The Method of Reversing Time and Space? The Mission Returns! Off to Capture the Golden-Horned Beast?!

Babata was dumbfounded. It had finally picked a promising candidate from the No. 9 Ancient Civilization Ruins, only for him to turn around and prove it wrong.

Didn't this prove that the great demon Babata had terrible judgment and had picked a complete dud? Damn it, damn it! It kept muttering those words over and over~

Then, it grew puzzled. "Still, how does Lin Yuan, a mere Earthling, know so much about the universe? Maybe I should make him a registered disciple?"

Surely, no one on Earth could refuse an Immortal's legacy!

Though there would only ever be one personal disciple: Luo Feng.

Having made up its mind, Babata waved its hand!

The prompt rang out immediately~

[Target picked up the fragments. Hint canceled. Beginning guidance!]

--

The scene shifted to outside the cave.

Lin Yuan and Luo Feng chatted for a while. The latter felt that Lin Yuan was extraordinary and, deep down, considered him someone worth befriending. Lin Yuan's guidance had meant a great deal to him.

Just then, a series of guiding lights appeared, leading farther inside.

Lin Yuan was delighted. He'd guessed right. In the original story, Hong and Thunder God had also recognized Luo Feng's talent and considered recruiting him. After all, the Falling Ink Star truly needed someone to restore its former glory.

Lin Yuan had come here because he was after the Muya Crystals of the Falling Ink Star. While he was at it, he also wanted to see if he could trigger a mission at this point in time.

He had to seize every opportunity.

Beyond that, Lin Yuan had no other plans. Becoming someone's disciple was out of the question. Hu Yanbo was only an Immortal, and once Lin Yuan entered the universe, he'd have no shortage of opportunities.

As for getting past Babata? He already had a plan.

"Let's go take a look!" Lin Yuan said.

Luo Feng nodded and followed him.

--

They headed farther in, all the way to a depth of twelve thousand meters, where an airlock appeared out of nowhere.

Once it opened, they found it packed with Muya Crystals—289 of them, far more than the total number on Mist Island.

They continued deeper and came upon seven corpses, each bearing different wounds. Luo Feng looked around, clearly feeling as if his understanding of the world had taken a heavy blow.

Lin Yuan sighed. "Though this ship's owner had a tragic fate, the cleaning service did a pretty good job."

As soon as he said that...

A furious voice rang out!

"You Earthling! What kind of thing is that to say?!"

Babata appeared and glared at Lin Yuan. It was about to scold him for disrespecting his master, but then it thought it over and realized Lin Yuan wasn't a disciple of the Falling Ink Star.

It cleared its throat and introduced itself. "Translated into Earth's language, my name is Demon Babata! Luo Feng, I've been waiting for you for fifty thousand years."

"Me?" Luo Feng pointed at himself. At the same time, he picked up on another detail. "The corpses here have been dead for fifty thousand years?" What did that even mean?

He was only in his early twenties!

Babata nodded~

Then she looked at Lin Yuan and said, "Your potential is even greater than Luo Feng's! So I, the great Demon Babata, am giving you this chance to become a registered disciple of the Falling Ink Star!"

Well? Tempted now?

Lin Yuan replied without hesitation. "I refuse."

"Y-You actually refuse!"

Babata's expression seemed to say, "What a foolish Earthling." Then she threatened him, "If you refuse to become a disciple, then to keep you from revealing our secrets..."

"I'll have to kill you!"

The words fell, and silence filled the room!

Babata had assumed Lin Yuan would give in.

But Lin Yuan simply said, "You think you can? With what—the ship that's seriously short on power? Or do you think your carefully chosen successor won't die before you manage to kill me?"

"Huh?!"

Caught in the crossfire, Luo Feng's eyes widened. Was he part of their little game too?

"Argh!!!" Lin Yuan had evidently hit a nerve. As an Intelligent Life, Babata had just been outmaneuvered on a tiny planet like Earth!

Babata glared at Lin Yuan. "Hmph! I have plenty of strength and plenty of ways to deal with you! At worst, I'll lock you in here until you die of old age!"

"Babata!" Luo Feng spoke up. "Lin Yuan is practically my teacher. If you harm him, it'll be very hard to proceed with the rest of this."

Lin Yuan was slightly moved. He hadn't expected the seeds planted by a mission to bear fruit here.

Babata was at a loss. All it could do was comfort itself by imagining that since Lin Yuan was Luo Feng's teacher, he could count as a member of the Falling Ink Star. But that would make Lin Yuan a peer of Hu Yanbo...

Everything was a mess!

"Hey." Lin Yuan casually picked up a Muya Crystal. "If you can't get me to become your disciple, you can still trade with me."

"What are you talking about?" Babata looked disdainful. "What could I possibly trade? Secret techniques? Information? My database has everything. You're underestimating Intelligent Life."

"Is that so? Even the means to resurrect an Immortal?"

At that, Babata's expression showed the faintest hint of surprise. But she quickly sneered. "Foolish Earthling, do you think you can trick me with that?!"

That was what she said, but deep down, Babata wanted to know.

Even if it was probably a lie...

Lin Yuan ignored her and went on. "As long as your master wasn't enslaved by his opponent, a Universe Master can 'Reverse Time and Space'..."

"A Universe Master?" Babata asked, puzzled.

That was understandable. The Babata of today was far from all-knowing. It probably didn't even know much about things like Life Gene Level.

Its master, Hu Yanbo, had never had that kind of experience either.

When it had traveled the universe with Hu Yanbo, the highest level they had encountered was usually that of an Immortal Army Lord. On rare occasions, they had been fortunate enough to meet a Universe Venerable.

As for a "Universe Master"? At most, Babata knew that there were such beings above Universe Venerables, pillars of the Human Race. It knew nothing else about them.

"A Universe Master..." Babata seemed on the verge of tears. It didn't know whether Lin Yuan was telling the truth, but after such a long wait, it was good to have something to hope for. It looked at Lin Yuan and said,

"I'll take your word for it, Earthling. If you want Muya Crystals, take some for yourself. But I'm warning you: not a word about this place's secrets to anyone."

"Sure." Lin Yuan nodded. "Can I look around with you?"

"Fine, come along." Babata nodded almost involuntarily. It could never quite read Lin Yuan, and that made it all the more painful that its attempt to recruit him had failed.

Then Babata said to Luo Feng, "Luo Feng, come with me to pay your respects to our teacher!"

--

The three of them... No, two people and an Intelligent Life, walked through the ship and soon reached a crystal coffin six meters long and four meters wide. Terrifying cold filled the area around it.

Inside lay a corpse about three meters tall, with two antennae growing from its forehead. Otherwise, it looked no different from an Earthling.

Babata stepped forward and held Hu Yanbo's hand. Two tears slid down her cheeks, and she said in a trembling voice, "Master, did you know? There's still a chance you can be revived..."

Then she barked, "Luo Feng, kneel!"

Luo Feng did as she said. It was only right that he kneel.

Lin Yuan watched from the side. Witnessing the body of an Immortal—surely that counted as a milestone, didn't it?

Babata then launched into a long explanation, including the different levels of the universe and the dominance that experts of each level could exert.

A single Universe Level expert could sweep through a place like Earth.

As if the might of a Universe Master had inspired her, Babata eagerly emphasized one point: "Natural talent isn't what matters. The universe is full of opportunities..."

"One perfect possession can make up for most of your hard work!"

"Take your teacher, for example. His natural talent was mediocre, and he could only struggle along at Star Level. But then, through a chance encounter, he took possession of the body of 'Longkodo'..."

As soon as those words fell, a voice suddenly broke the silence.

Only Lin Yuan could hear it.

[Mission: Head to the sea and capture the Golden-Horned Beast!]

[Objective: Subdue the Golden-Horned Beast and let Luo Feng possess it, preventing Earth's disaster and ensuring Luo Feng's growth remains on its original path.]

[Evaluation: Luo Feng has officially become a disciple of the Falling Ink Star, and the Golden-Horned Beast has emerged in the sea. You have already endured countless trials and must subdue the evil Golden-Horned Beast!]

[Reward: Void Behemoth (Starry Sky Behemoth) blood, Innate Secret Technique—Clone!]

"!!!"

--

P.S. The book goes on sale tomorrow. It'll be free for members, and there'll also be a small climax.

To be clear in advance, the main character won't spend all his time orbiting Luo Feng; he'll have his own path. The Golden-Horned Beast disaster and the protagonist's cheat just need a reason to bring them together.

Also, about the female leads: there are Ai Chen and Star Illusion King.