Beastmaster: I'm really just a forest ranger

Chapter 450 Li Tianyun, I'm back! I want to challenge Advisor Chen.

The East China Sea is a sea area renowned for its clear blue waters and numerous coral reefs.

The sky was a pure, clear blue, with a few wisps of white clouds drifting lazily by, and the sunlight streaming down without obstruction.

The sea was as calm as a gently rippling blue glass mirror, reflecting sparkling, shimmering light. Occasionally, a sea breeze would sweep across the surface, creating only soft ripples.

A pristine white, streamlined luxury cruise ship is quietly anchored on this dreamlike sea.

The cruise ship deck was filled with the leisure and joy unique to vacationers.

Tourists in brightly colored swimsuits lay on comfortable deck chairs, enjoying the sun and chilled drinks, their laughter carried on the sea breeze.

Or they might lean against the railing in twos or threes, holding up their cameras to capture the breathtaking scenery before them.

Many enthusiastic beast tamers even led their aquatic pets directly into the cool seawater to dance with the fish.

Looking around, several bioluminescent jellyfish, like translucent parachutes, drifted slowly along the ship's side, emitting a soft glow; a pair of colorful fish chased and played, leaving dazzling trails; in the distance, a giant turtle could even be seen slowly surfacing to breathe, its shell shimmering with an unusual luster in the sunlight.

Two sailors in standard crew uniforms stood by the railing on the bow deck.

The tall sailor took a deep breath of the fresh, salty air, stretched his arms, and wore a satisfied smile.
"Blue skies, white clouds, calm seas—if every voyage were like this, this job would be no different from a vacation. I really hope this good weather continues until we reach the shore."

The short sailor next to him smiled and nodded, then looked into the distance at the horizon where the sea and sky blended into one, with almost no change in sight. He shrugged and said, "It will take us at least two or three more days to get ashore. This good weather won't last that long."

As the two were chatting, a figure emerged from a nearby cabin door and slowly walked onto the deck, immediately attracting their attention.

This was a tall, slender young man, dressed in a simple white shirt and khaki trousers, yet his outstanding charisma was undeniable. His short black hair fluttered slightly in the wind, revealing a sharply defined face.

He simply stood there quietly, naturally creating an invisible aura that subconsciously diminished the surrounding noise.

The two sailors exchanged a knowing glance, lowered their voices, and spoke with barely concealed excitement and awe.

"Look, it's Li Tianyun, one of the top four contestants in the Donghuang Tournament!" the tall sailor exclaimed excitedly.

"The captain said a few days ago that a very important person was boarding the ship. So this is the person."

The short sailor nodded repeatedly, his eyes filled with surprise: "I heard that after the Eastern Empire Tournament, Li Tianyun did not choose to stay in China, but went directly abroad to train. He participated in the Pacific Rim Beast Tamer Tournament and the American Masters Invitational Tournament. It seems that he also went to the Amazon rainforest for an adventure some time ago and won several significant championship titles, making him very famous!"

"Yes, it hasn't been long, but he seems to have improved a lot. Do you think he would have a chance against Consultant Chen now?" The tall sailor suddenly asked a pointed question.

As soon as he finished speaking, the two fell into a brief silence.

The name Chen Yuan is already like a myth in the hearts of most Eastern Beast Tamers.

After a long pause, the short sailor awkwardly touched his nose and mumbled, "It's hard to say, hard to say. Although Li Tianyun has made great progress, compared to Consultant Chen, well, he can't compare, he can't compare."

Although they spoke in hushed tones, how could their conversation escape Li Tianyun's ears?

Li Tianyun's lips curved into an almost imperceptible smile, but he neither turned around nor paid any attention.

He was already used to this kind of discussion.

His gaze was fixed on the boundless blue sky in the distance, but his thoughts drifted away with the sea breeze to even more distant places.

As the two sailors said, during the period after the Donghuang Conference, he traveled across the ocean and his footprints covered the world.

Battle deadly wild beasts in treacherous primeval jungles, clash with genius beast tamers from around the world in international arenas teeming with experts, and explore ancient and mysterious ruins to find treasures left over from the last era of beast taming.
Every challenge, every near-death experience, strengthened his will and allowed his pets to undergo unprecedented trials and growth.

However, no matter what achievements he made or how much praise he received, there was always a figure deep in his heart that was as clear as a brand – that figure in the semi-finals of the Donghuang Tournament, who seemed calm but contained a vast, ocean-like power, who defeated him with absolute strength and with an elegant despair that made him feel utterly defeated.

"Advisor Chen."

Li Tianyun silently recited the name in his heart, his eyes showing no sign of discouragement, but rather a burning fighting spirit. "I'm back."

Suddenly, a burst of laughter interrupted his thoughts.

He looked down and saw several adorable sea lions playing in the water beside the boat, making cheerful noises.

Seeing these carefree wild beasts, the lines on Li Tianyun's face gradually softened. He had an idea and decided to let the little guy he had contracted in the Abyss Dragon Cave come out and have some fun.

The next moment, the air on the deck in front of him suddenly distorted, and a complex and intricate summoning array, shining with a deep purple light, slowly emerged.

The array rotated rapidly, emitting a powerful energy fluctuation.

"A purple summoning array! It's a Moon-level Beast Tamer!"

"It's Li Tianyun! One of Donghuang's top four contestants, who was defeated by Advisor Chen in the semi-finals."

"He's actually a beast tamer who's qualified to be defeated by Advisor Chen!"

The surrounding tourists immediately let out a collective gasp of surprise, their eyes all turning to look at the scene with a mixture of curiosity and awe.

As the array of lights reached its peak, a tall, slender figure snaked out from within.

The Dark Stream Dragon is covered in dark purple scales, the edges of which gleam with a cold metallic luster and shimmer with a mysterious halo in the sunlight.

Its body is long and slender like a snake, but it is more agile and nimble, and it does not lose the majesty of the dragon race.

Its head is somewhat ferocious, with sharp teeth in its mouth, and most striking is the long, single horn on its forehead that points straight to the sky and is covered with spiral patterns.

It is the dragon-like pet that Li Tianyun contracted in the Abyss Dragon Cave, the Dark Current Nether Dragon, a water-type and dark-type creature, and its natural quality is Morning Star.

"Angyou~"

The Dark Stream Dragon let out a clear, low murmur, its round, purple eyes curiously scanning its new surroundings. Then, it affectionately rubbed its massive head against Li Tianyun's arm.

Then, being a water-type pet, it was quickly attracted by the vast blue world beneath its feet. It let out a cheerful groan, and with a nimble twist of its slender body, it silently slid into the cool seawater like an arrow, only stirring up a slight ripple.

As soon as the Dark Current Dragon entered the water, although it deliberately concealed the dragon's aura emanating from its body, it still caused the low-level pets in the nearby waters to feel a fear originating from the depths of their bloodlines. They scattered in panic and fled, causing a small disturbance in the originally harmonious underwater world.

Li Tianyun leaned against the cool railing, letting the slightly salty sea breeze ruffle his short, dark hair. He quietly watched the figure of the Dark Dragon appear and disappear in the azure sea, chasing schools of fish, a relaxed and satisfied smile on his face.

During this period, he and his pets have been busy with outdoor training and participating in various competitions, and they have hardly had any rest.

This return to Donghuang serves two purposes: first, to rest; second, to...
"Challenge Consultant Chen!" Li Tianyun's eyes shone brightly as he murmured to himself.

At the same time, the Dark Current Dragon frolicked in the clear seawater.

Sometimes it darts out like lightning, startling the school of fish; other times it dives into deeper waters, curiously observing the colorful coral reefs and strangely shaped sea creatures.

The Dark Dragon, its playful nature stirred, chased after a group of brightly colored long-tailed stingrays, unknowingly diving deeper and deeper.

The surrounding light gradually dimmed, and the color of the seawater changed from bright azure to deep indigo, eventually fading into almost eternal darkness. The water temperature also dropped noticeably, while the pressure increased.

The vegetation here has become sparse, with only some luminous mosses that do not require sunlight and some ferocious deep-sea fish swimming around. Most of them have degenerated eyes or carry eerie bioluminescence, like ghostly flames.

The place was deathly silent, with only the faint sound of water flowing over scales and the deep, guttural hum of an unknown deep-sea monster in the distance, which sent chills down one's spine.

As the Dark Current Dragon gradually slowed down, a throbbing and calling from the depths of its bloodline appeared without warning, causing its slender body to tremble slightly involuntarily.

The feeling was strange; it wasn't dangerous, but rather a peculiar resonance from one's own kind, as if an extremely powerful dragon-like pet was extending an invitation to it from afar.

The Dark Current Dragon hesitated for a moment, but ultimately followed its instincts, swaying its long tail as it continued to dive deeper and darker into the abyss.

After descending for an unknown amount of time, a blurry, enormous shadow suddenly appeared in the endless darkness ahead.

As they drew closer, the outline of the shadow gradually became clear—it was a vast ancient architectural complex submerged on the seabed.

The collapsed massive stone pillars, the broken relief walls, and the palace foundation covered with sea mud and coral all lay silently in eternal darkness and silence, exuding an incomparably desolate and ancient aura.

The Dark Current Dragon's purple eyes were filled with astonishment; it had never seen such a sight before.

Just then, the Dark Current Dragon tilted its head slightly, its gaze passing over the dark seawater and gradually landing on the edge of the underwater ruins in front of it—there was a relatively intact pyramid-shaped building, with two faint halos of light flickering in front of it.

It's human!
Two humans wearing diving suits!

Each of them was accompanied by a water-type pet, which used water-type skills to insulate them from the strong water pressure and provide the oxygen they needed to breathe, allowing them to successfully dive to the deep sea.

Faint human voices traveled through the water to the keen ears of the Dark Dragon.

"We've struck it rich! Lao Dao, we've really struck it rich this time!"

An obese diver was running his hand over the cold, rough stone wall, his voice trembling with excitement, his face flushed red beneath his mask.

"Look at the scale and the carvings, this is definitely a relic left over from the last era of spiritual energy revival. We can pick up some good stuff inside and live a carefree life for the rest of our lives!"

As the spiritual energy revival continues, many beast tamers have successively discovered ancient ruins left over from the previous era of spiritual energy revival in the wild, at the bottom of the sea, and in secluded areas rarely visited by humans. Each ruin contains precious treasures.

It could be a long-lost method for acquiring pets, a series of precious and secret materials, or even extremely rare spiritual plants that are rarely seen in the outside world.
The discovery of an ancient ruin will surely attract countless beast tamers.

The tall, thin diver, known as Old Knife, nodded repeatedly, gesturing with his hands, his voice equally excited: "That's right, there are definitely a lot of treasures in here! I never thought we'd actually found ancient ruins!!!"

The two high-fived excitedly, creating a string of bubbles in the water, as if they could already see endless treasures beckoning to them.

The fat diver swam to a huge stone gate, his eyes drawn to a rather inconspicuous, slightly protruding circular stone knob in the center of the gate.

The stone knob was engraved with strange, indistinct patterns.

"This should be the switch to go inside." The fat diver told his companions and pets to get ready, then took a deep breath and pressed the stone button.

Click...

The next moment, a very faint but clearly audible mechanical sound rang out in the dead silence of the deep sea.

hum! ! !
Immediately afterwards, an invisible yet incredibly powerful energy shockwave suddenly spread outwards in all directions from the center of the ancient ruins.

At this moment, the entire underwater ruins seemed like a giant beast awakened, and began to shake violently. Debris fell from the buildings, seabed silt was stirred up, and visibility instantly became murky.

The surrounding seawater was churning, and the site was in turmoil.

"what happened?!"

"An earthquake? Or did it trigger some kind of trap?!"

Fatty and Old Knife were terrified by what they saw, but fortunately, as bounty hunters who had experienced countless storms, they quickly regained their composure and struggled to steady themselves.

However, the next moment, another unexpected event occurred.

In the deepest part of that dark ruin, in that absolute darkness that even the dazzling light from a headlamp could not penetrate, two enormous, small blue moons of light suddenly appeared without warning.

The light was cold and profound, as if it could freeze the soul.

"Eyes!!!"

At that moment, the two could no longer remain calm and screamed in terror.

An indescribable, terrifying pressure swept rapidly in all directions, causing the pets living in the nearby sea to flee in panic. Even the Dark Current Dragon, which was staying in the distance, trembled violently, feeling as if its scales were about to burst open and its blood was almost congealed.

It sensed the presence of its own kind.

This is an even more powerful aura of its kind than that of the Radiant Sky Dragon!

Rumble——! ! !
A deafening roar, like muffled thunder, came from the seabed, as if some enormous creature was awakening and stirring up the deep sea.

Meanwhile, on the sea surface.

Li Tianyun, who was gazing into the distance from the railing, suddenly frowned.

He could clearly feel the ocean liner beneath his feet swaying very slightly, which was definitely not normal.

This shaking sensation wasn't caused by the waves; it felt more like a vibration coming from the deep sea!
Immediately afterwards, the once calm and mirror-like sea surface suddenly boiled.

Tiny ripples instantly turned into raging waves, one higher than the next, violently crashing against the hull, and the cruise ship began to exhibit an unsettling swaying motion.

"Ah! What's going on?"

Why is the boat rocking so badly?

"Has the wind picked up? It was fine just now!"

The tourists on the deck were immediately panicked, screams, the sound of tables and chairs overturning, and the sound of cups and plates shattering filled the air.

Li Tianyun suddenly looked up at the sky and saw that the sky, which had been clear and blue just moments before, was now being swallowed up by boundless, inky black clouds at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The sunlight was completely blocked, and the world quickly darkened, as if it had instantly gone from daylight to dusk.

A fierce wind began to howl, whipping up towering white waves.

The situation suddenly changed, and the world lost its color.

Li Tianyun's face was solemn. He gripped the railing tightly, his gaze sharp as a knife, fixed on the surging sea below, which had turned pitch black.

(End of this chapter)