The first thing that caught his eye was that strange title.
Pig-rearing Genius…
Looks like this joke isn't going away…
Lu Yu felt a bit helpless, but after clicking on the video, he was surprised by its high quality.
Although it was the same battle scene from before, it had been edited, cutting out some of the meaningless parts and starting with a bang.
The moment Little Mouse crushed the Snow Ghost Shield Crab was even set to background music.
Then, during the challenge against the Starlight Mist Demon, the editor had deliberately built up suspense. The lighting was dimmed, as if it were against the world, and then after the instant kill, it was suddenly brightened, creating a strong visual impact.
Moreover, the person who filmed this knew Lu Yu very well. Every angle was shot skillfully, preserving the scene's realism while also highlighting Lu Yu's calm and composed demeanor as a trainer.
Watching it all in one go felt like watching a blockbuster movie.
It made Lu Yu wonder if this person knew him.
He glanced at the uploader's ID: 【Mighty Boy】.
Which student from the school could it be?
Could it be a recruitment video made by the Principal?
The exquisitely edited video, the built-in topic of a genius's comeback, plus Little Mouse's perfect appearance nurtured by the Thousand-Faced Source and its violent, crushing posture, got all the viewers' blood pumping, causing it to go viral.
Although it didn't explode across the entire Alliance, it made it into the top hundred hot searches in several nearby major domains, and in Great Abyss City, it shot straight into the top ten.
Especially since Lu Yu was not only powerful but also handled himself with grace, not growing arrogant in victory, showing the demeanor of a true master.
Most people didn't know that Lu Yu was hired by the Principal for a fee; they only saw him step up when his alma mater was in crisis, and his background of having a Gold Medal showed he was from good stock.
He had the looks, the character, and the strength—a perfect persona, instantly attracting countless fans.
It even drew a "like" and a repost from the Great Abyss City Alliance, pushing the popularity up again, into the top five.
And Great Abyss City was the First Border City, with immense influence.
It could be said that the current Lu Yu was already equivalent to a mid-tier internet celebrity throughout the borderlands. If he wanted to, he could easily cash in for a large fortune.
In this world, the idol economy was also very hot. Especially for Beast Tamers, for whom Great Power Belongs to the Self, as long as they didn't commit anti-human acts, it was basically hard for their public image to collapse.
Casually attending a battle or accepting a commercial would bring in high commissions, so many entertainment companies had sprung up to serve them.
Of course, a debut was out of the question.
Even if he starved to death, died of thirst, or jumped off a building, he would never give in to the temptation.
The fundamental reason was that Lu Yu found it to be too little money for too much trouble, and there might be people secretly trying to screw him over with unfair contracts.
Never underestimate the evil in human nature. There would always be some people who would risk their lives for money.
If Lu Yu was powerful, they would naturally pretend the contract didn't exist. But once his progress slowed, they would reveal their ugly faces.
Although Lu Yu had absolute confidence in himself, he couldn't be bothered to waste time scheming against them. He had only one goal now.
Become stronger.
As long as he was strong enough, power and wealth would come to him on their own, for him to take as he pleased.
There was no need for such trouble.
So Lu Yu directly rejected the entertainment companies and several large-scale adventure groups.
The high signing fees were nice, but there's no such thing as a free lunch. What they wanted was to squeeze out all your value and bring back returns of ten or even a hundred times more.
By then, Lu Yu would be so busy he wouldn't have a moment's rest. With that time, he'd rather go to Imperial Capital University or the Border Battlefield.
The platforms were bigger, and the constraints were smaller.
On the other hand, he didn't outright reject the Cultivator Association.
After all, he would have to deal with them in the future, whether for purchasing resources or learning cultivator skills. It wasn't good to burn those bridges.
So he said that he had just accidentally obtained the pet beast and had temporarily named it "Blazing Black Crimson Ant." As for the dragon attribute… he'd deal with that after Little Mouse grafted the body of a Dragon Beast.
It's an unknown pet beast… it's normal for it to have multiple attributes!
The other party expressed their understanding, only hoping that Lu Yu could come in for a free pet beast check-up and data report when he had the time.
After all, the appearance of a new pet beast species could provide many research directions.
The reward was six months' worth of pet beast provisions for Lu Yu's two pet beasts, worth a million, a gesture full of sincerity.
Unfortunately, Lu Yu just continued with his "next time for sure" flaking.
After getting the Gluttony Cauldron, it was hard to go from luxury back to simplicity. The two little ones at home could no longer eat ordinary fodder.
Additionally, a Mechanical Transformation Master from the Machine King Domain had contacted him, praising Little Mouse's form as too perfect, its potential limitless, and so on. Finally, they said that if Little Mouse could reach Commander Rank or above within half a year, it could participate in the "Glimmering Oil Descent Plan."
After the transformation, it could become a special lifeform, half-mechanical and half-flesh, with an infinite energy source, transforming into a long-life species and potentially obtaining near-eternal life.
When talking about this plan, even through text, Lu Yu could feel the frenzied emotion coming from the other side of the screen.
"Sorry, not interested."
Although Lu Yu also wanted a Mechanical Pet Beast, he wasn't about to let Little Mouse participate in such a bizarre experiment, so he decisively refused.
The other party expressed deep regret and finally hoped that Lu Yu would pay more attention to future news from the Machine King Domain, saying he might change his mind.
But the person had good intentions, so Lu Yu didn't respond with harsh words and politely ended the conversation.
After dealing with several groups of people, Lu Yu got annoyed. He directly disabled friend requests and even set up a whitelist to prevent people from getting his phone number and harassing him.
"Finally, some peace and quiet!"
Lu Yu let out a sigh of relief. It was the first time he realized that being famous was so tiring.
But not signing with a company didn't mean he wasn't interested in the internet.
As the Master of the Gate, the man with the Eye of Truth, he could totally use online platforms to appropriately release special evolution paths for some commoner pet beasts, thereby gaining immense influence.
While gaining social status, he could also easily acquire wealth to buy more materials, creating a positive feedback loop.
But this was just an idea.
The actual implementation would be quite complex, so he wouldn't consider it for now.
Compared to Lu Yu pondering the future, Little Mouse was watching with great interest.
After watching the video, Little Mouse realized it had so many fans online. They said its form was their ideal pet beast, and in some unofficial rankings, it even ranked higher than dragon-type pet beasts.
This greatly satisfied its vanity.
"So Little Mouse's throne isn't in Cultivator's home, nor in the Netherworld, but on the internet!"
At this moment, Little Mouse had made up its mind.
It had to continue to increase its strength and perfectly execute the missions given by Cultivator, like robbing the Stitched Demon Leader, fleecing the Ant Queen, and so on…
After completing a few of those, it would then make a request for Cultivator to buy it a phone, which it could use to flip through the cards of these enthusiastic subjects (fans) at any time and accept their praise.
This price might seem a bit exaggerated.
After all, the reward for a mission like challenging the Stitched Demon Leader was enough to buy a hundred thousand or even more phones.
However, Little Mouse didn't mind at all; it was even enjoying it.
You are not a mouse, so how could you know the joy of a mouse?
As long as Cultivator and Sister Spider were here, it was enough.
After picking and choosing which messages to reply to, Lu Yu took the two little ones into the Nightmare Dream Prison and began a three-day training plan.
The general plan was to reserve eight hours for sleep and meals, and all other time was for training.
Little Spider naturally raised both hands in agreement—it was a tryhard's happy time.
Little Mouse, wanting to surf the internet, also gritted its teeth and agreed.
During this process, Lu Yu naturally didn't forget the Gluttony Cauldron.
At the start of each new day, Lu Yu would come out to make food and refresh the buffs.
The Gluttony Cauldron fought back fiercely for this.
This time, the clever and resourceful cauldron no longer chose hair; it chose half of this evil human's blood, and in the end, it successfully obtained…
Half a drop of fresh blood!
It wouldn't even give a full drop!
"What a good child. I was just worried that pulling out too much hair would affect my good looks!"
Lu Yu praised the wronged Gluttony Cauldron, then casually tossed it into the Void Treasure Chest.
The scummy Beast Tamer's affection for it lasted only one minute. The next experience would have to wait another twenty-four hours.
This time, a new buff was rolled: 【Radiant and Energetic】, which provided triple the energy recovery speed, directly returning Lu Yu's weak… body, to its optimal state.
Lu Yu wanted to shout, "I can take on ten!"
Unfortunately, the White Fox still didn't appear.
He didn't know if its previous appearance in Great Abyss City was just a coincidence and it would never show up again.
Although it was a bit regrettable, it didn't affect the orderly progress of Lu Yu's training plan.
Coupled with the super buffs provided by the Gluttony Cauldron, the two pet beasts' skill proficiency entered a frenzy mode.
Little Spider was enjoying every moment of it.
Although Little Mouse could hold on with its Soul Doppelgangers, the nightly "Lightning Method King" made it angry but afraid to speak up. It hadn't watched TV in a long time.
It wondered if the female lead had performed the sacrificial ritual yet and evolved into a Storm Nine-Headed Dragon…
It wasn't that it hadn't thought about tattling. But on the evening after the previous day's training, Little Spider suddenly came to visit with a bag, saying it might need its help with something in the future.
Sister Spider was asking
it
for help!
This made Little Mouse so excited it almost jumped up. It generously waved its little paws, saying it was no problem, and the two reached a friendly agreement.
After Little Spider left…
Little Mouse, full of excitement, glanced at the bag. The first thing it saw made it tremble in fear, nearly scaring its soul out.
It was… rat poison!
What did Sister Spider mean by this? Was she warning it not to snitch?
If it didn't listen, would it be like in a palace drama, where it would be poisoned?
"Wuu wuu wuu, Little Mouse is suffering from team internal violence…"
It had no idea that Little Spider had simply made a mistake, thinking that rat poison was the same as medicine for humans and wanted to show concern for its health.
However, the final effect was indeed not bad.
Just like that, the Little Mouse that was once "How Can One Be Willing to Remain Subordinate Forever" suddenly became Meek and Obedient. It made Lu Yu wonder if its soul had been split too many times, and it had a Little Little Mouse inside it.
But before the next day, Little Mouse was back to its old self. It had realized that rat poison was for poisoning rats.
What did that have to do with it, a hamster?
Besides, as long as it wasn't completely dead, it could find a way to revive itself.
Finally, in this harmonious and perfect atmosphere, and with the help of many buffs and unremitting efforts, on the evening of the second day, there was finally good news.
Little Spider successfully leveled up its no-rank skill 【Spider Silk】 to the 【Pinnacle of Perfection】 rank, second only to the highest 【Transcendent】.
It was the first in the team to achieve this.
And after a skill reaches 【Pinnacle of Perfection】, an additional special effect is born.
Inside the Nightmare Dream Prison.
Little Mouse was lying on Lu Yu's shoulder, with two Little Little Mice on its shoulder. Four pairs of eyes looked at Little Spider with anticipation.
Lu Yu spoke:
"Try it!"
"Ying!"
Little Spider nodded, its face flushed from excitement, and then slowly extended its hand.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
White spider silk spread out, instantly solidifying into more than a dozen silk spears that pierced the ground.
The ground shattered, sending countless fragments flying, turning a large area into a white forest of spears.
"The power has increased by 1.
2 times, hardness by 2 times, and toughness by 1.7 times…"
Lu Yu quickly recorded the data with his Eye of Truth, then said to Little Spider:
"Use Corrosive Silk!"
"Ying!"
Little Spider nodded, then raised its right hand and clenched it in the air.
Bang!
The countless silk spears dissolved, quickly sinking into the ground, and began to cover the rocks, weeds, and all other matter, rapidly fusing with them and then transforming into even more silk threads. In just a few breaths, a ten-meter radius had turned into a white water pond.
However, what flowed within was not water, but countless spider silks. With a thought from Little Spider, they gathered together in an instant and then erupted!
Boom!
A large amount of spider silk condensed into a wave five meters high and over ten meters wide, as if in the middle of an ocean storm.
Its shadow blotted out the sky as it furiously swept forward and crashed down, pulverizing the large number of trees and rocks beside it, turning them into fine powder in an instant.
"A casual strike already has power approaching a mid-tier Commander!"
Lu Yu's face lit up with joy.
Little Mouse and the Little Little Mice also showed envious expressions.
Especially Little Mouse, at this moment it especially hated why its skills were all super-tier, making them so slow to level up.
If the outside world knew, they would probably want to beat it up for its Versailles-like complaint.
"Ying ying!"
Little Spider nodded happily.
As it dispersed its power, most of the spider silk turned back into fragments of rock and wood.
And this was the special effect produced when the Spider Silk skill reached 【Pinnacle of Perfection】, named Corrosive Silk.
By consuming spiritual energy, it could temporarily convert a large amount of non-living matter into spider silk, instantly increasing the amount of silk several times over, thereby increasing its power and even causing a qualitative change.
"If Pinnacle of Perfection has this effect, then what about Transcendent? Can it corrode living beings, or even construct a Spider Realm to descend upon the world?"
Lu Yu's heart filled with anticipation.
He was already imagining Little Spider spreading its silk in the future, directly corroding an entire mountain range, turning it into an endless world of spider silk, parasitizing all things.
With a wave of its hand, all things become puppets!
Becoming a true King of Monsters!
Little Spider's current data (partial):
【Void Dream-Corroding Spider】
【Rank: Early-stage Elite】
【Skills: Spider Silk (No-rank, Pinnacle of Perfection 1%)
Nightmare Dream Prison (Super-tier, Proficient-level 88%)
Dreamscape's Blessing (Mid-tier, Expert-level 30%)
Thunder Roar (Mid-tier, Expert-level 10%)
Thunder Pattern (Mid-tier, Expert-level 1%)
Spirit Puppet Curse Threads (High-tier, Proficient-level 90%)
Mind's Eye Soul-Controlling Sword (High-tier, Perfect-level 90%)】
This list only included the skills that had reached Expert-level, as well as the many skills that were to be trained to Expert-level next.
Now, Little Spider's strength had undergone a qualitative change. Even in its normal state, it was comparable to an early-stage Commander.
If it could set up in advance with Corrosive Silk, it could even counterattack a mid-tier Commander.
Of course, the premise was that Little Spider's own spiritual energy could handle it.
So, it would be best to get another 【Spirit Brimming】 buff before setting out. With that, he would have an eighty percent certainty of exploring the Dragon Mystic Realm.
But… what's the difference between anything less than one hundred percent certainty and a suicide mission?
Lu Yu pondered, already thinking about how to use these Expert-level and above skills of Little Spider to construct his first Profound Meaning Skill, or several combination skills.
After the mystic realm trip, the leveling of the Void System and Illusion System skills also needed to be put on the agenda.
After all, to achieve the Trinity, if Little Spider wanted to evolve, these skills would also preferably need to reach Perfect-level or above.
As for the Spider Silk skill, it also needed to continue to be leveled up.
Lu Yu was also curious about what kind of effect it would have after reaching 【Transcendent】.
"Very impressive."
Thinking of this, Lu Yu patted Little Spider's head and praised it.
The latter also rubbed its little face against his warm hand. Little Mouse also came over to get some pets.
In the following time, Little Spider would level up its remaining skills, while Little Mouse would have its doppelgangers hone 【Shadow Control】 and 【Thousand-Faced Tentacles】. As for itself, it would transform into a Desolate Strength Ant and start using the Strength Ring skill, trying to level up this special skill.
If this skill could produce a suitable special effect, it had the full potential to be comparable to a Legendary-tier skill.
Therefore, to grind progress, Lu Yu simply rested inside the Nightmare Dream Prison.
It wasn't until the morning of the next day that Little Spider's 【Spirit Puppet Curse Threads】 successfully reached Expert-level, and Little Mouse's 【Thousand-Faced Tentacles】 also stepped into Expert-level.
Next, it was time to set off for the Dragon Mystic Realm…
Two chapters, nine thousand words, asking for monthly tickets.
I have a bit of writer's block, so I'll sort out my thoughts first, and try to focus on quality. Thank you all for your support.