Unexpected Subjugation

Seeing the way Babata was receiving the data transmission, Luo Feng understood exactly what was happening. In his heart, he called Babata out for being underhanded, snatching the position of the primary core member away from him.

"Brother, transmit it to me as well," Luo Feng urged anxiously.

"Fine."

Seeing that Babata remained silent, Shi Fen sent the same "application form" to Luo Feng's consciousness.

When Luo Feng saw that incredibly clear "application form" within his mind, his body trembled, and he accepted it with great excitement.

Shi Fen's inheritance is truly heaven-defying. I originally thought I could surpass him, but now it seems that will be difficult for the rest of my life. Just this soul contract inheritance alone is something Teacher Hu Yanbo could never compare to.

But that doesn't matter anymore. There is no point in competing with someone who possesses such heaven-defying luck. How wonderful it is to just honestly ride his coattails! It's truly sweet!

Shi Fen is indeed my brother.

He gives me the most suitable things right from the start. Hahaha.

Luo Feng sat quietly cross-legged on the floor of the training room, receiving the data inheritance and organizing the secret techniques he had acquired.

Babata's consciousness possessed super-strong computational abilities; in just a few minutes, it had received all the data and even finished organizing the secret techniques, placing them into the database for storage.

"These are top-tier secret techniques."

After finishing these techniques, Babata was truly stunned. In terms of depth, these three techniques were far superior to the best ones his master, Hu Yanbo, had ever possessed. At the very least, these were secret techniques that only the strongest among the Immortals, or perhaps even higher-level powerhouses, could create.

It must be said that these three secret techniques gave Babata a solid reality check.

Following his usual habits from wandering the universe, Babata would have definitely "let evil grow from his heart" and chosen to seize them by force.

However, Babata was shocked to discover that he could not generate any malice toward Shi Fen. He immediately realized that the soul contract inheritance had potential hidden restrictions; as a core member of Shi Fen's inheritance, it was impossible to harbor malice toward him.

This left Babata feeling as though he had been swindled, and it was a swindle he had chosen to fall for willingly.

At this moment, Babata's mood was a complex mixture of five flavors.

"I hope this isn't a pirate ship."

Shi Fen noticed the subtle changes in Babata's expression and said softly, "The inheritance currently lacks resources you can use. When my Treasure Refining skills reach the required level, I will refine an Evolution Heart for you."

The gloomy look on Babata's face vanished instantly, and the complex feelings in his heart were thrown to the ends of the earth the moment he heard the words "Evolution Heart."

"You have the method to refine an Evolution Heart?" Babata asked anxiously.

"Yeah, why?" Shi Fen feigned ignorance, looking puzzled.

"Why?" Babata's voice rose by an octave, and he shrieked in disbelief.

"Isn't the Evolution Heart quite useful for you? Why do you look at me like you don't believe me?" Shi Fen continued to look confused, pretending not to understand why Babata was reacting so strongly.

In reality, Shi Fen was already blooming with joy inside. Little guy, if you could stir up trouble under my nose, then I would have lived my previous life in vain.

Babata's voice trembled with extreme tension as he asked in a hurried, low voice, "The Evolution Heart you speak of—is it the one that allows intelligent life to evolve into the Machine Race? Are you certain you have the refining method for it?"

"Yeah, why else would I bring it up?" Shi Fen acted as if he found Babata's lack of knowledge quite distasteful, his tone full of mockery and disdain as he spoke casually. "It's just an Evolution Heart. You should know that Evolution Hearts come in different grades, right?"

Babata froze for a moment. For the sake of his pride as a cosmic powerhouse, he swallowed his conscience and nodded with difficulty.

Shi Fen didn't pay special attention to Babata's reaction and continued on his own. "I have all the methods for the different grades of Evolution Hearts. Their refining methods are nearly identical, but the material requirements differ vastly.

"Different grades of Evolution Hearts represent the different levels of cultivation talent an intelligent lifeform will possess after becoming part of the Machine Race.

"The worst Evolution Heart can easily allow a Machine Race powerhouse to grow to the peak of the World Lord level. The best Evolution Heart can make becoming an Immortal just a matter of time, with immense room for future development.

"Since you can only integrate one, for Luo Feng's sake, I will do my best to gather the resources and try to craft you a top-tier Evolution Heart."

The Evolution Heart was a World Lord-level treasure recorded in Treasure Refining. Shi Fen only needed to refine the most common grade to complete the task.

Although the requirements were low, Treasure Refining recorded several methods for Evolution Hearts of different grades and talents; these were all extra entries that did not require Shi Fen to refine them.

There were many such extra entries in Treasure Refining; almost all World Lord-level treasures had them.

For example, the World Lord-level treasure—the Multi-functional Ray Gun.

Under its name, several additional types of ray gun weapons were recorded.

Therefore.

The actual number of treasures recorded in Treasure Refining far exceeded 11.1 billion.

Treasure Refining was complex to the extreme. But once Shi Fen completed all the refining tasks, his foundation in treasure refining would be invincible!

By then, Shi Fen would be the most comprehensive, powerful, and capable treasure refiner in existence.

Hearing Shi Fen's explanation, Babata was so excited he couldn't help himself. He ran up to Shi Fen, grabbed him, and said passionately, "It's a deal! According to your Earth saying, once you've said it, you can't go back on it!"

Babata firmly believed that Shi Fen was a native of Earth; in principle, it was impossible for Shi Fen to know about the top-tier cosmic treasure known as the "Evolution Heart."

But when Shi Fen spoke those details about the "Evolution Heart," Babata believed him without hesitation.

"Uh, it's just an Evolution Heart, is it really that big of a deal?" With his hand being enthusiastically tugged by Babata, Shi Fen looked conflicted and deeply puzzled.

"What a 'just an Evolution Heart'! Shi Fen, I've decided! From now on, I'm with you!" Babata bowed, performed a subordinate's salute to Shi Fen, and shouted loudly.

Babata's voice carried excitement and thrill, along with a tremor that came from the release of immense pressure.

Defying his usual nature, Babata cast aside his pride as a cosmic powerhouse and made his decision in a particularly spineless manner.

"Master, to avenge you, I am going all out. You told me to find a successor, and I have; I will certainly nurture him well. But you never said I couldn't join a faction. By joining Shi Fen's faction, I will have the opportunity to avenge you personally in the future. Wait for me, Master, I will cultivate diligently and kill the Demon Hand King with my own hands!"

Babata's hatred for the Demon Hand King was bone-deep and hysterical.

When Babata realized he had a chance to exact revenge himself, he made his choice without hesitation: to follow Shi Fen, who possessed a powerful inheritance.

In truth, Babata did not have a "master" in the real sense. After Hu Yanbo died, Babata became a masterless intelligent lifeform. Since Luo Feng had not yet claimed him as his own, Babata was free to direct his own actions.

Due to his subconscious loyalty to Hu Yanbo, Babata had always followed his late master's wishes to select a successor. If Babata possessed a functional mechanical body, he could have easily left Earth to actively search for one.

But the reality was that Babata could only remain inside the spaceship.

Waiting for a successor to come to him.

Because of this, Babata had waited bitterly for 50,000 years, enduring five millennia of loneliness and solitude.

Babata's behavior might seem reckless, but his heart had been deliberating for a long time, having found many "reasons" for himself.

First, the level of Shi Fen's inheritance was absurdly high.

Shi Fen's inheritance contained the crafting methods for the Evolution Heart—which the Machine Race kept under lock and key—and there were several types at that. From Shi Fen's tone, Babata felt that the Evolution Heart was merely a trifle within Shi Fen's inheritance; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so dismissive of it.

Furthermore, the Treasure Refining Inheritance actually possessed the techniques of a supreme soul master. Having traveled the universe with Hu Yanbo, Babata knew just how terrifying soul masters could be.

Second, since childhood, Shi Fen had displayed calmness, strategy, maturity, wisdom, a global perspective, cultivation talent, and forging talent that far exceeded ordinary people. Coupled with Shi Fen's attitude toward his family and friends, following him would certainly not be a loss.

Third, the relationship between Shi Fen and Luo Feng was extraordinary. Babata actually felt he was benefiting from Luo Feng. Without that connection, it would have been very difficult for Babata to get close to Shi Fen.

One must know that Shi Fen had once treated the Black Ink Star spaceship as nothing. This showed that Shi Fen definitely looked down on this inheritance. If it weren't for the fact that Luo Feng was the one who obtained the inheritance, Babata highly doubted he could have even made contact with Shi Fen.

Fourth, Babata's own intense desire for revenge forced him to act. He did not want to remain in the spaceship, witnessing everything while being powerless to change his circumstances; Babata wanted to be able to take action himself.

Fifth, Babata possessed the same resolute heart of a powerhouse as Luo Feng.

It was precisely because their personalities were similar that their temperaments were so "compatible." The 50,000 years of loneliness in the spaceship had given Babata a burning desire for revenge and a near-maniacal drive for cultivation. Seeing an opportunity, how could Babata let it slip away?

Sixth, aggregating all the various clues discovered previously, Babata was willing to gamble big.

Finally, there was Babata's own selfishness.

"If I latch onto such a high-potential 'thigh' early, I will be a founding hero who helps expand the territory, and I'll have a good position by Shi Fen's side."

Ever since he suffered from Hu Yanbo's "solitary" path, Babata was now particularly keen on finding a large organization to join. Seeing such a high-quality stock as Shi Fen, as long as he patiently guided and assisted him, why wouldn't he become a big shot?

Moreover, Shi Fen's domain was highly likely to be a "soul-type" domain. Although Babata had never seen such a special domain, he dared to guess—and he had guessed correctly.

In truth, Babata had no solid ground to stand on, but because he was already linked to Luo Feng, he still had a fallback. He was gambling on the future with great boldness!

What Babata did not know was that his gamble had paid off!

When Shi Fen saw Babata bowing to him, a look of intense shock appeared on his face; he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The etiquette Babata performed was the ancient Chinese custom for generals and ministers to pay respects to their sovereign. It must be said that this gesture carried significant weight; it was a sign of submission.

Isn't Babata a proud alien powerhouse? Why is he so easy to talk to? My trump cards haven't even been played yet! What the hell! Shi Fen looked at Babata with a strange expression, unable to fathom what the AI was up to.

"Hehe, this etiquette should be quite standard, the same as the ancient customs of your country, right?" Babata's face was calm, his lips curled into a smile of slight relief. He felt no shame at Shi Fen's exaggerated expression and teased him calmly.

"It is quite similar." Shi Fen nodded subconsciously.

"Hehe, I had to search through your historical materials to understand it," Babata said calmly.

Shi Fen was a smart man and immediately thought of several possibilities.

I must have been careless with the details, leaving behind clues that Babata discovered. Could it be that the scene where I used the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror was seen by him? That shouldn't be, I was very careful when I used it.

Shi Fen didn't know exactly where he had been exposed. He had too many secrets, and he didn't dare ask Babata.

In any case, the goal has been achieved. I'll ask when I've grown stronger. Shi Fen made the decision with great reluctance.

For someone with obsessive-compulsive tendencies like Shi Fen, this was a thorn in his heart, and holding it in was incredibly uncomfortable. Shi Fen relied entirely on his reason to keep from asking.

Shi Fen frowned slightly, deliberated for a moment, and then asked seriously: "Babata, I am asking you sincerely: when you say you want to follow me, are you truly and genuinely willing to be my subordinate?"

Upon hearing this, Babata replied without hesitation: "Yes. You will be my future sovereign. Even if Luo Feng claims me as his own in the future, you will still be my sovereign."

"Good! Although I don't know why you made this decision, I can tell you that in the future, you will be glad you made this choice today." Shi Fen responded with a hearty laugh.