192 Chapter 122 Factional Conflict_1
Wow, a cat carrying a sword!
Lu Ran and the others were somewhat bewildered.
At this moment, swordsmanship apprentices who came out for fresh air also noticed Lu Ran and his group.
When he spotted Lu Ran, he rubbed his eyes carefully and exclaimed with surprise, "Senior Brother Lu Ran???"
"Meow? (The culprit?)" The sword-carrying cat also looked up at Lu Ran.
"Who are you?" Lu Ran asked subconsciously.
"My name is Ning Fan, a Prism Arena apprentice. We've met before," Ning Fan said excitedly, as if he had seen an idol.
"Oh, oh." Lu Ran couldn't quite remember, but when he was living in the Prism Arena, indeed, there were apprentices who often greeted him.
After all, at that time, Lu Ran was the only Beast Trainer in the Prism Arena.
During the onset of the Beast Training Era, a group of swordsmanship youth took a special interest in the profession of Beast Trainers.
They almost abandoned the way of the sword to turn to Lu Ran to learn Beast Training.
Fortunately, Lu Ran came and went without a trace; otherwise, he would indeed be entangled by these junior brothers and sisters.
"Senior Brother! I've finally seen you! I didn't expect that you were the one on the Divine Pet List!"
Did Master Jiang Dou and the other party reveal his identity?
The information that he was Passerby A should only be known to Master Jiang Dou and Senior Brother He Dali within the dojo.
"What's up with your cat..." Lu Ran didn't rush to answer, but instead questioned back.
"It's like this, during this time, three apprentices in the arena, including me, have become Beast Trainers. In Infinite City, we learned about your deeds, the Husky, and sword fighting... Later, we asked the master and got confirmation."
So that's how it was.
While Lu Ran's appearance had not spread throughout Infinite City, Mr. Husky's race was well-known to everyone—it was a Husky.
Back when Lu Ran was living in the Prism Arena, Mr. Husky would often roam about, carrying a sword in his mouth.
As Passerby A's fame grew, it was not impossible for these apprentice guesses that Lu Ran was Passerby A.
After all, the Prism Arena is a famous swordsmanship training site in the country. If a dog knows swordsmanship, it's much more credible that it came from a large dojo than appearing among commoners.
"Later on, we three thought your Sword-Bearing Dog was very cool, so we started imitating it..."
Lu Ran: "..."
Why are there so many three of them!
Manager Ying and Fang Lan looked at Lu Ran.
This dojo... Why are they all such abnormal teenagers?
Indeed, "normal" teenagers are still busily studying, playing games, and dating. Why would they come to Prism Arena to practice swordsmanship?
"However, the master eventually found out and stopped us. He told us the experience of God Sculpture Brother Xi," Ning Fan said with a sigh: "But the sword-carrying cat is indeed cool. I didn't expect it to fight with a sword, just casually training it as a cool trick for daily amusement."
"You made the right choice," Lu Ran said. "This is indeed not suitable for combat. My situation is quite special and does not have reference value."
"Come on, take me to see the master. I'll tell you guys later," Lu Ran said.
"Sure!"
Soon, this young man named Ning Fan led Lu Ran and Fang Lan into the dojo. As for Manager Ying, after delivering Lu Ran to his destination, she yawned, turned, and left, not intending to follow them into the dojo.
Inside the dojo.
"The master is currently training Senior Brother Jin and Senior Sister Fan right now. I've just finished my training, so I came out to get some air..." Ning Fan explained.
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Training field.
What Lu Ran saw was a young man and a woman, about the same age as him, facing off against Master Jiang Dou in a two-against-one swordsmanship spar.
Judging by physical condition, the two young Beast Trainers held the advantage. However, the battle's outcome showed them being severely suppressed by the much older Master Jiang Dou.
"You two, are you even trying!"
"How many times have I told you? When you strike, be decisive, be quick. Imagine the sweep of your sword as a rainbow. Why are you still so sluggish?"
"Don't wait to see the opponent's move before thinking of a counter. Set your own pace and seek initiative."
Crack.
The wooden swords in the hands of the two apprentices were successively flicked away by the rapid strikes of Master Jiang Dou.
"Your master is very strict," Fang Lan couldn't help but say from the viewing stand of the training field.
Mr. Jiang Dou Sr., currently with messy hair, was lecturing the two apprentices in swordsmanship attire, pointing out their faults just now.
"Everything else is fine, but he really is incredibly earnest when it comes to swordsmanship," Ning Fan remarked.
"Master, look who's here." At that moment, Junior Brother Ning spoke up, and Mr. Jiang Dou Sr. looked toward the grandstand, surprised to see Lu Ran.
"Lu Ran, you scamp??" he exclaimed happily, then turned to the two apprentices beside him, saying, "There, the Senior Brother Lu Ran you have been thinking about is here."
"Let him explain the combination of the Beast Training system and the sword to you later."
"You should learn well from your Senior Brother Lu Ran. You're about the same age, yet he has already begun to pursue Sword Intent..."
"Master, we've already learned Sword Intent," Lu Ran and his friends descended, and upon hearing Jiang Dou's words, Lu Ran updated him with the news.
"Oh, you've already learned... What, you've already learned???" Jiang Dou's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Wait a minute, what do you mean by 'we'?" Old Mr. Jiang Dou suddenly had a bad feeling.
No way, it couldn't be that even that Husky had already...
"Senior Brother Lu Ran!" At that moment, Junior Brother Ning, along with Senior Brother Jin and Senior Sister Fan, all looked at Lu Ran with adoring eyes.
Is Senior Brother Lu Ran really the living incarnation of Passerby A??
Number one on the Divine Pet List, a Pet Beast fighting with a sword in its mouth—so cool.
"And who is this??" Although concerned about the Sword Intent, Mr. Jiang Dou Sr. first inquired about Fang Lan, wondering if Lu Ran had gotten a girlfriend. Why was he carrying around a little girlfriend?
"My sister Fang Lan, she's also a Beast Trainer. We came to Jinling to participate in the Beast Training contest preliminaries and plan to stay at the arena for a couple of days," Lu Ran explained.
"Master Jiang Dou, sorry to disturb you," Fang Lan greeted politely.
"Oh, no problem, welcome, feel at home here," Jiang Dou instantly understood Fang Lan's identity. So she was the daughter of Lu Ran's parents' good friends. Since Jiang Dou had competed with Fang Lan's parents for custody of Lu Ran and failed, he had a deep impression of her parents.
"But going back to what we were talking about, kid, what did you say just now, you've already grasped Sword Intent??" Mr. Jiang Dou Sr. still couldn't believe it.
The three fans beside him were also shocked.
You see, after studying for so long in the arena, they hadn't even learned Sword Momentum, and now this legendary Senior Brother Lu Ran had already grasped the Sword Intent that even Senior Brother Divine Sculpture Hero hadn't grasped?
"Mhm," Lu Ran nodded.
"Hahahaha," hearing Lu Ran affirm this, Mr. Jiang Dou Sr. burst out laughing and said, "That's great, that's great."
"Now that I've heard this, I can rest easy!!!"
"Lu Ran, if you encounter a girl called 'Summer' in the Beast Training University competition, give her a good thrashing for me," he said.
"Huh?" Lu Ran was stunned, not understanding how his grasp of Sword Intent had anything to do with someone named Summer. Who was that?
"She's a disciple of an old rival of mine. We all practice with cold weapons; I use the sword and they use 'spears,'—long spears, not the kind you learned in Hawaii," Jiang Dou explained.
"My rival's disciple has also become a Beast Trainer, and it's said she's grasped 'Gun Intent.' That old guy called to brag to me for a long time, and I can't stand it."
"Now that you say you've also grasped Sword Intent, I feel relieved. If you meet his disciple, just make sure to defeat her thoroughly for me."
"What?" Lu Ran exclaimed in surprise, "The 'Summer' you're speaking of has truly grasped Gun Intent? The Ideological Shaping kind?"
"That's what her master says. Oh, and she should have Integration Talent! She follows the same path as your Senior Brother God Sculpture, belonging to the faction that fights using their own bodies," he said.
"I see," Lu Ran couldn't help saying.
Damn, a competition for newcomers and suddenly there are so many strong players. Another formidable opponent is added to the list.
Lu Ran was well aware of the difficulty of comprehending Sword Intent. If it weren't for Mr. Husky's perfect fusion of the Weapon Control Trait, at least for now, they had no hope of grasping Sword Intent.
However, that girl named Summer, might have a chance to grasp Gun Intent. Lu Ran's approach to swordsmanship had been rather intermittent—if the other party had been practicing gun techniques under a great master from a young age, then their experience in gunmanship would surely be stronger than Lu Ran's in swordsmanship.
Such Cold Weapon inheritors were rare, unlike Lu Ran, who picked up the skill as a hobby. Most apprentices, like those at the Prism Arena, were planning on earning ranks in the future and then making a living by winning cash prizes from various swordsmanship competitions. For instance, Senior Brother Divine Sculpture Hero had once obtained a respectable ranking in an international swordsmanship competition.
Moreover, since that Summer possessed an Integration Talent and shared strength with her Pet Beast during the fusion stage, if her Pet Beast mastered Energy Shaping in combination with the Beast Trainer's own talent for gunmanship, grasping Gun Intent might be possible.
But even so, that would be exceptionally monstrous. After all, fourth-generation Beast Trainers have only been growing for a little over three months; to comprehend Ideological Shaping at this stage, one's learning ability and intuition must be top-tier.
"Don't worry, if I encounter her, I will defeat her," Lu Ran reassured his master.
Though the opponent was formidable, Lu Ran was undaunted.
"If I encounter her, I will defeat her too, Master Jiang Dou rest assured!" Fang Lan chimed in, smiling brightly.
"Do you think you could win?" Lu Ran glanced at her skeptically.
"Don't underestimate me, hey!" Fang Lan said indignantly. Although Ideological Shaping was indeed very powerful, her experience with the Poison Path was also considerable. Especially once she learned Fusion, she would be able to use many tactics that had previously been unavailable to her.
She had hesitated before because she was not resistant to poison and could easily harm herself, but now... Fusion Skills could perfectly make up for this weakness.
By then, she could use energy compression to create a Poisonous Gas Grenade to explode over the entire ring, forming a Poisonous Gas Hurricane, or compress energy into a Poison Liquid Grenade, release it into the sky, and create a toxic rain that covers the entire ring... Let the opponent wait to cry!
The opponent had a gun, not a "submachine gun"; there would be no issue!
"Ha ha ha, good," Mr. Jiang Dou Sr. seemed to have been aggrieved by an old rival, as he was in an exceptionally good mood now.
"So Senior Brother Lu Ran, this time you would be representing the 'Sword Path Faction' in the competition, right?" Junior Sister Fan asked curiously.
"The Beast Training forums are all discussing which Beast Training faction will perform the best..."
"That's not accurate. The Sword Path Faction refers to Beast Trainers who use sword-type weapons to fight with the power of their Pet Beasts."
"But on the side of Senior Brother Lu Ran... it seems like it's the Pet Beast holding the sword in combat, a faction that hasn't appeared before."
"Then it's a new faction, the 'Sword-biting Pet Beast Faction'!" Junior Brother Ning exclaimed excitedly.
Today, the arena of Beast Training factions is full of variety, with some fighting solely through commanding their Pet Beasts, others utilizing their Pet Beasts' strength for their own combat. Each faction can be further divided into different sub-factions.
For instance, those who fight by harnessing the strength of their Pet Beasts can be divided into the Physical Skill Flow, the Cold Weapon Flow, and even the rare Mental Telekinesis Flow.
These factions have emerged based on the different Beast Training Techniques of trainers, and which faction is stronger than another has always been a matter of debate in the field of Beast Training.
At this point, supporters of various factions are waiting to validate their viewpoints through the competition held by the Beast Training University. After all, this is Xia Country's first large-scale Beast Training competition, and countless battles await to provide evidence for their theories.
The three juniors were chirping excitedly. They were too weak to achieve much in this competition, but Senior Brother Lu Ran was definitely a favored contender.
The problem lies in the fact that Lu Ran's 'Sword-biting Pet Beast Faction' doesn't seem to belong to any existing faction... So might a newly emerged faction thrash established ones, giving rise to the birth of a new trend? They were curious; after all, as Beast Trainers, they were also influenced by the new trend.