Yunmo Planet

A series of peculiar ripples, imperceptible to the naked eye, shifted slightly. Originating from deep underground, they traveled in a near-straight line through numerous rock strata, eventually reaching Luo Feng, who was searching below. These ripples—undetectable by eyes, instruments, or spiritual force—passed directly into Luo Feng's consciousness.

Indeed, the genius with a brain-domain width of 88 that Babata had detected was none other than Luo Feng, while the one with 72 was Tang Ping. Although Tang Ping had received half of the critical-hit bonus from Luo Feng's brain-domain width increase during his breakthrough, his original width was significantly lower than Luo Feng's. Furthermore, when little Li Ze broke through, Tang Ping had temporarily adjusted the reward distribution ratio to favor Li Ze, leaving his own gains negligible.

This, however, suited him perfectly. If his brain-domain width had actually exceeded Luo Feng's and caught Babata's eye, he would have felt guilty about stealing an opportunity that belonged to his cousin. Even if he didn't mind that, he had no desire to be forced into cultivation by that devil, Babata; lying flat was far more comfortable.

As for Li Ze, his luck seemed rather poor. Despite enjoying the rewards almost entirely to himself, the critical-hit multiplier hadn't been high enough, leaving him with the lowest brain-domain width of the three Spirit Readers.

At this moment, Luo Feng was delving deeper into the earth: 100,000 meters... 101,000 meters... 102,000 meters...

He continued to descend until, finally, he reached 105,000 meters!

"Target arrived."

"Cloaking engaged. Hatch closing."

Deep underground, amidst layers of accumulated rock, a thick slab suddenly began to vibrate before dissolving into nothingness. Where the solid rock had been...

A dust-covered, partially opened hatch appeared! Luo Feng was wandering aimlessly deeper into the earth, though in truth, he was being consciously guided by Babata.

"Hmm?"

Luo Feng manipulated his spiritual force, pushing aside the surrounding rock to clear a path. At the end of the tunnel stood a strange, silver-white metal door covered in dust.

"What is this?"

"A door?"

What followed was a master-disciple initiation similar to the original story, the only difference being that Babata was quite satisfied with Luo Feng this time, making his attitude significantly better than it had been in the original timeline.

On the other side, Tang Ping realized that no more Wood Bud Crystals were appearing, so he deduced that Luo Feng must have already been brought in by Babata. Seeing no point in further effort, he prepared to return to the surface, mentioning his departure to the others.

Soon, the other five, excluding Luo Feng, appeared on the surface.

"Huh? Why hasn't Luo Feng come up yet?" Jiang Yang looked around, noticing one person was missing. He tried calling, but when the call didn't go through, he prepared to head back down to find him.

He was stopped by Tang Ping, who already knew the truth. "No need to go. If I'm not mistaken, there's an ancient civilization ruin down there. Those Wood Bud Crystals were bait to lure us down, and cousin Luo Feng must be the one they finally selected. Let's wait; it should be a good thing."

"Boom... boom... boom... boom... boom..."

Sure enough, not long after, a series of thundering sounds echoed as a figure shot up from the depths, soaring into the air.

"Cousin, you all came up a while ago?" Landing on the ground, Luo Feng asked in confusion, seeing that the others looked as if they had been resting for some time.

"Of course. After searching for a while and finding no more Wood Bud Crystals, we naturally came up. What about you? Why are you so late? Were there a lot of Wood Bud Crystals on your path?"

Although he knew the truth, Tang Ping wouldn't force Luo Feng to speak if he didn't want to. He asked this deliberately, providing Luo Feng with an easy out if he preferred to keep it private.

Meanwhile, Luo Feng was asking Babata through his consciousness: "Babata, can you also bring my brothers into the Yunmo Planet lineage? They are all rare geniuses on Earth."

"Of course not." Babata's voice rang out in his consciousness. "Your teacher only left behind one Inheritance Soul Seal. Why do you think I deliberately lured them away and only brought you in?"

"But... didn't you say before that only true disciples need the Inheritance Soul Seal? Can't they join as ordinary disciples?" Luo Feng asked, puzzled.

"Uh... would geniuses like them be willing to be mere ordinary disciples?" Babata clearly hadn't shifted his perspective, still thinking in terms of universal standards.

In the universe, given the freedom of choice, a genius like Tang Ping with a brain-domain width of 72 would clearly hold at least the status of a core true disciple in any major faction. Thus, Babata had subconsciously dismissed the possibility of taking them in as ordinary disciples.

"Babata... have you... completely failed to grasp the current situation on Earth? Even as ordinary disciples, there likely isn't a better opportunity available on this planet. Besides, it's not like they can't join other factions later." Luo Feng saw through Babata's thoughts and reminded him, feeling somewhat speechless.

"Hahaha... that's true. They can't leave Earth right now anyway. Hurry, hurry up and bring them into our Yunmo Planet lineage!" Having finally turned his mind around, Babata urged him impatiently.

This exchange with Babata seemed long, but it happened within the consciousness in a flash; less than a second had passed in the outside world.

Having received Babata's approval, Luo Feng looked at the group with a serious expression. "It's like this: I discovered an ancient civilization ruin down there and obtained a secret lineage. It contains cultivation methods for both Spirit Readers and Martial Artists. However, this lineage strictly forbids the spread of its secret arts, and I cannot defy that. So, I want to ask: are you willing to join the lineage I am cultivating?"

"What faction?" Jiang Yang asked immediately. "What are the conditions?"

"What sect?" Li Zhongyun also asked. "What are the rules?"

"Right now, I am the only one left in this sect," Luo Feng said.

"Damn, you should've said so earlier! We thought joining a sect meant becoming someone's subordinate or cannon fodder. If it's just you, of course we'll join!" Jiang Yang's eyes widened as he spoke.

"Right, right! We're definitely joining," the other brothers agreed in succession.

"My lineage belongs to the Yunmo Planet," Luo Feng smiled. "Don't go around telling people you're from the Yunmo Planet in the future. After all, the entire planet was destroyed by enemies, so announcing the name is just asking for death."

The brothers exchanged glances. The sect's base had been destroyed? That was a good thing.

"That's a good thing," Li Ze thought, and he said it aloud. "It means we have no restrictions."

The others smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Bastards, they're all bastards! No respect for the master's sect—they should be punished!" Only Babata was unhappy, though he could only vent his impotent rage within the intelligent space.