Previously, Jiang Xing's entire attention had been focused on the legendary Azure Dragon.
Only now, after receiving the Azure Dragon's permission and leading his Pet Beasts down from the mountain peak into the lush primeval forest below, did he suddenly realize that the Secret Realm itself was the greatest treasure of all—
After all, the Death Secret Realm he had discovered merely retained traces of a mysterious divine beast's power, yet that alone had created a unique death-infused environment...
How could this Azure Dragon Secret Realm—home to a true high-ranking divine dragon that regarded it as its own domain—possibly be inferior to the Death Secret Realm?
The entire realm had long since been thoroughly permeated by the Azure Dragon's divine power, forming a completely new and unique ecosystem.
Within this primeval forest, hundred-meter-tall giant trees could be found everywhere. Their umbrella-like canopies blocked out the sky and formed the uppermost forest sea.
Countless birds and arboreal creatures lived among those canopies, only falling from the upper layer upon death.
The middle layer consisted of "smaller trees" roughly forty to fifty meters tall. They grew far more densely, almost merging into one another. Thick, resilient vines connected them together, leaving hardly any gaps aside from the occasional broken section.
Creatures of every kind lived within this layer, treating it as though it were the true green earth.
The actual ground below was almost entirely covered by layers of decaying leaves, rotten fruit, and other organic matter. Toxic miasma spread throughout, turning it into a land of death.
Yet even within that deadly layer lived countless scavenging creatures.
Thanks to the existence of the Poison Attribute, they displayed the remarkable adaptability of Pet Beasts. Not only did they survive, but many evolved stronger Poison Attributes, and some even developed Undead Attributes.
What appeared to be an ordinary primeval forest was, in reality, divided into three distinct ecological layers, creating an extraordinarily complex environment.
As a result, it gave birth to an astonishing diversity of Pet Beast species.
If an ecological researcher specializing in Pet Beasts ever came to a place like this, they'd probably be so happy they'd pass out.
And this was only the aspect representing "wood"—abundance and life.
The Azure Dragon was not merely a divine beast of wood; it was also a divine beast of dragons.
As such, this Secret Realm, steeped in the Azure Dragon's divine power, was undoubtedly an exceptionally unique dragon-type environment.
Even Pet Beasts that had already appeared in the outside world and been recorded in the Pet Beast Compendium had spent centuries adapting to this environment and had completely changed as a result.
For example, the common Attribute-less Pet Beast known as the Chestnut Squirrel that often appeared outside Jiang Xing's research institute.
Here, its claws and fangs had become noticeably sharper, and traces of dragon energy had emerged within its body.
It had actually become a Chestnut Squirrel (Dragon Form)!
There was also the classic Pet Beast of the Sichuan region, the Attribute-less Panda Cub.
It lived here as well.
Two adorable little dragon horns had sprouted from its head, while the fur around its face had become much thicker, resembling flowing dragon whiskers.
Clearly, this was also a Panda Cub (Dragon Form)!
The evolved forms accompanying these Panda Cubs were no longer Martial Panda or Rogue Panda.
Instead, they had transformed into black-and-white giant bears with longer fur and a far fiercer presence. They even carried a hint of the majestic bearing of a suanni, one of the legendary dragon offspring.
Elsewhere, Jiang Xing spotted Wood-Attribute Panda Cubs hiding deep within the grass, each clutching a piece of bamboo that seemed impossible to finish chewing.
When Secret Realms descend upon Earth, they create disturbances and occasionally pull in local lifeforms...
These Panda Cubs were probably descendants of pandas that got swept into the Azure Dragon Secret Realm centuries ago when it descended somewhere in the Sichuan region...
The humans caught up in the event were likely sent back out by the Azure Dragon long ago, but these Pet Beasts remained behind.
According to Pet Beast academic theory, regional variants that evolve in response to their local environments could be regarded as entirely new Pet Beasts.
The Undead Guardian Hounds were a perfect example.
Although they resembled Howl Hounds, their entire evolutionary chain had changed.
Rather than evolving into Roaring Hounds, they evolved into the completely new Crimson Flame Guardian Hound.
The Pet Beasts altered by the Azure Dragon Secret Realm followed the same principle.
Their very life essence had changed.
Whether in terms of current potential or future forms, enormous transformations had occurred, opening up countless new possibilities.
And this was only the tip of the iceberg.
Thanks to the influence of its unique environment, the realm was home to an extraordinary number of Wood-Attribute and Dragon-Attribute Pet Beasts.
The Dragon-Tamer Clans control special large-scale dragon-type Secret Realms known as Dragon Realms.
Most of the dragon-type Pet Beasts passed down through their bloodlines originate from those Dragon Realm Secret Realms.
This Azure Dragon Secret Realm is absolutely a dragon-type holy land on par with—or perhaps even surpassing—the Dragon Realms!
After all, the Dragon Realms contain only Demi-God Tier dragon species.
But the Azure Dragon Secret Realm is home to a true Dragon God!
With the Azure Dragon's approval and the Azure Dragon Secret Realm at his back, Jiang Xing could, if he wished, establish the next great Dragon-Tamer Clan—or perhaps something even greater.
But he had no interest in such things.
Compared to building a power base, becoming a Beast Tamer himself and competing for championship titles sounded far more appealing.
Of course, the dual paths of research and Beast Taming already had a towering figure in the form of Senior Sister Su Muli.
Jiang Xing had no intention of challenging her to a contest of strength.
Jiang Xing's goal was to uncover the full potential of the Azure Dragon Secret Realm and develop even more—and even stronger—Pet Beasts.
That was what truly interested him!
Who said controlling the competitive environment through the development of Pet Beasts didn't count as controlling the competition?
No matter who wins the championship in the future, they'll all be sitting in wheelchairs I built!
Come to think of it...
The reason the Dragon-Tamer Clans are able to monopolize the Dragon Attribute to a certain extent is because they possess a simple, inexpensive, and abundant source of dragon-type Pet Beasts.
Even if ordinary Beast Tamers manage to raise one or two dragon-type Pet Beasts, it's difficult for them to build an entire team around them.
To become a true Dragon-type Beast Tamer, they need the Dragon Realm Secret Realm to fill the gaps in their lineup, as well as the secret techniques accumulated by the Dragon-Tamer Clans over centuries.
So, if I can relocate a few dragon-type species out of the Azure Dragon Secret Realm...
Not necessarily enough for everyone to own one, but as long as ordinary Beast Tamers have more ways to obtain dragon-type Pet Beasts and strengthen their lineups, the number of Dragon-type Beast Tamers would increase dramatically...
Jiang Xing held no ill will toward the Dragon-Tamer Clans.
Although he had once paid an absurd monopoly markup for Dragon Scale Lychees, he had long since forgotten about it.
His desire to spread dragon-type Pet Beasts came purely from personal preference—
Just because Jiang Xing didn't participate in battles didn't mean he didn't watch them.
How could he possibly be an exception when Pet Beast battles were practically a national pastime?
Besides, Pet Beast battles in this world were packed with dazzling effects, nonstop action, and intense excitement. They were far more entertaining than any animated show.
Watching tournaments was Jiang Xing's favorite form of entertainment whenever he wasn't busy with research.
That was why it always felt so disappointing whenever ordinary Beast Tamers fought their way through countless rounds, only to get crushed in the finals by a Dragon-type Beast Tamer's lineup.
The Dragon Attribute truly was powerful.
Even with the Fairy Attribute acting as its counter, it still remained a top-tier Attribute.
Against most other Attributes, it maintained overwhelming advantages and terrifying combat power.
Wasn't it boring for such a powerful force to be monopolized by a small minority of Beast Tamers?
If these were powerful Pet Beasts, everyone should have a chance to obtain them!
Besides, if Dragon-types truly dominated the competitive environment, wouldn't that finally give the Fairy Attribute a chance to shine?
And Fairies themselves had weaknesses. They were countered by Poison and Metal Attributes, which in turn were countered by other Attributes...
A competitive environment with no absolute dominance—only relative advantages—would be far more exciting and interesting.
As a spectator, Jiang Xing would certainly enjoy it a lot more—
If dragon-types never became widespread and remained the exclusive privilege of a handful of elite Beast Tamers, then the Fairy Attribute wouldn't be nearly as powerful.
Few lower-level Beast Tamers would choose to specialize in Fairies. At most, they would raise one or two Fairy Pet Beasts as counterpicks.
As a result, dedicated Fairy Beast Tamers would remain rare in high-level competition.
Dragon-type Beast Tamers would continue standing high above everyone else, holding the equivalent of a guaranteed winning hand in rock-paper-scissors.
The overall impact would remain limited.
That was why, upon discovering the astonishingly rich dragon-type ecosystem within the Azure Dragon Secret Realm, Jiang Xing quickly developed the idea of dragging Dragon-type Beast Tamers down from their pedestal and turning the Dragon Attribute into an ordinary specialization available to everyone.
Of course, this Secret Realm was the Azure Dragon's home.
Jiang Xing had merely earned permission to research Pet Beasts and explore its resources. Bringing large numbers of outsiders into the realm was obviously inappropriate.
So his plan was simply to invite and relocate a few dragon-type species, increasing the "dragon density" of China a little.
For something that minor, Uncle Dragon probably wouldn't refuse.
And there was another advantage here—
Most dragon-type species were incredibly powerful, but they also had small populations and reproduced slowly.
Even when Dragon-type Beast Tamers obtained dragon-type Pet Beasts from the Dragon-Tamer Clans, large-scale breeding was difficult.
The dragon-type species here were different.
They were regional forms.
Although their life essence and powers had undergone dramatic changes, they could still breed normally with their counterparts in the outside world.
Take the Chestnut Squirrels, for example.
They were everywhere outside the Secret Realm and reproduced at astonishing rates.
As long as these Dragon Chestnut Squirrels were brought outside, each litter would produce a large number of offspring. Their breeding speed would far surpass that of ordinary dragon-type species.
They would form the foundation for popularizing the Dragon Attribute!
In addition, the Azure Dragon Secret Realm's unique environment is practically a perfect habitat for dragon-kind!
And because it originates from the Azure Dragon's divine power, as long as Uncle Dragon agrees and the government handles the negotiations, similar environments could be recreated outside—or even inside other small Secret Realms!
This is a reproducible special environment!
I could raise Rainbow Dragon Hatchlings within it, allowing Dragon Hatchling to absorb vast amounts of dragon power and evolve toward the ultimate dragon path...
I could also raise other common Pet Beasts there and explore exclusive dragon-type evolutionary forms!
With dragon-type populations spreading and dragon-type evolutionary forms increasing...
China's dragon population will rise dramatically!
The deeper Jiang Xing explored the Secret Realm, the more excited he became.
As expected of the Azure Dragon's secluded domain.
Compared to the Death Secret Realm—which was difficult to replicate and had stubbornly resisted all research breakthroughs—this place was the true treasure.
A place capable of changing the world.
Come to think of it, he needed to notify the authorities as soon as possible and start negotiating with Uncle Dragon to replicate a few Azure Dragon environments in advance.
If Uncle Dragon actually succeeded in the future, this place wouldn't have the same flavor anymore.
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