Chapter 156 (2k words added)
[If you were given the opportunity to contract any mythical beast, which one would you choose?]
With the opening of the Alien Secret Realm imminent, and the national trials already underway, netizens are naturally enthusiastic. On the "Adventurer's Home" forum, a discussion thread like this has been hovering at the top for a long time, with a "hot" tag, and over 300 replies, and the number is still rising.
Xia Muqing clicked on it out of curiosity and found that the netizens' imaginations were truly endless, with a wide variety of ideas.
At first, it was some famous and powerful mystical beasts, like the Gilded Sky Dragon. Later, it gradually became "Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, Black Tortoise" and other ancient legends. Then, the parody style emerged - the most outrageous answer was: "I want to contract Xiao Xia's divine beast user, but what should I do? I always feel like her presence means an endless supply of divine beasts!"
When Xia Muqing saw this, she almost spit out a mouthful of water.
"Am I some new kind of philosopher's stone?"
She turned off her phone, feeling both amused and annoyed. She collapsed onto her bed in the dormitory, covering her face with the quilt, her thoughts racing: "Hmm... but then again, what kind of new profound beast do I want..."
Beside the mattress, the three mysterious beasts couldn't help but have wild thoughts.
The Gilded Sky Dragon shook its head, its whiskers flying, and it was full of energy. Although it was almost midnight, it was still in the heat of the moment from its passionate gaming session. Not only was it not sleepy at all, it was even a little excited. "Ah?"
We already have a dragon, so how about a phoenix?
Let’s also make a dragon and a phoenix appear together, and go out in pairs, hahahahaha!
Next to him, the Swift Dog curled up comfortably in its den, with only its tiny head peeking out from the edge of the soft mattress. Its chin rested on the thick mattress as it blinked its beautiful, deep, ice-blue eyes: "Awooo..."
If there is a new mysterious beast, should the owner consider getting another dog?
People on the Internet say double the dogs, double the happiness.
The Nether Butterfly also flapped its wings, its eyes blinking, its gaze sparkling like starlight. Purple-red mysterious energy followed the outline of its wings, floating in the air like butterfly powder, raising a dreamy mist wherever it went.
"Yeah."
No matter what, the new mysterious beast must be good-looking and beautiful!
The You Kongque and Yufei Coral that it saw a few days ago were so beautiful, gentle and powerful. It really likes such mysterious beasts - oh, by the way, they have to be reliable, as calm and reliable as Boss Xiaofeng, and as wise as Ark Xiaoxue.
As for the atmosphere adjuster, Brother Xiao Jin is enough.
Little Golden Dragon: “……?”
It flung its tail and jumped out from under the covers, its head full of questions: "Ah?"
What's an "atmosphere adjuster"? It's clearly the group's most powerful and handsome character, isn't it? Just look at its majestic and imposing figure and its gleaming golden scales!
"Alright, alright, let's all go to sleep," Xia Muqing interrupted the noise of the mysterious beasts, tapping her fingers on the bed a few times, "We have to attend the meeting of the selected candidates tomorrow, so everyone should get some rest early—I'm turning off the lights."
She pressed the switch beside the bed and the room was plunged into darkness.
The curtains were not fully drawn, and soft moonlight filtered through a gap, casting a faint silver edge on the desk. Faint melodious bird calls could be heard in the distance, and I wondered whose mysterious beast was circling in the moonlight.
What kind of new mysterious beast do you want?
This question is really difficult.
Although Xia Muqing had turned off the lights, she was still a bit agitated by the online chatter and the mysterious beasts, and she tossed and turned in bed for a while. She had a thick illustrated book in her head, and as she flipped through it with her eyes closed, she felt an itch growing more and more intense, wishing she could rush into the mysterious realm of the Other Element in the next second.
There are so many options I want, damn!
Xia Muqing was dazzled by the choices in her mind until she fell into a deep sleep. The last thought in her heart was: Forget it, let's just go with the flow.
Every mysterious beast she had contracted so far was the result of fate, and in the end, they all became her most important family. Perhaps at this very moment, there was also a lovely little creature in the Yiyuan Secret Realm, waiting to meet them by fate?
…
The next morning, Xia Muqing was woken up by the alarm clock.
She rubbed her sleepy eyes, picked up her phone and was about to check the time when she suddenly noticed a striking little red dot pop up on the screen.
Chi Zi: Are you awake, Xiao Xia? Come quickly, come to the south gate of the campus!
【Chi Zi: I'll take you to pick someone up.】
[Chi Zi: How's that? Did you see the message? The car is arriving at 7:30, hurry up!]
Xia Muqing: “……!”
Her phone had been set to silent mode when she went to bed, and she was so sound asleep that she wasn't woken up by Chi Zi's call. Luckily, she usually went to bed and woke up early, so her biological clock woke her up at exactly 7:00.
"There's still time."
Xia Muqing hurriedly replied to Chi Zi's message and quickly got up to wash up. The little golden dragon raised its head from its nest sleepily, squinting its eyes and yawning, letting out a sleepy bleep: "Ah?"
What's going on? Isn't the meeting at 10 AM? It's still early now.
"Let's go pick them up," Xia Muqing hurriedly put on her shoes and socks. "Teacher Chi Zi specifically called me along, so this must be someone special—let's go, let's go take a look."
"Xiaofeng, south gate of campus!"
Few in Daxia could afford to use a mythical beast to drive their carriage like Xia Muqing. The Wind Luo Lord sped along at lightning speed, covering distances of over a thousand meters in just a dozen seconds. The turbulent air currents blew Xia Muqing's long hair, which she hadn't yet tied tightly, leaving it flying behind her.
The early morning breeze was particularly refreshing, blowing on her cheeks, comfortable and refreshing. When Xia Muqing arrived at the South Gate, Chi Zi was already waiting there, waving at her from afar: "This way, this way!"
Xia Muqing hurried into the car.
Chi Zi handed her a few bags of steamed buns and soy milk, and said with a smile: "Didn't have time to eat breakfast?"
"I didn't make it in time," Xia Muqing took it with a smile, "Thank you, Teacher Chi Zi, but who are we going to pick up?"
The Alien Secret Realm has opened, but it won't just be the five winners of the trials entering. This presents a prime opportunity to learn about the alien dimension and gather information, so a full team will be entering. Besides the five individuals tasked with acquiring the contracted profound beast, they will also include scholars selected from across the land, and accompanying personnel to ensure safety.
All of these added together should be around 15 to 20 people.
Xia Muqing guessed that the person she was going to pick up might be a senior researcher... But Chi Zi smiled and shook his head: "No, he is also a beastmaster."
"He's currently the busiest Divine Beast Master in Daxia, known within the community as the 'all-purpose firefighter.' This is mainly because his profound beast's abilities are so unique, and there's a lack of replacements, so he's the only one left to step in when emergencies arise—and just a small peek, his profound beast is a space-time type."
Xia Muqing: “……!”
Xia Muqing's eyes lit up.
Beside her, the three little ones also raised their heads with burning eyes. Among them, the Swift Dog had the biggest reaction, with its ears standing up, its back straight, and fluorescent light flashing in its ice-blue pupils.
Chi Zi smiled: "How about it, are you interested?"
"I think your Xiaofeng is also researching this area. If I can get more exposure to his profound beast, maybe I can dig out some benefits. After all, he's super busy and probably won't be able to stay for the entire meeting. It would be too late to wait until we enter the Alien Secret Realm. Why not try and see if there's an opportunity today?"
Xia Muqing nodded repeatedly: "Okay!"
Although the "time-space system" differs from the "space system" by only one character, the difference is worlds apart. Xia Muqing's interest was also piqued. She couldn't help but close her eyes and rest, quietly searching for mysterious beasts with related attributes in her mind.
In reality, the Swift Dog's 'Danger Sense' could also approach the 'Spacetime System', but this realm was too difficult to enter, requiring too high a threshold of understanding. Even with Xiaofeng's intelligence, he hadn't yet reached that level—more accurately, he hadn't even fully grasped the first stage of space.
Something as illusory as time is even more difficult to deal with.
Even Xia Muqing was not very sure in her heart and didn't know which direction to guide.
Ultimately, at the level of Fengluo Lord, if he wanted to improve further, routine training was no longer as effective as before. What he needed now was more of an adventure, guidance, and a flash of enlightenment.
And these are things you can only encounter by chance.
"I hope I can learn something from this meeting."
"I wonder which specific profound beast he has... Jiuqiao Luwu? Emperor You? Hiss, there aren't many profound beasts in the atlas that can be marked with this series..."
An hour later.
Xia Muqing and his group finally arrived at their destination.
What caught my eye was a research institute on the outskirts of Yandu, all light gray, its design simple yet majestic. Strangely enough, as if at the perfect moment, a young man in a blue plaid shirt emerged from the building, pushing a suitcase. He shielded his eyes from the bright sunlight and yawned loudly.
"That's him," Chi Zi pointed at the young man not far away, "Yu Cong, the beast master of Yu, I wonder if you have heard of him."
Xia Muqing shook her head.
She had never heard of this name - but that didn't mean the other party was weak or unknown.
There are many powerful beast masters in the Beast Tamer Association, and each of them bears different social responsibilities. There are those like Cheng Cheng who are well-known and need to establish a good image in front of the public, and there are also those who remain anonymous but can play an important strategic role for the entire Daxia - and in a sense, the latter's anonymity is the best protection Daxia can give him.
If I'm not mistaken, the young man in front of me is this type of talent.
Xia Muqing looked over the shoulder of the young man in the blue plaid shirt and looked behind him. She caught a glimpse of fluorescence from the corner of her eye and pursed her lips in surprise. "Hmm?"
The opponent's mysterious beast revealed its figure - it was a strange prismatic mysterious beast, emitting a soft halo like starlight all over its body. Its body was suspended in the air and kept spinning. The surface was engraved with mysterious patterns, like a relief left over from ancient times, or like a gear pendulum that could swing at will.
At this moment, when it saw the person coming, accompanied by a few crisp "click" sounds, its uneven surface opened and stretched out to the sides like a mechanical baffle, revealing a small gopher-like head tip in the center.
The dark and lively little eyeballs rolled around, swept over Xia Muqing, and then looked at the rolled-down car window next to her - the Gale Dog, the Little Golden Dragon and the Nether Butterfly were crowding together and sticking their heads out from there, looking at the man and the beast in front of them with the same curious eyes.
"Ouch?"
Is this the senior who has mastered the space-time skills?
The shape is really unique and has a very technological feel!
The little golden dragon smacked its lips, a glint flickering in its eyes. Honestly, the first thing it thought of when it saw the other party was Ark Xiaoxue. I have to say, this retractable diamond-shaped protective shell is really cool. I'll have to ask the owner to make one for Xiaoxue later...
The Nether Butterfly lowered its antennae: "...Eh?"
It’s a bit strange. Why can’t it understand the other party’s breath?
The Leviathans he had encountered previously were emotionless, yet their life force was abundant, like a raging fire. However, the mysterious beast before him felt like the sparks left behind by peeling back layers of flames, revealing an inexplicable sense of emptiness.
...No, it’s not about pushing apart, it should be about separating!
The Nether Butterfly opened a spiritual connection and reminded Xia Muqing in a communication method that no one could hear: it could feel that the other party's soul fire was also strong, or it should have been strong, but the other party separated it in some unknown way, retaining only the most core and essential part.
This should also be the fundamental reason why it has a thick metal-like shell to protect its soft body.
Xia Muqing nodded approvingly: "Xiao Zi is right, this is the Golden Nether Star Beast."
The Golden Pluto Star Beast is also a very rare mysterious beast. It is said that this mysterious beast is the descendant of the stars left on the land. They have strange characteristics and can communicate with the distant stars in the dark and listen to the vast sounds from the infinite universe.
While it couldn't be called a space-time mystical beast, the Gold Nether Star Beast's strength lay in its almost blank slate, capable of learning any attribute's skills with a high probability of success. It could be very weak or incredibly powerful—all depending on the skill of its trainer.
Thinking of this, Xia Muqing's eyes brightened.
When I saw this mysterious beast, I knew I had made the right choice. Xiaofeng’s space-time system improvement was secured!
She followed Chi Zi over to greet Yu Cong. Yu Cong was shaking hands with the others, but he still looked incredibly exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes and a droopy look. "Sorry, I only got two hours of sleep last night... I just rushed over from North City ten minutes ago. When will this hell ever end..."
Xia Muqing was slightly stunned.
North City?
That is the northernmost city in Daxia, at least a thousand kilometers away from Yandu.
Xia Muqing paused, her understanding of Yusong and the Golden Nether Star Beast revisited. Traveling a thousand kilometers in 10 minutes—what did that even mean?
It's just a little slower than the speed of light!
She was swallowing quietly here, while on the other side, Yu Chong heard Xia Muqing's name from Chi Zi. He suddenly shuddered, and his eyes, which were too blurry to open, suddenly widened, and he became alert.
"Xiao Xia's Divine Beast Master? Where is he?" Yu Chong turned around, his eyes blazing as he fixed his gaze on Xia Muqing. "Oh, it's really you! Haha, I've heard so much about you—you're even more beautiful in person than in the photos online. You're truly one of the promising young elites of Da Xia!"
Facing his enthusiastic gaze, Xia Muqing was a little stunned: "You know me?"
Yu Chong smiled and said, "Of course I don't know. A genius beast user who has contracted three divine beasts and won first place in this selection competition, right? I heard he also defeated a very outrageous evil dragon beast and resolved a nationwide omnic crisis?"
"Every time I hear your name, it's like I see hope. This is what a talented young talent should look like. I really want to be washed up on the beach... ahem!"
"Um, excuse me, I remember the first beast you raised was called Fengluo Monarch, and its trait was 'Danger Sense'?"
Xia Muqing: "...Ah, yes."
Xia Muqing never expected that she was still making drafts in her mind on the way here, thinking about how to humbly ask for advice when she met the person, hoping that the other party would teach Xiaofeng more about the convenience of time and space.
But at this moment, Yu Zong was obviously more enthusiastic than her. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it firmly. Then he turned his head and looked at the Swift Dog through the car window with a gaze as hot as a ball of fire: "Danger perception... It has both spatial and predictive functions, anchoring the past and the future..."
"Great, it's perfect..."
Xia Muqing: “???”
"Come on, come on, get in the car!" Yu Cong waved his hand. "Drive slower, please. We have something to talk about on the way."
He was full of energy, and even the Golden Nether Star Beast was swaying with joy. Xia Muqing even saw tears of relief in the corners of its eyes.
The man and the beast didn't look sleepy at all. Yu Cong looked energetic despite the large dark circles under his eyes. "Feng Luo... no, Swift Dog, are you interested in learning some space-time skills?"
"Super cool and easy to use. All the mysterious beasts that have experienced it say it's good. Seriously!"
Xia Muqing watched helplessly as Yu Cong and the Golden Nether Star Beast surrounded the Swift Dog from both sides, and with a smile on her face, they began to exchange insights. The scene seemed extremely absurd for a moment. Not to mention her, the Swift Dog's eyes were glazed over, its black pupils darting frantically towards Xia Muqing, seeking its master's help: "Ah, ah woo?"
Master, master, what’s going on?
Is this person truly a Space-Time Beast Tamer? Why doesn't he act so arrogantly, instead seeming like a door-to-door salesperson?
"Uh..." Xia Muqing turned her head and asked quietly, "Teacher Chi Zi, what did the Yu Divine Beast do to him..."
Chi Zi was stunned and looked a little confused.
However, she had been in the scholarly community for a long time and had heard some rumors about Yu Cong. After hesitating for a moment, she whispered, "Maybe he's too tired and is anxious to find someone to take over..."
Xia Muqing: "..."
Okay, I understand.
This wave belongs to the high-pressure workers who finally found fresh and delicious leeks.
It's understandable, after all, space-time mystical beasts are incredibly rare in Daxia. Looking at Yu Cong's expression, it's clear the Beastmaster Association is eager to tear him into pieces. And seeing how tired he looks, he's probably been sleep-deprived for a long time.
But this was just right. Xia Muqing nodded quietly to the Gale Dog, signaling it to learn boldly.
Regardless of the other party's purpose, if Yucong and Jinmingxing Beast want the Gale Dog to share the heavy responsibility, they must first teach it well. Isn't this beneficial to themselves and the Gale Dog?
Study, study hard!
Try to drain all of the other person's perceptions!
The Swift Dog received the beastmaster's order and immediately felt at ease. It shook its soft white fur, blinked its black, clear eyes, and tilted its head. Its appearance was so adorable that it could melt anyone's heart.
"Ouch?"
Could you please tell me about that trick just now?
Is it a method to travel from Beicheng to Yandu in a flash?
Hearing this, the Golden Nether Star Beast blinked and quietly retracted its little head in the center of its shell.
"Uh..." Yu Cong hesitated for a moment, feeling a little embarrassed. He raised his hand and scratched the back of his head, "I'm afraid you can't learn this... It's not that I can't tell you, but because I'm actually taking advantage of it."
"The Way of Time and Space is too profound, so we didn't get very far. We only used Xiaoxing's special ability, 'Soul Splitting', to achieve long-distance jumps. If we relied solely on skills, we could probably only move a few dozen meters at a time."
Swift Dog: “……?”
Characteristics, soul division?
Xia Muqing listened from the side, her hands resting on her knees clenched quietly, and her mind suddenly became clear: "I understand. No wonder Xiao Zi said that the aura of the Golden Nether Star Beast was not right."
The "soul splitting" feature, as the name suggests, is that the soul can be split into multiple petals, while maintaining a certain attraction between them, and can be merged again.
It is a very rare and powerful feature, and it can be used in a variety of ways. Xia Muqing used to think that the best way to use this skill is to create clones. Whether it is to achieve multiple against one in battle or to use it as bait to distract the enemy, it is of great strategic significance.
But unexpectedly, Yu Cong's use was to let the Jinming Star Beast use it to practice long-distance space magic.
This brings us to another question: what is the most important thing about space travel?
Without a doubt, the answer is "anchor point".
When using their abilities, space-time mystical beasts must have a very specific anchor point; otherwise, they can easily lose their way in the chaotic world of time and space. Space-time gaps are even more vast and chaotic than a desolate desert. No one can predict where they'll appear next. If they migrate to a cliff, the deep sea, or even the center of the earth, what difference would that make them tantamount to committing suicide?
A stable "anchor point" is hard to come by. Xia Muqing had seen mysterious beasts use many rare materials to create "anchor points" in the game before, but the failure rate was still very high. But looking at Yu Chong and the Golden Nether Star Beast, they directly used their split souls as "anchor points". The pulling force on the souls was enough to turn into the most vivid beacon in the chaotic time and space, guiding the direction for the Golden Nether Star Beast.
No wonder Yu Cong has become the busiest "firefighter" in Daxia.
This really exceeded Xia Muqing's expectations and also showed her a completely new way of thinking.
"As expected, there are still many smart people in this world," Xia Muqing said with a gleaming look, "They were able to develop such an interesting move... It seems I have to use more of my strength and not be limited to the description in the illustrated manual."
On the other hand, facing the Swift Dog's big eyes full of curiosity, Yu Cong smiled bitterly: "Don't, don't think too highly of 'Soul Splitting'."
"Well... since there are no outsiders around right now, I'll be frank with you. The limitations of using 'Soul Splitting' to travel are obvious. After all, the soul of the Golden Pluto Beast cannot be divided infinitely."
"I must ensure its core remains intact. The maximum number of remnant souls I can currently generate is approximately five. Furthermore, it can only travel to locations near remnant souls, effectively serving as a fixed teleportation point. Daxia is vast, and even if one is placed in each of the east, south, west, north, and center, it would still be insufficient most of the time."
Xia Muqing clapped her hands gently: "That's already very impressive!"
This trip was truly the right one. Just by meeting Yu Cong and the Golden Nether Star Beast, Xia Muqing already felt she had gained quite a bit. As her mind opened up, a slew of new ideas popped up in her head. Her imagination was so full that she couldn't wait to get back and try out the Gale Dog.
'Soul splitting' is the characteristic of the Golden Nether Star Beast, which the Gale Dog cannot use. However, the Gale Dog's 'danger perception' is actually more closely related to the time and space system. From this perspective, Xiaofeng's talent in the time and space system should be stronger than that of the Golden Nether Star Beast.
The only problem is how to establish an anchor point that is more suitable for oneself, just like Jinmingxingmon.
In addition, on the way back, Yu Cong also told her and Swift Dog about many experiences and insights of traveling through time and space.
"What is time and space in your mind?"
Yu Cong said, gesturing in the air with his hands: "Is it a ball? Or a large cube?"
"Shuttling means creating a passage between two points and traveling the straight distance as quickly as possible?"
Swift Dog nodded in confusion.
This person is easy to understand. This is how time and space are in his mind, so he thinks about how to dig holes as quickly as possible every day.
Seeing this, Yu Cong smiled and shook his head: "These are the stereotypes many people have about time and space, but in fact, they are all wrong."
"Real spacetime is supposed to be vaster and more complex, a confluence of countless points and a tangle of countless lines. It's not as neatly linear or flat as we imagine. More often than not, it's a thin piece of paper—"
Yu Cong took out a notepad from his pocket, tore off a page of paper with a "hiss", and drew two small black dots with a carbon pen.
He drew a line directly from the black dot: "Is the fastest way to get from point A to point B a straight line?"
Then he made a cross: "No, the fastest one is like this."
Yu Zong folded the paper and pinched the two black dots together until they overlapped completely. Then, smiling, he said, "Look, when point A and point B overlap, A is B, and B is A. There's no need to travel back and forth; you're already at the intersection of two spaces."
The Swift Dog stared blankly.
It listened intently, and Yucong's explanation also gave it new ideas. Two overlapping black dots enlarged in its pupils, as if two spaces were superimposed in nothingness - its hair fluttered in the wind, and there seemed to be a fire gradually lighting up in the bottom of its eyes, and a vortex faintly emerged in its ice-blue pupils.
Without evolving into the Wind Luo Lord, the dark blue lines appeared on the body of the Gale Dog for the first time. With the center of the eyebrows and pupils as the center, the super body expanded and spread rapidly!
Xia Muqing keenly noticed that the pattern of the mysterious pattern was different from before!
If the previous profound patterns were smooth and flowing, like flowing water and gentle wind, then the patterns on its body now became more complicated and disordered, revealing a deep and chaotic aura, like a black hole at the end of the universe, leading to endless space and eternal time...
Everyone in the car suddenly became quiet.
The driver tactfully lowered the tailgate, turned the steering wheel, and headed for a quiet, deserted lane. Chi Zi and the others fell silent. Even the playful little golden dragon circled silently, hooking its tail around the seat base, lowering its head and gently exhaling a golden bubble.
The bubbles turned into a shimmering light, forming a protective barrier outside the car.
Yu Chong and Jin Mingxing Beast also stopped explaining and quietly watched the changes in the mysterious patterns on the Gale Dog's body, with surprise shining in their eyes.
He murmured silently, "Epiphany? Such a high aptitude! It seems it already has a strong foundation in time and space..."
Swift Dog's epiphany lasted for more than half an hour.
During this time, the car was approaching its destination, but in order to prevent the downtown area from disturbing its perception, Yu Chong asked the driver to stop on a more secluded street.
While waiting, he leaned his head on the back seat, and together with the Golden Nether Star Beast in his arms, he showed Xia Muqing what it meant to fall asleep instantly.
...Fortunately, neither the man nor the beast snores when they sleep.
After a while, the Swift Dog awoke from its reverie and shook its fur with renewed vigor. The profound patterns on its body seemed to retract from the ends, returning to its brows before disappearing beneath its fur.
Although it looks not much different from before, Xia Muqing, as a beastmaster, can sense the subtle changes of the Gale Hound through the mental contract.
Even though it was a breath as vast as the sky, it was only an extremely weak trace, but the breakthrough from nothing to something was difficult enough, and the eyes of the Swift Dog also changed subtly, the pupils became slightly darker, reminiscent of the deep night sky in summer.
If they were to test his profound strength again now, Xia Muqing believed that Fengluo Lord's value could exceed 300,000. No, perhaps even 350,000.
She held the Swift Dog in her arms and said solemnly to Yu Cong, "Yu Divine Beast Master, Jin Ming Star Beast, thank you."
Yu Zong had just woken up from a light sleep and waved his hands when he heard this: "No, no, I just talked about some theories. It's because of his solid foundation and strong perception that he has made such rapid progress."
"Come on, Xiaoxing and I are really looking forward to seeing it grow further, until the day it can cross a thousand miles in an instant."
Xia Muqing nodded: "Yes, definitely."
…
With the teachings along the way, the upcoming meetings seemed to have little meaning in Xia Muqing's eyes.
At the meeting, many of the faces were familiar to her.
Not to mention Guan Yun and the other four selected young beastmasters, there were also two scholars from the Yanda Research Institute, one of whom was a member of Xia Muqing's previous project team. The moment he saw her, he winked happily and whispered about wanting to collect data from the Nether Butterfly, observe Ark Xiaoxue's intelligence module, pluck a few hairs from the Wind Luo Lord, and take a few drops of the Gilded Sky Dragon's blood...
Swift Dog: “???”
Forget about other things, what's the point of plucking its hair?
However, in fact, it was not only this scholar who was interested in Xia Muqing. The other researchers participating in the meeting were equally excited. They looked at Xia Muqing with eyes like X-rays, as if they wanted to pull her and the mysterious beasts for dissection on the spot.
On the other hand, Yu Cong received the same treatment as Xia Muqing.
The researchers considered the Spacetime Golden Pluto Beast even more valuable than the giant panda. Furthermore, this creature traveled extensively year-round, making the opportunity to spend time with them rare. A crowd immediately surrounded Yu Cong and Xia Muqing—if the meeting hadn't been announced, they would have completely forgotten the meeting's topic and spent the entire day hounding them with questions.
The content of the meeting was actually very simple. First, there was a brief introduction of the people on the trip, and then there was an emphasis on safety issues. The "reference version" map of Area 13 drawn up by the Beast Tamer Association was distributed to everyone, and some precautions were reminded.
The attendees introduced themselves to each other, and the five contestants who had previously competed against each other also gave detailed descriptions of their own profound beasts' abilities. After all, no one knew what they would encounter in the Alien Secret Realm. Previously, they were rivals competing for a spot, but now, they might be brothers and sisters who needed to rely on their backs.
When the meeting was halfway through, Yu Cong was called away as expected.
He yawned languidly and hurriedly got up with the Golden Nether Star Beast. Before leaving, he didn't forget to leave Xia Muqing his phone number: "Add me on WeChat. If you have any questions, you can leave me a message. Don't worry, I will squeeze in some sleep time to reply."
Xia Muqing: "..."
Thank you for your hard work!
Even a hardworking dog like the Wind Dog couldn't help but doubt his own life after seeing this amazing scene.
Is the fate of becoming a space-time profound beast so terrible? Even sleep time is repeatedly squeezed out—oh my god, this is terrifying!
“…That’s not the case.”
Xia Muqing felt a bit dazed, but she still tried to persuade her own profound beast: "If you delve deeper into the Space-Time System, you might be able to reverse the past and anchor the future. Then your day might not be 24 hours anymore, but 36 hours, 48 hours, or even more. After all, time is yours to manipulate!"
"The Golden Pluto Beast is so busy because its space-time skills haven't been cultivated to their full potential yet. There's still room for improvement."
Swift Dog: "..."
It looked at Xia Muqing innocently, its bright eyes blinking as if to say: Is this really the case? Did the beastmaster lie to the beast?
In order to paint a rosy picture for her own mysterious beast, Xia Muqing actually exaggerated: "..."
"Don't panic," she lowered her voice, "Of course it's true. I know such mysterious beasts exist."
——One of the most mysterious beasts in the atlas. She had challenged the levels dozens of times but still couldn't fully understand the situation. She only unlocked a mysterious BOSS in the shadow picture. Now it was still quietly dormant in the last level of her atlas.
…
The time for entering the Alien Secret Realm was decided at the meeting, which was half a month later.
This interval is neither short nor long, but it allows the Mystical Beasts to use this time to consolidate their recently increased strength. The Beastmaster Association's representatives said they would arrange one-on-one special training for each of them based on their individual circumstances.
The others thought exactly the same as Xia Muqing, so shortly after the meeting that day, Guan Yun pulled her into a group chat.
"Dragon Slayer Squad?" Xia Muqing was stunned by the name of the group chat. "What are they doing?"
I checked the group chat list and understood.
There are 9 contestants who entered the Tower of Babel. They have "slaughtered" the Leviathan together and established a relatively solid revolutionary friendship.
Xia Muqing didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "This group is quite interesting, but the gilded sky dragon..."
It’s also a dragon!
Didn’t you see the little golden dragon standing next to you, and when he saw the words on the screen out of the corner of his eye, he immediately got angry and blew his beard and glared?
However, someone in the group realized this problem, and a new prompt popped up soon:
"A Little Hong Flower" changed the name of the group chat to "One God Leads N Pitfalls."
Xia Muqing: “…* …?”
This name was obviously not very suitable. Then she watched helplessly as everyone discussed it lively. The group chat name changed more than a dozen times in just a few minutes, with names like "Colorful Dreams", "Brave Adventurers Paradise", "Divine Beast Concentration Camp", "Nine Calabash Brothers"...
Xia Muqing: “???”
So what is it for?
Finally, it was Guan Yun who intervened and changed the name to "Battle Exchange Group 001," and the group finally settled down. Xia Muqing watched as everyone finally stopped joking and started talking about business, and she gradually understood.
Everyone wanted to exchange and learn from each other's mysterious beasts before entering the Alien Secret Realm, so that they could become more familiar with each other's mysterious beasts and skills, and stimulate more potential through the collision.
In particular, many people still have small mysterious beasts that have not evolved to the second level!
When fighting the Leviathans, their main force naturally took the initiative, but that didn't mean they only had these few mysterious beasts. After witnessing the birth of the Nether Butterfly in the Battle of Babel and experiencing Ark Xiaoxue's intelligence upgrade, everyone was eager for the opportunity to interact more with Xia Muqing.
Originally, when they were recruiting people, they were thinking of only recruiting the five people who entered the Yiyuan Secret Realm, but later, following Uncle Xiong's suggestion, Guan Yun recruited the remaining five people as well.
Although the strength of those five people is slightly inferior to the top five, they are all young geniuses with great talents and killer moves. In Guan Yun's words, since sparks need to be created through collisions, the more people involved in the polishing, the better.
The last five will have no objections. They are so happy to be added to this group chat, okay?
I can continue to exchange and compete with the best young beastmasters in the country! This includes Xiaoxia, the divine beastmaster!
They are all geniuses, who wouldn’t be eager to try and fight with Lord Feng Luo/Gilded Sky Dragon/Netherworld Butterfly?
So at this moment, before Xia Muqing even spoke in the group, many people started to cue her: "Are you there? Is Xiao Xia the Divine Beast Master here?"
"Are you free? You must come!"
"Mu Qing can decide the specific time. She's very busy, so we should just wait until she's free."
"I have a younger sister at Yan University. I heard that Xiaoxia, the Divine Beast Master, is the honorary president of the Battle Club and has a very powerful skill that is perfect for guiding the growth of profound beasts..."
"I've heard about that too! It's the Nether Butterfly's skill, right? Honestly, I've been envious of it for a long time, but unfortunately, the Tower of Babel was still a match for it back then, and then there was that incident with Xu Feiying, so I couldn't spare the time. Crying Cat Head.jpg"
"Exactly! I didn't even have time to add Xiaoxia the Divine Beast Master as a friend! Thanks to the group owner for giving me another chance to be brave! Starry eyes/starry eyes/"
Xia Muqing looked at the group chat, smiled and replied, "Okay, I have time."
She quite enjoyed these kinds of masterful duels. There were only a handful of capable fighters around her, and she couldn't just rely on Guan Yun and Xue Yao. And to be honest, she hadn't even encountered many of them in the Tower of Babel, but she had seen their impressive performances during the battle against the Leviathan.
I'll take this opportunity to catch up on our discussions.
…
The location was chosen to be a remote training ground in Yandu. Nine people brought more than thirty mysterious beasts and the fight was very intense.
The venue was almost not enough, and there were many mythical beasts in it. When they fought, the special effects were layered one after another, shaking the ground and the dome, which scared everyone passing by.
If you didn’t know, you would have thought it was an earthquake.
But the effect was also quite significant. Actual combat was the best way to improve strength, not to mention that everyone present was quite skilled. Furthermore, the way beastmasters made friends differed from ordinary people. Many friendships were forged through combat. After a hearty battle, two people would become much more friendly.
After all, one can reveal a person's mentality and quality by looking at his mysterious beasts, moves, and combat techniques.
Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, Xia Muqing also took the opportunity to try the effect of the Nether Butterfly's "Dream Entering" skill on second-level mysterious beasts and even divine beasts. She soon discovered that with the Nether Butterfly's attainments in the mental and soul systems after its evolution, even a divine beast would be stunned for a few seconds if hit by this trick.
Unless it was a profound beast that was also proficient in the Spiritual Element, there was still a slight possibility of counterattack. Otherwise, it was a hard control. For some profound beasts that were proficient in the Strength Element, such as the giant Basic Bear, it was a "natural nemesis" in a sense.
So after a few rounds of competition, Uncle Xiong's face turned bitter, and he kept muttering that he must contract a powerful spiritual beast when going to the Yiyuan Secret Realm.
However, even though he lost, he thought about the fact that he lost to Xiao Xia, the beast master, and suddenly he had the thought that "this is perfectly normal."
He was the first in the selection competition, the most dazzling talent in the history of Daxia, and the Little Xia Divine Beast Master who trained three types of mysterious beasts!
Thinking of this, Uncle Xiong suddenly felt less uncomfortable and even a little proud. He was able to exchange a few moves with Xiao Xia's Divine Beast Master, while Leviathan Beast had only lasted less than half an hour against Xiao Xia's Divine Beast Master. Rounding it off... was he equal to Leviathan Beast?
Ha ha ha ha.
In addition, in the middle of the competition, Uncle Xiong quietly found Xia Muqing and apologized to her.
"I was instructed by Xu Feiying to challenge you on the platform for the re-examination. I'm sorry," Uncle Xiong said hesitantly, rubbing the back of his head. "At that time, I didn't know what that kid was up to. If I had known he would use Ark to do something as heinous as taking hostages, I would never have helped him."
Xia Muqing smiled and said, "It's okay, it's all in the past. Besides, challenging each other in a ring match is a normal thing, isn't it?"
"It was you who said that Xu Feiying threatened you..."
Uncle Xiong said hurriedly, "It's all resolved. I have to thank you for this. If you hadn't exposed all the dirty deeds of that kid, the association would have directly cleaned up the Xu family, and I wouldn't have been able to get away so easily."
After talking about this, the two smiled at each other, and the vague gap between them dissipated a lot.
In fact, there was no barrier between them. Xia Muqing had discovered long ago that Uncle Xiong was just like the giant bear he raised. They were both straightforward and open-minded. Overall, he was a friend worth getting along with.
Xia Muqing: "Will we have a chance to cooperate once we enter the Alien Secret Realm?"
She was very interested in Uncle Xiong's treasure-hunting rat, and she carefully recommended to Uncle Xiong some training methods and cultivation materials suitable for treasure-hunting rats.
Uncle Xiong nodded repeatedly, of course, keeping everything firmly in mind - the guidance of Xiao Xia, the Divine Beast Master, was something that outsiders could not even envy.
Who doesn't know by now that Xia Muqing is not only skilled at training profound beasts, but also quite gifted in research? Just look at Ark Xiaoxue.
"Oh right," Xia Muqing suddenly thought of something, "I just have another question I'd like to ask everyone."
"Does anyone know about space-time mystical beasts, and how to establish a stable and reliable 'anchor point'?"
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