Xu Ran

Biodata

Power Progression

Xu Ran’s documented advancement chiefly concerns his system skills and features. His contract power remains at the first tier in the latest supplied system panel 49.

• Latest recorded skill progress: Fur Plucking is C-rank at 6/100; Drugging is D-rank at 7/100 49.
• Cultivation bottleneck: He must raise his contract power to the second tier before contracting a second beast or allowing Purple Cloud to advance to Elite Rank. His attempts at meditation produce mediocre results and are repeatedly interrupted by snacks and drinks 30 40.

Background / History

Xu Ran comes from another world and receives the memories of the body’s previous owner. His predecessor had planned to rent out an unused ground-floor storefront and save the income to buy a pet beast. After binding to Xu Ran, the system instead remodels that space into a pet-beast shop. Xu Ran lives on the unchanged second floor 1 2 14.

He names the business Starfire, associating it with the idea that a single spark can set the plains ablaze. Although he wants to become a Beast Tamer, the shop initially offers only grooming services for other people’s beasts 2 4.

His first companion is a hungry stray kitten. He feeds her, offers her grooming and canned food, and lets her remain in the shop afterward. An Awakening Stone later transforms her into a Lightning-Chasing Cat, making their first contract possible 2 3 6 7.

Appearance

• Customers describe him as a young shopkeeper; Liu Xue remarks that he is almost her son’s age 25.
• He stands approximately a head taller than Su Xiaoxiao 11.

Personality

Xu Ran combines affection for beasts with an enthusiasm for system rewards. Rising happiness-point totals make him increasingly attentive during grooming, but he also refuses unnecessary repeat sessions—even when a customer offers extra money—because frequent grooming can harm a beast’s coat 1 10 22.

He treats Purple Cloud as a partner rather than blaming her for failure. After their first defeat, he acknowledges his own tactical mistake, reassures her, and proposes improving together. He also recognizes that helping a beast recover emotionally is part of a Beast Tamer’s responsibility 13.

His eagerness to exploit system advantages coexists with uneven self-discipline. He jokes that cheats make hard work unnecessary, yet studies beast-taming reference books late into the night after recognizing his lack of knowledge. Meditation proves harder: he repeatedly breaks concentration to fetch cola and chips 13 14 23 40.

He is cautious about revealing unusual treasures, closing the shop before Purple Cloud’s awakening to keep outsiders from seeing the Awakening Stone. His judgment is less reliable when interpreting emotions: he initially mistakes the Shadow-Hunting Lizard’s attachment to the Steel-Armored Rhino for romance 8 46 47.

Abilities & Skills

System-Assisted Grooming

The system supplies Xu Ran with grooming knowledge tailored to a beast’s species and attribute, allowing him to handle animals, dragons, and unusual creatures such as the Sea Wave Flower 5 15 25 43.

• Uses specialized treatments, including wind-infused bathwater, rodent Bathing Sand, and Coat-Enhancing Cream 5 25.
• Identifies hidden hygiene problems: the Sea Wave Flower stores grime inside its body, while accumulated dirt between the Stone-Armored Dragon’s scales dulls its senses 15 48.
• Earns happiness points from a beast’s enjoyment of his services 1 5 48.
• Explains improved training performance as a result of better condition, not grooming directly increasing skill proficiency 21.
• Emotional distress can reduce point gains; the Rainbow Cloud Parrot yields only 96 points despite being successfully groomed 24.

Fur Plucking

A grooming-linked system skill that gives Xu Ran a chance to acquire a skill from the beast being groomed. He can then teach acquired skills to his own contracted beasts 1.

• Successfully acquires Claw Edge, Self-Healing, and Blood Rage, all of which he teaches to Purple Cloud 6 8 16 17 27.
• Each acquired skill can be taught only once 8.
• Acquisition is random and may fail during a grooming session 13 24 49.
• Attribute and compatibility restrictions prevent him from teaching Purple Cloud the acquired two-star skills Ice Storm and Rock Spike 26 49.
• Considers choosing future companions with varied attributes to reduce the number of unusable acquired skills 49.

Drugging and Nutrition

Despite its name, Drugging is a fostering-linked skill used while feeding boarded beasts. It generates physique points—also called Constitution Points—which Xu Ran can allocate to his own contracted beasts 26 40.

• Receives species-specific nutritional knowledge and prepares food appropriate to a beast’s growth rank 35.
• First uses the skill while feeding Du Heng’s Elite Rank Steel-Armored Rhino 35.
• Allocates seven points to raise Purple Cloud’s growth progress from 167/500 to 174/500; a later meal and eight-point allocation bring her to 183/500 36 40.
• Learns that Drugging experience is tallied daily rather than immediately after each feeding 37.
• Cannot use point allocation to bypass the contract-power requirement for Purple Cloud’s next rank 40.

Beast Contract and Training

His contract with Purple Cloud strengthens his body, lets him understand her meaning, and carries battle commands directly to her mind 7 12.

• Tests skill range and behavior before relying on them: Electric Spark has a maximum explosion distance of five meters, while Electric Arc enhances movement rather than dealing damage directly 7.
• Prioritizes Electric Spark, Electric Arc, and Self-Healing instead of dividing training equally among all available skills 18.
• Configures training rooms with incoming attacks and moving targets to practice evasion, offense, and healing together 18.
• Later adds melee targets to train Combat Instinct alongside Purple Cloud’s other abilities 29.
• Finds that Stamina Potions greatly reduce Blood Rage’s post-use weakness during training, though the skill still has dangerous side effects 27 29.

Boarding Environment Control

The boarding facility’s Control Hub lets Xu Ran create habitats suited to individual guests and manage their separation 35 41 47.

• Creates an earth-type wilderness and mud pool for the Steel-Armored Rhino, a dark stone forest for the Shadow-Hunting Lizard, and rocky terrain for the Stone-Armored Dragon 35 37 41 49 50.
• Comfortable habitats generate a continuing stream of happiness points 37.
• Separates two Elite Rank guests with an invisible force, preventing physical contact and removing them from each other’s sight 47.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Awakening Stones — Uses one to awaken Purple Cloud; obtains another and considers saving it for a future second companion 6 27.
• Stamina Potions — Give a pet beast three hours of inexhaustible stamina per dose. Effects can stack, but Purple Cloud still becomes mentally exhausted after training 16 21.
• Skill Fusion Stones — Fuse compatible skills into a stronger skill. His first attempt to combine Bite and Claw Edge fails; the second creates the two-star Combat Instinct. Failure has no side effects and raises the next attempt’s success rate 27 28.
• Lucky Charm — Grants one instance of good luck. Worn beneath his collar during the wilderness trip, it turns to ash shortly before a powerful Beast Tamer arrives to rescue the group 27 29 32.
• Control Hub — Controls the boarding facility’s terrain and guest separation 35 47.
• Beast Taming Basics and reference books — Inherited from the body’s original owner; used to fill gaps in his beast-taming knowledge 14 23.
• Grooming tools — Include combs, a showerhead, specialized cleaning products, a narrow metal hook, and a portable electric grinding wheel 5 25 48.

Relationships

• Purple Cloud — First contracted beast and close companion. Xu Ran feeds, trains, and encourages her; she helps watch the shop and refuses to leave his side during his wilderness trip 7 13 29 42.
• Su Xiaoxiao — Early customer and sparring opponent. Her Blazing Fox benefits from his grooming, and she recommends his service to classmates after their first match 1 13 21.
• Lin Yue — Customer whose Azure Wind Eagle receives grooming. She joins Su Xiaoxiao in asking about its effect on training performance 10 21.
• Liu Gu — Repeat customer and member of the Fierce Tiger Hunting Squad. Xu Ran helps him understand the Sea Wave Flower’s hygiene needs and jokingly regards him as a lucky charm after favorable draws 16 24 28.
• Zhang Yun — Hunting-squad captain, hired escort, and boarding customer. Explains higher-rank evolution and later identifies the Shadow-Hunting Lizard as Zhou Hao’s beast 27 33 50.
• Du Heng — Hunting-squad deputy leader and the Steel-Armored Rhino’s Beast Tamer. Purchases ten days of boarding after inspecting Xu Ran’s customized habitat 29 35.
• Gu Ling — Customer who brings her Dark-Scaled Dragon for grooming and later requests a spar with Purple Cloud 43 44.
• Shadow-Hunting Lizard — A distressed boarding guest. Xu Ran provides shelter and food, tries to resolve its conflict with the Steel-Armored Rhino, and seeks a way to rebuild its motivation after learning about its separation from Zhou Hao 41 47 50.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Establishing Starfire

• Completes his first grooming quest with Su Xiaoxiao’s Blazing Fox and discovers that his shop system can support his ambition to become a Beast Tamer 1 2.
• Attracts returning customers through dramatic grooming results, while maintaining a rule against harmful repeat sessions 5 10 22.
• Grooms eight beasts in one day, advancing Fur Plucking and unlocking Drugging 26.

Purple Cloud’s Training and Rivalry

• Contracts and names Purple Cloud, then teaches her Claw Edge 7 8.
• Loses their first spar against Su Xiaoxiao’s Blazing Fox after sending Purple Cloud into dust that the fox can see through with Flame Eyes 12 13.
• Studies beast taming, teaches Self-Healing and Blood Rage, and uses potion-assisted training and skill fusion to improve Purple Cloud’s abilities 14 17 18 27 28.
• Returns to Tianhong Arena for a rematch and defeats Su Xiaoxiao. Purple Cloud’s performance prompts Gu Ling’s Dark-Scaled Dragon to request its own spar 43 44.

Wilderness Mission and Beast Tide

• Pays the Fierce Tiger Hunting Squad 100,000 yuan to escort him while he personally gathers the Azure Jade Fruit required by his quest 27 31.
• Encounters a beast tide on the return trip, with Qingzhou City’s gates likely sealed against it 31.
• Activates his Lucky Charm and survives after a Beast Tamer riding a Red-Eyed Demon Dragon intervenes. Xu Ran suspects the charm influenced the passerby’s arrival rather than creating him 32 33.
• Returns with the fruit and unlocks the shop’s boarding feature 34.

Boarding Guests and the Shadow-Hunting Lizard

• Begins boarding Du Heng’s Steel-Armored Rhino, testing Drugging and physique-point allocation 35 36.
• Takes in the Shadow-Hunting Lizard after its Beast Tamer pays for a month and leaves without it 40 41.
• Corrects his mistaken interpretation of the lizard’s attachment to the rhino and prevents a fight between the guests 46 47.
• Learns from Zhang Yun that Zhou Hao chose his jealous Brilliant Dragon Sparrow over the lizard. Xu Ran then asks the lizard whether it wants to surpass the sparrow 50.

Notable Quotes

“System, I had you all wrong!” 1

“So we both made mistakes in this battle.”
“Let’s work hard together and do better next time, okay?” 13

“Sorry, this isn’t a question of money.” 22