'Holy shit—an Eternal Thunder Stone!'
Jiang Xing recognized it immediately. In the Pokémon Special manga, it was one of the three Eternal Evolution Stones that Giovanni had given to Red, each with unlimited uses.
Paired with Red's special "Eevee," it allowed it to freely switch between Eevee, Flareon, Vaporeon, and Jolteon forms—defeating enemies through attribute advantage…
And he had actually pulled something of this level from a blind box!
So this was a legendary blind box? I'm in love with this!
Jiang Xing was overjoyed.
No matter how you looked at it, the system really was absurdly generous—casually handing out this kind of heaven-defying, priceless treasure.
In the Beast Taming World, there were also mystical resources that could trigger Pet Beast evolution. For example, the Sweet Sugar Research Institute's variable Chocolate Chickens relied on different secret realm stones, using their energy to catalyze evolution into various forms.
However, the energy within those evolution resources would always be absorbed during the evolution process—they were one-time-use items.
On top of that, most of these resources originated from secret realms, born from the fusion of two worlds, making them non-renewable.
Because of this, their value was even more exaggerated than oil. If a secret realm rich in such stones appeared, it would inevitably breed corruption and plunge into conflict and competition.
For that reason, some Pet Beast researchers had been working on artificial secret realm stone technology, hoping to replace natural ones—but progress had been slow.
At a time like this, if an Eternal Evolution Stone were to appear, it would drive the entire world into madness.
Even though Jiang Xing was now rising in fame as a widely known up-and-coming researcher, there was still a very real chance he could end up getting "shot in the back and committing suicide," with his belongings mysteriously disappearing.
'This thing can be used—but it has to be used secretly. Carefully. With a plan.'
Jiang Xing stored the Eternal Thunder Stone in his system space, then sent Li Lingyin some pocket money and told her to go out and have fun.
After that, he returned to his hotel room, locked the door, hugged the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling, and flopped onto the Auspicious Cloud Qilin. Nestled within its cloud-like, plush body, he closed his eyes and immediately started snoring.
The previous research project had ended perfectly. It was time to catch up on sleep!
The Rainbow Dragon Hatchling was exhausted as well.
Although it could revive multiple times, it wasn't truly "infinite." Otherwise, the probability of revival wouldn't drop so sharply with each subsequent resurrection.
Every time it stood back up, it was a test of will, accumulating a significant amount of mental strain.
After taking on too many challenges in the first half, it was completely drained. It lifted its tail, wrapped it around Jiang Xing's arm, closed its eyes, and the rainbow-colored mane gradually dimmed, losing its brilliance.
The Auspicious Cloud Qilin lay at the head of the bed, gently watching the human and dragon resting on its abdomen, lowering its head to softly lick them.
Although it stayed by Jiang Xing's side for ninety percent selfish reasons—mainly because it loved food—
At least ten percent of it was because of his genuine affection for Pet Beasts.
After all, as a Psychic-type Mythical species, sensing the emotions of others was one of its innate authorities.
As its mental power spread, Jiang Xing's snoring gradually faded. A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth as he slept, as though he were dreaming of something pleasant.
"Ah-li~" (Good night.)
The Auspicious Cloud Qilin let out a soft yawn and also drifted into sleep.
…
After the Shanghai Evolution Conference concluded, its contents rapidly spread across the internet, even extending into other regions—
The personality hypothesis had long been one of the famous conjectures in the Pet Beast field. Now that it had been proven and elevated into a formal theory, researchers could confidently apply it to their work.
Many researchers were inspired, adjusting their experimental designs accordingly.
But researchers were, after all, only a minority.
The vast majority of people didn't fully understand the theory—they just thought it sounded impressive. Their focus remained fixed on the Pet Beasts themselves.
For example, the Chocolate Chickens, the Giant Magnet Entity, the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling…
Especially the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling. Ever since the Dragon Gate Convention, it had already attracted widespread attention among Beast Tamers.
Now, with the publication of Jiang Xing's paper, its Beast Codex entry was fully unlocked. Everyone could see its two talents and their exact effects—and they were stunned.
Was this thing even legal?
No wonder Jiang Xing had been unwilling to reveal its talent effects earlier. He probably thought the testing instruments were malfunctioning when he first saw the results…
As public enthusiasm for the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling exploded, the price of the Golden-Patterned Koi continued to soar.
The issue Jiang Xing had previously considered was now being raised by many others as well.
The Rainbow Dragon Hatchling was simply too strong—so strong that it threatened to disrupt competitive balance.
There had always been early-blooming, high-potential Pet Beasts, but they were usually rare and difficult to obtain—often serving as signature beasts of major factions.
And those factions' heirs typically wouldn't rely on such powerful beasts to bully newcomers in low-level competitions.
But the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling was different.
Its base form was a common household fish, and its evolution process was relatively simple. Just one Dragon Gate Convention had already produced over three hundred of them.
Would this disrupt low-level competitions?
After all, in most low-level matches, Beast Tamers were limited to three Pet Beasts.
In some pure beginner competitions, only one Pet Beast was allowed.
In that case, one Rainbow Dragon Hatchling could count as several beasts. How were people supposed to fight that?
In extreme cases, someone could just bring three of them into a match…
That scene would definitely be "beautiful."
In response to these criticisms, many Beast Tamers pushed back—
Pet Beasts are partners. Just because they're strong, does that mean they should be banned from competing?
If that were the case, why would Beast Tamers pursue powerful Pet Beasts at all? Why seek strength?
Might as well ban all second-generation elites with top-tier Pet Beasts too—then we can have competitions where everyone just uses bugs to spit silk at each other. Perfect balance!
Both sides argued fiercely across social platforms, battling nonstop in a frenzy.
In the end, the China authorities and the Beast Tamer Association stepped in, shut down the dispute, and issued new low-level competition rules—
[In low-level competitions, Rainbow Dragon Hatchlings possessing the Unceasing Heart talent are limited to one revival. Upon falling a second time, they are considered unable to continue fighting.]
[Additionally, each Beast Tamer may field at most one Rainbow Dragon Hatchling per match.]
Both sides compromised. The Rainbow Dragon Hatchling was not banned, but significant restrictions were imposed.
Although many people were still dissatisfied, the controversy was finally brought under control.
After this incident, the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling became the first—and only—Pet Beast in battle history to change the rules of competition before even officially participating in any matches.
Social media was flooded with memes such as:
[Universe's Number One Rainbow Dragon]
[Dragon Hatchling is banned—what are you?]
[A young man arrives at the tournament, his dragon flying in the sky]
[Do you like my dual-attribute Rainbow Dragon that can 'sit-up' endlessly?]
[The dragon hatchling stood up again… and again… and again!]
Some top Beast Tamers also released tactical videos:
[Unceasing Heart cannot remove status effects]
[How Poison-type poisoning and Fire-type burns counter the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling]
[Ways to deal with its 'revival spam']
These sparked widespread attention—
The Rainbow Dragon Hatchling was indeed powerful.
But in the end, it was still just a Pet Beast. It couldn't be omnipotent.
Attributes, moves, tactics—there were many ways to counter it.
That was also why it hadn't been banned from high-level competitions.
Regardless, all these videos further boosted Jiang Xing's popularity. As the so-called "Father of the Rainbow Dragon," debuting with a "banned-level" Pet Beast, his fame skyrocketed.
And as a rising researcher, discovering the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling's evolution was clearly not the end of his journey.
Beast Tamers were eagerly anticipating his next research project—curious whether he was a one-hit wonder or capable of continuing his streak of breakthroughs.
At that point, people began digging up Jiang Xing's speech from the Evolution Conference—
The questions he raised became trending discussion topics.
Among them, ideas like the evolution of Mythical Pet Beasts or undiscovered mysterious elements didn't generate much buzz—they were too abstract.
But one question stood out:
"Could emotion itself be an undiscovered condition for evolution?"
This pointed and specific question caught people's attention.
Many speculated that Jiang Xing might already have a research direction in mind.
Was his next project going to be about "Pet Beast emotion"?
However, real Pet Beast researchers didn't take these guesses seriously.
Emotional evolution? Mythical super-evolution? Unknown mysterious conditions?
These were clearly just polite closing remarks in a speech—like asking whether aliens exist or how big the universe is.
Purely theoretical questions, with no practical meaning.
When Dr. Ail proposed the personality hypothesis, it had been backed by rigorous reasoning—that was why it gained recognition.
Without any foundational hypothesis, such ideas were nothing more than empty speculation.
Compared to these vague concepts, it was far more likely that Jiang Xing would continue deepening his research on the Golden-Patterned Koi, exploring additional evolutionary routes for the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling and extracting further results from it.
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---