Rebirth of the Prime Dragon Master
Chapter 242 Super Talent

Half of a month passed.

In an abandoned house, the work of constructing a lab beyond anyone's imagination in this world was drawing to a close. Rocky was mounting the last of three palm-sized legendary night-luminous pearls on the roof to replace the astral lamp in the operation room. Improvement of the illumination device was essential for future progress.

The lab was sealed by silver-gilt tinfoil. Behind the tinfoil, the wall was enclosed in wood. The combination meant the lab was completely sealed except for a ventilation grate elaborately designed in the center of the roof. The ventilation grate was made with iron plate and bars. Despite its rough appearance, the ventilation grate was similar to those found in the modern world. A few layers of mesh over the grate's outlet filtered the air.

Two stone tables, for experiments and operations, sat beneath the three legendary night-luminous pearls. The polished tables were arranged in two rows with enough space to comfortably stand between them. Orderly containers of lab supplies, such as sulfuric acid, ethyl alcohol, special iodine, gauze, cotton sliver, etc. occupied one side of the experiment table. Beside the containers were ten scalpels that had cost Rocky a fair amount of cash.

When he finished mounting the last pearl, Rocky nodded, satisfied with the work and ready to put the lab to work. Seeing the completed lab, Rocky couldn't suppress his excitement. Although he had spent most of the cash he'd earned by selling materials and rare things from the wild spirit- manipulated beasts, the lab was worth it. It would bring in more than what it cost. Much more. Stroking his chin, he considered which experiments he should try first. He could buy some living spirit-manipulated beasts directly from the Super Beast Farm. He shook his head and cringed. Experimenting on living creatures was a cruel practice.

Although, before he came to this world, he hadn't always thought this way. He was once unscrupulous and had willingly experimented on and tested genetic beasts without a care for the effect such treatment had on the creatures. Now, being a spirit manipulator, his thinking had changed. It was impossible for him to experiment in such a fashion. He understood that like himself, creatures had feelings. Sadness. Happiness. Pain and even pity. These emotions were plain to see for any spirit manipulator. Especially in spirit-manipulated beasts whose intelligence was similar to that of a human. It was the reason spirit-manipulated beasts could connect with people. Choosing to use a living, healthy spirit-manipulated beast for experiments was no different than using a human. Rocky left the lab and went to the cave where he raised the Dark Heaven Insects and fed them a little magical saliva. When he turned and made to leave, his foot struck something. Peering down, he noticed a Dark Heaven Egg. When had the insects laid the egg?

He'd been so busy with the lab recently that he had not been able to check on the Dark Heaven Insects. Besides, twenty days ago, two Dark Heaven Insects at the first grade of three-stars had produced two preliminary Dark Heaven Eggs. He hadn't expected them to produce anymore for a much longer time if at all.

Ecstatic, Rocky picked up the egg. The spiritual sense rolling off of it said it was a medium-level egg. That meant it had been laid by the Dark Heaven Insect at the second grade of three-stars. Rocky's brows shot up. It had never laid an egg since Rocky had brought it back. Producing a medium-level Dark Heaven Egg took a long time, usually several months. Frowning, Rocky counted the days and weeks. He nodded. The timing made sense. That Dark Heaven Insect had been due. If not for the work on the lab, Rocky would have realized.

"Today, I'm doubly happy." Rocky grinned. "First, I built one of the best labs ever. And now the Dark Heaven Insect left me a nice surprise." He stroked his chin. "With this medium-level egg and my Heaven Divine Lotus Seeds, the fourth grade of Earthly Stage is at my fingertips.”

Rocky packed away the Dark Heaven Egg, left the cave, and headed home. On the way, he found Uriah teaching Rubygon to hunt. Half a month ago, Rocky had planned to tame Rubygon, but had postponed the idea due to the lab construction.

“Now is a good time to tame Rubygon, * he thought. It was best to do it now since Rubygon was still young. In but a few months, Rubygon would be full grown. Yet, there was another concern. Rocky had been unsuccessful with his efforts to stimulate Rubygon's cranial nerve. A part of him wished he had spotted the problem earlier. He could have come up with a solution then, by training Rubygon at a younger age. Now, all his hard work might be in vain. Still, he had to try.

When he finished all his work, Rocky left for the military camp. It was time for his quota in Sheridan's class at the beast farm. Sheridan had been at his wit's end in his efforts to teach Rocky. Normally, a few years were needed to acquire the Beast Taming Skill that Sheridan taught, but Rocky digested all of his knowledge within a few months. Rocky's progress had been phenomenal.

But there was a reason Rocky was such a quick learner when it came to Sheridan's teachings. Beast Taming Skill was similar to Rocky's classes on biology and genetics, although beast taming was more abstract and systematic. Regardless, the concepts and knowledge were beyond the mind of a normal person. For Rocky, it was as simple as the alphabet.

Knowing the concepts were nothing new bothered Sheridan a lot. If he couldn't find ways to engage Rocky, to make Rocky push to learn even more, to surpass his current state, then Sheridan was afraid he could no longer be Rocky's master.

Sheridan did acknowledge none of it was his fault. He had simply found an exceptional apprentice. When Rocky reached the beast farm, he went to see Sheridan right away. "Sheridan, what's the plan for today? What are you going to teach me?" Rocky imagined there had to be some new techniques. He waited for Sheridan to answer. Sheridan gave Rocky a blank stare. Finally; he said, "Today... I don't have a clear picture right now. Let me think about it for a while and I will tell you later.” Sheridan flushed with embarrassment. But what could he do? He could not fake new things. "I think I have learned most of your knowledge about Beast Taming Skill.” Rocky smiled. Although he was happy, Rocky knew how to temper his emotions. While he possessed most of the knowledge, there was still a crucial part. Practice. Hard work. It would take time and practice to achieve mastery. He needed to accumulate his knowledge and put it to work until he had perfected the skill through repetition. As the old saying went, hard work beats talent if talent does not work hard.

"What do you mean you learned most of my knowledge? You're far from that!" Sheridan insisted. He said this despite knowing he had very little to teach Rocky. One thing was left, a piece of crucial knowledge that Rocky was not yet ready for. Sheridan sighed inwardly. Rocky's astonishing talent and comprehension ability was beyond his imagination. If he had known exactly how gifted Rocky was, he might not have been in such a rush to teach him almost everything. He was afraid that Rocky would turn arrogant.

Rocky smiled. He knew Sheridan was still keeping something in reserve. And although he did crave knowledge, Rocky did not wish to learn every single nuance too quickly. But there was one thing he could benefit from. "Teach me Beast Curing Skill,” Rocky said. Since the lab was ready, such a skill would be of the utmost importance. He could combine it with his knowledge of modern medicine and improve upon the concepts.

"Sheridan, please teach me Beast Curing Skill,” Rocky said again. Already his mind was running through possibilities for the lab.