The King of Beast Trainers
Chapter 503 - 314 Choosing is More Important Than Hard Work_1

Chapter 503: Chapter 314 Choosing is More Important Than Hard Work_1

Star-Moon Continent, Emperor City.

As the capital of the Beast Training Empire, Emperor City was filled with mighty warriors, arguably the most concentrated location of human military power on the Star-Moon Continent.

Although the Beast Training Empire was currently besieged by the Four Great Evil Beast Empires, causing countless citizens to live in misery, life within Emperor City still thrived, full of songs and dances, and the atmosphere was generally positive.

Walking on the bustling streets, Lu Ran was surrounded by various hawkers’ shouts, which made him feel somewhat peculiar.

"Year 996 of the Beast Trainer’s era, my Sect Hierarch and master hasn’t been born yet."

"The only identity I can rely on is that of a descendant of Emperor Yan Sizhen."

This time, Infinite City had arranged for Lu Ran’s identity to be a skilled individual who responded to the Empire’s national recruitment call, coming from the commonfolk to strive and fight his way in Emperor City.

In order to combat the Four Great Beast Empires, the Empire was not only recruiting troops from throughout the nation but also promising powerful Beast Trainers titles and nobility.

As a result, many formidable figures hidden among the commonfolk have indeed been flocking to the capital of the Empire, seeking opportunities for advancement.

Lu Ran estimated that the other Trialists must have similar identities.

However, the task was to capture contracted top-grade Pet Beasts, not to secure a government post through one’s own strength; theoretically, even if the Trialists were distributed throughout the Empire, it wouldn’t affect the mission.

Still, Infinite City had brought the Trialists to Emperor City, which made its intentions quite clear.

The Star-Moon Continent was vast, and top-grade Pet Beasts weren’t easy to find. Let alone 30 days, even three years might not be enough for several third-level Beast Trainers to easily find top-grade Pet Beasts.

Therefore, what the Trialists needed most was "information."

Information about the locations and acquisition channels of top-grade Pet Beasts.

As for where to obtain such information, whether it was the major Legendary Families or the military in Emperor City, they were all potential sources.

This place was not only the political center of the Beast Training Empire, but also the center of the entire Empire’s intelligence network.

Thus, in Lu Ran’s view, this should be considered a preliminary task.

He quickly analyzed what he should do next. Just as he had thought earlier, he needed to quickly attach himself to a powerful faction... using their information channels, he aimed to find quality Pet Beasts.

"So my source of information is obvious, through the identity of a descendant of the Flame Spirit lineage, let’s see if I can make contact with the Royal Clan..."

"However, the current Royal Clan seems to no longer belong to the Yan Sizhen lineage..."

The imperial system of the Beast Training Empire was similar to an abdication system.

This tradition has been passed down since the early days of the Empire.

At the founding of the Beast Training Empire, the First Emperor once said that the purpose of the Empire was not to keep a particular tribe or family as the eternal rulers of humanity.

It was to elect sufficiently capable Beast Trainers to lead more humans to better survive on this continent.

Therefore, the Hunter God ultimately did not pass the throne to his own offspring, but to Yan Sizhen, who opened the path of culinary and forging.

The Hunter God believed that Yan Sizhen was far superior to his own offspring. In fact, this turned out to be the case, and under Yan Sizhen’s leadership, the Beast Training Empire prospered even more.

To follow the First Emperor’s will, after much deliberation, Yan Sizhen did not pass the title of the third emperor to his offspring, but rather to another capable individual who could lead the Empire further.

For the first thousand years of the Empire, this method of succession was very stable.

A large part of the reason for this stability was that the Pet Beasts left by the previous emperors served as Divine Beasts guarding the nation. Under their supervision, even a new emperor would not dare commit follies.

It’s undeniable that the idea was commendable.

However, as time went on, this system began to falter; even stable systems have a lifespan.

Subsequently, not only were there emperors adamant about clearing succession obstacles for their offspring, but there were also emperors who were suddenly overthrown after enacting absurd policies, causing increasing chaos in the Empire, which eventually led to continuous internal strife as Lu Ran had experienced in the Breakthrough Secret Realm.

However, in the year 996 of the Beast Trainer’s era, according to Lu Ran’s textbook memory, that situation had not yet emerged.

At that time, even if the emperor yielded the throne to another, their families, protected by the Divine Beasts, would still be superpowerful families hardly inferior to the Royal Clan.

They were known as the Imperial Clan.

The Imperial Family of the present emperor was called the Royal Clan, and the families of former emperors were known as the Imperial Clan. Both of these familial forces were far superior to the Legendary Families, and they were the true core elite of the Empire.

So, it was obvious which family Lu Ran intended to seek out next, the Imperial Clan that was a legacy of Yan Sizhen’s lineage.

Lu Ran had also brushed up on his historical knowledge.

In this era, although the Flame Spirit inherited by Yan Sizhen had not been lost, it had already degenerated and was no longer the core heritage of the Yan Emperor Clan.

Nowadays, ruling over the Empire’s Dragon Legion, the Yan Emperor Clan maintained a very high status in the Empire thanks to the foundation of dragon Pet Beasts left behind by Yan Sizhen.

Therefore, Lu Ran believed that when a Beast Trainer inheriting the Perfect Flame Spirit like himself appeared in front of the Yan Emperor Clan, they would undoubtedly be overjoyed and eager to recruit him.

The reason was simple.

The Flame Spirit is no longer the core inheritance of the Yan Emperor Clan because they don’t like it?

Definitely not, it is because practicing Beast Training Techniques also requires talent.

Not everywhere is like Blue Star where Beast Trainers can learn by slapping a card on their forehead.

The Flame Spirit is a special skill developed by Emperor Yan Sizhen based on his own talent, so for his descendants, the closer their qualifications and bloodlines are to Yan Sizhen, the easier it will be for them to practice the Flame Spirit.

As bloodlines become diluted over time, it’s inevitable that the Flame Spirit can no longer be inherited with the same strength.

At such times, if someone like Lu Ran, whose "bloodline has returned to its ancestors," mastering the Perfect Flame Spirit appears, the quickest and simplest method for the Yan Emperor Clan to make their family more illustrious would be to treat Lu Ran as a "stud" and breed with him.

In this way, the next generation of the Flamery will see the birth of many infants capable of mastering the Perfect Flame Spirit.

Therefore, Lu Ran’s arrival would definitely be highly sought after.

With a bit of luck, leveraging the power of an imperial force like the Imperial Clan to contract a new Pet Beast Overlord as a dowry would be a breeze.

As for wanting a better Pet Beast, he might have to find another way.

In any case, choosing a good information channel is definitely faster than foolishly searching for powerful Pet Beasts in the wilderness on his own.

"Next, I just need to go to the Yan Emperor Clan’s family residence," Lu Ran had a clear goal.

However, to Lu Ran’s disappointment, after walking half a day, he still hadn’t encountered any other trialists.

It seems the trialists have been scattered far and wide.

He also doesn’t know exactly how many trialists there are, or what their levels are.

With only two spots for promotion, Lu Ran must ensure that the Pet Beasts he contracts are at the very least High-Level Overlords, only then could he avoid a complete failure.

Even if he contracted a Lower Overlord, Lu Ran would worry about failing to advance, which would mean wasting a whole month’s time—a loss he could not afford.

...

Yan Emperor Family.

As one of the five great imperial clans currently in the Beast Training Empire, the Yan Emperor Family holds a pivotal position within the empire.

After searching for quite some time, Lu Ran finally arrived at the Yan family estate. The estate, with its fiery red bricks, was magnificent and larger than a town. With over a dozen gates in the eastern, southern, western, and northern directions, Lu Ran did not know which would be the right one to approach, so he arbitrarily chose one.

At the entrance of the estate, two young men clad in red flame-patterned battle robes held long spears, standing guard on each side of the gate. Before Lu Ran had a chance to approach, one of the youths frowned and stepped forward, scrutinizing Lu Ran and said, "Who are you?"

"Brother," Lu Ran addressed the guard affectionately, "Big brother, I’m here visiting relatives."

The young guard: ?

"Relatives?" The young guard subconsciously mistook Lu Ran for a relative of a house servant or steward within the estate and shooed him away, "Be quick and leave... to find relatives you should go to..."

He was just about to say, to find relatives you should go register at a different entrance, when suddenly, the courtyard gates opened, and two women dressed in luxurious clothes walked out side by side, talking and laughing.

Noticing something unusual at the gate, one of the women with neatly pinned hair appeared startled and looked toward the guard interacting with Lu Ran, asking, "What’s going on?"

"Reporting to the third young mistress, this man is here to see a relative, but he’s at the wrong gate. I am giving him directions."

The woman with red hair pinned up nodded slightly. She turned to Lu Ran who was similar in age to her and asked curiously, "Which relative are you here to see, and what is their position in the Yan Emperor residence?"

Third young mistress?

Lu Ran looked towards this young lady and then to another luxuriously dressed woman beside her, feeling that he might have not come to the wrong gate after all. It seemed he had directly encountered important figures, which was surely more efficient than registering at the correct place.

Lu Ran said, "I don’t know. When my master passed away, he told me to come to the Yan family residence in Emperor City of the Beast Training Empire because all my relatives are here."

"What do you mean by that?" The young woman with the red hair frowned, but in the next moment, Lu Ran continued, "My master said that I am a descendant of Emperor Yan Sizhen who was lost among the common folk. He instructed me to display this, which would prove my identity."

As he spoke, Lu Ran extended his palm, and in the next instant, a perfectly fire-formed, lifelike miniature dragon, resembling a little Fire Spray Dragon, appeared on his palm, spewing flames skyward.

Though the dragon was small, its Dragon Might was almost tangible, causing the surrounding space to blur.

Upon seeing this Fire Dragon, the expression of the red-haired young woman changed. The woman in the white luxurious dress exclaimed in surprise:

"Flame Spirit? And it’s a successful integration of a strange fire into special flames?!"

"How is that possible?" Seeing the mini Fire Dragon, the red-haired young woman said in disbelief, "So much time has passed, how could anyone still master such a level of Flame Spirit?"

She lifted her head quickly, her eyes gleaming like rubies as she looked at Lu Ran, "What did you just say? You claimed your master told you that you are a descendant of Emperor Yan Sizhen who was left among the people?"

"Yeah, that’s right..." Lu Ran appeared quite clueless as he replied, "He said that if I had nowhere else to go, I could come here."

"Whew..." The red-haired woman felt overwhelmed by the shocking news before her; she was glad she had asked further. As for the two guards at the side, their mouths were agape, and their brains struggled to keep up.

"Sister Gong..." The woman with the pinned hairstyle turned to the woman in white, who gave a slight smile and said, "You handle the family matters first, I’ll go back."

"Mhm, mhm." The red-haired young woman nodded, her eyes clear and bright, feeling like she had just accomplished a great feat.