34: Chapter 34 A Top-Tier Beast Taming Master Comes to Fry Fish?

Chu Ran sped through the city on his combat boots; his current pace was far faster than taking a vehicle.

He had originally intended to take a domain-level teleportation array directly to the imperial capital, but he had heard that between the Northern Domain and the Central Domain lay a Level Seven Secret Realm containing many young demon beasts that could be captured.

With his fourth contract slot conveniently empty, he thought he'd try his luck.

Mystic Mirror Heaven Lake.

This place, along with the Northern Domain, was once part of the Desolate Realm. However, the Dragon Nation seized the Northern Domain from the demon beasts. The beasts here, sheltered by the lake, holed up in the water and refused to come out. Unwilling to expend effort needlessly, the Dragon Nation simply cordoned off the area and designated it a special secret realm...

Fortunately, the demon beasts in the lake suffered a drastic drop in combat power without water, preventing them from leaving the lake en masse to form beast tides and attack humans on land...

Mystic Mirror Heaven Lake is one of the few remaining major secret realms within the Dragon Nation's borders. Other similar realms include Kunlun, Tianjun Mountain, Qinshui Ridge...

They persist due to their treacherous terrain, complex internal environments, and the mysterious demon beasts within that remain undetectable by humans.

Without external reinforcements, the demon beasts in these areas can only reproduce amongst themselves. Those that grow to a certain level and succumb to their savage instincts attempt to come ashore or leave the mountains, seeking to invade human territory.

The result is they get hunted down by various demon-slaying organizations vying for the kill...

However, this also has its benefits. Due to the variety and strength of the species, the items dropped upon death and the demon beast corpses themselves are all valuable treasures. This sustains countless combat squads that make their living hunting demons...

Consequently, these places are typically populated by small demon beasts of extremely high grades. The high-priced tamed beasts circulating in city auction houses, aside from those bred in captivity, mostly come from such secret realms.

Although Chu Ran's current savings could buy a tamed beast of any grade, those of gold grade or above, or superior beasts with high talent, are essentially pre-allocated through personal connections and factions before auctions, never even making it to the auction block.

With no backing from any faction, alone and unsupported, Chu Ran simply didn't have the qualifications to compete with them...

Although, given his current reputation in the Northern Domain, he could probably stand in the street, shout 'I am [Po]', and get anything he wanted, he preferred to keep a low profile...

He wanted to rely on his own talent and hard work...

And his stat points...

...

Chu Ran bought a secret realm entry permit and walked in.

The demon beasts here don't require external replenishment, so there's no closure period; one can enter anytime by purchasing a permit.

A fifty-mile radius around the shore is enclosed by an isolation zone. Even though beasts rarely appear here under normal circumstances, it's still classified as part of the secret realm.

The fact that most beasts in this secret realm are juvenile, yet it's still classified as Level Seven by the Dragon Nation, gives an idea of how terrifying the beasts within must be...

The shore of Mystic Mirror Heaven Lake is lined with a layer of alarms that trigger immediately upon detecting a beast coming ashore.

Although the Dragon Nation has adapted to the existence of these secret realms, protective measures are still thoroughly prepared.

During the annual beast maturation season, many demon-hunting teams set up camp within this fifty-mile radius, waiting to strike and kill the beasts the moment they crawl out of the lake...

In their eyes, these beasts are gleaming gold ingots, truly coveted prizes.

An average squad only needs to hunt one mature beast to live comfortably for over half a year; two beasts can set them up for a whole year...

So, even though it wasn't the beast maturation season, one could still see scattered tents pitched here.

The Skyfire Knights were one such demon-hunting team.

They spent nearly two-thirds of the year here, enduring dull, monotonous days of waiting.

Not all beasts mature during the fixed season; some are early, some late. So, beasts might come ashore at any time of year.

Who knows, they might get lucky one day, even stumble upon a few lost young beasts for free. That would mean tens of millions in the bank, money falling from the sky. Couldn't be sweeter...

"Brother Tao, that little vixen Wang Meili's husband bought her another big South African diamond ring. I want one too~". In the Skyfire Knights camp, a woman with dark skin gently massaged the leg of the man sunbathing beside her, coquettishly.

The man, wearing sunglasses, lazily shifted his thigh, changing his lounging position, and said calmly, "Don't worry, baby. Hurry up and make a wish to the sun. Maybe a dead beast will fall from the sky later. After we sell it, I'll buy you not just a South African diamond ring, but North African, West African, East African ones too..."

The woman punched his thigh hard and snapped, "Hmph! Men are all no good! How could a beast carcass possibly fall from the sky! I hope a rock falls and hits you instead!"

She then stormed off, flopping onto a nearby chair and placing two cucumber slices over her eyes...

Chu Ran arrived at the lakeshore. Looking at the clear, pristine surface of the lake, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

This place in front of him really didn't seem like it housed demon beasts...

Sure, the afternoon sun was scorching, but that shouldn't stop them from even bubbling up, right...

Is this really a Level Seven secret realm?

Chu Ran suddenly felt a sense of being duped...

"Holy shit, is there someone over there?" The man with sunglasses abruptly sat up, staring at the figure by the lake, his face full of shock.

After clearly seeing the young face, the man instantly jumped up and charged in that direction, cursing under his breath, "Is the secret realm manager asleep? Leaving the gate open, letting people in to get themselves killed!"

Anyone with any experience in this secret realm knew not to approach the lakeshore. Those beasts, having endured countless human attacks, bore deep resentment towards any creature near the shore. The slightest misstep could lead to being swallowed whole by a lurking beast!

But he couldn't shout a warning now. Making a sound might startle the beasts, dooming the person on the shore!

He could only keep accelerating his run, silently praying nothing would happen!

Though unrelated to that person, as a demon hunter racing against death daily, watching someone die right before his eyes would still be distressing...

By the lakeshore, Chu Ran gazed at the calm water.

He sensed the person rushing towards him from afar.

The creatures in the water seemed to have sensed that person too.

*Plop.*

A large bubble appeared on the water's surface.

Almost instantly, a powerful demon beast surged skyward...

[Hidden Water Turtle]

[Lv.142]

[Grade: commander grade]

[Combat Power: 38,472]

...

Wang Tao stopped in his tracks, staring dumbfounded in that direction...

Dead...

Swallowed whole by a commander grade beast like that, even if he were Superman, survival would be absolutely impossible...

Wang Tao heaved a helpless sigh.

Even he, a Sixth Turn Professional with years of demon-hunting experience, dared not approach the lakeshore...

The lake looked mirror-like and undisturbed, but the density of lurking beasts within was likely even higher than imagined...

Glancing at his feet, Wang Tao realized he had unwittingly entered the hundred-meter warning zone!

At this thought, Wang Tao's heart began to pound wildly.

He cautiously raised his head and saw the beast wasn't chasing him, instantly letting out a sigh of relief.

Wang Tao turned and began to retreat carefully, taking light, cautious steps.

If that beast had noticed him earlier, with no one around to share the aggro, he himself would have been in great danger!

They usually waited until a beast was about ten miles from the shore before attacking. First, to prevent escape; second, fearing the beasts might play a fishing trick—using one to lure them in while others lurked underwater, ready to leap out and attack once they got close...

The lake had many turtle-type beasts, known for their defense. Hunting squads often struggled to kill just one with a full team assault. Facing multiple simultaneously would almost certainly mean death...

Although these beasts' combat power plummeted after coming ashore, they remained terrifyingly formidable to them...

No time to mourn the person from earlier. Wang Tao just wanted to get far away from this dangerous place...

He hadn't gone far after turning when he heard a tremendous *BOOM* from behind!

He turned his head with difficulty and saw the once-calm water surface now churning with towering waves.

In mid-air, there was a terrifying peacock covered in fiery feathers and a colossal serpentine dragon hundreds of meters long, its thick body wreathed in crackling lightning!

Wang Tao felt the aura of these two beasts was dozens of times stronger than any he'd ever seen in this lake!

At first, he thought they were aquatic beasts and nearly dropped to his knees in terror...

But then it occurred to him—could fire-element beasts really come from the water?...

As his gaze traveled upward, his eyes gradually widened into saucers, and he froze in place...

There was actually a person standing atop the Dragon Sparrow's head!

That person's eyes ignited with thunder and fire as he suddenly spoke.

"Bombard!"

*BOOM!*

Flames and lightning intertwined, blanketing the entire sky!

In an instant, the lake water evaporated from the heatwave, rising as vast plumes of white mist.

Rolling waves of scorching air swept across the sky, distorting space itself!

Countless beasts from the lake depths were forced to the surface!

The moment they emerged, a merciless web of lightning ensnared them all, pinning them mid-air!

The next moment, with a single beat of the Blazing Dragon Sparrow's wings...

A sky-shattering rain of heavenly fire, condensed from countless flames, instantly poured down!

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

The trapped beasts were almost instantly scorched, their skin splitting and flesh tearing, their sharp shrieks rising one after another.

But what surprised Chu Ran somewhat was...

Most of these beasts actually survived this chain of attacks...

"Truly worthy of defensive-type beasts!" Chu Ran marveled.

He quickly shook off his surprise, a faint smile curling his lips. "Then let's do a few more rounds!"

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

After several consecutive bombardments, the large beasts that had surged from the lake were finally mostly dead, their carcasses scattered piecemeal all over the place...

...

The alarms, detecting beasts emerging from the water, instantly emitted a low, urgent warning.

In the distance, the reclining woman heard the noise and sat up in confusion.

Beasts had come out of the water?

The cucumber slices on her eyes slid down to her mouth and fell into her gaping jaw.

Faced with the five-meter-thick 'thigh' in front of her, her grape-like eyes blinked incessantly...

She poked it gently with a finger, then quickly stepped back.

This is...

A beast carcass?

She looked up in astonishment, only to see a sky raining 'corpses'.

"Holy shit!" Her mind reeled with shock.

But soon, a grin spread across her face as she shouted:

"Brother Tao! South African diamond rings are falling from the sky!"

...