Manager Ying left, departing peacefully. In her eyes, Lu Ran had already become a mature fourth-generation beastmaster. She believed that after passing on the key intel, Lu Ran would figure out how to conquer the Legendary Secret Realm on his own.
There was no need for others to worry. Assisting Lu Ran by strategizing about how to clear the Legendary Secret Realm was not Manager Ying’s style.
“I’m just a bodyguard, not a babysitter. Fourth-generation beastmasters need to endure trials and learn self-reliance to grow into true powerhouses. Wait a second. Weren’t we supposed to be partners? How did I become just a bodyguard?”
“From now on, solo-clearing a level 1 Legendary Secret Realm takes top priority.”
After Manager Ying left, Lu Ran fell into deep thought.
How can I solo-clear the Diamond Dragon? First, Sudden Death King had to have sufficiently strong defenses to endure multiple rounds of attacks and create opportunities for Captain Doofus to strike.
This required further strengthening of its Lightning Dragon Armor. That part would be easy to achieve. Continuing to feed Sudden Death King Dragon Culinary Intent would raise the level of Dragon Intent.
Sudden Death King also needed to integrate energy compression and acceleration techniques into its Lightning Dragon Armor. Yeah... that’s about it for Sudden Death King’s contribution.
Next, Captain Doofus needed much stronger attacks. The current level of armor-piercing was nowhere near enough! Enhancing Captain Doofus’ attack power could be tackled from two main directions.
First, in terms of skills, Lu Ran felt that energy compression had little room for short-term improvement. At over twenty times compression, it was already at its limit, pushing Captain Doofus to the brink of death.
Thus, the focus would shift to enhancing Dragon-Slaying Sword Intent to improve the power of its skills. As Lu Ran mentioned earlier, feeding Captain Doofus Dragon Culinary Intent to raise its Dragon-Slaying Sword Intent was an excellent option.
This process could be combined with sparring between Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King. One would gain Sword Intent experience, while the other would hone its defenses. The most effective way to further enhance Captain Doofus’ combat power, however, was to upgrade the quality of its weapon.
While the Frosty Sky Greatsword was decent, it was merely a Rare weapon worth a few thousand crystal coins. Even among Rare equipment, it was of the lower tier and no longer worthy of Captain Doofus' status.
If he could obtain a Treasure-grade sword, Captain Doofus’ strength would undergo a qualitative leap. But here lay the problem. Master Lin had once mentioned that no blacksmith in Xia currently possessed the forging expertise for such a task.
Since Advanced beastmasters in Xia didn’t typically use swords, no blacksmiths would bother wasting Treasure-grade minerals on sword forging. The risk of failure and material wastage was simply too high.
This was precisely why Lu Ran had decided to learn forging himself. Still, it was obvious that if he waited to acquire forging skills, the opportunity would have long passed.
Waiting was not an option. Therefore, he would have to seek someone else to forge the weapon. At worst, he could request a simple-function sword. As long as the quality was up to standard, complexity wasn’t necessary. Even a basic design would be far better than the Frosty Sky Greatsword.
Aside from this route, Lu Ran had a bold idea.
Was there such a thing as a naturally occurring Treasure-grade mineral shaped like a sword? For example, a natural mineral resource resembling a sword? Perhaps a Stone Sword?
Given nature’s miraculous creativity, such a phenomenon wasn’t entirely impossible. After all, naturally occurring rocks shaped like humans or animals existed, so finding one shaped like a sword wasn’t out of the question.
Captain Doofus’ Sword Sovereign talent didn’t necessarily require an actual sword. As long as it looked the part and Captain Doofus believed it could serve as a sword, even a kitchen knife or tree branch could suffice.
With its intelligence, Captain Doofus had essentially achieved the ultimate state of “with a sword in my heart, everything can be a sword.” If such a natural resource existed, it would save a lot of trouble.
Lu Ran could borrow it without worrying about forging failures or material damage. Furthermore, a naturally occurring Treasure-grade sword would undoubtedly enhance Captain Doofus’ abilities more significantly than the Frosty Sky Greatsword.
After using it, he could return it, saving both money and effort. If the antlers weren’t so short, barely resembling a dagger, Lu Ran might have considered having Captain Doofus wield the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer as a short sword in battle.
There was no need to worry about Treasure-grade minerals being damaged in combat, either. Forging Treasure-grade weapons required an incredibly challenging smelting process, and at level 20 combat, breaking such minerals would be impossible.
The only real concern about borrowing such a resource was if a novice carrying it died in a secret realm, losing both the sword and their life. If the owner were concerned, Lu Ran could always write an IOU and buy it outright...
The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. Acquiring a naturally occurring Treasure-grade sword appeared to be the most reliable and cost-effective approach.
As for how to acquire such an item, Lu Ran thought of Master Lin. Surely, he would have connections. Lu Ran dialed Master Lin’s number. Lu Ran dialed Master Lin’s number. With the new semester approaching, Master Lin had closed his blacksmith shop and stayed in Sky City.
When the call connected, a surprised voice came from the other end. “Professor Lu, what a surprise! What brings you to contact me?”
Master Lin had been reflecting deeply during this period.
Who would’ve thought that the oddball fourth-generation beastmaster who came to forge a sword for a dog would become Xia’s strongest fourth-generation beastmaster?
And he was the one and only Dragon Chef!
This title was far more prestigious than his identity as a blacksmith master.
“Master Lin, stop joking around. Just call me Pedestrian A. Are you in Sky City? I’ll come to you.”
“Oh sure, come on over. As a matter of fact, I have something I want to discuss with you, too.”
Before long, Lu Ran arrived at Master Lin’s professor villa. Master Lin was already sitting in the courtyard, sipping fruit juice as he waited for Lu Ran. Lu Ran joined him and got straight to the point.
“Master Lin, I wanted to ask if you know of any naturally occurring Treasure-grade minerals shaped like a sword.”
“Uh...” Master Lin froze, caught off guard, and fell into thought.
“You really got me there. To the best of my knowledge, no such thing exists.”
Lu Ran was equally stunned. “None at all?”
“If we’re talking about Treasure-grade plants shaped like a sword, I know of one. But minerals? Definitely not.”
“Plants? What kind?” Lu Ran, though initially skeptical about plants being suitable, couldn’t help but ask.
“Well, how should I put it? You’re aware that the ascension realms connected to Limitless City link to four major worlds, correct?” Master Lin said, looking at Lu Ran.
“The Stellar Moon Continent features familiars primarily of animal species. In addition, there are three other worlds dominated by elemental species, plant species, and mechanical species, respectively.
“We’ve had the most contact with the Stellar Moon Continent and very little with the other three worlds. Our contact with the mechanical world has been especially scarce. The only expedition ended in disaster, with most of the beastmasters killed.
“Even so, we’ve made some progress. In the plant world, plants evolve much faster than animals. There, animals are merely food for plants. Completely the opposite of the Blue Planet and the Stellar Moon Continent, where plants serve as resources for animals.
“In this plant-dominated world, there’s a species known as Longleaf Swordgrass, famous for its sword-like appearance. Before gaining consciousness, it’s classified as a Treasure-grade plant. But it isn’t the kind of plant resource that benefits familiars when consumed. It’s classified as a vicious plant.
“In that world, the most powerful plant species are considered vicious plants. The Longleaf Swordgrass grows in grasslands, is impervious to fire, incredibly tough, and razor-sharp.
“Ordinary strength cannot destroy it, and accidental contact can be fatal or result in severe injuries. Even Dragon-type species avoid being grazed by it.
“As you know, countries on Blue Planet are actively researching the creation of mechanical familiars, plant familiars, and elemental familiars. While it’s impossible to bring Superior life forms out of ascension realms, regular plant resources can be extracted.
“Some beastmasters have even excavated plants with the potential of gaining consciousness from the plant world, replanting them outside in hopes of cultivating them into plant familiars. Of course, no one has succeeded yet.
“To cut to the chase, I know of someone who went to great lengths to excavate a Longleaf Swordgrass and has been nurturing it ever since.
“If it evolves into a plant familiar, it will at least rank as a Superior-King Species. So, does this meet your requirements for sword-shaped plants?”
“It does.” Lu Ran nodded.
The Longleaf Swordgrass reminded him of the Blade Grass from the Mantis Jungle Secret Realm. The two seemed similar in nature.
The Longleaf Swordgrass sounds promising but isn’t the best.
“If only someone had brought back a lightsaber from the mechanical world, it would look even cooler,” Lu Ran joked.
Master Lin was speechless.
“So, what exactly are you planning to do? You’re not seriously going to use a sword-shaped mineral or plant as a weapon for your dog, are you?”
“Exactly.” Lu Ran grinned.
“I need it for conquering a Legendary Secret Realm. I’m worried that forging a sword might waste materials, so I figured I’d test out a raw resource first. If it doesn’t work, I can refine it later..”
“Damn,” Master Lin said.
“You’ve really got some ideas...”
“Anyway, let’s put that aside. Master Lin, who is the beastmaster cultivating the Longleaf Swordgrass?”
Although Lu Ran wasn’t sure if this plant could serve as a weapon or whether its owner would be willing to lend it, his curiosity about plant lifeforms made him determined to visit and take a look.
A dog wielding a Longleaf Swordgrass didn’t sound bad. Even though there was a chance it might hurt itself, that wasn’t an issue. They had the Broken Horn of the Divine Deer, which meant the cost of trial and error was extremely low.
Lu Ran fell into thought, recalling a past regret—how he hadn’t awakened a Grass attribute in Salad Dog. He couldn’t help but feel like he’d missed out on some fun.
“It’s a second-generation beastmaster and professor here in Sky City, specializing in cultivation and botany. I’ll send you their contact information shortly,” Master Lin said, no longer questioning Lu Ran’s peculiar ideas.
“Great. By the way, Master Lin, you mentioned earlier that you had something to discuss with me?”
“I do,” Master Lin replied.
“After giving it some thought, I realized that with your Flame Spirit skill, your foundational abilities in forging techniques far surpass those of the other forging students.
“If you attend classes with them, it’ll definitely slow your progress. So, I was thinking, why don’t you skip the regular lessons entirely, and I’ll teach you forging privately? What do you think?
“This is absolutely okay with me,” Lu Ran said without hesitation.
“Alright! It’s settled then,” Master Lin said with a hearty laugh.
“By the way, I have a manual on the arrangement and combination of inscriptions. It’s something from my personal collection. Take it and study it first. Forging involves three main steps.
“The final step is carving inscriptions into the completed item using inscription stones. This process guides the materials to fuse perfectly, establishing connections and adapting them to the forged item.
“As for the first two steps, given your Flame Spirit skill and impressive strength, they shouldn’t pose any issues. All you need to focus on is honing your inscription carving skills.”
After leaving Master Lin’s place, Lu Ran took out his phone and dialed the number Master Lin had provided. A raspy female voice answered after a brief moment.
“Professor Ye, this is Lu Ran.”
“Lu Ran? Who’s that...? Oh! Lu Ran, the winner of the freshman competition, right? The Dragon Chef, Professor Lu?”
The voice on the other end sounded surprised.
“That’s right, it’s me. Professor Ye, do you have some time? I’d like to ask for your help with something.”
“Oh? What is it?” she asked, puzzled as to why Lu Ran was contacting her.
Meanwhile, holding his phone, Lu Ran wore a serious expression.
Well, it’s nothing much. I’m just wondering if your prized experiment could serve as a real sword for my dog to wield.