Luo Yu held the notes and read them intently.
"Like mutant beasts, which can learn higher-level skills through training after birth in addition to their own racial abilities, 'Monarch heterogeneity' can also be simulated. The heterogeneity that the Common Species condenses through simulation is called 'commander heterogeneity.' It likewise possesses the ability to imprint a bloodline mark and establish a dependent system."
So that's how it is... He had underestimated this father he had gained without any effort. The man really knew quite a lot.
His study was a treasure trove.
Luo Yu continued reading.
"However, for a Common Species to condense 'commander heterogeneity,' its aptitude is extremely important, and expensive resources are also required."
That makes sense... Luo Yu rubbed his chin and looked at the little penguin beside him.
July's aptitude was beyond question. As for resources, Luo Yu already had a steady source of income and was no longer poor.
"Common Species capable of condensing 'commander heterogeneity' are generally also known as Commander Level mutant beasts, and their strength is greater. This condensation method was developed by a doctor of biology at Azure Billows University. He made no secret of the method and even often mentioned it casually in class."
Azure Billows University again... The Gene Evolution Potion and the heterogeneity condensation method had both been developed there. It truly deserved its reputation as a holy land for Beast Taming research.
"First, the required materials... a basin of Abyss Species mutant beast blood, enough to submerge the pet beast... plus a portion of Blood Coagulation Algae. The actual procedure is to set up a large pot and bring the abyssal sea beast blood to a boil, then let the Common Species soak in it, much like a 'medicinal bath.'"
"The boiling abyssal blood will briefly activate the 'monarch presence,' assaulting every pore of life in the Common Species and bringing its blood to a boil as well. The Blood Coagulation Algae's role is to find the bloodline factors within the Common Species that resonate with the monarch presence and condense them into 'commander heterogeneity.'"
"This process is extremely dangerous, so it simply cannot be widely adopted. After all, both abyssal-species blood and Blood Coagulation Algae are extremely valuable, and ordinary pet beasts generally cannot withstand blood boiling at temperatures like molten lava."
"So even though this doctor developed a way for Common Species mutant beasts to acquire dependents, hardly anyone uses it."
"Besides that, there are rules for establishing a dependent system. A dependent's species rank cannot exceed that of its bloodline master."
"In other words, a lower monarch species can only have dependents that are lower monarchs at most. It cannot take a middle monarch as a dependent."
Under those conditions, even if someone spent vast resources on a Common Species mutant beast, condensed commander heterogeneity for it, and contracted a dependent, they would only gain another dependent of the same level. How much could that improve their strength?
It was far too cost-ineffective.
The returns fell far short of the resources consumed and the risk of condensation.
With that kind of money, if they scraped together a little more, they might even be able to make a down payment on a monarch cub.
Aside from beast tamers who shared an exceptionally deep bond with their ordinary pet beasts and had searched desperately for a way to evolve them without success, probably not many people would be willing to use this method to strengthen an ordinary pet beast.
In other words, even if July condenses commander heterogeneity, he can only contract a Low-Rank Ordinary Species as a bloodline dependent at most...
After reading through it, Luo Yu felt a headache coming on.
Not only was it dangerous, but the returns were also low.
No wonder he had never heard of it before. Normal people had no use for it.
Only because Luo Yu's parents had seen the world and studied somewhere important had they known about such an outrageous cultivation secret.
In theory, this cultivation secret is a bit like chicken ribs...
But my situation seems a little different???
Suppose I want a Water Devil Beast to become July's dependent.
Normally, there'd be no way to do it. After all, a Water Devil Beast is a whole major rank above July.
But Water Devil Beasts evolve from Ink Fish, which are a Low-Rank Ordinary Species.
If I let the little penguin contract an Ink Fish as a bloodline dependent first, then let the Ink Fish evolve to monarch level while it's a dependent, wouldn't he have a monarch dependent?!
If that's the case...
Wouldn't he have two pet beasts even without expanding his beast-taming space?
Still, wasn't having a monarch species become a Common Species' dependent a bit like turning heaven and earth upside down?
When a dependent was weaker than its master, the bloodline master wasn't affected much.
But what if the dependent was stronger than its master? And much stronger at that!
Would the bloodline master undergo some special change?
Would it be a good change, or a harmful effect?
A harmful possibility was that, after the Ink Fish evolved, the bloodline mark would simply dissipate, like a contract breaking and a pet beast defecting from its beast tamer.
But a good change... was it possible that after the Ink Fish evolved, July would also complete an alternative kind of evolution along with it?
When one person attains the Dao, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven... No, to be precise, when the dependent evolves, the bloodline master ascends to heaven!
If it works... Luo Yu summed it up.
[1. By condensing commander heterogeneity, have a Common Species contract the commanding Ink Fish as a dependent.]
[2. Then have the Ink Fish evolve into a monarch species.]
[3. That way, the Common Species will have a monarch dependent.]
[4. With the Common Species able to use the monarch dependent's power, it might undergo a tremendous change.]
But whether that change would be good or bad required further experimentation.
It's worth looking into... I'll be raising plenty of Water Devil Beasts later anyway, so I can treat it as "related research."
After some thought, Luo Yu tentatively named this research the [Dependent Evolution Method]: using the power of a bloodline dependent to make the bloodline master evolve.
Of course, since he didn't know whether doing so would bring benefits or harm, Luo Yu certainly didn't dare try it directly on the little penguin.
However, as long as the possibility of such an "evolution" existed, he figured plenty of people would be willing to serve as guinea pigs and test subjects to see if it could succeed.
After all, far too many beast tamers who had achieved fame and success still couldn't bear to replace their original ordinary pet beasts. They might have opened a second or third space through fortuitous encounters and contracted stronger monarch pet beasts, yet through a combination of circumstances, they had never found a way to evolve their initial ordinary pet beasts...
He seemed to recall seeing a similar bounty in the alliance's monthly report a couple of days ago.
Qiao Yi, a young King Level Beast Tamer of the Azure Billows Continent, had started with a Heartsea Jellyfish, a Low-Rank Ordinary Species and a healing-type pet beast. Originally, she had only wanted to be a frontline healthcare worker, but, unexpectedly, one fortuitous encounter followed another. She opened a second Beast Taming space and even contracted a Monarch Species pet beast, eventually changing paths to become a combat Beast Tamer. She was now one of the strongest members of the Sea Tamer Alliance's younger generation.
By then, the Heartsea Jellyfish, a mere Low-Rank Species, had long since been unable to keep up with her. Yet she couldn't bear to abandon her initial pet beast, so she had kept a bounty open, hoping a biologist could develop a way for it to evolve. Even an evolution to an Upper-Tier Common Species would earn a generous reward.
People like her were the intended audience for the Dependent Evolution Method Luo Yu had devised.
If he couldn't find a way to evolve the little penguin through the Ancient Grotto later, he naturally hoped the Dependent Evolution Method would work, so he could use it to strengthen the little penguin.
"Come on, let's go to the farm again." Luo Yu tugged July along. He was already planning to treat the commanding Ink Fish with the utmost care.
At the research institute, as experimental material, the commanding Ink Fish was definitely on the same level as the Breeding Paragon, if not a little higher.
After Luo Yu fished the commanding Ink Fish out, he took a look. It was female.
"Good, good."
"Luckily, the Breeding Paragon gave birth to two more Breeding Paragons, and one of them is male. Otherwise, breeding them really would have been a problem."
The next day.
Humming a little tune, Luo Yu waited early for Teacher Yu Wan to pick him up and take him to his post at the arena.
"Luo Yu, come out!!!"
But before Yu Wan arrived, a voice brimming with resentment made Luo Yu pause.
Who was it?
The voice sounded rather familiar.
Luo Yu opened the window and looked down from the second floor, then fell into thought. Wasn't that Chen Bo?
What did this guy want with him...?
A moment later, Luo Yu came out of the research institute in his slippers. He looked at Chen Bo and said, "What is it??"
"You..." Chen Bo took a deep breath. "I challenge you!!"
"A challenge??" Luo Yu looked utterly baffled. Why was Chen Bo challenging him?
"Having brought Bo into the world, why did heaven also bring forth Yu?" Chen Bo was heartbroken.
He could have broken the record for the cultivation qualification assessment and become the youngest person to pass it. Then Luo Yu had appeared out of nowhere. That alone would have been one thing; he had accepted it as bad luck.
But now Luo Yu had somehow suddenly produced some kind of medical research result, and Chen Bo couldn't understand it!
After that, his life had been worse than death almost every day. His parents put him through the wringer daily, more than doubling both his study load and his training.
And the culprit behind it all was Luo Yu, that child from someone else's family.
The more Chen Bo thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. He had bottled up his frustration for a week and really wanted to let some of it out.
"Did your parents give you a talking-to?" Luo Yu grinned. Judging by Chen Bo's expression, he had a rough idea of what had happened.
These parents were no fun at all. Wasn't this kid already outstanding? They still weren't satisfied.
Why compare him to Luo Yu...?
"Did you pass this month's cultivation qualification assessment?" Luo Yu asked.
"I did. So what?" Chen Bo asked.
"That's good, then. If you're unhappy at home, why not come be my son... No, why not come work for me? I need someone to feed the fish."
"I'll give you a job opportunity to become more outstanding. No charge."