The creature standing before them was no lamb; at the very least, it was a little goat.

Yanran's upper body remained still, but her right foot flashed with lightning speed between the two strong men.

The motion was so fast that the crowd behind couldn't see clearly.

It wasn't until the two strong men fell heavily to the ground, clutching their arms in pain, that people understood what had happened.

"Catch her!" Old Bit screamed.

The smugglers lunged at Yanran.

Jiang Cheng didn't advance; he knew these people were no match for Yanran.

He had already scanned the transport spaceships and confirmed that there was no one inside, so he didn't have to worry about someone taking advantage of the chaos to escape in them.

Indeed, under Yanran's hands, those smugglers were no more than one-move opponents. In merely two or three minutes, Yanran beat them black and blue, blood flowing, leaving only one or two still resisting futilely under her grasp, while the rest lay sprawling on the ground.

Yanran was herself a rare athletic prodigy in the entire galaxy, possessing extraordinary sporting talents. Especially with her physique, former teachers praised her as the best in hundreds of years. Coupled with her brilliance, Jiang Cheng had only taught her a few combat moves, practiced for a few days, and she had already knocked down these guys. Even the Little Flaming Firebird hiding behind Yanran seized the chance to beat the falling dogs.

It leapt out and scratched fiercely at the face of a fallen guy, then pecked a few times at another guy's ankle with its pointed beak.

Such a situation evidently exceeded Old Bit's expectations; he hadn't anticipated it would unfold this way.

A group of smugglers chasing the Little Flaming Firebird discovered Yanran during their pursuit.

The leader, a guy named Old Bit, recognized Yanran belonged to a supposedly extinct race, and a girl from this race could fetch a large sum of money in the current world.

Driven by greed, they felt lucky for not only finding that peculiar bird but also a rare treasure in the form of an alien girl.

This time, they were going to make a fortune.

Yet the outcome was worlds apart from what they imagined.

When Old Bit, standing on the outskirts, saw his companions effortlessly subdued by the girl while the man stood unmoving, he knew it was trouble.

Recognizing the situation was dire, Old Bit made a snap decision and bolted toward the space transport ship.

However, as soon as he took a step, he found the man they completely underestimated was standing right in front of him.

The man's face bore no emotion, his eyes radiating a cold glare. For some unknown reason, Old Bit was filled with dread before him.

This man lacked a menacing face, a burly physique, and even his face showed no signs of aggression.

Yet Old Bit was terrified.

But as a seasoned scoundrel proficient in snatching goods and killing, taking desperate risks was almost instinctual.

A short knife appeared in his hand, eyes glinting with malice, he thrust the knife resolutely at the man before him.

Just as the knife tip was about to pierce the man's chest, Old Bit realized he couldn't move.

He could only watch as the man slowly pried open his fingers, gradually removed the knife from his hand, then slowly raised his hand.

"Time Stasis."

Even with Jiang Cheng's powers, he could only manipulate time for a few seconds, but that was more than enough.

Jiang Cheng delivered a sharp slap to Old Bit's face.

Old Bit screamed as he flew out, blood and teeth spewing from his mouth.

With a thud, Old Bit crashed to the ground, struggled a bit, and then lay motionless.

Yanran was stunned; she clearly saw the moment the guy named Old Bit wielded the short knife at Jiang Cheng, it paused for several seconds.

She's sure she wasn't hallucinating.

Astonishing, her mentor, though she knew he was formidable, even describable as "incredibly mighty," never did she imagine he'd be able to control time. She was just proud of the fact that she'd used the few moves her mentor taught her, practiced for just a few days, and managed to take down those burly men before her, leaving them writhing in the mud in agony, when moments ago they were so arrogantly imperious.

Now, they could only groan at her feet.

Yet that wasn't the entire reason for her pride; she was proud of how effectively she combined the moves Jiang Cheng taught her, yielding excellent results in the recent real combat, and she controlled her strength well, ensuring the strikes were just right and not excessive.

After all, she was a girl, and she was very compassionate.

If not for survival, she wouldn't even want to kill beasts, except for that Snake Monster.

This was her first actual combat.

During the recent fight, she executed moves, dodged left and right, leaned forward and back, utilizing all the combat techniques Jiang Cheng imparted, and applying them flexibly against different attacks.

And her mentor barely had to move to restrain Old Bit.

The distinction in skill was simply self-evident.

She felt ashamed for the pride she just displayed.

Jiang Cheng approached the motionless Old Bit on the ground, nudged him with his foot: "Stop playing dead." His voice cold and unfeeling, yet more impactful than loud, crude shouts. Old Bit reluctantly rose, although he wasn't intentionally playing dead, that slap sure was heavy.

Obviously, he wouldn't recall inflicting fists and feet upon others, beating them near death, making them vomit blood and all.

Now, he was terrified to his core by the man before him, while the defiant spirit ingrained in him previously seemed lost somewhere in the depths of the universe.

"Speak, how many of you are there? What transport are you using?"

Old Bit confessed everything methodically, he didn't dare to conceal anything, for he'd never forget what just transpired before him.

A person controlling time.

In his youth, he heard an unbelievable tale long, long ago, about someone who could control time, nobody knew his name, everyone called him the "God of Time." His horror was such that people of the time dared not even record what he did, only passing down stories among a few.

Though he heard of this tale, apparently exaggerated, controlling time? He used to laugh it off as a joke.

But now, he couldn't laugh anymore.

Before him stood a living being capable of controlling time, and compared to the stories of that "God of Time," he found this individual even more terrifying, as the "God of Time" could only use his superpower in specific places. Although he could manipulate time longer, evidently, he did not have this person's ability to casually control time.