Dragon Gate Assembly Begins

Nearly a month had passed since the first Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate.

During this time, the Rainbow Dragon Cub only grew more popular. The reason was simple—Golden-Veined Koi were far too common.

Compared to those Overlord Pet Beast species that were scarce, exorbitantly priced, or had only a few dozen members left, Golden-Veined Koi, the base form of the Rainbow Dragon Cub, were widely distributed throughout major freshwater rivers and lakes. Even ordinary people who were not Beast Tamers encountered them often and knew them extremely well.

Furthermore, Pet Beast evolution methods would eventually be publicly published and recorded in the Beast Taming Compendium.

This gave people a feeling.

Even fishing uncles and Bug Catcher Boys found everywhere could have a chance to obtain a True Dragon Pet Beast with Overlord potential, one capable of evolving all the way to Overlord Rank!

Under such circumstances, its popularity could not possibly decline. It would only grow with time.

Waterfall Cluster Scenic Area, Yuzhong Waterfall.

After Jiang Xing made his post, the scenic area was instantly packed to capacity, with tickets nearly impossible to obtain.

Some tourists who had secured tickets in advance even brought camping equipment and settled into the scenic area early, waiting to witness this historic moment with their own eyes.

On the day of the Dragon Gate Assembly, the scenic area was even more densely packed with people. Even the sky was filled with them—

They stood atop flying Pet Beasts, waiting for the assembly to begin.

Even Jiang Xing, the one who had started it all, could not help clicking his tongue at the sight.

"There are way too many people. Nothing's going to happen, right...?"

"Don't worry, Student Jiang Xing." Seeing his concern, the middle-aged man beside him, dressed in fitted clothes and looking like a heroic warrior who had stepped out of a wuxia drama, laughed heartily. "The state has been watching this assembly all along. Nothing will be allowed to happen here... right, Minister Chen?"

"That's right. Champion Qian is nearby maintaining order. He has an Overlord Rank Psychic Type Pet Beast. Even if the crowd were several times larger, there wouldn't be any accidents." The bespectacled man in a neat uniform nodded.

These two were Zhao Renkai, the Champion Rank Beast Tamer of the Dragon Tamer Clan, and Chang Feng, a Champion Rank Beast Tamer from the Xia Kingdom government.

Besides them, many Heavenly King Rank Beast Tamers had also arrived.

It could be said that all the top Beast Tamers around Yuzhong City had come to Yuzhong Waterfall to join the excitement. Even Su Muli no longer stood out much among them.

Hearing them say this, Jiang Xing finally relaxed.

He turned and looked toward the river below the waterfall.

Golden light shimmered across the water. Nearly a thousand Golden-Veined Koi were poised and ready.

They had prepared for this moment for more than half a month.

Jiang Xing hesitated no longer. He raised his right hand, and amid blossoming light, the Rainbow Dragon Cub soared into the air and flew before Yuzhong Waterfall.

This time, there was no need for the Storm Sea Lizard to act.

With a dragon's roar, the Rainbow Dragon Cub distorted the light.

In the blink of an eye, a massive rainbow like an archway appeared before the waterfall!

At the sight of the Dragon Gate, no command was needed. Ripples sliced across the river's surface as the school of koi became a golden tide, charging toward the waterfall and swimming upstream against the current!

At this sight, whether they were tourists watching from afar or top Beast Tamers viewing it up close, everyone held their breath.

They remembered the video they had seen before—

Could they finally witness the legend of Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate with their own eyes?

However...

One Golden-Veined Koi after another leaped from the waterfall, tracing graceful arcs as they flew through the Rainbow Dragon Gate.

Yet amid the spectacular sight, not a single white light of evolution appeared.

Not one Golden-Veined Koi had transformed into a dragon.

"How could this happen?!"

"Why didn't any of the koi successfully become dragons... They clearly passed through the Dragon Gate!"

"Could it be that even the Rainbow Dragon Cub's discoverer can't replicate its evolution..."

"Don't let that be true! I want a Dragon Cub!"

The collapse of their enormous expectations created such a crushing psychological gap that the crowd erupted into uproar, disbelief ringing out everywhere.

Fortunately, the Psychic Type Champion had prepared in advance. His Pet Beast exerted its power in secret, preventing any stampede before it could happen.

But more than disappointment or doubt, what the tourists felt was anxiety—

They absolutely did not want Jiang Xing's research to fail. On the contrary, they desperately wanted it to succeed.

Only then would they have a chance to tame a True Dragon Pet Beast!

Several top Beast Tamers could not help turning to look at Jiang Xing.

Before they could say anything, they saw that Jiang Xing, Su Muli, and even the little girl beside them all looked perfectly calm, as though none of them were surprised.

Their hearts stirred, and they swallowed their questions.

The failed passage through the gate seemed to have been intentional on Jiang Xing's part—

And indeed it was.

Although Jiang Xing had predicted that the key to Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate was willpower rather than the Dragon Gate itself,

he could not possibly skip the testing stage and treat a conjecture as a conclusion for the sake of experimental rigor.

Under any circumstances, only a result obtained through verification could be considered the true answer.

So he had first used a conventional Dragon Gate to test Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate, using it as control data.

Next came the true [Dragon Gate]!

"Dragon Cub, Dragon Might!"

"Mu!"

The Rainbow Dragon Cub let out a dragon's roar as light bloomed.

The might of a True Dragon was released, adding a measure of power to the Dragon Gate formed from seven-colored rainbow light.

At that moment, it was as if the finishing touch had been added to a dragon painting.

What had originally seemed to the tourists like nothing more than a gorgeous, enormous rainbow now faintly exuded an aura of majesty and inviolability.

It seemed to truly become the dragon's gate of myth and legend, capable of transforming creatures into True Dragons!

The chaotic discussions vanished. People widened their eyes and held their breath once again.

Could it be...

The top Beast Tamers also came to their senses and suddenly understood.

So the previous attempt had merely been for gathering data. This was the real main event!

That kid was really something. He had not even given them a warning, nearly making them embarrass themselves.

They laughed in spite of themselves, unable to suppress their anticipation.

Not only them—even Jiang Xing became uneasy—

To everyone else, this was merely a demonstration of the Rainbow Dragon Cub's evolution, a public showcase meant to verify an already completed theory.

In truth, only a handful of people knew.

This Dragon Gate Assembly was not meant to test evolution.

It was meant to verify the [Personality Conjecture], to find evidence for a theory capable of changing Pet Beast Evolution Studies!

This was Jiang Xing's true objective!

And when verifying such an important result, even with ninety-nine percent certainty, one would still feel nervous before that final step was completed—

Because throughout history, countless people had fallen at the last one percent.

Jiang Xing could not help glancing at the senior student beside him.

Her eyes held encouragement as she gave a slight nod.

Jiang Xing took a deep breath and suppressed his nervousness.

"Let's begin, Dragon Cub."

"Mu!!"