Unexpected

The clear lake water rippled, with wisps of mist swirling above its surface, permeating the surroundings. By the lakeside, Luo Feng sat cross-legged, a Golden Horned Beast about a meter long resting on his shoulder. “Perfect limit. My Youhai Clone once reached this level, but after transforming into the boundless Youhai... the new Youhai Clone I condensed only had a life gene level of a thousand times. Finally—finally, my Golden Horned Beast clone has also reached this stage.” Luo Feng smiled, silently awaiting the dramatic change. According to the normal procedure, once a life gene reaches perfection, a dramatic change would occur. Last time, the Cosmic Origin Laws descended... directly drawing Luo Feng's consciousness into a mysterious space and allowing his Youhai Clone to rapidly grow to over 90,000 kilometers tall. “Huh?” Luo Feng sat there, frowning slightly. One second, two seconds... one minute, two minutes... five minutes! “No change?” “Why is there no reaction at all?” Luo Feng looked bewildered. After 62 years of cultivation with the Nine Tribulations Secret Manual, he had reached the perfect gene level, yet this time there was no movement whatsoever. His divine body hadn't undergone a dramatic change, nor had his consciousness been drawn into a mysterious place again. Luo Feng suddenly stood up! “Could it be, could it be—” Luo Feng's eyes widened, a hint of unwillingness in them. After a moment of careful thought, he understood why no dramatic change had occurred. Because... this was another universe! Not the Original Universe! Although Luo Feng had known he was in another universe, logically, despite being different universes, the fundamental laws of metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, light, lightning, time, space... and even various fusion laws, were all the same as in the Original Universe. His comprehension of laws and secret techniques was no different from what it would be in the Original Universe. Just like in the Initial Universe, breaking through to Universe Level, Domain Lord, Sector Lord... and so on, was exactly the same as in the Original Universe. The Original Universe was the most vast and largest universe, home to billions of races and countless beings. The Initial Universe and the Starry Sky Behemoth Alliance Universe were much smaller. One large, two small. Yet, the laws, cultivation of powerful beings, and so on... were all the same. Different universes only had slight differences in 'time flow' and 'environment'. The major aspects were identical. Therefore, Luo Feng had also assumed that once he reached the perfect life gene level, his Golden Horned Beast clone would undergo another evolution! And his consciousness might even re-enter the mysterious space of this universe. “Wrong.” “It seems different universes still have distinctions. This universe of the Starry Sky Behemoth Alliance... had no reaction at all to my life gene level reaching perfection. Not even my divine body evolved.” Luo Feng shook his head inwardly. “What now? What am I supposed to do?” Luo Feng was troubled. Although his Golden Horned Beast clone's life gene level had reached perfection, qualitatively it met the minimum requirements for executing “I Am the Universe.” Quantitatively, however, it was severely lacking. One must know that a divine body over 90,000 kilometers tall could only perform it 10 times! The Golden Horned Beast was only a thousand kilometers... a few hundred thousandths of a 90,000-kilometer divine body! If he were to attempt “I Am the Universe,” the secret technique would likely not even fully form before the Golden Horned Beast's divine body was completely depleted! “Relying on the innate secret technique 'I Am the Universe' to defeat the Ancestor's clone is no longer feasible.” Luo Feng's brows furrowed deeply. “What should I do then?” For a moment, Luo Feng felt helpless. His clone's divine body was too small, and the innate secret technique still couldn't be used. Should he try to create one himself? With his meager comprehension of laws and Beast God's artistic conception... to attempt to create an ultimate technique of a Universe Master was simply preposterous. “What should I do?” Luo Feng pondered incessantly, yet found no path that offered hope. He wasn't even a Universe Venerable, yet he was to create an ultimate technique of a Universe Master? Become a Universe Supreme Being himself? Absurd! The Beast God World was vast and boundless. In a continuous mountain range, atop one of its peaks, the white-robed Ancestor sat on one side. Opposite him sat a green-robed elder with crystalline twin horns on his head. The two elders sat facing each other. “Seated Mountain Guest, it seems your disciple is in a predicament,” the Ancestor said with a slight smile. “Don't rush,” Seated Mountain Guest replied, glancing into the distance. Both the Ancestor and Seated Mountain Guest were present here via clones! After all, this was the universe controlled by the Ancestor... just as the Initial Universe was controlled by the Chaos City Lord, this universe was controlled by the Ancestor! In the Initial Universe, the Chaos City Lord was invincible! In this universe, even though the Ancestor was only a clone, once he leveraged the power of the entire cosmic origin, he was still an invincible existence. Therefore, Seated Mountain Guest, also a Universe Supreme Being, naturally wouldn't put himself in danger; he merely needed to condense a clone at will. At the level of a Universe Supreme Being... one could condense a clone at will! “You are truly remarkable. Back then, you managed to make your second disciple's life gene level nearly ten thousand times. Now, you're cultivating your third disciple... even more extraordinary, he has already reached the perfect gene level.” The Ancestor sighed with emotion. “In terms of cultivating disciples, especially raising their life gene level, I am far inferior to you.” Seated Mountain Guest shook his head and smiled, “This goes against the operating rules of the universe and requires a significant price... I can only cultivate these two disciples. If there were more, I couldn't afford it.” The Ancestor nodded. At their level, they had already reached the absolute peak. Things like amplification secret techniques, life gene levels, and so on... held no meaning for them; they had long since reached the most perfect state. Otherwise, how could they be called Universe Supreme Beings? “Everyone who reaches the perfect gene level receives a boon from the Original Universe's origin! Their divine body can evolve to perfection! Their consciousness can also receive the strongest innate secret technique!” The Ancestor lamented, “What a pity!” “This is my universe...” The Ancestor glanced at Seated Mountain Guest. “My universe is far less powerful than the Original Universe. I cannot bestow innate secret techniques upon him, nor can I allow his divine body to evolve.” The Ancestor picked up the dew-wine, condensed from countless dewdrops before him, and took a small sip. “Without his divine body evolving, even if he received the strongest innate secret technique, his divine body wouldn't be able to execute it... let alone the fact that he hasn't received any strongest innate secret technique at all.” “If this were the Original Universe, I'm afraid I would have lost this wager.” “But alas, this is my universe.” The Ancestor looked at Seated Mountain Guest. “I can control all unexpected factors. Your disciple's only reliance can be the Beast God World!” “Quite confident, aren't you?” Seated Mountain Guest also picked up the dew-wine, took a sip, and remarked, “The wine is good. Give me some later.” “This wine of mine was specially cultivated and produced in this universe I control, by setting up numerous special environments. It cost me no small amount of effort and resources.” The Ancestor looked at Seated Mountain Guest and then smiled. “However, your ultimate treasure is about to be lost to me, so what's a little wine?” “Old Beast God... remember, 100,000 eras!” Seated Mountain Guest shook his head. “How much time has passed? Don't be too confident.” “Oh, are you so certain?” the Ancestor asked. “Do you believe your disciple can become a Universe Supreme Being within 100,000 eras, or can he, as an Immortal, create an 'ultimate secret technique of a Universe Master,' or as a Venerable, create a 'Universe Supreme Being's ultimate technique'?” According to the wager... once Luo Feng reached Universe Venerable, the Ancestor's clone could use an ultimate secret technique of a Universe Master! The ultimate secret technique used by the Ancestor's clone would undoubtedly be among the most supreme ultimate secret techniques a Universe Master could wield. To defeat such an Ancestor's clone, one would have to create a 'Universe Supreme Being's ultimate technique.' “I can only tell you this,” Seated Mountain Guest looked at the Ancestor, “my disciple has a chance to succeed. Of course... if he fails to comprehend it, and thus fails, it's merely because his ability is insufficient.” “A chance? What a joke.” The Ancestor remained unconvinced. “100,000 eras, that's only 100,000 years in the Original Universe. Just watch.” Seated Mountain Guest said, “For these 100,000 years, don't let any other powerful beings into this Beast God World, don't interfere with him.” “Rest assured, I will absolutely not intentionally disrupt or disturb him,” the Ancestor replied. “The wine?” Seated Mountain Guest asked. The Ancestor flipped his hand, and immediately, exquisite wine bottles appeared beside him, suspended in mid-air. “This is half of my accumulated stock,” the Ancestor said. “I'm leaving.” Seated Mountain Guest flipped his hand, collecting the wine. He turned his head, casting a distant glance at Luo Feng, who was sitting in contemplation far away. Then, Seated Mountain Guest took a step and vanished into thin air. “A chance?” The Ancestor looked down. “That old fellow Seated Mountain Guest actually said his disciple has a chance to succeed. Becoming a Universe Supreme Being is definitely a joke! So... he believes his disciple can, as an Immortal, create an ultimate technique of a Universe Master?” “Hmph.” “If this Luo Feng can succeed, it will certainly be an eye-opener for me. If he fails, then that ultimate treasure will be mine.” The Ancestor smiled faintly, then also vanished into thin air. Luo Feng sat in contemplation by the lakeside for a full nine days, even specifically analyzing the psychology of his teacher, Seated Mountain Guest, and the Starry Sky Behemoth Ancestor, but ultimately still found no solution. “The Ancestor and Seated Mountain Guest are both Universe Supreme Beings; their vision, knowledge, and capabilities are among the universe's absolute pinnacle.” “The Ancestor doesn't believe I can do it.” “Since Teacher Seated Mountain Guest placed a wager, he must believe there's a possibility I can succeed, at least within the long span of a billion years.” Luo Feng mused, “He sent me to the Beast God World, so to meet this requirement, I first need to seek answers within the Beast God World.” Luo Feng understood. The first step to achieving his goal was the Beast God World. “Historically, many must have come to the Beast God World, as the numerous secret techniques clearly left behind by various Universe Masters and Universe Venerables of the Starry Sky Behemoth Alliance attest. But even these powerful beings couldn't have created an ultimate technique of a Universe Master while still at the Immortal level. If anyone could do that, the Ancestor wouldn't have made such a wager.” Luo Feng nodded inwardly. From this, he deduced—relying solely on the Beast God World would definitely not be enough! “First, I need to rely on the Beast God World.” “Second, I need to rely on some of my own secrets.” “Third, I need a long time, otherwise Teacher Seated Mountain Guest wouldn't have set the wager for 100,000 eras!” Luo Feng thought to himself. 100,000 eras... that was a billion years! It was an incredibly long and vast amount of time.