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

Chapter 209 A Small Test: Checking Assessment Points (3-in-1)

As a Star Core level expert, Chen Yu's speed was already extremely fast. He was wrapped in a pale silver flame, leaving a long energy trail in the air, heading straight for Lin Yi's coordinates.

At this moment, high above Mount Everest, Lin Yi hovered directly above the massive, dark red vortex of the main nest, which seemed to connect to the deepest hell. The biting wind naturally subsided when it approached within a hundred meters of Lin Yi.

He naturally sensed Chen Yu approaching at high speed, and at the same time, as if looking down at a chessboard, he saw more than a dozen Star Core-level Abyss Beasts in the distance, which were startled by Chen Yu's undisguised flight and were rapidly rising from different directions of the nest, fiercely rushing towards it in a fan-shaped encirclement with fury and killing intent.

These abyssal beasts come in various shapes and are ferocious and terrifying.

There were three-headed giant lizards as massive as mountains, covered in thick bone armor; there were multi-winged bone dragons with grotesque exposed bones and eyes burning with the flames of their souls; and there were monsters shaped like giant spiders, spewing corrosive poisonous mist.
Without exception, they all emitted source energy fluctuations exceeding those of ordinary star cores. Clearly, these abyssal beasts were at least elites at the third rank of star cores.

Seeing Chen Yu flying towards him from afar, Lin Yi's heart stirred slightly, and he stopped his original plan to take action directly.

"Let this kid witness firsthand what the realm of rules truly looks like; it might inspire him."

With this in mind, Lin Yi deliberately suppressed most of his aura, only revealing a trace of his presence as guidance.

In just over ten breaths, Chen Yu arrived, enveloped in silver flames.

He stopped beside Lin Yi, dimmed his light, and then quickly glanced at the dozen or so fierce auras that were getting closer and closer, almost tangible.

Even with Chen Yu's current Star Core level strength and battle-hardened nerves, he felt a chill run down his spine.

He scratched his head somewhat awkwardly and smiled at Lin Yi's calm figure:

"Brother Yi, it seems I made a bit too much noise coming over and woke up the 'neighbors,' and now they're coming over in a group to 'welcome' us."

He tried to ease the tension with a relaxed tone, but his clenched fists showed that he was not as relaxed as he appeared.

Lin Yi's expression remained calm as still water, his gaze never leaving the deep vortex of the nest beneath his feet, as if the dozen or so Star Core-level Abyss Beasts roaring and closing in were nothing more than a few insignificant, buzzing mosquitoes.

He waved his hand casually, his tone as indifferent as if he were discussing the weather:
"It doesn't matter."

Then, Lin Yi paused, glanced at Chen Yu who looked more relaxed, and continued calmly:

"After this period of seclusion, I have gained some understanding of the principles of rules. I'll take this opportunity to test them out."

"Just observe carefully and try to understand; it might give you some inspiration for the path you're about to take."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yu's spirits immediately lifted.

He rushed over in such a hurry, and what was it all for?

Chen Yu knew very well that what Lin Yi called "some progress" and needed to "test" to verify was definitely a power that surpassed the current level of Blue Star.

He immediately held his breath and focused his mind, adjusting himself to his best state, like the most devout apprentice.

At this moment, the dozen or so Star Core-level Abyss Beasts had already completed their encirclement.

They let out deafening, terrifying roars, their massive bodies churning source energy, carrying with them extreme cold capable of freezing mountains, dark red flames that could melt rocks, and even corrosive source energy that could distort light.
Various attacks carrying the power of rules intertwined, forming a devastating energy storm that swept towards the two figures in the center—small in their perception yet exuding a threatening aura—from all directions.

The combined attack caused subtle ripples and distortions to appear in space itself.

Faced with this frenzied attack that would drive any other Star Core-level powerhouse on Earth to despair, Lin Yi finally made a move.

He just had a thought.

Immediately, centered on him, a vast, formless domain, seemingly containing the true essence of all "gold" in the world, instantly enveloped the entire main nest territory centered on the Mount Everest Abyss Nest.

In this space covered by the domain, the rules are briefly rewritten.

The terrifying gales that roared year-round in the Mount Everest region were instantly silenced, as if severed at the root by an invisible, peerless blade, leaving only complete stillness.

The snow, dust, and even the faint energy glimmers floating in the air were eerily suspended in their original positions, maintaining the dynamics of the previous moment, but completely losing the "right" to move.

At this moment, the vast area spanning over 300 kilometers was left with only extreme sharpness, unparalleled solidity, absolute destruction, and eternal desolation.

In the realm of rules, this world is beginning to show its brilliance!
Then, Lin Yi simply raised his right hand slowly and gently clenched it.

The movements were light and effortless, without a trace of worldliness.

However, at this moment.

Within the main territory, in this vast area, all the Abyss Beasts.

From the deepest part of the lair, a terrifying leader with a ferocious appearance like a mountain.

Hundreds of elite-level star core units roam the middle layers of the nest.

Then there are the hundreds of millions of low-level abyssal beasts that flood every crevice in the rocks and every piece of ice.

Whether they are covered in heavy bone armor, capable of manipulating rules, or lurking in the shadows, they all maintain the posture they were in a moment ago.

All the ferocious expressions, all the savage eyes, and all the surging source energy cores were forcibly frozen in time.

Then, annihilation.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, no blinding light from the collision of energy, and no desperate howls of the abyss beast before its death.

They were merely influenced and rejected by the true meaning of "destruction" and "decomposition" contained within the "rules of gold" that are ubiquitous in the field, when they came into contact with the most basic structure that constitutes their existence.

Just like the most skilled painter, who uses an invisible eraser to gently wipe away all the discordant blemishes on the canvas.

Silent and still, without a ripple.

Enormous leader-level abyssal beasts, agile elite units, and countless low-level cannon fodder.
Everything, in the same instant, like ice and snow under the sun, quietly melted away, turning into the most basic particles, dissipating into Lin Yi's domain of rules, leaving no trace, as if they had never existed on that land.

Only the "Spirit Crystals," each shimmering with different colors and patterns, like stars that survived the light of purification, quietly emerged from their original locations. Then, following the most basic rules of gravity, they slowly fell like a silent rain of gems down onto the snow-covered mountains and ravines below.

Hundreds of millions of crystals, in the "purified" world, emitted a soft yet dazzling light, forming an eerie picture that was both extremely magnificent and extremely desolate.

"ho"

A very faint sound, as if the air in Chen Yu's lungs had been completely sucked out, was squeezed out with difficulty from his throat.

He stood frozen in place, as if struck by a top-tier petrification-type rule attack, his blood seemingly freezing in that instant.

His eyes widened, his pupils contracting abruptly from the shock that exceeded the limits of comprehension.

At that moment, Chen Yu even forgot the instinct to breathe.

It wasn't until the battle sword in his hand, which had accompanied him through many battles and drunk countless lives, had fallen completely, its cold blade touching the icy rocks beneath his feet with a faint, almost inaudible "tap," that it awakened his soul like a thunderclap in this absolute silence that swallowed everything.

What am I seeing?

At this moment, Chen Yu felt utterly lost.

He had just suddenly felt a chill covering his body and was wondering how the cold wind of Mount Everest could penetrate his protective energy source.

Then, he didn't even feel any impact from the source energy, nor did he see Lin Yi make any gesture of exerting force.

It was just a casual, loose grasp, as if he were catching a non-existent fly.

then
Then, as far as the eye could see and the soul could sense, lay the main territory, which covered hundreds of kilometers of mountains and was filled with countless terrifying beings—once a forbidden zone for life.
empty?

Is it empty already?

This is not suppression, not killing, but complete annihilation.
Yes, erase!

The biting cold did not come from the extreme cold of Mount Everest, but rather surged uncontrollably from the deepest part of his soul, instantly engulfing Chen Yu's limbs and bones.

He laboriously turned his stiff neck little by little, looking at Lin Yi, who was still suspended in place, his face as calm as a deep pool.

In his eyes, besides extreme shock, there was also a trace of bewilderment after his understanding had been completely overturned.

Chen Yu once thought that the Star Core level was the pinnacle of power.

Although he was absolutely no match for Lin Yi, on the surface, Lin Yi was a Star Core level, and so was Lin Yi.

But in that instant, he understood.

My own star core level might just be a stepping stone outside the gates of the hall.

Lin Yi, meanwhile, was already seated on the divine throne in the hall.

After all, what happened just now was not a difference in strength, but a crushing defeat on a dimensional level. It was the ultimate judgment of a god who governs the rules on a mortal ant.
-
Almost simultaneously, the core monitoring departments of any organization worldwide capable of global energy monitoring were thrown into chaos.

Xia State, General Staff Strategic Monitoring and Command Center.

Zhou Donglai was standing in front of a huge global situation map with several senior staff officers, pointing to several border nodes.

Suddenly, a glaring red warning light appeared on the monitoring screens throughout the hall.

Immediately afterwards, the huge deep red area representing the main nest of Mount Everest and its sphere of influence suddenly turned into a blank space without any red energy response within milliseconds.

"buzz"

An eerie silence fell over the hall, with only the faint background noise of the instruments running.

A young technician jumped up from his seat. "Report! All the Abyssal Beast energy signals in the Mount Everest main nest went to zero at the same instant! The range covers the entire main nest territory, with a radius of nearly three hundred kilometers!"

"That's unlikely, isn't it? Could there be a system malfunction?" a seasoned and prudent general asked in a deep voice.

"It's not a malfunction. All redundant monitoring systems, including the newly deployed 'Sky Eye' quantum scanning array, are showing completely consistent data."

Another technical supervisor reported repeatedly, his forehead already beaded with sweat.

Zhou Donglai's gaze was fixed on the two light dots in the center of that deathly gray area, marked "Lin Yi" and "Chen Yu". He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

It's Lin Yi.

Zhou Donglai hadn't considered at all what Chen Yu might be involved in this.

This incredible thing could only be related to Lin Yi.

"But what exactly did he do?"

After thinking for a while, Zhou Donglai was completely baffled, so he simply stopped thinking about it and said, "Report this immediately, and I will directly inquire with Commander Lin Yi."

Blue Star Community Strategic Defense Department.

The massive red signal source of the Mount Everest main nest, representing the highest level of threat, disappeared instantly on the global threat landscape map, as if wiped away by an invisible giant hand.

Immediately afterwards, communication requests from monitoring stations of various member states flooded into the communications center.

"God, can anyone tell me what happened?!"

"Is there any news from the Xia Kingdom?"

"Immediately activate all backup monitoring methods and confirm the situation!"

Amidst the noise and commotion, the head of the defense department stared intently at the main screen, at the area that had suddenly become eerily "clean," and at the two solitary points of light in the center. He immediately grabbed the secure communicator that connected directly to the Supreme Council, his tone more solemn than ever before.

"The main base of Mount Everest was instantly wiped out. Preliminary assessment suggests it's related to Commander Lin Yi. Request immediate contact with the highest levels of command, and an attempt to directly contact Commander Lin Yi!"

London Tower, England.

Elizabeth was meditating when suddenly her personal terminal received a high-level alert.

She suddenly opened her eyes, a hint of surprise flashing in her icy blue pupils.

When she opened the emergency notice and saw the diagram showing the complete disappearance of all life signals in the main nest of Mount Everest and its surrounding area within the same millisecond, her usually composed face was filled with shock.

"This ability... Principal Lin Yi, have you actually reached this level?"

She immediately turned around and gave the order to the adjutant standing beside her, “Notify Her Majesty the Queen and the Cabinet to convene a highest-level emergency meeting.”

America, a highly classified command center somewhere.

Andrei had just finished a virtual combat exercise and was wiping away sweat while boasting to his teammates about his "heroic performance."

His personal consultant practically burst in and shoved a tablet right into his hands.

"Boss, look at this, Mount Everest! The entire main nest! Gone, in an instant! The surveillance footage shows that only Principal Lin Yi and Chen Yu were on site."

Andrei's smile froze instantly.

He grabbed the tablet, staring at the simple yet groundbreaking briefing and before-and-after comparison images on it. His mouth opened and closed, but he couldn't utter a single syllable for a long time.

He rubbed his eyes hard and looked at it again.

Holy crap!

He finally found his voice, and with an indescribable excitement, he exclaimed, "The principal... he removed that damn place from the map?! What kind of power is that?!"

He immediately started frantically clicking on his multi-functional tactical bracelet, trying to connect to Lin Yi's private communication channel. "No, I have to ask the principal, this is fucking cool!"

In an instant, Lin Yi's private communication line, which was directly managed by Xuanji and known only to a very few core figures, was flooded with calls from the pinnacle of power and top experts around the world.

Above Mount Everest, in the absolute silence of the surrounding area, Lin Yi frowned slightly.

He sensed a connection request coming from his personal communication port.

He randomly clicked on a few of the most familiar ones.

"Comrade Lin Yi, this is Li Zhenguo, from the other side of Mount Everest."

"Principal, it's been detected."

"Commander Lin Yi, the Strategic Defense Department of the Community sends its greetings. Regarding..."

He replied succinctly, with almost identical content: "It's me. A new understanding gained through experimentation. We'll discuss the rest later."

He then directly gave Xuanji the order: "Xuanji, notify everyone who tries to contact me that this matter is classified as top secret and should not be leaked for the time being. A high-level meeting will be held at the Community headquarters tomorrow at noon. For those who have not been directly authorized, you should reply: It's nothing, do not disturb."

"The instruction has been confirmed and executed."

Xuanji's response rang out immediately.

After dealing with this brief disturbance, Lin Yi looked at Chen Yu, who was still immersed in the apocalyptic scene, and said, "Chen Yu."

The sound wasn't loud, but it was like a morning bell, instantly waking Chen Yu.

Chen Yu jolted awake, almost instinctively straightening his back, and loudly replied, "Here! Brother Yi!"

"This place is now cleansed. Return immediately, organize your forces, and prepare to neutralize the source energy of the main nest vortex."

Lin Yi's tone was calm and composed, as if his action of wiping out all living things within a radius of hundreds of kilometers was merely a casual brushing away of a few specks of dust on a chessboard.

"Yes, I promise to complete the mission!"

Chen Yu roared out his response with all his might.

He took one last deep look at the vast area below, now only pure ice and snow, bare rocks, and shimmering, multicolored spiritual crystals, before forcibly calming his mind and speeding towards the Third Legion's command post with a streak of silver light.

With Lin Yi's instructions and Xuanji's coordination, the intense shock at the global leadership was temporarily suppressed, but countless speculations and even a hint of fear were surging beneath the surface.

Everyone was silently wondering: Lin Yi, what level of power has he reached now?

The ability to silently and instantly wipe out all life in a massive main hive was beyond their imagination of what "powerful" truly meant.
-
Just as the interior of Blue Star was in a state of great shock due to Lin Yi's actions, in outer space, on the Emerald Whisper Starship...

At the heart of the starship, in a cabin that feels like an ancient forest temple, soft light of life flows naturally.

Irelia sat quietly beneath an ancient tree made of pure energy.

She was dressed in the attire of the Spirit Clan, which seemed to be woven from moonlight and vines, and her body emanated a gentle ripple that resonated with the rules of life.

Instead of using the Pan-Spirit Alliance virtual network, she communicated secretly with her grandmother, who lived in a distant tribe territory, through a method unique to the Spirit Race.

Suddenly, a "leaf" of the ancient energy tree in front of her trembled slightly, emitting faint ripples.

The little star sprite flapped its wings and flew out, its voice filled with surprise.

"Master, the divine mount has just transmitted detection data."

"What's wrong? Has Lin Yi's understanding of the rules improved again?" Irelia asked with a smile.

Since detecting that Lin Yi's understanding of the rules had reached an astonishing 85% many years ago, we have been paying close attention to him every day.

She had no doubt that, given Lin Yi's demonstrated potential, it was only a matter of time before he broke through to the Star Domain level of rule comprehension and mastered the true domain.

But
How long is "sooner or later"?

Irelia herself was a powerful expert at the peak of the Star Swirl level, and she knew better than anyone how difficult it was to cross the threshold from the Star Swirl level to the Star Domain level!

That is not just the accumulation of energy, but a qualitative change in our understanding of the essence of the universe.

She had been stuck at the Star Swirl level for a long time, unable to take that crucial step, and truly experienced the difficulty involved.

Therefore, although she has confidence in Lin Yi, she also believes that this process will take at least a century, or even longer.

However, Xingyu said playfully, "Master, you guessed right, but the actual situation might be a little different from what you imagine."

"Ok?"

Irelia looked up at Xingyu.

"Tell me."

"Target individual, Lin Yi, cast a force field resembling a complete rule domain above the main nest of Mount Everest 3 minutes ago, according to Blue Star standard time. Force field attribute: Metal. Range of action: 278.5 kilometers in radius. Force field effect: All detected abyssal beast life forms within the range instantly disintegrated and annihilated, consistent with the characteristics of a rule domain."

"A domain? A complete domain of metal-based rules?"

Irelia murmured to herself, her voice slightly hoarse without her even realizing it, "He really did it? From scratch in less than forty-four years...comprehension of star-domain-level rules."

Even with her extensive experience and numerous trials and tribulations, she was still shaken by this fact.

After all, you only know how difficult something is once you've experienced it firsthand.

When something you find difficult is accomplished easily by someone else, your feelings become particularly complex.

However, having experienced so many changes, Irelia quickly adjusted her mindset.

She let out a soft breath, leaned against the solid trunk of the ancient tree, and a relieved smile appeared on her lips.

"The higher Lin Yi's talent, the better for me. With his Star Domain-level comprehension of rules, plus the high coefficients he's already achieved, he should be able to reach level 7 before the settlement even begins."

She said something in a low voice, then regained her usual calm and elegance, and looked at Xingyu again, "Xingyu, retrieve Lin Yi's latest individual evaluation score for the civilization promotion assessment."

(End of this chapter)