Physiological Structure

As if to preserve the specimen's vitality, Shatuo brought some dry ice and sprinkled it around the frog specimen, hazy white mist drifting ethereally.

Affected by the dry ice, the blood flow at the frog's abdominal wound slowed.

"Dissecting animal specimens lies in studying their physiological structures and biological habits, thereby comprehending, throughout the long years of nature's history, the evolutionary mysteries etched into living organisms. By simulating these evolutionary mysteries with your own Energy Magnetic Field, you can complete an evolution that surpasses natural history and create your own academic knowledge!"

As Shatuo narrated unhurriedly, he actually manipulated the frog's internal organs out of its body with extreme clarity.

The vivid red organs formed a stark contrast against the pristine white tray!

With his dark face, Shatuo suddenly turned to look at Reilo, who was watching intently, and said with a surprised smile, "I thought you'd be nervous. Many people find it too cruel when they dissect animal specimens for the first time."

Reilo replied, "My father is an excellent hunter!"

"That's good!"

Shatuo nodded, said nothing more, and began explaining the internal organ structure of the frog specimen.

"This is the frog's heart. Through blood vessels, the heart delivers blood to every corner of the body. The heart is the Life Source. Intelligent beings everywhere have the most primitive totemic worship of the heart, including us humans."

After a pause, Shatuo continued, "One of the essential differences between Magic Beasts and ordinary beasts is also the heart! The heart of a Magic Beast produces a kind of energy crystal, which we call an Energy Crystal. Scholars of the Balda Duchy are attempting to use Energy Crystals to replace a scholar's Energy Magnetic Field, bypassing the process of needing a companion medium."

"Companion medium..."

As far as Reilo knew, almost every high-level scholar had their own companion medium.

Senior Brother Gubo's companion medium was Jiahei, Wushuang's companion medium was that giant eagle named "Little Shadow," and Senior Sister Bailing intended to buy that Ice Elves Fox as her companion medium. But he had yet to see Senior Brother Shatuo's companion medium.

"Oh, right! Senior Brother, what about your companion medium?"

Facing Reilo's sudden question, his face full of curiosity, Shatuo, who had been lecturing, paused. Then, under Reilo's gaze, he slowly reached deep into his sleeve and carefully took out an unremarkable snail.

"My companion medium is this. A mutated Rock Snail I stumbled upon during an expedition in the Hengduan Mountains. I named it Dingding."

The snail was only the size of a baby's fist, pitch-black and utterly inconspicuous.

The snail was awakened by Shatuo, slowly extending its soft tentacles from its shell. Its movements were far too slow; in nature, any animal could easily kill it. Yet Shatuo had chosen it as his companion medium. Perhaps there were some special qualities Reilo hadn't noticed.

"Senior Brother, you're amazing!"

Faced with his junior's praise, Shatuo thought Reilo had seen through something and shook his head helplessly.

"Your senior brother is dull-witted. Thanks to the mentor's grace, I've barely managed some meager achievements. I can only work twice as hard to avoid embarrassing the mentor outside. As for you, little junior, the companion medium is almost a scholar's second life. The companion medium's talent will permanently affect the nature of the scholar's Energy Magnetic Field. You must choose carefully in the future!"

At Shatuo's earnest warning, Reilo hummed in acknowledgment and nodded.

"Oh, by the way, what does Dingding eat?"

Reilo planned to buy some of Dingding's favorite food when he came over tomorrow.

"Uh, Dingding feeds on Energy Crystals. Junior, you'd better not worry about it."

Hearing that Dingding actually ate Energy Crystals, Reilo was instantly embarrassed. As the son of an excellent hunter, Reilo naturally knew the value of Energy Crystals.

That summer, his father had returned from a hunt, excitedly pulling out a shiny stone, telling Reilo that this was an energy crystal that could only be nurtured inside a Magic Beast. Even the lowest grade could be exchanged for at least a gold coin!

At the time, Reilo had naively believed that all Energy Crystals came from Magic Beasts. Only later did he learn that, compared to the Energy Crystals produced by hunting Magic Beasts, the quantity mined from crystal mines was utterly insignificant.

Thus, Reilo couldn't help but ask, "Senior Brother, where do the Energy Crystals underground come from?"

"Hmm..."

Shatuo pondered for a moment, then frowned. "Regarding this question, scholars who study Natural Law and those who study Evolution's Profound Meaning have different views. Scholars studying Natural Law believe these Energy Crystals are gradually formed by natural energy under high temperature and pressure due to crustal movements. Scholars studying Evolution's Profound Meaning believe these crystal mines are accumulated from the burial of ancient Magic Beasts after death. Both sides have their arguments, but there is no clear answer yet."

"Oh!"

Reilo nodded, also pondering the formation of crystal mines. Which school of thought was closer to the truth?

"Junior, let the Royal Academicians worry about these things. Next, we'll dissect the kidney. This unremarkable little thing produces urine, expels toxins from the body, and also has endocrine functions, promoting adrenaline, biological hormones, and so on. Adrenaline is a high-intensity stimulant with severe side effects. It's said that those scholars in the Balda Duchy researching human potential..."

Throughout the day, Reilo continuously recorded in his notebook, asking all sorts of peculiar questions.

Faced with this junior brother's intense curiosity, Shatuo actually developed a complex feeling of envy and admiration.

Compared to his junior's lively curiosity, he himself had been criticized by the mentor countless times over the years for lacking a fervent reverence and desire to conquer the Law of Truth.

Shatuo tirelessly explained the basics of animal dissection to Reilo, along with the frog's special physiological structure. If not for time constraints, just this single frog would have been enough for Reilo to study for several days.

Reilo had never imagined that a tiny frog could hold so many mysteries!

The frog's tongue, strip-shaped, generally reaching ten to fifteen centimeters in length, with a forked tip covered in mucus, captured insects at super-visual speed. Ordinary people could barely perceive it and would mistakenly think the frog "sucked" the insects into its mouth.

The frog's eyes possessed Dynamic Vision, barely perceiving stationary objects. A special neural system would blur and ignore relatively still objects. However, for moving objects, the frog's Dynamic Vision had an advantage unimaginable to ordinary creatures, quickly determining the target's position, speed, direction, and making minute-level judgments!

The Linear Brain-Eating Worm inside a few frogs was an extremely terrifying parasite. Once someone ate a frog infected with this parasite raw, infection was highly likely. The horrible parasite would devour the host's brain within a few months!

The severed frog leg, with a slight stimulus, would reflexively spring...

Especially toward the end, when explaining the frog's brain—cortical gray matter, pyramidal cell layer, polymorphic cell layer, internal granular layer, and so on—Reilo still felt dizzy and disoriented.

It wasn't until nightfall that Reilo finally finished his first day of introductory lessons. Walking the dark road, he headed toward his small hut.

Rubbing his forehead, Reilo's eyes were filled with fatigue, but deep within his gaze was unprecedented shock.

A door to an entirely new world, one he had never heard of, was slowly opening before Reilo. This was a new world that the Festival of Light could never hope to reach.