System Bro Might Be Late, but Never Absent

In the photo, the Rainbow Dragon Cub was coiled atop the table, its dragon whiskers drifting like a rainbow. It tilted its head, revealing innocent, watery eyes, looking especially cute.

The moment it was posted, countless comments popped up.

"Ahhh, so cute!"

"There's actually such a beautiful Dragon Attribute Pet Beast!"

"Say no more, brothers. I'm already putting pressure on the Golden-Veined Koi in my fish tank, making it see other people's Yuyu."

"Urgent, urgent, urgent! Can some expert tell me how exactly to evolve a Rainbow Dragon Cub? Is it still too late to take my Golden-Veined Koi to Yuzhong Waterfall?"

Humans were ultimately creatures drawn to looks. Even in the Beast Taming World, beautiful and cool Pet Beasts were more popular.

The Rainbow Dragon Cub had maxed-out looks and was also a True Dragon Pet Beast representing power. It completely captured the attention of passersby, and its popularity skyrocketed.

Jiang Xing's follower count exploded as well, jumping straight from five digits to six.

These fans had very simple thoughts—

Even if they could not obtain a top-tier Pet Beast, they could at least occasionally look at the daily photos posted by a research big shot and enjoy the view.

Of course, not everyone was focused on the Rainbow Dragon Cub's appearance.

Beast Tamers, especially those with the ability to raise Pet Beasts and the qualifications to acquire and nurture Dragon Attribute Pet Beasts, cared more about the Rainbow Dragon Cub's strength.

And so, they went even crazier!

It was common knowledge that Pet Beast attributes varied in quality.

Some attributes were simply awesome. The Dragon Attribute, for instance, had many resistances, few weaknesses, high potential, and devastatingly powerful moves.

Some attributes were simply trash. The Bug Type, for instance, had few resistances, many weaknesses, low potential, and generally short lifespans. Its only advantage was its low cultivation cost and how easily it could reach its limit.

Thus, among the many attributes of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Ice, Wind, Lightning, Poison, Bug, Light, Dark, Dragon, Phoenix, Flying, Psychic, Necro, Space, Time, and so on—

Light, Dark, Dragon, and Phoenix were all classic [Superior Attributes].

As long as a Pet Beast possessed one of them, its potential and strength would not be low.

Yet the Rainbow Dragon Cub Jiang Xing had revealed possessed the [Light + Dragon] Composite Attribute, two Superior Attributes!

Just by recalling the attribute matchup chart, Beast Tamers could see that it possessed multiple immunities, quadruple resistances, quadruple advantages...

Even among the countless attribute combinations in the Beast Taming Compendium, it was definitely a T1-tier combination. It was absurdly strong!

Moreover, Beast Tamers were also curious.

What exactly was the Rainbow Dragon Cub's Talent, [Heart of Exhaustion]?

—The Beast Taming Compendium was an encyclopedia designed and refined by Pet Beast Scholars. Many names for Talents, moves, and other things were usually named by their discoverers.

The name [Heart of Exhaustion] was not recorded in the Beast Taming Compendium.

It seemed to be an entirely new Pet Beast Talent.

All Beast Tamers were deeply curious about its effects.

Even the verified accounts of the Xia Kingdom government and the Beast Taming Association could not resist asking about it.

In response, Jiang Xing posted, "Sorry, the specific effects are still being tested, and there may currently be errors in my assessment... I hope to formally announce it after completing the paper."

After posting it, Jiang Xing chuckled as he saw the countless comments practically tearing their hair out.

So this was what it felt like to be a Riddler. It was pretty satisfying.

As for the effects of Heart of Exhaustion, he had actually already tested them—

[When falling into exhaustion, Heart of Exhaustion is guaranteed to trigger once, restoring all stamina and granting a temporary speed boost... This effect can trigger multiple times. After triggering, however, its activation chance greatly decreases for a short period.]

Jiang Xing could only describe this Talent's effect as heaven-defying.

A full-health revival, enhanced buffs, and it could even trigger multiple times.

If you want to win that badly, then fine, you can have this round.

However, this Talent also suited the Rainbow Dragon Cub's experiences perfectly.

Whether it was the legendary Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate or its own leap through the gate to become a dragon, both had been desperate bursts of power in a state of exhaustion, symbols of an unyielding will.

With its unyielding personality, it could trigger Heart of Exhaustion at least two or three times during battle.

It was practically the battle dragon Beast Tamers dreamed of!

Unfortunately, Jiang Xing had no plans to become a Beast Tamer.

After all, in this world's Pet Beast battles, Beast Tamers had to fight personally as well.

The Rainbow Dragon Cub could revive and return at full health, but Jiang Xing could not!

He could even imagine that once he entered a Pet Beast battle, because of Heart of Exhaustion, his opponent would definitely give up attacking the Rainbow Dragon Cub and desperately focus-fire Jiang Xing himself—

If I can't kill the dragon, can't I kill you?

Post-battle summary: Jiang Xing, as the Beast Tamer, had taken more damage than his Pet Beast.

Jiang Xing got MVP!

Thinking of that absurd scene only strengthened Jiang Xing's resolve.

Battling was impossible. He would only muddle through some papers, publish a few evolution forms, and scam a bit of research funding to make a living...

We're researchers. Beast Tamers are far too barbaric.

After recording the Talent's effects, the Rainbow Dragon Cub's Beast Taming Compendium entry was basically complete.

The reason he said "basically" was because a Pet Beast species often possessed two or three Talents. During evolution, one would be randomly selected based on the individual differences of the Pet Beast.

Jiang Xing's Rainbow Dragon Cub possessed Heart of Exhaustion, but that did not mean every Rainbow Dragon Cub would have the same Talent.

He would need to cultivate at least ten more, perhaps even more Rainbow Dragon Cubs, and record data such as their Talents and moves before the Beast Taming Compendium entry could be considered fully complete.

In addition, he needed more evolution data to complete this paper.

One alone was not enough.

"Still, cultivating a second batch of Rainbow Dragon Cubs isn't something that can be finished in a day or two."

"In a few days, the sophomore semester will be over. There's no way I'll finish the paper in time."

"Mm... I'll use the first draft to explain things to my advisor and apply for a little more funding while I'm at it."

"I already have results. My advisor probably won't refuse."

Jiang Xing did not mind showing his unpublished paper to Dr. Xu—

Leaving aside the fact that the Dr. Xu he knew was not someone who would steal a student's research findings, Dr. Xu himself was already one of the world's foremost Beast Taming Doctors, with countless research achievements to his name.

To him, the Golden-Veined Koi's evolution form could only be considered decent. It could not even bring him any further glory.

Rather than worrying about Dr. Xu stealing the paper, Jiang Xing should worry about whether the paper had any oversights and whether Dr. Xu would point them out before giving him a harsh scolding...

Aside from the paper—

Just as Jiang Xing finished recording the Compendium entry, System Bro, who had been absent for over a month, suddenly popped out.

[You successfully cultivated a Shiny Gyarados with Champion potential, exceeding the task requirements. Reward obtained.]

[Name: Move Tutor (Outrage)]

[Effect: A Learning Device that can be used infinitely, allowing Pet Beasts to quickly learn a specific move. Extremely useful... Ineffective on stupid Pet Beasts.]

...

[Name: Power Bracer (Human)]

[Effect: An exceptionally effective training device. After being worn, mobility will be restricted, while physical fitness gradually improves with wearing time... To become a qualified researcher, superhuman physical fitness is a basic requirement.]

[Placed in the exclusive Pet Beast item space. Can be stored or retrieved at any time.]

The system had not appeared when the Rainbow Dragon Cub evolved.

Jiang Xing had suspected that the system had gotten smarter and recognized the difference between a Golden-Veined Koi and a Magikarp, so it had treated the mission as failed by default...

Yet System Bro might be late, but it would never be absent.

It had actually treated the Rainbow Dragon Cub as a Shiny Gyarados and settled the mission rewards!

That was way too shiny.

"Zai Zai." Jiang Xing reached out and stroked the Rainbow Dragon Cub beside him. Its dragon fur, formed of light, felt like foam beneath his hand—its texture was excellent.

Jiang Xing petted the dragon as he sighed.

"From now on, your name will be Shiny Gyarados (Original Form)."

"Mu?" The Rainbow Dragon Cub tilted its head, its face full of confusion.