A rock-system retainer... An overly weak one would definitely yield mediocre results. The first thought that crossed Luo Yu's mind was to center an evolution around the Domination talent, gathering over a hundred inkfish possessing the Rock Element Affinity talent. Surely that could forge a top-grade Rock Demon Beast?!
It might even birth a top-tier rock-system talent!
The rock and water systems weren't mutually exclusive—Giant Rock Sea Turtles, Rockthorn Starfish... The ocean was home to plenty of rock-system mutated sea beasts as well.
Given that inkfish with Fire Element and Electric Element talents had already appeared, finding one with Rock Element wouldn't be particularly difficult either.
When the time came, with the potent rock talents of a Monarch-tier Rock Demon Beast as a foundation, July would undoubtedly be able to wield terrifying rock power.
Luo Yu had been pondering all along: if the path of a Common Species contracting a Monarch retainer truly proved viable, what combination of talent traits would be best suited for July's Monarch retainer?
As things stood, the rock system could serve as one of the options. The first benefit was that it would allow July to conjure magma out of thin air, whether atop ocean waves or high in the sky. The second was that it could tap into July's connection with this Ancient Evolution Stone!
The prerequisite, however, was that leapfrogging ranks to contract a Monarch retainer worked without issue. If the inkfish turned the tables and seized control during evolution, all his efforts would be for naught.
Channeling elemental power to a pet beast through the power of a retainer was considered the simplest route.
There was also a far more thankless, grueling alternative: feeding July various rock-system resources to force it to learn a rock-system ability, attempting to raise its compatibility with the evolution stone.
Yet that approach would waste both resources and energy while producing mediocre results—much like an uninspired student lacking academic aptitude who could never get into a top university no matter how many prep classes he took or brain supplements he swallowed.
Natural talent was paramount; acquired effort could seldom surpass inborn genius.
Unless one cheated through the back door! And the retainer system was precisely that kind of back door.
It was the equivalent of hiring a brilliant surrogate test-taker, then refining their abilities for one's own use.
"Why couldn't that Honey-Water Bee with the Water Element Enhancement talent have had Rock Element Enhancement instead?" Luo Yu actually still had a Honey-Water Bee capable of boosting water-element control. If only its element were different.
If it had Rock Element Enhancement, it would have been a game-changer. He definitely would have prioritized the sting training method—after all, the Five Senses Enhancement specimen had already shown Luo Yu the astounding results of a high-level enhancement talent.
That stuff was more effective than any special training. Most importantly, it was cheap, and July wouldn't need to waste energy developing a weak attribute.
"Once I head back, I can try cross-breeding. After all, offspring talents can undergo combination mutations to produce brand-new talents."
Whether it was inkfish with Rock Element Affinity or Honey-Water Bees with Rock Element Enhancement, he could pursue both as breeding targets concurrently. After all, not every breeding project yielded results; it all came down to luck. When the time came, he would just go with whichever bore fruit first...
Encountering a thorny problem? His default reflex was to breed mutated beasts with specialized talents to solve it... Luo Yu had already developed a path dependency.
***
Seeing that Luo Yu's Ground Penguin had failed to evolve, Yu Lei was powerless to help. He had provided the opportunity, but destiny had fallen slightly short; all they could do was wait for new research breakthroughs down the line.
Director Yu Lei spoke earnestly to Chen Zhuo and Luo Yu: "Whether our Jingyue Island can become great again hinges entirely on this Ancient Grotto... You two, work hard on your research.
"Strive to turn this into a popular attraction, like the Golden Waterfall.
"When the time comes, we can find someone to place advertisements on Aocang Island and pay Alliance journalists to promote it. Who knows—maybe the tourism industry on our Jingyue Island might actually gain some traction." At the thought of that day, the corners of the director's mouth curled up uncontrollably.
"Director, we'll do our best," Chen Zhuo said with a wry smile.
Luo Yu asked, "Aocang Island is that island of scholarship, right?!"
"Right, the one that regularly hosts the Academic Exchange Conference," the director nodded.
Among the many islands under the Ocean Guardians Alliance, Canglan Island stood as the undisputed core.
Beyond Canglan Island, there were numerous other renowned islands.
Aocang Island, for example, was known as the "Island of Scholarship" and was exceedingly famous. As the birthplace and resting place of the Alliance's most celebrated biologist, the island regularly held the Academic Exchange Conference in honor of his contributions to the field of Beast Taming, drawing countless biologists to discuss and exchange ideas.
Luo Yu understood now. So that was why Director Yu Lei placed so much weight on the Ancient Grotto—he had set his sights on developing tourism...
There was indeed a successful precedent for this: Golden Island, home to the aforementioned Golden Waterfall, followed that very playbook.
Golden Island possessed a prime geomantic site known as the Golden Waterfall. This wondrous location allowed the Lower Common Species Golden Carp to make the leap over the Dragon Gate by ascending the cascade, transforming in a single leap into a Lower Monarch Species!
Yet Golden Island hadn't hoarded this treasure. Instead, they opened it directly to the public, allowing any Beast Master to bring a Golden Carp and challenge the waterfall to gamble on that razor-thin chance of evolution—all for the price of a scenic-area ticket.
Although a year might not produce more than a handful of Monarch-tier dragons, what Beast Master didn't want to try their luck? They flocked there in droves.
With the influx of visitors, Golden Island's tourism flourished, and schools of fish leaping over the Dragon Gate became its signature spectacle.
It could be said that tourism was Golden Island's pillar industry, generating astronomical revenue; the carp leaping the Dragon Gate was undoubtedly a marketing miracle.
Jingyue Island, however, possessed no such core industry. Among the Alliance's myriad islands, it was indisputably among the poorest.
Its agriculture was mediocre, its biological resources were mediocre, its geographic location was mediocre...
Of course, Jingyue Island had seen wealthier days. The Jingyue Fleet had originally claimed this island as their home territory precisely because of the abundant mineral deposits discovered in the beginning. Unfortunately, the mutated mineral reserves were quickly mined out; the island had not stayed rich for long before falling into decline once more.
Now, the excavation of the Ancient Grotto had undoubtedly rekindled hope in Director Yu Lei.
That was why he wanted to copy Golden Island's homework and turn the Ancient Grotto into a tourist destination as well.
Under the banner of "Ancient Revival" and "Dinosaur Legacy," they could build a dinosaur-themed nature park on the mountain. Perhaps then Jingyue Island's tourism might take off.
Mass-breeding avian mutated beasts for sale while simultaneously selling tickets to the Ancient Grotto—the cash would roll in by the fistful, just like on Golden Island.
At the same time, leveraging its home advantage, Golden Island had been the first to raise a full Dragon Legion, using tourism revenue as military funding to sustain it. This created a virtuous cycle, making them the ultimate masters of this profitable model.
Thus, Yu Lei's current plan was to discover a reliable method for Drowned Chickens—and even more avian pet beasts—to evolve consistently. Afterward, he would attend the exchange conference on the Island of Scholarship, using that platform to promote Jingyue Island's Ancient Grotto.
Through gimmicks like "Atavistic Evolution" and "Primal Reversion," they would entice more tourists to visit Jingyue Island, spend money, and purchase pet beasts.
However, this plan was currently stuck on step one.
The evolution of that Drowned Chicken had been far too fortuitous, completely impossible for Jingyue Island to replicate at present.
"It's fine. We don't need to look too far ahead yet—let's take it one step at a time," Director Yu Lei said.
Luo Yu sighed inwardly. This old director had truly worried himself sick over the island's development.
He was the spitting image of those cultural tourism bureau directors in small towns before the apocalypse, racking their brains and exhausting every avenue to make their hometown go viral and boost revenue.
Whether the Ancient Grotto would ultimately fulfill Director Yu Lei's wish and jumpstart Jingyue Island's tourism, Luo Yu didn't know.
However, with him around, Jingyue Island would definitely be made great again!
Medical inkfish?
Enhancement Honey-Water Bees?
Those were merely appetizers.
As Luo Yu continued researching the Water Demon Beast on Jingyue Island, it would inevitably become impossible to keep under wraps, leading in the end to cooperation with the island.
After all, for an experiment like having a Common Species contract a Monarch retainer, he definitely needed guinea pigs to test it out first; he couldn't put himself in danger.
Where would he find guinea pigs? The island would have to supply the personnel.
And the island would certainly cooperate with all its might.
After all, what was increasing was genuine, tangible military power!
Golden Island could indeed produce Monarch-tier dragons through the carp leaping the Dragon Gate, but it seemed to have always been fairly erratic, and Golden Carp with the aptitude to evolve were few and far between.
Yet were inkfish with the aptitude to evolve to Monarch-tier scarce? In theory, yes. But his eyes were a precision gauge. Through breeding, he could produce as many as he wanted—it was an exceptionally reliable evolutionary pathway!
Agriculture? Tourism? Education? Healthcare?
Once military power was strong enough, none of those would be an issue. If they lacked money, they could plunder pirates or hunt powerful mutated beasts. At the end of the day, in this era, might made right.
Still, covering healthcare, education, and military power all at once... Luo Yu felt as though he was the one who ought to be director—or even island master.
Chapter 41