King of Beasts

“What the heck?”

“A professor in the Culinary Department?”

Lu Ran finished speaking, and Master Lin paused for a moment.

For a while, his brain couldn’t process it.

What was this about?

“You can cook?” he asked after a long pause.

Knowing how to cook isn’t difficult; every household has someone who can cook.

But the Culinary Department at the beast taming university is not the same as ordinary cooking.

Since the ingredients are all supernatural beings, the requirements for knife skills and fire skills are extremely stringent.

“In there… I gained some insights, just like you did back in the day, Master Lin…”

“The fire element power was also acquired there. Anyway, cooking and forging go hand in hand. I thought, once I get into the university, I would study forging while also taking advanced courses in the cultivating department.”

Master Lin: ???

“Damn.” Master Lin felt speechless.

Wanting to be a student and a professor at the same time, why don’t you just ascend to the heavens?

Although, being a professor does come with good benefits…

“Being a professor in the Culinary Department isn’t just about knowing how to cook.”

“Are you sure you can handle it?”

Lu Ran smiled, “Just the fact that I master the ‘Dragon Culinary Intent’ should be enough, right?”

The strength of culinary intent is the highest standard for judging the level of a beast-taming chef!

And research on Dragon Culinary Intent is currently an unprecedented topic on the blue star!

After Lu Ran finished speaking, Master Lin fell silent.

Culinary intent is a derivative technique that surpasses the second stage of energy shaping, the shaping artistic conception.

The user needs not only to master shaping artistic conception but also to have an unimaginable talent for controlling tools.

Moreover, it requires at least five to ten years of deep experience in controlling these tools.

Only by perfectly combining both can one form the culinary intent technique that enhances cooking.

Furthermore, culinary intent has certain restrictions on the types of artistic conceptions; not all artistic conceptions are suitable for culinary intent.

Even on the blue star, very few beastmasters have mastered culinary intent. Could Lu Ran have done it?

He didn’t understand, but he quickly realized something.

Lu Ran’s Erha was evaluated on the divine beast leaderboard as having extraordinary comprehension. It seemed not impossible for it to grasp the second stage of energy shaping, shaping artistic conception.

Moreover, the Erha had fused with the weapon mastery trait, which might be the key!

“You’ve really mastered Culinary Intent?”

“Absolutely,” Lu Ran confirmed.

Master Lin fell into deep thought again.

“In that case, being a professor researching Culinary Intent shouldn’t be a problem.”

“But it’s not suitable for teaching beginners.”

“Culinary Intent is too advanced. New students are all starting from scratch; it’s not appropriate for them,” Master Lin said.

“No problem, I’m good with the basics too,” Lu Ran replied.

“Knife skills and fire skills, I’ve got them covered,” he added. “And even if they can’t learn Culinary Intent right away, they can get an early exposure. Who knows, it might come in handy later.”

Thanks to super beast mimicry and weapon mastery, combined with the breakthrough secret realm and the family-inherited supernatural Culinary Skill – the fine edge blade technique he learned from the proprietress, Lu Ran’s knife skills had reached an exceptionally high level. He was firmly in the first echelon on the blue star, capable of handling various ingredients with ease.

The three major elements of culinary skills are knife skills, fire skills, and spoon skills. In terms of knife skills, Lu Ran could easily teach beginners. As for fire skills, his Flame Sprite could sense the optimal cooking temperatures for different stages of the ingredients—a vast theoretical system that textbooks couldn’t fully cover. He could pick any special ingredient, sense it, and create a page of teaching material.

Apart from recipe formulas that require extensive practical experience, very few could surpass Lu Ran in knife and fire skills.

So even without Culinary Intent, his top-level knife skills and fire skills theory alone would make him more than qualified to be a professor in the Culinary Department. It was as if he was born for this role.

Lu Ran’s plan was to leverage his knife and fire skills to hold a position in the Culinary Department, allowing him to delve deeper into the advanced recipes of Dragon Cuisine.

When it comes to recipes and formulas, unless they are self-developed, they are the least technically demanding since you’re just following someone else’s instructions.

But Lu Ran’s predicament was that there were no Dragon Chefs on the blue star to teach the Dragon Cuisine he intended to study. He had to rely on his own intensive research. His only hope now was that the resources in the cultivating department would be comprehensive enough.

“Since you say so…” Master Lin’s mouth twitched as he spoke. “Alright, I’ll give you the contact information for the dean of the cultivating department. I’ll also make an introduction for you.”

“Great, thanks,” Lu Ran replied with a smile.

“Damn…” Master Lin muttered to himself. Lu Ran was a promising student in the forging department. Would he soon become a colleague instead?

…

Master Lin hung up the call with Lu Ran and immediately dialed the dean of the cultivating college.

The dean of the cultivating department was a first-generation beastmaster. Among the first-generation beastmasters, only 13 were still actively fighting on the front lines. The rest had transitioned into lifestyle occupations or, like Zhao Chen, had nearly retired to management roles.

Chu Yan was one of the early first-generation big shots who had moved behind the scenes to focus on cultivation. While the first-generation beastmasters were on the front lines, he continuously studied various cultivating theories, providing them with advice, handling ingredients, and clearly dividing tasks with combat beastmasters.

Of course, even though he wasn’t on the front lines, that didn’t mean Chu Yan was weak. Compared to the 13 who had reached Level 5, he was weaker, but he was still a high-level beastmaster.

“Master Lin?” In an office at the cultivating college, a young man in his thirties with short red hair and wearing a white suit answered the call with surprise. “What’s up?”

Master Lin was a rising star in the forging field among third-generation beastmasters, with skills approaching those of top first-generation forgemasters. He remembered his old friend, the dean of the forging department, had worked hard to convince Master Lin to teach. Why was he calling now?

“Ha ha, Dean Chu, I have someone who wants to apply for a professor position in the cultivating department. I’m recommending them to you.”

“Oh?” Chu Yan’s interest was piqued. Every department and major was currently short on teaching staff. There were too many students and too few teachers. “Who is it?”

He recalled that he had invited almost everyone he could think of. Had he missed someone?

“It’s a fourth-generation beastmaster.”

Chu Yan: “…”

“Is it some famous chef who became a beastmaster?” Chu Yan asked.

Instructors don’t necessarily have to be chosen from First Generation, second generation, or third-generation beastmasters. In the past, and even now, people who aren’t beastmasters but have high achievements in their respective fields can be invited to teach.

After all, students need to start with the basics.

For instance, for new students in the Culinary Department, mastering basic knife skills, spoon skills, and fire skills is more than enough. Ordinary chefs can handle these introductory courses just fine; there’s no need to bring in high-level experts from the beast taming field.

“Well, that’s not exactly the case here. You must have heard of this person. His name is Passerby A, and he ranks first on the divine beast leaderboard in Infinite City No.3. I know him well. His first breakthrough secret realm was the Culinary Secret Realm, where he comprehended Culinary Intent and achieved a perfect clear. I believe he would have no problem teaching the new students in the Culinary Department,” Master Lin explained.

“Who?” Chu Yan blurted out, unable to hold back.

“Passerby A.”

“It’s him??”

“Glad you recognize him, Dean Chu.”

Chu Yan fell silent. How could he not recognize him? Just a few days ago, a cat had come to buy some bird meat from him. Chu Yan had kindly offered to process it, but the cat had scoffed at him… asking, “Do you know Dragon Culinary Intent?”

Chu Yan was taken aback.

Becoming a Dragon Chef isn’t easy—there’s not a single chef in the world who has mastered Dragon Culinary Intent.

If it weren’t for the fact that he couldn’t take on Manager Ying, he would have taught that cat a lesson.

Later, after “spending a fortune to buy intelligence,” Chu Yan learned from Manager Ying that a fourth-generation beastmaster, endorsed by Dr. Gu, had entered the culinary field via swordsmanship and had comprehended Dragon Culinary Intent. Manager Ying had been buying ingredients to have him cook.

Chu Yan had long wanted to connect with Passerby A, but he had been too busy with school matters. Now, hearing that Lu Ran wanted to join the cultivating department as a professor, he didn’t hesitate. Without even considering an assessment, he said, “Old Lin, no problem. I’ll handle his credentials as quickly as possible.”

“Huh?” Master Lin was taken aback.

What do you mean, you’ll handle his credentials quickly… You haven’t even assessed him yet!

…

While Master Lin was in contact with Dean Chu, Lu Ran wasn’t idle either. He picked up his phone to check the tournament schedule.

It seemed that the match schedule for the Freshman Tournament would be released soon. The official start was tomorrow, and the participants had half a day to gather information about their opponents and prepare accordingly.

“Roar!!”

“Bark!!”

Sudden Death King and General Ha were also summoned by Lu Ran, waiting together.

At present, Sudden Death King had comprehended the artistic conception of the dragon, making it very powerful even without using Thor Tactics.

As for General Ha, it had now reached level 19, with significant enhancements in all attributes, just one step away from the level 20 fusion trait.

Lu Ran felt that General Ha would likely reach level 20 before the semifinals or finals.

“Group A, first match?”

After a while, the match schedule was released, and Lu Ran discovered that he was in the first match tomorrow.

His opponent’s name was Zhou Mo.

Who is that?

At this stage, everyone was using their real names. Lu Ran knew that his pseudonym would likely be revealed eventually, but it didn’t matter. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

Lu Ran vs. Zhou Mo!

Lu Ran couldn’t help but open the small chat group that Fang Lan and the others had just created a few days ago, asking, “Who is Zhou Mo?”

However, before anyone in the group chat could reply, someone started spamming Lu Ran with private messages.

Yang Xishuai: [Holy crap, Lu Ran!!! What’s going on? How did you end up facing the Dog King in the first match?]

[His Hellhound excels not only in flames but also in mental attacks. Can your lizard defend against that?]

Soon, the group chat for Lu Ran’s secret realm team exploded with messages.

Road Ahead Icy: [Damn, what luck! Facing a favorite to win in the first match?]

Zhou Mo, known in Infinite City No.3 as the Dog King, was the second-in-command of the Circus guild. He was the first fourth-generation beastmaster to reach the top of the Commander Divine Beast Leaderboard.

Although three more fourth-generation beastmasters had since reached the leaderboard, Zhou Mo, as the first, was the most famous and was widely considered a favorite to win on various forums.

Safe Journey: [Lu Ran… should be fine, right?]

This was Lu Yi.

Pig Raiser: [Even if you lose, it’s no big deal. There’s still the loser’s bracket, and you can climb up the rankings by winning later matches.]

Five Poisons Cult Holy Maiden: [What are you talking about, Pig Raiser? Losing isn’t an option. Who’s the Dog King anyway? It’s not certain yet!]

Lu Ran: …

Lu Ran shrugged, surprised at his “luck” in facing someone from the Commander Divine Beast Leaderboard in his first match.

He remembered that this person had also given the examiner a bit of a hard time during the preliminary assessment.

Mental attacks…

Lu Ran shook his head; General Ha and Sudden Death King weren’t afraid at all!

General Ha had endured Dragon Might for so long that its mental resistance was top-notch.

As for Sudden Death King, its Thunder Dragon armor inherited almost all the advantages of the Dragon Clan. Its physical, energy, mental, and soul resistances were extremely high, providing nearly perfect defense. It wouldn’t fear the opponent either.

Although this Dog King had made it to the Commander Divine Beast Leaderboard, it seemed that his advantages wouldn’t be perfectly effective against Lu Ran.

After discussing with General Ha and Sudden Death King, both pet beasts were stunned.

Just as General Ha was about to see who dared to claim the title of king, Sudden Death King blocked it with its paw.

“Roar!! (Whatever, I’ll handle this.)”

Recently, Sudden Death King, who usually didn’t like to fight, seemed to have been influenced by Manager Ying. It started to dislike canine pet beasts, probably because of the Dragon Slayer Sword intent…

“Roar!”

Sudden Death King stepped forward, eyes filled with disdain.

If General Ha couldn’t win, could it not beat the so-called Dog King?

It wanted to use the other dog as a stepping stone to prove the strength of its Thunder Dragon armor.

“Actually, there’s no need to compete. Both of you can participate now. This isn’t like the preliminary assessment, where the number of participants is limited,” Lu Ran said.

General Ha and Sudden Death King: “…”

“Of course, if you want to go solo, Sudden Death King, that’s fine too. The opponent has only revealed one pet beast so far. It’s unclear if they have another one hidden…”

“In that case, General Ha can be our secret card, staying hidden and protecting me until the right moment for a decisive strike.”

“Sudden Death King, you can go ahead and probe. With your current species talent, you’re nearly invincible in this Freshman Tournament, where lethal moves are not allowed…” Lu Ran expressed his satisfaction with the tournament rules.

The Freshman Tournament naturally has multiple protective mechanisms, focusing on victory or defeat rather than life or death.

The referees are also responsible for protecting both sides during the match.

Under such conditions, with Sudden Death King’s current defense and its species talent for explosive power when injured… it seemed that General Ha might not be necessary. Sudden Death King could probably solo many opponents on its own.

General Ha could remain as the ultimate secret weapon, not needing to reveal itself too early, catching opponents off guard. After all, surely many participants have hidden cards up their sleeves. At this stage, it’s all about who can keep their cards hidden the longest.

Revealing intelligence too early is definitely disadvantageous. For instance, knowing that the Hellhound excels in mental attacks, Lu Ran and his team could purchase some mental defense equipment for the tournament, which would somewhat counteract the opponent.

“Roar???” Sudden Death King was stunned. Can both of us participate?

Damn it, why had it taken the job then?

This so-called probing… wouldn’t it mean going in to get hit first, using those hits to gather skill intelligence?

“Woof!” General Ha grinned and placed its paw on Sudden Death King’s back.

Go ahead, this will just show how strong your defense is!

Although General Ha enjoys fighting, it doesn’t like getting hurt in battles. It fully supports Sudden Death King going in to take the hits first, then it can make a dazzling entrance later.

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