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

Chapter 273 Supplementary Agreement, Dominating Level 2 (5.2K)

The screen unfolds, clearly displaying at the top: [Current Military Merit Balance: 20430000].

The first part is the 2000 million obtained from killing Talorank, and the second part is the small surplus accumulated before.

Even Lin Yi's composure was slightly disturbed by the sight of this long string of numbers.

This represents a massive amount of resources, enough to drive any star core-level or even star vortex-level powerhouse crazy.

Lin Yi directly gave Xuanji the following instructions: "Selection priority: First, treasures that can greatly accelerate the condensation of star cores and increase the total amount and quality of source energy; second, rare items that assist in the comprehension of rules, especially those related to the rules of time."

He is well aware of his current situation.

The rules of the three realms offer a huge advantage, but the energy level of the 91 star cores becomes a significant weakness.

Especially after his encounter with Tarorank, Lin Yi realized more deeply that when one's understanding of the rules reaches a certain level, abundant source energy is not only a guarantee for a protracted battle, but also the cornerstone for supporting the eruption of even stronger rules.

At the same time, the rules of time are his deepest hidden trump card and his most difficult path. Any possibility that can accelerate his understanding is worth investing all his efforts in.

"Instruction confirmed, currently being filtered."

The list scrolled rapidly, with countless enticing treasure names and descriptions flashing by.

【Heart of the Stars (Complete)】: Contains the vast essence of stars, capable of rapidly condensing a star core, greatly increasing the upper limit of source energy and recovery speed. Requires 5000000 Military Merits to exchange.

(Note: The effect is approximately five times that of fragments, and it also has a certain effect of strengthening the foundation.)
【Primordial Elixir (10 drops in stock)】: Formed from the chaotic energy left over from the beginning of the universe, pure and flawless, with no side effects. Requires 800000 Military Merit Points per drop to redeem.

[Rule Resonance Crystal]: Slightly increases the efficiency of comprehending the corresponding rule, lasting for thirty days. Requires 1200000 Military Merit Points to exchange for one crystal.

Lin Yi's gaze was calm as he quickly made calculations.

Energy accumulation is fundamental and must be prioritized.

"Exchange for one [Star Heart (Complete)] and three drops of [Primal Spirit Liquid]." He made his choice. The complete Star Heart was enough to support him in rapidly increasing the number of Star Cores to near the current limit that the three realms could accommodate (399), while the three drops of Primal Spirit Liquid would serve as a reserve for rapid recovery in critical moments.

This cost 740 million military merits.

"Exchange successful. The items will be delivered through military channels."

Then, his gaze fell upon the treasures related to the understanding of rules, especially the rules of time.

The number of items in this area has suddenly decreased, and each one has an astonishing price.

【Leaf of Time and Space (Fragment)】: Harvested from the Hyperdimensional Time and Space Tree, it contains a trace of the true essence of time and space. By using it to gain insight, there is a low probability of touching the threshold of the time rules. Requires 3500000 Military Merit Points to exchange. (Status: Out of Stock)

【Sands of Time】: Strange sand collected from areas with abnormal time flow. Although its quality is mixed and its effects are far inferior to legendary items, its strength lies in its ability to provide a long-term, stable supply of a trace of the rhythm of time's laws, subtly enhancing one's understanding. Estimated to increase the efficiency of understanding time's laws by approximately 10%. Duration: One year. Requires 10000000 Military Merit Points to exchange. (3 units remaining)
Lin Yi's gaze lingered on the Sands of Time for a long time.

Ten million military merits!

It was only to increase the efficiency of perception by about 10%, and the duration was only one year.

This price is enough to deter most Star-level powerhouses.

It's worth noting that many powerful common rule-enlightenment treasures only cost around one or two million military merits.

This illustrates just how precious and difficult it is to establish the rules of time.

The Leaf of Time is completely out of stock, and the Sands of Time also seem to be almost gone.

While the Sands of Time are slow to take effect and expensive, they have the advantage of a long duration of effect, which means that the accumulation time of spiritual energy can be reduced by 10% when using them.

The key point is that there is actually no choice now.

"Exchange for the Sands of Time!"

Lin Yi practically gritted his teeth as he made the decision. Although it wasn't necessary for the time being, he had to act quickly.

The path of spiritual cultivation is inherently a struggle against fate; one must not hesitate when it is time to commit.

"Exchange successful. Warning: The energy of the Sands of Time is special. Please use it in an absolutely safe environment."

In the blink of an eye, the 20 million yuan fortune shrank by more than 80%.

Even though Lin Yi was mentally prepared, he couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.

These military merits can be spent faster than water.

His gaze involuntarily swept over the top of the list again, to those names that alone evoked despair.

[Time Fragment]: Contains fragments of broken time laws. Refining these fragments directly increases one's comprehension of time rules (the increase depends on the size of the fragment and individual comprehension). Requires at least 80000000 military merits to exchange.

【Seed of Eternity (Fake):】A replica of the legendary World Tree core, containing a faint trace of "eternity." Wearing it for a long time can very slowly increase affinity with all rules, with a slight effect on time and space rules. Requires 150000000 Military Merit Points to exchange.

【Chaotic Time Flower】: Born only in places where the chaotic energy of the universe intertwines with the turbulent flow of time, it blooms once every ten thousand epochs. Consuming it allows one to briefly enter the time dimension, directly experiencing the secrets of the passage of time. Requires 5000000000 Military Merit Points to exchange.

Five billion military merits!
Lin Yi looked at the long string of zeros after the [Chaotic Time Flower] and a hint of helplessness appeared on his lips.

This is beyond expensive; it's an astronomical figure.

Based on the calculation of 2000 million military merits for killing a prodigy of Talorank's caliber, it would require a full 250.
The problem is, where are we going to get 250 Tarlolanks?
This doesn't even take into account the enormous risks and uncertainties involved. With that kind of effort, one could comprehend it entirely through sheer spiritual insight.

"Forget it, I won't think about it too much. Let's take it one step at a time," Lin Yi sighed softly, closed the exchange list, and began to wait patiently.

The Star Realm Army's merit exchange channel is extremely efficient. Less than half a day after the application was submitted, three simple-looking metal boxes engraved with countless sealing runes were delivered to Lin Yi's meditation room by a special person.

The first thing to open was the box containing the [Heart of the Stars (Complete)].

In an instant, the entire quiet room was filled with soft and vast starlight, and a ball of light the size of a fist, seemingly containing the entire starry sky, floated in it.

A surge of pure and powerful stellar energy washed over Lin Yi, causing the star cores throughout his body to emit joyful hums.

Without hesitation, Lin Yi placed it in his palm and began to circulate his internal energy.

Instantly, like a whale sucking in water, the purest stellar essence surged into his body, and the ninety-second star core, which had been slowly condensing, solidified at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Suppressing the urge to immediately go into seclusion and absorb the nutrients, Lin Yi opened the second box.

Inside were three drops of [Primordial Spirit Liquid] suspended in a specially designed force field. Each drop was a chaotic color, as if it contained the initial form of all things in the world, and emitted a pure energy fluctuation that made people's hearts tremble.

Lin Yi carefully put it away; it was his trump card for a crucial moment.

Finally, his gaze fell on the box with the most complex seal.

Inside is the [Sands of Time], worth ten million military merits.

There was no burst of energy as expected when the box was opened.

Only a small clump of seemingly ordinary, grayish-brown pebbles lay quietly at the bottom of the box.

But if you look closely, you will find that the light around these grains seems to be distorted in an extremely subtle way, and a contradictory rhythm, as if everything is slowly aging or reborn in reverse, quietly spreads out.

Lin Yi carefully picked up a small pinch of Time Sand and placed it on his fingertip.

A strange feeling spread from his arm to his whole body, as if the flow of time around him was slightly different from that in the rest of the quiet room.

"Truly wondrous," he thought to himself, and without daring to be negligent, he resealed it.

Using the Sands of Time requires an absolutely quiet and undisturbed environment. If he can't obtain other treasures, Lin Yi will naturally wait until he has accumulated enough spiritual energy before using it.

Lin Yi carefully put away the three treasures, sat down cross-legged, held the complete [Heart of the Stars] in his hand, and completely immersed himself in deep cultivation.

The vast cosmic origin, like a river bursting its banks, washed over his meridians and filled his stellar core.

Ninety-two, ninety-three. The speed at which the star cores condensed was astonishing.

Accumulation that would normally take decades or even longer is being rapidly shortened thanks to top-tier resources.

A month later.

"Master, Irelia has sent word that after initial screening and contact, preliminary agreements have been reached with most of the qualified partners. However, three of them are of higher status and require your personal participation in the final online negotiations." Lin Yi emerged from his deep meditation, a knowing glint in his eyes.

"Understood. Arrange a virtual meeting room."

A moment later, Lin Yi's consciousness descended into a technologically advanced virtual negotiation room.

The phantom images of Li Yue, Irelia, Li Zhenguo, and Zhou Donglai were already present.

The first to negotiate was the representative of the human military industry giant, "Starry Sky Power," a sprightly old man in a crisp star-blue uniform who introduced himself as Director Henfei.

After exchanging pleasantries, the discussion moved directly to the main topic.

Starry Sky Power presented a very sincere cooperation agreement; however, Lin Yi's keen eyes caught a key clause in one of the clauses.

The agreement regarding the "next Pan-Spirit Alliance Genius Battle".

The terms clearly state: "If Party B (Lin Yi) fails to break into the top 100 of the Pan-Spirit Alliance Genius Battle, Party A has the right to unilaterally terminate this agreement without bearing any liability for breach of contract."

Li Yue explained in a low voice, "This is industry practice, Commander Lin Yi. A large part of their investment is based on your potential to become a 'future top prodigy.' If you can't even make it into the top 100, it means your growth has not met expectations, or that your 'genius' aura will be greatly diminished, and your commercial value will naturally shrink significantly."

Lin Yi nodded slightly, indicating his understanding.

In business, it's all about business, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Investing huge resources naturally requires corresponding returns and risk control.

He raised his head and said, "I have no objection to the clause that terminates cooperation if a company fails to make it into the top 100."

The representative from Starry Sky Power wore a satisfied smile.

But Lin Yi quickly changed the subject: "However, I think this agreement can be improved. Since a lower limit has been set, shouldn't a corresponding upper limit reward also be set?"

The representative from Starry Sky Power paused slightly, then asked with interest, "Mr. Lin Yi, what do you mean?"

Lin Yi leaned forward slightly, his tone calm and matter-of-fact: "I mean, what if I not only made it into the top 100, but into the top 10, or even took first place? Shouldn't the rewards in the agreement be adjusted accordingly? After all, if that were the case, the brand boost and commercial returns you would receive would be immeasurable."

A moment of silence fell over the meeting room.

Top ten?

the first?

The representative from Starry Sky Power raised an eyebrow slightly, revealing even greater interest.

"Haha, excellent! Mr. Lin Yi certainly has lofty aspirations!"

The representative from Starry Sky Power laughed, "This proposal is very interesting! If you can really achieve this, even just making it into the top ten would be a phenomenal boost to our 'Starry Sky Power' brand! Of course, the terms can be changed!"

Whether they believe Lin Yi can actually do it or not, adding this clause is entirely beneficial to them.

What if?
If it actually comes true, their current investment will yield a return of hundreds or thousands of times.

Ultimately, supplementary incentive clauses were added to the cooperation agreement:

If you make it into the top ten: In addition to all the rewards for the top one hundred, your basic endorsement fee will increase by 300%, and you will be granted the status of "strategic partner" of the brand, enjoying priority in internal procurement and the right to share technology.

If Lin Yi wins first place in the Pan-Spirit Alliance Genius Battle: in addition to all rewards for the top ten, his base endorsement fee will increase by 1000%! He will also receive the following additional benefits:

Starry Sky Power will gift you a latest-generation military-grade "Shadow of Deep Space" personal warship, as well as the right to enjoy one free fleet-level maintenance service once every hundred years within the next era.

Looking at these astronomical supplementary clauses, even Li Yue and Li Zhenguo felt a little breathless.

Lin Yi calmly reviewed all the terms and conditions, and after confirming that everything was correct, he marked the electronic contract with his own mark.

"It's a pleasure to cooperate with you, Mr. Lin Yi!" The representative from Starry Sky Power said with a broad smile.

Regardless of the outcome, the fact that we were able to partner with this currently most popular and promising prodigy is itself a successful marketing campaign.

"It's a pleasure working with you." Lin Yi nodded slightly.

After the negotiations with Starry Sky Power were completed, Lin Yi added supplementary clauses for Life Tree Pharmaceuticals and Yuanxin Technology.

If they win first place, Tree of Life Medicine will provide a legendary "Life Essence" that has the potential to enhance the origin of life, and promise to provide them and designated personnel (up to five people) with lifelong, top-level medical care and gene optimization services.

Yuanxin Technology will provide a custom-made, evolving Soul Weapon embryo, crafted by an Eternal God-level master craftsman (Yuanxin Technology will provide most of the materials), along with a top-level "Combat Intelligence Assistance System".

After dealing with these trivial matters, Lin Yi added supplementary clauses to all partners and then threw himself back into cultivation, absorbing the energy of the [Heart of the Stars] as quickly as possible, steadily increasing the number of star cores.

However, just the next afternoon, Irelia, with a hint of helplessness, knocked on his quiet room door again.

"Captain."

Her expression was somewhat subtle. "Starry Sky Power, Tree of Life, and Source Core Technology almost simultaneously announced that they had reached a strategic cooperation agreement with you."

Lin Yi opened his eyes, gesturing for her to continue.

Irelia paused, then said, "They released some details of the cooperation, and all of them emphasized the supplementary terms regarding the Pan-Spirit Alliance's Genius Battle. In particular, Starry Sky Power added a sentence at the end of their announcement: 'We expect and believe that His Excellency Lin Yi will shine the brightest in the Genius Battle and launch a powerful assault on the highest honor!'"

"On the Xinghai Network, the discussion about whether you are capable of winning first place has exploded again."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi was slightly taken aback, then shook his head helplessly.

These business giants, as expected, will not miss any opportunity for hype.

Fortunately, they still had some integrity. They didn't directly announce that he had "locked in first place." Instead, they were vague about whether he was first in this year's competition or the next year's competition. They also used words like "expectation" and "impact," leaving enough room for interpretation.

"It doesn't matter."

Lin Yi waved his hand, his tone calm, "They need the buzz, and we need that pressure too. What's said is said, and we'll prove it with our actions."

He was not afraid of the pressure of being in the spotlight; on the contrary, he felt that it would motivate him even more.

Seeing that Lin Yi didn't seem to care, Irelia breathed a sigh of relief and then reported on another matter: "In addition, as you instructed, we have increased our intelligence gathering on the Kunmo battlefield. It seems that due to the fall of Talorank, the Kunmo's offensive in K-77 and the adjacent star system has been somewhat restrained, and they seem to be adjusting their deployment."

A cold glint flashed in Lin Yi's eyes:
"To restrain yourself? That won't do."

He stood up and ordered Xuanji: "Xuanji, synchronize the Star Realm Army battlefield mission system and prioritize all high-intensity area missions in the K-level (Kunmo Clan) Level 2 battlefields, especially those areas where Kunmo Clan prodigies might appear."

"Instruction confirmed."

Then, he looked at Irelia, a sharp smile curving his lips: "Irelia, pass on the word: the East Peak Mercenary Group, end your rest period. For the next while, our main task will be—hunting."

"According to publicly available information, the strongest member of the Kunmo Clan at the Star Core level is currently only at the peak of the Second Realm."

"So, for the time being," Lin Yi's tone was filled with absolute confidence, even a hint of arrogance, "I am invincible on this battlefield. However, I estimate they will soon be calling for reinforcements."

He possesses three domains, which represents a qualitative difference.

More importantly, his third rule is still a spatial rule.

Space cultivators are the most troublesome beings on the battlefield. If you can't beat them, you can leave; if you want to surround and attack them...?

Space folding, teleportation, exile.
There are ways to nullify the opponent's numerical advantage.

"Since we have such a rare window of opportunity, wouldn't it be a shame not to take advantage of it to accumulate some military merits and relieve some pressure on our brothers in the Star Army?"

Lin Yi's tone carried a hint of cold humor.

Soon, the Dongfeng Mercenary Group was mobilized again, and news of Lin Yi's "score-farming" journey spread once more, along with his repeated crushing of opponents in the level two battlefield with his triple domain and spatial rules.

The morale of the human race was soaring, while the Kunmo race was on edge.

Soon, the Kunmo Clan realized that the human prodigy named Lin Yi was not satisfied with a single successful revenge. He was using his absolute advantage to forcefully reverse the situation on the local battlefield in an extremely domineering manner.

(End of this chapter)