Country to become Dragon Chefs.

However, this wasn’t Lu Ran’s true aim.

Lu Ran wasn’t particularly focused on increasing the number of Dragon Chefs. His true interest lay in finding out if anyone had the potential to become a soul chef.

Unfortunately, as the class neared its end, no one had inquired about anything related to necromancy.

Consequently, Lu Ran turned around in silence, deciding to subtly nudge these students towards this interest, planting a seed in their minds for the future.

Swish, swish, swish.

The students watched as Lu Ran began writing something new on the blackboard. It read “Soul Chef.”

“Alright, that’s the end of today’s class,” Lu Ran announced. “But before we go, I have an assignment for you.”

“By now, I assume you’ve all done some research on the necromancy department. I can now tell you clearly that solving the downsides of necromancy food also involves ‘Culinary Intent.’”

“There exists a special type of Culinary Intent that can process necromancy ingredients, akin to ‘de-fishing’ and ‘detoxifying’ that can remove impurities from necromancy food.”

“As for what this Culinary Intent is and how to master it, that’s your homework. You can ponder it on your own. Oh, and one more thing,” Lu Ran added with a slight smile, “those who can should contact the school. Currently, Xia Country holds a special necromancy secret realm, and exploring it might give you the answer.”

[This guy…] On the roof, Manager Ying, who had been eavesdropping on the entire class, muttered to herself. [Lu Ran isn’t just teaching. He’s clearly trying to steer these genius students into becoming Dragon Chefs and Soul Chefs to free up his own labor. His goal is to cultivate more tools for his use!!!]

Even though these college students are attending a beast taming university, it seems they haven’t escaped the fate of working for a shrewd capitalist after all.

This chapter upload first at NovelBin.Com