Chapter 193 | The Otherworld Journey That Starts From a Slime

Seeing that Zhang Ye hadn't noticed, a sweet feeling welled up in Lina's heart as she secretly rejoiced. But soon, she felt a trace of confusion.

What am I doing?

Don't I like girls?

But... but my feelings toward Ye seem...

Ye already has someone he likes... For me to do this...

It's wrong...

I can't keep doing this...

At that thought, a touch of determination appeared in Lina's eyes, only to quickly dim.

It was as if this decision, which she deemed “correct,” only made her feel even more downcast.

“Lina, what you just unleashed should be the 【Pseudo-Time Domain】, right?” Zhang Ye asked.

“Ah... what?” Lina snapped out of her thoughts and nodded, hiding her emotional turmoil. “Is that a Domain?”

“It doesn't have the power of laws, but its effects are extremely similar to a Domain...” Zhang Ye stroked his chin thoughtfully, while Lina quietly stared at his profile.

“It should be a Domain, but because it lacks the support of the power of laws, your Domain is incomplete.” Zhang Ye looked up and asked, “Can you release it one more time?”

Lina thought for a moment and nodded gently. “I can. I remember the feeling.”

“But I can only cover a very small area.”

“How small?” Zhang Ye asked.

“With me as the center, from here to over there. That small,” Lina said, pointing to a spot nearby.

Zhang Ye nodded. “A radius of about thirty meters. That's already not bad.”

“And what about the time flow rate? Can you feel it?” Zhang Ye asked again.

Lina nodded. “About five times. In that moment, I could accelerate my own time flow rate by five times, and also slow down the opponent's time flow rate by five times.”

Zhang Ye sucked in a breath of cold air.

This was way too ridiculous...

One had to realize that the multipliers for time flow rates didn't add up; they multiplied. In other words, this back-and-forth resulted in a massive twenty-five-fold difference in time flow rate!

But then, Zhang Ye felt that something was off.

Where did the power supporting Lina's pseudo-domain come from?

It couldn't have appeared out of thin air!

Could it be laws?

That was even more impossible, because Lina hadn't mastered the power of laws at all!

So here was the question—where did the time that Lina accelerated and slowed down come from?

Zhang Ye looked at Lina, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

He remembered a sentence from the recorded magic literature.

“No power can appear out of thin air; it must originate from oneself...”

In other words, the time Lina accelerated and slowed down was highly likely “consuming” her own time!

“Lina,” Zhang Ye suddenly said, his face turning solemn.

Lina's heart clenched in nervousness. Did Ye find out?

Fortunately, it wasn't what she thought.

Zhang Ye explained his hypothesis to Lina, whose face fell slightly upon hearing it.

“So... I can't use the Time Domain anymore in the future?” Lina pouted and mumbled.

This was her own ability. Previously, she could only fight using 【Blink】 and 【Retrograde】. Now that she had finally obtained an incredibly powerful technique, she was being told she couldn't use it?

Zhang Ye didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He smiled and said, “It's not that you can't use it, but it's best not to.”

“Because you haven't mastered the power of laws yet, the time controlled within the Domain comes from yourself. If you directly accelerate it by a hundred years, it would be equivalent to consuming a hundred years of your lifespan. It does you more harm than good.”

“However, if a battle demands it, you can use it, but you mustn't overdo it.”

“You must be careful with the limits.”

“At least until you master the power of laws, try to use it as little as possible.”

Hearing this, Lina nodded.

She knew Zhang Ye was doing this out of concern for her. Her heart felt warm, and she gave a sweet smile. “I understand.”

Zhang Ye smiled and said, “Don't worry. I'll find a way to help you increase your tier soon, and mastering the power of laws won't be far off either.”

“Mm!” Lina nodded vigorously, starlight flickering in her eyes.

And within that starlight, he was all she saw.

Then, Zhang Ye gestured toward Xi Ya with his chin. “Next up is Xi Ya.”

“Ah, yes!” Xi Ya nodded and walked toward the riverbank. She held a blue staff in her hand that looked very simple, made of extremely ordinary materials.

The value of this staff wouldn't exceed three hundred gold coins.

Zhang Ye took note of this.

“Next, I'll release one Double-tailed Blue Lizard, and you must kill it,” Zhang Ye said. “Do it as quickly as possible while minimizing your consumption. Understood?”

“I... I understand!” Xi Ya seemed extremely nervous, her small hands gripping the staff so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

This seemed to be her first real combat.

“Remember, keep calm at all times, and... be confident!” Just as Zhang Ye finished speaking, a Double-tailed Blue Lizard dropped onto the ground. After dazing for a few seconds, it spotted Xi Ya.

“Hiss, hiss, hiss!” The Double-tailed Blue Lizard immediately let out a hiss, its two long blue tails thrashing. A few water balls condensed and flew rapidly toward Xi Ya.

Seeing this, panic flared in Xi Ya's heart, but she quickly recalled Zhang Ye's words and forced herself to calm down as much as possible.

The water balls were already right in front of her. At that very instant, Xi Ya finally activated her magic. A circular blue spatial gate appeared in front of her, while another opened up behind the Double-tailed Blue Lizard.

The water balls passed directly through the spatial gate, emerging from the one behind the Double-tailed Blue Lizard and striking its back.

“Bang!” The seemingly weak water balls exploded with astonishing force, instantly blasting the Double-tailed Blue Lizard off its feet.

The Double-tailed Blue Lizard struggled to its feet. Its back was a bloody mess of upturned scales and flowing blood, yet it still opened its large mouth and bared its fangs at Xi Ya.

It wouldn't show any mercy just because Xi Ya was cute.

“Hiss!” It charged straight at Xi Ya with terrifying momentum.

But by now, Xi Ya seemed to have completely calmed down. Her small face was expressionless as she waved her hand. A red spatial gate appeared directly in front of the Double-tailed Blue Lizard. Unable to stop in time, the beast charged straight through.

And the exact moment its head passed through, the spatial gate snapped shut!

“Sshhhk—”

With a sharp, crisp sound, the Double-tailed Blue Lizard's head fell to the ground not far away. Its body struggled for a few moments before collapsing, leaving only its nerve-filled tails twitching.

Xi Ya snapped out of it. Looking at the scene, her small face lit up with an ecstatic expression.

She had done it!

And so easily too!

Just like during the Monthly Test!

“Nicely done,” Zhang Ye praised.

Then he added, “However, you don't necessarily have to open two spatial gates for a spatial slice. You can open a single, self-looping 【Single-Point Spatial Gate】. That way, your mana consumption can be cut in half.”

Hearing this, Xi Ya quickly committed it to memory and nodded her small head.

“Next, I'll release two Double-tailed Blue Lizards. Be ready to handle them.”

“Okay!” The easy victory in her first real combat boosted Xi Ya's confidence, and she began to look forward to the upcoming fight.

She wanted to earn Zhang Ye's praise and encouragement with a beautiful victory!

Facing the two fiercely charging Double-tailed Blue Lizards, Xi Ya pursed her lips slightly, but the staff in her hand was already emitting a faint ripple of mana.