Hearing Lu Ran’s voice, Captain Doofus quickly finished its food and dashed out.
It wagged its tail, its mood still not particularly joyful. After all, its weapon had just broken. Although it had already made a mental note of the grudge, it would take a while for its mood to recover.
“Look over there.” Lu Ran gestured toward the ground nearby.
Captain Doofus looked over in confusion. On the ground laid a plant that looked remarkably like a sword. Its root resembled a hilt, and its leaf resembled a blade.
Captain Doofus was hesitant.
Could this be the legendary... lying grass?
It often heard humans exclaim lying grass, and now it finally saw the real thing![1]
Upon seeing the plant, Captain Doofus grew serious.
Could this lying grass be the new sword Captain Lu prepared for it? It felt a bit silly. Originally, carrying a sword in its mouth was already abstract enough. Now, using grass as a sword, wouldn’t that be even more abstract?
But then again, as a dog, carrying grass somehow seemed perfectly reasonable. With a look of wisdom, Captain Doofus’ brain began to overheat, forcing it to release Blizzard Sword Intent to calm down.
“What nonsense are you thinking now? Try using it. Be careful, though. It’s extremely sharp,” Lu Ran said.
Captain Doofus perked up, summoning Wind elements to lift the Longleaf Swordgrass. At that moment, its expression shifted. It could feel the wind it had summoned being sliced apart by the swordgrass! It couldn’t control it normally! This sword grass could even cut through the wind element it has condensed.
“Bite the root directly. It’s not sharp there,” Lu Ran instructed.
After all, the Longleaf Swordgrass was a natural resource. Using it wouldn’t be as intuitive as wielding a forged weapon. Everything needed time. The grass was inanimate, but Captain Doofus was alive. Lu Ran believed it would eventually master it.
Captain Doofus looked intrigued.
Grass, you’ve caught my interest.
Its eyes gleamed sharply as it cautiously summoned the wind again, bringing the swordgrass closer to itself. Then, it carefully bit the root.
At that moment, time seemed to freeze, and the world stood still. Holding the Longleaf Swordgrass, Captain Doofus’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Thump... thump... thump...
It could hear its heartbeat clearly, sensing an incredible, terrifying power brewing within.
Captain Doofus took a step back. Lu Ran also retreated a step. The next second, the air around Captain Doofus began to hum and tremble, vibrating as if pierced by the swordgrass. Captain Doofus’ eyes shimmered with intensity, radiating an astonishing sword momentum.
Captain Doofus howled to the sky, its aura skyrocketing. A terrifying sword intent burst forth, sweeping across the area like a tangible force!
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
In an instant, all the flowers and grass in the courtyard were etched with countless sword marks. Inside, another fellow, who was busy eating, shuddered and turned toward the courtyard with a dumbfounded expression.
In this short amount of time, why did Captain Doofus feel like it’s grown even stronger!?
Green waves then rippled out from Captain Doofus’ fur, condensing into waves of energy that surged outward continuously. This was a new Sword Intent!
[Grass-Wood Sword Intent: Even grass and wood can become a sword. With the Grass-Wood Sword Intent, attacks gain the characteristics of the Grass-attribute!
The Grass-attribute can absorb life force and energy. Attacks with Grass-type skills will drain the opponent’s life and energy significantly faster.]
Nearby, Lu Ran couldn’t hide his amazement.
Good dog. I thought switching to a new sword would only boost your species ranking. I never expected it would help you comprehend a new sword intent!
At this moment, with the Grass-Wood Sword Intent, Captain Doofus appeared to control the Longleaf Swordgrass more naturally.
For a moment, Lu Ran couldn’t tell whether the swordgrass helped Captain Doofus comprehend the sword intent, or if Captain Doofus had to comprehend it to wield the swordgrass.
Either way, the increasingly powerful sword momentum confirmed that this swordgrass was an excellent weapon!
[Species: Superior-Champion (Intermediate King)!]
Thanks to its Weapon Control and Sword Sovereign, Captain Doofus who was wielding the swordgrass had undergone a species evolution!
The swordgrass’ enhancement was enormous. It elevated Captain Doofus from a Low-King familiar with the Frosty Sky Greatsword to an Intermediate-King familiar! One shouldn’t underestimate this small improvement. The higher one climbed, the harder it was to advance.
Advancing from Transcendent to Champion was relatively easy. But moving from King to Overlord was like ascending to the heavens. Even the strongest familiars among first-generation beastmasters typically capped out at Intermediate-King Species.
Now, Captain Doofus, with only two traits fused, had already achieved a species rank comparable to that of an Intermediate-King familiar. This was an impressive leap.
It might not yet surpass the Diamond Dragon, but compared to its past self, Captain Doofus had grown incomparably stronger. This breakthrough would undoubtedly allow it to inflict even greater damage on the Diamond Dragon.
At this moment, Captain Doofus exuded a sharp aura, its fur flowing with the wind as it gazed at its new weapon.
It turned its head slightly, and a faint green sword qi instantly sliced through a boulder nearby!
“As long as you’re satisfied. Go test your sword somewhere else. Don’t wreck the house!”
Lu Ran rolled up his sleeves, preparing to cook some Dragon King Bird meat.
For the next two days, he would give Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King some extra meals—a feast! Speaking of testing swords, Captain Doofus immediately turned toward the house and looked at Sudden Death King, who was peeking outside.
After locking eyes with Captain Doofus, Sudden Death King pointed at itself.
Captain Doofus nodded firmly.
The first swing of my newfound strength will be directed at Sudden Death King first!
Sudden Death King’s face fell.
Fine, I’ll remember this grudge.
Currently, the Diamond Dragon was Sudden Death King’s idol. After all, when it shattered Captain Doofus’s sword earlier, it looked downright awesome. Someday, Sudden Death King would gain that power too! Sudden Death King clenched its claws tightly.
“Now all that’s left is the resource amplifying stage.”
Seeing that Captain Doofus was well-suited to the Longleaf Swordgrass, Lu Ran finally relaxed. He then turned his gaze to his backpack. A small bottle of black venom was ready and waiting.
This was a poison that Fang Lan had spent over a week concocting. Lu Ran recalled Five Poisons Saintess’ word: “Even inactive Dragon Blood retains incredible poison resistance. If you want venom strong enough to poison it, you’ll need a Poison-attribute familiar of comparable strength nearby to assist.
“That condition is hard to meet, so I adjusted the venom accordingly. It can react with Diamond Dragon Blood. When the venom and blood come into contact for one minute, the Diamond Dragon will enter a state of energy disruption for three to five minutes.
“During this time, its energy flow will be chaotic, making it extremely difficult for it to control its energy and cast skills. But remember, it’s only difficult, not impossible. It can still release skills, so be careful. In short, whether you can finish it off during this weakened state depends entirely on you.”
“That’s enough.” Lu Ran thought to himself.
Beside the venom bottle lay a Crow Feather Bow. It was a Rare-grade weapon that Lu Ran had forged using newly learned techniques, specifically designed for applying poison.
In the future, if he contracted Dark Crow, he could use the Crow Feather Bow to train with it, perfecting their combat synchronization and achieving Super Beast Mimicry!
At this point, everything was ready. For the next two days, Lu Ran had decided to stop milking the Diamond Dragon for blood. He already had a huge amount of Dragon Blood stored. Any more would be meaningless.
It was better to focus on clearing the secret realm and seeing what rewards a solo clear of a Legendary Secret Realm would bring him.
Then, he could break through to level 2 and start exploiting level 2 Legendary Secret Realms. That was far better than being stuck in a Level 1 realm forever.
50 slices of Dragon King Bird meat and Treasure-grade resources... Over two days, Lu Ran cooked them into various Treasure dragon cuisine. The portions were distributed in a 4:5 ratio between Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King.
As for the remaining 1 portion? Lu Ran ate it himself, of course. With his Flame Spirit and Flame Dragon Culinary Intent, Lu Ran was practically a ferocious humanoid beast. Eating dragon cuisine not only allowed him to taste-test the dishes, but also helped enhance his Culinary Intent.
The stronger his Culinary Intent, the better his future dishes would be. For two days, the trio ate until their mouths were greasy, fully absorbing the immense benefits of the Treasure-grade cuisine.
Although Lu Ran’s cooking might have been at the lower end of Treasure-grade, the exceptional quality of the ingredients, and the relative weakness of the diners, meant the benefits were staggering.
For Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King, the most significant gains weren’t just in their physique. Their mastery of Dragon-Slaying Sword Intent and Dragon Intent also improved dramatically.
If Intent had levels and quality grades, then these two familiars’ comprehension of their Intent Formation already far surpassed others of the same tier. Even the Diamond Dragon, with its mastery of Rock Intent, couldn’t compare to them in terms of Intent Level.
After all, it was just a wild dragon. Unlike familiars raised under a professional beastmaster like Lu Ran, its only advantage was its species.
This breakthrough gave Captain Doofus the confidence to face pure Dragonkin familiars and still deal effective damage. As for Sudden Death King, its transformation was even more astonishing. Draconic resources had a noticeably greater effect on it.
Now, Sudden Death King could effortlessly crush the Low-King Species Tyrannosaurus Rex it would have once struggled against. In fact, Lu Ran suspected that its current strength surpassed Captain Doofus’ previous state with the Frosty Sky Greatsword.
The Treasure-grade dragon cuisine seemed to have elevated its dragon bloodline to an extraordinary level. This advantage might not be immediately obvious, but during its next evolution, the highly purified Dragon Blood could very well allow it to evolve into a true Dragonkin!
With all amplifications completed, Lu Ran spent some time fine-tuning his teamwork with Captain Doofus and Sudden Death King. Without telling anyone, he quietly entered Limitless City and stepped into the Dragon King’s Nest Secret Realm for what felt like the hundredth time.
1. “卧草” (wò cǎo) is a Chinese slang, which, when taken literally, means lie on the grass. It is an internet slang similar to “WTF” ☜