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

Chapter 277 The Enemy Advances, We Retreat; Finding an Alternative Path (4.6K)

Lin Yi calculated in his mind that, including the military merits he had accumulated over the past forty years of running around and attacking in all directions, the total amount of military merits he could currently use had reached 183 million.

Luger sighed inwardly at this moment.

This kid, in just a hundred years, went from an ordinary prodigy to the number one human in his generation.
"The relevant procedures are already underway, and the military merits will be transferred to your name within three standard days at the latest," Ruger added.

Lin Yi nodded slightly to Luger: "Thank you for your trouble, General."

"It's my duty." Ruger waved his hand. "This is what you deserve. Now that we've finished talking, I won't linger any longer."

Lin Yi didn't try to stop him, and got up to see him off. It was wartime, and Luger, as the commander, must be very busy.

After seeing General Luger off, Lin Yi and Irelia returned together.

Lin Yi briefly recounted the process of the battle, omitting the details of withstanding Balot's attacks, and only said: "The three pseudo-triple-level cultivators who forcibly enhanced themselves with the help of secret techniques had decent skills and their coordination was also quite good, but unfortunately their foundations were unstable, and I found their weaknesses."

Irelia listened quietly, and she could imagine that the battle was definitely not as understated as Lin Yi described it.

She pursed her lips, and finally said, "In the end, we still have to be careful."

Lin Yi glanced at her and smiled slightly, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing and won't do anything I'm not sure I can handle."

Then he said, "I need to go into seclusion for a few days to digest what I've learned in the battle and plan for the future."

Irelia nodded: "I'll take care of the guild affairs, you just focus on your cultivation."

Lin Yi said no more and turned to walk towards his private training room.

The heavy alloy door slid shut silently behind us, shutting out all the noise from the outside world.

Having acquired such a large windfall, Lin Yi's goal was very clear: to obtain treasures that could accelerate cultivation based on time-related rules.

Currently, the only item you can directly acquire is Time Fragment.

[Time Fragment]: Contains fragments of broken time laws. Refining these fragments can directly increase one's comprehension of time rules (the increase depends on the size of the fragment and individual comprehension). Requires at least 8000 million military merits to exchange.

Lin Yi's original goal was to acquire "time fragments," but some time ago, Xuanji reminded him that a new item, a time rule insight, had been added to the military merit system.

This item, named Fleeting Beauty, is a one-time consumable. After use, it allows the user to enter a state of "fleeting enlightenment," greatly enhancing their understanding of the rules of time. It requires 2 million military merits to exchange for.

"8000 million. 2 million," Lin Yi murmured to himself.

He currently has 183 million, which is more than enough to exchange for time fragments, and he can even exchange for a large fragment.

However, the effect of [Time Fragment] is to "directly increase comprehension," which depends not only on comprehension level but also on the size of the fragment.

He is certainly not lacking in comprehension, but the problem is that the upper limit of his comprehension is limited by the size of the fragment.

The description of "a sudden and significant increase in comprehension in a short period of time" in the fleeting beauty of youth is more in line with the spirit of enlightenment.

A moment later, a look of determination flashed in Lin Yi's eyes.

"Hold on! Just 1700 million more!" He decided to take a risk and pursue higher returns. "Exchanging for Time Fragments can steadily improve my stats, but the potential of Fleeting Glory is clearly higher."

Having made his decision, Lin Yi no longer hesitated and began to wholeheartedly accept suitable battlefield missions from the outside world.

However, what happened in the following period of time made Lin Yi gradually frown.

He soon discovered a strange phenomenon.

As soon as he accepts a mission for a certain secondary war zone, the Kunmo tribe forces in that area will quickly begin a large-scale retreat, abandoning a large number of outposts and resource points that are difficult to take away quickly.

After completing the first task, the Kunmo tribe in the nearby level-two battlefield had already run away.

At first, he thought it was a coincidence or a strategic adjustment by the Kunmo tribe.

But after he traveled to several different secondary battlefields in different star systems, the same scenario played out again and again.

If that's the case, then so be it. The key issue is that once it's confirmed that he's appeared in another region, the Kunmo tribe in the original region will concentrate their forces to launch a counterattack.

He had just struck fear into the hearts of his enemies at "K-77" and moved on to "K-79" when he received news that the Kunmo tribe at "K-77" had returned and recaptured some of their lost territory.

When he returned to "K-77", the enemy fled again, while "K-79" launched a major counterattack.

After several attempts, Lin Yi looked at the enemy markers on the star map, which rose and fell like tides with his movements, and finally confirmed that the Kunmo tribe's high command had changed their strategy.

"Ah"

Inside the quiet room, Lin Yi looked at the battlefield situation map compiled by Xuanji and couldn't help but laugh in exasperation. "Good heavens, are they trying to play the 'retreat when the enemy advances, advance when the enemy retreats' game with me?"

This was undoubtedly the Kunmo Clan's greatest recognition of his personal combat strength and their most helpless response. They directly admitted that no one could restrain him on the level two battlefield, so they simply stopped playing with him and left him with a lot of martial power, but it was like punching cotton, with nowhere to exert force.

Although it was a good thing on the surface, proving his absolute dominance on the secondary battlefield and even sparking a small wave of discussion on the virtual network, the reality was that his efficiency in accumulating military merits began to plummet.

Previously, he was busy fighting fires and clearing out targets everywhere. Although he was constantly on the go, his military achievements were endless.

Now things are really messed up. He runs to the east, and the enemy emerges in the west; he rushes to the west, and the enemy becomes active in the east again.

Not only were they exhausted from running around, but they also gained very little, wasting most of their time on traveling and going to empty-handed places.

Lin Yi roughly estimated that at the current "hide-and-seek" pace, let alone quickly accumulating 1700 million, it would probably take nearly a hundred years to earn even a few million more.

"No, this can't go on." Lin Yi frowned.

A century may not seem like a long time to him, but to waste it on a chase would be a terrible waste.

There are ways to break the deadlock.

Either he himself is strong enough, and his realm has reached a higher level, enabling him to freely travel across long distances and star systems, ignoring the limitations of battlefield distance, leaving the opponent with no way to avoid it.

Alternatively, one could possess an extremely powerful aircraft, at least at the god-like level, capable of rapid interstellar jumps, which would also greatly shorten support time, leaving the enemy no time to react.

Unfortunately, Lin Yi cannot achieve either of these two things at present.

Although his spatial rules are strong, he is far from being able to travel at will regardless of the scale of the universe. The "Shadow Shuttle" is good, but it is only the top of the star field level. Compared with the real divine vehicle, it is like a sampan compared to a starship.

"It seems that relying on grinding in the second-level battlefield to quickly accumulate the last 1700 million military merits is not going to work."

Lin Yi sighed and turned his gaze away from the star map.

The Kunmo tribe's guerrilla tactics of "avoiding battle" really hit his weak spot. He had overwhelming strength but nowhere to exert his power, which was quite frustrating.

"Xuanji," he called softly.

A phantom figure in palace attire quietly appeared, bowing slightly: "Master."

"Besides clearing out enemy troops in tiered battlefields, what other ways are there to quickly obtain a large amount of military merit?" Lin Yi asked directly.

He needed to broaden his thinking; he couldn't put all his eggs in one basket. Xuanji pondered for a moment, then lightly tapped her slender finger, and a light screen unfolded before them, listing clear entries: "As far as I know, there are roughly four ways to quickly obtain large amounts of military merit."

"Firstly, there are still combat missions. In addition to the tiered battlefields that the master is currently engaged in, the military will also issue missions to clear out certain roving space pirate groups or eliminate specific hostile strongholds, and the rewards are equally substantial."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi shook his head without hesitation: "Space pirates? Those guys are very cunning; they're probably just pawns for certain forces."

"Going to wipe them out is not only a long and time-consuming journey, but more importantly, it is not protected by the tiered battlefield rules. If they are just small fry, the military merits will be pitifully few. If they are fat sheep, hehe, you might unexpectedly run into a tough nut and get bitten back, which would be a loss."

He wasn't some naive prodigy who knew nothing; he naturally understood the implications.

"Anything else?" Lin Yi continued to ask.

"Secondly, there are secret realm exploration missions," Xuanji continued, "The military or large forces often issue independent or assisted exploration missions for newly discovered secret realms and ancient ruins. Because the exploration targets are usually highly unknown and dangerous, the military merit rewards are generally very high."

"A secret realm?" Lin Yi shook his head slightly. "The unknown is too high, and the variables are too great. Perhaps I'll be interested in sending an avatar to try it out once I've cultivated an avatar. For now? Let's forget about it."

It would be inconsistent with his cautious and steady approach to personally venture into a completely unknown environment.

There are many examples of geniuses who have perished in mysterious secret realms; his eighth senior brother perished in this way.

Xuanji seemed to have anticipated her master's reaction and continued, "Thirdly, there are research contribution categories. These involve undertaking research tasks such as upgrading technological blueprints, iterating equipment technology, and expanding and optimizing martial arts techniques and combat skills issued by the military or designated institutions. Military merits are awarded based on the results of these tasks, and the rewards are usually extremely generous once adopted."

"Optimize the cultivation technique." Lin Yi hesitated for a moment. "Although relying on my own deduction is inefficient, if I were to use spiritual energy..."

Clearly, with his spiritual energy, he could complete the expansion and optimization tasks assigned by the military regarding some of the cultivation techniques and fighter jets in a short period of time.

“But this is tantamount to exchanging precious opportunities to improve one’s comprehension for military merits.” Lin Yi finally shook his head secretly. “If the consumption is minimal, it’s fine to do it casually. But if it requires a large amount of spiritual energy to achieve the mission targets, then it’s putting the cart before the horse and is not worth it at all.”

His spiritual enlightenment was his trump card for breaking through the rules of time and even reaching higher realms; its value far exceeded a fixed amount of military merit.

Unless you happen to encounter a special mission that is extremely suitable, consumes very little resources, and yields a huge amount of military merit, it is not advisable to rely on the third type as the main source of military merit.

"This should only be considered as an alternative, to be checked occasionally, and not to be relied upon."

Lin Yi concluded that the third approach was the best one.

"The last item."

Xuanji suggested the last possibility: "Knowledge sharing platform."

"Through the military's 'Veteran' platform, practitioners can publish their cultivation experiences, videos explaining the application of rules, or provide targeted answers to others' cultivation problems. Questioners usually set up military merit rewards, and those whose answers are accepted will receive military merit. This is a common way for many practitioners to accumulate military merit."

"Explaining the rules and insights, answering questions and resolving doubts."

Lin Yi pondered for a moment, a hint of confidence gradually appearing in his eyes.

Although he is currently only at the Star Core level in terms of absolute realm, he possesses three domains, and his understanding of rules can be regarded as that of the Star Domain Level 3.

Moreover, among the rules he comprehended, there were not only higher rules such as the rules of life, but also higher rules of space.

This foundation is enough to qualify him to guide many cultivators who are stuck at a bottleneck.

“I think,” Lin Yi smiled, “that in the field of spatial rules, there will probably be far fewer competitors.”

The rules of cultivation space are inherently difficult, and those who achieve success are extremely rare. Many of them focus solely on their own cultivation and are unwilling or disdainful of sharing their insights with the public, let alone spending time answering questions for others.

People like him, who need to quickly acquire a large amount of resources and are willing or forced by circumstances to share some of their insights into the rules of space, are probably very few.

"Understanding the rules, especially the rules of space, even if it's just explaining some basic application techniques or sharing some introductory insights, is of immeasurable value to those cultivators who are struggling to break through the threshold or stuck at a certain point for many years." Lin Yi was well aware of this.

Although he found cultivation easy, once he mastered it, he naturally understood how desperate the obstacles on the path of cultivating spatial rules were.

With high market demand and scarce supply, isn't this the best business opportunity?
"It offers high security, leverages its own strengths, faces few competitors, and the process of organizing and explaining the rules can also benefit itself, deepening its understanding of the rules."

The more Lin Yi analyzed it, the more feasible this path seemed.

"Although a single bounty may not be as valuable as killing a powerful enemy, it has the advantage of being able to generate income gradually and is not affected by the Kunmo tribe's tactics."

Having thought this through, he had already made up his mind.

"Xuanji," Lin Yi immediately instructed, "Focus on collecting information from the platform regarding insights into the rules, especially information related to spatial rules. This includes current popular explainers, common types of bounty questions, the approximate range of bounty amounts, as well as the platform's operating rules and precautions."

"Yes, Master." Xuanji bowed slightly, seemingly unsurprised by her master's choice.

She quickly responded, "The information is being processed and filtered, and will be available to you soon. Also, would you like me to register and create an account for you on the platform?"

"Don't rush this yet."

Lin Yi waved his hand, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. Let's first understand the situation before deciding how to enter the game and what valuable information to offer in order to quickly make a breakthrough."

He needs to find a way to maximize his strengths while attracting enough attention and a reward.

This is not just about earning military merits; to some extent, it is also a systematic review and sublimation of one's past cultivation.

"Owner."

Less than ten minutes later, Xuanji's figure reappeared.

"Is there a conclusion regarding the veterans' platform?" Lin Yi asked directly.

"The platform ecosystem has been initially analyzed."

As Xuanji's fingertips shimmered, a virtual light screen appeared, displaying the message: "The competition in the realm of general rules is fierce, but the competition in higher rule areas such as space and life is relatively less intense, and the bounty questions are of high quality and offer generous rewards."

Lin Yi immediately grasped the key point: "In other words, knowledge of high-level rules is itself a scarce resource."

"Exactly. Especially the spatial rules, because they are unpredictable and difficult to guard against, the bounty area is full of questions about identification, early warning and countermeasures."

"very good."

Lin Yi nodded, then asked, "So what strategy should we use?"

Without pausing, Xuanji immediately replied, "Master, I suggest the following strategy: Use the universally applicable practical optimization experience of the rules of metal as a stepping stone, listing it as a free course to attract attention and build a foundation of trust. Then, offer the profound and rare courses on the rules of space and life as paid courses to convert military merits into rewards."

She added, "The content of the Golden Rules could be positioned as 'personalized optimization suggestions for the standard system,' targeting veterans and elites who have mastered the basics and are seeking breakthroughs in details."

"The Space Rules are not designed to train Space Practitioners; their focus is on providing 'Guidelines for Recognizing and Responding to Spatial Phenomena' to meet defensive needs. The Life Rules focus on 'Survival Skills for Dealing with Specific Current Threats, Such as Death Rules of the Kunmo Clan,' serving as a supplement to standard battlefield first aid and protection training."

"Free content needs to show sincerity, while paid content needs to highlight its scarcity." After a moment's thought, Lin Yi understood what Xuanji meant.

He nodded and instructed, "Then let's get started. Register the 'Dongfeng-Lin Yi' account for me."

"Yes, Master." Xuanji accepted the order, and her figure faded away.

(End of this chapter)