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

Chapter 360 A windfall, news of Edith

Lin Yi handed over the crystal core in his hand, "Mother locust crystal core, and a few wing fragments, the spatial runes on them are relatively complete."

Yueming reached out and took it. The moment his fingertips touched the surface of the crystal core, subtle spatial fluctuations emanated from the naturally sculpted, intricate patterns.

She examined it carefully for a few seconds. "The quality is good, and the core spatial law imprint is basically intact. Based on the fortress's acquisition price, the basic valuation should be over ten million battle merits."

"As for these wing fragments," Yue Ming tapped his fingertip, his mind sweeping over the flashing inscriptions on the fragments, "the spatial runes are very well preserved, each fragment should be worth at least 500,000."

Lin Yi nodded, then looked into the distance.

In the dark starry sky, Captain Feng Shi's divine body floated there. The dark red flames on his carapace had long since died out, leaving behind a charred and cracked shell, like a dried-out fossil of an ancient creature.

Not far away, the corpse of another giant moth spirit was broken in two, and the dark green bloodstains froze into tiny ice crystals in the vacuum.

The energy ripples from the battle were still slowly spreading, stirring up the spatial structure of this star field.

“All the small items around here have been cleared away, leaving only these two large ones.” Yue Ming followed Lin Yi’s gaze and looked over. “Lan will take inventory later.”

Half a standard hour later.

Lan has completed the battlefield scan and preliminary data processing.

He brought up a virtual screen, and as he swiped his finger, a detailed list of data unfolded one by one.

"First, there's Captain Feng Shi's complete divine body," Lan's voice was clear and steady. "The key is his pair of bladed limbs. According to the scan results, his bladed limbs have been tempered with special materials, and they are infused with two rare materials: 'Void Dark Gold' and 'Erosion Crystal'. The material value of these two pairs of bladed limbs alone is no less than eight million battle merits."

A microscopic cross-sectional view of the blade appeared on the screen, with dark gold metallic textures and purplish-black crystalline threads perfectly fused together to form a composite material that possesses both spatial cutting characteristics and the fluctuations of the law of corrosion.

"These Eclipse insects are really willing to spend money to strengthen their bodies," Minglu commented, stroking his chin. "But that's normal; god-level weapons require a lot of resources to forge. If you take these bladed limbs off and have a blacksmith remelt them, you can at least create a powerful god-level weapon."

Yueming nodded: "Go on."

Lan continued scrolling down the data: "Another god who was killed by Lin Yi had his divine body broken in two, but it still has high value after being repaired. The material of his blade is mainly 'Star Iron Marrow', and it is estimated to be worth around three million."

He paused, then added, "In addition, we found their personal storage devices at the hidden energy nodes of the two divine bodies."

The screen switched to display two fist-sized, dark purple, insect-shell-shaped containers. The surfaces of the containers were covered with naturally formed spiral patterns, and a faint light flowed inside.

"A storage device made from the shell of a space worm." Lin Yi recognized it at a glance.

“That’s how it is,” Yue Ming continued, “but don’t get your hopes up too high. God-level beings don’t carry all their belongings with them when they’re on combat missions.”

Fearing Lin Yi might not understand, she tapped the screen with her fingertip and brought up a set of historical data: "According to statistics from the battlefield logistics department over the years, more than 90% of the storage equipment seized from enemy gods consists only of regular combat supplies, such as divine power recovery potions and energy crystals. The remaining 10% contains some scattered resources, but their value is not very high."

"It would be good if we could get good stuff in 10% of the time." Minglu shrugged. "If it were me, I wouldn't carry all the valuable resources with me either."

Lin Yi expressed his understanding.

Battles at the god-level are ever-changing, and no one can guarantee that they will return alive.

The truly valuable items are stored in a safe place, so that if you die and are resurrected, you won't go bankrupt immediately. Therefore, besides the treasures necessary for battle, what you carry with you are consumables and emergency supplies.

"Keep it for now, we'll deal with it when we get back," Yueming decided. "Then there's the core materials and remains of the mother locust, initially valued at 13 million battle merits."

The numbers on the screen began to jump.

Lan then announced the next item: "The base reward for the mission is 14 million. Confirmed destruction of the Shadow Locust Nest will add 6 million."

Yueming added, "There is one thing I need to clarify. In order to seek help, I issued an emergency rescue mission, offering a reward of 2000 million battle merits to find a god who is proficient in the laws of space to provide long-distance support."

The atmosphere paused slightly after the topic was brought up.

Lan and Minglu both looked at Yueming, and then at Lin Yi.

Yueming continued, "After I observed that Lin Yi displayed powerful god-level combat strength and successfully severely injured the mother locust, I immediately canceled the request for assistance and explained the reason to the space law god who accepted the mission."

She then explained, "Although the mission hasn't actually been executed yet, and it could be canceled directly, the person who took it has already begun spending time calculating the coordinates for the extremely long-distance journey, so I paid 10% of the basic labor compensation. Therefore..."

“Two million battle merits.” Lin Yi immediately understood. “This is also an essential expense to maintain our reputation; otherwise, no one will accept our request for assistance next time.”

“Yes.” Yueming nodded. “This expense needs to be deducted from our total battle merits.”

Lin Yi said almost without hesitation: "I'll pay the 200 million."

He looked at his three teammates with a hint of apology: "If I hadn't wanted to give everyone a surprise, this wouldn't have happened. I meant to surprise you, but it almost turned into a scare. I should be the one to pay for this compensation."

Yueming looked at him, her pale purple eyes flickering slightly.

A few seconds later, she slowly spoke: "No need. My decision to issue the distress call was based on my duty as the team leader, and it has nothing to do with you."

"No," Lin Yi insisted. "Captain, let me do it. Otherwise, I'll feel guilty."

He spoke very sincerely.

Seeing this, Minglu chuckled and stepped in to smooth things over: "Captain, just agree. I've looked into the cultural style of Lin Yi's hometown. If you don't let him pay for it, he'll feel uneasy. What's that saying again? 'His mind won't be at ease.'"

"Your thoughts are not clear?" Yue Ming glanced at Lin Yi thoughtfully.

Lin Yi nodded: "That's right. Brother Mingluo is right. I'll feel more at ease if I cover this expense."

Yueming was silent for a moment, then finally nodded slightly: "Alright, then it's up to you. It will come from the battle merits you've been allocated, and won't be included in the team's total expenditure."

"Okay." Lin Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

Yue Ming hummed in agreement and steered the conversation back on track: "Let's continue with the settlement of battle merits. According to the Pan-Spirit Alliance battlefield regulations, killing a powerful god grants a base battle merit of 100 million. Killing an ordinary god grants a base battle merit of 35 million."

She tapped rapidly on the screen, bringing up another calculation interface.

The numbers are scrolling by rapidly.

A few seconds later, the final result appeared.

Total value of loot: 7742 million battle merits

Total kill reward: 135 million battle points

Total mission rewards: 2000 million battle merits

Total battle merits: 232.42 million

"More than 230 million battle merits." Lan repeated, the light on his wings trembling slightly. "This is the highest single mission reward I've ever received since joining the Star Silent Squad."

Yue Ming looked at Lin Yi, a complex look flashing in her light purple eyes: "This time, we owe a lot to Lin Yi. Otherwise, let alone all the gains, we might have even had to pay the price of resurrection."

Lin Yi immediately shook his head and said, "If it weren't for you captains holding off the Sharp Devourer Squad, I wouldn't have had the chance to kill the mother locust. Besides, I couldn't even handle the Sharp Devourer captain on my own. This is all thanks to teamwork."

He spoke very sincerely.

In Lin Yi's view, although his strength has increased greatly, the decisive factor in the battle just now was that Yue Ming, Lan, and Ming Luo held off the opponent in a three-on-five fight, including a powerful god.

"Alright, let's not talk about that for now." Yue Ming steered the conversation back on track. "The preliminary distribution of battle merits is as follows: I get 35%, Lin Yi gets 30%, and Lan and Mingluo each get 17.5%. What do you all think?"

Minglu immediately shook her head: "No objection!"

Lan nodded: "It's a very reasonable allocation."

Lin Yi naturally had no objections.

Although he turned the tide of the battle at a crucial moment, the core of the entire battle was Yue Ming, and the strongest opponent was also Yue Ming, who was holding them back head-on.

Moreover, in the initial moments of the crisis, Yueming was prepared to sacrifice himself to protect the three of them.

This sense of responsibility actually goes far beyond the 5% gap.

The numbers on the screen jumped again, dividing into four parts according to the proportions.

“These are paid out.” Minglu looked at the more than 40 million battle merits under his name, his eyes were a little dazed. “With so many battle merits, I can push the second law from 38% to more than 50%, and maybe I can even exchange it for another auxiliary secret technique.”

Lan also showed an expectant look: "My second law has been stuck at 33% for a long time. This time, the battle merits are enough to exchange for Holy Radiance Crystals, which should be able to break through to 50%."

Yueming didn't say what she planned to improve, but judging from the glint in her eyes, she clearly had a specific plan.

Lin Yi quickly calculated in his mind.

He received 69 million battle merits, plus the remaining 4 million, bringing his total battle merits to around 73 million.

"Indeed, no one can get rich without unexpected wealth," he thought to himself.

The gains from this battle are equivalent to the sum of more than a dozen previous low-to-medium risk missions.

As for how to use these military achievements?
Of course, it's used to enhance strength; keeping it around won't produce offspring.

If he pushes the laws of space to perfection as soon as possible, not only will the power of spacetime fusion increase greatly, but he can also begin to try to comprehend the third law. At that time, the efficiency of earning battle merits will only be higher.

"The battle merits will be distributed after the mission is completed and evaluated upon returning to the fortress." Yue Ming completed the allocation settings on the light screen and synchronized the data to everyone's battlefield terminal. "Among the spoils, the two Eclipse God bodies will be uniformly collected and converted by the fortress logistics department. We can choose to handle the Mother Locust materials ourselves or exchange them for battle merits."

“I suggest we exchange them directly,” Lan said. “We don’t lack the difference in battle merits right now; what we lack is time. By handing over the material processing work to the professional department, we can free up more energy to digest this gain.”

“Agreed,” Mingluo echoed. “This battle exposed a lot of my problems. My methods when facing multiple enemies in a siege were still lacking. I need to review them carefully.”

Lin Yi nodded and said, "I also have a lot to summarize."

The first level of "Time Rift" is not yet fully utilized in actual combat, and there is room for improvement in the coverage and stability of the Illusion Veil.

Most importantly, this was his first time engaging in a life-or-death battle with the strength of a powerful god, and he needed to rebuild many of his combat intuitions and instinctive reactions.

Seeing that everyone was saying the same thing, Yue Ming put away the light screen and looked at the three of them: "This mission has exceeded expectations, and our team's accumulated battle merits have reached the standard for applying for a rest period. According to the battlefield rules of the Pan-Spirit Alliance, we can apply for a rest period of about 100 years to digest our battle merits and improve our strength."

Mingluo's eyes lit up: "I almost forgot about this. We still had a lot of battle merits before the rest period, but suddenly we have so many. We must have met the requirements."

Lin Yi nodded slightly. This was a rule of the Pan-Spirit Alliance. After all, the war had been going on for a long time, and the battle merits earned needed time to be exchanged and converted into strength. Therefore, there were certain battle merit standards according to different levels. Once the standards were met, a period of rest could be obtained to improve strength.

Yueming raised his hand, and the hatch of the Star Silent Ship slid open silently: "Let's go back to the ship first. We can discuss the rest and recuperation details after we return to the fortress."

The four of them transformed into streaks of light and swept into the cabin.

The hatch closed, the engines started, and the silver-gray spaceship drew an elegant arc in the starry sky before disappearing into the ripples of the curvature channel.

Inside the cabin.

Mingluo and Lan were discussing their plans for exchanging battle merits in hushed tones, their voices filled with barely suppressed excitement.

Yueming then walked to Lin Yi's side.

"I didn't have a chance to ask earlier." She looked at Lin Yi, her pale purple eyes calm. "What is your current level of understanding of the laws of space?" Lin Yi answered truthfully, "Around 80%."

This number left Yueming speechless for two seconds.

She remembered clearly that when Lin Yi first joined the team, his understanding of spatial laws was only at the beginner level, and he needed her to take care of him when carrying out the Void-Eating Jellyfish mission.

Later, when Lin Yi returned to Origin Star to update his clone, although he seemed to have made considerable progress, she still thought that even if Lin Yi was a genius, in such a short time, he would at most be comparable to Ming Luo and the others. Considering the gap in practical experience, he would inevitably still be at the bottom of the team's combat strength.

Therefore, when carrying out the Shadow Locust mission, she still arranged for Lin Yi to do auxiliary and interference work, which was also based on the consideration of stability.

And now.
It's amazing that they jumped directly from beginner to 80%.

Even to the well-informed Yueming, this rate of improvement seemed somewhat unbelievable.

“80%,” Yue Ming said softly. “No wonder you can instantly kill ordinary gods and fight head-on with powerful gods who burn their divine power.”

She paused, then looked at Lin Yi: "At this rate, you're not far from perfecting the Law of Space. When you achieve perfection in both superior laws, you'll be among the top tier of powerful gods."

Lin Yi nodded: "That's what I was thinking too. I plan to use all the battle merits I received this time to exchange for auxiliary treasures related to the laws of space, and reach 100% as soon as possible."

"A wise choice." A hint of approval flashed in Yueming's eyes. "Saving your battle merits is useless; converting them into strength is the right path. The sooner you become a high-level god, the stronger our team will be."

At this moment, Mingluo came over, her face full of curiosity: "By the way, Brother Lin Yi, you just said 80% of the Laws you comprehended. That's an incredibly fast rate of improvement! Do you have any secrets?"

Lin Yi smiled and said, "Of course there is a secret. It is to use resources to achieve this. I spent almost all of the clan merits and battle merits I had previously earned in one go, and exchanged them all for treasures that can help with enlightenment and the right to use treasure lands."

“Everyone has used enlightenment-type treasures, but to achieve this level of improvement can only be attributed to your exceptionally good talent,” Lan said with a smile. “Your cultivation speed without treasures is probably about the same as ours when we do.”

Lin Yi smiled at Lan's comment but remained silent.

"Alright, this is Lin Yi's talent, something you can't envy." Yue Ming gave Lin Yi a deep look and steered the conversation back on track. At the level of gods, everyone has their own secrets and opportunities. Asking too many questions would only make one seem ignorant of the rules.

“That’s good. In any case, this is a good thing.” Minglu slapped his thigh. “Our team now has a captain who is close to a high god, and a future high god who is about to perfect two superior laws. Tsk tsk, we will have a much wider range of choices for missions in the future.”

Lan also smiled and chimed in, "Indeed. Once Brother Lin Yi's spatial laws are perfected, our team's tactical combinations will be much more diverse."

The four chatted for a while longer, shifting the topic from exchanging battle merits to the arrangements for the rest period, and then to some recent rumors and intelligence exchanges within the fortress.

The atmosphere was relaxed and harmonious.

Lin Yi could sense that after this battle, his position in the team was now completely secure.

They are no longer newcomers who need to be taken care of, but rather core combatants.

Approximately three standard hours later, the Star Silence smoothly entered the forward fortress airport.

The spacecraft docked in its designated berth, and the hatch opened.

As soon as the four stepped out of the cabin, they noticed the gazes of many deities around them.

Lin Yi's heart stirred slightly. After a moment's thought, he roughly guessed the reason.

"Our team's Lin Yi has just displayed powerful god-level strength; the crisis is over."

Captain Yueming probably explained it this way to the spatial law deity who accepted the rescue mission, and it's probably already spreading among the deities in the fortress.

While powerful god-level strength isn't particularly rare, Lin Yi's rapid progress is truly remarkable.

Sure enough, after walking a few steps, a robust deity wearing purplish-black armor and exuding a powerful aura came towards them.

He first nodded to Yueming in greeting: "Captain Yueming, congratulations on your triumphant return."

He then looked at Lin Yi and said, "Lord Lin Yi, I am Han, the captain of the Shenyan Squad. I heard that you took down the captain of the Fengshi Squad this time? Impressive! Those eroding insects are not easy to deal with."

Lin Yi politely replied, "You flatter me. It's the result of teamwork."

"Don't be modest," Han waved his hand. "We can cooperate in the future if there's an opportunity."

After a few more brief words, Han took his leave.

Then, several more deities came forward to greet them.

Some were acquainted with Yueming, while others simply wanted to get to know Lin Yi.

Lin Yi responded politely to each question, maintaining a respectful yet assertive attitude.

Mingluo secretly transmitted his voice through his soul: "Brother Lin Yi, you're famous now."

Lin Yi smiled but didn't say anything.

He had experienced this kind of thing many times before and was used to it. Although the target had changed from the genius of the Pan-Spirit Alliance to the eternal god of the Pan-Spirit Alliance, it was essentially because he had shown the corresponding strength.

After finally dealing with a wave of greetings from the gods, the four headed towards the battle merit settlement hall.

On the way, Yueming said in a low voice, "In the next few days, there will probably be quite a few visits and invitations. You've just returned and need time to digest your battle achievements and improve your strength. If it's inconvenient, you can decline them."

"I understand," Lin Yi nodded.

He knows what's important and what's urgent.

Once you've earned your battle merits, your first priority is to exchange them for resources and go into seclusion, then send them to your main body.

As for other social engagements, there's no need to turn them down.

After all, in the next hundred years, the other members of the Star Silence Squad will need to rest and improve their strength, but he doesn't need to, yet he doesn't plan to switch squads.

Therefore, Lin Yi plans to be a loner for a while.

Of course, he wouldn't venture out alone. With his initial strength at the level of a powerful god, he was still a bit lacking for solo adventures. He planned to take on some long-distance support missions while cultivating his secret techniques, using his status as a half-space law god.

Therefore, it's somewhat necessary to get acquainted with some squads and let them know that you can also take on support missions.
-
Origin Star, Lin Yi Manor, Cultivation Room.

Lin Yi, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation, slowly opened his eyes.

Xuanji just relayed the message sent by her clone.

With a slight thought, he accessed the specific task details.

A series of messages flashed by: being ambushed, counter-attacking, kill rewards, and loot valuations.

More than 73 million military merits?

A hint of surprise flashed in Lin Yi's eyes.

This number certainly exceeded his expectations.

When he saw the "200 million yuan compensation for the rescue mission (Lin Yi personally bears the cost)" and Mingluo's explanation of "a clear mind", the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"I see." He understood.

Mingluo actually had a good understanding of Xia culture, which was a lucky accident and saved him from any possible polite excuses later.

Skipping over these minor details, Lin Yi's attention returned to the more than 70 million merits.

This is the hard currency earned by my comrades fighting on the front lines, and it is also the "windfall" that I most urgently need to convert into strength.

“Xuanji,” he said.

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

"Reply to the clone. I agree with his idea of ​​acting as a support lone traveler as a 'half-space law god' during the Star Silence Squad's rest period. But I must remind him that lone travel is riskier, and he should focus on exploration and support, avoid going deep into high-risk areas, and prioritize safety above all else."

"Yes, Master," Xuanji replied, then asked, "Do you have any specific plans regarding the use of these 73 million battle merits?"

Lin Yi was already confident: "First priority: exchange for the right to use the training ground for sprinting to comprehend the laws of space and the treasures that help with comprehension. Requirements: maximize the effect, but avoid categories that I have already used and confirmed to be ineffective."

He paused, then continued, "Second priority: exchanging for the subsequent levels of the secret techniques of 'Time Rift' and 'Veil of Illusion.' Also paid for with battle merits."

"Understood, Master. Based on your request, we are filtering top-tier cultivation sites and auxiliary treasures that meet your criteria across databases, and checking the subsequent exchange prices for secret techniques. Please wait. The filtering scope includes the Origin Star Directory Resource Library and the Clan Merit Treasury. According to the wartime resolution of the Human Race's Supreme Council more than four thousand years ago, all resources within the race can be converted into war merits for payment." Data streams flashed rapidly in Xuanji's eyes.

A moment later, several solid light screens unfolded in the cultivation room.

Option 1: Combination of training environment and auxiliary treasures

Access to the "Platform of Universal Return to Origin" (five standard years): Located on the top floor of the "Hall of Universal Return to Origin" in the core area of ​​the Origin Star. It can temporarily create and maintain the most favorable environment for comprehending specific laws according to the user's needs, with a spatial law adaptability increase of 1.5x-2x. Requires: 2500 million battle merits. (Note: Currently no reservation queue.)
"Void Dimensional Anchor": A one-time use rare item. Upon use, it forms a stable "dimensional coordinate" deep within the soul, greatly enhancing the perception and understanding of spatial laws by 50%-110%, with the effect lasting for two standard years. Requires 1200 million battle merits to exchange.

"Primordial Breath of Space" (Three Strands): Legend has it that these strands were collected and sealed from the faint primordial energy of space at the beginning of the universe. Each strand refined will significantly increase the depth of resonance with the origin of spatial laws for the next thirty standard days, with a certain probability of triggering the "Whispers of the Origin" state, with an amplification effect of 30%-180%. Exchange requires: 350 million Battle Points per strand, totaling 1050 million.

Total: 4750 million battle merits.

[Option Two: Subsequent Exchange of Secret Techniques (Payment with Battle Merits)]

The second level of redemption privileges for "Time Rift" requires 1000 million battle merits.

The second level of redemption privileges for "The Veil of Illusion" requires 600 million battle merits.

Total: 1600 million battle merits.

[Remaining Battle Merits]: 988 million battle merits.

Lin Yi's gaze swept quickly across the area, and he had already made up his mind.

Although the temporary environmental shaping feature of the Myriad Phenomena Returning to Origin Platform has a slightly weaker amplification effect, its advantage lies in its long duration. Given that the effects of other training venues have already diminished, it is currently the optimal solution.

The Void Dimension Anchor points directly to the deeper essence of space, which is precisely the direction he urgently needs to break through.

The Primordial Space Breath is an extremely rare and precious item. Last time, it was out of stock, but now it's back in stock and is a must-buy.

As for the secret techniques, these were part of a planned reinforcement of combat strength.

"Execute this plan. Xuanji, immediately submit the exchange application and pay the full amount using battle merits." Lin Yi did not hesitate at all. "After the exchange is successful, transmit the contents of the second level of 'Time Rift' and 'Veil of Illusion' to the clone simultaneously, so that he can use the rest period to start cultivating the basics first."

"Application submitted, payment authorization complete," Xuanji confirmed. "The Myriad Manifestations Return to Origin Platform access is activated immediately, and you can use it at the Myriad Laws Return to Origin Hall at any time. The Void Dimension Anchor and the Breath of the Primordial Space need to be transferred from the Human Race's core treasury via divine kingdom teleportation, and are expected to arrive at the manor within twenty standard days. The secret technique content has been synchronized to the clone."

“Very good.” Lin Yi nodded. “Once the treasure arrives, I will immediately enter the Myriad Manifestations Returning to Origin Platform for seclusion. These twenty days will be perfect for adjusting my condition.”

Thirteen days later.

Lin Yi was methodically reviewing and organizing the spatial law cultivation tips given to him by his senior brother, preparing for his seclusion in seven days, when suddenly, Xuanji's figure appeared beside him.

"Master, a meeting request has been received from the virtual universe network. Requester: Edith Lanxing."

(End of this chapter)