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

Chapter 323 My Struggle, The Gathering of the Sovereigns

However, Lin Yi didn't look at the reward first.

After all, those things can't be avoided. I've been too busy to check the virtual network before, but now that I have time, I naturally have to deal with the comments first. It's a matter of basic courtesy.

Therefore, he first instructed Xuanji: "First, sort out the unread messages and the applications for contact marks."

"Yes, Master," Xuanji replied, and then began processing the massive amount of information.

A moment later, she reported, "Master, the initial sorting is complete. The vast majority of them are messages congratulating you on winning the Genius Battle."

Lin Yi nodded, not surprised by this.

A tall tree catches the wind, especially one that has stirred up an unprecedented storm in the starry sea.

He instructed, "Tell me the key points."

Xuanji's illusory figure in palace attire bowed slightly and began to report methodically: "First, there are the congratulations from the other Venerables besides Venerable Xuanyan. Venerable Tiange commented: 'Kid, well done!'"

Lin Yi's lips curled up slightly; Lord Tiange was as straightforward as ever.

The Lord of the Prison Abyss left a concise message: "Winning the championship is excellent, but be cautious in the secret realm."

"The Starfire Clan's Lord Yanhuang also sent his congratulations: Congratulations on winning the championship. The laws of spacetime are beginning to emerge, and the future is promising."

Lin Yi nodded slightly.

Xuanji continued, "Next is a message from Senior Sister Qianhuan."

She mimicked Qianhuan's languid, smiling tone: "Junior brother, you won the championship, and your senior sister is so proud."

Lin Yi smiled slightly; his third senior sister had been a great help to him.

"In addition, there were congratulations from several other senior brothers and sisters," Xuanji reported in turn.

Based on the situation, Lin Yi verbally recounted the content of his replies to each of these important messages.

Xuanji concluded by reporting, "Finally, it was a congratulatory message from the Blue Star civilization."

Her voice was steady, but the content she relayed stirred something within Lin Yi.

It was an official congratulatory telegram sent in the name of the Silver Blue Civilization, filled with pride and excitement.

The congratulatory telegram detailed the uproar throughout the Silver Blue Civilization after the news was relayed, and cautiously raised several requests:

First, there is a desire to hold a large-scale celebration across the entire civilization to commemorate this historic victory.

Secondly, it is proposed that the day Lin Yi won the championship be designated as a fixed anniversary of the Silver Blue Civilization, tentatively named "Rise Day," in order to inspire future generations.

Third, and most importantly, the publicity department hopes to produce a large-scale promotional video based on Lin Yi's experience, aiming to inspire the public, unite the spirit of civilization, and showcase a civilized image to Xinghai.

The film is tentatively titled "My Struggle," and we are seeking Lin Yi's opinion on this matter.

My Struggle.
Lin Yi pondered the name for a moment.

His first reaction wasn't to recall the "smooth" path of leading civilization through the assessments, rising to prominence, and ultimately winning the championship in this life, but rather to be instantly pulled back to the long and heavy memories of his previous life.

Struggling to survive in the darkness, carrying the faint hope of the entire civilization, from stardust to star core, and finally breaking through to the Star Swirl class after exhausting countless efforts and enduring thousands of years of hardship.
That was a true path of "struggle" paved with blood, sweat, loneliness, and unyielding spirit.

Compared to the path of having foresight, resources, and mentors in this life, the near-desperate journey in the previous life may be more in line with the profound core of the word "struggle".

He was silent for a moment, then sighed softly.

"Okay, let's call it that."

Lin Yi said to Xuanji, "Reply to them that I agree to all these requests. Let them handle the celebrations and anniversaries as they see fit, on a moderate scale, without causing unnecessary hardship or expense. As for the promotional video..."

He paused, then said seriously, "I have only one request: respect historical facts. Especially the early resistance of Blue Star against the Abyss, the stage of civilization advancement assessment, and some of my experiences fighting outside, should be reproduced as realistically as possible, so that they can ask you if they are unsure. Don't do anything flashy or impractical, and definitely don't cast any pretty boys to play me."

"Yes, Master. Your message will be conveyed in its entirety."

Lin Yi waved his hand: "There are too many other routine congratulations, and I don't have time to reply to them all. Xuanji, please categorize them according to different levels and sources, and draft thank-you reply templates in my own words, and process them uniformly."

"Understood, Master."

After handling this matter, Xuanji continued her report: "In addition, since the end of your competition, we have received a large number of new contact mark applications. According to statistics, there are 391 purple contact mark applications and 479 gold contact mark applications."

"what?"

Lin Yi was somewhat surprised, "So few purple ones? Not a single orange one?"

He asked with some confusion, "Having revealed the laws of time and won the championship, your influence should far exceed when you only demonstrated the nine levels of your domain. Why are there so few applicants... less purple than gold? And not a single orange one?"

This was not what he had expected.

When he first revealed his nine-fold domain, five Venerable Lords took the initiative to contact him, including the Radiant Venerable Lord of the Spirit Clan.

Now that he has reached a higher level, the Venerable Lord-level beings have become silent.
Hearing Lin Yi's mutterings, Xuanji pondered for a moment before replying, "Master, I think perhaps those at the Transcendent Realm level feel their status is no longer sufficient, hence the significant decrease in applications? After all, you have now begun to step into the threshold of the Time Law, your status and potential far surpassing ordinary eternal gods. Many at the Transcendent Realm level might find it presumptuous or that they are not of a sufficient caliber to actively seek your acquaintance. As for those at the Venerable Lord level..."

After pondering for a moment, Xuanji analyzed, "Perhaps it's because of their pride? After all, when you, Master, displayed your nine-level domain, they contacted you because they were optimistic about and invested in you as a peerless junior. Now, the talent you've displayed is, to some extent, already 'half a foot' into their level. If you were to rush over to contact them now, it might seem undignified and too eager."

“They may prefer to express their congratulations through existing channels, such as through the Venerable Xuanyan, or wait for a more appropriate occasion.”

Lin Yi nodded slightly upon hearing this.

Xuanji's statement is indeed not without merit.

In the vast universe, the strong are respected, but there is also an emphasis on equality of status and proper conduct.

The rapid rise in their status has made some mid-level powerhouses who might have taken action hesitate, while top-level powerhouses are more concerned about their demeanor.

"never mind."

Lin Yi shook his head. "There's no need to worry about these things. Let's follow the same principle as last time and deal with these new applications for markings and any gifts that might come with them."

"Okay, master."

Lin Yi breathed a sigh of relief, suppressing his slightly chaotic thoughts. "Now, let's get down to business. Xuanji, report on the resources I've acquired so far, especially the new ones after winning the championship."

Xuanji immediately became serious. "Master, after you won the championship, the new resources you received mainly fall into four categories."

"The first category, and the most valuable, is the clan reward from the Human Race Supreme Council—Clan Merit, 20000 points."

"Twenty thousand points?"

Even though Lin Yi had some idea of ​​what was going on, he couldn't help but gasp when he heard the number.

He knew that the tribe would reward him handsomely for winning the championship, after all, the first place in the preliminary rounds had already been rewarded with 2000 tribe merits.

But the direct reward of 20000 points still exceeded his expectations.

The ethnic group's actions this time can be described as quite substantial.

This is both a reward for his victory, which brought great honor to the human race and secured priority support from the Eldar, and probably also reflects the importance and investment in him for touching the laws of time at the Star Core level.

Lin Yi took a deep breath to suppress the turmoil in his heart.

With this huge sum of money, the resources he can exchange in the clan's treasury will reach an astonishing level, and their assistance to his future cultivation will be immeasurable.

"The second type is the directory points reward."

Xuanji continued her report, "The list of points rewards is for your breakthrough in the realm of laws based on your understanding of the rules. Because you publicly revealed the Law of Time, there is no need for application or verification. According to the list of rules, you will be automatically rewarded with 50 points."

Lin Yi nodded slightly.

This number is clearly listed in the catalog; he had seen the relevant terms when he redeemed resources before, so it wasn't unexpected.

50 directory points is also a huge sum of money, enough to exchange for rare treasures in the directory resource library that have a miraculous effect on comprehending the laws.

Xuanji continued, "The third type is the reward from the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance. However, this time the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance did not reward Star Core-level Training Camp points, but instead directly rewarded 10 Cosmic Mercenary Alliance contribution points."

"Huh? So generous?" Lin Yi was taken aback.

The Contribution Points of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance are a truly high-value currency within the alliance, with far wider and more sophisticated uses than Training Camp Points.

It can be used to exchange for various top-tier treasures, inheritances, and special training opportunities within the alliance, and it is also one of the hard currencies for hiring top mercenary groups to carry out high-difficulty missions.

As far as he knew, the base price for a single operation by a mercenary group with an eternal deity in charge was around 1 contribution points.

These 10 contribution points mean that he has a "credit limit" that allows him to mobilize top mercenary forces ten times, or to exchange for exclusive resources within the alliance of corresponding value.

While its actual value may not be as high as the clan's 20000 clan merits, it is definitely an extremely generous and practical reward.

Then, Xuanji's voice pulled Lin Yi back from his thoughts.

"Finally, there are the various congratulatory gifts you received. After preliminary valuation, the total value of all the gifts is approximately 23000 clan honors."

"What did you say? How much?"

Lin Yi was stunned for a moment, almost thinking he had misheard.

The value of the gifts received was higher than the rewards from the community?
Is this reasonable?

Lin Yi quickly asked, "How can there be so many? What's going on?"

Xuanji explained, "Master, it's like this. The main recipients of these gifts are the eternal gods. Each of their gifts is worth between 30 and 80 clan merits. Although each gift may not seem like much, the sheer number of them makes up for it."

"Of the 479 newly added applicants for the Golden Mark, more than half of them brought valuable gifts. In addition, many Eternal Deities with whom we had already established contact, including some introduced by senior brothers and sisters or those we had interacted with in the list, also sent congratulatory gifts again. In total, the value reached this figure."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi gave a wry smile.

This is really...
He once again deeply understood the meaning of "extremely popular".

Indeed, for these eternal deities, the congratulatory gifts of 30-80 clan merits are not a burden at all.

But for Lin Yi, the hundreds of such congratulatory gifts piled up became a number that even he found overwhelming.

Lin Yi thought for a moment and then asked, "Are the selection criteria the same as last time?"

Xuanji replied, "The same master."

Lin Yi rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache.

Receiving so many gifts made him feel somewhat uneasy.

However, if we raise the acceptance standards and discriminate against others at this time, we may inadvertently offend people.

After all, he is not yet a true sovereign, and has no right to nitpick over the "good intentions" of so many eternal gods.

These gift-givers didn't actually need his help right now; they were simply making an investment in advance, establishing goodwill, and paving the way for potential future relationships.

"Never mind." Lin Yi finally shook his head. "Now I can only accept it with tears in my eyes. Anyway, they don't need my help right now. It's just a way to make connections. I'll remember this favor and repay it if I have the ability in the future. There's no need to feel too guilty for now."

Lin Yi pondered for a moment. With so many miscellaneous treasures, simply storing them away after acquiring them wouldn't be a good idea, so he gave the order:
"Xuanji, sort and organize all the gifts. Those that I can use myself, seal them separately and add them to my cultivation resource sequence. Those that I can't use, remove the special and rare items and store them separately. The remaining regular treasures and materials, etc., will be gradually converted into cash by contacting the Human Merchant Guild after I receive them."

“Yes, Master,” Xuanji replied.

After dealing with these complicated matters, Lin Yi finally felt a sense of relief.

He walked to the window of the cultivation room, gazing at the tranquil flow of pale golden energy outside the manor, and his mind gradually calmed down.

He would be setting off for the Myriad Secret Realms in three days, where the real challenges would begin. Before that, he needed to get himself into peak condition.
-
Three days passed in a blink of an eye.

On this day, Lin Yi and the top 1,000 members selected from this year's Pan-Spirit Alliance Genius Battle gathered at the dedicated airport near the ultimate arena.

A large, silver-white starship was already silently hovering in its berth.

The starship's surface was covered in flowing runes, radiating powerful spatial fluctuations, clearly indicating that it was a top-tier vehicle specifically designed for ultra-long-distance travel.

"Boarding!" As the starship's broadcast sounded, a thousand Star Core-level geniuses from various races of the Pan-Spirit Alliance transformed into streaks of light and flew into the starship's open hatch.

As the champion and team leader, Lin Yi has a private luxury cabin.

After entering, he did not rest, but went straight into a state of cultivation to continue nurturing and consolidating the time law he had just begun to understand, while also repeatedly simulating the possible situations in the secret realm in his mind.

The starship shuddered slightly, breaking free from the spaceport's gravitational pull.
Immediately, the runes on the ship's surface lit up, and the surrounding space began to distort violently. The next moment, the starship had already disappeared into a bizarre and colorful hyperspace tunnel and begun warp drive.

During the voyage, the starship provided comprehensive training facilities and a virtual battle platform, allowing geniuses to maintain their skills and exchange ideas.

Aside from necessary public appearances, Lin Yi spent most of his time immersed in cultivation.

Occasionally, he would also maintain contact with the Blue Star Civilization and the Dongfeng Mercenary Group through the virtual network to learn about the situation at the rear.

Six months passed almost imperceptibly during the curvature voyage.

When the starship gave another slight jolt, leaving hyperspace and returning to normal space, the view outside the porthole made all the geniuses hold their breath.

This is a desolate and strange star field.

In the distance, the stars were sparse and their light was dim. The spatial structure seemed somewhat unstable, with occasional tiny streams of seven colors flashing across the void like the aurora borealis.

Directly in front of the starship, there was an extremely vast area of ​​void, where space presented a strange state of both solidification and flow, like a slightly rippling transparent water curtain.

Behind the water curtain, light and shadow distorted, and one could vaguely see the strange sights of changing mountains and rivers and the birth and death of stars, but the scene was changing drastically every moment and had no discernible pattern.

This is the entrance area of ​​the "Myriad Secret Realms".

The starship's hatch slowly opened.

Lin Yi was the first to fly out, hovering in the void.

Behind them, Edith and nine hundred and ninety-nine other geniuses also flew out one after another, hovering in neat formation.

Further ahead in the void, more than forty figures were suspended.

Each figure exuded an aura as deep as the sea, surrounded by a faint radiance of law; they were none other than the lords of the various races of the Pan-Spirit Alliance who had escorted them here.

The Radiant Lord, the Profound Lord, the Illusory Lord—one after another, Lord-level beings rarely seen on ordinary days—are gathered here at this moment. They silently gaze at the entrance to the secret realm ahead, their expressions solemn.

Under the watchful eyes of so many venerable masters, Lin Yi and the other thousand geniuses dared not even breathe loudly, standing solemnly.

Not long after, the void in front of everyone rippled slightly, and a figure appeared out of thin air without warning.

The moment it appeared, it seemed as if the focus of the entire starry sky converged on it.

He was a rather gentle-looking Elven man, dressed in a simple white robe, his face indistinct, but his eyes seemed to contain the profound truth of the universe's birth and death.

He simply stood there, and all forty-odd lords present, including Radiant One, bowed slightly in respect.

Lin Yi and the other geniuses were deeply shaken and quickly followed the Venerable Ones in front, bowing in unison.

"Greetings, Lord Qingyan!"

This was none other than the Spirit Race Overlord-level expert, Qingyan Overlord, mentioned in the advance notice they had received.

The Azure Emperor's gaze swept calmly across the entire scene, pausing briefly on Lin Yi before moving away.

He didn't speak, but simply hovered silently in the void, as if waiting for something.

An eerie silence fell over the entire star field.

Only the occasional flashes of iridescent light in the distance, and the ever-changing spectacle behind the gently rippling "water curtain," prove that time is still passing.

About half an hour passed.

The void on the other side began to twist and tear without warning.

That wasn't the gentle fluctuation of a spatial passage opening, but a brutal and forceful expansion.

It was as if some enormous thing had used sheer force to tear a hole in space.

A dark golden figure stepped out first from the torn spatial rift.

It was a humanoid being over ten meters tall, covered in dark gold scales, with three pairs of curved horns on its head and a long tail covered in bone spurs trailing behind it.

Its face was ferocious, its pupils were like burning lava, and its body exuded an aura that devoured everything.

With its appearance, an invisible pressure spread out as if it were a tangible force, forming a stark contrast with the gentle yet omnipresent majesty of the Azure Blade Sovereign.

Following the dark golden figure, more than thirty figures of different shapes emerged one after another, all exuding a terrifying aura.

Some have wings on their backs, while others have multiple heads and arms. Without exception, they are all intelligent beings in the form of beasts or half-beasts, surrounded by the ancient and savage aura unique to the Abyss Clan, originating from the depths of their bloodline.

These are the Venerable Lords of the Abyss Clan.

Behind these venerable lords, a thousand figures emerged one after another from the spatial rift.

They have all shrunk to a size similar to that of humans, but their shapes are incredibly diverse.

There were giant wolves engulfed in flames, giant bears covered in thick rock armor, multi-headed pythons that slithered and writhed, and ferocious birds with bony wings on their backs.
This is the Abyss Clan, the pinnacle race that calls itself the "Source Clan," descendants of the "Primordial Beasts" from the beginning of the universe.

The dark golden figure at the head of the group swept his gaze over the Spirit Clan and finally landed on the Azure Jade Ruler.

But it didn't speak either.

The two sides stood silently facing each other across the void.

The atmosphere was so oppressive it felt like it could drip water.

Lin Yi could feel that the breathing of many geniuses around him had become rapid.

In other words, they were enveloped by a faint blue light from the Azure King; otherwise, the sheer pressure of a confrontation between two rulers would have been enough to kill them instantly.

About fifteen minutes later.

The void on the other side suddenly began to rot.

That wasn't a description; it was a real scene.

The space in that area was as if it had been splashed with strong acid, and large areas began to "dissolve," turning into a sickly purplish-black color.

Countless worm-egg-like holes appeared in the void, flowing with viscous, dark purple energy, while the holes began to corrode and gradually expand.

A constantly shifting, dark purple mist-like life form emerged first from the purplish-black passage.

It has no fixed shape; sometimes it spreads out like a nebula, and sometimes it contracts into the shape of a giant, constantly beating heart.

At the core of the mist-like life form are two eyes that seem to burn with ghostly flames, coldly gazing at the outside world.

Immediately afterwards, nearly twenty more figures emerged from the passage.

Behind these Eclipse Lords, a thousand insectoid units of various colors flew out from the purplish-black passage.

They were somewhat similar to the swarm of insects Lin Yi faced in the preliminaries, but they were more ferocious and their auras were more solid and powerful.

This is the Eclipse Clan, a terrifying race that initially split off from the Abyss Clan and eventually established itself as the pinnacle of races.

The Eclipse Clan Overlord's ever-changing misty body rippled slightly, its two ghostly fire eyes sweeping over the Spirit Clan and the Abyss Clan before silently hovering in the void.

The three parties, arranged in a triangle, confront each other across the void.

There was no communication, no superficial politeness, and even eye contact was rare.

There is only silence.

Dead silence.

But within this silence lies a pressure heavier than any words could express.

The hatred and competition accumulated by the three supreme races over countless eras have transformed into a tangible atmosphere of oppression in this special occasion.

Lin Yi could clearly feel the gazes from the other two sides, like cold blades, sweeping over these geniuses from time to time.

He knew that most of those gazes were focused on him and Edith.

As the team leader and deputy team leader of the Pan-Spirit Alliance, and also the champion and runner-up of this year's Genius Battle, they are bound to be the primary targets of the other two sides in the secret realm.

Time passes minute by minute.

Every second seemed to be extraordinarily long.

In this extremely oppressive atmosphere, the void ahead finally began to change.

The ripples of the water curtain gradually intensified, transforming from gentle ripples into giant waves.

The ever-changing scenery behind it spun faster and faster, eventually turning into a chaotic stream of light.

Immediately afterwards, a point of light, dazzling to the extreme, lit up in the center of the water curtain.

An enormous "entrance" slowly appeared in the void.

Myriad hidden realms are now officially open!
Almost at the same instant the entrance was fully revealed, the atmosphere among the three factions suddenly became extremely tense.

The Azure Emperor finally spoke, his gentle voice reaching the ears of every genius in the Pan-Spirit Alliance: "Go, remember the ironclad rule, and come back alive."

As he finished speaking, he nodded slightly to Lin Yi and the other thousand geniuses.

This is the signal to depart.

Lin Yi took a deep breath, suppressing all the distracting thoughts in his mind.

He turned around, his gaze sweeping over the nine hundred and ninety-nine companions from various races of the Pan-Spirit Alliance behind him.

He could see the tension and anticipation in their eyes.
But Lin Yi said nothing, only bowed slightly in the direction of the Azure Blade Sovereign and the other Venerable Lords.

Then, he transformed into a streak of light, like an arrow released from a bow, and shot towards the entrance to the chaotic secret realm.

Behind him, Edith transformed into a streak of silver and pale green light almost simultaneously, following closely behind.

"go!"

"Follow!"

Huiyao, Xingyu, Baifeng, Lingxuan, Kenx, Moyuan.
One by one, human geniuses, as well as geniuses from other races, transformed into streams of light of various colors, flowing towards the entrance like a reversed galaxy.

at the same time.

From the direction of the Abyss Clan, the dark golden-haired overlord let out a deep roar.

A thousand shrunken abyssal beasts roared in unison, transforming into streaks of light of various colors as they charged fiercely into the entrance.

The misty body rippled slightly in the direction of the Eclipse Clan.

A thousand insectoid creatures of various colors, like an army receiving a supreme command, moved in perfect unison, transforming into a purplish-black "tide" that silently and swiftly surged into the entrance. The dozens of terrifyingly powerful insectoid prodigies, their compound eyes flashing with cold and efficient calculation, also locked onto the forefront of the Pan-Spirit Alliance's team.

In just a few breaths, the three thousand Star Core level geniuses from the three parties were like rivers flowing into the sea, all disappearing into the chaotic stream of light.

The entrance remained open, and the deep "nothingness" inside slowly rotated, like a giant maw that devoured all light and life.

Silence returned to the void.

Only nearly a hundred Venerable-level beings from the three sides, along with three Sovereigns, remained suspended in place.

They remained in silent confrontation.

But the atmosphere was different from before.

Lord Radiance frowned, his golden eyes fixed on the slowly rotating entrance to the secret realm, his expression extremely solemn.

Not only him, but also several other lords from powerful clans, including Lord Xuan Yan and Lord Ju Yan, all had somewhat solemn expressions at this moment.

"Something's wrong."

Finally, the Radiant Lord spoke in a low voice.

(End of this chapter)