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

Chapter 257 Debt, Senior Brother's Handiwork (5.2K)

The words of Zhenyu, “Three days later, we will move the star system,” still echoed in the cultivation room, but his figure had already disappeared silently, like ink merging into water, without leaving any spatial fluctuations, as if he had never appeared at all.

Lin Yi was left alone, his heart surging with emotion.

Just then, the void beside her rippled slightly, and Xuanji's figure quietly appeared.

She bowed slightly and reported, "Master, General Ruger, the supreme commander of the border legion, along with three deputy commanders and the fortress intelligence chief, has arrived outside the base and requests a visit. The reason given is that the fortress has detected abnormal energy fluctuations within the base."

"Right now?" Lin Yi raised an eyebrow, then understood.

Yes, this is the heavily guarded border legion headquarters fortress, equipped with the most advanced monitoring matrix.

If the eldest brother Zhenyu did not deliberately hide it, the energy disturbances when he arrived and left were like a lighthouse in the dark, making it almost impossible to completely hide from the fortress's monitoring system.

The sudden appearance of an eternal deity inside the fortress, even for a fleeting moment, was enough to cause an uproar among the fortress's leadership. They were bound to find out the reason; it was their duty.

"Please have them come to the reception room at the residence. I'll be there shortly," Lin Yi instructed, while quickly straightening his robes and calming his emotions, which had been stirred by his senior brother's arrival.

The atmosphere in the private reception room of the Dongfeng Mercenary Group's headquarters was somewhat somber.

General Luger was dressed in a crisp Astronautical Army uniform, and the high-ranking officers behind him also looked solemn.

When Lin Yi entered the reception room, everyone's eyes were instantly focused on him.

"Commander Lin Yi, I apologize for disturbing you," General Luger spoke first.

"Just now, the fortress monitoring system detected an extremely high-level energy source. It first appeared on the outskirts of the fortress and was identified as His Majesty, the Eternal God of our human race, through friend-or-foe identification. Then, the energy source disappeared instantly and appeared almost simultaneously within the territory of your mercenary group, before disappearing again."

He paused, looked at Lin Yi, and after a moment's consideration, asked, "This matter concerns the security of the fortress and the movements of the gods. It is my duty to inquire. I wonder if Commander Lin Yi is aware of this matter? The sudden arrival of that deity was..."

Lin Yi understood what they wanted to ask, but he didn't dare to ask directly.

He nodded and said frankly, "General Luger, everyone, there's no need to be nervous. My senior brother came to discuss some private matters of our sect with me. The matter is over, and he has already left."

"Senior brother?"

Despite being mentally prepared and guessing that Lin Yi might have some connection with that deity, General Luger and the people behind him still couldn't help but look at each other in astonishment when they heard Lin Yi casually utter the title "Senior Brother."

Brother
The eternal god who suddenly appeared and then quickly disappeared was actually Lin Yi's senior brother!
After the initial shock came a sense of relief, like "I see."

They had long suspected that Lin Yi had a powerful background; otherwise, it would be difficult to explain his terrifying talent, combat strength far exceeding that of his peers, and the expensive warships of the Dongfeng Mercenary Group.

However, no one expected that this background would be so powerful.

General Luger's facial muscles twitched slightly, and he finally sighed, "I never imagined that Commander Lin Yi's sect was so unfathomable. We have been presumptuous, please forgive us."

Now that they knew it was just normal interaction between fellow disciples, and not related to the security of the fortress or any other major event, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Of course, no one would be foolish enough to ask why an eternal deity had come to find their junior brother; that was beyond their purview.

After exchanging a few more polite words to express his respect for His Majesty the God, General Luger and his group of high-ranking officials with their own differing thoughts took their leave.

The reception room returned to silence.

Lin Yi sat alone, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.

He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not reveal to General Luger that his senior brother would return in three days.

Ever since his Ninth Senior Brother Cangming reminded him to keep his whereabouts secret to avoid being targeted by malicious people, Lin Yi has been extra vigilant in this regard.

In his mind, even a prodigy like himself at the Star Core level needed to conceal his movements to avoid being deliberately targeted. Now, on the border, the clear movements of an Eternal God over the next three days—if this news were leaked, the chain reaction and potential risks it might trigger would be immeasurable.

Keeping them in the dark is actually a way to protect the fortress's leadership.

"As for Blue Star and the Xina family," Lin Yi's eyes flashed, "informing them in advance will certainly allow them to prepare and reduce panic, but it also increases the risk of information leakage."

"To be on the safe side, some loss of supplies and temporary panic are an acceptable price to pay."

He made up his mind and instructed Xuanji: "Xuanji, formulate an emergency plan. The plan must cover all aspects after the relocation is completed, including social stability, resource allocation, information dissemination, and external explanation. Once the relocation is completed and environmental safety is confirmed, immediately activate the plan and issue it to all levels of management units of the Silver Blue Civilization and the Xina family."

"Yes, Master." Xuanji's figure trembled slightly as she quickly got to work.
-
Meanwhile, countless light-years away, in a desolate void far removed from the bustling star regions of the main universe.

The spatial structure here is unusually stable, even carrying a strange sense of stagnation.

The stars in the background are sparse and dim, as if they are afraid of something.

In the center of the void, instead of the stars or nebulae found in ordinary star systems, there was an enormous, dark vortex.

At the edge of the vortex, runic chains emanating terrifying energy flashed by from time to time, exuding a chilling aura that made even the soul tremble.

This is the entrance to the "Prison of Sin," a top-secret place where the human race imprisons serious criminals at the Transcendent Realm and above.

The Prison of Sin is not located in the main universe, but in a strictly controlled, separate secret realm.

Ignoring the oppressive atmosphere of the place, a figure in black stepped out of the void as if taking a leisurely stroll. It was Zhenyu, who had just left the K-77 star system.

He didn't look at the dark vortex, but flew straight towards a lonely palace floating directly above it.

The main hall is constructed entirely of a dark, obsidian-like material, with an ancient and solemn style. There are no ornate decorations, only the mottled marks left by time and countless powerful restrictions, like a sleeping behemoth guarding the endless abyss below.

At the entrance to the main hall, there were no ordinary guards, only two enormous stone statues, clad in heavy armor and wielding massive halberds. As Zhenyu approached, a scarlet light suddenly shone from the empty eye sockets of the statues, instantly sweeping across Zhenyu's entire body.

"Identity confirmed, Your Majesty the Prison Guardian."

A cold voice rang out, the red light in the stone statue's eyes went out, and it returned to deathly silence.

Zhenyu nodded slightly and stepped into the main hall.

The interior of the hall was much more spacious than it appeared from the outside. It was dimly lit, with only a few floating, pale blue lamps providing illumination, which illuminated a blurry figure sitting cross-legged in the center.

The figure was shrouded in a chaotic mist, making its specific shape indistinct. However, its very existence seemed to be an extension of the entire "Prison of Sin" secret realm, more ancient, more profound, and more unfathomable than the aura emanating from the Prison of Sin.

Zhenyu stopped ten feet in front of the figure and bowed respectfully: "Lord of the Prison Abyss".

The mist rippled slightly, and a pair of eyes, seemingly able to see through all the illusions of the world and containing the vicissitudes of countless years, slowly opened and looked at Zhenyu.

A voice, tinged with helplessness and weariness, rang out, echoing deep within the soul of Zhenyu:
"You left in a hurry, and then returned in a hurry, and then came to talk to me about this. How many more generations of clan merit do you want to claim in advance this time?"

A rare hint of embarrassment appeared on Zhenyu's face, which was usually calm and composed when facing his junior brothers and sisters or even external enemies.

He coughed lightly: "Your Majesty is wise, and indeed some funds need to be advanced this time."

"Some?"

Lord Prisoner's voice rose slightly, clearly tinged with annoyance.

“Zhenyu, you do the math yourself. How many years of clan merit have you already earned in advance since you took your turn guarding the prison?”

"Last time you said you wanted to avenge your fallen junior brother and needed to borrow some clan merit points in advance to prepare, and I approved it. And what happened? The clan merit points were spent, the revenge was taken, but you came back with a body full of Dao injuries, needing tens of thousands of epochs to recover! If it weren't for the fact that your spatial laws are truly unparalleled, I would have..."

Zhenyu touched his nose, his embarrassment deepening, but he didn't refute it.

Lord Prisoner Abyss seemed to sigh, his mist churning: "Let bygones be bygones. I'll just ask you, with your mastery of spatial laws, if you were willing to 'condescend' even slightly and lend your divine kingdom's passage to the human merchant guild, even just granting them the minimum freight access, the toll fees would be enough to make you incredibly wealthy. Why do you always have to come here to advance that pitiful amount of clan merit?"

"Do you know that all the other guys who take turns guarding the prison count down the days, eager to leave as soon as their time is up to earn resources and improve themselves? But you, on the other hand, are like you're rooted here, constantly taking on extra debts. Are you planning to stay in this prison forever?"

Faced with his old boss's barrage of questions and teasing, Zhenyu's embarrassment melted away.

He revealed a listless smile that was completely out of character for his strength and status: "Hehe. Your Majesty, you know that the Divine Kingdom is such a private place. Just thinking about letting unrelated people come and go and carry this and that makes me feel awkward and uncomfortable. Guarding the Prison of Sin is much more peaceful, with no troublesome matters to worry about."

"Peace and quiet? You've got peace and quiet! You've almost drained my clan merit quota!"

Lord Prisoner Abyss seemed amused by his lazy appearance, and the mist churned violently. "Speak, what's the matter this time? Don't tell me it's another junior brother or sister who has perished and you're going to seek revenge?"

"No, that's not it." Zhenyu quickly waved his hand, his expression becoming slightly more serious. "This time it's for my newly joined junior brother. He has excellent talent and temperament. In just over ten years, he has not only crossed the threshold of the second level of the Domain, but also gained more than ten understandings of spatial rules. I promised him that if he succeeds, I will personally move his home star system to a safe and prosperous place. I plan to take him with me to gain some understanding during the relocation. This time, I want to give him a treasure for gaining understanding of spatial rules."

Upon hearing this, Lord Prisoner of the Abyss remained silent for a moment, a hint of surprise flashing in his misty eyes: "More than ten years? A second-level domain plus the entry-level spatial rules? Your junior brother is quite interesting."

".That's all."

Lord Prisoner seemed to shake his head helplessly. "The clan merit can be advanced to you. However, Prisoner, you should also think about yourself. The Realm of Source Law cannot be reached by simply guarding one place. Your accumulation is already deep enough; what you lack may be an opportunity."

Upon hearing this, Zhenyu paused for a moment, then said earnestly, "Thank you for your concern, Lord. I will consider it carefully once this matter is resolved."

"I hope you will do what you say."

Lord Prisoner of the Abyss snorted, and a token shrouded in chaotic energy flew out from the mist, hovering in front of Prisoner of the Abyss. "Take it! This is the quota you wanted. Hurry up and take care of your junior brother's matter, and then think carefully about what I said!"

"Yes, thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zhenyu accepted the token, bowed again, and slowly retreated until he disappeared into the dimly lit entrance of the hall.

Looking in the direction he disappeared, the mist around Lord Prisoner Abyss rippled slightly, letting out a barely audible sigh.

The words of the Lord of the Prison Abyss, filled with helplessness and concern, still echoed faintly in the empty hall when Zhenyu, holding the Chaos Token that symbolized the advance allocation of clan merit, left the hall.

Without any delay, he immediately used the Pan-Spirit Alliance virtual network, directly employing his own authority and the clan merits he had just acquired, to submit an exchange application to the highest treasure trove of the human race.

Zhenyu has only one goal: the "Void Brake" that Xuchen once redeemed for him.

The list contains only one item, and if its name were to leak out, it would be enough to drive countless Star Domain-level and even World Evolution-level powerhouses who have comprehended the rules of space into a frenzy—

The Void Brake is a unique object that allows for the perception of rules and principles.

Once activated, it will construct a "momentary space" within the user's soul with a time flow rate nearly a hundred times that of the outside world, and infuse it with highly pure fragments of spatial rules, which can greatly enhance the user's resonance with the spatial rules.

Such treasures cannot be measured by ordinary star crystals; only those who have made contributions to their clan—clan merits—are qualified to exchange for them.

The application to establish a prison was approved in no time.

However, for others, even if their application is approved, they would still need to find a way to retrieve the goods from the human treasury or pay a huge expedited fee to request a powerful individual with spatial abilities to perform inter-star domain teleportation.

However, for the Prison Guardian who governs the laws of space, distance has never been a problem.

He merely raised his eyes, his gaze seemingly piercing through the endless void. The next moment, the space in front of him seemed to be gently folded by an invisible hand. With one step, his figure vanished from the void outside the entrance to the Prison of Sin.

Somewhere in the territory of the human race.

A desolate interstellar dust belt, where countless cold fragments of rock and ice crystals float silently, as has been since time immemorial.

Suddenly, a seemingly ordinary void rippled slightly, and Zhenyu's figure quietly appeared, as if he had always been there.

Almost at the same time he appeared, a faint silver light appeared on the surface of an inconspicuous asteroid fragment in front of him.

Soon, the silver light dissipated, and a silver-gray teardrop-shaped object was quietly suspended there.

It showed no signs of energy leakage, appearing to be just an ordinary cosmic rock, but within it lay secrets that could drive cultivators of spatial rules mad.

Zhenyu reached out and grasped, and the silvery-gray droplet floated lightly into his palm.

He didn't even glance at it before putting it away.

The entire handover process was conducted silently.

The three-day deadline passed in the blink of an eye.

In the K-77 star system, outside the Border Legion headquarters fortress, lies that familiar expanse of starry sky.

Just like the scene from three days ago, Zhenyu's figure reappeared out of thin air.

Inside the fortress command center, the alert was almost identical to that of three days prior.

"Warning! Ultra-high energy aggregate reappears! Coordinates are the same as last time."

"Energy Level Determination: Eternal God Level!"

General Ruger and his high-ranking officers were startled from their posts and turned their complicated gazes to the monitoring screen.

"Please remain silent and do not disturb unless necessary."

General Ruger took a deep breath and gave the order.

All they could do was wait.

In the cultivation room, Lin Yi, who was closing his eyes to regulate his breathing and adjust his state to its peak, suddenly opened his eyes.

The space rippled like water, and Zhenyu's figure stood before him.

"Senior Brother." Lin Yi immediately stood up and bowed.

Zhenyu nodded slightly, without exchanging any pleasantries, and said directly, "Let's go."

Before he finished speaking, Lin Yi felt the rules of space around him change instantly. A strange sense of weightlessness and teleportation came over him. The scene in front of him was like a kaleidoscope, spinning and stretching wildly, and then returning to stability in an instant.

When he regained his senses, he found himself under a familiar starry sky.

Before me lies a beautiful, azure planet, and in the distance, a star radiating a warm glow burns quietly.

The familiar moon, as a loyal guardian, orbits around my side.

This is the solar system!
It is his home planet, the outer space where Blue Star is located.

In a single step, one can traverse countless light-years, arriving directly from the border fortress to their home galaxy!

What incredible spatial power this is!

Lin Yi was deeply shocked.

Just then, Zhenyu casually tossed a silver-gray streak of light towards Lin Yi.

"then."

Lin Yi subconsciously reached out and caught it. It was slightly cool to the touch, and it was the silvery-gray water droplet, "Kongsha".

"This object is called 'Kūsha'."

The voice of the prison rang out calmly, as if introducing an ordinary item, "After activation, it can construct a temporary space in your soul. In ten minutes outside, you can feel a concentration and comprehension a hundred times greater inside, which is used to improve the rules of the space."

"When I move the galaxy later, the fluctuations in the spatial rules will be the most intense and intuitive, which will be the perfect opportunity for you to gain insight."

"The migration process takes about six minutes. In these ten minutes, you have enough time to carefully experience and understand it. How much you can gain depends on your own destiny."

Holding the seemingly simple water droplet in his hand, which contained a temporal and spatial power enough to drive the outside world crazy, Lin Yi's heart began to pound uncontrollably as he listened to his senior brother's nonchalant words.

A treasure that greatly enhances one's understanding of spatial rules for a short period of time. The effect lasts for a full ten minutes!
This is more than enough to cover the entire migration process.

He had previously been astonished by the expensive spatial treasures of the Human Race Merchant Guild, whose effects had short durations.

It should be noted that even a treasure that can only enhance his understanding of spatial rules for one minute is extremely expensive for him, and the key point is that it is out of stock.

Unexpectedly, the eldest brother, who had not made a move before, used such an unprecedented and rare treasure, which lasted for a full ten minutes!

Is this the work of an eternal deity?
That's far too arrogant.

(End of this chapter)