How could this be?

Only now could Mercedes truly grasp why Baelidanti had described the little girl in such terms previously; this was even more perverse than she had let on!

“Are you ready?” Robin’s voice drifted over again.

“Stop! That’s enough sparring for today. I admit, I am no match for you!” Mercedes suddenly called out. If this continued, it wouldn't remain a simple exchange!

Robin was perfectly agreeable; the fight ceased as soon as she agreed, and the four water dragons had vanished without a trace.

“Little sister, you are amazing!” Tiya hopped over to Robin, beaming. “Little sister, you must be tired! Here, wipe your sweat!”

With that, she offered a very exquisite handkerchief. Robin wasn't actually sweating, but hearing Tiya say that made her feel like she might start soon!

On the other side, Baelidanti approached Mercedes. Forgoing any teasing, she asked seriously, “Sister, what do you think?”

Mercedes looked up at Baelidanti, and after a long moment, finally managed to squeeze out a sentence: “I have finally met a true master!”

Seeing that her sister was unharmed, Baelidanti relaxed and quickly laughed, “Sister, now you believe what I told you was true, right?”

Mercedes nodded slightly, then surprisingly walked toward Robin, asking with utmost seriousness, “May I ask what rank the magic you just used is?”

“I’m not sure!” Robin replied calmly.

You’re not sure? Mercedes nearly stumbled. After a profound silence, she changed her question: “Then can you tell me what that spell is called?”

“I haven’t named it yet!” Robin responded, still unperturbed.

“Not named yet? What do you mean?” Mercedes looked at Robin in confusion. The usually sharp-witted woman suddenly felt her mind go completely blank!

“This is magic I just created. You can call it whatever you like!” Robin stated with startling nonchalance.

“What? You said that magic just now was one you created?” Mercedes’s eyes widened almost out of her head from excitement.

This was understandable. She had studied magic for so many years and still couldn't create new spells on her own, yet this young girl had just done it, and from the sound of it, she had used it immediately after creation in practice. Heavens, was she even human? Such incredible magic, created so casually?

If she ever learned of Zhong Shenxiu’s ability to create martial arts techniques, she would surely faint!

Facing Mercedes’s disbelief, Robin merely nodded, offering no further explanation.

Led by Robin and Tiya, Baelidanti and Mercedes arrived at Zhong Shenxiu’s small courtyard.

Zhong Shenxiu was inside his room, busy drawing blueprints. He was currently designing the future “Medium Pouch,” and because of the existence of the “Primal Tree,” he knew he needed to design it meticulously, especially upgrading the auxiliary functions! (Unintelligible text/placeholder: ”8…()！)

Zhong Shenxiu had nearly finished gathering the materials required for refining the “Medium Pouch.” He only needed two more types of ore to begin immediately. Once done, he could start collecting the treasures of this world in earnest—taking whatever he saw, never again worrying about insufficient space!

He gently put the blueprints away and pushed the door open, already sensing the approach of Robin and the others.

Seeing the young child Zhong Shenxiu, Mercedes was still surprised. He looked even younger than she had imagined. Yet, from Baelidanti’s description, this boy was supposed to be even more formidable than Robin, but after looking at him for a long time, she couldn't perceive anything unusual; he looked just like any other child.

“Um…” Baelidanti started to say something, but Zhong Shenxiu’s voice cut her off.

“What can I do for you?” he remained as direct as ever.

“This is my older sister, Mercedes. She wishes to inquire about a few things!” Baelidanti said, gesturing toward Mercedes beside her.

Mercedes quickly offered a polite greeting. After the sparring session with Robin, she dared not look down on children anymore!

“What do you wish to ask?” A faint, cunning smile touched the corner of Zhong Shenxiu’s lips. Through his observation of Mercedes, he had already gleaned a great deal of information.

Mercedes seemed to be a straightforward person herself, getting right to the point: “I wish to request a marvelous type of magic from you!”

A marvelous magic? A slight brightness appeared in Zhong Shenxiu’s eyes, and he quickly asked, “What magic is it?”

“Time Magic!” Mercedes stated seriously, her eyes fixed on Zhong Shenxiu, seemingly determined to read something from his face.

Zhong Shenxiu’s eyes instantly lit up, and he eagerly questioned, “Time Magic?”

This was a name he had never heard before, and it immediately sparked his excitement. Just hearing the name suggested it involved ‘time,’ and time, in itself, was an extremely profound concept, arguably more complex than ‘space.’ For Zhong Shenxiu, who enjoyed probing secrets, this was certainly enough to pique his interest! (Unintelligible text/placeholder: )

Seeing Zhong Shenxiu’s excitement, Mercedes continued, “I named this ‘Time Magic’ myself because I have searched through countless books and found no related materials!”

“Then how do you know ‘Time Magic’ exists in this world? Is it just your speculation?” Zhong Shenxiu asked a crucial question.

“No, I have proof to demonstrate it!” Mercedes replied seriously once more.

“What proof?” Zhong Shenxiu pressed.

However, Mercedes then uttered something slightly deflating: “Can we discuss this in a room?”

Zhong Shenxiu paused, uncharacteristically momentarily stunned, but he nodded in agreement. He was immensely curious to see what evidence Mercedes possessed; perhaps it held an unexpected surprise for him!

Once inside and everyone was seated, Mercedes carefully pulled out an exquisite metal box from the small pouch at her waist.

Zhong Shenxiu’s eyes were discerning; he immediately noticed a layer of sealing enchantment around the box’s exterior, suggesting it contained a living creature, otherwise, such a seal wouldn't be necessary!

As Mercedes carefully began to open the box, she explained, “I found this four years ago in the ‘Blackwater Forest’ of the Xia Star Empire!”

As she spoke, the box was opened. All of them peered intently inside, where they saw a ball of pink gauze, upon which a small, finger-sized, dark-green grub was resting quietly!

“This is the proof you mentioned?” Zhong Shenxiu asked Mercedes of the Blackwater Forest with surprise.

Mercedes nodded, then explained, “Besides my passion for studying magic, I also enjoy researching various magic bugs. They are often overlooked by the world because of their small size and low magical energy, but if you observe them closely, you can discover incredible things about them!”

“Sister Mercedes, why isn’t it moving? Is it dead?” Tiya asked curiously. Other than its somewhat muted color, the grub didn't look ugly overall.

“No, it’s just temporarily dormant. It will immediately awaken if it encounters a drop of water!” Saying this, Mercedes condensed a drop of water in her palm and gently let it fall onto the magic bug.

Incredibly, when the water droplet touched the bug’s body, it vanished as if soaked up by a sponge.

Then, the grub’s rows of antennae twitched, followed by its head beginning to move.

“Wow, it really came alive!” Tiya exclaimed with a touch of alarm.

Unlike her, Zhong Shenxiu stared intently at the magic bug, his expression growing increasingly grave, as if pondering a deep question.

The instant the grub moved, Zhong Shenxiu clearly felt an anomalous fluctuation—a sensation both unfamiliar and strangely familiar. He immediately deployed a thread of his mental wave to investigate. This investigation revealed something truly bizarre: the grub was surrounded by a strange frequency pattern!

This peculiar wave, though weak, exerted an inexplicable pull on Zhong Shenxiu’s mental energy, as if some form of resonance existed between the two! (Unintelligible text/placeholder: ”。8()！)

What exactly was going on?

Zhong Shenxiu’s interest intensified. To understand this strange wave pattern more clearly, he cautiously extended a minute thread of his mental energy toward it.

Not knowing what might happen, Zhong Shenxiu was very cautious, approaching bit by bit while constantly monitoring any change in the magic bug!

Mercedes, on the side, was unaware that Zhong Shenxiu had begun his subtle investigation. Seeing him deep in thought, she assumed he was unfamiliar with the magic bug and continued her explanation, with Tiya occasionally interjecting a remark.

Just then, the grub in the box seemed to sense something. It instantly straightened up, remaining motionless, as if listening intently.

Simultaneously, Zhong Shenxiu halted the advance of his mental wave, staring straight at the grub!

This sudden change startled everyone, causing Mercedes to stop talking. Based on her years of studying these bugs, she knew it must have sensed something to adopt such a wary posture.

After a brief silence, the magic bug suddenly began to crawl outward, as if startled by something unseen.

Its crawling speed was slow, only slightly faster than a snail, but in the next moment, something bizarre happened: the grub suddenly propelled itself forward ten centimeters, giving the illusion that it had teleported. Afterward, however, it resumed its slow crawl…

While others simply found this curious, Zhong Shenxiu suddenly shot to his feet, his expression intensely agitated, and uttered a single sentence:

“I finally understand!” (To be continued)