After some trial and error, Lu Ran determined that it should be fine to take the sword spirit to Limitless City. This meant they could take it with them wherever they went.
This discovery gave Lu Ran a bold idea.
Since Captain Doofus became significantly more powerful with the sword spirit possessing it, what would happen if it underwent evolution like that?
Captain Doofus would need to be wielding a sword during evolution anyways, so the sword spirit would be perfect.
The Undead Cult was researching the possibility of evolving Undead familiars while they possessed inanimate objects. Given how many necromancers there were in the cult, Lu Ran was sure someone already attempted to evolve a familiar with an Undead spirit possessing it.
However, given how there weren't any major events relating to the subject on the Stellar Moon Continent or Blue Planet, it was safe to assume that there had yet to be any successful attempts.
Lu Ran began to question whether he should still attempt “possessed evolution.”
If new evolutionary techniques were so easy to develop then everyone would be an expert.
The reason why Lu Ran was still considering the method was due to the special relationship between Captain Doofus and the sword spirit. Captain Doofus’ species talent combined with its teeth being the original materials for Winter Fang significantly improved their chances.
Even Limitless City recognized them as a single entity so it was worth the try. The results would definitely be something worth looking forward to.
"Captain Doofus, Corpse Dog."
“Woof?” The pair barked in unison.
Whenever Lu Ran called their names like that, Captain Doofus felt that he was calling it a bitch. [1]
It might be a dog but it wasn’t a bitch!
"The sword barked again..."
Lu Ran was about to make a comment but decided to brush it off. This was something he would have to get used to.
“Let’s call it a day and get back to Green Sea City.
"We have six days left until the next evolution realm, so we need to make the most of it and bring Corpse Dog up to level 20.”
Either due to the quality of the materials or the number of enemies that were slain by Winter Fang, the Winter Sword Spirit was born at level 10.
Since Lu Ran wanted to have it possess Captain Doofus during evolution, he needed to get it as powerful as possible.
Captain Doofus barked in agreement. It was tired of grinding mobs.
Lu Ran pulled out his phone to make a call.
Moments later, a white cloud descended from the sky carrying Manager Ying who was playing on a tablet. It yawned beforing saying, “You’re finally back!”
Manager Ying was tired of babysitting the weather sprite. This was mainly because the sprite was too playful and energetic.
It would’ve been fine if they were back in Green Sea City, since it was Lu Ran’s terf. There generally weren’t any powerful creatures in the surroundings.
The situation in South America, however, was far different. Whether it was the ocean or the tropical rainforest, there were many hidden dangers lurking in the shadows.
Manager Ying was afraid that if it took its eyes off the weather sprite at the wrong moment then a powerful creature might eat it like a ball of cotton candy.
If that happened, what would it tell Lu Ran?
"What the hell is that?"
Manager Ying was curious about the blue sword spirit floating in the air beside Captain Doofus.
Is that an Undead sword? Judging from its aura, it must be at least King-rank.
"Did you find some sort of treasure? Your luck is something else!"
Manager Ying was incredulous.
"What? No, this is the sword spirit I bred using Winter Fang," Lu Ran replied. "Do you remember the sword I forged back in Emerald Mountain? The one I invested two Treasure-grade materials into?"
What? That’s even more outrageous!
It found it really hard to accept what Lu Ran was saying. Although it understood the concept of weapon spirits, now that it had seen one, it still felt that the whole thing was a bit unrealistic.
Two Treasure-grade materials turning into a King-rank species was a heck of a deal.
"Let me get a better look."
It moved closer to inspect Corpse Dog.
Corpse Dog barked when it saw Manager Ying approach. Manager Ying almost had a heart attack.
"Why is the sword barking like a dog?"
"I think it’s because I forged Winter Fang from dog teeth, and Captain Doofus was holding the sword when the spirit was born," Lu Ran conjectured.
"..." Manager Ying suddenly lost all interest.
It turned out that the sword spirit was already on the wrong path.
It actually felt kind of bad for the weather sprite.
"I knew this guy would find a new favorite before becoming a level 3 beastmaster. See? He has a King-rank sword spirit that’s a perfect fit for his husky.
I’m sorry Baby Cloud, but it seems that this guy is going to abandon you. We can’t predict who he will choose as his fourth familiar," Manager Ying lamented with a teary expression.
Although the weather sprite didn't completely understand what Manager Ying said, it just heard that Lu Ran wanted to abandon it and started crying.
It looked at Corpse Dog with a competitive gaze.
Fine, I’ll also turn into a sword! I’ll be a cloud sword! I can do it!
Captain Doofus tilted its head while drooling.
"Don't listen to that cat. Whether we are contracted or not, it wouldn’t change how close we are,” Lu Ran comforted. "Come on, transform into a flying car and lets go home."
With Lu Ran's assurance, the weather sprite happily transformed into a white sports car.
Manager Ying looked at Baby Cloud.
Didn’t you understand what Lu Ran just said? He didn’t promise you that you would be his next familiar. That means he’s not 100% sure that he would contract you either.
The weather sprite was originally supposed to be his third familiar, but because of the fact that it was too young, Dark Crow managed to cut in line.
Now, a month later, it was about to get skipped over again for the sword spirit.
Before it could say anything, Lu Ran already got into the car.
"Manager Ying, hurry up," he called out.
King-rank familiars were capable of even making first generations envious, but in Lu Ran’s hands, it could only vie for his attention.
It was really curious who Lu Ran would choose as his next familiar. Would it be the weather sprite, sword spirit, or did Lu Ran have something else up its sleeve?
Manager Ying wanted to ask him, but decided to not get involved and hopped into the car. As long as Lu Ran didn’t bother it, it was fine with whatever.
Half a day later, Lu Ran’s group arrived back in Green Sea City. It was already pretty late by the time they landed so Lu Ran cleaned up and went to bed.
Instead of returning to its contract card, Captain Doofus slept outside to guard the sword spirit.
While they were on their way home, Lu Ran found out that weapon spirits also ate souls. Well, “absorb” was the better way to describe it. Corpse Dog could absorb any soul it cut and convert the soul into nourishment.
As long as Lu Ran wielded the sword spirit and infused it with sword intent to slay other creatures, Corpse Dog’s food situation would be taken care of.
The next day, Lu Ran woke up early and had a bowl of tofu pudding with fried dough sticks for breakfast. While he was eating, a call came in.
Lu Ran was surprised to hear from Chu Yan so suddenly.
The dean of the Cultivation Academy had been hanging out with Principal Shi Zhen recently so Lu Ran almost forgot about him.
I wonder what he needs?
"Hello, Professor Lu," Chu Yan greeted politely.
Lu Ran wasn’t just some random newbie. He was the number one fourth generation on top of being the Dragon Chef.
"The semester is almost over and tomorrow is your first class. A lot of students signed up for it. Would you have time to swing by? If not, then I can cancel the class."
"Class?" Lu Ran was stunned.
Oops, I almost forgot that I’m still a professor at the university.
In order not to delay Lu Ran's growth, Beastmaster University turned Lu Ran's cooking class into an advanced-level course that only the top freshmen could enroll in at the end of the semester.
This greatly reduced Lu Ran's teaching responsibilities. However, no matter how much it was reduced, it couldn’t be completely eliminated.
"It’s ok, I can do it. I’ll make time to stop by tomorrow.”
Principal Shi Zhen already prepaid his salary which was a Treasure-grade resource so it wouldn’t look good if he didn’t show up to work.
On top of that, according to what Chu Yan was telling him, a large number of students signed up so he shouldn’t let them down either.
It was only a two-hour course, so it could be a great way to discover new talents and find students to pass on his cooking techniques to.
To be honest, Lu Ran was a little overwhelmed since he had to feed the entire population of necromancers, the Flood Dragon Squad, as well as his own familiars.
This meant that Lu Ran didn't have any time to be Dr. Gu's personal chef for two months. With the release of stage 2 evolution realms, Lu Ran wanted to repay Dr. Gu by helping her raise her dragon familiar.
Although Dr. Gu never explicitly asked, Lu Ran remembered what she had done for him.
Let's get this out of the way first.
Lu Ran called Lu Bing once he hung up the phone with the dean.
"Sister Bing, how’s the Flood Dragon Squad doing?”
"They’re doing great! Everyone's snake familiars have already reached level 20, but the dragon dishes you gave us last time are almost used up," Lu Bing reported.
"Village Chief, are you going to send more food?"
"That’s good. Have everyone meet me in Limitless City #7."
As he spoke, Lu Ran took out a large bottle of Sudden Death King’s blood.
[Name: Dragon King Blood]
[Description: The blood of the Shieldwing Dragon King. Bathing in it could improve one’s bloodline and physique!
This was all the dragon blood that Sudden Death King shed during its training after evolving. However, not all of the blood Sudden Death King shed was collected since Lu Ran only needed enough to help improve the Flood Dragon Squad.
1. Corpse (尸) and is (是) sound similar so “Captain Doofus, Corpse Dog” sounds like “Captain Doofus is a dog”. Dog is a common insult in Chinese, and bitch is an apt equivalent. ☜