Although Captain Doofus was in rough shape, Lu Ran didn’t rush to heal it. Instead, he removed its shattered, loose teeth—nothing should go to waste.
Captain Doofus whimpered, tears almost in its eyes.
It had only wanted to show off its talent to Lu Ran, but who would’ve thought the aftereffects of the move would be so intense? It really wasn’t thrilled about forging a canine sword.
The pain of losing teeth was even worse than any injury the demon cat had ever inflicted!
A moment later, Lu Ran obtained “Wind Hound Fangs x12.” As soon as the teeth left Captain Doofus’s mouth, his Eye of Detection activated:
[Name: Wind Hound Fangs]
[Description: Low-quality predator fangs, potential uses to be explored.]
"Why do I feel like you're on par with a common demon cat?" Lu Ran teased, glancing at Captain Doofus, whose mouth was now full of newly grown teeth.
Captain Doofus bared its teeth and bit down a few times, clearly satisfied but unimpressed by the comment.
It barked indignantly. What did he mean by "on par with a common demon cat"?
"That Storm Slash—use it more often," Lu Ran said. He had noticed a newly updated skill on Captain Doofus’s contract card:
Storm Slash—a Wind-attribute sword technique.
It was a technique that continuously compressed wind energy into the sword. It could either be released as a slash or projected to unleash enhanced sword qi. In this state, both the slash and sword qi became immensely powerful.
Essentially, the move condensed the force of several, if not dozens, of sword qi into one, creating devastating power. However, it came at a cost—consuming two-thirds of Captain Doofus’s stamina with significant recoil. This made it a single-use, game-changing move.
The recoil showed that while Captain Doofus had mastered the technique, it wasn’t fully accustomed to it. If it had focused on compressing energy into its fangs for a single Storm Fang, it wouldn’t have been injured so severely.
Most apprentice beastmasters wouldn’t dare let their familiars attempt energy compression before Level 10. Yet, Captain Doofus had not only tried Compression but also Energy Formation and Projection simultaneously—a feat bordering on miraculous, considering the lack of severe consequences.
Perhaps the cold environment had awakened its latent talent. With such multitasking abilities, Lu Ran could almost believe Captain Doofus was a Champion Species.
Unfortunately, its eagerness to show off had backfired, causing serious injury. Any other dog would’ve been crippled, as even the best healer beastmasters couldn’t regenerate teeth so quickly. In this, the Divine Deer Pendant had proven invaluable.
Their experiments with the pendant had shown it could regenerate entire limbs. They had tested it on the grasshopper that had been bitten by Sudden Death King. This meant that even if Captain Doofus lost a leg to a Blade Mantis or some other familiar, as long as the pendant had enough energy, it should be able to restore it. It was an Epic resource that lived up to its name.
Looking at it this way, the pendant might even serve as an antidote. If Captain Doofus were bitten by a venomous snake, they could simply chop off the leg to prevent the poison from spreading and grow a new one.
Captain Doofus noticed that Lu Ran had fallen into deep thought after telling it to use Storm Slash more often. It knew Lu Ran was up to no good again.
Fatigue had set in. Storm Slash had drained too much stamina, and after the morning’s Demon Cat Forest challenge, Captain Doofus gazed wearily at the endless snowfield. Perhaps it was time to call it a day.
“Tired or not, we’re clearing this. After all, it’s a 500 crystal coin entry fee! Do you know how much dog food 500 crystal coins can buy?” Lu Ran argued as he surveyed the barren snowfield.
The only way to break even was to secure the completion reward. There were probably no resources around to collect either. As he spoke, he pulled out two Wood Scale Fruits and tossed them to Captain Doofus to replenish its energy.
“We’ll walk the first half together. For the second half, if I can’t make it, then you’ll carry me. One way or another, we’re clearing this secret realm today.”
Captain Doofus was baffled.
Limitless City #3, beneath the Heavenly Familiar Ranking.
The area remained lively especially after an anonymous beastmaster, Pedestrian A, had taken the top spot on the ranking earlier that morning. The discussions had gone on for hours. Amidst the crowd, familiar faces like Fang Lan, Pig Farmer, and Surfing White Dragon had come to witness it for themselves.
Seeing Lu Ran’s name at the top, none of them could believe it was real. Then suddenly...
“It’s changed! It’s changed!!! The top-ranking individual has been updated! It’s Pluto!”
Someone’s shout immediately drew everyone’s attention, and all eyes turned to the Heavenly Familiar Ranking. They were shocked to find that Lu Ran had been bumped to second place within mere hours of reaching the top.
[Regional Announcement: Heavenly Familiar Rankings, Transcendent Species Rankings Updated.]
[Heavenly Familiar added.]
[Species: Golden Thunder Hawk]
[Attribute: Lightning]
[Species Rank: Superior-Transcendent]
[Reason for Inclusion: Evolved from Golden Hawk, awakened the power of lightning, fused the trait Golden Lightning, and heavily injured a Superior-Transcendent level 10 Minotaur, with an electric strike in the hard-difficulty Giant Beast Forest Secret Realm.]
[Ranking set at first place of the Transcendent Heavenly Familiar Rankings!]
The crowd collectively gasped. Just earlier, they had speculated that someone reaching Level 10 and fusing a new trait might push Pedestrian A off the top. They hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.
In no time, Pluto, who had been knocked down to second by Pedestrian A, not only reached Level 10 but fused the Golden Lightning Trait, wreaking havoc in a hard-difficulty secret realm.
“Damn rich kids,” someone muttered in the crowd.
Pluto’s familiar clearly hadn’t obtained the Golden Lightning Trait by itself. It must have been provided by his wealthy family. People envied how Pluto, at Level 10, didn’t even need to tackle a hell-difficulty secret realm to fuse a trait.
“I feel bad for Pedestrian A. He couldn’t even hold onto the top spot for a full day,” someone remarked.
But before anyone else could dwell on it, the Heavenly Familiar Ranking updated again, leaving everyone stunned.
[Regional Announcement: Heavenly Familiar Rankings, Transcendent Species Rankings Updated.]
[Heavenly Familiar added.]
[Species Rank: Intermediate-Transcendent]
[Beastmaster: Pedestrian A]
[Reason for Inclusion: Evolved from a husky, awakened the power of the storm, and, in the normal-difficulty Blizzard Mountain Secret Realm, dispersed a blizzard with a single sword slash.]
[Ranking set at first place of the Transcendent Heavenly Familiar Rankings!]
The crowd was perplexed.
Even Fang Lan, Pig Farmer, Surfing White Dragon, and sister Hua were confused by this situation. After this update, the once heated discussions in the square came to a halt. The back-and-forth drama unfolding was surreal, leaving everyone speechless.
The gathered beastmasters stared at the Heavenly Familiar Ranking in stunned silence. It was a long time before someone finally muttered, “What the hell...”
“I mean, what just happened? Wasn’t Pedestrian A’s familiar at Level 6 this morning? How did it jump three levels in half a day?”
“Is he hacking? He must have used rare resources to power up. Damn it, where are these beginners getting rare resources? Another rich kid, no doubt.”
“I’m challenging the Blizzard Mountain Secret Realm right now. Am I seeing this right? A single sword slash to cut through a blizzard? A dog did that?”
The crowd was in complete disarray! They couldn’t shake the feeling that the Heavenly Familiar Ranking in Limitless City #3 was more nonsensical than those in any of the other cities.
Meanwhile, in the Giant Beast Forest Secret Realm, two teenagers stood over the charred remains of a fallen beast and exchanged smiles.
“Thanks, man. I don’t think I could’ve soloed this beast without you.”
“Nah, I barely did anything. Just cleared the minions. Your Golden Lightning did all the heavy lifting, taking down that Minotaur in one strike. Let’s head back; you’ve definitely reclaimed the top spot on the ranking by now.”
Clad in black, the handsome youth known as Pluto smiled and nodded.
When he learned that Pedestrian A had overtaken him this morning, he had immediately set out to power up his familiar and was determined to reclaim his spot in first place. It wasn’t just about him—it was for the Galaxy Guild's reputation.
Moments later, Pluto teleported back to his private room. As soon as he returned, he eagerly checked his ID card while expecting messages of congratulations.
[Damn, you did it! Back to first place!]
Seeing the message from a guild member made Pluto smile, but it was short-lived as his expression froze at the next notification.
[Wait, no. You got knocked off again.]
“What!?” Pluto couldn’t believe it.
He stormed out of the room and made his way straight to Beastmaster Square. Upon arriving, he dumbfoundedly stared at the top-ranking familiar, a husky.
A dog... cutting through a blizzard with a sword? He wondered if he was still dreaming.
“Impossible. Absolutely impossible!”
Blizzard Secret Realm.
Lu Ran and Captain Doofus couldn’t have imagined that simply learning a new skill and slicing through a blizzard would cause such a commotion outside. They were still struggling through the secret realm.
The Blizzard Secret Realm was tough, a challenge that made every minute sheer torment. By now, every exposed part of Lu Ran’s body was chapped or frostbitten, and his clothes were crusted with snow and ice.
Without the Divine Deer Pendant, he would’ve quit long ago. Anyone else would need specialized cold-resistant gear and resources to even survive.
Captain Doofus, who had started off full of energy, was growing increasingly tired. Hail was flying at them from every direction, and it had to stay on high alert to protect both itself and Lu Ran.
Even so, Captain Doofus had been struck several times, and its face bruised from the relentless hail. The initial excitement had long since worn off, replaced by a burning hatred for the icy environment.
After several hours, they finally emerged from the most intense part of the blizzard. At the same time, the system’s voice echoed.
[Congratulations on completing the secret realm challenge.]
[Reward: 350 crystal coins.]
[Reward: Advanced resource, Cold Wind Seed.]
[Reward: Advanced resource, Ice Crystal Ore.]
“Not bad. This secret realm may be time-consuming, but it’s not that dangerous. We’ll clear it three times a day! Let’s aim for that SSS rating,” Lu Ran said, clutching the Divine Deer Pendant as he gave Captain Doofus a weight training session on its back.
“Woof, woof, woof, woof!!!”