It had already been nearly a month since the first Carp Leaping the Dragon Gate.
During this period, the popularity of the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling not only failed to decline, but instead continued to rise. The reason was simple—the Golden-Patterned Koi were simply too common.
Compared to those rare, expensive pet beast species—some of which only existed in mere dozens and already belonged to Overlord-level populations—the Golden-Patterned Koi, as the base form of the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling, were widely distributed across freshwater rivers and lakes. Even ordinary people who were not Beast Tamers could frequently come into contact with them and were extremely familiar with them.
In addition, the evolution methods of pet beasts would ultimately be made public and recorded in the Beast Encyclopedia.
This gave people a certain feeling.
Even an ordinary fishing uncle or a bug-catching kid had a chance to obtain a true dragon pet beast with Overlord-tier potential, one that could evolve all the way to the Overlord Tier!
Under such circumstances, the hype could not possibly decline—it would only grow higher and higher over time.
...
At the Qunpu Scenic Area, Yuzhong Waterfall.
After Jiang Xing posted his announcement, the scenic area was instantly packed to capacity. Tickets were impossible to obtain.
Some visitors who had secured tickets in advance even brought camping equipment and set up early inside the scenic area, just to witness this historic moment with their own eyes.
By the day of the Dragon Gate Convention, the entire area was overflowing with people.
Even the sky was filled—
People stood atop flying pet beasts, waiting for the event to begin.
Seeing this scene, even Jiang Xing, the instigator of it all, couldn't help but click his tongue.
"There are way too many people… nothing's going to go wrong, right…?"
"Don't worry, Jiang Xing," said the middle-aged man beside him, dressed in fitted martial attire like someone out of a wuxia drama. He laughed heartily. "The state has been paying close attention to this convention. Nothing will happen here… right, Minister Chang?"
"That's right." The bespectacled man in a neat uniform nodded. "Champion Qian is nearby maintaining order. He possesses an Overlord-Level psychic-type pet beast. Even if the number of people doubled several times over, there wouldn't be any accidents."
These two were respectively Zhao Renkai, a Champion Beast Tamer from the Dragon-Taming aristocratic family, and Chang Feng, a Champion Beast Tamer from the official side of China.
Aside from them, many King-Class Beast Tamers had also arrived.
It could be said that nearly all top-tier Beast Tamers in the Yuzhong region had gathered here for the spectacle. Even Su Muli, standing among them, no longer seemed particularly eye-catching.
Hearing this, Jiang Xing finally felt relieved.
He turned around and looked toward the river beneath the waterfall.
Golden light shimmered across the surface—nearly a thousand Golden-Patterned Koi were gathered, poised and ready.
They had been preparing for this moment for more than half a month.
Jiang Xing did not hesitate any longer. Raising his right hand, light burst forth, and the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling soared into the air, flying to the front of Yuzhong Waterfall.
This time, there was no need for the Spiny Sea Lizard or the Storm Sea Lizard to act.
With a single dragon's roar, the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling twisted the very light itself.
In the blink of an eye, before the waterfall, a massive rainbow arch—resembling a gate—manifested into existence!
The moment the Dragon Gate appeared, no command was needed.
Ripples split across the river's surface as the koi surged forward like a golden tide, charging straight toward the waterfall, swimming against the current!
Seeing this scene, whether distant tourists or nearby top-tier Beast Tamers, everyone held their breath.
They recalled the videos they had seen before—
Were they finally going to witness the legendary Carp Leaping the Dragon Gate with their own eyes?
However…
One Golden-Patterned Koi after another leapt from the waterfall, tracing elegant arcs through the air, passing through the rainbow Dragon Gate.
The scene was magnificent.
Yet, there was no white light of evolution.
Not a single Golden-Patterned Koi transformed into a dragon.
"How could this happen?!"
"Why didn't any koi evolve… they clearly passed through the Dragon Gate!"
"Don't tell me—even the discoverer of the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling can't replicate its evolution…?"
"Please no, I want a dragon hatchling too!"
The massive gap between expectation and reality caused the crowd to erupt into chaos.
Thankfully, the psychic Champion had already made preparations—his pet beast subtly exerted its power, preventing any trampling incidents from occurring.
But more than disappointment or doubt, what filled the crowd was tension.
They did not want Jiang Xing to fail.
On the contrary—they desperately wanted him to succeed.
Only then would they have a chance to obtain true dragon pet beasts!
Several top-tier Beast Tamers also turned their heads toward Jiang Xing.
Before they could speak, they noticed that Jiang Xing, Su Muli, and even the little girl nearby all looked completely calm, as if nothing unexpected had happened.
Their hearts stirred, and they swallowed their questions.
The failure… seemed intentional.
And indeed, it was.
Although Jiang Xing had already predicted that the key to Carp Leaping the Dragon Gate lay in willpower, not the Dragon Gate itself—
For the sake of experimental rigor, he could not skip the testing phase and treat speculation as fact.
No matter the situation, only results verified through testing could be considered the true answer.
So he first used a traditional Dragon Gate to conduct the test as control data.
What came next—was the real Dragon Gate!
"Dragon Hatchling, Dragon Might!"
"Mu!"
With a dragon's roar, light surged outward.
The aura of a true dragon was released, imbuing the rainbow Dragon Gate with an additional layer of power.
At that moment—it was as if the finishing touch had been added to a painting.
To the spectators, what had once been merely a dazzling rainbow now radiated an imposing, untouchable presence.
It truly felt like the mythical gate capable of transforming creatures into dragons!
The chaotic murmurs vanished.
Everyone widened their eyes and held their breath once more.
Could it be…
The top-tier Beast Tamers quickly realized the truth.
So the earlier attempt had merely been data collection.
This—was the real main event.
What a crafty young man… not even giving them a heads-up, almost making them lose face.
They couldn't help but chuckle, anticipation rising within them.
Not just them—even Jiang Xing himself felt nervous.
In the eyes of others, this was simply a demonstration of the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling's evolution—a public showcase confirming an already completed theory.
But in reality, only a very small number of people knew—
This Dragon Gate Convention was not meant to test evolution.
It was meant to verify the Personality Hypothesis.
It was meant to find evidence for a theory that could revolutionize the entire field of pet beast evolution!
This—was Jiang Xing's true objective.
And when verifying such a crucial result—even with ninety-nine percent certainty—until the final step was completed, anxiety was inevitable.
Because throughout history, countless people had fallen at that final one percent.
Jiang Xing couldn't help but glance at the senior beside him.
Her gaze was filled with encouragement as she gave a slight nod.
Taking a deep breath, Jiang Xing suppressed his tension.
"Let's begin, Dragon Hatchling."
"Mu!!"
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