Chapter Summaries

Xu Ran visited the Transcendent Evolution Department with Liu Yu and watched an experiment in which Golden Koi Dragons attempted to evolve. Of thirty participants, only two succeeded, leaving Xu Ran to reflect on how much safer the Three Little Ones’ evolution had been.

• Liu Yu enthusiastically brought Xu Ran and Fang Yuling to tour the Transcendent Evolution Department and questioned Xu Ran about Purple Cloud’s evolution.
• Liu Yu took Xu Ran to observe the 329th Golden Koi Dragon evolution experiment, where researchers supplied the volunteers with Transcendence Flowers and other resources.
• The Golden Koi Dragons endured painful, unstable reactions, and a healing-type Contract Beast halted failed evolutions and treated the injured participants.
• Little Zhang announced that only Golden Koi Dragons Numbers 6 and 18 had evolved successfully out of thirty, while Xu Ran wondered whether that success rate was considered high.

Xu Ran toured the Transcendent Evolution Department with Liu Yu and learned how a contract beast’s growth stage and skill proficiency affect its chances of evolution. The visit ended with Liu Yu introducing records of holy spirit evolution from Abyssbreak City, revealing that Cloud-Gathering City belonged to the Radiant Sacred Kingdom.

• Researcher Xiao Zhang explained that two Golden Carp Dragons had evolved into a Blue-Gold Thorn Dragon and a previously unknown form, making both results valuable for research.
• Liu Yu took Xu Ran and Fang Yuling to the water-element floor, where he described factors that influence evolution success; Xu Ran deduced the ideal conditions for evolving a monarch species into an emperor species.
• Xu Ran toured the department’s floors and watched evolution experiments and recordings while avoiding Liu Yu’s attempts to get him to ask questions.
• Liu Yu brought Xu Ran to see records of emperor species evolving into holy spirit races and explained that the records came from Abyssbreak City, the Radiant Sacred Kingdom’s only First-Tier Capital.
• Xu Ran realized he had never known the name of the country governing the cities and began forming a clearer picture of the Radiant Sacred Kingdom.

Xu Ran watched a recording of an Emperor Species evolving into a Holy Spirit Race and learned about the Holy Spirit Life Wheel and the race’s unique nature. After discovering the visit had cost him 200,000 Beast Tamer Points, he shared limited details about his beasts’ evolution with Liu Yu before leaving.

• Liu Yu showed Xu Ran and the Three Little Ones a recording of the Radiant Sacred Kingdom’s first Holy Spirit evolving and explained the Holy Spirit Life Wheel and the Holy Spirit Race’s uniqueness.
• Fang Yuling revealed that Xu Ran had spent 200,000 Beast Tamer Points on admission and viewing the recording.
• Liu Yu asked how Xu Ran’s Contract Beasts had gained a second attribute, and Xu Ran said they had raised their innate skills to three-star, used a Harmonizing Stone, and performed correct evolution rituals.
• Xu Ran explained that evolution rituals helped Contract Beasts develop toward particular evolved forms, then left with the Three Little Ones.
• Liu Yu realized evolution signs were connected to evolution rituals and resolved to draw more information from Xu Ran next time.

Xu Ran met the Qin siblings on their way to the Starfire Foster Shop and personally groomed their Contract Beasts. He also received Main Quest 4, which required him to establish branches in four Second-Tier Strongholds, and learned that completing its stages would reward System Clerks and a System Skill Upgrade Token.

• Xu Ran met Qin Can and Qin Yue, who complained about the new clerks at the Starfire Foster Shop, and promised to groom their beasts himself.
• Xu Ran brought the Three Little Ones back to the shop, where he sent Miaomiao on a break before a new system quest appeared.
• Xu Ran read Main Quest 4 and learned that he needed to open branches in four Second-Tier Strongholds, with the current stage requiring a second branch and rewarding three System Clerks.
• Xu Ran realized the quest rewards included a System Skill Upgrade Token, which would let him advance one of his maxed-out B-Rank system skills.
• Xu Ran groomed the Qin siblings' seven Contract Beasts, then told them he would soon leave Cloud-Gathering City; they decided to entrust their beasts to Miaomiao rather than Tony.

Xu Ran took a commemorative photo with the Qin siblings, then used his good fortune from the two koi to draw an Emperor Species Evolution Route. Can Can and Starlight yielded the route to Purple Cloud, and Xu Ran chose her a six-star evolution path.

• Xu Ran asked Qin Yue and Qin Can to take a commemorative photo with him, and Qin Yue knocked Qin Can into the ground when he refused.
• After leaving, Qin Can suspected Xu Ran had ulterior motives, but Qin Yue slapped him for doubting their friend.
• Xu Ran revealed that he had drawn an Emperor Species Evolution Route, and the Three Little Ones celebrated.
• Can Can and Starlight agreed to let Purple Cloud use the route first, and she promised to protect them after evolving.
• Xu Ran selected the six-star route from Flashing Thunder Cat to Sky-Shocking Cloud Chaser for Purple Cloud.

Xu Ran revealed Purple Cloud’s six-star-potential Emperor Species evolution route, which required extreme skill proficiency, rare materials, and defeating two Monarch Rank creatures. The route also required evolution atop thunderclouds, leaving Purple Cloud stunned by the scale of the challenge.

• Xu Ran selected Purple Cloud’s route to evolve from Flashing Thunder Cat into Sky-Shocking Cloud Chaser and learned its demanding skill and proficiency requirements.
• Xu Ran found that two essential evolution materials were unavailable in Cloud-Gathering City, while the exchangeable materials would cost 550,000 Beast Tamer Points.
• Xu Ran explained that Purple Cloud had to kill one Lightning Element and one Fighting Element Monarch Rank creature and collect their core resources as supplementary materials.
• Purple Cloud learned that its skills needed Blazing Sun Level proficiency and that at least four Four-Star Innate Skills needed both Lightning and Fighting attributes.
• Xu Ran revealed that Purple Cloud had to evolve atop thunderclouds and suggested learning a flying skill, leaving Purple Cloud shocked.

Xu Ran helped Purple Cloud begin preparing for its Emperor Species evolution, discussing the route’s demanding requirements and allocating resources to improve its skills. Purple Cloud fused four Three-Star skills into the Four-Star dual-element skill Divine Punishment.

• Purple Cloud accepted that learning to fly was necessary for its evolution ritual, while Xu Ran reassured Starlight that its own route would differ.
• Xu Ran reasoned that Purple Cloud should upgrade all six remaining Innate Skills into dual-element skills to improve its chances of balancing both elements during evolution, and Purple Cloud agreed.
• Starlight and Can Can gave Purple Cloud first choice in the resource allocation, and Starlight offered to lend it Value Points.
• Purple Cloud upgraded Critical Hit into the Three-Star skill Sin-Punishing Strike and chose to fuse it with Thunderlight Refinement, Crimson Gold Lightning Infusion, and Crimson Fighting Spirit.
• After spending forty-nine Skill Fusion Stones, Xu Ran successfully fused the four skills into the Four-Star skill Divine Punishment, delighting Purple Cloud.

Xu Ran finished allocating skills for the Three Little Ones and arranged with Xu Qing to travel to Demonwood City in three days with a King-Rank Beast Tamer. He and the beasts resolved to grow stronger and find Twelve, while a looming competition between Second-Tier Strongholds and the arrival of Xu Ran at the Beast Taming Rankings hinted at events to come.

• Purple Cloud explained that its new Divine Punishment skill fused Lightning and Fighting powers into one devastating strike, but caused a severe backlash and could only be used after a long interval.
• Xu Ran used a Three-Star Skill Scroll to upgrade Purple Cloud's Falling Thunder into Heavenly Thunderfall Strike, and Purple Cloud, Starlight, and Can Can divided the remaining resources.
• Xu Ran called Xu Qing and agreed to travel to Demonwood City in three days with Tian Chao, a King-Rank Beast Tamer.
• Xu Qing discussed an upcoming competition in which Second-Tier Strongholds would select five Marshal Rank Beast Tamers, and worried that President Fang's urgent actions foreshadowed a major upheaval.
• Xu Ran and the Three Little Ones talked about finding Twelve after growing stronger, and Purple Cloud vowed to evolve before confronting the Nightmare Beast King.
• Spectators at the Beast Taming Rankings spotted Xu Ran and hurried over to see what he was doing.

Xu Ran brought Purple Cloud to testing area C12 to challenge Fang Canghai’s historical Commander Rank combat-power record and test her Divine Punishment skill. Purple Cloud’s strike wrecked the testing ground, and the displayed score hit the apparent testing limit just as Fang Yuling witnessed a pillar of light rise from the rankings.

• Xu Ran took Purple Cloud into testing area C12, where a growing crowd gathered outside in anticipation of her challenge.
• Purple Cloud transformed into a long saber and activated Divine Punishment, fusing her Lightning and Fighting powers into a destructive new force.
• Purple Cloud’s attack engulfed the energy-body opponents, shattered the testing ground, and left a huge crater behind.
• The testing system displayed a combat-power score of 79,999, leading Xu Ran and Starlight to suspect Purple Cloud had exceeded the testing limit.
• Xu Ran took Purple Cloud back to prepare for Divine Punishment’s backlash, while Fang Yuling arrived and watched the rankings in disbelief as a pillar of light rose.

Xu Ran’s Flashing Thunder Cat, Purple Cloud, exceeded the Commander Rank combat-power ranking’s upper limit, then endured the backlash from Divine Punishment. After recovering, Purple Cloud and Xu Ran prepared to break through to the Marshal Rank, while Fang Canghai discovered the unusual source of Purple Cloud’s strength.

• Xu Ran’s Flashing Thunder Cat took first place on the Historical Commander Rank Contract Beast Combat Power Rankings, triggering the ranking’s upper-limit display and nine bell peals.
• Fang Yuling recognized that Xu Ran had exceeded the ranking’s upper limit and left with her friend, then told her father, Fang Canghai, what had happened.
• Purple Cloud chose to endure Divine Punishment Backlash before advancing, and Xu Ran, Starlight, and Can Can supported it through the painful ordeal.
• After Purple Cloud recovered, Xu Ran and the Three Little Ones began preparing to break through to the Marshal Rank.
• Fang Canghai watched a recording of Purple Cloud’s challenge with Fang Yuling and identified Attribute Leap as the source of its extraordinary combat power.

Fang Canghai explained to Fang Yuling that Holy Spirit evolution could involve changes to a Contract Beast’s element, then learned Xu Ran had advanced to General Rank. Xu Ran had broken through to Fourth Tier Contract Power, and his three Contract Beasts had reached Marshal Rank.

• Fang Canghai prompted Fang Yuling to consider how a Contract Beast’s element changed after evolving into the Holy Spirit Race and pointed her toward the mystery of the seventh skill proficiency level.
• Fang Canghai asked an Association staff member to look up Xu Ran and learned Xu Ran’s name had disappeared from the Current Rankings.
• Fang Yuling and Fang Canghai concluded that Xu Ran had broken through to Fourth Tier Contract Power, and Fang Canghai suggested visiting his Boarding Shop.
• Xu Ran awakened with Fourth Tier Contract Power, gaining the ability to share perceptions with his Contract Beasts.
• Purple Cloud, Starlight, and Can Can reached Marshal Rank, and each reacted to its increased strength.

Xu Ran and the Three Little Ones tested their new strength, and their combined attack destroyed the Earth Element Training Area. Afterward, Xu Ran met Sun Tianchao and prepared to leave for Demonwood City, while Sun Tianchao hurried his giant eagle to fly at top speed.

• Can Can grew to enormous size, smashed apart two small mountains, and then shrank back when Purple Cloud shattered another mountain with its blade form.
• Xu Ran, Starlight, and Purple Cloud combined their strength and blade intent to split a towering mountain, exceeding the Training Area's limits and triggering its collapse.
• Xu Ran discovered that the Earth Element Training Area would recover in a day, then returned to his room with the Three Little Ones and set out for Demonwood City after dawn.
• Sun Tianchao met Xu Ran, learned that he had reached the fourth tier of Contract Power, and recognized him as the Beast Tamer who had surpassed President Fang on the Historical Rankings.
• Sun Tianchao summoned his giant eagle, lifted Xu Ran and the Three Little Ones onto its back, and urgently ordered it to fly at top speed.

Fang Canghai visited the Starfire Foster Shop and learned that Xu Ran had left Cloud-Gathering City, while Fang Yuling heard about an upcoming General-Rank competition to form an alliance among cities. Xu Ran arrived with Sun Tianchao in Demonwood City, where humans and supernatural creatures appeared to coexist peacefully.

• Fang Canghai told Fang Yuling that a General-Rank competition would take place in two months and that Cloud-Gathering City would select five competitors.
• Fang Canghai and Fang Yuling met Fishing Enthusiast and Murong at the Starfire Foster Shop, where Murong reported that the earth element training area had collapsed.
• Fishing Enthusiast refused to reveal Xu Ran's whereabouts and offered Fang Canghai freshly caught purple-patterned crucian carp.
• Sun Tianchao brought Xu Ran to Demonwood City, where Xu Ran saw wild supernatural creatures and human Beast Tamers freely passing through the low city wall.

Xu Ran received a fully renovated shop building from the Demonwood City Beast Tamer Association, then explored Demonwood Market with the Three Little Ones. Guided by Li Tutu, he discovered how humans and Supernatural Creatures traded and worked together, and stopped at Beastman Restaurant to try its food.

• A Demonwood City Association staff member gave Xu Ran the documents for an entire building, which the system began renovating for his shop.
• Xu Ran decided to explore the city with the Three Little Ones while the six-hour renovation countdown ran.
• At Demonwood Market, Xu Ran hired Li Tutu as an interpreter and learned the market had a gate specifically for wild Supernatural Creatures.
• Li Tutu led them to Beastman Restaurant, where Xu Ran learned that Boss Zhang and Big Gold the Money Boa ran it as business partners.
• Xu Ran and the Three Little Ones ordered from the restaurant’s human and Supernatural Creature menus.

After a meal in Demonwood City, Xu Ran took Li Tutu and the Three Little Ones to explore the market, where he bought Sound-Recording Conches from a Horn-Sound Hunter. The chapter left Starlight wondering how to listen to a conch with hooves instead of claws.

• Xu Ran paid 144 Beast Tamer Points for the Three Little Ones’ meal, and Li Tutu learned that Xu Ran was a Marshal Rank Beast Tamer.
• Li Tutu guided Xu Ran and the Three Little Ones along Sky-Piercing Main Road and explained the market’s connection to the Beast Emperor, Sky-Piercing Blackwood.
• Xu Ran watched Flame-Tailed Bears visit a stall for Honeyfruit made with their own Flame-Brewed Honey.
• Xu Ran visited the Horn-Sound Hunter’s stall, listened to a Sound-Recording Conch containing a Spirit Cloud Whale’s call, and bought three conches to get one free.
• Purple Cloud chose a conch with a purring sound, Can Can chose one with a faint dragon’s cry, and Starlight wondered how to listen with its hooves.

Xu Ran learned about Demonwood Domain’s Battle of Ten Thousand Races and discovered that its Marshal Rank prize was Purple Cloud’s missing Extreme Origin Vein Crystal. He decided to register and compete, while Li Tutu’s exchange with a stallholder revealed that the Beast Tamer Association was taking an interest in Xu Ran.

• After shopping in Demonwood Market, Xu Ran asked Li Tutu about local rankings and competitions, and Li Tutu explained that Demonwood Domain held an annual Battle of Ten Thousand Races.
• Li Tutu described the competition’s strength brackets, its arena attack-and-defense format across one hundred leaf arenas, and the restriction that General-Rank Beast Tamers could use only one contract beast at a time.
• When Li Tutu named the Marshal Rank first-place prize, Xu Ran recognized it as an Extreme Origin Vein Crystal, and Purple Cloud reacted excitedly because it was an evolution resource it needed.
• Xu Ran decided to compete in the Battle of Ten Thousand Races and asked where to register; Li Tutu said registration was at the Beast Tamer Association and promised to cheer him on.
• After Xu Ran left, Li Tutu bought resources at a Beast Tamer Association stall, where the stallholder questioned him about Xu Ran and transferred him one hundred Beast Tamer Points.

Xu Ran and the Three Little Ones explored the renovated Starfire Foster Shop in Demonwood City, then opened for business the next morning. After hours without customers, a curious young man finally entered, becoming the shop’s first customer.

• Xu Ran opened the renovated shop and explored its rustic lounge, Grooming Room, Boarding Area, Training Areas, and living quarters with the Three Little Ones.
• Starlight headed to the Dark Element Training Area, and Purple Cloud and Can Can followed to train rather than play or sleep; Xu Ran meditated to strengthen his Contract Power.
• The next morning, Xu Ran opened the shop with the tired Three Little Ones and set a goal of serving one customer.
• After several hours without visitors, Xu Ran waited calmly, and a curious young man entered after noticing the new Boarding Shop.

Qi Le brought his wild Earth Raccoon friend Big Bear to Starfire Foster Shop, where Xu Ran gave him an impressive, affordable grooming. Big Bear returned to his clan looking refreshed, and the Earth Raccoons gathered around him, hoping Blackwood Dew had returned.

• Qi Le found Starfire Foster Shop's grooming prices far cheaper than those at other shops and returned with Big Bear, his wild Earth Raccoon friend.
• Xu Ran expertly groomed Big Bear, impressing both him and Qi Le with the results.
• Qi Le praised Xu Ran's service and promised to recommend the shop, while Xu Ran gained a two-star earth-element skill and skill fragments.
• Qi Le and Big Bear parted at Demonwood City's gate, agreeing that Qi Le would visit the Earth Raccoon clan's territory in a few days.
• Big Bear returned to his clan looking freshly groomed, and the Earth Raccoons crowded around him, eager to learn whether Blackwood Dew had returned.

Big Bear brought his Earth Raccoon clan to Xu Ran’s Starfire Foster Shop after telling them that humans could provide grooming, and Xu Ran agreed to groom them in exchange for radiant earthstones. He closed the shop before he could finish the long line, promised to finish the next day, and then wondered where Starlight and Can Can had gone.

• The Earth Raccoon chief learned that a human in Demonwood City had groomed Big Bear and agreed to take the clan there.
• Big Bear returned to Xu Ran’s shop with the Earth Raccoons and offered three radiant earthstones per grooming session.
• Xu Ran accepted the resources and began grooming the Earth Raccoons while their chief kept the line orderly.
• As dusk approached, Xu Ran stopped grooming and promised to finish the remaining Earth Raccoons the next day.
• The Earth Raccoons left peacefully, and Xu Ran asked Purple Cloud where Starlight and Can Can had gone.

Can Can and Starlight returned to Xu Ran’s shop after secretly exploring underground, where Can Can had heard thunder near a powerful creature and a possible monarch-rank resource. Xu Ran agreed to investigate with them and Purple Cloud the next day, after first signing up for the Battle of Ten Thousand Races.

• Can Can and Starlight encountered a group of Earth Raccoons underground, then hurried back to the shop when Starlight stopped Can Can from pranking them.
• Xu Ran questioned the pair for leaving Demonwood City without telling him, and both admitted they had gone exploring.
• Can Can told Xu Ran that Earth Vein Resonance had detected thunder and powerful creature energy near a likely monarch-rank resource, but the pair had not investigated.
• Xu Ran decided he, Purple Cloud, Can Can, and Starlight would explore the location together the next day.
• Xu Ran reminded the eager Contract Beasts that they first needed to sign up for the Battle of Ten Thousand Races.