Over a month ago, when the Dragon Gate Tournament ended, Chang Feng—on behalf of the Beast Tamer school in Yuzhong City—had left a batch of high-potential Golden-Patterned Koi at Jiang Xing's place for temporary care, asking him to look after them.
Now, more than a month had passed. Jiang Xing had almost forgotten about it before Chang Feng finally came to retrieve them.
"Ten days ago, the Rookie Battle Competition held in Yuzhong City concluded. I took the top-ranking kids with me and gave them a few days of guidance…"
"Now that the training is over, it's time for them to choose their Pet Beast rewards."
"There were originally several options—like the Water Spirit from Dr. Xu, or the Grass Kitten from the breeding center…"
"But when I asked them, almost all of them chose the Golden-Patterned Koi."
As Chang Feng spoke, he could barely hold it together.
In truth, the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling wasn't that overpowered.
Compared to Pet Beasts of Overlord species, it was certainly strong—but not excessively so.
Especially in group battles, the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling didn't have additional bonuses. Relying solely on its "sit-up recovery" ability, it wasn't enough to take on multiple opponents alone. It hadn't reached the level of a so-called "forbidden beast."
The key point was—it matured far too early.
That level of Overlord-tier potential, when placed in rookie competitions, even under restrictions, still displayed terrifying dominance.
It crushed other starter Pet Beasts outright, becoming the undisputed top choice.
So when it came time to pick rewards, nearly everyone choosing the Golden-Patterned Koi… it was just too ridiculous.
Jiang Xing understood perfectly and asked curiously, "Almost? Someone actually didn't pick it?"
"The champion is your student. She already has one."
"…Ah."
Jiang Xing couldn't help it—he nearly burst out laughing.
So everyone wanted to take the easy route?
Well, that was only natural.
Among the most popular entries in the Pet Beast Compendium, a large portion are dragon-type Pet Beasts.
'The Dragon Hatchling has already broken through to Commander Level. It probably won't take long before it reaches Mid Commander Level and meets the level requirement for evolution…'
'The research topic on the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling's evolution form should also be put on the agenda.'
Jiang Xing thought to himself, then said readily, "Bring the kids over."
…
The next day, a bus carrying the children headed toward Jiang Xing's research institute.
Inside the bus, eight kids sat restlessly, their excitement impossible to hide.
One boy, staring out at the forest through the window, couldn't help turning around and asking the girl in the back row wearing a red-and-white cap, "Li Lingyin, what's the research institute like?"
The other kids also leaned in, asking curiously, "Yeah, are there a lot of Pet Beasts?"
"Will there be a lot of Rainbow Dragon Hatchlings?"
Li Lingyin looked up, a trace of nostalgia in her eyes.
Time passed quickly for children. It had only been a little over a month since Beast Tamer school started, yet it felt like much longer.
Although she hadn't chosen the Golden-Patterned Koi, she still took this opportunity to visit the institute, wanting to see how Teacher Jiang Xing and the Dragon Hatchling were doing.
She spoke, "There are indeed a lot of Rainbow Dragon Hatchlings."
Hearing this, the surrounding children grew even more excited.
During the competition, they had all been thoroughly beaten by the Dragon Hatchling.
In fact, most of them hadn't even gotten the chance to witness its "sit-up recovery" ability before being completely defeated—
Did they really think a dual Light-Dragon attribute was a joke?
On top of that, Li Lingyin trained every day. Her command ability was top-tier among novice Beast Tamers, and she had excellent synergy with the Dragon Hatchling.
Against others of the same age, she could win even while holding back her talent.
This made the other kids even more eager for the Dragon Hatchling.
If it was already this strong without using its talent, then with the sit-up ability, wouldn't it be invincible?
They had to get one immediately!
"We're here. Get off."
As they talked, the bus came to a stop.
Chang Feng called out and stepped off first.
The children couldn't help looking out the window—and immediately their eyes widened in shock.
The bus had stopped beside a deep blue lake. Above the water, hundreds of Rainbow Dragon Hatchlings had formed a dragon swarm, playing and soaring through the air.
This dazzling, almost surreal scene reflected in their eyes, leaving them speechless with awe.
Creatures that countless people treated as treasures—coveted beyond measure—were here… as common as stray dogs by the roadside.
And thinking that they might soon have one of their own—
They could no longer hold back and rushed off the bus.
After getting off the bus, they saw a handsome young man in a white lab coat chatting with Champion Chang Feng.
Noticing them, the young man smiled and waved.
The children recognized him immediately—this was the famous researcher Jiang Xing. Yet none of them could focus their attention on him at all.
Instead, their eyes were completely drawn to the dark black bird standing beside him.
The bird's coloration was monochromatic. By all rights, it should have looked plain and ordinary.
Yet the children found themselves irresistibly captivated by it. As they stared, all color seemed to drain from the surrounding world. Heaven and earth transformed into an ink-wash painting.
And within that painting, the dark black bird became the single most dazzling and eye-catching existence.
"Cry—!"
Only when the dark bird let out a cry did the children suddenly snap back to reality, the world regaining its colors.
They stared at the giant bird in shock. Even Li Lingyin couldn't help asking, "Teacher… this Pet Beast is…?"
"The Abyssal Water Phoenix Fledgling." Jiang Xing looked surprised as well. "You didn't know?"
Over the past few days, the Abyssal Water Phoenix Fledgling's popularity on social media had already surpassed the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling's…
Yet Li Lingyin actually didn't know?
Standing nearby, Chang Feng explained, "They've been training with me on how to deal with secret realm environments and wild Pet Beasts. I confiscated their phones, so they haven't seen the news."
"…Alright then."
Even Beast Tamer students weren't allowed to use phones?
Jiang Xing felt some sympathy for the kids and gave them a brief explanation about the Abyssal Water Phoenix Fledgling and the other Pet Beasts.
After hearing his explanation, not only the other children—even Li Lingyin, who had once worked as an assistant at the institute—was so shocked her mouth hung open.
If she remembered correctly, hadn't Teacher just announced the Undead Guardian Hound a little over half a month ago?
How much time had even passed since then? Yet he already had another research breakthrough of this magnitude!
Had she really only been offline for eleven days and not eleven months?
After recovering from her shock, Li Lingyin looked at the Abyssal Water Phoenix Fledgling, and her fighting spirit suddenly surged.
Teacher had discovered another incredibly rare phoenix-type Pet Beast…
It had to be extremely strong, right?
Compared to her Dragon Hatchling, which one would be stronger?
Li Lingyin raised her head and asked expectantly, "Teacher, I want to battle the Abyssal Water Phoenix Fledgling. Is that okay?"
"A battle?" Jiang Xing hesitated slightly. "Inky isn't really good at fighting…"
"It's fine, just treat it as sparring with the kids. Stop at the right point." Chang Feng egged him on.
He was a Beast Tamer too, and he was extremely curious about this brand-new phoenix-type Pet Beast.
The problem was that Jiang Xing had deliberately kept everyone hanging, hiding the details of the Abyssal Water Phoenix Fledgling's talent.
If he could see the Abyssal Water Phoenix Fledgling fight in advance and try to deduce its talent effect…
That would be insanely exciting!
Seeing the expectant looks from Chang Feng and the children, Jiang Xing laughed helplessly and looked toward the Abyssal Water Phoenix Fledgling beside him.
"Inky, what do you think?"
"Cry!"
The Abyssal Water Phoenix Fledgling puffed out its chest and cried proudly with its head raised high.
Back then, it had been so timid it didn't even dare step outside, only hiding under the blankets.
Now, it had completely evolved. It would no longer refuse any challenge!
Sensing the Abyssal Water Phoenix Fledgling's thoughts, Jiang Xing nodded and looked at Li Lingyin.
"Alright then. It's been a while since we sparred—let me see how much you've improved lately."
Before Li Lingyin could celebrate, he turned toward the other children.
"You all came from so far away. Just watching the battle probably won't be satisfying enough… how about joining in too and making it a team battle?"
"A team battle?!"
This was the first time the other children had met Jiang Xing. They had been extremely nervous, so they hadn't spoken much the entire time.
They never expected Jiang Xing would actually invite them to battle together!
But after the initial shock, they became overwhelmingly excited—
Even though they were only novice Beast Tamers, they absolutely loved battling. There was no way they would reject—or pass up—an opportunity to fight against a brand-new Pet Beast!
"Okay!"
"No problem!"
Looking at the children's pure and excited expressions, Jiang Xing curled his lips into the smile of an adult.
Since it was going to be a team battle, then arranging a few extra water-type Pet Beasts on his side… was perfectly reasonable, right?
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