The first half of the event ended, and the medium-sized secret realm was packed with tourists. Just leaving the venue took quite a bit of effort.
The scholars exited first through a special passageway and headed to the restaurant prepared by the officials to eat and rest while waiting for the second half to begin.
As soon as Jiang Xing entered the restaurant, he immediately found a chair and sat down, letting out a long sigh of relief.
'Finally, I can rest.'
No wonder back at the previous Evolution Conference, when he had dumped Li Lingyin alone at the exhibition booth, her resentment had been so intense.
Facing that many visitors alone, constantly explaining things while also thinking about how to create entertaining moments for the audience, really was an exhausting task.
Especially since Pet Beast assistants couldn't speak, making it hard for them to share the burden of commentary with Jiang Xing.
Looks like next time he attended an Evolution Conference, he would need to prepare a few human assistants...
Just as Jiang Xing was thinking this, a graceful white figure approached.
"Jiang Xing."
Jiang Xing looked up and saw Su Muli wearing her signature white coat. There wasn't the slightest trace of fatigue on her face—she still looked full of energy.
That genuinely surprised him.
Were King-Class Beast Tamers' physical abilities really this ridiculous?
He himself had been wearing the Macho Brace recently, and his physical condition had skyrocketed. Even without wearing Beast Tamer combat gear, he could lift three hundred kilograms with one hand without any problem. He practically had the potential to become a humanoid Pet Beast...
Even if Senior Su had received feedback enhancement from her Pet Beasts through the Beast Taming Contract, the gap still shouldn't have been this outrageous, right?
Jiang Xing couldn't help asking, "Senior, aren't you tired?"
"Why would I be tired?"
After Jiang Xing explained his confusion, Su Muli burst into laughter. She pulled out her phone from her pocket and waved it in front of him.
"You didn't seriously forget that recordings exist, did you?"
"…?!"
Jiang Xing smacked his forehead, his face full of regret.
This really was a stupid mistake.
He had actually forgotten that videos could be played.
Mainly because during the past few months, he had completely immersed himself in Pet Beast research and item crafting. He didn't even browse short videos anymore, treating his phone purely as a research tool.
And since visitors bought tickets specifically to see the Pet Beasts in person, he had subconsciously ignored the possibility of using recordings—
Not that videos could completely replace live exhibitions, but with proper editing, they could not only greatly reduce the workload, they could also serve as excellent supplementary material.
Thinking about it, the Pokémon world had creatures like Rotom that could merge with technological devices like phones and turn them into "smart devices," becoming indispensable assistants for many Trainers and Professors.
That kind of Pet Beast didn't exist in the Beast Taming World.
If he could develop something like that, it would become the ultimate "utility-type Pet Beast." It wouldn't even be an exaggeration to say everyone should own one.
"Oh right, I wanted to ask you too—what exactly is the Abyssal Water Phoenix Fledgling's talent?" Su Muli asked curiously.
There was no internet connection inside the secret realm, and the exhibition zones were spaced far apart.
So even though the first half had already ended, the participating scholars still didn't know much about each other's research topics.
"That's a talent that could become your main combat core." Jiang Xing's lips curled upward as the talent known as "professional riddler" activated once more. Smiling, he replied, "Senior, what's your research result?"
"At a time like this, you're still keeping people in suspense." Su Muli shook her head with a laugh, a smile appearing on her face as well.
"My research project? You'll find out during the academic presentation."
"Mhm, I can give you one hint—it's related to moves."
Moves? Return?
Jiang Xing had previously sent Senior Su a set of training notes regarding the move Return, and it had clearly helped her quite a bit.
But since she had chosen to participate in the Friendship Evolution Conference, then her academic achievement definitely wasn't something as simple as just "Return."
Jiang Xing suddenly became extremely curious.
At that moment, Dr. Amru also walked over carrying a plate of desserts and said with a smile, "You two seem very confident in your own results. I'm already looking forward to this afternoon's presentations."
"Isn't that right, Dr. Xu?"
Just like Dr. Amru, Dr. Xu was also carrying a plate, completely unconcerned with maintaining any dignified doctor image as he wandered around eating.
Hearing this, the corners of his lips lifted slightly, revealing a complicated smile composed of two parts disdain, two parts pity, and six parts relief.
He wiped his mouth and calmly said, "Good luck."
Then he drifted away with an air of transcendence, continuing his search for food.
Seeing his behavior, both Dr. Amru and Su Muli were slightly shocked.
Dr. Xu's attitude was simply too profound and unfathomable—
Could it be that he had researched something capable of shocking the world, to the point where he already believed the outcome had been decided before the academic presentations had even begun?!
Su Muli was relatively calm. No matter what kind of research result her teacher produced, she wouldn't be surprised—only curious and excited.
Dr. Amru, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow as a trace of fighting spirit surfaced within him.
Interesting.
Now he truly wanted to see whose research achievement was superior—Dr. Xu's, or his own!
…
Leaving aside how Su Muli and Dr. Amru were interpreting Dr. Xu's smile—
Jiang Xing understood perfectly well what his teacher actually meant.
Participation is what matters most.
Yes, that was right.
This Friendship Evolution Conference had actually ended ten days ago.
No, there was still another half remaining. He couldn't start celebrating early yet.
He had to endure.
Jiang Xing resisted the urge to reveal the answer and had lunch together with Senior Su and Dr. Amru.
During the meal, only two of the country's top researchers came over to chat briefly. The other scholars didn't approach them at all. At most, they politely greeted them while passing by.
Jiang Xing had initially found it a little strange, but after looking at the people around him, he immediately understood.
His status had changed.
Previously, he had only been a rising newcomer scholar. The gap between him and the other participants hadn't been very large, and he had even lacked some seniority. Naturally, everyone could laugh and chat together happily.
But now, his academic status had skyrocketed. He had gone from "rookie" to "big shot," stepping into the realm of quasi-peak researchers. The people standing beside him were all peak researchers and Beast Taming Doctors.
Ordinary scholars naturally felt the atmosphere and "pressure" coming from that lineup and didn't dare casually approach, worried they might interrupt the conversation between major figures...
'So after being a rookie for just one conference, I've already become one of the old veterans?'
After finishing this strangely emotional lunch, Jiang Xing finally welcomed the second half of this Evolution Conference.
Because this year's Evolution Conference had become explosively popular and received tremendous attention, it had practically turned into a nationwide event.
As a result, the officials decided to broadcast the afternoon academic presentations through delayed live streaming, allowing Beast Tamers who hadn't been able to travel here to still feel some sense of participation.
Therefore, the academic presentations were held in a large lecture hall.
Before the presentations officially began, the television broadcast first played a Pet Beast performance, followed by an opening speech from Dr. Xu.
Of course, nothing changed at the actual venue. The participants still went on stage one after another according to the schedule, presenting their research achievements in turn.
These academic results were arranged from lowest importance to highest.
The first researchers to appear mainly focused on well-known traditional Pet Beasts.
Through retraining and retesting, they proved that the true evolution conditions for those species were actually Friendship plus additional conditions, thereby correcting errors in the Pet Beast Compendium.
Results like these were fairly ordinary, basically at the same level as university graduation projects, and didn't generate much reaction.
Only Jiang Xing looked especially happy. Every time another researcher went on stage, he mentally recorded the number—
10, 20… over 30 already!
Since rewards were distributed based on quantity, this wave absolutely had to be maxed out!
Very soon, after these ordinary results finished demonstrating the universal applicability of Friendship Evolution within the Beast Taming field, the truly attention-grabbing research achievements finally began appearing one after another.
This time, it was no longer merely revised evolution conditions for old species.
Instead, these were entirely new evolution forms genuinely researched and developed by scholars based on Friendship Theory!
These brand-new results were the things the audience truly wanted to see!
Moreover, the academic papers behind these evolution forms all incorporated the scholars' own thought processes and ideas, causing the atmosphere to gradually heat up as applause continuously erupted.
And as the top-tier researchers took the stage, truly heavyweight results began to emerge!
For example, the top Water-type researcher Su Muli presented a result that could genuinely be called explosive:
"First, I want to thank my junior Jiang Xing. He provided considerable help for this research and opened up a new line of thinking for me—"
"For a very long time, evolution and moves have shared an inseparable connection."
"Some Pet Beasts can acquire brand-new power by mastering new moves, allowing them to display entirely new evolution forms…"
"…However, although many non-racial moves can be learned by Pet Beasts, they are not necessarily the most suitable form of power for them…"
"So then, is it possible to create entirely new moves that can promote evolution?"
"After all, Jiang Xing has already proven that Friendship is a form of power that can be controlled."
"Thus, I taught certain Pet Beasts the move Return, allowing them to continuously sense and adapt to the emotional power contained within it, gradually integrating that power into their own racial moves…"
"And in the end, a brand-new Friendship Evolution move was born together with a brand-new evolution form!"
"I have named them the Sweetheart Sea Bunny and the Spring Surge move!"
Fire Punch, Eruption, Hydro Cannon with electrical charging effects...
Composite-attribute moves containing two or more types of power already existed in enormous numbers.
And developing and creating new moves was itself a fundamental skill for Beast Tamers.
Even novice Beast Tamers would add small personal touches while training their Pet Beasts, attempting to develop new moves.
Su Muli was not only a researcher, but also a King-Class Beast Tamer.
This was completely within her comfort zone.
After rapidly digesting the experience behind the move Return, she had produced such a heavyweight result!
This not only proved that self-created Friendship-based moves could also serve as evolution conditions, but it also presented Beast Tamers with an entirely new direction for move development—
With Beast Taming Contracts in place, virtually every Beast Tamer naturally possessed maxed-out Friendship with their own Pet Beasts.
Under those circumstances, if emotional power could be controlled and converted into move power, it would effectively add a stable "Return-style" amplification layer onto every move!
It truly transformed "emotion" into "power"!
It was simply incredible!
For a moment, thunderous applause erupted both inside the lecture hall and in front of television screens everywhere.
Jiang Xing applauded enthusiastically as well, his face filled with admiration.
As expected of Senior Su.
A pure hard-power researcher.
Su Muli had been arranged as the fourth-to-last presenter.
After she stepped down from the stage, Dr. Amru confidently walked onto the podium.
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