A moment later, the Holy Stone Ape King demonstrated the Stone Buddha Domain once again. Immediately after, it collapsed in exhaustion, its tail going limp.
While domains were undeniably powerful, for a familiar nearing level 60, they would still hesitate to use one. Using a domain even briefly left the Ape King utterly drained. No wonder Manager Ying was reluctant to demonstrate it—it was simply too taxing.
"Captain Doofus, how is it?"
Lu Ran’s eyes shimmered with a misty blue-gray hue as he activated Soul Amplification on Captain Doofus.
Captain Doofus focused, rapidly releasing energy around itself. A Wind Barrier formed, enveloping Lu Ran and the group.
The massive wind sphere stirred up grass and dust outside. However, a moment later, Captain Doofus stuck out its tongue, tilted its head, and squinted.
It was clearly indicating that this was the best it could do. It had no grasp of what energy resonance or space resonance meant.
"This is normal." Principal Shi Zhen gestured dismissively.
"If a single Soul Cleansing Fruit could grant domain comprehension, it wouldn’t be worth just 10,000 crystal coins per fruit—it’d rival Epic-grade resources in price!
"Even at this stage, it's struggling. Its energy flow techniques are likely still in phase one, which isn’t enough. To connect domain techniques with domain spaces, phase two energy flow is essential.
"Moreover, its domain deployment speed is far too slow. However, its wind energy compression is surprisingly well-executed—it’s already mastered one of the hardest techniques.
"By the way, this beastmaster skill of yours is rather interesting..." Shi Zhen glanced at Lu Ran.
"Soul Amplification temporarily enhances a familiar’s soul. Since soul strength is tied to comprehension, it helps improve learning ability," Lu Ran explained.
"A skill reward from the ascension realms? Not bad," Shi Zhen remarked.
"Alright, you’ve seen the domain. Now, let me see the Pig Transformation Curse."
Shi Zhen sighed and massaged his temples. Studying one bizarre curse to understand another was not an enjoyable task.
"Sure." Lu Ran smiled and looked at Captain Doofus. "Focus on mastering phase two energy flow first. No rush with the domain—we’ll revisit it later when we return."
Captain Doofus sighed and nodded.
Before long, Lu Ran and his group found a weak beast and cast the Pig Transformation Curse on it. Under the Dark Crow’s curse, a rabbit began making... highly indecent movements and noises.
Shi Zhen pursed his lips.
"Do you have a research direction?" he asked.
"I do. During the ascension realms, I acquired some skill data. I believe integrating it could lead to a curse upgrade, specifically one that affects life characteristics."
Lu Ran referred to the collections he had obtained from the Undead Cult. One of these, titled Sacrificial Technique, detailed how Undead-attribute familiars could increase their skill power by sacrificing souls.
He intended to extrapolate from this technique—exploring whether sacrificing flesh could amplify the Pig Transformation Curse, potentially altering the target’s life characteristics into those of a pig.
"And after mastering the advanced Pig Transformation Curse, you’ll research a reversal method, correct?" Shi Zhen inquired.
"That’s a much sounder approach than that cat’s curse-overriding-curse method. It’s more tedious, but much safer," Shi Zhen exhaled.
"I’ll help with your research," Shi Zhen offered. "Do you need any specific assistance?"
Before Lu Ran could respond, Dark Crow interjected. It glanced at Lu Ran, seeking permission to speak.
Lu Ran raised an eyebrow, reluctant to let it interfere, but eventually sighed, curious about its thoughts.
"Hmm?" Shi Zhen turned his attention to Dark Crow.
Dark Crow rubbed its wings together. Before arriving, Lu Ran had briefed it on Principal Shi Zhen’s situation, so it understood its role well.
"Your Excellency, since we’re researching the gender transformation curse, could you perhaps provide some of your hair and blood from both before and after your transformation?"
Dark Crow found this gender transformation curse far more useful than its own Pig Transformation Curse! If only it could learn it as well...
As Lu Ran’s familiar, it believed that if no suitable queen could be found for Lu Ran, he could transform to ensure exceptional offspring. Dark Crow was simply preparing for contingencies. As the Crow Minister, it considered this its responsibility.
"You need that?" Shi Zhen was speechless. While he didn’t want to comply, the request was reasonable...
"Indeed. This might be worth researching. If anything else comes up, we’ll discuss it later," Lu Ran concluded, relieved that Dark Crow’s request wasn’t entirely outrageous.
"Fine," Shi Zhen gritted his teeth. "I hope you succeed soon..."
After a brief exchange, Lu Ran returned home from Limitless City.
In the living room, Manager Ying was still lounging beside the Weather Sprite, dozing. On the sofa, the big cat and cloud cat snuggled together, painting a cozy picture.
"It’s still asleep?" Lu Ran was surprised.
"Of course. Some people kept making it change forms and use skills right after it was born," Manager Ying said sarcastically.
"Good thing your third contract was with Dark Crow. If you’d contracted this one, I can’t imagine the tragic childhood it would’ve had."
Lu Ran replied, "Well, didn’t the Princess contract her newborn Rock Monarch? And it’s growing just fine."
“That’s why she got bitten by a dog. It’s karma,” Manager Ying retorted.
Lu Ran was speechless.
Captain Doofus appeared behind Lu Ran. While Manager Ying’s statement was accurate, Captain Doofus somehow felt singled out.
“So, you’ve seen Shi Zhen’s domain? Any thoughts?” Manager Ying shifted the topic.
“Yes.” Lu Ran glanced at Captain Doofus. “I plan to have it create a simple Sword Domain using Grass-Wood Sword Intent, Blizzard Sword Intent, and its Nature Manipulation Trait as the foundation.
“Essentially, in the sky domain, a Blizzard Sword Intent will rage like sharp blades in a storm. On the ground domain, countless blades of Longleaf Swordgrass will grow, intertwining with the blizzard.
“Under the extreme cold, enemies will be overwhelmed before they can react, struck down by the omnidirectional slashes of the blizzard and the relentless assault of the swordgrass infused with Grass-Wood Sword Intent.
“The Blizzard Sword Intent will handle control, while the Grass-Wood Sword Intent will focus on destruction.
“The ice element will freeze. For example, freezing flesh, thoughts, and even reactions. The wood element will absorb, draining energy, vitality, and resistance. Combined, the relentless torrent of sword intent will rapidly erode the enemy’s state.”
“In an extremely short time, the enemy’s condition will deteriorate significantly. For weaker enemies, they’d already be dead. For stronger enemies, their state will still decline drastically.
“At that point, Captain Doofus will deliver the final blow, a Soul-Cutting Strike, leaving no chance for them to reincarnate as undead.
“As for why I’m not including Soul-Cutting Sword Intent or Dragon-Slaying Sword Intent in the domain, it’s because I think overly complex domains aren’t suitable for beginners like Captain Doofus.
“Also, both Grass and Blizzard are natural elements that synergize perfectly with Captain Doofus’ Nature Manipulation Trait, amplifying its power within the domain.
“More complex domains can wait. A familiar with sufficient potential should theoretically be able to construct as many domains as it wants.”
“This is already quite complex! You’re incorporating two attributes it doesn’t even have yet! Mastering just one domain is a huge challenge.
“Still, a sword domain that resembles a picturesque natural landscape, where grass and blizzards become concealed weapons... It looks like there are no swords, but in truth, everything, grass and snow alike, are blades.
“When the enemy’s blood paints the serene blue domain, it might even look rather beautiful,” she said with a faint smile.
“Shall I name it for you? What’s that saying again... Wind, Flowers, Snow, and Moon? Let’s call it the Wind, Grass, Snow, and Moon Sword Domain!”
“On behalf of Captain Doofus, I reject,” Lu Ran said without hesitation.
“Tsk.” Manager Ying rolled her eyes. “Well, now that you’ve got a concept, work toward it step by step. But don’t rush. Once Captain Doofus fuses the Absolute Comprehension Trait and works with your talents, I’m confident it will 100% master the Sword Domain someday.”
Captain Doofus barked excitedly. It felt a huge sense of relief. At first, it feared Lu Ran might devise some Hell Sword Domain filled with bone swords and fangs.
Instead, a blizzard and grass-filled domain sounded much more beautiful and manageable. Captain Doofus eagerly dashed off toward the courtyard, ready to begin its training.
“This dog...” Lu Ran shook his head, watching its energetic departure.
Manager Ying had raised a valid concern earlier. The domain relied on two attributes that Captain Doofus currently lacked—Grass and Ice. This was indeed a challenge, but Lu Ran had already planned for it.
After all, Captain Doofus was a Sword-Wielding Dog, capable of carrying weapons. And couldn’t weapon attributes supplement its own?
The swordgrass would provide the Grass element, while the missing Ice element could be added through another weapon. Currently, Captain Doofus was a dual-wielding sword dog, so adding a second sword made perfect sense.
Lu Ran already had a design in mind for this second weapon: the fang sword. He planned to forge each of Captain Doofus’ teeth into Ice Fangs, ultimately forging an Ice Soul Sword.
Both these swords had immense potential for growth, possibly even achieving awakening growth. In the future, Lu Ran envisioned the swordgrass evolving into a plant creature and the fang sword gaining a Weapon Spirit.
Such an arrangement reminded Lu Ran of the tortoise-snake beastmaster he’d encountered during the freshman competition, who specialized in combining evolutions between familiars and weapons.
He pictured the plant creature swordgrass and the undead fang sword becoming Captain Doofus’ permanent companions, growing alongside it. From this perspective, while the Sword Domain seemed simple on the surface, its growth potential was exceptional.
As for Captain Doofus, Lu Ran left it to explore its domain independently.
On the other hand, Dark Crow was less urgent. Its third evolution required soul amplification and the development of curse powers, both of which took time.
However, Sudden Death King required immediate attention. Lu Ran planned for it to evolve first. Despite its near-perfect setup, there was one area it hadn’t fully developed: its Red Lightning Trait.
The Red Lightning Trait grew stronger with each lightning strike endured. While Sudden Death King had undergone rigorous training at the power plant, its trait still lagged behind its Dragon King Bloodline, Dragon Soul, and Dragon Intent.
For the next two weeks, Lu Ran planned to focus entirely on honing this trait.
“With the Weather Sprite baby here, Green Sea will see daily red lightning storm alerts for the next half month!”
He imagined Sudden Death King growing to despise the Weather Sprite more than anyone else on the team. But this was unavoidable. After all, perfect evolution required perfect preparation.
Lu Ran even enlisted a newborn, less than a day old, to help out. Hopefully, Sudden Death King wouldn’t fail to appreciate it. After all, opportunities like Heavenly Lightning Forging and Heavenly Lightning Blessings weren’t something just anyone could get.