The Panda Chief's idea surprised Jiang Xing, but he wasn't opposed to it.
After all, pandas were adorable.
Especially panda cubs—they were adorable on top of adorable.
Being able to raise a whole group of panda cubs in his backyard was absolutely something he could only dream of.
The only downside was that the pandas sent to the Panda Breeding Center to expand the Wood Panda and Dragon Panda populations would probably have an even heavier workload.
Still, the breeding center had abundant resources, and its breeders were all highly skilled.
The pandas would be well-fed and well-cared for, so there was no need to worry that excessive breeding duties would damage their foundations.
After all, pandas were a symbol of Sichuan, as well as one of China's national treasures.
On top of that, they were one of the very few "Azure Dragon regional forms."
The breeders would pay far more attention to their physical and mental well-being than the pandas themselves ever would.
'If I'm going to raise a panda population in my backyard...'
'I'll need to create a bamboo forest first.'
The pandas' longing for their homeland of Earth in the Azure Dragon Secret Realm stemmed entirely from their craving for bamboo.
It even surpassed their fondness for Energy Cubes and top-grade Pet Beast food.
Jiang Xing naturally intended to satisfy that desire as much as possible.
Earth had many bamboo species, including some exceptional Wood-element resources such as Ice Jade Bamboo, Dragon Saliva Bamboo, and Emerald Immortal Bamboo.
Buying them would certainly be possible, but Jiang Xing wanted to obtain the cultivation methods as well.
The bamboo grown in his own backyard would be fresher.
For something like that, he would definitely need official assistance.
'Let's leave the secret realm first.'
...
Jiang Xing ended up spending nearly three days inside the Azure Dragon Secret Realm.
His original sightseeing plans for Sichuan and Chongqing were canceled outright.
After all, he had already explored the Azure Dragon Secret Realm thoroughly. He could treat it as having taken his Pet Beasts on a sightseeing trip and vacation.
Uncle Dragon's home environment was genuinely excellent—not inferior to a 5A tourist attraction at all. Highly recommended.
After saying goodbye to Uncle Dragon and leaving the secret realm with several pandas, Jiang Xing thought for a moment before dialing Chang Feng's number.
Don't ask why it was Chang Feng again. Jiang Xing only had the contact information of two official Champions. The other one was Meng Yuan.
Jiang Xing was worried that one phone call might cause Brother Meng to fly over immediately, interrupting his pursuit of criminals.
It was better to trouble Brother Chang instead. The man wore glasses and looked refined and scholarly. At first glance, he seemed like the type who worked in an office rather than running around outside.
"Hello? Student Jiang Xing, have you finished another new paper?"
As always, Chang Feng answered instantly.
Aside from curiosity, the only thing left in his voice was numb resignation.
Three days ago, Jiang Xing had just published the evolution paper on the Little Healing Fairy. The shockwaves it caused were still spreading even now. Logically speaking, there was no way he could have produced another groundbreaking achievement so quickly...
But this scholar simply couldn't be judged by normal standards.
For most researchers, producing one research result every two months would already be considered highly productive.
Jiang Xing?
He could produce several achievements in a single month, and every one of them was a shocking, pioneering breakthrough.
Compared to other scholars, he seemed to be living in the era a century ago when Pet Beast studies had only just begun.
For a genius so far ahead of his time, Chang Feng wouldn't have been surprised at all if he had produced another achievement within three days.
Fortunately, Jiang Xing did not further challenge his capacity for disbelief and simply said with a smile: "I only published a paper a few days ago. How could I possibly have another result so soon..."
"Hahaha, that's true."
Chang Feng let out a sigh of relief.
Good. Still human.
"Then is there something you need help with?"
"Nothing major." Jiang Xing didn't keep him guessing and got straight to the point. "I've discovered several Dragon-type regional forms of known Pet Beasts. I'm planning to cooperate with the authorities to breed them on a large scale."
"Since they're regional forms rather than entirely new Pet Beasts, there are already sizable populations of their original species within the country. Breeding them should be much easier."
"Also, if normal breeding can't produce the regional forms... we can try recreating the corresponding Dragon-type environment. Under the right special conditions, they should be able to reproduce the regional forms normally."
"..."
What the hell was this guy talking about?
Chang Feng was dumbfounded.
It took him quite a while to recover.
Wait, so he could deliberately lower your guard first, then hit you with something that shattered your sanity anyway?
Was this guy even human?
"Didn't you just say you didn't have any new discoveries?!!"
"How is this not a major research breakthrough?!!"
"Brother Chang, you've misunderstood." Jiang Xing explained, "I didn't research these regional forms myself. I discovered them in a special secret realm."
Oh.
That made much more sense.
Chang Feng immediately relaxed.
The arrival of secret realms was like a meteor shower that had been ongoing for centuries.
Even today, they continued to bring all kinds of new things into the world.
In fact, when multiple new Pet Beasts and forms appeared at the same time, a newly discovered secret realm should have been his first guess.
The problem was that the name Jiang Xing carried too much impact.
It had actually caused a veteran Champion like Chang Feng to misjudge the situation.
"Is it a new secret realm that appeared near your research institute?" Chang Feng asked casually, feeling a hint of envy.
He had acquired a few secret realms himself over the years, but none of them could compare to Jiang Xing's.
First the Death Secret Realm with its resurrected Pet Beasts.
Then a Dragon-type secret realm that nurtured dragons.
Not only was Jiang Xing's research talent absurdly outstanding, but even his luck was ridiculously overpowered?
Jealous.
The next second, that jealousy vanished completely.
"It's the Azure Dragon Secret Realm."
Since Jiang Xing intended to have the authorities negotiate with Uncle Dragon in the future and create new Azure Dragon environments, there was no reason to hide anything.
He spoke frankly.
"I'm planning to develop an evolution path for the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling, so I asked the Auspicious Cloud Qilin for help and paid a visit to the legendary Azure Dragon."
"That's where I discovered these special regional forms..."
"The environment inside the Azure Dragon Secret Realm has been infused with divine power. It's a special environment, similar to the Death Secret Realm. The authorities could try negotiating with Azure Dragon and reproducing that environment..."
"...?"
The Azure Dragon Secret Realm?!
The Chinese government naturally knew that Azure Dragon possessed its own private secret realm.
After all, when Mythical Pet Beasts withdrew from the human world and rarely showed themselves, it wasn't as though they had left Earth and moved to the Moon.
They had obviously secluded themselves within unknown secret realms.
That wasn't a secret at all.
However, both the government and the Beast Tamer Association had always refrained from investigating Azure Dragon's residence.
Partly to avoid offending a divine beast.
Partly out of respect.
Instead, they only contacted the azure-scaled deity through special methods whenever necessary.
And now Jiang Xing was casually saying that he had visited Azure Dragon, entered the Azure Dragon Secret Realm, and discovered a bunch of new Pet Beasts there...
Why did it sound less like visiting a divine beast and more like dropping by an elder's house, spotting some local specialties in the backyard, and casually taking a few home?
Did you have any manners at all?
Chang Feng no longer felt jealous.
He opened his mouth, stopped, then opened it again.
In the end, all his complicated thoughts condensed into a single question.
"Azure Dragon agreed to this?"
"Of course it agreed."
Jiang Xing had been happily drawing funding from the government for ages. There was no point playing games now.
He answered bluntly.
"Azure Dragon even gave me the secret realm core and told me to bring Little Qilin over whenever I had time."
"I've already discussed things like Dragon-type Pet Beasts and these special regional forms with it and obtained its permission."
"You can ask directly. There's no need to worry about offending it."
It even gave you the key to its front door?
So this really was just a casual visit to an elder's house?!
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