King of Beasts

Chapter 122: The Clash of Schools

Sword-holding cat!

Lu Ran and his companions were momentarily stunned.

At this time, a swordsmanship apprentice who had come out for some fresh air also saw Lu Ran and his group.

Upon noticing Lu Ran, the apprentice rubbed his eyes carefully and exclaimed in surprise, “Senior Brother Lu Ran???”

“Meow? (The culprit?)” The sword-holding cat also looked up at Lu Ran.

“Who are you?” Lu Ran asked instinctively.

“My name is Ning Fan. I’m an apprentice at the Rainbow Heaven Dojo. We’ve met before,” Junior Brother Ning said excitedly, like he was meeting an idol.

“Oh, oh.” Lu Ran didn’t quite remember, but he did recall that when he was staying at the Rainbow Heaven Dojo, apprentices would often greet him.

After all, Lu Ran was the only beastmaster at the Rainbow Heaven Dojo at that time.

With the era of beast taming just beginning, a group of swordsmanship youths were particularly interested in the occupation of beastmaster.

They almost gave up swordsmanship to follow Lu Ran and learn beast taming.

Fortunately, Lu Ran was elusive, or he would have been swarmed by these junior brothers and sisters.

“Senior Brother! Finally, I’ve found you! I didn’t expect you to be the one on the Divine Beast Leaderboard!”

“Hmm?” Did Master Jiang Dou reveal his identity?

Lu Ran was supposed to be an anonymous informant, and only Master Jiang Dou and Senior Brother He Dali should have known within the dojo.

“What’s with this cat…” Lu Ran didn’t rush to answer and instead asked back.

“It’s like this: recently, three of us apprentices, including myself, became beastmasters. In Infinite City, we learned about your feats: the husky, the sword-holding battles… Later, we asked Master, and he confirmed it.”

I see.

Although Lu Ran’s appearance didn’t spread in Infinite City, General Ha’s species was well-known he was a husky.

When Lu Ran was living at the Rainbow Heaven Dojo, General Ha would often roam around the dojo with a sword in its mouth.

As Passerby A’s fame grew, it wasn’t impossible for the dojo apprentices to suspect that Lu Ran was Passerby A.

After all, the Rainbow Heaven Dojo was a renowned swordsmanship training center in the country. A dog proficient in swordsmanship being from such a dojo made more sense than it appearing randomly among the public.

“Later, the three of us thought your sword-holding dog was so cool, so we started imitating it…”

Lu Ran: “…”

How did it end up with three of them!

Manager Ying and Fang Lan looked at Lu Ran.

Sure enough, the problem lay with Lu Ran.

This dojo… why are all the teenagers here so unusual?

Indeed, “normal” teenagers are still diligently studying, playing games, or dating. Why would they come to the Rainbow Heaven Dojo to practice swordsmanship?

“But later, Master found out and stopped us. He told us about Senior Brother Eagle Hero’s experiences,” Ning Fan sighed. “But the sword-holding cat is indeed cool. I didn’t expect it to fight with a sword, just wanted to train it a bit and make it a cool daily trick.”

“You made the right choice,” Lu Ran said. “It’s indeed not suitable for combat. My situation is quite special and not a good reference.”

“Come on, take me to see Master. I’ll explain everything to you guys,” Lu Ran said.

“Okay!”

Soon, this boy named Ning Fan led Lu Ran and Fang Lan into the dojo. As for Manager Ying, after escorting Lu Ran to the destination, it yawned, turned around, and left, not planning to follow them into the dojo.

Inside the dojo.

“Master is currently training Senior Brother Jin and Senior Sister Fan. I just finished my training, so I came out for some fresh air…” Ning Fan explained.

At the training ground.

Lu Ran saw a young man and woman, about his age, sparring with Master Jiang Dou in a two-on-one match, practicing swordsmanship.

From a physical standpoint, the two young beastmasters undoubtedly had the advantage. However, judging by the battle outcome, they were being fiercely suppressed by the much older Master Jiang Dou.

“You two, can you manage or not!”

“I’ve told you countless times, your strikes must be decisive and swift. You must envision the sword light as a rainbow. Why are you still so sluggish?”

“Don’t wait for the opponent to make a move before thinking of a response. Set your own rhythm and seize the initiative.”

Clack.

The wooden swords in their hands were swiftly disarmed by Master Jiang Dou.

“Your master is quite strict,” Fang Lan couldn’t help but say as she watched from the stands.

Master Jiang Dou, his hair disheveled, was sternly pointing out the flaws in the two swordsmanship apprentices’ techniques.

“In other aspects, he’s quite lenient, but he’s extremely serious about swordsmanship,” Ning Fan explained.

“Master, look who’s here,” Junior Brother Ning said. Master Jiang Dou looked up to the high platform and saw Lu Ran, showing a hint of surprise.

“Lu Ran??” he exclaimed with delight, then turned to the two apprentices beside him. “Alright, the Senior Brother Lu Ran you’ve been thinking about is here.”

“Later, let him explain to you the combination of beast taming and the sword.”

“You should learn well from your Senior Brother Lu Ran. Despite being around the same age, he’s already pursuing sword intent…”

“Master, we’ve already learned sword intent,” Lu Ran said as he walked down, hearing Master Jiang Dou’s words.

“Oh, you’ve already learned… What, you’ve already learned it??” Master Jiang Dou’s eyes widened.

“Wait, what do you mean by ‘you’?” The old gentleman suddenly had a bad feeling.

No way, no way, could it be that even Erha has…

“Senior Brother Lu Ran!” At this moment, Senior Brother Jin and Senior Sister Fan, whom Junior Brother Ning had mentioned, were also looking at Lu Ran with faces full of admiration.

Could Senior Brother Lu Ran really be Passerby A himself??

Number one on the divine beast leaderboard, with a pet beast that fought with a sword鈥”so cool.

“And who is this?” Although interested in sword intent, Master Jiang Dou first inquired about Fang Lan, thinking, did Lu Ran have a girlfriend now? Why did he bring a young lady along?

“This is my sister, Fang Lan. She’s also a beastmaster. We’re here in Jinling for the beast taming tournament preliminaries and plan to stay at the dojo for a couple of days.”

“Master Jiang Dou, sorry for the intrusion,” Fang Lan politely greeted.

“Oh, no problem, welcome. Treat this place like your own home,” Master Jiang Dou said, immediately understanding Fang Lan’s identity. She was the daughter of Lu Ran’s parents’ friends. He remembered the fierce competition he had with Fang’s father and mother over Lu Ran’s guardianship, leaving a deep impression on Fang Lan’s parents.

“By the way, Lu Ran, did you just say you have already comprehended sword intent??” Jiang Dou, the Old Gentleman, still couldn’t believe it.

The three admiring disciples beside him were also shocked.

They had been training at the dojo for so long and hadn’t even grasped sword momentum. Yet this legendary Senior Brother Lu Ran had already comprehended the sword intent that even Eagle Hero hadn’t achieved?

“Yes,” Lu Ran nodded.

“Hahahaha,” Old Gentleman Jiang Dou laughed heartily upon hearing this. “Good, good.”

“That’s great news. Now I’m relieved!!!”

“Lu Ran, if you encounter a girl named ‘Summer’ in the Freshman Tournament at Beast Taming University, give her a good beating for me.”

“Huh?” Lu Ran was puzzled. He didn’t understand how comprehending sword intent was related to someone named Summer. Who was she?

“She’s a disciple of one of my rivals. We both train in cold weapons鈥”I’m into swordsmanship, and they’re into ‘spears.’ It’s polearms, not the kind you see in Hawaiian luaus.”

“My old rival’s disciple has also become a beastmaster and supposedly comprehended ‘spear intent.’ That old geezer called me to brag about it for ages. I can’t stand it.”

“Now that you’ve said you’ve comprehended sword intent, I feel much better. If you meet his disciple, make sure to defeat her soundly.”

“Wait,” Lu Ran was surprised. “Did you say that ‘Summer’ has really comprehended spear intent? The kind involving shaping artistic conception?”

“That’s what her master says. Oh, and she supposedly has a fusion Talent! She’s following a path similar to your Senior Brother Eagle Hero’s, focusing on her own combat abilities.”

“I see,” Lu Ran couldn’t help but think.

Wow, the Freshman Tournament is bringing out so many experts. Another formidable opponent added to the list.

Lu Ran understood the difficulty of comprehending sword intent. If it weren’t for General Ha perfectly fusing the weapon mastery trait, they wouldn’t have had any hope of understanding sword intent by now.

However, it wasn’t impossible for that girl named Summer to have comprehended spear intent. Lu Ran’s sword training was somewhat sporadic, whereas if she had been practicing spear techniques with a master since childhood, her experience with spearsmanship would undoubtedly surpass Lu Ran’s experience with swordsmanship.

These cold weapon practitioners are rare. Unlike Lu Ran, who picked it up out of interest, most apprentices at Rainbow Heaven Dojo plan to earn their ranks and make a living by winning various swordsmanship tournaments. For instance, Senior Brother Eagle Hero once achieved a notable ranking in an international swordsmanship competition.

Moreover, that girl Summer has a fusion Talent, allowing her to share power with her pet beast during the fusion stage. If the pet beast masters energy shaping, combined with the beastmaster’s own spearsmanship Talent, comprehending spear intent isn’t out of the question.

Even so, it’s incredibly impressive. After all, a fourth-generation beastmaster has only about three months of growth. If she can grasp shaping artistic conception at this stage, her learning ability and insight must be top-tier.

“Don’t worry, if I encounter her, I’ll defeat her,” Lu Ran reassured Master Jiang Dou.

Though the opponent was formidable, Lu Ran wasn’t intimidated.

“If I encounter her, I’ll defeat her too, Master Jiang Dou, don’t worry!” Fang Lan chimed in with a cheerful smile.

“Really? Can you beat her?” Lu Ran asked, skeptical.

“Don’t underestimate me!” Fang Lan retorted, annoyed. Although shaping artistic conception is indeed powerful, her experience in poison manship wasn’t lacking. Especially once she also mastered fusion, many previously unusable tactics would become viable.

Previously, she couldn’t use them because she wasn’t immune to her own poisons and could easily harm herself. But now… fusion Skills could perfectly compensate for this flaw.

At that point, she could compress energy into a poison gas bomb, making it explode across the entire arena to form a poison hurricane, or compress energy into a poison liquid bomb and release it into the sky, creating a poison rain over the entire arena… her opponents would be in tears!

Her opponent wielded a spear, not a “machine gun.” She had this covered!

“Hahaha, good,” Old Gentleman Jiang Dou laughed, seemingly relieved of the frustration he had with his old rival.

“So, Senior Brother Lu Ran, are you representing the ‘swordsmanship school’ in the tournament this time?” Junior Sister Fan asked curiously.

“Everyone on the beast taming forum is discussing which beast taming school will perform the best…”

“That’s not quite accurate. The swordsmanship school refers to beastmasters who fight using sword weapons, leveraging their pet beast’s power,” Lu Ran explained.

“But Senior Brother Lu Ran… it seems his pet beast fights while holding a sword in its mouth. This school hasn’t been seen before.”

“Then it’s a new school, the Pet Beast Sword Holding School!” Junior Brother Ning exclaimed excitedly.

Currently, the field of beast taming is flourishing with various schools. Some focus purely on having the pet beast fight, while others leverage the pet beast’s power to enhance the beastmaster’s own combat abilities. Each school can be further subdivided into different branches.

For example, those who rely on their pet beast’s power to fight themselves can be categorized into the Physical Skill School, the Cold Weapon School, and even the rare Mental Power School.

These schools arise based on the different beast taming skills of beastmasters. Which school is the strongest has always been a topic of debate within the beast taming community.

Now, supporters of each major school are eagerly awaiting this tournament hosted by the beast taming university to validate their viewpoints. After all, this is Xia Country’s first large-scale beast taming tournament, and there will be numerous battles to provide evidence.

The three junior brothers and sisters chatted excitedly. They were still too inexperienced to make a significant impact in this tournament, but Senior Brother Lu Ran was definitely a hot contender.

The issue, however, was that Lu Ran’s Pet Beast Sword Holding School didn’t seem to belong to any existing school… So, could a new emerging school end up defeating the established ones, sparking a new trend? They were curious, especially since they themselves were influenced by new trends in beast taming.