Reversing Time and Space? A Mission Returns! Heading to the Sea to Capture Kinkaku?!

Babata was stunned. After finally picking out a promising seedling through the screening of the No. 9 Ancient Civilization Ruins, it had been slapped in the face in return.

Doesn't this prove that its judgment, the Devil Babata, was flawed and it had made a huge blunder? Damn it, absolutely damnable! It kept muttering these words over and over.

Subsequently, it grew suspicious. "However, Lin Yuan, this Earth native, actually knows so much about the universe. Why not... make him a registered disciple?"

Surely, an inheritance from an Immortal is something no one on Earth could refuse!

Although, there would only ever be one personal disciple, and that was Luo Feng.

Having made its decision, Babata waved its hand!

Immediately, a prompt sounded here.

[Target has picked up fragments, suggestion canceled, initiation sequence starting!]

The scene shifts to outside the cave.

Lin Yuan and Luo Feng chatted for a while. The latter felt that Lin Yuan was truly extraordinary and believed from the bottom of his heart that he was someone worth befriending; that bit of guidance had been very important to him.

Just then, a series of indicators appeared, extending inward.

Seeing this, Lin Yuan felt a surge of joy. He had bet correctly. In the original work, Hong and Thunder God had also been eyed for their talent, and there had been thoughts of recruiting them—after all, Falling Ink Star did need people to restore its former glory.

Lin Yuan had come here originally with his sights set on the Muya Crystals of Falling Ink Star, and to see if he could trigger a quest at this juncture.

He had to seize every opportunity.

Beyond that, Lin Yuan had no other thoughts. As for becoming a disciple, he could forget about it; after all, Hu Yanbo was only an Immortal, and once he stepped into the universe, his opportunities would be far greater.

As for how to get past Babata? He had already figured it out.

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

Luo Feng nodded and followed him inside.

They traveled inward for twelve thousand meters until a cabin door appeared out of thin air.

Once opened, it was filled with Muya Crystals—a full 289 of them, far exceeding the total number found on Mist Island.

Continuing further in, they saw seven corpses, each with different wounds. Luo Feng looked around; clearly, this dealt a heavy hammer blow to his understanding of the world.

Lin Yuan sighed, "Although the fate of this ship's owner was quite tragic, the housekeeping is actually not bad at all."

As soon as these words were spoken...

A roar of anger shook the ground!

"You Earth native, what kind of way is that to talk?!"

Babata appeared and glared fiercely at Lin Yuan. It wanted to shout, "Disrespectful to the sect!", but upon closer thought, Lin Yuan didn't seem to be a Falling Ink Star disciple.

It coughed dryly and introduced itself, "My name, translated into Earth's language, is the Devil Babata! Luo Feng, I have been waiting for you for fifty thousand years."

"Me?" Luo Feng pointed at himself, while simultaneously catching a piece of information. "The corpses here have been dead for fifty thousand years?" What kind of concept was that?

He was only in his early twenties!

Babata nodded.

Then, it looked at Lin Yuan and said, "Your potential is even higher than Luo Feng's! Therefore, this Devil Babata will give you this opportunity to become a registered disciple of Falling Ink Star!"

How about it? Tempted, aren't you?

To this, Lin Yuan replied quite bluntly, "I refuse."

"You... you actually refuse!"

Babata's gaze looked as if it were saying, "Ignorant Earthling," and then it threatened, "If you don't apprentice, then to prevent you from leaking secrets..."

"I can only erase you!"

Once these words were spoken, silence fell!

Babata had assumed Lin Yuan would comply.

Unexpectedly, Lin Yuan said calmly, "By your hand? Or by this ship with its severely insufficient kinetic energy? Or perhaps, before you kill me, you should consider whether your carefully selected successor will die first."

"Ha?!"

Suddenly being cued, Luo Feng widened his eyes. Am I also a part of your scheme?

"Ahhh!!!" As if hit where it hurt by Lin Yuan, Babata flew into a rage. As an intelligent life form, to be outplayed on a tiny planet like Earth!

Babata glared at Lin Yuan, "Hmph! This Devil has plenty of tricks and means! At the very least, I will lock you in here until you die of old age!"

"Babata!" Luo Feng spoke up. "Lin Yuan can be considered my teacher. If you do anything to him, the subsequent steps will be very difficult to continue."

Lin Yuan was slightly moved; he hadn't expected the foreshadowing of a quest to be unveiled here.

Babata was at its wit's end and could only resort to mental victory, convincing itself that if Lin Yuan was Luo Feng's teacher, then he was also a member of Falling Ink Star, but then that would make Lin Yuan the same generation as Hu Yanbo...

It was a mess, everything was a mess!

"Hey," Lin Yuan casually picked up a Muya Crystal. "If the apprenticeship doesn't work out, we can still trade."

"What did you say?" Babata looked disdainful. "What could you possibly have to trade? Secret techniques? Intelligence? My database contains everything; you underestimate artificial intelligence."

"Is that so? Do you even have the means to resurrect an Undying?" Lin Yuan said calmly.

Hearing this, a rare flicker of emotion crossed Babata's face, though it quickly turned into a sneer. "Foolish Earthling, are you trying to deceive me with such tricks?!"

Yet, despite its outward words, deep down, Babata desperately wanted to know.

Even if—it was likely a lie.

Lin Yuan ignored the reaction and continued, "As long as the master you speak of was not enslaved by his opponent, then a 'Lord of the Universe' could reverse time and space..."

"Lord of the Universe?" Babata asked, puzzled.

This was hardly surprising; after all, the current Babata was far from omniscient. It likely didn't even know about concepts like "life gene levels."

Because its master, Hu Yanbo, lacked that level of experience.

Back when it traveled the universe with Hu Yanbo, the highest realm they had seen was mostly at the Undying General level, with the occasional honor of witnessing a Universe Venerable.

As for a "Lord of the Universe"? It knew at most that such pillars of the human race existed above the Universe Venerables, but nothing more.

"A Lord of the Universe, you say?" Babata looked as if it were about to shed tears. Even if it didn't know if it were true or false, having a glimmer of hope after these long, lonely years was a good thing. It looked at Lin Yuan and said, "I will believe you for now, Earthling. If you want Muya Crystals, take some yourself, but I warn you: not a single secret of this place is to be leaked."

"Understood." Lin Yuan nodded. "May I walk around with you?"

"Follow along, then." Babata nodded, acting on an inexplicable impulse. It always felt that Lin Yuan was unfathomable and impossible to read, so it still felt a pang of regret that its attempt to recruit him had failed.

Immediately after, Babata turned to Luo Feng. "Luo Feng, come with me to pay respects to your teacher!"

The three—or rather, two humans and one AI—walked through the spaceship and soon arrived before a crystal coffin six meters long and four meters wide, surrounded by a terrifying, frigid aura.

Inside the coffin lay a corpse about three meters tall, with two antennae on its forehead, but otherwise identical to an Earthling.

Babata stepped forward, took Hu Yanbo's hand, and couldn't help but let two tears fall down its cheeks. It said in a trembling voice, "Master, do you know? There is still a possibility of your resurrection..."

Then, it barked, "Luo Feng, kneel!"

Luo Feng obeyed; both emotionally and logically, he had to kneel.

Lin Yuan stood by and watched. Witnessing the corpse of an Undying should count as a milestone, right?

Following that, Babata began a series of explanations, including but not limited to the classification of cosmic realms and the dominance wielded by powerhouses at various levels.

Take Earth, for example; a single Universe-level powerhouse could wipe it out alone.

Seemingly aware of the divine might of a Lord of the Universe, Babata focused on describing one thing with great enthusiasm: "Your own innate talent is not important; the opportunities in the universe are countless..."

"A perfect possession can outweigh most hard work!"

"Just like your teacher; his original talent was mediocre, and he could only struggle at the Star level, but thanks to a chance encounter, he possessed the body of a 'Longkodo'..."

Just as those words fell, a voice suddenly shattered the silence.

It was a voice only Lin Yuan could hear.

[Mission: Head to the ocean, capture the Golden Horned Beast!]
[Objective: Suppress the Golden Horned Beast and allow Luo Feng to possess it, preventing the disaster on Earth and ensuring Luo Feng's growth trajectory remains unchanged.]
[Commentary: Luo Feng has officially become a disciple of Falling Ink Star, and the Golden Horned Beast has already emerged in the sea. You have been tempered through a hundred trials; it is time to suppress the evil Golden Horned Beast!]
[Reward: Blood of a Void Beast (Starry Sky Beast), Innate Secret Technique—Clone!]

"!!!"

PS: The book goes live tomorrow. It will be free for members to read, and it will lead into a small climax.

A heads-up: the protagonist will not just revolve around Luo Feng; he has his own path. The Golden Horned Beast disaster and the protagonist's "cheat" just need a reason to serve as a springboard.

Additionally, regarding the female leads: Ai Chen and Star Illusion King will appear.