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

Chapter 255 A Woman in Palace Attire, The Beginning of Revenge (5.1K)

Meanwhile, outside the tower.

When Lin Yi's progress finally stopped steadily at the 20th floor and the status changed to "passed", it immediately caused a commotion.

"20th floor, just as I expected."

"A dual-rule domain! He actually mastered it in such a short time?"

"How did this guy do that?"

The news spread like wildfire through the lower levels of the training camp.

Inside the tower, Lin Yi stood holding a spear, his domain armor and thunder spear slowly dissipating.

He felt the still abundant power within him, and a hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

"The power of the dual domains is indeed extraordinary. Close combat and rule compression. This path is indeed worthy of being proven by the practice of generations of geniuses."

Lin Yi had no intention of continuing to the 21st floor. His figure slowly faded away, and he left the Endless Tower space directly.

As Lin Yi's figure slowly emerged from the teleportation beam of the Endless Tower, Kenx, Amber, Xingying, and the others who were waiting outside immediately surrounded him.

"Captain, awesome!" Kenx was the first to rush up, excitedly wanting to pat Lin Yi on the shoulder, but when he met Lin Yi's calm and unwavering gaze, he awkwardly withdrew his hand, though the excitement on his face did not diminish at all.

Even Xingying, who is usually aloof and rarely shows emotion, nodded slightly. "Congratulations, leader. Your growth rate is rare even in my database."

Lin Yi looked at his comrades-in-arms and a faint smile appeared on his face.

“Let’s go,” Kenx suggested excitedly. “Our leader has broken through to level 20, we have to celebrate! I know a Starfire Tavern that’s really unique.”

The proposal was immediately met with a positive response from everyone.

Lin Yi didn't like noise, but seeing his companions' eager eyes, he readily agreed and nodded: "Okay, let's go relax then."

Inside the Starflame Tavern, the lighting was soft, and a melodious interstellar tune played in the background.

Kenx booked a relatively quiet booth, where the table was filled with tempting energy drinks and exotic fruit delicacies.

Amber held a glass of beverage that resembled a flowing nebula, sipping it slowly, her face flushed with satisfaction.

Kenx picked up a large glass and gulped it down, exhaling a breath that seemed to carry the scent of sparks, and exclaimed how satisfying it was.

Xingying sat quietly to the side, a glass of pure energy liquid in front of her. Occasionally, she would gently tap the rim of the glass with her finger, sending out ripples of light.

The atmosphere was warm and harmonious.

"Captain."

After a few rounds of drinks, Kenx couldn't contain his curiosity and asked, "You've mastered the Second Domain so quickly. What are your plans for the next rule?"

Upon hearing this, the others also cast curious glances at him.

Lin Yi put down the glass of clear wine in his hand, which seemed to contain a miniature galaxy, and said frankly without hiding anything, "The next rule I plan to study is the rule of space."

"Spatial rules?!"

Xingying tilted her head slightly, seemingly retrieving relevant information, before calmly analyzing, "With the talent you've displayed, completing the fusion of advanced and foundational rules in such a short time certainly qualifies you to attempt to challenge higher-level rules. Once you master the spatial rules, it will qualitatively improve your personal combat strength, survivability, and the breadth of your future development. Risk and reward go hand in hand; this choice aligns with optimal logic."

The others also expressed their agreement.

They were extremely impressed by Lin Yi's ability to reach the second level of rules in such a short time.

Taking advantage of the pleasant atmosphere, Lin Yi remembered something and looked at Xingying.

As a member of the Machine Race, Xingying is essentially a highly evolved, intelligent life form with a physical body, and is an absolute authority in this regard.

"Xingying, there's something I'd like to ask you," Lin Yi said. "I plan to upgrade my intelligent life assistant 'Xuanji.' The current plan is to upgrade it to the standard Star Domain level, but I hope to lay a solid foundation so that it can be upgraded to the peak of the Star Domain level later. Most importantly, I need to preserve the potential to advance further and reach a higher level in the future."

He paused, then added, "I previously inquired about the relevant upgrade materials and core units at the Human Race Chamber of Commerce. The solutions they provided were standard and conventional. However, the Chamber of Commerce's director subtly mentioned that the top-tier materials and structural technologies that truly empower intelligent life are mostly controlled by the Machine Race and are subject to limited sales. Without special channels, even with Star Crystals, it's difficult to purchase them."

Lin Yi's tone carried a hint of helplessness: "Judging from that, if we want to go through the Mechanical Race's channels, it's probably not as simple as just 'paying more money,' we also need connections that are recognized. So I wanted to ask you, do you have any connections in that regard? If it's really troublesome, I'll try to order through the Human Race Merchant Guild at a higher price."

Xingying listened quietly, the light in her eyes flashing slightly as she processed the information.

After Lin Yi finished speaking, she nodded gently: "I understand. The director of the Chamber of Commerce is right. For intelligent life at a certain level, simply piling up computing power is only inferior. True evolution lies in the transformation of the logical core, the optimization of the information processing architecture, and the embedding of the rule parsing module."

After a moment's thought, a thin beam of light shot from her fingertip, projecting a three-dimensional structure composed of countless points of light and lines into the air in front of Lin Yi. Next to it was a long list of materials and technical parameters that emitted a faint glow.

"This is a preliminary upgrade plan I have drafted based on your needs."

Xingying explained, "The core of this solution lies in this 'Void Calculation Crystal'."

She pointed to a multifaceted crystal in the center of the structure diagram, which seemed to contain a constantly emerging and dying nebula. "It comes from a specific dimensional crevice in the 'Logic Abyss' of our machine race. It can greatly enhance the ability of intelligent life to analyze and simulate complex rules and even laws, and is the key to laying the foundation for future advancement potential."

She then pointed to several other virtual projections emitting strange fluctuations: "There's also this 'Undying Information Source Pattern,' used to enhance the stability and anti-interference capabilities of the logic core; and the 'Quantum Entanglement Sensing Unit,' which improves its multi-threaded processing and long-range information capture capabilities. These core materials and technologies are licensed in limited quantities to other races."

Xingying looked at Lin Yi: "If you decide to adopt this plan, I can use my personal channels to contact suppliers within the clan to purchase these core materials on your behalf. Because their size and energy fluctuations are well controlled, they can be sent to you through the merchant guild transit station set up by the human race in the mechanical race's territory with the highest level of security. It is not expected to take too long."

"As for the other auxiliary materials, energy substrates and standard interface units on the list, they can be purchased from the Human Race Merchant Guild. The quality is not much different, so there is no need to spend extra money."

Lin Yi carefully examined the plan and list provided by Xingying, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes.

This plan far surpassed the standard templates he had seen at the Human Merchant Guild. Its ingenious design and profound exploration of potential left him in awe.

"Xingying, thank you so much!" Lin Yi said sincerely. "This plan is perfect, let's go with it. Just tell me how much it costs and I'll transfer it to you right away."

Xingying shook her head slightly: "I will pay the expenses in advance, and the specific amount will be settled after the procurement is completed."

Lin Yi didn't stand on ceremony. He knew that Xingying was the direct heir of a world-class family and had access to a vast amount of resources.

Having resolved the crucial matter of Xuanji's upgrade, Lin Yi felt even more relieved.

After the celebration, Xingying suggested that Lin Yi's strength had just increased dramatically and he needed to adapt as soon as possible. She recommended that the team practice together to get used to the new combat rhythm.

Lin Yi readily agreed.

Meanwhile, the news that Lin Yi had passed the 20th floor of the Endless Tower began to truly attract the attention of the veteran forces and seasoned geniuses in the Star Core-level training camp.

Being able to step into the 20th floor means that one has firmly reached the realm of the second level.

For many geniuses who have been stuck on the 19th floor for years, this is an insurmountable barrier.

Lin Yi, on the other hand, only took a little over a decade to overcome that hurdle.

All factions were well aware that, given Lin Yi's demonstrated strength and the speed at which he completed his missions, he could advance to the "third tier" of the training camp's genius sequence without having to wait for the next Pan-Spirit Alliance Genius Battle.

Perhaps in the next one or two hundred years, he will accumulate enough points to automatically advance in rank.

Therefore, in subsequent mission encounters, resource point competitions, and even some informal exchanges, many people have subconsciously regarded Lin Yi as a "third-tier" genius.

Time flies, and two years have passed in the blink of an eye amidst intense training and missions.

On this day, Lin Yi received the materials from the Human Race Merchant Guild to upgrade Xuanji, along with the core materials from the Mechanical Race. Suppressing his anticipation, Lin Yi immediately entered the deepest secret chamber of the cultivation room.

With a wave of his hand, he opened two packages, one large and one small.

The package from the Human Merchant Guild contained various high-purity energy crystals, exotic metals, and liquid information streams encapsulated in a specially designed force field.

Inside the small, exquisite metal box from the mechanical race, its surface covered with countless flowing runes, lay several items.

The contents include a "void calculation crystal" that appears to have nebulae rotating inside, an "undying information source pattern" that wriggles slightly like a living thing, a "source state perception unit" that constantly switches between the virtual and the real, and several other core components.

All materials are ready.

"Xuanji."

Lin Yi summoned Xuanji, looking at his assistant who had been with him for many years, and asked solemnly, "Are you ready to welcome a new life?"

Xuanji's light and shadow rippled slightly. "Principal, Xuanji is ready. Supreme command: Evolve."

"it is good!"

Without further hesitation, Lin Yi gestured with both hands and began to guide the precious materials according to the framework and process recorded in the Xingying Plan.

He first smelted and purified the basic materials purchased by the Human Race Merchant Guild, turning them into the purest energy flow and material foundation, and began to slowly reshape the core support base of Xuanji.

After the reshaping reached a certain level, Lin Yi's gaze sharpened, and he carefully activated the "Void Calculation Crystal".

The crystals floated up and slowly approached the base.

The moment the two came into contact, the entire secret chamber seemed to tremble slightly. Countless tiny runes flowed out from the crystal, like rivers flowing into the sea, merging into the core logic of Xuanji.

Xuanji's figure suddenly lit up, and countless star trails seemed to flash past in her eyes, indicating that her calculation and analysis abilities were undergoing a qualitative leap.

Next is the "Indestructible Information Source Pattern".

The lifelike source pattern unfurled, transforming into countless extremely fine golden threads that wrapped around Xuanji's intelligent core, as if clad in an immortal armor, exponentially enhancing its core stability and resistance to erosion.

The "quantum entanglement sensing unit" transforms into a point of ethereal light, directly imprinting itself on the deepest part of the Xuanji sensing module, instantly expanding its information reception and processing dimensions.

Lin Yi skillfully integrated top-tier materials from the Mechanical Race in a specific order and with precise techniques.

The entire upgrade process lasted for three days and three nights.

Inside the secret room, light flowed and shimmered, sometimes like a reversed Milky Way, and sometimes like all things returning to stillness.

As the last glimmer of light from the material completely merged in, all the strange phenomena suddenly subsided.

The meditation room returned to calm.

Before Lin Yi, the light and shadow of Xuanji had disappeared.

Instead, there is a lifelike, intelligent phantom that seems to have descended to earth.

She wore an elegant yet magnificent palace dress, the hem of which was embroidered with faint star and cloud patterns, shimmering with light. Her face was exquisitely beautiful, with delicate features, possessing both the absolute rationality and precision of an intelligent life form, and also incorporating a special spirituality and wisdom.

The woman in palace attire slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes were as clear as the purest crystal, yet they seemed to contain an infinite flow of data and a pattern of rules.

She lowered her head slightly, looked at Lin Yi, a newfound joy on her lips, and her voice was ethereal and melodious.

"Xuanji greets her master."

Lin Yi was stunned when he saw Xuanji, whose temperament had changed drastically and who looked like a fairy who had stepped out of an ancient painting.

In his memory, Xuanji had always been a simple and efficient auxiliary form. The sudden transformation into such a culturally distinctive image left him momentarily stunned.

"Xuanji, you..."

Lin Yi pointed to her palace dress, his tone slightly surprised, "Why the change in appearance? I remember the upgrade plan didn't include an appearance customization module."

Upon hearing this, Xuanji gently raised her arm, and the wide sleeve slipped down, revealing half of her jade-like wrist.

She glanced down at her outfit, then looked up and answered in a tone that was both matter-of-fact and slightly smug:
"Reporting to Master, the image module has an adaptive aesthetic optimization function. After deep integration of the core logic and the information database, I have searched and analyzed the entire historical culture and aesthetic database of the Silver Blue Civilization to which Master belongs, especially the Xia Kingdom. After trillions of simulations and deductions, it was finally determined that our Xia Kingdom's traditional palace attire has reached the optimal solution in terms of form, connotation and cultural identity."

She paused, tilted her head, and looked at Lin Yi with her bright eyes, adding, "Besides, I think it looks good. Don't you think so, Master?"

Lin Yi was taken aback by what she said, then chuckled and shook his head.

He forgot that advanced intelligent life forms would have significantly enhanced emotional simulation and autonomous aesthetic abilities.

He really couldn't refute Xuanji's reasoning.

It must be said that this palace dress really complements her current elegant and refined temperament, and is much more pleasing to the eye than her previous cold and impersonal data-driven image.

"It looks good, it really does." Lin Yi nodded with a smile, acknowledging her choice. Then, his expression turned serious, and he asked the crucial question: "Alright, let's get down to business. To what extent has your core ability improved with this upgrade? What specific new functions have been added?"

When it came to serious matters, Xuanji immediately suppressed her playfulness and reverted to a serious and professional demeanor.

She nodded slightly, her voice ringing out clearly in the secret room:

"Yes, Master. Based on preliminary self-testing and performance evaluation, Xuanji has now stabilized at the standard star-domain level of intelligent life, with a solid foundation and the potential to further improve to the peak of the star-domain level. The main new and enhanced capabilities are as follows:"

"First, core computing power and information processing capabilities. Thanks to the 'Void Calculation Crystal' and the brand-new architecture, the computing speed of my logic core has increased to 120,000 times that of before. It can monitor and analyze more than 95% of the public and shallowly encrypted information flow of a standard star field civilization in real time, and perform deep data mining and trend prediction."

"Second, multi-dimensional perception and early warning capabilities. After integrating the 'quantum entanglement perception unit,' my perception range breaks through the limitations of traditional energy waves and physical signals, and can capture more subtle rule ripples, dimensional fluctuations, and the transmission of hidden information based on the source energy particle level. It has a stronger early warning and countermeasure capability against potential spying, tracking, spatial traps, and rule interference."

"Third, information collaboration and defense capabilities. The 'Undying Information Source Pattern' has strengthened the stability of my intelligent core. Now, my immunity to various types of information blockades, logic bombs, and other virtual attacks, as well as my ability to launch virtual information attacks, has increased by several orders of magnitude."

"Fourth, comprehensive management and strategic simulation capabilities. Based on the improvement of computing power and rules, I can build more complex civilization development models and conduct large-scale simulations of various development paths, potential internal and external risks, and optimal resource allocation solutions after the Silver Blue Civilization receives 100,000 life-bearing planets, providing the master with more forward-looking strategic decision-making references."

Xuanji reported clearly, one by one, and each ability made Lin Yi's eyes light up with even greater joy.

This is far more powerful than he expected.

Especially that information defense capability reminded Lin Yi of his past life.

He was blocked from accessing the Pan-Spirit Alliance's virtual network, unable to even send out a distress signal, and was subsequently eliminated by the Ziles family.

Otherwise, even if the Ziles were a star-domain level family, they wouldn't dare to act so recklessly.

It should be understood that although there are many dark aspects to the human realm, many things, if brought to the forefront, will still be dealt with seriously.

"Very good." Lin Yi praised with satisfaction, "A star-domain level intelligent life form, indeed living up to its reputation."

"Being able to share the burdens of my master is the core meaning of Xuanji's existence." Xuanji bowed slightly, her palace skirt swaying, her posture elegant.

Lin Yi nodded slightly and issued the first order.

"Xuanji, use my Pan-Spirit Alliance virtual network access to search for information on the use of the 'Void Shadow Shuttle,' as well as the duration of its effect on different strengths and races, with a focus on the human race."

"In addition, continue to collect relevant information about the Ziles family. Note that you should do this discreetly. It's better to collect less information than to let them find out."

(End of this chapter)