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

Chapter 305 Eight Hundred Years in the Blink of an Eye, Registration for the Genius Battle

New Era 391, Blue Star, Dongfeng Military Academy Vice Principal's Office.

Nie Chang sat upright behind a large desk, with three light screens floating in front of him.

On the left is the enrollment data analysis of Dongfeng Military Academy this year, in the middle are the infrastructure progress reports submitted by the branch schools on various planets, and on the right is the draft of "Advanced Teaching Plan of Stardust-level Source Energy Guidance Technique (Third Revised Edition)" that he is writing.

This is a work habit he has maintained for nearly a century: every morning, he spends the first two hours of standard time handling administrative affairs, and then immerses himself in three hours of lesson plan writing, without fail.

As the vice principal of the highest military academy of the Silver Blue Civilization, Nie Chang was well aware of the responsibility on his shoulders: Commander Lin Yi entrusted the Dongfeng Military Academy to him, and he was to cultivate strong individuals who could stand firm in the starry sea for the civilization.

Nie Chang slid his fingertip across the screen, highlighting a passage about "the risk of rule resonance when Stardust breaks through to the Star Core at the ninth level," and then picked up the Qingxin Tea beside him and took a sip.

The tea is Xueya, a specialty of the Kunlun Mountains, a seventh-generation variety improved by the Tree of Life Company. It can gently nourish the spirit. This was sent by Vice-Commander Irelia through the Merchant Guild, saying that Commander Lin Yi specially instructed her to bring it to the old subordinates.

A trace of emotion flashed across Nie Chang's eyes as he thought of Commander Lin Yi.

time flies.

"drop."

A soft notification sounded, and a push notification popped up in the lower right corner.

That was a notification he set up as part of the "Important Updates on the Silver-Blue Civilization".

Nie Chang clicked on it casually.

The next moment, his movements froze.

The push notification title is very concise.

Commander Lin Yi has officially settled in the human race's capital, Origin Star!

The main text is short, but every word carries immense weight.

"It is understood that Lin Yi, the commander of our Silver Blue Civilization and the leader of the Dongfeng Mercenary Group, has been approved for inclusion in the 'Human Race Special Genius Cultivation List' and has now arrived at the human race's capital, Origin Star, for permanent cultivation. Accompanying him this time are Irelia, the deputy leader of the Dongfeng Mercenary Group, Liu Yuan, the captain of the first team, Elizabeth, the captain of the ninth team, and Zhang Zhen, the captain of the fourteenth team."

Nie Chang stared blankly at the screen for several seconds before taking a deep breath and clicking on the comments section below the news article.

At this moment, the comment section exploded instantly:

"Origin Star! Isn't that a legendary place where only Star Domain-level powerhouses are qualified to apply to set foot?"

"I checked the information, and there isn't much information about this list, but it's said to be a list of future Lord-level beings that the human race is training."

"The commander is only a little over three hundred years old, right? He's already at the Star Core level? How many years has that broken the record?"

"So, does that mean our Silverblue Civilization now truly has its own people at the top? You know what I mean?"

"It's not just people, it's a colossal pillar that can support the heavens!"

The scrolling comments were overflowing with excitement and pride, almost bursting off the screen.

As Nie Chang looked at these words, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up, but his eyes became a little hot.

He switched to the Human race's main board.

Sure enough, related discussions have already emerged, and the buzz is rapidly growing:
"A Star Core-level being included in the list? Really?"

"Of course it's true. They've already moved into the Star Origin Zone of Origin Star, and they're not hiding anything. If you're qualified to be on Origin Star, you can naturally go and verify it."

"Lin Yi, is he the guy who slaughtered the Kunmo tribe's prodigy at the border?"

"Yes, that's him. It's said that he has already fused four kinds of rules, and also has the rules of spacetime."

"Quadruple fusion is indeed amazing at the Star Core level, but isn't the threshold for the list at least the Derivation Realm? Let's break that rule."

"Rules are inflexible. The fact that he was allowed in speaks volumes."

"That's true. But the pressure is immense. Once you enter at the Star Core level, countless eyes are watching. If you don't achieve a good ranking in the next Genius Battle..."

"The battle of geniuses is still over seven hundred years away, what's the rush? I have high hopes for him, with his spacetime foundation, his potential is limitless."

The discussion included surprise, doubt, analysis, and anticipation.

As Nie Chang read through the list one by one, the surging emotions in his heart gradually settled into a profound sense of exhilaration.

He reopened the lesson plan document and slowly typed a line in the "Message" section at the end of each chapter:

"The starry sea is boundless, and the road ahead is vast. You should know that the banner of our Silver Blue Civilization has already been raised to a higher place. I hope you will continue to work diligently and embark on this journey together."

Save and send to the teaching system.

Nie Chang stood up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window in the office.

Outside the window is the main training ground of Dongfeng Military Academy, where thousands of cadets in silver-blue uniforms are conducting morning physical training under the guidance of their instructors. The shouts and calls can be faintly heard, full of youthful vigor.
-
In the year 603 of the New Era, in outer space of Blue Star, at the Seventh Star Ring Airport Construction Command Center.

Nie Chang stood in front of the transparent curtain wall of the observation platform, gazing at the magnificent, speechless structure outside the window.

The main structure of the Blue Star Seventh Star Ring Airport, or rather, the hub port of the Silver Blue Civilization's home star system, has been basically completed.

It is not a simple space station, but a giant ring-shaped building with a width of more than a thousand kilometers that encircles the equator of Earth.

The ring is densely packed with tens of thousands of berths, loading and unloading platforms, maintenance docks, energy relay stations and eco-friendly residential areas.

At this moment, hundreds of engineering vessels are still busily working around the ring like worker bees, carrying out final system debugging and external armor installation.

This is the largest infrastructure project in the history of the Silverblue Civilization. It was started after the Silverblue Civilization's advancement and is now nearing completion.

Once completed, this airport, capable of accommodating over 100,000 ships of various types for docking and resupply, will become the core transportation hub of the entire Silver Blue Starfield.

"Vice Principal Nie, the remote meeting will begin in ten minutes," the secretary's voice came through the headset.

"Understood." Nie Chang took one last look at the giant ring that gleamed with a cold, metallic luster under the starlight, then turned and walked towards the conference room.

On the way, he habitually glanced at the news feed on his personal terminal.

The headline is still a special report on the upcoming official opening of Star Ring Airport.

The following items mainly report on the development of various planets: the ecological restoration project of the third continent on Zexu Planet has been completed; a large zero-element mineral vein has been discovered on Lingren Planet; and the Zexu branch of Dongfeng Military Academy is about to hold its centennial celebration.
Nie Chang's gaze lingered on one of the inconspicuous text messages.

"Mercenary Alliance Star Core-Level Training Camp Combat Training Concludes; Commander Lin Yi Retains Top Spot"

He clicked on it directly; the content was very brief.

"In the latest Star Core-level Training Camp Real-World Combat Competition, Lin Yi, the commander of my Silver Blue Civilization, defeated a group of challengers with his exquisite coordination across four domains and retained the top spot on the leaderboard."

Nie Chang frowned almost imperceptibly.

Fourfold.

This claim first appeared 400 years ago, and it has been around for two hundred years now.

The Commander's publicly stated strength seems to have remained at the level of "Fourfold Rule Fusion." While this still places him among the top-tier Star Core level beings, and he consistently ranks high in the training camp,
He closed the news, swiped his finger, and entered a semi-public discussion forum on the virtual network.

This place is a gathering place for many cultivation enthusiasts who follow the movements of geniuses from various races. The information here is often more up-to-date and more complex than official news.

Sure enough, there's already discussion about this news:
"Lin Yi is in first place again, that's solid."

"It was a solid victory, but according to leaked information, his win this time was very technical, relying entirely on the mobility of the spacetime rules and the surprise attack of the Gold Domain. It didn't have that crushing feeling anymore."

"That's normal. His opponent was a genius of the fifth level. It's already good that Lin Yi was able to defeat someone of a higher level. How could he possibly crush him?"

"Are you stuck by the rules of death? Life and death are opposites, and it is extremely risky to comprehend them. If you are not compatible, it is very normal to be stuck for hundreds or thousands of years."

"Very likely. Spacetime is a higher-level rule, life is a higher-level rule, and adding death on top of that is an opposing attribute, increasing the difficulty exponentially. No matter how talented Lin Yi is, he will have to slowly grind through this kind of fundamental conflict."

"Grinding is no problem. I guess he'll have no problem perfecting the rules of death, but it might take some time to achieve the fusion of the five domains. But there's not much time left for the next Genius Battle, right? If he's still only at the fourth domain, forget about winning the championship, even making it into the top ten will be a challenge."

"Alas, what a pity. If he hadn't chosen the Death Rule and had chosen another higher rule, he might already be at the fifth level. The higher-ups clearly have high hopes for him by including him in the list."

"The path of cultivation is one's own choice; who can predict it? Those treasures that aid in understanding the rules can only help you comprehend them; to truly integrate them, you still have to rely on yourself."

Nie Chang silently left the discussion forum, and the faint worry in his heart resurfaced.

He knew these people were right.

On the path of cultivation, the later the stage, the greater the impact of every choice.

The rules of death are in opposition to the rules of life. How can they be coordinated and integrated with the spacetime gold system that the commander has already mastered?

This is indeed an insurmountable barrier.

but.
Nie Chang shook his head, suppressing his distracting thoughts.

He trusted the commander.

The young man who led Earth out of its home planet from humble beginnings will not be so easily stopped.

Perhaps this is just a strategic cover-up?

Thinking of this, Nie Chang smiled self-deprecatingly.

To think that someone as low as Stardust level would presume to speculate on the cultivation strategies of top geniuses at the Star Core level is simply overthinking things.

"Vice Principal Nie, the meeting is about to begin, and Xu Xing's holographic projection has been connected," the secretary reminded him again.

Nie Chang composed himself and strode into the conference room.

Besides attending the centennial celebration of the Dongfeng Branch School, he also had another mission on his trip to Zexu Star: to investigate the fleet's garrison situation on Zexu Star and submit a report with recommendations on "upgrading the defense system of the edge planets of the Silver Blue Civilization".

As civilization grows stronger and its territory expands, so too do its responsibilities.
-
The year 820 of the New Era, the office of the vice principal of Dongfeng Military Academy.

Nie Chang was reviewing a research report on "Premature rule enlightenment for Stardust-level students may lead to instability of their origin" when an urgent news notification suddenly popped up on the screen.

The title is extremely jarring.

The top spot in the Star Core-level Training Camp has changed hands! Commander Lin Yi has dropped to second place!

Nie Chang's pupils contracted, and he immediately clicked on it.

The news content was objective, simply stating the facts: "In this Mercenary Alliance Star Core Level Training Camp, Long Ge Xing Tong from the Spirit Race surpassed Commander Lin Yi by a narrow margin and returned to the top of the leaderboard."

Beneath the straightforward text, one can almost hear the deafening roar of discussion on the virtual internet.

Nie Chang didn't immediately check the comments, but instead searched for Long Ge Xing Tong's public information.

Long Ge Xing Tong, born into an old family of the Spirit Clan, has cultivated for more than 3,800 years. He is a fifth-level domain of the four advanced rules, a steady and solid genius with no particularly outstanding weaknesses or dazzling achievements in fighting beyond his level. Before Lin Yi became number one, he was the number one in the training camp for a long time.

This time, reaching the top can only be described as returning to number one.

This is a very solid, very "normal" opponent.

But it is precisely this “normality” that makes Lin Yi’s “stagnation” seem even more abrupt.

Nie Chang closed his eyes briefly, but eventually opened the discussion forum on the virtual network.

Sure enough, things have already exploded.

The human faction remained relatively restrained, mostly analyzing the characteristics of the two characters and predicting future trends, but there were also many voices expressing concern:

"It's been so long, and Lin Yi is still only at the fourth level. Time waits for no one."

"Actually, it's already quite impressive that Lin Yi can maintain second place, considering the difference in the rule levels."

"But he's a genius. We have different expectations for him."

"The battle of geniuses is still over four hundred years away. It's too early to draw conclusions now. As long as Lin Yi can overcome the hurdle of life and death, the basic rules that follow shouldn't be too difficult for him."

However, once you switch to the inter-racial communication section, the tone immediately becomes sharp:

"Oh, so the number one human at the Star Core level has fallen from grace? Wasn't he supposed to be able to kill Kunmo Clan prodigies even when he was of a higher level?"

"The rules of spacetime are just so-so. When they encounter a solid fifth-level domain, they still have to give way, right?"

"I told you long ago, those who covet high-level rules are powerful in the early stages, but get stuck later. See, it came true?"

"Humans still boast about becoming future rulers? Hah, they can't even hold onto first place in the training camp now."

The human players were naturally not to be outdone:
"Does anyone from your race make it into the top 100 of the training camp? Oh, no, then shut up."

"No matter what, we're still second in the training camp, what's the rush?"

"So the rules of spacetime are just like that? Come on, tell me what the strength of your race's prodigies is, and let me see if you're qualified to comment."

"Keep being sour. Even if Lin Yi is stuck at the fourth level, he can still crush all the geniuses in your clan."

Various sarcastic remarks, retorts, data comparisons, and contradictory battle records filled the virtual network with heated arguments. Nie Chang even saw some accounts clearly from smaller races leaving comments in the Silver Blue Civilization's dedicated section:

"I suggest you change your commander; this one seems to be useless."

"The Silver Blue Civilization was really lucky. They managed to latch onto a seemingly powerful force, but it turned out to be weak before they could even get a firm grip on it."

"How about considering the friendship between us, the Tallinn people?"

Nie Chang felt a surge of anger rising within him as he read these comments.

He first searched to find out what kind of people this Tarlin tribesman was, then sneered and used his verified account, "Vice Principal of the Silver Blue Civilization East Peak Military Academy," to reply directly to the Tarlin tribesman's comment:
"The Tarlin Clan? It seems that your only Star Core-level training camp student was defeated and eliminated in the last round of elimination by a human student in the Second Realm within thirty seconds, right? I suggest that Your Highness try to last for a minute before talking about the quality of friendship."

send.

Almost instantly, a barrage of rebuttals and sarcasm flooded in, and Nie Chang retorted without hesitation, refusing to hold back any of them.

He served as the vice principal of a military academy for so many years. He may not be good at other things, but when it comes to his grasp of the combat strength data of the younger generation of various ethnic groups and his solid foundation in military theory, he is truly unmatched by these online trolls.

After retorting with over a dozen comments, seeing the other party gradually running out of words, Nie Changcai snorted coldly and temporarily withdrew from the battle.

He leaned back in his chair, trying to calm his somewhat rapid breathing.

What's wrong with me? At my age, I'm still arguing with people online like a young person.

But I just can't help it.

Nie Chang's gaze fell on a small safe in the corner of his desk. He stood up, entered multiple passwords and verified it using his soul fluctuations, and opened the safe.

Inside lay a test tube shimmering with a pale blue, hazy light. The surface of the test tube was engraved with complex energy patterns, and there was a simple note next to it.

The test tube contains "fifth-order source energy evolution fluid (water)".

The note was written in Lin Yi's own handwriting and contained only one sentence: "If Stardust is still unable to comprehend the rules of water when he reaches perfection, he may use this item. Do not be reckless; civilization needs you."

This was delivered personally by a person in charge of the Silver Blue Branch of the Human Race Merchant Guild in the year 810 of the New Era, which is ten years ago.

The person in charge was unusually respectful, saying that Commander Lin Yi had specifically instructed that the document must be personally handed over to Nie Chang.

Nie Chang had already reached the ninth level of Star Dust, and he had tried to comprehend the rules of water for several years, but he could not get through it.

This evolution fluid is a godsend.

But he ultimately did not use it.

It wasn't being sentimental; he just wanted to try again. He wanted to see if he could overcome that hurdle through his own efforts.

This evolution fluid became the most precious item in his safe, and one of the deepest sources of confidence in his heart.

Looking at the test tube, Nie Chang's chaotic thoughts suddenly calmed down.

While cultivating, the commander remembered even the advancement issues of his old subordinate clearly, and even prepared key resources more than ten years in advance.

Would such a person be trapped by a mere bottleneck and at a loss?

Nie Chang carefully placed the evolution fluid back into the safe and locked it.

He sat back down at his desk, closed the noisy discussion pages, and opened the next document awaiting review—"Feasibility Study on Establishing a 'Starship Command Special Operations Department' at Dongfeng Military Academy."

A slight smile curved the corners of her lips.

Let the young people deal with the noise on the internet.

What he should do is to make the foundation of the Silver Blue Civilization more solid.
-
In the year 1033 of the New Era, in near-Earth orbit of Blue Star, at the "Morning Star" dock.

Nie Chang, dressed in a silver-blue civilized general's uniform, stood at the front of the reviewing stand, gazing at the empty space in front of him.

There, a giant warship, over three thousand meters long, with a streamlined silver-gray paint job and a silver-blue civilization emblem branded on its bow, was slowly sliding out of the dock.

The portholes on both sides of the ship lit up one after another like stars, and the main engine nozzles began to glow with a faint blue light.

The first "Starsea-class" warship designed and built entirely independently by the Silver Blue Civilization, the "Humen," sets sail today.

Although this warship is only a frigate by interstellar standards, everything from material smelting to energy cores, from weapon systems to shield generators, was completed by the Silverblue Civilization's own research institutes and industrial system.

This is a milestone.

"I hereby announce that the 'Humen,' the first Starsea-class warship independently built by the Silver Blue Civilization, has been officially commissioned!" Li Zhenguo's voice, as he presided over the ceremony, resounded throughout the venue through the loudspeaker system.

Thunderous applause erupted from the viewing platform, and countless cameras captured the moment.

Nie Chang also clapped.

He recalled the awe he felt when he first saw the massive warships purchased by the Dongfeng Mercenary Group at the beginning of the new era.

I recalled how, over the years, the technical personnel of the Silver Blue Civilization had painstakingly tackled those unfamiliar technological trees, and how they had achieved breakthroughs from zero to one in 137 related fields.

Now, we can also build our own giant starships.

After the ceremony, Nie Chang did not leave immediately, but walked to the edge of the viewing platform and gazed into the distance.

The blue planet beneath my feet is azure and serene.

In the distance, the Seventh Star Ring Spaceport resembles a dazzling ring adorning the planet.

"Vice Principal Nie, are you feeling quite emotional?" A gentle voice sounded from the side.

Nie Chang turned his head and saw Dong Wang, the head of the Academy of Civilization Sciences.

“Yes,” Nie Chang smiled, “it brings back many memories of the past.”

“Civilization is like a tree,” Dong Wang said, gazing at the starry sky. “It needs to take deep root and grow upward. Commander Lin Yi and his comrades fought for sunshine and rain for us from above, while we laid a solid foundation below. Now, our tree has begun to grow its own strong branches.”

Nie Chang nodded, deeply agreeing.

At that moment, his personal terminal vibrated slightly, indicating that he had received an encrypted data packet.

After unlocking, you will find the latest population and powerful figures statistics briefing of the Silver Blue Civilization (top secret).

His gaze fell directly on the key data:
"Number of Star Core-level powerhouses (registered): 50374521."

It has surpassed 50 million.

Nie Chang paused slightly, then continued reading:

"Territory: 8917 inhabited planets under actual control, more than 600,000 resource planets with mining rights, and an influence radius of about 15,000 light-years."

"Standing fleet size: approximately 12,000 warships of all types, including 3 star-level capital ships and 870 frigates."

Numbers may be cold, but behind them lies the vibrant life force of a civilization.

Nie Chang turned off the briefing and subconsciously wanted to search for the latest news about Commander Lin Yi.

But after hovering over the search bar, he eventually put his finger down.

In recent years, there has been less and less public news about the commander-in-chief.

The rankings in the training camp fluctuated, eventually settling in the top three, but never reaching the top again.

On the virtual network, apart from the Silver Blue Civilization section and some die-hard supporters of the human race who still pay attention and discuss it regularly, the name "Lin Yi" has become much less popular in most of the public opinion fields of other races and even the human race.

The sea of ​​stars is so vast that amazing things happen every day.

A genius who "seems to have hit a bottleneck," no matter how brilliant he once was, will inevitably be replaced by new trends over time.

Only the people of the Silver Blue Civilization will always remember this.

No, there are exceptions.
Nie Chang recalled that last month, when Lady Li Yue, the patriarch of the Xina family, visited, she casually asked, "Vice Principal Nie, does Commander Lin Yi have anyone he admires on Silver Blue Star? While we do not encourage marriage between Elven women and Humans, we do not oppose it either."

His thoughts were practically written all over his face.

Nie Chang laughed it off, but he felt a little amused and inexplicably gratified.

The Liyue chieftain seemed unconcerned about the stagnation in the commander's strength, and was more concerned about his personal issues.

Perhaps in the eyes of those who truly understand and trust him, temporary fluctuations in rankings are completely insignificant?

As for himself.
With a slight thought, a gentle yet resilient aquamarine aura flowed quietly from Nie Chang's fingertips, subtly resonating with the moisture in the surrounding space.

Yes, he made a breakthrough.

In the year 1015 of the New Era, eighteen years ago, after his resignation as vice principal was rejected by Lin Yi, he finally chose to use the evolution fluid to comprehend the rules of water and step into the Star Core level.

There is nothing we can do about this.

In this way, when the principals of the branch campuses on various planets came to report on their work, they no longer had to face a superior at the level of a stardust.

Although they never showed the slightest disrespect because of it, Nie Chang himself always felt awkward.

Now, it doesn't feel awkward anymore.

He withdrew the water droplets from his fingertips and turned to leave the viewing platform.

The stars are vast, civilization progresses, and everyone has their own place and their own journey.
-
The year 1204 of the New Era, the headquarters of Dongfeng Military Academy.

Inside the enormous circular hall, thousands of silver-blue virtual login pods were neatly arranged, like a silent military formation.

At this moment, over 80% of the login pods had their operation indicator lights on, and inside the pods were Dongfeng Military Academy cadets who were virtually registering for the "Pan-Spirit Alliance Genius Battle".

Nie Chang stood in front of the central control console, watching the registration data scrolling across the screen:

"Number of successful registrations: 374210"

Total number of people who meet the registration requirements: 382050.

Registration completion rate: 98.0%.

Progress is good.

This was a directive personally issued by Commander Lin Yi: all qualified applicants from Dongfeng Military Academy must register for the preliminary rounds of this year's Pan-Spirit Alliance Genius Battle. The goal isn't to achieve a high ranking, but simply to "broaden their horizons and identify areas for improvement."

Nie Chang fully understood the profound meaning behind the order.

Even if the Genius Battle is just a virtual battle, its intensity and the diversity of its opponents are enough to let these students experience what a true prodigy of the Star Sea is like and understand the gap between themselves and the top level.

"Vice Principal, everything is normal, no abnormalities," the technical supervisor reported.

"Continue monitoring to ensure all trainees complete the process smoothly," Nie Chang instructed.

He walked to the rest area and brought up the virtual network interface.

As expected, the hottest topic in the entire Pan-Spirit Alliance virtual network right now is the upcoming Genius Battle.

Media outlets from all ethnic groups are frantically making predictions, analyzing, and creating momentum.

Nie Chang clicked on the most popular post, "Prediction of the Top 100 Seed Players in This Pan-Spirit Alliance Genius Battle (Real-time Update)".

The post was published by a well-known analysis team called "Starry Sea Observers," which supposedly has insider information channels and a high accuracy rate in its predictions.

Nie Chang flipped directly to the top of the rankings.

第1名到第9名，清一色标注着“目前规则融合层次：六重”，来自灵族（6人）、圣辉族（2人）、晶灵族（1人）。

These are all long-established powerful clans, with an incredibly consistent quality of geniuses.

The 10th to 15th places are in the Five Realms: three are from the Spirit Race, one is from the Sharpening Race, and one is from the Mechanical Race.

Then, 16th place.

"Lin Yi (human race)."

"Current rule integration level: four levels."

"Evaluation: He has comprehended the rules of spacetime, possesses rich practical experience, and his ability to overcome higher levels has been proven in past battles. However, his progress in integrating the rules has stalled, limiting his ranking. If he can break through to the fifth level, he could potentially reach the top ten or even the top five. Note: According to analysis, he may have some hidden strengths."

Nie Chang's gaze lingered on the last phrase, "may contain something," for a moment before continuing to read.

The 17th to 21st places are occupied by several other geniuses from different races, representing the fifth level of the realm.

In other words, in this prediction, Lin Yi is considered the strongest among all the geniuses of the fourth level, and surpasses at least five geniuses of the fifth level.

This is an extremely surprising evaluation.

This is precisely why the ranking has sparked huge controversy.

Nie Chang opened the comments section and, as expected, found it to be a scene of fierce controversy.

"Four layers pressing down on five? Are the rules of spacetime really this arbitrary?"

"Is the predictor even human? Are you biased? Are you hiding something? Hilarious! If you can't break through, you can't break through."

"Lin Yi has previously defeated prodigies at the fifth level, even those of higher levels, and his advantage in the rules of time and space is widely acknowledged."

"That's all in the past! How many years has he been stuck at the fourth level? Those geniuses in the fifth level are all making progress!"

"My clan's Soul Splitter, Mota, is also at the fifth level. Why is he ranked behind Lin Yi? Just because he has a reputation in the space-time continuum?"

"Let's wait and see if the predictor's face hurts when Lin Yi gets crushed by the geniuses ranked behind him."

"Humanity is truly lacking in talent. They're exaggerating the abilities of a genius stuck at a bottleneck. There are plenty of others who can't break through even with enough resources, and they're still hiding their abilities."

"Bragging? Find me a genius who can suppress a fifth level from a fourth level! If you can't, shut up!"

The humans and the skeptics were arguing fiercely, and the post's popularity soared at an alarming rate.

Nie Chang even noticed that Lin Yi's name had surpassed that of the Spirit Race sixth-level domain genius who was predicted to be ranked first on the "Today's Discussion Hotness" list.

Attention can sometimes be a form of pressure.

Nie Chang did not participate in the debate.

He stared at it silently for a while, then closed the page.

He walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, where the night view of Dongfeng Military Academy was visible, with the training ground's lighting strips resembling a galaxy on the ground.

It's been 1,200 years.

More than a thousand years have passed since the commander left Earth for the wider starry sky.

Over the course of a millennium, the Silver Blue Civilization has grown from its infancy to its current strength, expanding from its home planet to the wider world.

Nie Chang witnessed the gradual growth of civilization, as well as the glory, doubts, and silence that the commander experienced at the heights of the starry sky.

He has long since learned not to be easily moved by the noise of the virtual world.

But deep down, a voice kept asking him:
Commander, where exactly are you now?
Are those stagnations and bottlenecks real?

You've encouraged all of us to sign up for the Genius Challenge so we can see the difference in skill levels.

So, what kind of attitude are you prepared to present to this sea of ​​stars?
As Nie Chang gazed at the deep night sky, it seemed as if he could penetrate the chaos of the virtual network and see that distant and glorious primordial star.

There, he believed that the figure who had never disappointed him was making final preparations.

For the sake of the Silver Blue Civilization, and for all those who are waiting for an answer.

(End of this chapter)