In the blink of an eye, another week had passed. Luo Yu's groups of Ink Fish had begun mating one after another, except for the ice element × ice element pair. Those two seemed rather uninterested in sex, and theirs was the only group that had yet to mate.
For the most part, things were proceeding normally with the others. Unlike the uninterested pair, however, the model specimen × model specimen pair was especially vigorous, going at it eight times a night, as if determined to restore the reputation of male Ink Fish.
Luo Yu hurriedly stopped them. Male Ink Fish had limited stamina, after all, and if the sperm they supplied was too poor in quality, they wouldn't produce any good eggs.
That week... Luo Yu had mainly focused on training July's swimming. Other matters, such as when the Ink Fish would lay their eggs and when those eggs would hatch, were beyond his control.
Breeding was a time-consuming job, not one suited to the impatient.
As for Luo Yu himself, apart from finding time to read while training July, he had nothing else to do. Although Beast Tamers could cultivate too-Mental Talent Beast Tamers could cultivate psychic abilities, for example, while Strength Talent Beast Tamers could train in combat-that came after they became full-fledged Beast Tamers. At the apprentice stage, the power of their talents had yet to be fully developed.
Take his soul manipulation technique: even if he wanted to practice it, he couldn't. His soul power was still too weak.
An apprentice Beast Tamer's main task was to raise their pet beast. As long as the pet beast broke through level 10 and reached level 11, the Beast Tamer would naturally advance, with no need to do anything extra.
"Not bad?"
In the arena infirmary, Luo Yu sat in the office, drinking chilled honey water as he assessed the results of the three students' training.
Unlike seven days ago, when they had been full of doubt, the three students now looked at Luo Yu with utter reverence. After following his guidance, they felt as though all their previous training had been for nothing!
"Amazing! Wave Dog only just learned Water Flow Claw, and it's already more powerful than Flowing Fang," Zhuang Feng said excitedly.
Bing Liang said in a daze, "I never thought Cold Mist Lizard's reaction speed would one day be able to keep up with Wave Dog..."
Though it could barely keep up, the progress from a stationary turret to a mobile one had still brought a tremendous leap in Cold Mist Lizard's strength. Agility Talent wasn't just about moving nimbly; through training, Cold Mist Lizard's reactions had also become quicker.
"Thank you, thank you!" Mi Xiaoyu practically wanted to kowtow to Luo Yu. On his advice, her Wind-Entwining Worm had eaten some ice-type spirit plants, and today, it had finally awakened an ice-type ability!
Its Wind Entwining skill had advanced to Ice Whirlwind, giving the weak little Wind-Entwining Worm some combat power of its own.
Even Wang Ze was astonished by the three students' progress. He couldn't help feeling that he'd been leading them astray all along.
"It was also thanks to their own talents," Luo Yu said.
"All right, let's stop this training here..."
Mi Xiaoyu asked reluctantly, "It's over already...?"
She had turned into a fangirl, feeling that Luo Yu was full of charm. If she hadn't been afraid he would reject her, she would have confessed to him.
The other two were reluctant to part with Luo Yu's guidance as well. Even though he might not have spent more than an hour instructing them in total, they had gained more from it than from studying under Teacher Wang Ze for so long.
"Heh..." Luo Yu smiled faintly. "You're already familiar with this training routine. You won't need me anymore; just carry on as usual."
"But that alone probably won't be enough for you to become outstanding freshman representatives. Next, we'll start the second phase of training, which will last... half a month."
The three were stunned. There was a second phase?
"Come on, follow me to my research institute. I'll introduce you to your coach for the next half month." Luo Yu glanced at the calendar.
Today was September 5.
There were fifteen days until the next research report meeting.
Normally, he could simply continue reporting on the breeding progress of the medical Ink Fish at this month's meeting. But Luo Yu wanted to squeeze out a little more research support... So these fifteen days would also be a period for recording data on the effects of the Honey Water Bee Stinging Training Method.
While chatting with the three, he learned that a week ago, they had been around the middle of the pack among the several hundred freshmen.
"July kited Bing Liang's Cold Mist Lizard until it ran out of stamina using only the reaction speed he gained from training his five senses, without relying on his ability. That means just about any pet beast can reach the upper-middle level among Mirror Moon High School's freshmen after a certain amount of sting training."
And now that Bing Liang and the other two had developed their pet beasts' talents, they couldn't possibly still be considered middle of the pack. They should count as upper-middle level too, right?
They hadn't undergone sting training yet. In other words, after another half month of it... given their current foundation, they might even rise straight to the forefront of the freshmen.
That was frightening. A single sting training method could send several average students chasing right after the top students-a genuine fast-track elite class!
Medical care was certainly important.
But education was also a matter of the utmost importance.
Medical care was the "foundation" of the island's Beast Taming system, but the education of its students determined its "ceiling."
Only by continuously producing more promising Beast Tamers would the island have a chance to develop further.
Luo Yu refused to believe that the director could remain calm after seeing a training method capable of giving apprentice Beast Tamers an invincible foundation.
When that happened, the bureau would probably have to bleed money again...
It would be best if they could help me acquire a few more Honey Water Bees with Enhancement Talent, so I can establish a breeding foundation, and provide these three with high-quality resources to help them level up...
By now, he and July were basically immune to the Honey Water Bee training method. He urgently needed to increase the number of bees, going from nine stings a day to a hundred.
Luo Yu Research Institute.
Bing Liang and the other two followed Luo Yu to the backyard training ground, where the three bees were being kept.
Luo Yu had already transferred the Ink Fish from the pond here to the breeding base, so it had become a garden reserved exclusively for the Honey Water Bees. Well... although they couldn't leave their cages, they had gradually grown accustomed to their new lives.
Someone fed and watered them every day. This was treatment that only the queen bee had enjoyed before, yet now the three of them, mere worker bees, could enjoy it too. If they thought of the "iron cages" as a "hive," they seemed little different from the queen bee.
"Teacher Luo Yu, what was the training you mentioned? Where's the new coach?" Mi Xiaoyu was a very cute young girl. Judging by her soft and adorable appearance, Luo Yu figured she would cry for a long time after a single sting.
"Over there." Luo Yu pointed at the three iron cages hanging in the yard.
"Honey Water Bees?!" The three immediately spotted the bees in the cages. Could these... be the Honey Water Bees Luo Yu had gone to Moon-Gazing Peak to catch back then?!
"The institute studied Honey Water Bees before. I spent a long time observing them at Moon-Gazing Peak last time as well, and I discovered that some mutant Honey Water Bees have developed an 'Enhancement Factor' in their Poison Stings," Luo Yu said.
The three didn't understand, but thought it sounded impressive.
"To put it more simply, when certain special Honey Water Bees sting you with their Poison Stings, their venom not only doesn't harm your body, but actually has some benefits."
"This sort of thing is common in nature. Take snake venom, for example. Some venoms can cause nerve paralysis, heart failure and death, but some can also be used medicinally to make drugs for lowering blood pressure and relieving pain."
"Bee venom is the same. Normally, it causes allergic reactions and shock, but once purified, it can also be used to reduce inflammation, relieve pain and treat rheumatism..."
"Of course, my research into Honey Water Bees isn't for medicinal use, but for strengthening the human body..."
With that, he went up to a cage as the three stared, dumbfounded. He rolled up the sleeve of his lab coat, revealing a muscular arm, and touched the cage, disturbing the Honey Water Bee's sweet dreams.
"Bzzzzzz!!!"
The next moment, the Honey Water Bee viciously stung Luo Yu's arm.
Squelch!
Blood flowed out.
Bing Liang, Mi Xiaoyu and Zhuang Feng's eyelids twitched at the sight. That looked painful...
"Teacher, the training method you mentioned couldn't be... having us get stung by Honey Water Bees, could it?!" Mi Xiaoyu asked, her face pale.
Honey Water Bees... even if they were only fist-sized, they were still mutant beasts.
"Correct." Luo Yu chuckled.
The three: "..."
"Before you get stung, I need to give you physical examinations and record your bodily data. That way, it'll be easier to see the effects of the enhancement."
Under Luo Yu's direction, the three completed their examinations in a state of anxiety. Immediately afterward, Zhuang Feng and his Wave Dog became the first guinea pigs to try the sting training method.
If anyone else had described such an outrageous training method, none of the three would have believed it. It looked like a death sentence, but coming from Luo Yu, they couldn't help but believe it...
"Aah-"
"Awoo, woof-"
Piercing screams echoed through the institute.
By this point, Luo Yu's care had already helped the Honey Water Bees gain a level, so in theory, their stings would hurt even more than when he and July had first tried them...
"What's going on here?!" Yu Wan came running at the noise. She had noticed Luo Yu bringing three students to the institute earlier, but hadn't paid it any mind.
After hearing the students' screams, however, Yu Wan realized something was wrong. Was Luo Yu abusing his students?!
Students were the flowers of the island, its future. How could Luo Yu use such a cruel hand to crush them?!
"Do you have masochistic tendencies???"
A moment later, Yu Wan silently watched Bing Liang willingly offer his arm to a Honey Water Bee and fell into thought.
"Want to try it? The sting training method." Luo Yu looked at Yu Wan, though he knew without thinking that it would have no effect. Her level was too high, and she had already been strengthened by Beast Taming many times. The Poison Sting of a low-level little bee like this certainly wouldn't work on her.
"Can this really be useful?" Yu Wan asked, puzzled.
"It might not work on you, but it'll definitely be very useful for them," Luo Yu said.
Yu Wan watched for a while, then, unable to bear listening to the screams any longer, returned to her room.
In her room, Yu Wan sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed, calming her mind in meditation as she cultivated her psychic power... At the same time, she kept watch for the slightest stir around the institute, terrified that the police would come knocking.
After training the students, Luo Yu trained July. July, too, had been subjected to constant inhuman torment: if he wasn't being roasted by fire to train his resistance to heat, he was in a rushing current, training his resistance to water.
The little penguin, just over a month old, had grown increasingly sturdy... No, to be precise, he had grown "fat."
It was hard to say whether he had gotten fat from eating or merely looked fat from all the bumps left by the stings. Of course, to prevent the intense training from harming the little penguin's physical and mental health, Luo Yu also frequently took time to bring him fishing in the wild, so he could relax.
Lately, however, the little penguin's luck had been extraordinarily bad. Perhaps he had inherited Luo Yu's bad-luck attribute: he could hardly catch any big fish, only little fish and shrimp. They were tasteless to eat, but it seemed a shame to release them.
"Wuji!!!"
Beside a lake formed by the rising tide, the little penguin was furious. Sensing another catch on the line, he gave it a fierce yank...
The next moment, a wooden box that looked like a "treasure chest" was pulled out of the water.
Beside him, Luo Yu, who had been reading the Illustrated Guide to Mutant Beast Crossbreeding, froze.
"Oh no, is July about to awaken the 'can catch anything except fish' attribute? Quick, see what's inside."