A Ruthless Hand

In the blink of an eye, another week slipped by. The various pairs of inkfish Luo Yu had matched up began mating one after another. The sole exception was the Ice Element pair, who seemed thoroughly frigid; they were the only ones that had not mated yet. The rest of the matchups proceeded normally. In stark contrast to the frigid pair, the Exemplar-by-Exemplar pair was exceptionally vigorous, going at it eight times in a single night as if determined to redeem the reputation of male inkfish. Seeing this, Luo Yu stepped in to put a stop to it. A male inkfish possessed only so much stamina, after all. If the sperm quality degraded too much, no good eggs would come of it. During this past week, Luo Yu had mainly focused his attention on training July's swimming ability. As for other matters—such as when the inkfish would lay their eggs, or when those eggs would hatch—none of that was within his control. Breeding was a slow, grinding endeavor; anyone with an impatient temper would never last. As for Luo Yu himself, aside from finding moments to read while supervising July's training, he had little else to do. Although Beast Masters could cultivate as well—for instance, those with Spirit talents could train their psychic powers, and those with Strength talents could practice combat arts—such pursuits were meant for after one became an Official Beast Master. During the Trainee stage, a Beast Master's innate talent had not yet been thoroughly unlocked. Much like his soul control technique, he couldn't train it even if he wanted to; his soul power was still far too weak. A Trainee Beast Master's primary mission was simply to raise their pet beast. As long as the pet beast broke through Level 10 and reached Level 11, the Beast Master would naturally advance without needing to do anything extra. "Not bad, right?" Inside the Beast Fighting Arena infirmary, Luo Yu sat in his office sipping iced honey water as he inspected the results of the student trio's training. Gone was the skepticism they had felt seven days ago. Now, the three students looked at Luo Yu with sheer reverence. After following his guidance, they felt as though all their previous efforts had been completely wasted! "It's unbelievable! Wave Dog just learned Water Flow Claw, and its power already exceeds Flowing Fangs!" Zhuang Feng said excitedly. Bing Liang said in a daze, "I never imagined the day would come when Cold Mist Lizard's reaction speed could actually keep up with Wave Dog..." Even if it was only barely nipping at the dog's heels, shifting from a stationary turret to a mobile one was a massive leap in Cold Mist Lizard's strength. The Agile talent did not just make its movements nimble; with proper conditioning, its reflexes had sharpened considerably as well. "Thank you, thank you so much!" Mi Xiaoyu looked as though she wanted to kowtow to Luo Yu on the spot. Under his recommendation, her Coiling Wind Worm had ingested several ice-type spiritual herbs and formally awakened an ice-type special ability that very day! The Coiling Wind skill had upgraded into Ice Whirlwind, granting the frail Coiling Wind Worm genuine combat capability. Even Wang Ze was utterly shocked by the trio's progress, feeling more than ever that he had spent all his time leading his pupils astray. "It's also largely thanks to their own innate talents," Luo Yu said. "Alright, this concludes this phase of your training..." Mi Xiaoyu asked reluctantly, "Is it over already...?" She had completely turned into a fangirl by now, finding Luo Yu endlessly charismatic. Had she not been terrified of rejection, she would have confessed her feelings to him already. The other two were just as loath to part with Luo Yu's guidance. Even though Luo Yu had spent less than an hour instructing them in total, what they had gained far surpassed everything they had learned under Teacher Wang Ze across all those months. "Haha..." Luo Yu smiled faintly. "You're already familiar with these training methods. You won't need me anymore; just keep practicing as usual. "However, if this is all you have, it will still be very difficult to stand out as outstanding freshman representatives. Next, we will begin the second phase of training. It will last... for half a month." The trio froze. There was a second phase? "Come along. Follow me to my research institute, and 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 left until the next research report meeting. Ordinarily, it would suffice to simply report on the breeding progress of the medical inkfish at this month's meeting. However, Luo Yu wanted to squeeze out even more research assistance... Thus, these fifteen days would serve as the phase for collecting data on the effectiveness of the Honey-Water Bee sting training method. From chatting with the three earlier, he had learned that a week ago, they were merely average among the hundreds of freshmen. *July relied purely on the reaction speed gained from sensory training, without using any special ability, to kite Bing Liang's Cold Mist Lizard until its stamina ran dry. In other words, as long as any pet beast undergoes sting training for a certain period, it can reach the upper-middle tier among Jingyue High School's freshmen.* And now that Bing Liang's group had unlocked their pet beasts' talents, they could no longer be considered merely average; they had likely already reached the upper-middle tier. At this point, they hadn't even undergone sting training yet. That meant after another half month of it... with their current foundation, they might shoot straight into the top ranks of the freshman class. That was a frightening prospect. A single sting training method could turn average students into top-tier contenders—a veritable fast-track elite cram school! Healthcare was certainly vital. Yet education was of equal, if not greater, importance. Healthcare formed the baseline foundation of the island's Beast Taming system, but the education of its students determined its ceiling. Only by steadily producing exceptional prospective Beast Masters could the island hope to flourish. Luo Yu refused to believe the Director could keep his composure once he witnessed a training method capable of forging such an invincible foundation for Trainee Beast Masters. When the time came, the bureau would probably have to bleed resources all over again... *Ideally, they'll help me purchase several more Honey-Water Bees with strengthening talents to establish a breeding pool, and supply these three with high-grade resources to level up...* By now, the Honey-Water Bee training method had almost entirely lost its effect on him and July. He urgently needed to expand the bee population, scaling up from nine stings a day to a hundred. *** Luo Yu Research Institute. Bing Liang and the other two followed Luo Yu into the backyard training grounds where the three bees were kept. The inkfish originally in the pond here had already been relocated to the breeding base, turning this area into a garden exclusive to the Honey-Water Bees. Well... while they couldn't leave their cages, they had gradually grown accustomed to their new life. Having food and drink provided for them every day was a privilege previously reserved for the queen bee. Yet now, these three low-ranking worker grunts enjoyed the exact same treatment. If one viewed the iron cages as their hive, it really wasn't much different from being queens themselves. "Teacher Luo Yu, what kind of training were you talking about? Where is our new coach?" Mi Xiaoyu was a rather adorable young girl. Seeing her soft, delicate demeanor, Luo Yu figured a single sting would probably make her cry for quite a while. "Over there." Luo Yu pointed toward the three iron cages hanging in the courtyard. "Honey-Water Bees?!" The three immediately spotted the bees within the cages. Could these... could these be the Honey-Water Bees Luo Yu had captured on Wangyue Peak back then?! "The institute had previously conducted research on Honey-Water Bees, and during my extended survey of Wangyue Peak last time, I discovered that certain mutated individuals among them develop a 'fortifier' in their stingers," Luo Yu explained. The trio listened, impressed despite having no idea what it meant. "To put it simply, with these special Honey-Water Bees, being pricked by their stingers won't harm your body at all. On the contrary, the venom offers certain benefits. "This phenomenon is quite common in nature. Take snake venom, for example: while some types can paralyze nerves and induce fatal heart failure, others can be used medicinally to produce antihypertensive or analgesic drugs. "Bee venom works the same way. Naturally, it can trigger allergic reactions or anaphylactic shock, but once purified, it can serve as an anti-inflammatory, relieve pain, and treat rheumatism... "Of course, my research on Honey-Water Bees isn't about medicinal use—it's about bodily strengthening..." With that, while the three stared in stunned disbelief, Luo Yu stepped up to one of the cages. Rolling up the sleeve of his lab coat to reveal his muscular arm, he bumped the cage, disturbing the Honey-Water Bee from its sweet dreams. *Bzzzzzzzt!* The next instant, the Honey-Water Bee viciously plunged its stinger into Luo Yu's arm. *Squelch!* A trickle of blood leaked out. Bing Liang, Mi Xiaoyu, and Zhuang Feng twitched their eyelids at the sight. It looked excruciatingly painful... "T-Teacher... the training method you mentioned... it can't possibly be having us get stung by Honey-Water Bees, can it?!" Mi Xiaoyu asked, her face turning pale. Honey-Water Bees... even if they were only the size of a fist, were still mutated beasts! "Bingo." Luo Yu chuckled softly. The trio: "..." "Before we begin, I need to give you all a physical checkup to record your baseline data. That way, we can easily track the strengthening effects." Under Luo Yu's direction, the three apprehensively completed their examinations. Immediately afterward, Zhuang Feng and his Wave Dog became the first guinea pigs to test the sting training method. Had anyone else proposed such an absurd regimen, the three would never have believed it; it looked no different from courting death. But coming from Luo Yu, they found themselves compelled to trust him... "Aaaaargh—!" "Awoo-woof—!" Piercing shrieks echoed across the research institute. By this point, the Honey-Water Bees had actually advanced a level under Luo Yu's care. Theoretically, the pain was even sharper than what he and July had experienced when they first started... "What on earth is going on here!" Yuwan rushed over at the sound. She had noticed Luo Yu bringing three students into the institute earlier, but hadn't thought much of it. Yet hearing the students' agonizing screams, she realized something was terribly amiss. Was Luo Yu abusing his students?! Students were the delicate flowers of the island, its very future—how could Luo Yu lay such a ruthless hand upon them! "Are you guys masochists???" A moment later, Yuwan fell silent, staring in bewilderment as Bing Liang voluntarily offered his arm to be stung by a Honey-Water Bee. "Want to give it a try? The sting training method," Luo Yu offered, looking at Yuwan. He already knew it wouldn't have any effect, though. Yuwan's rank was too high, and her body had been reinforced by pet beasts multiple times. The stings of such low-level little bees wouldn't do a thing for her. "Does this actually work?" Yuwan asked skeptically. "It might not work on you, but it will certainly be of immense use to them," Luo Yu replied. Yuwan watched for a bit longer, but unable to stomach the screams any further, she retreated back to her room. Inside, Yuwan sat cross-legged on the edge of her bed, calming her mind to meditate and cultivate her psychic power... all while remaining alert to every disturbance around the institute, terrified that the police might come knocking on their door. *** After training the students, it was July's turn. July had also been enduring inhuman torment—either being roasted by fire to cultivate temperature resistance, or braving rapid torrents to temper his resistance to water. At a little over a month old, the little penguin was growing increasingly sturdy... or rather, to put it accurately, "chubby." Whether he had grown fat from eating or merely looked swollen from being stung full of bumps was anyone's guess. Naturally, to ensure such high-pressure training didn't harm the little penguin's mental and physical health, Luo Yu frequently took him out for wild fishing trips to unwind. Lately, however, the little penguin's luck had been extraordinarily foul. Luo Yu wondered if July had inherited his own streak of misfortune, as the penguin could hardly hook any decent fish. Everything he reeled in was small fry and tiny shrimp—bland to eat, yet a pity to release. "Wuji!" By the shore of a lake formed by the incoming tide, the little penguin was furious. Feeling another bite on the line, he yanked hard... The next instant, a wooden chest resembling a treasure box was dragged ashore. Beside him, Luo Yu, who had been engrossed in the *Mutated Beast Hybridization Illustrated Guide*, stared in surprise. "Oh no, is July about to awaken the trait of being able to catch everything except fish? Quick, let's see what's inside."