It had been several hundred years since the primordial secret realms first descended. Beast Tamers had already come to understand Pet Beast Secret Realms quite well, and had even developed Secret Realm Monitoring Technology, capable of predicting when and where certain realms would appear.
However, this technology was still imperfect and only worked on a small portion of secret realms.
The vast majority of realms still descended unpredictably, causing accidents and damage—
Not only because unlucky passersby might be dragged into them.
But also because, within newly formed secret realms, even normally gentle and friendly Pet Beasts could become violent and unstable due to spatial turbulence, sometimes even actively attacking humans!
In fact, among the Beast Tamers who recklessly rushed to explore newly descended realms, a significant number had died at the hands of rampaging Pet Beasts.
So when Jiang Xing saw a family of passersby being pulled into a secret realm—and realized they likely weren't Beast Tamers—he immediately brought his Pet Beasts and rushed in after them.
As his figure vanished and his vision blurred, by the time he regained his senses, he found himself in a dim environment.
Jiang Xing swept his gaze across the surroundings. He seemed to be standing inside a rural courtyard. Within it stood a withered, dead tree and a collapsed house, the air thick with a decaying aura of death.
Faint blue ghostly flames floated in midair, providing minimal illumination.
Looking upward and into the distance, he could see shattered space resembling broken glass—like a fragmented sea of darkness enclosing a narrow, isolated island.
'A micro secret realm… barely larger than a courtyard…'
Jiang Xing felt slightly relieved.
The smaller the realm, the fewer the Pet Beasts it contained—and the safer it was.
In a micro secret realm like this, there would be at most two or three Pet Beasts, and possibly none at all.
Just then, movement came from outside the courtyard.
The family of three who had just been dragged into the realm stood at the entrance.
Beside the gate stood a small, purple-black puppy. Its eyes glowed red, an ominous aura swirling around it. Its fur curled like flames, and it held a strand of purple ghostfire in its mouth, letting out a low, vicious growl.
Among the three, the child was very young—only four or five years old—and had been frightened into tears by the sudden turn of events.
The woman held him tightly, trying to step back, but the ground behind her had already collapsed, leaving only fractured, empty space.
The man had grabbed a stone from somewhere and stood in front of them, muscles tense, visibly nervous.
However, no matter how small the purple-black puppy looked, it was still a genuine extraordinary lifeform.
Without even pouncing, it opened its mouth and unleashed a stream of purple flames, illuminating the man's terrified eyes.
The next moment—
The expected burning pain never came.
A young man stepped over the wall, descending from above. His black cloak flared as he landed, positioning himself in front of the family.
When the purple-black flames struck the cloak, they dispersed instantly, causing no damage at all.
At the same time, a stream of water descended from above, striking the puppy's side and sending it crashing into the wall.
The moment it struggled to get up, before it could act again, it was restrained in place by a surge of telekinetic force.
The Auspicious Cloud Qilin stepped forward and let out a soft cry.
"Ah-li~" (Don't move around.)
Based on the intensity of the flames, Jiang Xing judged that the purple-black puppy was only at High Awakening Level, not even reaching the Extraordinary Level.
Forget struggling—under the control of a Demi-God Tier Qilin, it couldn't even bare its fangs.
Hmm… A mere Awakening Level creature managing to fight three opponents—going up against the little Qilin, the little dragon hatchling, and the little researcher—it could boast about that for the rest of its life.
"It's safe now," Jiang Xing said after confirming the situation was under control, lowering his cloak and turning around.
The sudden shift in circumstances left the family stunned. After a few seconds, the man hesitated and said, "Jiang… Mr. Jiang Xing?"
"You know me?" Jiang Xing paused in surprise.
"I'm your fan!" The man, now calming down, spoke more fluently, his excitement growing. "A month ago, when you first published the evolution form of the Golden-Patterned Koi, I started following you! It's just that my wife and I have work, so we couldn't make it to Yuzhong City to attend your Dragon Gate Conference in person…"
"We actually came to the breeding center today to buy a Golden-Patterned Koi for our son as his starter Pet Beast!"
"…" Jiang Xing knew he had gone viral online. That was why he had asked the little Qilin to reduce his presence when going out.
But he hadn't expected that the unlucky passersby he ran into would turn out to be his fans.
He glanced at the five-year-old child in the woman's arms.
"He's still so young. Is he already going to become a Beast Tamer?"
"Of course not." The woman had also calmed down. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the two adorable Pet Beasts nearby. "Golden-Patterned Koi have a long lifespan. We plan to raise one at home first, let our son build a bond with it from a young age, and when he's old enough, he can contract it directly…"
"Come on, Xiaoyu, say hello to Uncle Jiang Xing."
The child wiped his tears and obediently said, "Hello, Uncle Jiang Xing."
"Hello there…"
People in this world seemed to have strong hearts. Even such a young child could recover quickly.
Especially when talking about Pet Beasts and Beast Tamers, the young couple became increasingly animated, and the tense atmosphere completely dissipated.
However, a secret realm wasn't a place for chatting. They needed to find a way out first.
Jiang Xing asked them to follow him as he walked over to the purple-black puppy.
The Auspicious Cloud Qilin had already confirmed through mental perception that this puppy was the only Pet Beast in the entire realm.
Looking at it, Jiang Xing couldn't help but feel curious—
Since ancient times, secret realms had been the birthplace of Pet Beasts. New species would often descend along with them.
So what about this purple-black puppy?
Jiang Xing carefully recalled the Beast Compendium, but couldn't find any matching description.
However, based on its appearance, he did think of a certain Pet Beast.
[Name: Howl Hound]
[Attribute: None]
[Talents: Howl / Pursuit]
[Species Tier: High Extraordinary Tier]
[Species Moves: Intimidate, Bite, Tackle, Training Force]
[Description: A canine-type Pet Beast. Its small body contains immense power. It can frighten enemies with its powerful howl and prefers to guard the entrance of a home, waiting for its owner's return. It is regarded as a symbol of loyalty.]
Howl Hounds were a common Pet Beast, especially popular in rural areas.
Many villagers liked to raise one to guard their homes.
This purple-black puppy looked very similar to a Howl Hound. It stood at the gate, and its behavior matched as well.
But Howl Hounds were typical non-attribute Pet Beasts. They couldn't use elemental powers like fire, water, wind, or lightning—only possessing strong physical capabilities.
They only awakened elemental abilities after evolving.
Yet this purple-black puppy could breathe flames, and its appearance was drastically different, carrying a deathly aura…
Wait—death?
Jiang Xing's eyes flickered as he walked toward the courtyard gate.
Sensing his movement, the purple-black puppy grew even more agitated, though it remained immobilized.
Jiang Xing pushed open the decayed gate and scanned the surroundings. Sure enough, he found something unusual in a shadowed corner on the inside.
There, in the darkness, lay a small human skeleton slumped in the corner. In its arms were scattered the tiny bones of a canine.
Case closed.
The purple-black puppy was indeed a Howl Hound.
But it was no longer a living creature.
It had died—and revived in a spiritual form, becoming a ghost hound that had been guarding this place for who knew how long.
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