A Visit to the Bamboo Stone Dojo

"Shi Yu?"

"Yes, that's his name," the apprentice said.

"Let him come over," Lin Hongnian said. That kid was finally willing to come to the dojo.

The apprentice nodded and immediately went to pass on the message.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiuzhu, who was standing nearby, had a vague feeling that the name sounded familiar.

"You know this Shi Yu, don't you?" Lin Hongnian asked his daughter first.

"I remember you telling me before that a very self-disciplined Iron-Eating Beast was taken away by someone named Shi Yu."

The first time Lin Hongnian heard the name Shi Yu, it had been from Lin Xiuzhu, not Lu Qingyi.

But because Shi Yu was only an apprentice Beast Tamer, he hadn't made a point of remembering it.

Only after Lu Qingyi mentioned him and he investigated for himself did he realize and remember that they were the same person.

Lin Xiuzhu said, "It really is him? Father, you still remember? What is it... does he want to join the dojo??"

Lin Hongnian shook his head and said, "No. Someone entrusted me with guiding his development."

"By the way, do you know how that Iron-Eating Beast has grown since he left?"

Lin Xiuzhu also shook her head. "I don't know, but I did tell them they could come to the Iron Bamboo Breeding Base for advice whenever they had a problem. Since he hasn't come back... everything should be normal, right?"

How could it be normal... It was far too abnormal.

After a silence, Lin Hongnian said, "That Shi Yu and his Iron-Eating Beast took part in the Tianmang Mountain training assessment organized by the Beast Tamer Association a few days ago. They took first place."

Lin Xiuzhu froze, unable to process it yet.

Then her beautiful eyes widened. "Impossible! That Iron-Eating Beast was only at Awakening Level Three a month ago..."

At that level, it probably couldn't even beat a wild boar.

Even though she thought highly of the Iron-Eating Beast and believed that the self-disciplined little Iron-Eating Beast Eleven would surely achieve something, she clearly didn't believe what her father had said.

How could anything grow that fast...

"I find it hard to believe too, but he'll be coming to visit shortly. We'll find out then." Lin Hongnian looked at the group of disappointing apprentices on the training ground.

If only this bunch were half as outstanding as Shi Yu was rumored to be.

Growth Level Six... Expert Level Hardening... He'd learned Thunder Palm... It was simply unbelievable.

"Then, what about the fish??" Lin Xiuzhu asked another crucial question. Absurd matters aside, eating was the real business.

"We're not going," Lin Hongnian said.

He'd better wait for Shi Yu.

Although they hadn't met yet, he already found the genius Beast Tamer Shi Yu more pleasing to the eye than his own daughter.

It was just like those parents who were always talking about "other people's children."

He couldn't wait to see just what kind of extraordinary beings Shi Yu and that Iron-Eating Beast were.

"But I already told Mom you were coming with us."

Lin Xiuzhu gave her father a strange look. Had her father actually stood up for himself today? Did he dare defy Her Majesty the Empress Dowager? Wasn't he afraid he'd have to sleep on a bamboo board when he got home tonight?

Lin Hongnian turned around calmly.

"Where are you going?" Lin Xiuzhu asked.

"To tell Shi Yu to come back this afternoon. I'm suddenly a little hungry."

"This afternoon?"

After the dojo apprentice told Shi Yu that Dojo Master Lin Hongnian would be at the dojo that afternoon and someone would receive him when he visited, Shi Yu stretched in anticipation.

That worked too. He could find somewhere on the way to have a good lunch before heading over.

At around ten in the morning, Shi Yu set off. To save time, he once again chose to take a taxi, indulging himself because he had money.

After arriving near the dojo, he picked a restaurant that looked fairly upscale and ordered a whole spread of dishes, including the wild boar meat he hadn't gotten to eat last time.

After eating and drinking his fill, Shi Yu checked the time. It was nearly one, so he headed straight for the Bamboo Stone Dojo.

Outside the Bamboo Stone Dojo.

"Excuse me, is anyone there?"

Shi Yu knocked on the main gate.

A moment later, the gate opened, and someone in a familiar outfit answered it.

Shi Yu looked her up and down and said instinctively, "Panda sen-"

"No, wait... Keeper Lin Xiuzhu?"

The one who had opened the gate was Lin Xiuzhu, dressed in panda-style shorts and a T-shirt.

"Hello, we meet again," Lin Xiuzhu said, looking at Shi Yu with a smile.

"Yeah." Shi Yu nodded. When he bought the Iron-Eating Beast, he had already felt there was something unusual about Lin Xiuzhu. Only later did he learn that she was Lin Hongnian's daughter.

All in all, she was another second-generation Beast Tamer, fair-skinned, rich, and beautiful.

Alas, he'd just received ten million from Lu Qingyi, and now he was about to take cultivation resources from someone else. Sure enough, his stomach wasn't very good; he was skilled at eating soft rice.

Speaking of which... he didn't seem to have finished paying off his loan. He'd originally planned to pay it back monthly, but now... did he still need to repay it???

"Follow me. My father is inside." With that, Lin Xiuzhu led the way.

A moment later, Shi Yu was invited into the dojo's reception room.

Now, Shi Yu finally met Dojo Master Lin Hongnian, whom Chen Kai, Zhuang Yue, and the others had once called a possible contender for the number one Beast Tamer in Pingcheng District.

"Sit." Inside the room, Lin Hongnian, dressed in gray martial arts attire, extended a hand to invite Shi Yu to take a seat.

Sensing Dojo Master Lin Hongnian's presence, Shi Yu thought, He's an expert at a glance. Since he's an expert, I wonder if his other pets have any rare skills...

Shi Yu sat down stiffly, while Lin Xiuzhu, who had brought him over, sat down opposite him quite naturally.

Lin Xiuzhu still didn't believe the achievements Lin Hongnian had just described. After all, she could be said to have raised Eleven... How could she not know how strong Eleven had been a month ago?

Besides, she'd also asked her father about it over lunch, but Lin Hongnian himself had been vague and unable to answer, saying only that Shi Yu had encountered a special opportunity... Ridiculous!

"Dr. Lu has already spoken to me."

"If you intend to study at the Bamboo Stone Dojo, I'll teach you everything I know."

"However, from what I understand, there seems to be only so much I can teach you about raising an Iron-Eating Beast."

Of the Bamboo Stone Dojo's methods for raising Iron-Eating Beasts, the most precious were undoubtedly the skill manuals for Thunder Palm and Cannon Fist.

Apart from those, things like specially made nutritional supplements and food were also extremely expensive, but their value clearly fell a little short of the skill manuals, and there were many substitutes for them.

Shi Yu and his pet had taught themselves Thunder Palm, so it was no wonder Lin Hongnian said he didn't have much left to teach them.

"You're too kind." Shi Yu said he was just a newbie.

"How about this? From now on, all three training grounds at the Bamboo Stone Dojo will be freely available to you, and you can use the training equipment as you please. The dojo will also provide all the resources needed to raise your Iron-Eating Beast."

"Xiuzhu should have given you the basic Iron-Eating Beast care manual. I'll give you an advanced cultivation guide later for your reference."

"If you have any questions about raising it, you can come to me anytime. You won't have to train together with the other apprentices at the dojo."

"What do you think?"

A genius deserved special treatment.

Shi Yu's Iron-Eating Beast had already mastered Expert Level Hardening and Thunder Palm, so there was no need at all for him to do the daily training the ordinary apprentices did.

Thus, Lin Hongnian gave Shi Yu many privileges that the other apprentices, not even his own daughter, had enjoyed at the start.

"Thank you, Dojo Master Lin," Shi Yu said. "That suits me quite well."

Food and training grounds were provided, his freedom wasn't restricted, and he could ask a master-level Beast Tamer questions whenever he liked. These terms... were simply perfect.

Good. It looked like he could spend the entire ten million on supplements without holding anything back. That settled Eleven's cultivation resources, didn't it? Eleven did have quite an appetite, though. He didn't know whether the dojo could handle it... Normally it should be fine; he just feared Eleven would get carried away and use Size Alteration to eat.

As for the Green Silkworm's food... wasn't it everywhere outside?

Joining the Eleven Bureau really had been the right choice. Otherwise, he might still have been recuperating at this point.

"If I'm not mistaken, your Iron-Eating Beast has already learned Thunder Palm, hasn't it?"

"And its proficiency in Hardening has also reached Expert Level."

Shi Yu nodded. "That's right."

Lin Xiuzhu: (^_^)?

The more you say, the more ridiculous it gets.

"Then let's focus on training Thunder Palm first. Thunder Palm is easier to learn than Cannon Fist. Bite off more than you can chew, and you won't digest it. If you want to learn Cannon Fist, my advice is to wait until after you've mastered Thunder Palm."

Shi Yu nodded. Indeed, if he bit off more than he could chew, he wouldn't be able to digest it. He couldn't even add points to all of the Iron-Eating Beast's current skills.

As for Cannon Fist... he'd pass.

An ordinary Iron-Eating Beast might lack that skill, but his Iron-Eating Beast had no shortage of one. Thunder Palm was enough as a similar skill; there was no need to add the fire-type Cannon Fist to broaden its attack coverage.

Even if he did need one, he would surely wait until later to record a more advanced skill.

"There are very few records of Thunder Palm outside the dojo. Next, I'll take you to the training ground and explain the Thunder Palm skill to you in detail."

"Before that, I'll also introduce you to the other apprentices. You'll inevitably come into contact with them when you visit the dojo in the future."

"As for the dojo's various training facilities, I'll have Xiuzhu show you around afterward."

Lin Xiuzhu had many questions, but she didn't dare interrupt too much while her father was speaking.

Her place at the bottom of the family hierarchy: mother above father above her. That was the reality.

"Speaking of which..." Dojo Master Lin Hongnian looked at Shi Yu.

"Although I heard about you and your pet from Yan Qi, I still don't seem to know much about your situation."

"Would you mind having a practical battle with one of our dojo's apprentices, so I can get a better understanding of your circumstances?"

"Sure!" Lin Xiuzhu answered for Shi Yu. A practical battle was good. She also wanted to see just what state Shi Yu and his pet were in now.

(⁄⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄⁄) Fight! Fight!

Shi Yu was utterly calm. I'm invincible. Do as you please.