The appearance of the Fae Light Dragon confirmed the possibility of combining the Dragon and Fairy attributes.
Jiang Xing placed several Fae Light Dragons into the Azure Dragon Secret Realm and had them accompany the Azure Dragon in testing dragon-fairy moves, partly as a way of thanking Dragon Uncle for his help.
At the same time, his efforts to raise more attribute-based Light Dragons were also part of his exploration of the Aurora Dragon King's evolution requirements.
After a period of testing, a second Aurora Dragon King was born, revealing its evolution requirements—
[Power Level + Azure Dragon environment + ultra-high-purity Dragon-attribute Secret Realm Stone (at least Demi-God Level) + Absolute Will.]
The Aurora Dragon King's evolution requirements were not as complicated as those of the Abyssal Water Phoenix Fledgling, but the difficulty was no lower.
First was the Azure Dragon Secret Realm. This was a mandatory condition and could not be replaced with Dragon-attribute or Wood-attribute Secret Realm Stones.
Only within this special environment could a Rainbow Dragon Hatchling reach such an ultimate evolution form.
The Secret Realm Stone requirement was somewhat more flexible. It did not strictly require a Mythical-Level dragon pearl, but it still needed to be an exceptionally pure and precious Secret Realm Stone—something ordinary people could never obtain.
As for Absolute Will, it existed to recreate the scene of the "Azure Dragon's Wrath."
The Dragon Might and fury of the divine dragon that the little dragon experienced during evolution were never meant to grant it additional power. The core purpose was the tempering of its spirit and will.
Therefore, even without the Azure Dragon's direct involvement, any method that produced the same effect would suffice.
In fact, the second Aurora Dragon King evolved without any intervention from the Azure Dragon.
Instead, it was achieved through a faithful recreation of the experience: a "Dragon's Wrath" imitated by the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling, combined with the mental enhancement provided by the little Qilin.
The result was identical.
However, this condition was far more elusive.
More than four hundred Rainbow Dragon Hatchlings attempted the challenge.
Only a single Rainbow Dragon Hatchling succeeded and evolved into an Aurora Dragon King.
It was highly regarded by the little dragon and was appointed as the dragon herd's deputy leader, tasked with commanding the herd whenever the little dragon was away.
The process gave Jiang Xing considerable inspiration—
Wild Pet Beasts that became leaders were often the strongest members of their species and possessed the greatest potential.
Not only that, they often possessed certain unique qualities. Under special circumstances, some could even break through the limits of their Species Tier and continue raising their Power Level without evolving.
The little dragon was precisely this kind of Pet Beast—a leader of the dragon herd.
Could it be that the second Rainbow Dragon Hatchling to complete the evolution also possessed leader potential?
Under normal circumstances, however, a dragon herd would not produce a second leader.
As a result, that potential never revealed itself. Instead, it blended perfectly into the herd as one of the younger Rainbow Dragon Hatchlings.
Of course, "leader potential" was merely a hypothesis.
At present, no theory could prove that leader-type Pet Beasts possessed any special qualities.
Just as researchers could not determine whether a Pet Beast became a leader because it had great potential, or whether it developed great potential because it became a leader.
As a result, Jiang Xing did not include "leader aptitude" in his paper.
Instead, he adopted the term "Absolute Will."
Only a will that was complete and flawless could overcome the dragon's wrath and evolve into an Aurora Dragon King.
...
The research project [Evolution Forms of the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling] had finally been completed.
As for [Whether the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling Possesses Additional Evolution Forms], that would be an entirely different research topic.
Jiang Xing was certainly interested in continuing the research.
However, considering that the Beast Tamers raising Rainbow Dragon Hatchlings had already been waiting for a long time and were desperate for dragons, it was better to satisfy their expectations first.
'Come to think of it... how should I publish this paper?'
Register for and attend an academic conference?
Jiang Xing opened the Beast Tamer Association's official website and searched for academic conferences.
He discovered that the nearest regional evolution conference would not be held for another two weeks.
A national evolution conference would take even longer—at least a month away.
Forget the Beast Tamers. Even Jiang Xing himself could not wait that long.
After finally getting the dragon hatchlings to evolve, he was eager to share the results!
As for announcing it on social media or revealing it during the researcher title award ceremony a few days later, that somehow felt lacking.
The Light Dragon clan was different from the Little Healing Fairy.
The Little Healing Fairy was a medical-resource-type Pet Beast. As long as the research results were made public, Beast Tamers everywhere would naturally benefit.
It did not need a stage.
Time itself would prove its value.
The Light Dragon clan, however, consisted of true combat Pet Beasts, and they carried the attention and expectations of countless Beast Tamers.
Just like at the Shanghai Evolution Conference back then, Jiang Xing hoped the Light Dragon clan's first appearance would be on the battlefield of a competitive match—
Not in a dry academic paper.
'At times like this, I can't help but envy Senior Su.'
'She's a Beast Tamer. As long as she participates in battle tournaments, she can showcase her Pet Beasts at the same time...'
'It's not like I can suddenly moonlight as a Beast Tamer and enter a tournament myself, right?'
As Jiang Xing was thinking, an idea suddenly struck him.
Wait.
He wasn't a Beast Tamer, but weren't all those people who had raised Rainbow Dragon Hatchlings and kept demanding updates under his social media posts Beast Tamers?
Their Rainbow Dragon Hatchlings had long since met the evolution requirements!
All Jiang Xing had to do was contact a few Beast Tamers currently competing in tournaments and let them learn the evolution method of the Light Dragon clan ahead of time.
Then, during their matches, under the watchful eyes of countless spectators, they could evolve simultaneously.
Not only would that introduce the Light Dragon clan to the world, but the battles themselves would naturally showcase their power!
Wouldn't that maximize the spectacle?!
'I've been researching entirely new Pet Beasts lately. Hardly any Beast Tamers owned them, so I almost forgot this was even an option...'
'Battles and tournaments—that's the best possible debut for combat-oriented Pet Beasts!'
Jiang Xing eagerly pulled out his phone and began contacting Beast Tamers who had raised Rainbow Dragon Hatchlings.
Naturally, the first people he contacted were those he knew personally.
The first was Senior Su.
Not only had she raised a Rainbow Dragon Hatchling, but she was also an extremely popular King-Class Beast Tamer, possessing both fame and influence.
Just moments ago, Jiang Xing had been envying her ability to showcase research results through competitive battles.
Now he could finally take advantage of her popularity for free.
"No problem," Senior Su replied almost immediately. "But I don't have any tournaments coming up, and the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling that just evolved is still very weak. It can't serve as a combat unit yet..."
"How about the two of us have a sparring match and turn it into an exhibition battle?"
Jiang Xing readily agreed and began wondering whether he should use a Fae Light Dragon.
On second thought, forget it.
It was only an exhibition match.
There was no need to bring out a dragon-slaying weapon.
Better to be kind and let the little dragon take the stage instead.
Afterward, Jiang Xing contacted Li Lingyin as well.
To his surprise, Li Lingyin was currently in Shanghai participating in a rookie battle tournament—
After all, she was still a student, and with her father footing the bill, she didn't need to run around searching for Pet Beast resources.
Her daily life consisted of training, studying, and competing.
Not long ago, she had completed a period of training under Chang Feng.
Now, following the agreement she had made months earlier, she had come to Shanghai to challenge Jian Guoguo in battle. It wasn't exactly a coincidence.
Rookie battle tournaments featured weaker competitors and fewer Pet Beasts, so the schedule was relatively short.
As a result, Li Lingyin had already reached the semifinals.
If she won this match, she would face Jian Guoguo in the championship final...
'What are the odds of the bracket lining up so perfectly that they meet in the finals? Are we sure this isn't rigged?'
Following Li Lingyin's information, Jiang Xing searched online for the Little Xuanwu Cup.
He discovered that the tournament was actually quite popular—
Shanghai itself was one of China's premier Beast Taming cities.
This large-scale rookie tournament had attracted young Beast Tamers from all over the country.
Among the seeded competitors, aside from Li Lingyin, there were several rookie champions from other regions.
Each of them came from powerful backgrounds, possessed formidable Pet Beasts, and had impressive strength, bringing considerable attention to the event.
Among them, both Li Lingyin and Jian Guoguo belonged to the category of "competitors with powerful backgrounds."
Li Lingyin's father was Senior Li, while her teacher was Jiang Xing.
She was essentially a battle-oriented representative from Dr. Xu's academic faction. Her background was as stacked as it could possibly be.
Jian Guoguo, meanwhile, was both a student and relative of Master Jian, the heir to the Jian Artisan Workshop. She also studied under a Champion Beast Tamer, making her background no less impressive.
At some point, the agreement the two had made was leaked.
It quickly became one of the tournament's hottest topics.
Many spectators viewed them as representatives of Dr. Xu's faction and Master Jian's faction.
People even called it "the rivalry battle of the new generation," causing its popularity to skyrocket.
'...As expected, human nature is all about enjoying gossip.'
The so-called rivalry between Li Lingyin and Jian Guoguo had clearly transcended the tournament itself and entered the realm of pure gossip.
Yet it perfectly catered to people's curiosity, generating tremendous attention.
In that case...
Jiang Xing might as well borrow some of that popularity and add even more excitement to this rivalry showdown!
He hadn't forgotten that he had personally helped Jian Guoguo choose a Golden-Patterned Koi back then.
That Golden-Patterned Koi had long since evolved into a Rainbow Dragon Hatchling, and its Power Level had already reached the Mid Commander Level!
So Jiang Xing sent Li Lingyin a message.
"Are you ready to let your dragon hatchling evolve?"