Shackles undone

The next morning, dawn's faint light shone.

In a bedroom, Lu Ran lay sprawled like an octopus across a large bed.

"Woof!"

General Ha had woken up early. With his face pressed against the window, he watched the rising sun, then turned to give Lu Ran a wake-up call.

His delighted eyes brimmed with anticipation.

Get up!

It was time for revenge!

The sleep-deprived Sudden Death King was roused before Lu Ran, and did not feel particularly good about it.

"Mm..." Lu Ran dawdled for a while, then stretched and got up.

He still had important things to do today!

After groggily washing up, Lu Ran said to the Sudden Death King in the room:

"You're free to do whatever you like today."

"General Ha and I are going to Infinite City in a bit."

Manager Ying had told him yesterday to collect his reward at the Cat-Eared Maid Café in Third Infinite City at noon today!

He would skip visiting his master today. Collecting his money came first!

"..."

The Sudden Death King fell silent, indicating that he would obediently stay in a corner of the room, and reminded Lu Ran to come back safely.

"Relax, we're not going to do anything dangerous..." Lu Ran laughed.

The Sudden Death King's current train of thought was that, for his own safety, he absolutely had to remind Lu Ran and General Ha to stay safe.

"So afraid of dying that he has to protect his protectors at all costs."

Infinite City, John Doe's Exclusive Room.

Although they had agreed to collect the money at noon, Lu Ran and General Ha arrived quite early.

Returning this time, Lu Ran felt a newfound freedom, as though a shackle binding him had been undone.

His most important gain from this trip to Jinling was not eliminating a Necromancer and receiving a reward from the Authorities.

Nor was it obtaining his senior fellow apprentice's notes and learning which Secret Realm he should work toward next.

It was that cat discovering his supernatural ability...

Lu Ran had always known that his Telepathy would be exposed sooner or later. Although no humans knew he had a supernatural ability, far too many animals knew.

In Green Sea City alone, at least ten thousand animals knew, including wild animals, other people's pets, and zoo animals...

Before extraordinary evolution, given those animals' intelligence, it did not matter if they knew.

But if someone helped those animals undergo extraordinary evolution someday, their intelligence would increase too. If they still remembered Lu Ran then, the fact that he had been able to communicate with them long ago would naturally come to light.

Of course, that would not really be a major problem. After all, Infinite City had appeared three years ago. Even if people found out, most would assume Lu Ran had some special beast-taming skill, or had obtained a communication item through a Beast Tamer friend.

So Lu Ran was not particularly worried about that, though he would not welcome it either. It would still cause some trouble.

The reason Lu Ran was so happy now was that he had learned he was not the only person with a supernatural ability!

Moreover, according to Manager Ying, Beast Tamers with supernatural abilities were all exceptionally talented.

That meant he could use his identity as someone with a supernatural ability to conceal the existence of the Divine Deer Antler.

One was his innate talent, already exposed and difficult for others to steal. He only needed to watch out for Necromancers.

The other was an item anyone could use, still unexposed, which powerful Beast Tamers could easily steal. Clearly, exposing the latter posed a greater risk. The criminal organizations busted over the years had had plenty of powerful backers. Bad people existed, after all, and caution never hurt.

From now on, as long as he presented himself publicly as someone with a supernatural ability, he could not only attract attention but also explain his outstanding solo performances in Secret Realms using the Divine Deer Antler.

If an ordinary Beast Tamer progressed rapidly, people would grow curious and investigate. But if someone with a supernatural ability progressed rapidly, people would simply take it for granted. After all, others with supernatural abilities had already set a precedent.

His identity as someone with a supernatural ability was an excellent shield for Lu Ran. It gave him the image of a genius, allowing him to clear Secret Realms with the Divine Deer Antler without worrying about the consequences.

When the time came, he could simply credit everything to his supernatural talent.

The shackles were undone...

Lu Ran smiled. It was still early, and he and General Ha had come ahead of time specifically to clear the Demon Cat Forest Secret Realm once and for all!

"General Ha."

"Woof!" General Ha had learned yesterday what they would be doing today. Unable to wait, he kept circling the Secret Realm Pillar.

His gaze was sharp!

It was time to settle everything!

"Come on. Let's get revenge." Lu Ran grinned.

That Grass Demon Cat was weaker than the Necromantic Cat. After seven days of training, General Ha could even crush the Necromantic Cat, so dealing with the Grass Demon Cat would naturally be no problem!

The only thing they needed to watch out for now was minimizing hits taken to earn a higher rating.

Generally, ratings in challenge Secret Realms like this were based on a combination of damage taken and efficiency in defeating the boss.

[Teleportation complete.]

[Current location: Demon Cat Forest (Novice Secret Realm)]

[Difficulty: Easy]

[Challenge objective: Kill the Demon Cat Forest Chief.]

Once teleportation was complete, the familiar voice sounded again.

On the damp ground.

Lu Ran stood, gazing into the depths of the forest.

General Ha stood to Lu Ran's right, his nose twitching slightly.

This was their third time entering the Demon Cat Forest Secret Realm. As the saying went, the third time was the charm. No matter what, they had to take down the Demon Cat Leader this time.

Then, when they visited the maid café at noon, they would buy some information on normal- and hard-difficulty Secret Realms, as well as the Abyss Secret Realm, the "Abandoned Research Institute," and begin a new round of challenges with the goal of obtaining the Weapon Mastery Trait as a drop.

"I won't give you a weapon this time."

"The Windfall Sword will hurt your chances of entering the Divine Pet Rankings."

"Don't use the Divine Deer Pendant unless you have to, either. Taking damage will lower our Secret Realm rating."

"Just shape a Wind Sword with your wind energy and use it to cut down enemies."

"General Ha, show me your limits!"

"Awooo!!" General Ha looked composed, indicating that it would be no problem.

[Species]: Snowfield Dog

[Attribute]: Wind

[Species rank]: Intermediate Extraordinary

[Growth level]: Level 6

[Skills]: Gale, Sword Aura, Wind Roar, Wind Sword

"Then let's head straight for the boss. We'll go deeper first. You still remember the Demon Cat Leader's scent, right?"

General Ha nodded. He was already sniffing for it.

With that, he started walking, and Lu Ran followed closely behind.

This time, Lu Ran was considerably more relaxed. General Ha might only be level 6, while the Secret Realm was full of level-10 monsters.

But level was only one measure of strength. Even the strongest creature here, the Demon Cat Leader, had only one skill.

General Ha, meanwhile, now had three types of skills!

He also had sword intent, a use of imposing presence separate from the energy system!

This sword intent could serve as a crowd-control skill, with an effect similar to mental pressure.

In short, with such overwhelming advantages, Lu Ran could not see how they could lose!

Infinite City, Beast Taming Plaza.

This was one of Infinite City's busiest places. After all, it was the central commercial district of every Infinite City, and the Divine Pet Rankings stood here.

Ever since the Divine Pet Rankings had appeared, they had attracted considerable attention. The rankings changed frequently, especially the Extraordinary Pet Ranking.

The number of Fourth-Generation Beast Tamers surged daily. So far, no one had maintained an uninterrupted hold on the top spot of any Infinite City's Extraordinary ranking. Usually, a more powerful newcomer emerged after a few days to replace them. It was a fierce contest among countless beasts.

Third Infinite City's Extraordinary ranking was no different. Its top spot had changed hands three times, from a Dark Bear to a Rock Tiger, then to a Lightning Eagle.

The identity of the Lightning Eagle's Beast Tamer, whose ID was "Pluto," had already been revealed. This exceptional newcomer belonged to Third Infinite City's Elite Guild, the Stars Guild. He was the guild leader's younger brother, and had begun preparing to become a Beast Tamer two years ago.

This year, he had finally fulfilled that wish. Using his accumulated advantages, he had become the person to hold first place on Third Infinite City's Extraordinary Pet Ranking the longest.

"Pluto's probably going to keep dominating our Third Infinite City's ranking, right? His pet has a high species rank and a powerful attribute, and he's got an impressive older brother. A bona fide second-generation Beast Tamer. His advantages are ridiculous. I don't see how anyone could overtake him." A beast-taming squad passed the Divine Pet Rankings and began discussing the list.

"Others still have a chance. Someone's pet might reach level 10 and fuse with a trait, briefly overtaking him. After all, the rankings judge potential. Fusing with a trait and awakening a new attribute would definitely send its potential soaring. But his level is among the leaders too. He's level 9 right now, and once he hits level 10, he'll definitely fuse with a powerful trait immediately. I don't believe the Stars Guild hasn't prepared one for him."

"There's no comparison, none at all. I heard the Stars Guild is a real-estate conglomerate in the real world too. Why are these damn capitalists everywhere? When will our Lujia Village ever get ahead?"

This rookie beast-taming squad consisted of three men and one woman, all young and dressed as hunters. The men were sturdy, and the woman possessed a wild beauty...

"...The Five Poisons Cult Saintess has been pushed down to seventh again. She never seems to enter Secret Realms. She's always in the Arena," said the squad's only woman.

"Just staying in the top ten is impressive. We enter Secret Realms so often, but we've never even made the rankings... Hunting dogs' species rank is just too low."

"Canines really can't compare with other fierce beasts."

"I still remember a Snowfield Dog that briefly reached tenth place by firing sword aura. It got pushed out in less than two days."

"I remember too. Everyone said that person used an extraordinary weapon to take advantage of the first day's ranking launch, and was just a flash in the pan. But I think anyone who makes the rankings must have some real strength. Unfortunately, with the Divine Pet Rankings getting more and more competitive, clawing back with an intermediate extraordinary Snowfield Dog would be hard. Even that monkey fell out of the top ten, after all. Almost everything in the top ten is a high extraordinary species now..."

Over the past seven days, only a few dozen people had made the rankings. Even John Doe, who had briefly appeared on the first day, was still being discussed today.

Most people, however, paid little attention to John Doe, who had attracted so much attention by making the rankings with "sword aura." They all thought he had merely relied on his weapon... Until...

[Regional announcement: Divine Pet Rankings, Extraordinary Species Rankings updated.]

[Ranked pet's species: Snowfield Dog.]

[Attribute: Wind]

[Species rank: Intermediate Extraordinary]

[Growth level: Level 6]

[Beast Tamer: John Doe]

[Reason for ranking: An evolved mutation of the Snowfield Dog species with exceptional comprehension that awakened storm power. In the easy-difficulty Novice Secret Realm, Demon Cat Forest, it fired consecutive sword aura attacks from a distance, instantly killing groups of higher-level Demon Cats, including the intermediate extraordinary, level-10 Demon Cat Leader!]

[Rank: Rose to first place on the Extraordinary Pet Ranking!]

The Divine Pet Rankings had updated again!

As the voice faded, Beast Taming Plaza fell silent.

Countless eyes abruptly turned toward the drastically changed Extraordinary ranking, their expressions stunned. Wh-what had happened?

"Holy shit, it's that John Doe from the first day!"

"First place? You're kidding, right?"

"Level 6... A level 6 instantly killed the Demon Cat Leader?! What the hell!"

Sword aura again... And this time, consecutive sword aura attacks? The passersby were utterly bewildered.

Meanwhile, after fighting in the Demon Cat Forest Secret Realm for half the day, Lu Ran and General Ha looked at the Demon Cat Leader's guards scattered across the ground, along with the Grass Demon Cat Leader itself, all instantly killed by sword aura, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Woof!!!" Panting, General Ha dissipated the Wind Sword held in his mouth. His eyes shone with excitement as he looked down disdainfully at the Grass Demon Cat.

He, General Ha, had said he would return. Now, he had kept his promise!

"Hahaha!" General Ha was not the only one delighted. Lu Ran was also incredibly excited.

His first time clearing a challenge Secret Realm!

The rewards popping up before him filled him with excitement.

[Congratulations on completing the Secret Realm challenge.]

[Rating: SSS!]

[Congratulations! You received 200 Crystal Coins.]

[Congratulations! You received a high-grade resource: Demon Cat heart (grass).]

[Congratulations! You received a high-grade resource: demon cat claw (grass).]

[Congratulations! You received a high-grade resource: demon cat mint.]

[Return to Infinite City? 1: Return. 2: Do not return yet.]

A solo clear, an SSS rating!

General Ha had not been hit even once. They had exploited his speed advantage to the utmost.

It was nothing like their miserable performance in the Newbie Trial Secret Realm.

Every enemy they encountered had been instantly killed, making their combat efficiency exceptionally high!

Ultimately, that translated into a perfect rating.

This SSS rating had been built entirely on their experiences from the previous two attempts.

Lu Ran's heart quivered with excitement. But when he saw the rewards for the SSS rating, he sank into thought.

The Demon Cat Leader's heart... A grass resource that could strengthen grass energy when consumed.

The Demon Cat Leader's claws... They were not junk this time, but core materials for forging grass equipment.

Demon cat mint, a plant grown by the Grass Demon Cat Leader to manage its pack, was extremely enticing to cats.

Why did it feel like... these three high-grade resources were worse than the resources he had received for an S rating in the Newbie Trial Secret Realm? Why was it all junk?!

Lu Ran's expression darkened.

Damn it.

Sure enough, although easy-difficulty instances were easy, the resources they dropped were mediocre too.

He could not call this trip a loss, but he had not made much either. It had cost him time, after all.

"Woof?" General Ha looked up at Lu Ran.

Lu Ran: "It's all junk."

General Ha: !!!

It glared furiously at the Demon Cat Leader's corpse. Your underlings dropped nothing but trash. Why were you such a cheapskate too?

"Looks like I'll have to challenge harder Secret Realms if I want rare rewards like beast-taming skills and Trait Crystals." Lu Ran decided to give it a try that afternoon. He was brimming with confidence now. After all, he hadn't used either the Windfall Sword or the Divine Deer Pendant during this run through the Demon Cat Forest.

News that John Doe had claimed the top spot on the Extraordinary Pet Ranking swept through the Third Infinite City like a hurricane.

The major guilds and official organizations were all discussing the name. Even on the beast-taming forums outside, dozens of posts about John Doe sprang up in an instant.

Everyone was debating who this mysterious John Doe was, after his brief appearance before and his sudden return now.

Outside, Fang Lan was scrolling through her phone, feeling a little stunned. Hadn't Lu Ran gone to Jinling? How had he suddenly taken first place on the Divine Pet Rankings? Damn!

"No, I have to go into Infinite City for intensive training!" Fang Lan tossed away the milk tea in her hand, no longer daring to enjoy herself for fear of falling too far behind Lu Ran.

She wasn't the only one. Shopkeeper Ying, who had already arrived in the Third Infinite City, dug up information on General Ha, and was preparing to have a proper talk with Lu Ran, was also a little stunned when she received the news.

"First place on the Divine Pet Rankings. No surprise there. So he really wasn't trying to climb the rankings before. But killing a Necromantic Cat yesterday wasn't enough, and today he killed a Demon Cat Leader too? What's Lu Ran's deal? Does he have a grudge against cats?"