King of Beasts

Tree King City.

Outside the ancient tree of ruins, three legends and Gu Yu stood frozen, staring at the glowing giant tree, their lips trembling.

Around them, the sky continued to gather beastmasters, and even other legends nearby were alarmed and rushed to see what was happening.

“Who is challenging the ruins!”

Such words had been uttered countless times. At this moment, everyone was staring in wonder at the changes in the ancient tree of ruins.

Was the Tree King’s legacy taken?

Many were envious. Such a great treasure-if no one could inherit it, it wouldn’t matter. But seeing someone actually able to take it, many people were devastated.

Who could it be?

After numerous calls, Lu Ran’s figure slowly appeared on the branches of the ancient tree, looking troubled.

Would they meet again in the future?

Wasn’t she dead?

Lu Ran felt she must have had some kind of incurable illness, leading to an untimely death.

Such situations were common on the Star-Moon Continent. Many beastmasters with strong innate potential also had some congenital diseases. For example, some people were born with special physiques, inherently possessing beastmaster talents, just like Lu Ran’s superhuman abilities.

But benefits often came with risks.

Being haunted by nightmares like Lu Ran was considered mild.

On the blue star, some superhumans experienced constant headaches after awakening their abilities, which was more debilitating.

These could be considered “strange diseases.”

And on the Star-Moon Continent, strange diseases were even more common, collectively called “talent diseases.”

It means the weak human body couldn’t endure such powerful talents.

The Tree King could contract a Time overlord and was chosen by legendary plant creatures, so she certainly had extraordinary talents, possibly related to Time. Having such formidable talent, it’s not unlikely she suffered from a severe “talent disease.” ᚱ

But since she was chosen by legendary life, even if she had an illness, it shouldn’t be incurable, right?

The Tree King was so certain they’d meet again, suggesting she found a solution???

Yet she claimed she had already died… Lu Ran suddenly thought of a possibility.

Reincarnation!

Could it be that the Tree King found a special way to reincarnate?

“Oh well, whatever. Even if she did reincarnate, it’s unlikely we’d meet again. In a few days, I’ll be out of here.”

Lu Ran muttered to himself, guessing that the Tree King probably held a grudge. Seeing her low-level projection defeated by him with the help of a divine deer antler cheat must have displeased her, and she might want to test him again by strength in the future.

But sorry, he wouldn’t give her that chance.

“Huh…”

After Lu Ran emerged, he had been pondering the Tree King’s last words. Coming back to his senses, he noticed beastmasters everywhere were staring at him.

Among them was Qing Lianshan, his eyes red and hair disheveled, slowly asking, “Did you pass the legacy trial?”

“Fortunately, I did not disappoint!” Lu Ran naturally responded.

Qing Lianshan: ?

No one expected you to pass, okay!

He was now in complete disarray, wanting to know how he compared to this young man.

“Hahahahaha!” Suddenly, Legend Ye burst into laughter, exuding a collection of intertwining auras from various plant species, displaying legendary might.

At this moment, City Lord Ye was at a loss for words to describe her feelings as she looked at the calm-faced Lu Ran. She felt her disciple was truly remarkable.

He really… managed to pass.

“Well done!!!” City Lord Ye unleashed her might, causing the surrounding crowd to change expressions. They hadn’t expected another legend to be hidden here, and upon hearing City Lord Ye’s commendation for Lu Ran, many understood his background.

Disciple of a legend.

This identity alone was enough to deter those coveting the ruins’ treasures.

However, even without any background, as long as Lu Ran obtained the Tree King’s legacy, no one would dare act rashly against him.

Everyone knew, though the Tree King had passed, her powerful combat pets hadn’t all perished.

Those combat pets were Lu Ran’s natural protectors, far fiercer than a legendary master.

“Sorry, Senior Sister Gu, but it looks like the legacy ruins won’t be open for further challenges,” Lu Ran said, turning to Gu Yu.

Gu Yu: ???

“Hahaha, let’s head home!” Lu Ran and his group, who arrived quickly, were prepared to leave Tree King City just as swiftly after City Lord Ye’s hearty laughter, not planning to linger any longer.

Beside them, though Legend Tian was also internally shaken, she didn’t say much. She too unleashed her legendary aura to show support for Lu Ran.

However, despite the strength of the two legends, it wasn’t long before an even more powerful presence approached.

An elder sitting on a green lotus drew near, surprising everyone. Although not as formidable as the Tree King, the elderly man was one of the rare level 8 plantmasters on the Divine Tree Continent.

“Great-grandfather.” Upon seeing him, Qing Lianshan wasn’t surprised. The inheritance of the Tree King being claimed had inevitably alerted his great-grandfather.

Compared to others, the elder was quite composed. He studied Lu Ran with curiosity and said, “Congratulations on obtaining the Tree King’s legacy. May I ask what happened after passing through the ruins?”

Raising his head, Lu Ran saw an epic legend for the first time. City Lord Ye and City Lord Tian exchanged glances, their expressions slightly tense. Clearly, confronting this elder would be difficult even for them, but he didn’t seem to be an enemy.

“Not much happened,” Lu Ran replied. “After clearing the ruins, I encountered a cognizant Tree King phantom. She instructed me on several matters and told me to await her combat pets.”

His explanation sent the Green Lotus Elder into deep thought. “So there indeed was a special consciousness left behind. As expected of Senior Tree King.”

This epic legend appeared to know quite a bit but did not probe further about the legacy ruins. With a sense of amazement, he turned to leave, saying, “Remarkable indeed.”

“Lianshan, since Legend Ye and the others are eager to return, see them off. This heir of the Tree King may need time to process the legacy.”

“Yes, Great-grandfather.” Qing Lianshan felt extremely troubled, as if he’d eaten something unpleasant.

To him, it was as if his ‘goddess’ had run off with a pretty boy, and now he was expected to drive them home.

On the flying vessel, Lu Ran and his group were essentially making a quick getaway, creating quite a thrilling situation, giving no opportunity for the people of Tree King City to make contact.

City Lord Ye was still catching her breath after they had traveled some distance, unable to believe that Lu Ran had actually cleared the ruins.

Wasn’t their intention to bring Lu Ran along just to broaden his horizons and gain some experience?

Both City Lord Ye and Martial Aunt Tian felt as though they were the ones being enlightened instead.

“Dear disciple…”

In reality, Lu Ran could now be considered a disciple of the Tree King as well. City Lord Ye felt quite helpless, wondering what merit she had to share a disciple with the Tree King.

“Master, Martial Aunt Tian, while I was at the Tree King ruins, I actually obtained some very important intelligence that I want to share with you.”

Feeling a bit bored, Lu Ran explained the “covenant of ten thousand years” and the “divine chosen plantmaster” to Master Ye and the others, leaving them stunned and unable to calm down.

“So, you’re now tied to the faction of the plant spirits.”

“You need to help the plant spirits train warriors for a future confrontation with legendary divine beasts?”

Neither of the legends expected that the Tree King’s legacy would come with such significant burdens and responsibilities.

“No, to be precise, all plantmasters are now tied to the plant faction,” Lu Ran clarified. “Once the covenant of ten thousand years ends, it will inevitably spark a war that influences the entire continent, with both sides being the ferocious beasts and plant species.”

“At that point, the status of the continent’s overlord will be re-established,” Lu Ran continued. “However, there’s still a long, long time before the covenant ends, and we may not live to see it.”

“But I have a feeling that even if we die, we might not truly perish. Instead, everything could be preserved by the plant spirits, allowing us to resurrect in a miraculous way when the covenant ends, to participate in the final war.”

“I suspect that the Green Lotus Elder we encountered back there might know the inside story of the covenant of ten thousand years, much like the Tree King. After all, in essence, all plantmasters are aiding the Divine Tree in cultivating soldiers.”

“Never mind…” Legend Tian remarked. “The truth of the world doesn’t concern me much; these things are too far beyond us. Let’s talk about you instead. You’ve obtained the Tree King’s legacy; what are your plans moving forward?”

Legend Tian’s question hit the nail on the head for City Lord Ye. The covenant of ten thousand years may seem distant, but the immediate concern was Lu Ran. Earlier, Lu Ran mentioned that Senior Tree King’s combat pets would seek him out. Does this mean Lu Ran is planning to leave soon?

“In the short term, I plan to stay in Tree Realm City to learn plantmaster knowledge from my master. Who knows when Senior Tree King’s combat pets will find me,” Lu Ran explained. “Master, once we return, let’s organize a Master’s Apprentice Banquet. Senior Tree King also intends for me to undergo a class change to become a plantmaster… Now, there’s no need to worry about the Beast Taming Hall anymore…”

City Lord Ye: …

Why is Lu Ran so keen on the Master’s Apprentice Banquet?

What City Lord Ye didn’t realize is that Lu Ran was eager about it due to his new identity as the Heir of the Tree King! Just imagine, the caliber of attendees at the banquet would be drastically different now, possibly even attracting many legends who wish to visit, offer gifts, and establish friendly ties with him. Not hosting the banquet would be a tremendous missed opportunity!

“As you wish.” With Lu Ran bringing it up twice, City Lord Ye decided not to decline anymore. Since Lu Ran wasn’t bothered by her status as just an ordinary legend, there was no reason for her to hesitate.

“By the way, Master, I have obtained the ruins space from Senior Tree King. It requires a lot of ferocious plants to perfect the spatial environment. Is it alright if I transplant some ferocious plants from the Death Forest?”

“That’s a small matter. You could move the entire Death Forest in there if you wanted,” City Lord Ye casually replied.

Such generosity from the master!

…

In this world, nothing spreads faster than news.

While on the journey, the news of Lu Ran, the Heir of the Tree King, preparing to become an apprentice to the City Lord of Tree Realm City was already making the rounds.

Before Lu Ran and his group could return to Tree Realm City, representatives of various factions had begun making their way to the city, hoping to pay a visit to the Heir of the Tree King.

Time seemed pressing indeed. Calculating the timing, Lu Ran realized he didn’t have much time left.

He needed to capitalize on his identity immediately.

Upon returning to Tree Realm City, Lu Ran didn’t even have the leisure to catch up with Yu Rui and the others; he headed straight to the Death Forest to become a diligent mover.

Right now, the ruins space was barren and desperately needed enhancement.

Meanwhile…

Yu Rui and the others were diligently exploring and learning in Tree Realm City. Since Lu Ran wasn’t taking on the breakthrough task, they figured they should make the most of their trip to the secret realm by focusing on other areas.

That’s right: exploring the world.

If done properly, the rewards from exploration could be just as valuable as completing the breakthrough task, or so they comforted themselves.

“Rui-Ge, we haven’t seen that Lu Ran around lately, have we?” Jiang Ming lifted his head suddenly from the ancient texts they were studying together in the room.

“No idea, maybe he’s off exploring the world too,” Liu Man replied.

“Ha, he doesn’t know as much about the Divine Tree Continent as us. We’re definitely at an advantage in that regard, don’t you think, Rui-Ge?” In the past few days, they’d amassed quite a collection of rare resources and scrolls, even stumbling upon some major archaeological secrets.

The two turned to Yu Rui, only to see a peculiar expression on his face.

Yu Rui said, “The last time I saw him, he was asking me for information about the Tree King ruins… You think, after being gone for so long, he might have gone to explore the Tree King ruins?”

“Tree King ruins???” Jiang Ming was taken aback. “Those are probably the highest exploration opportunity any challenger can normally access on the Divine Tree Continent, right? After all, it’s part of the legacy of a legendary figure. But Tree Realm City is so far from the Tree King ruins…”

“In any case, even if he’s not weak, I doubt he’s strong enough to explore the Tree King ruins. If that’s where he went, it seems like a waste of time.”

“I don’t know.” Yu Rui shrugged just as there was a knock at the door.

“Sir, today’s tree news has arrived!” It was the errand boy delivering the newspaper.

If you’re going to explore the secret realm, keeping up with daily intelligence from various places is a must.

Liu Man went to open the door and took the tree news, which was full of content, saying, “Thank you.”

“Sir!!! There’s big news today. Take your time going through it; I’ll be off now,” the boy said.

“Big news?” Liu Man paused, then looked at the tree news content, her expression shifting dramatically.

“What is it?” Seeing Liu Man stand frozen at the door, Jiang Ming asked, “What’s the big news? Let me guess… Is it about the Tree King City’s genius, Qing Lianshan, finally breaking through to legend status? He’s famous for having attempted the Tree King ruins many times but never passing.”

“No, it’s not that.” Liu Man said, bewildered, walking back stiffly to spread the tree news for them to see.

Yu Rui put down his ancient text, and Jiang Ming glanced over too.

[Heir of the Tree King Emerges! Lu Ran, disciple of Tree Realm City’s City Lord Ye Ying, passes the Tree King legacy trial in just five minutes, hailed as an extraordinary genius unseen in 800 years!]

All three: ???

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