Pretending to be a genius starts with the civilization advancement assessment.

Chapter 11 Blood Descends

Having done all this, the divine avatar's mysterious light and shadow returned directly to the spaceship, and as the runes around it circulated, it entered a deep meditative state.

He was reluctant to give even the slightest bit of extra attention to such an energy-poor, low-potential marginal planet.

If the Civilization Advancement Assessment hadn't been a designated task by the Human Race's Supreme Council, he would never have set foot in this desolate area.

Therefore, he casually tossed the tedious tasks of monitoring the entire assessment process, collecting data, and conducting preliminary evaluations to the spaceship's main intelligent life form and the Eldar civilization guardian.

"Yes, Master. The monitoring data has been shared with the Civilization Guardians."

The silvery-white intelligent sphere responded faithfully, its surface data stream accelerating, and invisible probe beams, like a net, enveloped the blue star below.

Left out in the cold, Irelia watched this scene quietly until the assessment officially began. Once she confirmed that the deity had returned to his chariot and had no further instructions, she bowed deeply to the spaceship once more.

"Irelia takes her leave. If Your Majesty requires any service, I will do my utmost, even at the cost of my life!"

After saying that, she didn't dare to disturb them any further and returned to the spaceship directly in the light-filled envelope.

As the heavy hatch closed silently behind her, isolating her from the oppressive aura emanating from a higher level of life, Irelia's nerves, which had been stretched to their limit, suddenly relaxed.

She could no longer hold on; her legs gave way, and her entire body slid down the cool, smooth inner wall of the starship, her back pressing heavily against the slightly cool metal.

Irelia buried her forehead between her knees, curling up in the corner of the passageway. The nobility and elegance she had maintained since she could remember vanished in that moment.

Her slender shoulders trembled slightly, not from crying, but from the instinctive shudder of her soul under immense pressure.

The rise and fall of the family, their only hope, rested on this slim chance.

This burden was so heavy that she could hardly breathe.

A soft aura of energy silently enveloped her figure within the passage, revealing an unprecedented vulnerability.

But this did not last long.

Just a few breaths later, Ariria suddenly raised her head!
Although the light emanating from the diamond-shaped crystal on his forehead remained restrained, it had become stable and resolute once again.

She took an almost greedy breath of the air inside the spaceship, which carried the unique fragrance of plants and trees characteristic of the Eldar, as if she wanted to exhale all the remaining fear and weakness from her body.

The cool air rushed into my lungs, like a shot of adrenaline, gradually calming my racing heartbeat.

Irelia braced herself against the cold metal wall behind her and stood up steadily.

The folds of her starry long dress flowed like ripples with her movements, instantly regaining their smoothness and elegance.

Apart from a very faint, almost imperceptible redness remaining at the corner of her eye, it was as if her earlier loss of composure had never happened.

She strode toward the main control room at the heart of the spacecraft, her mind racing.

"Cold, but never difficult, and even dumped the trivial matters on me. Perhaps they are the kind of neutral faction that only focuses on cultivation. And such people often value results more."

This judgment eased her tense nerves slightly, and a faint sense of relief welled up within her.

As long as there is no hostility, there is still a chance!

She dared not hope for divine favor, only wishing to quietly do all her duties without making any mistakes.

If Her Majesty Xuchen is in a good mood when the assessment concludes smoothly, she might... she might be able to muster the greatest courage of her life and, in the most humble manner, plead to leave a minimal, virtual network contact record.

Even if this mark is never, and dares not, to be used, just the fact that it is "unintentionally" leaked out is enough to make rival families wary.

After all, they had no way of knowing what their relationship with His Majesty Xu Chen was. It would take them a long time to investigate, and even finding out was uncertain. This was precisely the sliver of breathing space in the darkness!
A short while later, Irelia arrived at the control panel and gave her instructions in a low voice.

"Star Language, fully receive the data link shared by His Majesty Xu Chen's spaceship, conduct real-time analysis, and notify me immediately if any situation arises."

"Okay, master."

A virtual sprite appeared out of thin air, circled Irelia once, and then disappeared into the control panel.

After finishing her business immediately, Irelia breathed a sigh of relief before slowly walking to the huge observation window at the bow of the ship. She first looked at the divine flagship outside the window and gave it a respectful salute before turning her gaze downwards.

She gazed at the tiny, azure planet below, a complex expression on her delicate face.

For five thousand years, the resilience and will of the humans on Earth have impressed her, but unfortunately, they are more obsessed with endless internal strife.

Greed, suspicion, ambition. The wars that repeatedly turned brilliant civilizations into scorched earth horrified her.

Although she would no longer have any contact with the Blue Star civilization, which was located in a remote area of ​​the human race and was almost destined to receive a low rating, after this assessment, she had silently protected the Blue Star civilization for thousands of years. It would be a lie to say that she had no feelings for it.

She couldn't help but recall her grandmother's parting words.

If you fail to gain access to the divine banner, then do not return. Stay within the human realm, strive to break through to the Star Domain level, and carry on your family's legacy.
A sense of shared misfortune flashed through Irelia's mind. She gazed at the planet she had protected for five thousand years and sighed inwardly.

"Hopefully, we can all grasp that glimmer of light in the darkness of despair."
-
Meanwhile, on Blue Star, in Xia Country, in Helu City.

林毅全神贯注，仿佛沉浸在自己的“表演”中，他的目光偶尔扫过墙上的挂钟：12:09:01 12:09:0212:09:06
Om-! ! !
An invisible and intangible, yet vast and indescribably terrifying will, like the roar of the beginning of the universe, swept across the entire blue planet in an instant.

There was no sound, yet it felt as if billions of stars were exploding simultaneously deep within my soul!

Without light and shadow, the entire banquet hall was instantly plunged into a suffocating "grayish-white" atmosphere!
At this moment, even time seemed to be frozen completely.

The movements of all the guests at the banquet—raising their glasses, picking up food, chatting, and moving around—froze instantly.

The children's chasing and playing postures were frozen in time, the waiter's figure carrying a tray was still, and even the trajectory of the rotating chandelier came to a standstill.

The entire planet Earth fell into a soul-chilling stillness in that instant.

Only Lin Yi's mind was still working.

His Star-level soul essence reacted with intense turbulence, but he locked it firmly with his willpower. As a result, his body, like everyone else's, remained "stiff" in place.

One-hundredth of a second later, the oppressive force dissipated, and the world seemed to restart.

Colors return, sounds flood in.

"Uh... what just happened?"

"Am I seeing things?"

“I feel so dizzy”

After a brief silence came a greater sense of bewilderment and unease. The guests looked at each other in disbelief, while the children, frightened by the eerie feeling, hid in the arms of their parents.

Uncle Zhou Jianjun suddenly stood up, his brows furrowed, his eyes sharp as an eagle's, and instantly scanned the window.

His veteran instincts told him that something was extremely dangerous.

Lin Yi deliberately delayed for a few seconds before turning his head and looking through the window facing the street, locking onto the newsstand diagonally across the street.

(End of this chapter)