Seeing that Luo Yu and Director Zhang seemed to have other matters to discuss, Bing Liang and Zhuang Feng did not linger.
After stepping out of the Beast Fighting Arena, the two exchanged a glance. "Let's go report today's combat homework to the teacher..."
Frequent sparring was an assignment given to them by their teacher. After every beast battle, they were required to reflect and write a summary.
Except today, on top of reviewing their duel against each other, they would probably have to reflect on their match against Luo Yu as well.
They wanted to ask their teacher why Luo Yu's Ground Penguin was completely different from what the textbooks described.
***
Jingyue Town, residential district, a detached self-built house.
Wang Ze, an active teacher at Jingyue High School, listened to the two students' report and nodded in silence.
"Teacher, actually... we ran into something else today," Bing Liang said after finishing his normal summary, proceeding to recount everything that had happened with Luo Yu.
"You're saying he used a Ground Penguin and effortlessly... defeated you?" Wang Ze was stunned when he finished listening.
Even if his student was not considered top-tier among the freshmen, being defeated so easily by a Ground Penguin was simply absurd.
And what did he mean, clapping its flippers together and causing a massive pit to swallow the ground?
"It really happened! That thing didn't seem like a Ground Penguin at all—it felt like the cub of an Earth-system Monarch..." Zhuang Feng felt just as unsettled.
"This... he probably has some unique breeding method. He's a biological scholar, after all..." Wang Ze could not explain it either, so he could only attribute it to a biological scholar's specialized rearing techniques.
"By the way, you said he has a partnership with Director Zhang?" Wang Ze rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
Vice Director Zhang was the third-ranking authority in Jingyue Island's medical circle.
At such a young age, Luo Yu was actually collaborating as an equal with Director Zhang?
Could it be that the Luo Yu Research Institute had produced some remarkable breakthrough?
This young man was truly extraordinary.
"There's nothing else."
"You two head home."
After sending the two students off, Wang Ze tidied up his things and headed out the door as well.
***
On the other side.
After finishing his discussion with Director Zhang and scheduling the start date for the inkfish, Luo Yu prepared to head home.
However, just as he stepped out of the Beast Fighting Arena, he spotted Wang Ze.
Recalling that he had just sparred with the man's students, Luo Yu guessed that the teacher had likely come specifically to wait for him.
"Scholar Luo Yu," Wang Ze greeted with a genial smile as he walked over.
"I'm Wang Ze, a teacher at Jingyue High School. We've met once before."
"My students were presumptuous in challenging you. As their teacher, I'd like to apologize on their behalf. Please don't take it to heart—they've always been so rash."
"No need to be so polite, Teacher Wang," Luo Yu replied. "Is there something else?"
He surely had not come just to apologize, had he?
Wang Ze said, "It's like this: I was hoping to ask for your help with a favor..."
"A favor?" Luo Yu was taken aback.
"I won't ask you to do it for nothing; I'm willing to offer compensation."
"Tell me about it first."
"Let's head over to the pavilion in that park to talk," Wang Ze suggested. "There's a place to sit over there."
Once the two walked over to the pavilion in the small park outside the arena, Wang Ze revealed his purpose.
"It's like this: Scholar Luo Yu, do you know about the Jingyue Festival?"
The Jingyue Festival...
"Of course I know it." Luo Yu searched his memory.
The story traced back to the origins of Jingyue Island. Originally, it was merely an ordinary little human-inhabited island in this maritime region. Confronted by the perils of the ocean, it had nearly vanished beneath the waves on multiple occasions; at its lowest point, fewer than several hundred people remained.
However, when a beast-taming fleet known as the *Jingyue* arrived, discovering rich, untapped terrestrial resources, the survivors on the island were fortunate enough to receive protection.
For the sake of those resources, Bai Ling, the leader of the *Jingyue*, claimed Jingyue Island directly as her own territory. Under Captain Bai Ling's shelter, the island grew increasingly prosperous and frequently took in castaways stranded at sea.
Later, the island was renamed Jingyue Island after the ship.
Eventually, when the Ocean Guardians Alliance was established, Jingyue Island joined along with the tide of the times.
Many years had passed since then, and three major beast-taming clans had emerged on Jingyue Island: the Bai, the Shui, and the Yu.
The Yu clan was responsible for administering internal island affairs...
The Beast Masters of the Shui clan possessed formidable combat talents, and the captains and leaders of the Jingyue Armed Fleet were almost exclusively Shui Beast Masters.
Both inside and out, Jingyue Island was managed with pristine order by these two clans, making them the island master's left and right hands.
As for the Bai clan, although their bloodline was sparse and they rarely handled administrative affairs, their descendants remained the island masters generation after generation. This was because the Bai clan held divine authority, tasked with venerating the island's guardian deity.
And that guardian deity was none other than the contracted pet beast of Bai Ling, the first leader of the *Jingyue*—a powerful life form with exceptionally high species and life levels that had once encountered the golden Evolution Sea.
Due to the immense lifespans of mutated beasts, Bai Ling, the founding island master of Jingyue Island, had long passed away, yet the beast lived on.
One could say that the reason Jingyue Island had stood safe and sound here, withstanding wave after wave of zombie tides and foreign foes, was never thanks to the Jingyue Armed Fleet, but rather this island guardian deity that had lived for over a century:
The Jingyue Giant Croc.
The so-called Jingyue Festival was, in truth, the ceremony dedicated to venerating the island's guardian deity.
Held once a year, it was presided over by the island master's clan.
Every qualified faction could present exquisite delicacies hunted from the ocean to the guardian deity.
Outstanding freshmen chosen to represent Jingyue High School were also given the stage to display their abilities during the festival.
Ultimately, the Beast Master who offered the most delectable food, along with the top-performing representative of the new generation, would receive the guardian deity's blessing.
The festival was also one of the rare opportunities for ordinary islanders to catch a glimpse of the island's guardian deity!
Beyond that, students who performed well at the Jingyue Festival stood a chance of catching the eye of prominent fleets and receiving invitations to become crew members upon graduation. It was an exceptional platform for gaining recognition.
Luo Yu asked, "Does this favor have to do with the festival?"
Wang Ze nodded. "Yes. On the eve of every festival, Jingyue High School selects a handful of outstanding freshmen to represent the school and showcase their skills at the Jingyue Festival."
"Whether one can make it onto the stage of the Jingyue Festival is a vital milestone on a student's resume."
"Earning a spot provides tremendous assistance for their future employment and prospects."
"And the school's method for selecting outstanding freshmen is very simple: beast-fighting proficiency."
"That's why I frequently take them into the wild for practical combat and have them train extra hours at the Beast Fighting Arena... However, all three of my students come from impoverished backgrounds. Even though I've held them to very strict standards, they still fall a bit short of qualifying as student representatives..."
"So, I wanted to ask Scholar Luo Yu if you could become their 'extracurricular tutor' and help me train them. I'm willing to pay appropriate compensation."
Luo Yu fell into thought, then looked up in confusion. "As a teacher, is there really any need for you to go to such lengths? Aren't they just your students?"
"Besides, as a schoolteacher, is it really necessary to seek help from a Trainee Beast Master like me...?"
Wang Ze offered a bitter smile. "You don't understand. Those three students... are actually all orphans. Their parents and I were once comrades in the same fleet. After the fleet disbanded, I came to teach at the school and applied to be their instructor. Their parents and I had a pact back then: if anyone fell upon the open sea... the survivors would look out for their children."
"Unfortunately, my capabilities are limited..."
"Scholar Luo Yu, even though you are a Trainee Beast Master, you are a genius. I have faith in you."
He genuinely believed Luo Yu was extraordinary. Whether it was the technique for capturing Honey-Water Bees, the methods that raised a Ground Penguin to such heights, or the ability to negotiate a partnership with Director Zhang, everything pointed to Luo Yu's brilliance.
A biological scholar...
As a biological scholar, the son of two biologists, Luo Yu and his family surely possessed insights into beast taming far surpassing those of ordinary Beast Masters like himself.
Receiving guidance from Luo Yu would undoubtedly yield immense benefits. To be frank, Wang Ze did not even have the connections to reach the heads of the other biological research institutes, yet he had already met Luo Yu twice—it was quite a stroke of fate.
"I see..." Luo Yu nodded. So that was how it was. Originally, he had not intended to accept, but hearing that all three students were orphans gave him a sense of appreciation for this compassionate teacher. He asked, "What kind of compensation can you offer, Teacher Wang?"
Teacher Wang replied, "A year of my salary..."
"On top of that, my physical labor. I saw Scholar Luo Yu heading into the wild to catch Honey-Water Bees in person. In the future, I can be on call anytime for such chores. I can handle the mutated beasts on this island with ease."
Luo Yu pondered. When it came to manual labor, to be honest, he had been short-handed in the past, but now, whatever he needed, he could simply ask the Director.
As for the salary, although it sounded mundane, Luo Yu had to admit it was genuinely useful. Even though he could apply for research grants, those were earmarked for research. When he went to high-end restaurants to enjoy lavish seafood platters, he could hardly keep using research funds, could he...?
Most importantly...
This matter provided Luo Yu with extra hands, for there was still an unlaunched research project sitting in his institute:
The Honey-Water Bee acupuncture training method.
Letting the Honey-Water Bees sting only himself and July yielded far too little experimental data. Having more lab mice would significantly enrich the sample size.
Once he achieved demonstrable results, it would also be much easier to have the bureau purchase large quantities of Honey-Water Bees for him, just as they had done with the inkfish.
Lately, as the number of acupuncture sessions increased, the strengthening effect had grown increasingly marginal. To make further progress, he would likely need to tackle both the bees' levels and their quantities. Luo Yu had searched for other hives, but unfortunately, he had not found any more bees with the Strengthening talent.
His personal time and energy were limited; having the island assist in the search would be far more efficient.
And students were undoubtedly the ideal subjects for this project... No matter the faction, education was always held in the highest regard.
"I can't guarantee they'll make the cut as the school's outstanding student representatives..."
"That's completely fine. If they don't make it, it just means they lacked the talent and the luck," Wang Ze said. "At least I will have done everything in my power to fight for their future."
"All right, deal," Luo Yu said. "I'll draft a new training regimen for them."
From the battle just now, Luo Yu had already seen that those two students had taken quite a few detours. Going forward, even brief verbal pointers from him would guarantee substantial progress.
"By the way, are they afraid of pain? They won't mind suffering some minor injuries or enduring a bit of hardship, will they?"
"That's trivial..." Teacher Wang replied. How harsh could training really be? Out on the open ocean, one faced real attacks from mutated beasts!
Chapter 28