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

Chapter 355 So bad, how embarrassing.
Seven days flew by.

Lin Yi sat cross-legged in the center of the cultivation room, surrounded by a faint silver halo, a subtle manifestation of the spatial laws flowing within his body.

He was holding a "hollow crystal," his consciousness like tentacles, carefully probing into the strange crystal containing spatial folds, trying to capture the rhythm of its original structure.

"Owner."

A phantom image of a palace dress quietly appeared, and Xuanji's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible hesitation.

Lin Yi slowly opened his eyes, the silver light in them fading: "Hmm?"

"Your clone has completed its first mission with the Star Silent Squad and is on its way back," Xuanji reported.

"Oh? What was the result?" Lin Yi asked casually.

"..." Xuanji was uncharacteristically silent for two seconds, then hesitated and said, "Master, why don't you take a look at the battle records yourself?"

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow and looked at Xuanji with surprise.

Intelligent life forms rarely use such "euphemisms".

"What happened? The mission failed? Were there any casualties?"

"No, the mission was a success. The Void-Eating Jellyfish has been killed, and the entire team has returned." Xuanji quickly explained, but her tone was still somewhat hesitant. "It's just that... you might find the battle process more intuitive if you watch it yourself."

This reaction made Lin Yi's heart skip a beat.

After Xuanji upgraded to the Derivation Realm level, although her emotions became richer, she was still essentially a highly efficient information processing center. Such behavior could only mean that the clone's performance on the battlefield might not be good.

“Okay.” Lin Yi stood up. “Bring up the recordings and use immersive mode.”

"Yes."

With a gentle wave of her hand, Xuanji caused the scene inside the cultivation room to ripple like water.

The next moment, Lin Yi found himself in the cold and silent space.

The background is a deep starry sky, with sparse and dim points of light from distant stars.

Directly ahead, a dark silver shuttle-shaped spaceship—the "Star Silence"—hovered in the void.

The hatch slid open, and four figures flew out in succession.

Leading the group was Captain Yue Ming, whose moon-white battle robe fluttered slightly in the vacuum of space, and whose pale purple eyes calmly surveyed a seemingly empty star field ahead.

Beside her stood Lan, whose unique wings of light, characteristic of the Holy Radiance Clan, were folded behind her back, and she held a longsword that shone with the light of dawn.

Minglu followed behind, carrying his dark gold giant axe.

The clone carrying the mechanical body of "Fearless War God-T714" was located at the end of the group.

The streamlined, silver-gray divine body reflected a cold, hard luster under the starlight. Intricate patterns of laws were engraved on the shoulder armor and arm armor, and countless small, sharp-edged, gleaming silver shuttles surrounded it. These were the divine artifacts given to it by Lord Tiange, the Sky-Piercing Shuttles.

These silver shuttles have mysterious runes flowing across their surfaces, seemingly connected to each other, forming a small array.

“A strong spatial folding response was detected, right in that cavitation region ahead.”

Yue Ming's cold voice rang out, "Lan, deploy the Cage of Light to delay its spatial jump. Ming Luo, prepare to engage the enemy head-on and draw the sub-body's firepower. Lin Yi, you and I will provide mobile support, prioritize eliminating the approaching Derivation Realm sub-body, and be careful to maintain the triangular formation and not stray too far from me."

"Understood." The clone responded in a deep voice, and with a slight thought, the Sky Shuttle surrounding him emitted a soft hum, adjusting its position.

Within the divine realm, ten thousand silver-gray puppets were on standby, divine power surging within their energy circuits.

Lan took the lead, her wings of light suddenly unfolding and scattering countless points of light.

These points of light rapidly spread and intertwined, transforming into a vast net of light, with rich power of laws flowing along its lines.

Almost the instant the light network took shape, the previously empty star field in front of them suddenly erupted in a frenzy.

Suddenly, a rift was torn open in the void, and thousands of translucent jellyfish-like offspring surged out, each radiating energy fluctuations at the realm of evolution.

They have no fixed form, their bodies constantly shifting between reality and illusion, waving tentacles formed from fragments of space, and emitting silent hisses.

In the center of the subgroup, a colossal object slowly "emerged".

Its entire body is a deep blue that devours light, with water-like patterns flowing across its surface. Beneath its enormous canopy are tens of thousands of writhing tentacles, each tip of which shimmers with a ghostly light that distorts space.

This is the Void-Devouring Jellyfish, a darling of the laws of space. It is born at the Evolutionary Realm level and can become a god-level interstellar beast after reaching adulthood.

"coming!"

Minglu roared, and a dark golden light shone on his giant axe. That was the "Edge-Breaking Law" he had mastered, an advanced law derived from the Law of Metal, specializing in armor-piercing and energy penetration.

Like a meteorite, he charged headlong into the area with the highest density of the sub-bodies. With a swing of his giant axe, a dark golden blade sliced ​​through the void, instantly cleaving dozens of sub-bodies in two and scattering them into chaotic spatial energy.

Lan's cage of light began to shrink, limiting the spread of the sub-groups. At the same time, he transformed into a stream of light, weaving through the sub-groups. With each thrust of his longsword, he precisely annihilated the core of a sub-group.

As for Yueming, she didn't even take out her weapon; she simply raised her right hand and pressed it against the jellyfish's body from afar.

The subtle influence of the laws of life and death permeated the air, and the space around the jellyfish seemed to age instantly, its vitality stripped away, and even the flickering of its eerie light momentarily sluggish.

At the same time, countless fine gray threads, existing between life and death, appeared out of thin air and wrapped around its tentacles.

The battle escalated rapidly.

Lin Yi's clone also rushed towards the flank of a group of sub-bodies that were trying to flank him, following the instructions.

His mechanical body was fully powered and extremely fast. With a thought, the surrounding Sky Shuttle transformed into a silver streak and shot out.

The first wave of shuttle shadows precisely pierced the cores of more than a dozen sub-bodies, cleanly and efficiently.

The second wave of the shuttle-like spiraling attack cut the more than thirty sub-units into fragments.

However, when the third wave of more than eighty sub-bodies rushed in from different dimensions in strange arcs, the clone immediately controlled the Sky Shuttle to intercept them and combine them into a defensive net.

However, although the clone quickly killed all the sub-bodies, it was clear that as the number of enemies increased, the clone's switching of the shuttle formation showed extremely slight lag and incoordination of the law fluctuations.

As a god-level interstellar beast, the Void-Eating Jellyfish possesses extremely high combat intelligence. In just a few exchanges, it keenly sensed which of the four was the weakest.

Suddenly, a strong spatial fluctuation erupted from the jellyfish, and the eerie light under its umbrella suddenly became dazzling.

Immediately afterwards, the remaining sub-bodies of the Evolutionary Realm completely disregarded the impending attack and rushed towards Yueming, Lan, and Mingluo.

And at the very moment of approach.

Boom boom boom boom boom!!!
Blow up!

The simultaneous self-destruction of a large number of world-level sub-entities is powerful enough to threaten the eternal gods.

The spatial turbulence and energy shock generated by the explosion were extremely terrifying. The Cage of Light was violently shaken by the explosion, and Mingluo was thrown off balance by the shock wave. Most of the gray threads that Yueming had condensed were also blown off.

Taking advantage of this brief chaos, the jellyfish itself unleashed a violent torrent of spatial energy from all its tentacles, and with incredible agility and speed, its massive body lunged straight at Lin Yi's clone.

Its goal was extremely clear: to cut off its tail and survive, tear open this weakest link, and break through to escape.

"Watch out!" came Lan's exclamation.

The clone felt a chilling sense of spatial oppression looming over it, its vision instantly filled by the deep blue giant shadow and countless tentacles waving in the air.

That's incredibly fast! Even faster than the data suggests!
"Congeal!"

With a roar, the clone unleashed a surge of divine power from its mechanical body, instantly transforming the Sky Shuttle into a giant silver spear that pierced the area beneath the jellyfish's umbrella-shaped canopy, accompanied by a piercing shriek that seemed to tear through space.

This attack was incredibly powerful, representing a basic attack form of the Sky Shuttle.

However, the jellyfish twisted one of its main tentacles in a strange way and struck the side of the spear with precise force.

clang!
The immense force struck, and since the clone's control over the spear was already less than smooth, this skillful blow caused the spear to tremble violently, and its attack trajectory to deviate.

At the same time, seven or eight other tentacles coiled around the body like venomous snakes, some striking the joints of the divine body, some stabbing straight at vital points in the chest and abdomen, and others releasing small-scale spatial confinement fields in an attempt to restrict the divine body's movement.

The clone subconsciously wanted to disband the spear and break it up into smaller units for multi-point attacks or defenses, but the thought and the response of the Sky-Piercing Shuttle were delayed due to the influence of the binding force field.

He could only hastily activate the divine kingdom projection, but the projection was squeezed and teetering by the jellyfish's even stronger spatial force field as soon as it was extended.

The precise control over divine power, the coordination of weapon changes and timing, and the instantaneous switching of divine kingdom projections.
At this moment, Lin Yi's shortcomings were exposed in these skills that require a lot of practical experience.

puff!puff!
Two tentacles broke through the shuttle formation's slowed defenses and stabbed fiercely into the god's breastplate and left leg joint.

Although the armor blocked the fatal penetration, the enormous impact and the accompanying spatial erosion caused the divine body to creak under the strain, and the Sky Shuttle was also partially shattered, even dimming the light surrounding it.

It looked like more tentacles were about to completely engulf the clone.

"court death!"

Yueming's cold voice boomed like thunder.

She had somehow escaped the clutches of the self-destruction of the offspring and appeared above and to the side of the clone.

She held her hands in a cupped gesture, and a huge, half-black, half-white holographic wheel appeared in front of her, slowly rotating.

The moment the roulette wheel spun, the Void-Eating Jellyfish's frenzied movements suddenly froze, as if it had been choked by an invisible force.

The eerie light on its canopy flickered violently, emitting a painful shriek, and the tentacles binding its clones weakened considerably.

At the same time, Lan also dealt with his opponent. His figure transformed into an ultimate light, striking first despite being behind. His longsword, carrying a holy light that purified all filth, slashed fiercely at the root of one of the thickest main tentacles of the jellyfish.

Mingluo's roar and axe light followed closely behind. The dark golden Blade-Breaking Law ignored part of the spatial defense and tore a deep gash in the jellyfish-shaped umbrella.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the clone endured the discomfort in its left leg, unleashed its divine power, broke free from its restraints, and the Sky Shuttle reassembled, transforming into a spinning silver blade wheel that fiercely sliced ​​through the nearby tentacles, finally escaping the most dangerous area.

In the ensuing battle, having lost the initiative to launch a surprise attack and without the support of a large number of offspring, the Void-Eating Jellyfish was powerless to resist under the siege of three experienced veteran gods.

Yueming's laws of life and death constantly stripped it of its vitality and slowed its movements, Lan's laws of light purified its spatial structure, and Mingluo's laws of breaking through defenses continuously caused substantial damage.

The clones also rejoined the battle, controlling the Sky Shuttle to restrain and finish off the remaining scattered particles.

However, it was clear that his use of the Sky-Piercing Shuttle was far less fluid than Yue Ming and the others' mastery of their own laws and weapons. He relied more on the shuttle's sharpness and speed for direct, straightforward attacks, lacking subtle variations and combinations. Ultimately, after Yue Ming's "Finger of Death" struck its core, the Void-Devouring Jellyfish's massive body convulsed violently, its eerie light completely extinguished, and it continued to collapse, eventually condensing into a pure spatial energy core.

The battle is over.

Beside the Star Silent Ship, the four reunited.

Minglu put away the giant axe and grinned: "This thing is still so annoying. The self-destruction of the offspring is disgusting."

Lan's wings retracted slightly as she looked at Lin Yi's clone: ​​"Are you alright? That was pretty close. Your shuttle isn't bad, but it feels like you're still a bit rusty with it."

The clone controlled the mechanical divine body, inspecting the damage.

There are obvious dents and cracks on the breastplate and left leg joint. More than 100 of the 10,000 puppet legions were affected when they released the divine kingdom projection to fight and need to be repaired.

The light surrounding the Sky Shuttle receded, and it slowly flew back to his side.

"Fortunately, the divine body's defense is strong enough that the core wasn't damaged," the clone replied in a muffled voice, his tone somewhat low.

He knew that if the captain hadn't rescued him in time, the jellyfish might have escaped, and his priceless mechanical body might have suffered even more serious injuries.

As for the use of the Sky Shuttle, it was not even scratching the surface. It had the advantage of a divine weapon, but failed to bring out its transformative essence.

Yueming walked over, his gaze sweeping over the damaged parts of the clone and the silver shuttles. His tone was calm and even: "For your first real battle, against a star beast like the Void-Eating Jellyfish that is good at finding weaknesses, your performance was acceptable. At least you drew its main attack, giving Lan and me the opportunity to break in. The Sky-Piercing Shuttle is a growth-oriented artifact that requires a very high level of skill to control. You'll get used to it gradually."

These words were less of a compliment and more of a statement of fact, but they left a rather unpleasant taste in the ears of Lin Yi, who was watching the battle.

Because he could see that the reason the main attacker was drawn in that instant was more because the clone had become a weakness and was being targeted, rather than because of excellent tactical execution or the use of powerful artifacts.

"The spoils have been tallied." Yue Ming raised his hand, and a light screen appeared. "The core of the Void-Devouring Jellyfish, the spatial crystal core, and some high-toughness tentacle materials. According to the battlefield system's valuation, the total value is approximately 180 million gold battle merits. Adding the battle merits earned from completing the mission, the total is 980 million. Based on the team's contribution and battlefield performance, I will take 40%, and everyone else will take 20%."

This allocation ratio is exactly the basic ratio agreed upon previously.

But Yueming continued, "However, Lin Yi, you restrained some of the jellyfish and participated in the siege in the final stage. More importantly, you attracted the main attack of the jellyfish's main body, creating an excellent opportunity for Lan and me to make a move. I will give you an extra 5% from my account."

She lightly swiped her finger across the screen and said, "Don't rush to refuse. This is your first time participating in a battle, and your divine body is damaged. Repairing and replenishing your energy will consume a lot. If it's a 20% share, you might suffer a slight loss, but 25% would barely make a small profit. It's not a wasted trip."

Mingluo immediately nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, yes, we're newbies. It's good enough if we can break even in the first battle. Captain's arrangement is reasonable! Brother Lin Yi, don't refuse. When we first teamed up to fight a god-level star beast, we fared even worse than you. We almost lost our underwear."

Lan smiled gently: "Take it, Lin Yi. That's the point of a team, to support each other. The sooner you repair your divine body and become familiar with the divine artifact, the greater your contribution will be next time."

The clone remained silent for a few seconds, its expression unreadable, but Lin Yi's main body, far away on Origin Star, could still feel a sense of embarrassment.

He knew very well that the difficulty of the Void-Eating Jellyfish lay in its massive and fearless offspring. If Mingluo or Lan were to act as the "bait" to deal with the main body, the effect would be even better, and the captain might not even need to spare so much attention to rescue it.

This extra 5% is less of a compensation and more of a way to save face for the newcomers.

"Thank you, Captain. Thank you everyone." The clone finally accepted the kindness without being pretentious.

Refusing again would seem tactless. "I will get used to it as soon as possible and won't hold you back next time."

"It's not like we're holding you back, let's take it slow." Yue Ming put away the light screen. "Let's go back to the spaceship first, process the spoils, and repair the equipment. We'll rest at the fortress for ten days, and then discuss the next mission."

The four transformed into streaks of light and returned to the Starry Night.

The hatch closed, the spaceship's engines started, and it silently glided into the warp drive, disappearing into the vast sea of ​​stars.

Inside the training room, the space scene receded like the tide, restoring the original metal walls and soft lighting.

Lin Yi stood there, silent for a long time.

Xuanji's illusory figure stood quietly to the side, this time without speaking, only bowing her head slightly.

After a long while, Lin Yi let out a long breath and rubbed his temples.

No wonder Xuanji didn't summarize it for him directly. How so?

Even though he was just observing, the feeling of being overwhelmed in actual combat and being used as a weak point to be beaten was still very embarrassing for him.

"Indeed, a bit weak."

Lin Yi shook his head with a self-deprecating smile.

The slight sense of superiority he felt because of possessing a god-level avatar was shattered by reality.

He was initially a little dissatisfied with his senior brother's assessment that he was at the bottom of the god-level ranks, but he thought that since he had mastered a superior law, he shouldn't be too weak.

Now it seems that what the eldest brother said was absolutely right.

True god-level combat is a comprehensive manifestation of laws, divine kingdoms, secret techniques, experience, consciousness, equipment utilization, and even teamwork.

He possessed great power and mastery of the laws, but severely lacked the skills and practical experience to match them.

As for the god-level combat knowledge learned at the last minute, it's completely inadequate.

"Luckily, it was a clone that stayed there." Lin Yi was once again glad he had made that decision.

At least you don't have to be there when things get embarrassing.

The clone is a mechanical god body with a relatively fixed expression. As long as it's not awkward for itself, the awkward one is just... well, its teammates are actually quite awkward too, and they have to find ways to comfort themselves.

"Xuanji".

Lin Yi began, “Pull up the detailed data analysis report of the clone battle, highlighting my delays and mistakes in seven aspects: reaction speed, combat skill selection, divine power allocation, divine kingdom projection, team coordination, and the control precision and separation efficiency of the Sky Shuttle. Compare it with the simulated response data of Captain Yueming, team members Lan and Mingluo in the same situation.”

"Yes, Master," Xuanji replied immediately, then asked cautiously, "Master, you're not angry, are you?"

"Angry? Angry at whom? Angry at your lack of practical experience? Angry at your inability to use your treasures properly?" Lin Yi walked to the energy replenishment station in the training room, filled a cup with highly concentrated energy liquid, and said, "There's no need. Just find the problem and solve it."

"Master, you mean...?"

"Practical experience, combat awareness, and proficiency with artifacts are all software-level skills that cannot be acquired in a short time. They require time, repeated trials on the brink of life and death, and the ability to internalize reactions. The Star Silent Squad has a high mission frequency, which provides some opportunities for practical combat, but it is far from enough and comes at a high cost. It not only increases the risk to teammates but also requires us to consume resources to repair our own bodies."

"Since we can't make up for the software's shortcomings in a short time, then let's upgrade the hardware!"

Lin Yi drank the energy liquid in one gulp. "The saying goes, 'One force can overcome ten techniques.' When my understanding of the laws is stronger, many technical shortcomings can be made up for by the pure law level. At least, when facing ordinary god-level opponents, I won't be as embarrassed as I was this time, which became an obvious breakthrough point."

Although his teammates were tolerant and understanding of his poor performance, he himself did not want to take it for granted that he needed to be taken care of.
-
Eight days later.

“Master, the commuter shuttle has been booked, the route has been confirmed, and it is expected to arrive at the manor in 15 minutes.” Xuanji’s voice rang in his mind.

"Okay." Lin Yi nodded, got up and left the cultivation room.

His scheduled time in the Void Corridor has arrived.

The Void Corridor was not formed naturally, but rather it was solidified from a "singularity echo" obtained from a cosmic wonder, which was extremely chaotic yet contained the most primordial spatial laws, and became a sacred place for cultivation.

There, the spatial structure is layered and constantly changing, filled with the most primordial spatial fluctuations.

Fifteen minutes later, a streamlined, silver-white commuter shuttle docked precisely at the designated berth.

Lin Yi boarded the shuttle, which silently glided out of the spaceport and entered a special fast passage inside the Origin Star.

Through the porthole, one can see the shimmering protective energy membrane outside and the occasional glimpse of magnificent buildings of various styles.

About half an hour later, the shuttle began to slow down, and the view outside the window suddenly changed.

What lay ahead was no longer an endless sky or continental landscape, but an "abnormal region" that could not be precisely described in words.

It resembles a distorted starry sky independent of the primordial star, or a large mass of constantly writhing and changing transparent gel.

Countless silver, purple, and black rays of light could be seen winding and recombinating within it, causing ripples in the space like water, and breaking into billions of pieces like glass, before mysteriously piecing them back together.

Just looking at it from afar evokes a deep, soul-stirring feeling.

That is the entrance to the Void Corridor.

Or rather, it is its projection in normal spatial dimensions.

The shuttle did not fly directly into that area, but instead landed smoothly on a suspended silver platform at its edge.

The platform is made of some unknown metal material, engraved with huge patterns that stabilize the space, emitting a soft light and resisting the faint spatial disturbances coming from the direction of the corridor.

As Lin Yi stepped off the shuttle, he immediately felt that the surrounding space had become extremely active and unstable, and even the direction of gravity seemed to be slightly off.

The platform connects to a simple silver hall, with the words "Void Corridor Management Department" floating above the hall's entrance, surrounded by flowing spatial runes.

Lin Yi stepped into the hall, where the interior space was much larger than it appeared from the outside, clearly due to the use of space expansion technology.

Several staff members dressed in standard silver robes were busy at work.

Verify your identity, receive a special "void locator" and a list of precautions—the process is simple and efficient.

The locator is used to help the user leave from the depths of the corridor, but the opportunity is only available once, and the training ends once it is activated.

The precautions emphasize the dangers within the corridor, such as not venturing into areas beyond one's own limits, not forcibly capturing the manifestation of fundamental laws beyond one's comprehension, and always maintaining a degree of clarity while remembering how the locator is activated.
Yes, cultivating in the Void Corridor carries certain dangers.

The corridor is filled with the most primal spatial fluctuations, folds, cracks, and even fragmented spatial laws manifested.

While the efficiency of perception is nearly three times that of the outside world, it also comes with certain risks.

If a cultivator gets lost in it, there is even a risk of being severely injured by the violent spatial turbulence, or even damaging their very essence.

Lin Yi carefully put the locator away from his body and, without lingering, headed straight for a light door shrouded in silver mist at the back of the main hall.

The portal seemed to be woven from countless tiny spatial cracks, constantly exhaling a chilling aura.

He stood before the gate of light and took a deep breath.

"If the software is lacking, the hardware will make up for it. Void Corridor. Let me see just how high you can push my spatial laws!"

The next moment, Lin Yi took a step forward, his figure disappearing into the silvery mist.

(End of this chapter)