"Rainbow Dragon Hatchling, hold on!"
"Wuuu~"
Amid a burst of radiant light, the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling revived at full condition, its battle spirit surging as it charged forward once more.
Opposite it, the small, round-bodied little Craft Dog—its appearance resembling a countryside puppy—had only just managed to exhaust the last bit of its opponent's stamina. It had also reached its own limit.
The moment it relaxed its guard, it was struck by the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling's accelerated attack. The hastily forged blade and shield were knocked flying, bouncing twice on the ground before it revealed the classic swirling eyes of defeat.
"Yay! What a delightful battle!"
Watching the cheering Li Lingyin, not just Jian Guoguo—even Master Jian, who was observing from the side—felt completely numb.
This wasn't right. Beast Tamer battles weren't supposed to be like this!
You were supposed to circle, probe, figure out your opponent's strengths and weaknesses, then rely on refined command skills and coordination with your Pet Beast to fight a thrilling battle before determining the winner…
Charging in head-on, trading damage directly, then shouting once and reviving on the spot when stamina runs out—stop it! This isn't a battle at all!
Seeing the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling so energetic, fully restored, Jian Guoguo's young mind suffered a tremendous shock.
Master Jian couldn't help but ask, "Its talent is…?"
"Unceasing Heart. As long as its fighting spirit doesn't fade, there's a chance it can stand up again."
With his paper about to be published, Jiang Xing didn't keep anything hidden this time and gave a simple explanation.
Master Jian fell silent. Only after a long while did she finally speak: "I want to raise one for Guoguo as well. Is that possible?"
Originally, she hadn't taken Jiang Xing's research too seriously. After all, she had known Dr. Xu for many years and had seen countless evolutionary forms, including Overlord-tier forms.
A true dragon-type Pet Beast was impressive, yes—but not enough to truly move her.
But now, her slight arrogance had been utterly crushed by the "dragon truck"—
Dual superior attributes, revival-type talent, early maturity…
Faced with something this outrageous, she had only one thought:
My child is committing to this broken build immediately.
"No problem," Jiang Xing agreed readily. "I'll be staying in Shanghai until the Evolution Conference ends. I can first help Guoguo select a Golden-Patterned Koi and teach her how to raise it…"
"As for the actual evolution, you can prepare a site for her yourself, or bring her to Yuzhong City…"
"No need to go to Yuzhong City. I'll prepare a Dragon Gate in Shanghai."
At the mention of Yuzhong City, Master Jian immediately shook her head, her tone carrying a trace of displeasure.
Jiang Xing understood that her slight resentment wasn't directed at him, so he didn't take it to heart.
As for who it was directed at… those who understood, understood.
Just as their conversation ended, the system suddenly appeared.
[Trainer little Red has overcome great difficulty and defeated a strong opponent, achieving: First Victory!]
[The training task has reached a milestone. You have received a reward: Item Lottery Ticket.]
[Name: Item Lottery Ticket]
[Effect: After use, randomly obtain a Technical Machine / Held Item. (98% Common Quality, 1.99% Excellent Quality, 0.01% Perfect Quality.)]
Not exactly "great difficulty."
In the battle just now, Li Lingyin's Rainbow Dragon Hatchling had only lost one life. At minimum, it still had one more. If its fighting spirit was strong enough, it could even have two, three…
It looked like it was on the verge of collapse, but in reality, it was as steady as a rock.
Perhaps because the gap was too large, the value of this first victory wasn't high.
The system's reward—the Item Lottery Ticket—was of fairly average quality, with almost no chance of drawing something truly good.
As Jiang Xing led the two girls away from the Craftsman Building to help Jian Guoguo select a Golden-Patterned Koi, he casually used the Item Lottery Ticket.
As expected, it only yielded a common item.
However, the item itself was quite good.
[Name: Focus Band (Common)]
[Effect: When a Pet Beast holding this item suffers a fatal injury, there is an extremely low chance it will retain 1 HP, preventing death.]
This was a genuine life-saving artifact!
In extremely dangerous situations, it could preserve a Pet Beast's life and buy time for rescue.
Unfortunately, due to its low quality, the activation probability was extremely low—less than 2%. Barely better than nothing.
Jiang Xing planned to use it as a "prototype item" to study and learn the techniques embedded within it…
The Beast Taming World also possessed all kinds of mysterious powers. As long as he could replicate them, he could naturally find ways to improve them and create Excellent—or even Perfect—quality Focus Bands!
'If I want to research Pokémon-style items, the simplest approach is to collaborate with Master Jian.'
'She's one of the top item craftsmen in the country. She might be able to reverse-engineer the structure and crafting method behind the Focus Band's power.'
'But compared to just handing it over to her, I'd rather learn her craftsmanship knowledge and make these items myself…'
After all, one Focus Band could be explained as something from a secret realm.
But if he started producing more completely new items—Berry Blenders, Technical Machines… even, following the usual urban Pokémon tropes, something like a Fossil Revival Machine…
So many unexplained items with no corresponding technology—if all of them were suddenly produced, it would definitely arouse suspicion.
Everyone explores secret realms—why are you the only one obtaining such outrageous things?
So, to avoid being treated like some kind of blue robotic cat, learning the knowledge himself and researching and developing these Pokémon-style items personally was the best choice.
Once he mastered the production techniques, people would only see him as a dual genius in research and craftsmanship, wondering about his brain development level—rather than suspecting mysterious external sources.
'The downside is that pursuing both research and craftsmanship will stretch me thin. I'll need more assistants…'
'Actually, the little Craft Dog Guoguo used earlier is quite good. It's a natural craftsman-type Pet Beast, with multiple evolutionary paths like Blade-Forging Dog, Shield-Forging Dog, Grand Craftsman Dog, and Thousand-Forged Divine Artisan Hound. It's an extremely valuable assistant-type Pet Beast.'
'But it originates from the Treasure Forge Valley Secret Realm and is monopolized by the four great craftsman families.'
'Traditional artisans value inheritance and secrecy the most.'
'If I want to obtain a Craft Dog, just like acquiring craftsmanship knowledge, I'll still have to go through Master Jian…'
Craftsmanship inheritance and assistant-type Pet Beasts were not easy matters.
With the Shanghai Evolution Conference approaching, Jiang Xing wasn't in a hurry to bring it up with Master Jian. For now, he would focus on helping Jian Guoguo select a Pet Beast and build goodwill.
Due to the recent Dragon Gate event spreading rapidly online, many people had already guessed that the evolution conditions of the Golden-Patterned Koi might be related to willpower.
As a result, the value of Golden-Patterned Koi skyrocketed.
Fish with personalities like brave, resilient, and bold—once considered "defective"—had suddenly become rare and sought-after Pet Beasts.
Prices surged from a few hundred to tens of thousands, even continuing to rise!
Fortunately, Golden-Patterned Koi were widely distributed. Many people, unwilling to pay such high prices, simply went fishing in the wild themselves, which helped curb the price surge.
Jian Guoguo came from a wealthy family, so there was no need to rely on luck in the wild. She directly selected one at a breeding center and paid in full.
Li Lingyin was also very enthusiastic, staying by her side and constantly sharing training tips.
Jian Guoguo was naturally shy and quiet, but when it came to Beast Taming, she overcame that hesitation and became extremely serious. She even took out a small notebook to record everything Li Lingyin said.
The two girls quickly became close.
Jiang Xing, on the other hand, found himself with nothing to do. He took the opportunity to browse various breeding centers, observing all kinds of Pet Beasts to see if any suitable assistants caught his eye.
And just as he was leisurely strolling and enjoying his downtime—
Suddenly, a scream rang out from not far away.
Jiang Xing turned toward the sound.
On the sidewalk ahead, space itself had transformed into something like amber—solidified.
Within that amber-like space, a family of three remained frozen mid-step, their faces filled with terror, unable to move, shouting: "Hel—"
Before they could finish the word, the amber-condensed space suddenly contracted like a black hole, collapsing into a tiny black point.
The three people—along with the pavement and a nearby trash can—vanished into it.
This was…
A Secret Realm!
"Little Dragon!!" Li Lingyin reacted instantly. Remembering the family's cry for help, she instinctively called her Pet Beast and rushed toward the entrance.
But just as she moved, a hand pressed firmly on her shoulder.
Looking up, she saw Jiang Xing's expression turn serious.
"You two stay and call the police. Little Qilin, Dragon Hatchling—come with me to rescue them."
With that, his cloak flared, his figure twisted—and he vanished instantly.
Watching the Auspicious Cloud Qilin and Rainbow Dragon Hatchling disappear into the point along with him, Li Lingyin's tense heart eased slightly.
She raised a hand to comfort the worried Jian Guoguo, then took out her phone and dialed: "Hello, officer…"
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