Chapter 114

Lin Lin didn’t expect to see Mu Huiyue at the Attribute Research Exchange Conference.

She admitted that Mu Huiyue was an excellent beast master skilled in combat, but that didn’t mean she should be here.

The teams allowed to enter the exhibition hall in advance had passed the preliminary selection and were qualified to showcase their research results at the conference. This was Lin Lin’s field of expertise, and she couldn’t think of any reason why Mu Huiyue would be here.

Could it be that Mu Huiyue, who had entered the combat department and was preparing for the national competition, could also participate in the attribute research project at Jingzhou University and come up with results worthy of being showcased at the conference?

Lin Lin didn’t believe it. No matter how talented someone was, energy was limited, and it was impossible to excel at everything.

“Long time no see, Lin Lin,” Mu Huiyue greeted, looking up at her.

The last time they met, it was also with this same greeting. Lin Lin raised an eyebrow. It had only been a month since they parted in Xizhou, and she hadn’t heard that Mu Huiyue would be attending the exchange conference.

“Are you here for the exchange conference?” Lin Lin asked, still not quite believing it.

“I came with my professor, just helping out,” Mu Huiyue smiled.

As they were talking, Xie Qingwei finished her work and walked over to her students. She saw Lin Lin and came over to greet her as well.

“Hello, Xiao Lin Lin,” Xie Qingwei glanced at her and Mu Huiyue. “So you two know each other?”

“Professor Xie,” Lin Lin nodded respectfully.

She naturally knew Professor Xie Qingwei from Jingzhou University’s Dark Attribute Research Institute. Over the past few years, she had heard about her achievements at the exchange conference. Professor Xie had a good relationship with her own mentor and had stayed at the Original Wood Research Institute for a period of time when they had a joint project.

She didn’t expect Mu Huiyue to come with Professor Xie, but she was indeed a skilled beast master in cultivating dark attribute beasts…

“Mu Huiyue and I participated in the same national ranking competition,” Mu Huiyue explained.

Xie Qingwei immediately understood. No wonder she hadn’t heard the usual boasting from the Original Wood Research Institute during that time. They had previously said they would let the most talented student lead with that special skill at the national competition to give the high schoolers a new shock.

Mu Huiyue had been first in that competition, and it seemed that Lin Lin was the one who had been shocked instead.

With the composure of an adult, she smoothly changed the topic, asking, “Why isn’t your Professor Wang here, Xiao Lin Lin?”

Lin Lin showed a slightly subtle expression at the mention of that name. Professor Xie still liked giving people strange nicknames.

“Professor Wang is in Exhibition Hall 8,” Lin Lin answered.

“I see. She probably dumped the task of the presentation on you again, huh? While she went off to look at other project reports, enjoying a break,” Xie Qingwei shrugged.

Mu Huiyue couldn’t help but glance at her from the side. After all, how could Xie Qingwei, who had assigned the presentation duties to her and Feng Le, have the grounds to say such a thing…

“Well then, Huiyue will also be presenting. This exchange conference is really the stage for you young people,” Xie Qingwei said with a smile as she casually draped her arms around the shoulders of the two girls. “I’m really looking forward to your performance!”

“Woohh!” The guardian spirit following behind them also nodded in agreement.

After chatting for a bit, Lin Lin returned to her position, and the Attribute Research Exchange Conference was about to officially begin.

The presentation and evaluation of research achievements would take place in the largest Hall 1, while other halls would display physical finished products. After the evaluation, attendees could freely visit those halls to check out projects they were interested in.

As the event was about to start, Hall 1 was already packed with an audience, roughly estimated to be over a thousand people. Most of them were researchers invited to the exchange from various fields across universities, with some businesspeople from corporate conglomerates hoping to find suitable investment opportunities.

The evaluation panel was composed of three industry authorities seated at the front of the stage:

Professor Chen Li, the head of the Dayan Beast Master Academy and an academician in the field of evolution.

Kang Yao, the president of the Capital Beast Master Association and a legendary beast master.

Professor Wan Ling, an academician in the field of attribute skill research and an honorary professor at Jingzhou University.

The panel of judges was extremely prestigious, with each member being a heavyweight figure in their field. Presenting one’s research findings and receiving feedback from these three was one of the main reasons why so many researchers were eager to participate in the exchange conference.

The order of presentations had been determined by a lottery beforehand, and Xie Qingwei’s project was scheduled seventh.

Mu Huiyue sat with her mentor in the audience, preparing to listen to the earlier presentations before it was her turn.

The first to present was the project from the Original Wood Research Institute. The presenter was Lin Lin, a first-year student from the Department of Wood Attribute Research at Yunzhou University and a formal researcher at the Original Wood Research Institute.

This talented young girl was already well-known, and the audience was eagerly anticipating her research results.

Mu Huiyue straightened up slightly in her seat. She was one of the few people who had witnessed the “Inverted Space” skill before its official presentation and had personally experienced how much of a game-breaking skill it was.

In the national ranking competition, Lin Lin’s Forget-Me-Not Grass had already caused her to struggle when it swapped with the White Fang, a mid-tier warrior species, even though it involved a low-level elite species.

If the inversion effect were to be amplified further, occurring between low-level elite species and the same rank of monarch species or even emperor species, Mu Huiyue honestly thought she would have no way to counter it.

As long as Lin Lin successfully activates the “Inverted Space” at the monarch species level or higher in a battle, the outcome will be decided in that instant.

In the face of such an overwhelming power difference, no strategy would be effective.

Understanding every aspect of the opponent is the foundation of Mu Huiyue’s undefeated record so far.

This rare opportunity was one she intended to make the most of—she was determined to learn exactly what kind of skill “Inverted Space” really was.

Lin Lin brought her Forget-Me-Not Grass and Leading Fungus to the stage and demonstrated the magical effects of “Inverted Space.”

This was a skill with no specific attribute, much like the “Intimidation” skill that all monarch species can awaken. The attribute of the skill depends on the pet’s own attribute.

At this point, Mu Huiyue was somewhat surprised. She had initially thought that “Inverted Space” was likely a Mind-type skill, but it turned out to have no specific attribute.

This meant that “Inverted Space” had strong adaptability. When pets of the same attribute used skills of the same attribute, they would receive certain bonuses, often increasing the skill’s power, but sometimes also adding special functions, like how “Moon Shadow” works.

Currently, only Wood-type pets could master “Inverted Space,” but as research progressed, pets of other attributes would also be able to learn it.

The Original Wood Research Institute has mastered the teaching methods for “Inverted Space,” and they will soon recruit pets of other attributes for experimental teaching.

In the results demonstrated by Lin Lin, the range of “Inverted Space” can cover differences from the Low Elite Species’ Growth Stage to the High Monarch Species’ Maturity Stage.

Because it’s not possible to cultivate individuals with the innate core skill of “Inverted Space,” the coverage range currently doesn’t extend to Emperor Species or fully evolved pets.

However, the Original Wood Research Institute is confident that they will break through this limitation in the upcoming research.

After Lin Lin’s presentation, the audience gave her a warm round of applause.

This is indeed a very powerful and valuable skill for research. It has a wide attribute adaptability and touches upon the realm of space-related skills.

Not only can it be used in Beast Taming battles, but it can also arm Beast Tamers working in occupations that face extremely dangerous individuals, such as those in the police or affairs bureaus, significantly reducing the danger posed by wild, high-level supernatural creatures.

The three judges asked a few questions, and after careful consideration, they gave a total score of 25/30.

An average score above 8 is already considered excellent and competitive for the top three results.

Lin Lin bowed to the judges and the audience, then recalled her pets and stepped down from the podium.

Mu Huiyue’s gaze followed Lin Lin as she blended back into the crowd. For a freshman to independently complete an entire project presentation and answer the judges’ questions thoroughly with clear organization, this genius researcher certainly had some notable qualities.

The next few presentation projects were areas Mu Huiyue wasn’t particularly familiar with. Most were about new methods of skill teaching or improvements to certain types of supernatural resources, which sounded rather unremarkable.

The sixth presentation finally caught Mu Huiyue’s interest.

It was from the Thunder Attribute Research Team of Hongzhou University. Mu Huiyue remembered their project also involved Beast Tamer contracts.

Leading the presentation was Professor Yuan Xin from Hongzhou University’s Thunder Attribute Research Institute, along with two of his students.

One of them looked somewhat familiar to Mu Huiyue. After giving it some thought, she realized this was Yang Lei, a third-year student from Hongzhou University’s Battle Department, who had recently led the team to win second place in the national competition.

It seemed that there were others in the Battle Department who dabbled in research, not just her.

Professor Yuan Xin’s project involved a special thunder-type fruit, the “Thunderclap Fruit,” cultivated from supernatural resources.

After consumption, this fruit could strengthen the bond between Beast Tamers and their pets, enhance empathy, and even alter the pets’ perception, helping them overcome their own personality weaknesses and carry out the Beast Tamer’s commands.

During the live demonstration, Professor Yuan Xin played a video of an experimental record, showing a Beast Tamer who had consumed the Thunderclap Fruit and was engaged in a battle practice.

In the video, the Beast Tamer had contracted a low-level warrior species of the Wood Attribute, the “Glowing Mushroom,” which had the trait “Nocturnal Glow,” causing anyone exposed to the glowing light to fall into a blinding hallucination.

This was a powerful control-type trait, but most Glowing Mushrooms were very timid and would only instinctively release their Nocturnal Glow as a defense mechanism when extremely frightened, making it difficult to use in battle.

In the video, the Glowing Mushroom trembled under the opponent’s attack, releasing a large amount of Nocturnal Glow. As the opponent fell into the blinding hallucination, the Beast Tamer issued an attack command.

The massive amount of Nocturnal Glow indicated that the Glowing Mushroom had been almost terrified into paralysis, and it should have remained still at that moment.

However, its expression gradually changed with the Beast Tamer’s voice, filling with fearless courage. It charged forward to unleash its skills and defeated the opponent in that round.

After winning the battle, the Glowing Mushroom turned around with an exaggerated, excited smile, hopping joyfully toward the Beast Tamer.

At that moment, it was no longer the timid Glowing Mushroom, but instead resembled the Beast Tamer in its demeanor, as if its emotions had been influenced by the Beast Tamer.

Mu Huiyue, witnessing this, furrowed her brows slightly.