298: Time control techniques

Bulan Country is a major power with a land area nearly the size of a continent, and its World Championships ranking has even surpassed that of the Long Kingdom in the past.

However, in the last few decades, because the younger generation of Beastmasters in the Long Kingdom has developed so well, they have firmly secured a spot in the top three and are contending for second place in the World Championships.

For the audience, this duel between single-attribute space users could be described as polarizing.

Those who were interested were extremely excited, while those who didn't understand the space attribute had absolutely no interest at all.

Gu Xiaoyue and the others arrived at the venue early, and Duan Yao pulled her directly to the rest area for the Long Kingdom contestants.

"Great-Aunt, Brother Zhuochen, I'm here!"

Duan Yao greeted Coach Duan obediently, and Gu Xiaoyue also bowed in greeting.

The National Team members were all very busy, and Gu Xiaoyue rarely had the chance to meet Coach Duan.

Thinking back to when she helped her collect spirit herbs, those heartwarming words of comfort still echoed in her ears.

"Mm, you two sit down first."

Coach Duan gestured for them to sit, not paying much more attention to them, and continued giving final pre-match instructions to Duan Zhuochen and the other two team members who were about to compete.

Gu Xiaoyue looked around; the number of spectators at the venue was average. As expected, there weren't many connoisseurs of the space attribute.

"Because Lüfei Country lost to us, today is the day they return home. But I'm afraid—"

Having finished the pre-match instructions, Duan Zhuochen sat down next to Gu Xiaoyue and the others and brought up information about Lüfei Country.

"But what, and afraid of what?"

Duan Yao tilted her head, looking at Duan Zhuochen with a puzzled expression.

He smiled without saying anything, but Gu Xiaoyue caught the deeper meaning in his words.

Lüfei Country was just a test subject for some major power; whether it was the purified Chenxing Dew or the Spirit-Absorbing Stone with special coating, these were not things within the capability of Lüfei Country to produce.

Never mind that they used Chenxing Dew, Lüfei Country still lost miserably. Furthermore, they had lost the Spirit-Absorbing Stone—how could the mastermind behind the scenes possibly let them off?

Could it be that Duan Zhuochen knew that she was the one who had obtained the Spirit-Absorbing Stone?

He was a rising star of the Duan Family with outstanding strength, and combined with his close relationship with Coach Duan and Coach Huo, it was normal for him to learn some inside information.

Gu Xiaoyue's eyes flickered slightly, but she didn't respond.

Seeing that they were both keeping quiet, Duan Yao pursed her lips and didn't continue to press for answers, simply shifting her gaze to the arena.

The first person to appear for the Long Kingdom was Lin Zhiyue, who was Lin Zhiyi's cousin.

Her overall strength wouldn't have been enough to get into the National Team, but she managed to stand on the arena stage thanks to her space attribute, and she was facing a contestant from Bulan Country.

Both of them had teleportation space skills, and Gu Xiaoyue couldn't help but sweat for her.

The contestant from Bulan Country, Luka, was a muscular hunk, and he made no effort to hide his contempt for the slender Long Kingdom girl.

He even believed that if Lin Zhiyue dared to teleport to his side, he could directly overpower her with brute force and knock her out of the arena.

But what he didn't expect was that Lin Zhiyue's teleportation speed was faster than his!

Neither Luka nor his pet beast had a teleportation speed that could match Lin Zhiyue's.

Furthermore, she didn't linger in combat; the dagger in her hand would merely slice open Luka's skin, and in the next instant, she would teleport elsewhere!

Lin Zhiyue was slender and petite, making her movements even more agile. Twice, she was almost hurt by Luka, but she managed to dodge by shifting her body.

Every time Luka and his pet beast tried to predict the position of Lin Zhiyue and her pet beast, they failed repeatedly.

In just a few minutes, the contestant from Bulan Country was covered in wounds.

Even though they weren't fatal, he had lost quite a bit of blood.

The Mental Power of both combatants was almost exhausted. When Luka tried to deliver a final blow to Lin Zhiyue, she dodged with a shift, and her dagger was perfectly pressed against his throat!

After a few seconds of deadlock, Luka still wanted to find an opportunity to counterattack.

It wasn't until Lin Zhiyue's dagger sliced through the skin on his neck and he felt his own blood flowing down his collarbone that he gritted his teeth and shouted his concession.

The audience was in an uproar; this was the stereotypical impression that most people held.

Their thinking was the same as Luka's—they believed that as long as Lin Zhiyue dared to get close to Luka, she would be restrained.

Gu Xiaoyue, however, thought that Lin Zhiyue must have been guided by an expert, as her footwork was both strange and familiar.

Before she could think much more, Duan Zhuochen stood up, flicked his hem lightly, and walked slowly onto the arena.

The contestant from Bulan Country was Miller Wilson, who was also the captain of the Bulan Country team.

"If it were for the sake of the match results, it would probably be better for our teams if the two of us avoided each other. But I really don't want to give up the opportunity to duel with you."

Miller's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he stared intently at Duan Zhuochen.

"Heh, my pleasure!"

"Of course it's your pleasure! After all, that woman who was toyed with by my brother and has no Beastmaster talent—only you would treat her like a treasure!"

Miller Wilson's lips curled into a contemptuous sneer, and he raised his chin, looking at Duan Zhuochen from the corner of his eye, expecting to see him lose control.

"Xiao Yue, there's gossip!"

Duan Yao nudged Gu Xiaoyue with her elbow, her face full of gossip.

Gu Xiaoyue, however, found it a bit strange: why would the Bulan Country contestant want to provoke Duan Zhuochen? Was he afraid that he wouldn't use his full strength, or did he hope that he would lose his composure due to anger?

Duan Zhuochen lowered his eyes, a cryptic smile playing on the corners of his lips.

"Yiling is very good. I don't mind whether she has Beastmaster talent, and I mind her past even less. Since you talk about her like that, I really have no reason to show mercy!"

The match whistle blew, and Miller instantly summoned two pet beasts—one capable of teleportation and the other possessing a spatial secret realm.

Duan Zhuochen, on the other hand, unhurriedly summoned the Zhulong.

"With only one pet beast, you actually have the audacity to say you'll show me mercy? Do I need you to show me mercy?!"

Miller's two pet beasts coordinated their attacks; one attacked with teleportation, while the other attempted to pull Duan Zhuochen into its own spatial secret realm.

Yet, facing Miller's offensive, Duan Zhuochen did not dodge.

He raised his hand gently, and the entire arena seemed to be enveloped by a barrier, with the light inside dimming.

Gu Xiaoyue's eyes lit up. According to what she knew, when the Zhulong opens its eyes it is day, when it closes them it is night, when it exhales it is summer, and when it blows it is winter.

Could it be that Duan Zhuochen's Zhulong also possessed such heaven-defying abilities?

Was this the true essence of time control?

That was truly something to look forward to!

But the next second left Gu Xiaoyue somewhat disappointed.

There was no transformation from day to night, nor any alternation between winter and summer; simply put, Miller and his two pet beasts were unable to move on the arena.

Teleportation, spatial secret realms—none of them could be utilized at all!

Gu Xiaoyue understood: time is also space. If Duan Zhuochen could control time within a certain area, then he was inevitably invincible!

Although the outcome was already determined, she still couldn't help but reveal an expression of disappointment.

But she didn't expect that Duan Zhuochen's next move would make her tremble—