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

Chapter 19 What? Three months? Three hours!

The Spirit Crystal shattered instantly, and a wisp of gray light, like a living mist snake, spiraled up from the fragments and shot into Lin Yi's brow like an arrow!

"Uh!"

Lin Yi groaned, his body suddenly leaning back as if out of control, and slammed into the cold wall with a "bang".

This was, of course, just a performance. With the strength of his soul, absorbing such a basic technique wouldn't even cause a ripple.

But Lin Yi kept his eyes tightly closed, his brows furrowed into a deep frown, and tiny beads of sweat quickly appeared on his forehead.

He was doing his best to simulate the tearing sensation his soul felt when it first came into contact with the Source Energy Guidance Technique in his previous life.

Lin Yi clearly remembers the feeling as if someone had forcefully stabbed a red-hot iron rod deep into his temple and then violently stirred it.

Time seemed to freeze. Three minutes later, Lin Yi finally managed to open his eyes, his pupils deliberately remaining unfocused and blank, devoid of any spirit.

"Xiao Yi, how are you feeling?"

The father, Lin Ruiming's, voice seemed to come through a thick curtain, hoarse and cautious.

Lin Yi blinked slowly, as if sorting through the exploding information in his mind.

"It's like someone crammed all the textbooks from elementary school math to advanced math into my head at once."

Lin Yi deliberately spoke haltingly, "This seems like just rote memorization; to truly understand it, you need to spend time learning and comprehending it. Hmm. A completely unfamiliar system."

This analogy greatly shocked the prospective college students present.

Especially Zhou Yuxuan, the class monitor, looked surprised. He had already studied the university-level material in advance and knew the difficulty of advanced mathematics, but he was still astonished.
"Shouldn't it be learned all at once? Why do you have to learn it on your own? Wouldn't it take at least three or four months to even get the basics right?"

Zhou Yuxuan scored higher than Lin Yi in the college entrance examination and was also admitted to Qing Teng University. He judged others by his own standards and thought it would take at least three or four months to get the basics down, but little did he know that many people might spend their whole lives and still not learn it.

"It's alright," Lin Yi said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "I don't think it's too difficult. Wait, let me try to understand the most basic parts first."

He said no more and began a long period of personal exploration.

His brows furrowed and relaxed at times, and he would occasionally gesture in the air while muttering something under his breath.

The entire banquet hall was awestruck by the aura he created. Everyone unconsciously lowered their breathing, and the sounds of moving and disassembling chairs were kept to a minimum. Even the soft scraping of metal was done with utmost care, for fear of disturbing his study process.

Nearly three hours passed in a flash.

Sunlight streamed through the narrow strip of light filtering through the gaps in the heavy curtains, slowly moving a short distance across the ground.

"It's almost time."

Thinking this, Lin Yi took a deep breath, and like a diver finally surfacing, he slowly and firmly stood up, leaning against the wall.

Three hours—this was a time he had carefully calculated, based on rumors and anecdotes about star-core level geniuses he had heard in his previous life, which he used to set a standard for himself.

After all, it takes about two hours just to quickly review the basic source energy guidance technique in one's mind; anything shorter would seem unrealistic.

The moment he stood up, he instantly attracted everyone's attention, and everyone stopped what they were doing almost simultaneously.

Ye Qingyu, who had been paying attention to his condition, almost subconsciously grabbed the half-empty water bottle Lin Yi had left at her feet and quickly ran over.

With a concerned look on her face, she reached out to hand the water bottle to Lin Yi: "Would you like to drink some water first? Rest for a while before..."

Before she could finish speaking, Ye Qingyu suddenly felt something was off.

She looked up abruptly and realized that everyone was staring at her.
Lin Yi's mother, Zhou Jinghua, was also carrying a full bottle of mineral water. She had just taken a few steps closer when she stopped halfway, her face showing the same concern and a hint of helplessness.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

Ye Qingyu's face instantly flushed red. She shoved the water bottle into Lin Yi's hand, then quickly turned and fled back to her copying spot as if by lightning.

It's only because everyone is currently shrouded in a life-or-death crisis and worry about their families that this would elicit a burst of good-natured laughter.

As for Ye Qingyu, Lin Yi remembered that her parents in her previous life had both survived the first wave of the impact. Judging from her relatively relaxed demeanor at the moment, she must have made contact with them.

During the time after returning to the banquet hall, based on Lin Yi's observations, those who still had the energy to participate in the conversation were most likely those whose families were still safe and sound.

Those with red eyes, pale faces, and a dazed state, such as Chen Yu's girlfriend Su Xiao, may have already suffered a tragedy involving their relatives.

"Xiaoyi."

Lin Yi's thoughts were interrupted by his uncle Zhou Jianjun's voice.

Zhou Jianjun had been silently watching Lin Yi's learning progress. As he watched Ye Qingyu's hurried escape and thought of Zhou Yuxuan's earlier assessment of "three or four months," a look of worry appeared on his face.

Seeing Lin Yi look over at the sound, he put down the half-finished wooden handle of the short hammer he was holding, dusted it off, and said in a somewhat comforting tone:

"Xiao Yi, the worst thing you can do when it comes to studying is to be impatient. Now that you know the method, there's no need to rush. Take it slow and don't ruin your health."

Lin Yi didn't rush to answer. He first picked up the water bottle Ye Qingyu had handed him, tilted his head back, and took a big gulp. Then, as if he had caught his breath, he replied in a still somewhat hoarse voice:
"It's alright, Uncle. I feel like I've almost mastered it! Maybe I can try cultivating this so-called 'source energy' later."

You've learned it?!
This statement is like a stone thrown into a calm pond.

"Holy crap! No wonder it's Yi-ge!"

Chen Yu, a poor student, clenched his fist forcefully. He didn't think much about the difficulty involved; he just habitually assumed that Lin Yi would definitely be good at academics.

Most of the others didn't have a deep understanding of advanced mathematics, and given Lin Yi's consistent "top student" aura, they mostly just showed surprise and admiration, thinking it was only natural.

Only Lin Yi and a few of his peers, whose grades were fairly good, had some doubts in their hearts.

Zhou Yuxuan, who was also a top student, was initially taken aback, then a hint of suspicion flashed through his mind:
"How could he have learned it so quickly?! Even the most talented person has a limit. Could it be that he misunderstood the standard of 'learning'? Maybe he's only just scratched the surface. It's not actually that hard to understand?"

He subconsciously tried to find an explanation that he could accept for the things that were upsetting him.

"and many more!"

Zhou Jianjun's brows never relaxed. He took two steps forward and pressed down on Lin Yi's shoulder. "Your face is still pale. Take a break and catch your breath! You don't look like you're alright at all."

Lin Yi forced a smile, revealing a tired and slightly irritated bitter grin:

“I really want to lie down and rest for three days and three nights, but Uncle,” he suddenly changed his tone, his gaze sweeping towards Chen Yu by the window, “I just feel uneasy about A-Yu!”

Lin Yi raised his voice slightly, "What's the situation outside? Any movement?"

While everyone was busy with their tasks, Chen Yu not only participated in making short sticks and shields, but also shouldered the important responsibility of keeping a close eye on the movements outside the window.

Upon hearing Lin Yi call his name, Chen Yu's face, which had been slightly relaxed due to the previous conversation, immediately darkened.

He subconsciously licked his dry lips, then leaned closer to the narrow gap in the curtains, scanning the outside warily for a moment before withdrawing his neck, his voice low and muffled:

"Something's wrong, really wrong! Damn it, a few of them have gathered nearby and aren't moving, and I just saw there's another one!"

"Just as I suspected." Lin Yi's eyes narrowed, and the weariness on his face was instantly replaced by seriousness. "Just as I guessed. It's most likely the trouble caused by that beast that got away earlier!"

His fingers tightened unconsciously around the water bottle.

"So I have to hurry, I can't wait any longer!"

His tone was resolute: "From the information I obtained about the basic source energy guidance technique, I know that successfully cultivating source energy can greatly enhance physical fitness, which is crucial for our future!"

(End of this chapter)