The clear lake water rippled, a thin mist hovering and spreading across its surface, enveloping the surroundings.
By the lakeside, Luo Feng sat cross-legged, and draped over his shoulder was a beast whose head was adorned with a golden horn, stretching about a meter in length.
“Perfect limit. My Youhai Clone once achieved this level, though after transforming into the Endless Youhai… the newly condensed Youhai Clone was only at the thousand-fold life gene level. Finally, finally, the Golden Horned Beast Clone has reached this stage too.” Luo Feng smiled, silently awaiting the drastic transformation to occur.
According to the standard procedure.
Once the life gene reaches the perfect state, a profound shift is supposed to happen. Last time, the origin laws of the universe descended… directly pulling Luo Feng’s consciousness into a mysterious space and causing the Youhai Clone to rapidly grow to over ninety thousand kilometers tall.
“Hmm?”
Luo Feng sat there, frowning slightly.
One second, two seconds…
One minute, two minutes… Five minutes!
“No change?”
“Why isn’t there any reaction at all?” Luo Feng displayed a look of stunned surprise. After 62 years of cultivating the Nine Tribulations Secret Tome, he had reached the perfect gene level, yet this time there was not a single ripple. His divine body showed no drastic evolution, nor was Luo Feng’s consciousness dragged back into that mysterious place.
Luo Feng abruptly stood up!
“Could it be, could it be…” Luo Feng’s eyes widened roundly, tinged with unwillingness. After careful thought, he finally understood why the massive change hadn't materialized.
Because… this was another universe! Not the Primal Universe!
Although Luo Feng was aware he was in a different cosmos, logically, even though it was a distinct universe, the elements of Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Light, Lightning, Time, Space… and even the myriad merged laws, everything was identical to the original universe. Comprehending the law secret techniques held no difference from the Primal Universe.
It was just like in the Initial Universe; stepping into the Universe level, Domain Lord level, Sector Lord level… all steps were exactly the same as in the Primal Universe.
The Primal Universe was the most vast and immense cosmos, home to billions of races and countless living beings.
The Initial Universe and the Star Beast Alliance Universe were both significantly smaller.
One large, two small.
Yet, the laws, the cultivation of the strong… everything was the same. Differences between universes only extended to subtle variations in ‘time flow rate’… and environment. The major aspects remained identical.
Thus, Luo Feng had assumed,
Once his Golden Horned Beast Clone reached the perfect life gene level, it would undergo another evolution! Perhaps his consciousness would even be drawn again into that universe’s mysterious space.
“I was wrong.”
“It seems there are still differences between the universes. This Star Beast Alliance universe… has shown absolutely no reaction to my life gene reaching the perfect state. My divine body hasn't even evolved.” Luo Feng shook his head internally. “What should I do now? What on earth do I do?”
Luo Feng was distressed.
Although the Golden Horned Beast Clone’s life gene level had reached perfection, qualitatively, it met the minimum requirement for executing I Am The Universe. However, quantitatively, it was severely lacking. Remember, the divine body over ninety thousand kilometers tall could only utilize the technique ten times! The Golden Horned Beast was only a thousand kilometers tall… less than one-hundred-thousandth the size of that colossal divine body!
If he were to unleash I Am The Universe, the secret technique might not even begin to form before the Golden Horned Beast’s divine body was entirely depleted!
“Relying on the innate secret technique, ‘I Am The Universe,’ to defeat the Ancestor Clone is not feasible,” Luo Feng frowned deeply. “Then what is the solution?”
For a time, Luo Feng felt utterly helpless.
The clone’s divine body was too small; the innate secret technique remained unusable. Should he try to create one himself? With only his current grasp of the laws and the Beast God’s artistic conception… attempting to forge the ultimate technique of a Universe Master was nothing short of a cosmic joke.
“What should I do?” Luo Feng pondered endlessly, yet found not a single path holding any hope.
He wasn't even a Universe Venerable—how could he attempt the ultimate technique reserved for Universe Masters?
To become the strongest in the universe?
Absurd!
The Beast God Realm was immense and boundless.
In one stretch of continuous mountain ranges within it, atop the peak of one particular mountain, an old man in white robes sat opposite another elder, clad in green robes and sporting crystalline double horns. The two elders faced each other.
“Mountain Guest, it seems your disciple has run into a conundrum.”
The Ancestor smiled faintly.
“No need to rush,” Mountain Guest also cast a distant glance.
Both the Ancestor and Mountain Guest were merely manifestations here! After all, this was the universe controlled by the Ancestor… much like the Initial Universe is controlled by City Lord of Chaos!
In the Initial Universe, City Lord of Chaos was invincible!
In this universe, although the Ancestor was only a clone, once he tapped into the power of the entire universe’s origin, he remained an invincible entity. Therefore, Mountain Guest, being an equal Cosmic Master of the Strongest, was not in any danger; he could casually condense just a single clone. Once one reached the level of the Universe’s Strongest…
A clone could be conjured effortlessly!
“You truly are remarkable. You managed to elevate your second disciple’s life gene level to nearly ten thousand times back then. Now, cultivating your third disciple… he is even more extraordinary; he has already reached the perfect gene level,” the Ancestor sighed with emotion. “In terms of nurturing disciples, especially boosting their life gene levels, I am far inferior to you.”
Mountain Guest smiled and shook his head: “This goes against the operational rules of the universe; a sufficient price must be paid… I have only ever cultivated these two disciples. If I took on more, I couldn't afford the cost.”
The Ancestor nodded.
At their echelon, they stood at the absolute pinnacle. Techniques like amplitude amplification or life gene levels held no meaning for them; they had long ago reached their most perfect state. Otherwise, how could they be called the Strongest in the Universe?
“Every being who reaches the perfect gene level receives a bestowal from the Primal Universe’s Origin! Their divine bodies evolve to perfection! And their consciousness is granted the strongest innate secret technique!” the Ancestor lamented. “What a pity!”
“This is my universe…”
The Ancestor glanced at Mountain Guest… “My universe is nowhere near as potent as the Primal Universe. I cannot bestow innate secret techniques upon him, nor can I cause his divine body to evolve.” The Ancestor picked up a dewdrop condensed into wine before him and sipped it lightly. “Even if he were granted the strongest innate secret technique, his divine body hasn’t evolved and couldn’t execute it… let alone the fact that he didn't receive the bestowal at all.”
“If this were the Primal Universe, I fear this wager would have been lost.”
“Unfortunately, this is my universe.” The Ancestor looked at Mountain Guest. “I control all the variables here. Your disciple’s only recourse is the Beast God Realm!”
“Quite confident, are we?” Mountain Guest also picked up a dewdrop wine and took a sip, murmuring, “Good wine; send some my way later.”
“This wine of mine was created through painstaking effort and cost, by setting up numerous unique environments in this universe I control for its cultivation.” The Ancestor looked at Mountain Guest, then chuckled, “But, considering you’re about to lose your ultimate treasure to me, a bit of wine is nothing.”
“Old Beast God… remember, 100,000 Eras!” Mountain Guest shook his head. “How much time has passed? Don’t be too certain.”
“Oh? You are very sure?”
The Ancestor countered, “Do you believe your disciple can become a Universe’s Strongest within 100,000 Eras? Or can he, while still an Immortal, create the ultimate technique of a Universe Master?”
According to their wager…
If Luo Feng reached the Universe Venerable level, the Ancestor Clone would then be entitled to utilize the ultimate technique of a Universe Master! The ultimate technique employed by the Ancestor Clone would undoubtedly be the absolute pinnacle that a Universe Master could wield. To defeat such an Ancestor Clone, one would only have the path of creating the ‘ultimate technique of the Universe’s Strongest.’
“All I can tell you,” Mountain Guest looked at the Ancestor, “is that my disciple has a chance of succeeding. Of course… if he fails to grasp it, then the fault lies in his insufficient capability.”
“A chance? What a joke.” The Ancestor remained unconvinced.
“100,000 Eras. That's only 100,000 years in the Primal Universe. We shall see,” Mountain Guest said. “During these hundred thousand years, do not allow any other powerful being into this Beast God Realm; do not affect him.”
“Rest assured, I absolutely will not intentionally sabotage or interfere,” the Ancestor conceded.
“The wine?” Mountain Guest prompted.
The Ancestor flipped his hand, and immediately, exquisite wine bottles appeared next to him, suspended in mid-air.
“This is half of my accumulated stock,” the Ancestor stated.
“I am leaving.”
Mountain Guest summoned the wines, collected them with a sweep of his hand, turned, and cast a downward glance toward the distant Luo Feng, who was sitting stiffly in contemplation. Then, Mountain Guest turned, took one step, and vanished into thin air.
“A chance?” The Ancestor looked down from above. “That old fellow Mountain Guest actually claims his disciple has a chance of success. Becoming a Universe’s Strongest is certainly out of the question! That must mean… he believes his disciple can create the ultimate technique of a Universe Master while still in the Immortal stage?”
“Hmph, hmph.”
“If this Luo Feng can succeed, it will at least broaden my horizons. If he fails, then that ultimate treasure of his belongs to me.” The Ancestor smiled faintly, then vanished into thin air as well.
Luo Feng sat meditating by the lake for nine full days, even dedicating time to studying the minds of his teacher, Mountain Guest, and the Star Beast Ancestor, but ultimately, he still found no viable solution.
“The Ancestor and Mountain Guest are both Universe Masters of the Strongest. Their insight, knowledge, and capability are among the absolute peak in the universe.”
“The Ancestor does not believe I can accomplish it.”
“Since Teacher Mountain Guest placed a wager, he must believe I have a possibility of succeeding, or at least that I can achieve it over the vast span of a hundred thousand eras.” Luo Feng pondered. “He sent me to the Beast God Realm, so to meet this requirement, I must first search within the Beast God Realm.”
Luo Feng understood.
The first prerequisite for achieving his goal was the Beast God Realm.
“There must have been countless beings in the history of the Beast God Realm, given that so many secret techniques clearly originated from the myriad Universe Masters and Universe Venerables of the Star Beast Alliance. However, none of those powerful entities could have created the ultimate technique of a Universe Master while still at the Immortal level. If anyone had achieved that, the Ancestor wouldn't have made such a gamble,” Luo Feng nodded to himself.
By this deduction, relying solely on the Beast God Realm was definitely insufficient!
“First, rely on the Beast God Realm.”
“Second, rely on some secrets of my own.”
“Third, it will require a very long time; otherwise, Teacher Mountain Guest’s wager wouldn't have specified 100,000 Eras!” Luo Feng thought to himself. 100,000 Eras… that was almost equivalent to 1 billion years! A truly immensely long stretch of time.