Beastmaster King-Chapter 346 - Royal Family’s Test

Within the imperial palace of Imperial Beast City, the seventh princess went to pay respects to her mother. When she arrived, she saw her father in the palace as well.

The princess curtsied. "Greetings, Father and Mother,"

"Little Seven, there’s no need to be so formal when it’s just us," the sturdy and handsome middle-aged man responded. His eyes showed traces of fatigue as he looked at her.

The man was Yun Hao, the sixth emperor of the Beastmaster Empire. He was a twenty-year-old Legendary beastmaster when he ascended the throne. fгeewebnovёl.com

He was rather well-documented in the annals of history. Not only was he one of the previous emperor’s talented disciples, but he also reached the Legendary rank at the age of nineteen. Moreover, he was proficient in both academic and military matters.

After careful consideration, the previous emperor chose not to pass the throne to his descendants in his final moments. That wasn’t to say that his offspring weren’t outstanding; Yun Hao simply stood too far above his peers.

Yun Hao, an orphan, essentially became the emperor’s adoptive son. Besides not being blood relatives, nothing distinguished them from a true father-and-son pair. Hence, he ultimately became the heir to the throne.

Although Yun Hao lived up to the emperor's expectations and became an Epic-Legendary beastmaster shortly after obtaining the throne, the enduring peace was suddenly shattered when the Four Great Beast Empires launched an invasion.

Being an emperor suddenly became a much more difficult job. He sent all but one of his familiars to fight on the frontlines, which he kept by his side as a guard.

"Come here, Gong'er." The empress looked at her daughter adoringly and waved her hand. The seventh princess, who originally had a royal air about her, quickly regressed into a cute little girl. She sat on the empress’ lap, smiling.

"Dad, your condition is getting progressively worse. Is there anything I can do to help? If not, then please allow me to go fight on the frontlines," the princess urged.

"You’ll just get in the way of the generals. They’ll end up having to watch over you. You’re still not ready yet," Yun Hao replied. "Let's not talk about this right now. I heard from your mother that you went to spend time with that girl from the Yan family today."

"Yes. Sister Yingying developed a new dish and wanted me to taste it. By the way, when we were about to go out shopping, we ran into something interesting."

"Oh, what is it?"

Yun Hao and the empress couldn’t help but be curious.

"We saw a young man outside the Yan Mansion claiming that he was there to acknowledge his ancestors. He said he was a descendant of the late Emperor Shizhen and that he used to live amongst the masses."

Yun Hao laughed. "Haha! How many wild oats did Emperor Yan sow? It has been hundreds of years, yet we still see a steady stream of his descendants appearing."

When the empress pinched Yun Hao, he quickly added, "Don't worry, I would never do anything like that. Anyway, What happened next? Was he telling the truth? Scams like that have been quite common lately."

"He should be the real deal. He was able to use Flame Spirit, Emperor Yan’s signature beastmaster skill. In fact, his Flame Spirit seems to have successfully absorbed a dragon flame, considering it's already at its second stage. Even the Legendary members of our family haven’t been able to achieve such a feat.”

"Hmm..." Yun Hao's expression turned pensive. "A second-stage Flame Spirit? That's really amazing. After so many years, someone has finally gotten enough achievements with Flame Spirit to measure up to Emperor Yan’s. The Yan family is quite lucky. A genius fell from the sky and landed on their doorstep."

Though Yun Hao wanted to avoid talking about serious matters earlier, he couldn't help but look worried. As a newly crowned emperor, he only had the support of his master’s family. He still couldn't exert control over the other imperial families like the Yan. As such, his camp bore the bulk of the costs relating to the ongoing war.

Garnering support from imperial families was an art in and of itself. Each imperial family had their own interests, but even individually, they weren’t always a united whole. It wasn’t an easy task.

"Little Seven, you have a good relationship with the Yan girl. If you have time tomorrow, you should go ask what their family intends to do with the young man."

"Okay."

The seventh princess started to formulate some plans of her own as she bid her parents goodnight.

The Yan family controls most of the bountiful lands and mineral veins in the empire, making them one of the most powerful imperial families. Emperor Yan Sizhen is even known as the ancestor of cooking and forging. His two support skills kept the entire empire stable.

Since the young man perfectly inherited Emperor Yan Sizhen’s skill, he will definitely become an important figure in the Yan Clan one day. If I can win him over for my father, then I will definitely alleviate some of his burdens.

***

By the next day, almost the entire Yan family had heard that their family had acknowledged an outsider's ancestry and even allowed him to join them.

While waiting for the official ceremony, Lu Ran maintained a lower profile. Just as Yan Yingying was about to show Lu Ran around the Yan Mansion, the seventh princess unexpectedly came for a visit early in the morning.

"Sister Gong, why are you here?" Yan Yingying asked.

"What, do you not want me here, Yingying?"

"You know that’s not what I meant!"

Yan Yingying felt very conflicted. Yesterday, her father had told her to keep Lu Ran away from the royal family and the other imperial families until his status became official.

Who knew that she would be so unlucky and run into the seventh princess first thing in the morning?

"Sister Gong, do you remember that young man from yesterday? My father asked me to show him around the mansion today."

"Have you guys already confirmed him as a descendant of the Yan?" the princess inquired.

"Well, if nothing unexpected happens, the officiating ceremony will be held tomorrow," Yan Yingying replied.

"I actually have a keen interest in Flame Spirits. If you’re going to be touring the Yan mansion, would you mind if I tag along? You invited me over to taste test yesterday, so you won’t all of a sudden shoo me away now, would you?"

The way the seventh princess worded her request made it hard for Yan Yingying to refuse. "Of course not! Please, join us."

Well, she's just one person. What could possibly go wrong?

Shortly after, two beauties walked through Lu Ran's door, stunning him.

"Brother Sudden Death King, please allow me to introduce you to Her Royal Highness, Seventh Princess Gong'er. You saw us together yesterday.

Though shocked, Lu Ran bowed immediately. He could’ve never guessed that the girl with Yingyin yesterday was a princess.

"Your Highness," he greeted.

The royal family!

"Please rise. Is your name Sudden Death King? What a strange name," the seventh princess commented. She also couldn't help but feel that something was off about his name. .

"That’s what my parents chose to name me, so there’s not much I can do about it." Lu Ran chuckled as he scratched his head.

It’s the name of a pet lizard, so of course it’s strange!

"It sounds strange, but it’s a good name. I've heard my father speak of Emperor Yan Sizhen's heroic deeds since I was a child, and I'm very curious about your second-stage Flame Spirit. Maybe we can have a little competition."

Lu Ran was caught a little off guard. "Huh? Competition?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Yan Yingying interjected.

Didn't we just say that we were going to walk around? Why are you getting into a fight all of a sudden?

"It’s ok, I’m down,” Lu Ran said.

Hecouldn’t bring himself to settle for the Lava Catastrophe Beast anyway, and he could tell that the princess came over to test his strength. Since it was a chance to get in touch with the royal family, he naturally wouldn’t refuse.

What's the test, though?? I guess I’ll go all out. Please, put down a high price and buy me away from here.

Lu Ran wasn’t a real descendant of the Yan family, so it didn’t matter to him who he joined.

"Really?" The princess grabbed Yan Yingying's hand and gave her an expectant look. "Sister Yingying, can you help us set it up?"

"I..." Yan Yingying didn’t know how to respond.

What the hell is going on?

"I’ll have to go notify my father..."

Yan Yingying was desperate. Unable to turn things around, she could only look up at the sky. She found Lu Ran first and was going to give him a tour of the mansion. This “competition” shouldn't cause any problems, right?

The princess smiled. "Sister Yingying, please hurry. We'll wait for you here."

"I... I'll be right back then."

Yan Yingying hurried away, leaving Lu Ran and the seventh princess behind.

"By the way, Mr. Sudden Death King, I heard from Yingying that you are about to be welcomed back into the family. Congratulations! Joining an imperial family will draw the envy of many. You are the carp that leaped over the dragon gate.

"I’m not sure what aspirations you have for the future, but your Flame Spirit is on par with Emperor Yan Sizhen’s. Down the road, be it in cooking, forging, or beastmastering, you should be able to reach great heights.”

"Of all those, I have the highest hopes for my attainments as a beastmaster. I returned to my ancestral line in hopes of relying on them to capture a powerful familiar.”

"I see."

"I’ve heard that several major imperial families have connections with the guardian beasts that protect our empire and can send people to train under them. Seventh Princess, as a member of the royal family, do you also train with the guardian beasts?"

Princess Seven smiled. "Of course."

"Then have you ever come into contact with a Legendary creature?"

Intrigued, she replied, "Hmm? Why do you ask?" .

"No reason. I’m just very interested in Legendary creatures. My master once told me a legend. He said that a long time ago, after humans first became beastmasters, they rose to power so rapidly that it struck fear into some Legendary creatures.

"In retaliation, some of the creatures manipulated the rules of the world to curse the human bloodline so that they could never truly reach the Legendary rank. Only by defeating those Legendary creatures can we lift the curse and change our fates.

“My master pursued the Legendary rank his whole life to achieve this goal. Unfortunately, he ultimately died with his goal unfulfilled. As his apprentice, I have inherited his mission and hope that I can one day stand against those Legendary beings. This is why I came to the Yan family and sought an opportunity to become stronger."

The princess looked at Lu Ran, who was staring up at the clouds with a determined look in his eyes. His origin story had completely stunned her.

What is this guy’s background?

She thought that Lu Ran's ambition was to become a Legendary beastmaster. She couldn't have expected that he actually wanted to compete against Legendary creatures!

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