TL: Etude
"Quick, fully control this ferocious beast!" shouted Holy Maiden Xiyue. This was a rare opportunity, and if the Time-Space Silver Mouse hadn't been injured or its soul impacted, she wouldn't have been able to grasp it under the influence of its time talent.
At that moment, Holy Maiden Xiyue clutched the neck of the Time-Space Silver Mouse, refusing to let go. In terms of strength, the mouse was not very powerful, and its high-level golden fur talent couldn't break through her pseudo-mystic level defense talent, making it impossible for the mouse to shake off Holy Maiden Xiyue.
Ye Tian was stunned by this scene. Holy Maiden Xiyue, a figure of elegance, had cast aside her dignity in a move that seemed desperate. He didn't dwell on this for long, focusing instead on fully activating his high-level beast control talent and influencing the Time-Space Silver Mouse.
The mouse, sensing its life in danger, began to activate its bloodline talent. Its golden fur radiated a terrifying chill, as if channeling the power of time and space.
"Bad news, Ye Tian, get away quickly!" Holy Maiden Xiyue exclaimed in alarm. The mouse, having activated its bloodline power, surged in strength, and its golden fur needles seemed capable of piercing through space. Holy Maiden Xiyue, with her invincible king-level strength and pseudo-mystic level defense talent, bore the brunt of the attack, although she worried about Ye Tian withstanding the power of the needles.
In reality, Ye Tian could have escaped using teleportation, but he chose not to, as the needles couldn't kill him. His top-level healing talent quickly repaired the damage to his body, even healing his punctured organs.
Ye Tian was secretly shocked. The golden fur talent, merely high-level, had become terrifyingly powerful upon the activation of the bloodline power. The mouse's bloodline was daunting, containing a hint of time-space power. Even this faint power was enough to enhance its attack, piercing through Ye Tian's pseudo-mystic level defense talent. His pseudo-mystic level indestructible bone talent protected his bones, but the needles still penetrated his flesh.
Luckily, it was a close call without any serious harm. Soon, the Time-Space Silver Mouse began to lose its will to resist, and Ye Tian extracted its soul light, placing it into a control card he had prepared.
Holy Maiden Xiyue took the control card from Ye Tian and refined it. "It's done!" With the mouse subdued, she began to communicate with it telepathically. Whatever she said, the mouse soon complied, becoming a willing beast pet.
"Eat this," she said, feeding the mouse a medicinal pill, quickly healing its injuries.
Observing the pill, Ye Tian thought about the profession of an alchemist. Like array masters, alchemists required specific talents and were even rarer. They could use various ingredients to create pills with effects far surpassing mass-produced healing liquids. However, Ye Tian didn't plan to learn alchemy. Given the limited time a person has, it's not feasible to delve into everything. His true profession was a warrior, and improving his martial abilities was his priority. He would consider studying alchemy only if he found himself with an abundance of time.
After a while, the Time-Space Silver Mouse had mostly recovered and obediently followed Holy Maiden Xiyue.
"It's time to leave," she said.
"What reward would you like? A second-rate top-level energy cultivation secret art, a top-tier cultivation chamber, money, or some other treasure? Name it, and if I find it reasonable, I can give it to you."
Holy Maiden Xiyue was in high spirits and did not limit what Ye Tian could ask for as a reward. His assistance had been invaluable, and he had even faced a life-threatening situation. If it weren't for Ye Tian's healing talents, the outcome could have been dire. She did not inquire how Ye Tian so easily recovered from his injuries, but she took note of his contribution.
"A third-rate top-level energy cultivation secret art!" Ye Tian declared his desired reward.
"Are you sure you want this?" asked Holy Maiden Xiyue.
"Yes!" Ye Tian replied with certainty.
"Here you go," Holy Maiden Xiyue casually handed over a book. "This is a second-rate top-level energy cultivation secret art I came across by chance, called the Azure Energy Secret Art. It's four times more effective than advanced energy body refining arts."
"Why are you giving me such a valuable second-rate top-level energy cultivation secret art? I only asked for a third-rate one," Ye Tian expressed his surprise.
"The mission almost led to a life-threatening situation; I don't want to owe you anything. Besides, giving away a secret art doesn't really cause me any actual loss," explained Holy Maiden Xiyue.
"Thank you very much!" Ye Tian expressed his gratitude.
"Let's go," said Holy Maiden Xiyue softly.
They left the secret realm and returned to the Zhonghai Super Base. After entering the base, Ye Tian parted ways with them.
Back at home, Ye Tian couldn't help but laugh heartily by himself. The rewards from this venture were immense; it was like picking up treasure for free.
Pseudo-mystic level speed talent, basic level time talent, and a second-rate energy cultivation secret art. "Today is indeed my lucky day," Ye Tian sighed deeply.
Without hesitation, Ye Tian began to integrate the pseudo-mystic level speed talent. Boom! The integration process started and, after ten minutes, his speed talent underwent a transformation.
[Speed Talent: Pseudo-Mystic Level (10%)]
After successful integration, Ye Tian sensed a mystic force within him, the mystic force of speed, which he seemed to have comprehended himself.
"60% in pseudo-mystic defense talent, 10% in pseudo-mystic speed talent; I now possess two types of mystic forces. It's a pity that the pseudo-mystic level indestructible bone talent, pseudo-mystic level strength talent, and pseudo-mystic level bloodthirsty talent haven't resulted in any mystic force comprehension, effectively at 0%. Otherwise, I would have mastered five mystic forces. Well, I'll just copy someone else's pseudo-mystic level talents in the future," Ye Tian muttered to himself.
Next, he began to integrate the long-desired time mystic force.
"Integrate!"
The power of the time talent began to merge with Ye Tian's soul and body, bringing a peculiar and uncomfortable sensation, painful and awkward. This was the influence of the power of time on Ye Tian.
After ten minutes, the integration was complete. Ye Tian gasped for breath, his clothes soaked with sweat.
"Is it done?" He quickly checked his talent status.
Upon seeing the status of his time talent, Ye Tian finally relaxed.
[Time Talent: Basic-tier].