"Young friend, speak your mind."
Long Xiao, having fulfilled his master's instructions, was in an exceptionally good mood. His massive beast maw stretched into an exaggerated grin. "As long as I can do it, I won't refuse."
"I wish..."
Even though Long Xiao had agreed, Bai Zihe paused.
This request...
Ahem, how to put it, it was a little bit against the rules of martial ethics.
After a few seconds, Bai Zihe stated truthfully, "Senior Long Xiao, I wish for you to... send me into the forbidden space of Time Power."
As soon as these words were uttered.
The atmosphere in the immediate vicinity became incredibly strange.
Long Xiao, the divine beast, froze, his massive head unmoving, as if time itself had stopped.
Clearly.
This spatial divine beast, who had lived for an unknown number of years, was profoundly shaken by Bai Zihe's seemingly small request.
This was not entirely his fault.
Since the existence of the ancient tribes, since the opening of the trial spaces.
Bai Zihe was the very first challenger to make such a request.
To say it was unreasonable...
It seemed, within Long Xiao's great head, there was no such rule or prohibition.
To say it was reasonable...
If nothing unexpected happened, something unexpected would indeed occur; this matter was truly not very reasonable—after all, Long Xiao was himself a member of the assessment team, and he was about to help the examinee cheat...
"Senior Long Xiao, what's wrong?"
Bai Zihe looked at the colossal divine beast before him with an air of "innocence," saying with similar "innocence," "If Senior finds it difficult, then forget it."
This was a classic tactic of retreating to advance.
As soon as Bai Zihe spoke.
Long Xiao, the divine beast, felt even more embarrassed.
After all, he had spoken his promise, agreeing to Bai Zihe's request.
"This..."
A look of difficulty flashed across Long Xiao's divine beast face.
Bai Zihe remained silent.
He knew that speaking at this moment would only give Long Xiao an excuse to refuse.
So, without a word, he let Long Xiao ponder slowly.
As expected.
A moment later, Long Xiao, the divine beast, sighed, as if he had made a decision.
An awkwardness flickered across Long Xiao's massive head as he looked at Bai Zihe and said, "Young friend, you've really given me a difficult task..."
A difficult task...
Bai Zihe chuckled, "Senior Long Xiao, actually, if you think about it, when you came to this space to complete your mission, which of them ever told you that you couldn't do this?"
"Moreover..."
"Put yourself in my shoes."
"You've already reached the limit of your lifespan. Has the guardian of Time Power also reached the end of their days?"
"You are both beings of time and space. Will you just stand by and watch his legacy go to waste?"
"Ultimately to be submerged in the river of time, and thus lost to heaven and earth?"
After this impassioned speech.
Long Xiao was clearly moved. His face, like a plateau, flickered with complex emotions.
Bai Zihe knew he was about to succeed.
"So..."
Thus, Bai Zihe added fuel to the fire, "Senior Long Xiao, why not fulfill the wish of the time divine beast, and also fulfill mine?"
"Alas."
"Alas..."
Long Xiao sighed, a wry smile on his face. "Young friend, you are truly cunning. I've been cornered by you."
"Then I shall try."
"But whether it succeeds or not will depend on your own fortune."
Success!
A surge of great joy washed over Bai Zihe!
If Long Xiao had refused, he could have tried himself to see if he could enter that space and obtain the inheritance of Time Power.
But with Long Xiao's agreement, it was much more convenient.
Bai Zihe dared not claim that his decades of enlightenment could match Long Xiao's cultivation of countless years.
That would be too arrogant.
"Buzz..."
Since he had agreed, Long Xiao did not dally.
He directly employed a spatial secret technique.
Waves of spatial power spread out, and Bai Zihe also infused a wisp of his divine sense into it, experiencing how the spatial divine beast, Long Xiao, manipulated spatial power.
Not long after.
A vast space appeared before them.
This space had an extremely resilient outer membrane, giving it an impression of being unbreakable.
"Next."
"It should be a spatial maneuver to open a gap in this spatial prison."
"After achieving this."
"It will be spatial displacement, moving me into that space."
Bai Zihe followed Long Xiao's actions while also contemplating his own thoughts.
And then.
Long Xiao's actions were precisely as Bai Zihe had imagined.
The trial grounds of Time Power.
"Alas..."
Zhu Long, the divine beast controlling Time Power, was still lamenting.
Like Long Xiao.
He had existed for a very long time.
Although he had mastered the intricate mysteries of time, his physical body was unfortunately limited, unable to withstand the passage of years.
Now, he could already sense his end approaching.
Seeing that, after finally having a successor who had reached the third trial of the forbidden zone, and even had his hand on the great gate...
He had chosen Spatial Power instead.
This left him no chance at all!
This made Zhu Long extremely dejected.
He was still sighing now.
"Master, oh Master..."
"I may have to fail your expectations, Master..."
Zhu Long looked up at the sky, his face filled with shame.
Not many could enter the forbidden spaces.
And those who could defeat the first two and reach the third stage were even rarer. In countless years, he had only encountered two.
And those two...
Had both failed the test of inheriting Time Power.
He did not know if he could hold on until the arrival of the next challenger, and thus felt dejected.
"Swish..."
Just then, a peculiar fluctuation was transmitted.
A figure appeared before him.
It was precisely that challenger, the one who had chosen to enter the forbidden zone of Spatial Power.
"You, you..."
Zhu Long looked at Bai Zihe before him, astonished, stammering, and unable to speak.
Even with his extensive experience.
Even with his broad knowledge.
He could not comprehend what was happening before his eyes.
Why had Bai Zihe, who had already chosen Spatial Power, appeared here?
"You are the time divine beast, aren't you?"
Bai Zihe asked with a hearty chuckle, in a very friendly manner.
He had discovered.
Spatial divine beasts, time divine beasts, in the outside world, would undoubtedly be beings of supreme authority, majestic and beyond reach.
But within these forbidden spaces...
They seemed to be bound by a great power, solely to fulfill their missions.
Therefore, Bai Zihe no longer engaged in combat with them, but instead spoke with kindness and amiability.
"Yes."
Zhu Long, his mountain-like head looking at Bai Zihe, his large eyes filled with immense confusion, asked, "Shouldn't you be in the forbidden zone of Spatial Power? How did you appear here?"
Bai Zihe grinned, "This is a long story."