Popularizing Dragon-type Pet Beasts and announcing the Fairy Attribute were not conflicting goals.
On the contrary, they complemented each other perfectly.
Among the twenty-five Attributes in the Pet Beast world, many have immunity-level natural enemies, yet plenty of Beast Tamers still choose to specialize in them.
The emergence of the Fairy Attribute would only weaken the Dragon Attribute's dominance—it wasn't going to turn Dragons into some roadside nobody.
With a Fairy by your side, you can call me little bro.
Without a Fairy, what are you supposed to call me then?
Therefore, the Fairy Attribute's appearance could only be considered a restraint on the Dragon Attribute.
Its purpose was to prevent Dragon-type Beast Tamers, once Dragon-type Pet Beasts became widespread, from exerting the same overwhelming dominance over the competitive scene that the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling currently did.
Moreover, the widespread adoption of Dragon-type Pet Beasts would indirectly elevate the status of the Fairy Attribute, allowing it to quickly establish a place for itself in competitive play.
With that in mind—and driven by his curiosity about new Pet Beasts—while exploring the Azure Dragon Secret Realm, Jiang Xing focused entirely on searching for and documenting the Pet Beasts that inhabited the middle and upper regions. He made no attempt to investigate or excavate the ruins of the civilization from another world.
The lower layers of the Azure Dragon Secret Realm had long since been buried beneath decaying leaves and poisonous miasma.
Exploring ruins down there would be an enormous undertaking, not something that could be accomplished in a day or two.
Jiang Xing was already busy enough, so he temporarily shelved that project.
Besides, once he relocated the entrance of the Azure Dragon Secret Realm to the backyard of his research institute, he could come back and explore it whenever he wanted. There was no need to rush.
As the exploration continued, Jiang Xing recorded more than fifty Pet Beast forms, though a complete compendium had yet to be established.
Among them were:
More than ten brand-new regional forms.
Eight entirely new Pet Beasts.
Over thirty evolutionary forms.
Through the process, he also fully confirmed that this was a large-scale Secret Realm.
He had traveled dozens of kilometers before finally reaching its boundary.
Compared to a medium-sized Secret Realm, it was larger by an unknown margin.
After finishing his documentation work, Jiang Xing first shared his plans with the Azure Dragon.
The Pet Beasts within this Secret Realm were all lives protected by the Azure Dragon.
However, the Azure Dragon merely provided protection—it had no desire to rule them.
Just as it occasionally intervened to repel Mythical Tier Pet Beasts that stirred up chaos, yet never involved itself in disputes between human Beast Tamers or the rise and fall of dynasties.
Likewise, it never interfered with the hunting and conflicts that occurred among the Pet Beasts within the Secret Realm.
As for Jiang Xing wanting to relocate some of the Pet Beasts, it cared even less.
As long as they were willing to go of their own accord.
After receiving the Azure Dragon's permission, Jiang Xing returned to the foot of the mountain and sought out the leaders of the various Pet Beast tribes to explain his proposal.
Some of those tribal leaders were fierce and ill-tempered.
But Jiang Xing carried the Azure Dragon's power and exuded the aura of one of its favored followers.
To the Pet Beasts living within the Azure Dragon Secret Realm, that aura instantly raised his reputation to the highest possible level of respect.
Combined with his Beast Tamer outfit that enhanced affinity, it was enough to make any tribal leader sit down, listen patiently, and seriously consider his suggestion.
Reputation was reputation, however.
Jiang Xing did not use the Azure Dragon's name to force any of them to leave with him.
Instead, he honestly conveyed the Azure Dragon's stance and left the decision entirely in their hands.
As a result, most tribal leaders were unwilling to leave the Azure Dragon Secret Realm.
After all, this was the holy land of Dragon-type Pet Beasts.
How could they simply pack up and move away?
Only a small number of tribal leaders became curious about the outside world and agreed to leave with Jiang Xing.
There were also some leaders who wanted to fight him first to test his strength.
One such example was the Panda Chieftain.
It explained that the Panda Clan's ancestors had once lived on Earth. Long ago, however, they had been swept into the Azure Dragon Secret Realm and eventually settled there.
But in truth, they missed their homeland. They missed Earth's fresh young bamboo shoots.
Driven by that longing, some Panda Cubs had even awakened Wood-type powers, allowing them to create an endless supply of bamboo.
Unfortunately, according to their ancestors, the bamboo they produced simply wasn't authentic enough. It couldn't compare to the taste of real bamboo shoots.
After their ancestors passed away, that yearning for home was inherited by their descendants.
Generation after generation, every member of the Panda Clan within the Azure Dragon Secret Realm had dreamed of tasting the authentic bamboo shoots their ancestors always spoke about. Because of that, they were willing to leave with Jiang Xing.
Before leaving, however, the Panda Chieftain wanted to test him first and see what kind of human had earned the Azure Dragon's favor.
Naturally, Jiang Xing was more than happy to oblige.
"Xiao Xian, go!"
The Panda Chieftain of the Azure Dragon Secret Realm was at the Mid Monarch Level.
Xiao Xian, meanwhile, was only at the High Commander Level.
Looking purely at theoretical numbers, the gap between them was far greater than when Inky fought the Lava Giant Lizard. The higher the Power Level, the larger the difference in raw strength became. For example, Demi-God and Mythical might seem only one step apart, but in reality they were worlds apart.
Theoretically, a High Commander Level Pet Beast had absolutely no chance of defeating a Mid Monarch Level opponent.
However...
The Panda Chieftain was a Dragon Panda.
A pure Dragon.
Not a trace of any other Attribute mixed in.
And Xiao Xian could fly, making it extremely difficult for a ground-based melee fighter to reach her.
The best way to hit her was with long-range Attribute attacks.
Specifically, Dragon-type attacks.
"Fairy Wind!"
A gust of pink, star-filled mist swept across the battlefield.
The Panda Chieftain collapsed with a thunderous crash, utterly bewildered.
Why?
It had clearly unleashed every ounce of its strength.
Again and again, it had fired off its strongest attack techniques.
Every single attack had landed squarely on that seemingly fragile opponent.
So why hadn't any of them produced the slightest effect?
Well...
If it had stopped relying on its strongest attacks, jumped up, and thrown a few ordinary attacks instead, it might actually have won.
That was the power of information.
After the battle, Jiang Xing fed the Panda Chieftain some Healing Honey and, with the help of the Azure Dragon's power he had just obtained, quickly healed its injuries.
By the time the Panda Chieftain stood up again, it was completely convinced.
"ROAR!!" (As expected of the human chosen by the Divine Dragon! You're far stronger than anything I could have imagined! Now I can confidently lead my children and follow you!)
"Follow me?"
After obtaining the Azure Dragon's power, Jiang Xing's spiritual power had undergone a transformation.
He no longer needed a Beast Taming Contract, nor did he require a Pet Beast to act as a translator.
He could sense the thoughts of wild Pet Beasts far more clearly and understand their intentions directly.
It was as though he had gained some form of telepathic communication.
Now, after sensing the Panda Chieftain's thoughts, he was thoroughly confused.
His plan was to relocate several Dragon-type Pet Beast tribes.
He certainly wasn't doing it to keep them all at his research institute.
After all, the entrance to the Secret Realm would be right in the institute's backyard. Whenever he wanted to study those Pet Beasts, he could simply enter the Azure Dragon Secret Realm.
Why go through the trouble of moving them otherwise?
Jiang Xing intended to cooperate with the government.
Just like the regional starter Pet Beasts currently found throughout China, he planned to place these Dragon-type tribes in official breeding facilities and allow them to reproduce on a reasonable scale.
That way, Beast Tamers would have an accessible way to obtain them instead of all flocking to his research institute.
Only then could it truly be called "popularization."
He had already explained all of this to the various tribal leaders.
So what exactly did the Panda Chieftain mean?
"ROAR!" (Our clan only follows the strong! You are the one chosen by the Divine Dragon. Even after we return to our homeland, we will still follow at your side!)
The Panda Chieftain pounded its chest and let out an imposing roar.
Jiang Xing was completely stunned.
Weren't pandas supposed to be adorable mascots that spent their days eating bamboo and playing around until they accidentally turned themselves into an endangered species?
Then again...
The pandas of the Beast Taming World seemed to practice kung fu.
Their style really was different.
After saying that, the Panda Chieftain added another explanation.
"ROAR!" (Of course, I will also follow your wishes. Once we return home, some of our children will seek out the clansmen who remained behind and bring them the Divine Dragon's power.)
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