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

Chapter 3: Creating a Local 'Genius' Persona

Lin Yi was a proponent of war at the time and was active on the front lines of fighting against the Abyss Beasts.

"Pro-war faction"

Thinking of this, Lin Yi's lips curled into a cold, sarcastic smile.

Even though they were building a defensive line with their flesh and blood on the front lines, the internal strife and constraints at the rear never stopped, which dragged down the possibility of completely annihilating the Abyss Beasts into nothingness.

It wasn't until the envoy from the Purple Gold Star Alliance arrived with a cold assessment that the higher-ups finally realized what was going on.
All of this was not what they had guessed—"interdimensional intersection" or "experimentation by higher-dimensional life"—but a test that would determine the future and fate of civilization.

The price was that the entire planet was branded as a "resource planet" and its infamy was relegated to the spotlight.

After stepping into space and becoming eligible to use the "Animal Alliance Virtual Universe Network," the high-ranking officials of the Blue Star civilization, filled with resentment, immediately consulted relevant information about the civilization advancement assessment.

Lin Yi still vividly remembers the cold, hard assessment rules.

If civilization is destroyed, or the abyssal beasts become extinct, the assessment ends prematurely, and the two sides are locked in a fierce struggle, then the millennium will be over.

At the end of the assessment, newly established civilizations will receive a civilization evaluation, while surviving individuals will receive an individual evaluation.

Individual evaluations are based on the number and level of abyssal beasts killed during the assessment period, as well as performance in specific events, and are divided into nine grades.

Levels 1 to 9 will directly determine individual resource allocation and access levels after the assessment.

The civilization evaluation is based on a comprehensive assessment of factors such as the duration of the assessment period, overall performance, the proportion of surviving population, the degree of stimulation of technological potential, and the will to resist, and is also divided into 9 levels.

This will determine the initial status, resource allocation, and subsequent development space of the civilization after it is incorporated into the human territory.

In its previous life, the Blue Star civilization only received a civilization score of over 600 million, achieving a comprehensive civilization rating of only level 2.

This resulted in Blue Star being directly designated as a "resource star" at the lowest level after it was brought under the jurisdiction of the Purple Gold Star Alliance, which belonged to its star field.

However, Blue Star is located in an energy-poor region, and most of the equipment requires energy crystals to start.

Therefore, human resources, which contain a small amount of energy, became the top priority.

After all, the Purple Gold Star Alliance wouldn't bother with energy infrastructure for a Level 2 rated civilization.

Thus, countless compatriots were forced into grassroots material processing factories, where they performed repetitive labor day after day and received only meager wages.

Even though he knew these were things that had never happened in this life, as the memories flooded back, Lin Yi couldn't help but purse his lips.

And what about himself?
The long and arduous journey of his previous life weighed heavily on his memory.

In the ruins at the beginning of the assessment, they fought to the death with strangers in order to compete for the lowest-grade Spirit Crystal, and were almost buried by the collapsing floorboards.

In a dark corner of the shelter, by the dim light, he eagerly studied the basic cultivation techniques emerging from the crystal, groping his way onto the path of cultivation, each step accompanied by immense risk and endless loneliness.

In order to obtain a few scarce resources, they traversed the ruins of an old city filled with unknown dangers, brushing shoulders with death countless times.

By then, his family and friends had long since escaped the apocalypse, leaving him alone to wander in the darkness.
Despite the resilience and courage honed through struggles on the brink of life and death, he persevered for over seven hundred years to advance to the Star Core level and remained active on the front lines of resisting the Abyss Beasts. Ultimately, he achieved a Level 4 personal rating, becoming an outermost member of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, allowing him to leave Earth and venture into the wider universe.

But this was merely the most basic entry ticket to the vast starry sea; the starting point was humble, and resources were scarce.

Even though he later managed to reach the Star Realm by chance, that power ultimately came too late and was too weak.

He didn't even get a chance to go back and change the fate of Blue Star. He was wiped away by the high and mighty elder of the Ziles family as if he were just a speck of dust, all because of a trivial "chance encounter".

"Heh Ziles."

Lin Yi closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly. When he opened his eyes again, all that remained was the calm demeanor befitting his age.

He turned his gaze to the window; the sun was still shining brightly, the cicadas were still chirping noisily, and the children playing downstairs were still full of energy.

However, this heartwarming scene, as it appeared to him, seemed shrouded in an invisible shadow. A week later, the avatar of that eternal god would descend upon outer space to begin the civilization's advancement assessment.

Lin Yi knew that for the natives of the new civilization, the only way out was to change their own fate, change the fate of their home planet, and earn a high-level evaluation.

To achieve a high level of individual recognition, he would need to demonstrate extraordinary talent.

Terrifying combat instincts, extremely fast cultivation speed, and astonishing understanding of the rules.
"With my Star-level foundation, it would be effortless for me to disguise myself as a genius from Earth."

Lin Yi pondered to himself.

"Even if I enter the universe in the future and people find that this 'genius' has 'run out of talent' after Xingxuan, I've already got the rewards and resources. There are so many geniuses among the human race who have faded into obscurity, so one more won't make a difference."

"but."

"There is one point that we should pay particular attention to."

Lin Yi frowned, carefully pondering an assessment rule he had discovered while sorting through his memories.

[The deity responsible for the assessment will receive an extra reward for discovering promising talents with a personal rating of level 7 or higher!]

When he saw this rule in his previous life, he could only look at the highly rated rewards and sigh with regret.

Now, however, he couldn't help but feel secretly fortunate that he had checked the relevant information about the high rating.

Because this cold rule will become a sword hanging over his head.

what does this mean?
Clearly, the gods have a strong incentive to pay attention to individuals who demonstrate exceptional performance and have tremendous potential.

Starfield-level rule domains, evolutionary realm-level inner worlds, and eternal god-level microcosms, commonly known as divine kingdoms, are all renowned symbols of their respective realms.

At the same time, these are also the three realms that are most widely spread and whose various methods are most well-known on the Pan-Spirit Alliance virtual network.

After all, the Star Core and Star Vortex are of a very low level and are only active around us. As for those above the Eternal God level, their information is more sensitive and rarely appears on the virtual network.

During the civilization assessment, the entire planet Earth was enveloped by the divine projection of the gods' kingdom.

Lin Yi guessed that if he received a rating of 7 or higher, it would likely attract the attention of the gods.

From the moment its divine kingdom projection covered the blue planet, everything that happened during the entire assessment period could be reviewed at any time if the deity wished.

If he were an ordinary Earth boy who had just graduated high school and had never been exposed to any extraordinary power, and suddenly displayed superhuman killing efficiency as well as the ability to foresee the types, habits, weaknesses, and even actions of the Abyss Beasts...
Would these behaviors be reasonable for an ordinary teenager?
His long experience of life and death had already etched the word "caution" into his soul.

He didn't know what attitude the human race's higher-ups, or rather the god in charge of the assessment, would take towards a genius who performed so "abnormally" in the assessment.

Is it an overwhelming joy to cultivate them vigorously?

Or perhaps it's driven by some kind of security concern or research desire, to conduct deeper investigation and control.
He didn't know the extent of the human race's tolerance for anomalies.

He didn't dare to gamble.

It is extremely foolish to entrust one's fate to the "goodwill" or "rules" of an unknown entity.

Fortunately, the starting point of the divine avatar's retracing can only begin from the moment the divine kingdom's projection covered the blue planet; otherwise, the fact that the ancient jade turned to ash would have exposed him without a doubt.

Lin Yi made up his mind after only a brief moment of thought.

"Regardless of whether the divine spirit will look back and investigate, from this moment on, I must perfectly blend in with Lin Yi, a high school graduate."

"You must mold yourself into a native genius of Earth who can unleash amazing potential during apocalyptic disasters, possesses extraordinary comprehension and unwavering will."

(End of this chapter)