Belief Needs No Reason

The Quasi-Divine Rank Lucky Cloud Qilin stepped in, and the minor disturbance was instantly quelled.

After questioning the Ancient Puppet and calling Senior Li, Jiang Xing finally understood what had happened—

Some time ago, following Jiang Xing's request, Senior Li had collected a batch of Ugly Water Chickens from the countryside in Jiangnan and placed them in the lake beside the research institute, where the Ancient Puppet helped raise them.

Since the artificial lake was spacious enough to accommodate four or five small or medium-sized Pet Beast groups, and Ugly Water Chickens were naturally solitary and actively avoided other Pet Beasts, everything had been peaceful for the first few days.

But the truth could not stay hidden forever. Living in the same lake, the Golden-Veined Koi school could not possibly remain completely unaware of the Ugly Water Chickens' presence...

One of the Ugly Water Chicken's Talents, [Ugliness], used its ugly appearance to Intimidate opponents, with a certain chance of making them cower.

This Talent worked well against ordinary wild Pet Beasts. It could scare off Predators and improve the Ugly Water Chicken's chances of survival.

But at the Jiang Xing Research Institute, the Yuyus seasoned every meal with Dragon Might in order to leap through the Dragon Gate and become dragons. They had developed resistance to Intimidation-type moves and Talents.

When they encountered the Ugly Water Chickens, it directly triggered their rebellious instincts. They saw them as monsters invading the lake and launched an attack.

After a round of pathetic pecking and brawling, the solitary and timid Ugly Water Chickens were defeated and driven out of the lake.

But after leaving the lake, they stirred up another hornet's nest...

Jiang Xing had previously fed quite a few wild Pet Beasts. They lived near the research institute and voluntarily guarded it, helping drive away wild Pet Beasts that liked to play pranks and cause destruction.

When these Pet Beasts saw the Ugly Water Chickens, they were startled at first. Then, believing them to be invaders, they attacked in Anger.

The Rainbow Dragon group living on the newly constructed Lake Heart Island in the middle of the lake also noticed the commotion and joined the chicken-chasing squad.

In the end, it turned into this chaotic mess.

"To sum it up, it was all because they were too ugly."

Looking at the battered Ugly Water Chickens, with their strange appearances that made people uncomfortable, Jiang Xing instinctively felt repulsed, yet he could not help sympathizing with them.

After all, species, Talents, and appearance were all innate traits that could not be chosen.

From the moment these Ugly Water Chickens were born, they were destined to be hated by other creatures. It was indeed rather tragic.

Even—

If it were merely a matter of ugly looks, with so many living beings in the world, there would always be someone with unusual tastes who liked that sort of thing.

The Ugly Water Chickens might have adapted to their appearance and not necessarily considered themselves ugly.

But [Ugliness] was, unfortunately, a Talent.

Much like the Lucky Cloud Qilin's [Affinity] Talent, [Ugliness] ignored aesthetics and species, triggering instinctive disgust in all living beings and producing an Intimidation effect.

It was precisely because of this power that even the Ugly Water Chickens themselves could not accept their own ugliness. Thus, they lived in dark gutters, smearing mud over themselves in an attempt to conceal their appearance...

After deciding to raise Ugly Water Chickens, Jiang Xing had done some research as well.

Once he learned these details, it was difficult not to feel sympathy for this kind of Pet Beast.

Being born so inherently flawed was truly miserable.

After learning the full story, Jiang Xing distributed some food to the Pet Beasts that had helped guard the research institute.

He also told them that these Ugly Water Chickens were not invaders, but new members of the research institute.

Although the Pet Beasts did not understand why Jiang Xing was speaking up for these ugly fellows, they lowered their guard upon hearing his words and returned to the woods with their food.

Then, Jiang Xing gathered the Ugly Water Chickens together—

Ugly Water Chickens were solitary Pet Beasts. Their numbers were relatively low, and they preferred to stay in remote, unpopulated places, appearing and disappearing unpredictably.

For Senior Li to collect more than three hundred Ugly Water Chickens in such a short time was truly impressive.

Still, more than three hundred bald, lumpy chickens standing together and staring over in unison, their [Ugliness] Talents stacking atop one another, was genuinely oppressive.

Jiang Xing put on the Calming Pendant and asked the Little Qilin for help. Only then did he finally calm down enough to face these Ugly Water Chickens normally.

"When I saw the pictures before, I thought the researchers studying Ugly Water Chickens had terrible mental fortitude. Their love for Pet Beasts was affected just because they looked a little ugly..."

"Now it seems the opposite is true. Without relying on items, anyone capable of raising hundreds of Ugly Water Chickens at once must have terrifying mental fortitude."

Jiang Xing sighed inwardly, collected himself, and spoke.

"I'm very sorry. The local Pet Beasts were thoughtless and gave you a scare."

"However, you should already know why you came to this research institute."

Although Senior Li was not a researcher, he was a professional breeder with extensive knowledge of Pet Beast research—this was also why Jiang Xing had asked him for help.

When he went to the Jiangnan countryside to collect Ugly Water Chickens, he certainly had not knocked them out and carried them away like a poacher.

Instead, he would communicate with the Pet Beasts and let them understand the whole situation.

That way, during the research process, the Pet Beasts would cooperate willingly, producing twice the result with half the effort.

As for ancient research methods such as forcibly capturing Pet Beasts and dissecting them, they had long been discarded for being cruel, inefficient, highly detrimental, and likely to provoke Pet Beast retaliation.

Nowadays, the emphasis was on humans and Pet Beasts living in harmony and building a home together.

Therefore, these Ugly Water Chickens knew very well why they had come to the research institute.

For evolution!

From the moment they hatched, they had been hated by their mothers. They could only hide in gutters, surviving on maggots and trash.

They slept by day and emerged at night, never daring to look into the water for fear of seeing those ugly faces.

Only during breeding season, driven by instinct, would they seek brief companionship. Once they regained their senses, they would feel disgust toward one another and immediately part ways.

They had never felt even the slightest warmth.

But...

The colder a heart was, the more it yearned for warmth.

In the darkness, they would watch Pet Beasts and humans traveling together, envying their sincere bonds.

Through cracks and gaps, they would secretly watch the birds soaring high above, envying them as they flew through clear skies.

It was because of these beautiful longings that they had followed the humans here. Even after being rejected, attacked, and hunted, they had never been willing to leave this place—

They would rather die while chasing their dreams than return to those dark gutters.

"The weakest koi can leap through the Dragon Gate and become True Dragons."

"An ugly caterpillar can break free from its cocoon and become a beautiful butterfly."

"A sparrow can fly onto a branch and become a Phoenix; an Ugly Duckling can become a White Swan..."

"There are too many stories like that in this world."

Looking at the Ugly Water Chickens, Jiang Xing did not say anything safe like, "Pet Beast evolution may retain traits from the previous form."

Indeed, most Pet Beast evolutions would not undergo changes as dramatic as the Rainbow Dragon Cub's.

But the Ugly Water Chickens did not need to know that.

They carried too much inferiority. They did not need objective evaluations.

They only needed someone to give them a little recognition, a little confidence—

"I believe that, like the Golden-Veined Koi, you possess evolutionary potential that others have failed to notice. I believe you can transform into the most dazzling beings!"

"That is why I sought you out!"

Jiang Xing spoke with absolute certainty.

His utterly confident attitude shook the Ugly Water Chickens to their core.

They had never imagined that someone would see them this way...

When even they themselves looked down on who they were.

The Rainbow Dragon Cub floated onto Jiang Xing's shoulder. Its rainbow-like dragon whiskers drifted through the air, radiating Light and drawing the Ugly Water Chickens' attention.

It raised its head and cried, "Muu muu!"

That was right. Back when it had still lived in the little pond, it had known neither what a dragon was nor how vast the world could be. It had only possessed a desire to grow stronger with nowhere to vent it.

Jiang Xing had discovered it and unearthed its true potential.

So, since Jiang Xing said they could evolve into dazzling beings, then they certainly could!

"Are you willing to trust me and become butterflies with me?"

Jiang Xing extended his hand. Contract markings surfaced in his palm, and his gaze held only sincerity and honesty.

The scene fell silent.

The Ugly Water Chickens remained quiet.

It was not that they did not believe Jiang Xing.

They simply did not believe in themselves.

Until one Ugly Water Chicken took a step forward. Seeing that Jiang Xing's expression did not waver in the slightest, it finally shattered the hesitation in its heart.

It ran forward, flapped its bare wings, and slapped them against his palm.

"Goo!"

Light blossomed, and it turned into a streak of radiance that vanished into his palm.

[Ding ding! You successfully tamed Feebas!]