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

Chapter 326 The Crisis of Total Annihilation

Chapter 326 The Crisis of Total Annihilation (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
In a world shrouded in gray fog, time seemed to lose its meaning.

Lin Yi and Liu Yun had been walking in this desolate place for two whole days.

The surrounding scenery remained unchanged.

The swirling gray fog, the jagged black stones, and the ground covered in fine dust created a monotonous and oppressive atmosphere.

"Team leader, we have explored about 300 kilometers in this direction."

Liu Yun's voice came through, sounding slightly tired.

Although the wings of light behind him had regained some of their luster, the aftereffects of the Burning Light Technique had not completely subsided.

Lin Yi did not turn around, his gaze calmly sweeping across the area shrouded in gray fog ahead.

His clone scouted ahead, its figure appearing and disappearing in the mist.

"Continue to deploy relay nodes to ensure overlapping signal coverage."

"clear."

Liu Yun took out a relay and skillfully embedded it into a relatively flat crevice in the rock wall.

The faint light flowing across the surface of the device quickly dimmed, entering stealth mode.

This has been one of their main tasks over the past two days: to build a communication network as wide as possible in this secret realm where rules are strictly enforced.

The frequency of Gray Mist Beast appearances seems to have increased slightly in this area.

In two days, Lin Yi killed more than forty of these monsters formed from condensed mist.

Most of them are at the early stage of the Star Core level, with occasional Star Swirl level individuals appearing, but in the face of the laws of time, they are no different in essence from their weaker counterparts.

Time stands still, space is divided.

This has become Lin Yi's standard combat procedure in the secret realm.

Highly efficient, energy-saving, and leaves no trace.

The gray crystal cores left behind after the gray mist beasts were destroyed were all collected by Lin Yi into the special isolation compartment in his bracelet.

As the number increases, the fusion phenomenon between crystal nuclei continues to occur, but the critical point for forming black channels has not yet been reached.

As Lin Yi walked, he organized the known information in his mind.

Gray Mist Beast, Crystal Core, Fusion Phenomenon, Black Channel
And that Yuan Clan prodigy who forcibly broke through to the Star Swirl level and was instantly killed by him.

Behind these seemingly scattered pieces of information, there must be some kind of connection.

However, there are still not enough clues.

"Master, a faint energy fluctuation has been detected ahead, possibly a sign that the Gray Mist Beast is about to condense." Xuanji's voice rang in her mind.

Lin Yi looked up and saw that the gray fog about two hundred meters ahead was churning violently, and a gray energy that was much denser than ordinary gray fog was rapidly gathering.

“Mid-stage Star Swirl level, with a relatively stable energy structure,” Xuanji quickly assessed.

Lin Yi did not stop.

He didn't even send his clone to make a move.

Just as the gray energy began to condense into a blurry humanoid outline, before it was fully formed, Lin Yi casually raised his right hand and lightly tapped his index finger in the air.

Silver-gray ripples of the laws of time emanated from his fingertips.

The gray mist beast that was taking shape suddenly froze, and even the surging gray mist around it seemed to be frozen in amber.

The next moment, Lin Yi's fingertip made a barely perceptible downward slash.

A spatial rift as thin as a hair appeared out of thin air and precisely pierced through the gray mist beast's core, which was not yet fully formed.

The cloud of gray mist dissipated silently like a burst bubble, leaving only a slightly darker gray crystal core that fell from mid-air and was caught by Lin Yi from a distance.

Liu Yun's eyes twitched slightly as she watched from behind.

This is the terrifying aspect of the laws of time.

Faced with absolute control over time, all conventional combat logic becomes meaningless.

"Let's move forward." Lin Yi put away the crystal core.

The two of them, one after the other, disappeared into the gray fog once again.

Time passes slowly.

Just as Lin Yi was about to let the team take a short rest and check the operation status of the relay network.

"Alert! Encrypted distress signal received! Signal source: Our standard communication relay node (number: relay-23). Signal strength: Medium, ongoing. Content analysis: Encountering a powerful enemy, three people are being pursued, coordinates have been attached."

Xuanji's urgent alarm suddenly sounded.

Lin Yi's eyes narrowed.

Relay-23 was one of the nodes he deployed yesterday afternoon.

"go!"

Without any hesitation, Lin Yi's mind stirred, and the silver-gray spatial rule power instantly enveloped him and Liu Yun simultaneously.

The space rippled like water.

The next moment, the two figures had disappeared from their original spot.
-
180 kilometers away.

Three figures were fleeing in disarray through the gray mist.

Leading the group was a prodigy of the Spirit Race, enveloped in a pale green aura of life rules, with complex runes flowing across the surface of his armor.

He was at the fourth level of the Domain Realm, and at this moment he was activating it at full power, forming a rule barrier behind him to slow down the pursuit.

Following behind him were two companions: one a Star Spirit Clan prodigy, surrounded by starlight and possessing a triple domain; the other a Spirit Clan prodigy, whose aura was slightly weaker and who only possessed a single domain.

All three had varying degrees of damage to their armor and bore obvious injuries.

The most seriously injured was the Spirit Race member at the first level of the realm; his left arm hung limply, clearly due to a broken bone.

Pursuing them were three prodigies of the Devouring Clan.

They vary in appearance, but all bear the distinct characteristics of the Starry Sky Insect Clan.

The lead one resembled a giant purplish-black mantis, with two bladed legs that shimmered with an eerie light and were covered with fine barbs.

Its aura had reached the sixth level of the Star Vortex, and its body was shrouded in a corrosive dark purple power of rules.

On the left is a bulky, beetle-like Eclipse Clan member with a thick carapace and six pairs of compound eyes that gleam with a cold, calculating light. It is a Star-level fourth-tier creature.

On the right was a slender, blade-like flying insect of the Devourer Clan, its four pairs of semi-transparent wings vibrating rapidly, leaving afterimages in the gray mist; it was a Star Swirl-level Tier 1 insect.

The three Eclipse Clan prodigies pursued the fleeing trio in a triangular formation, their attacks perfectly coordinated, each strike precisely blocking the escape routes of the three.

"Damn it, they're too fast!"

The Star Spirit Clan prodigy in the third realm gritted his teeth and swung his starlight spear, barely managing to block a sudden attack from the Flying Insect Clan, but the shock made his arm go numb.

“This won’t do.” The Spirit Race prodigy at the first level of the realm looked pale. “Their source energy level is far higher than ours, and our rule-based attacks are unlikely to cause any effective damage.”

"I know."

A resolute glint flashed in the eyes of the Spirit Clan prodigy at the fourth level of cultivation. "So what if I break through to the Star Void Realm? If all else fails, I'll..."

His words stopped abruptly.

At that very moment, the mantis-like creature that was chasing at the forefront suddenly stopped.

No, it's not just that.

Three Eclipse Clan prodigies, along with the dark purple corrosive rules surging around them, their vibrating wings, and their impending pounce.
Everything froze at the same instant.

Time seemed to have been paused.

The fleeing trio also noticed something was wrong, and they instinctively turned around.

Silver-gray ripples spread out from a certain point, freezing everything in their path.

At the center of the ripples, two figures slowly emerged.

The dark silver Spirit Shadow Armor stood out conspicuously against the gray fog.

Lin Yi's gaze swept over the three Eclipse Clan prodigies who were frozen in time, his eyes turning slightly cold.

Then, both the main body and the clone simultaneously raised their right hands, loosely clenched their fists, and then gently squeezed them.

The mantis's hard carapace cracked under the strain, the beetle's bulky body was deformed by the pressure, and the flying insect's slender limbs broke off inch by inch.

The three Star-level Erosion Clan prodigies were crushed under the absolute pressure of the spatial rules, forcibly compressed into three spheres mixed with carapace fragments and dark purple blood mist, and then completely dissipated into the gray mist.

The fleeing trio stared blankly at the scene, momentarily forgetting to breathe.

It wasn't until Lin Yi turned his gaze to them and calmly asked, "How are your injuries?"

The Spirit Clan prodigy in the fourth realm was the first to react. He quickly bowed and said, "Spirit Clan, Qingye, thank you for saving my life, leader."

“Star Spirit Clan, Star Mark.” The three prodigies also quickly bowed.

“Ling Clan. Muxi.” The prodigy endured the excruciating pain in his left arm and spoke with difficulty.

Lin Yi nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the injuries on the three people before looking at the spot where the three Eclipse Clan prodigies had disappeared.

Three fist-sized, dark purple, insect-shell-shaped containers remained.

"The shell of a space worm?" Lin Yi remotely took the container into his hand.

He had heard of this container before; it was a unique storage device of the Eclipse Clan, crafted from the shells left behind by a rare insectoid species called the "Void Worm." Its internal space was stable and extremely well-concealed.

"Xuanji, try to crack this container, and be careful to defend against any possible toxins or traps."

"Yes, Master."

Lin Yi handed the container to his clone to handle, then looked at Qingye and the other two: "Tell me the situation."

Aoba took a deep breath, calmed his turbulent emotions, and said:
"Reporting to the leader, after entering the secret realm, I explored it alone according to the tactics manual, while setting up relay nodes along the way. About a day ago, I encountered Starmark."

He pointed to the Protoss prodigy beside him, "We share information links and decided to act as a team, which makes us safer."

"Later, we encountered a two-person team consisting of Muxi and another Spirit Clan prodigy, and we decided to merge into one team to explore together."

At this point, Qingye's voice lowered: "But just before that, we encountered those three prodigies of the Erosion Clan."

“There’s one triplet, one doublet, and one singlet. We have the advantage in both numbers and strength, and we originally planned to try to take them down.”

Qingye clenched her fists slightly: "But those three Eclipse Clan members, upon seeing us, without saying a word, suddenly triggered their breakthroughs at the same time."

Xinghen continued, "Yes, leader. They broke through to the Star Vortex level almost simultaneously without any hesitation. After the breakthrough, their source energy aura not only did not become unstable, but surged instantly, obviously using some kind of secret technique or drug."

Mu Xi added, her face pale, "We never expected them to do this. After breaking through to the Star Swirl level, the Mantis Devourer immediately launched an attack. It was too fast, and another Spirit Race prodigy in our team couldn't react in time and perished on the spot."

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.

Lin Yi's gaze darkened.

died.

The Myriad Secret Realms are extremely special; if you die here, you cannot be resurrected in the main universe. Once you die, you are truly dead.

"The three of us fought back desperately, barely managing to hold off the first wave of attacks, and then we started to flee," Qingye said through gritted teeth. "They chased us relentlessly, and our source energy and rule power were greatly depleted. If our leader hadn't arrived in time..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.

Lin Yi was silent for a moment, then slowly asked, "Are you sure that the three Eclipse Clan members broke through at the same time as soon as they met?"

"It's true."

Aoba asserted, "They didn't even try to communicate or confront each other; they simply chose the most extreme approach."

Xinghen nodded in agreement: "This behavior is too abnormal. Even if they felt they couldn't defeat us, they only needed one member of the Eclipse Clan to break through to the Star Vortex level to turn the tide of the battle. Why did all three of them break through? The price is too high."

Liu Yun, who had been standing quietly behind Lin Yi, suddenly spoke up, "You may not know, but I met a member of the Abyss Clan who broke through to the Star Vortex level the moment we met."

The three of them, Qingye, Liuyun, looked at each other with surprise and doubt on their faces.

"Is the Yuan Clan like this too?" Qingye quickly asked.

Liu Yun nodded and briefly recounted her experience of encountering the Yuan Clan prodigy.

After hearing this, the expressions of Qingye and the other two changed completely.

If the behavior of one member of the Eclipse Clan could be explained by "individual madness," then the fact that both the Eclipse Clan and the Abyss Clan exhibit the same behavior is definitely not a coincidence.

Lin Yi's face was ashen.

His mind raced, piecing together all the clues.

The prodigies of the Eclipse Clan broke through to new heights upon meeting, and the prodigies of the Abyss Clan did the same.
A chilling guess gradually took shape in his mind.

"You tell me," Lin Yi said slowly, his voice icy, "would the other two races allow all the geniuses who enter the secret realm to break through to the Star-Spirit level if necessary?"

These words struck like a thunderbolt, exploding in everyone's ears.

They were all geniuses carefully selected from their respective races, with sharp minds, and naturally understood the meaning behind Lin Yi's words instantly.

"Everyone...breakthrough?"

Star Mark murmured.

"How is that possible?" Mu Xi retorted instinctively. "Once they break through to the Star Swirl level, they won't be able to get out; it's as if they're already dead. How could this be?"

His voice gradually faded away.

Aoba took a deep breath and forced herself to calmly analyze the situation.

"The team leader is right, it's not impossible. If the other side's higher-ups issue such an order, then all the prodigies must carry it out."

Liu Yun's face was so gloomy it was almost as if water could drip from it.

"I understand. With a leader present, they would have been at a significant disadvantage in the secret realm, likely unable to bring back much source essence. At the same time, they could have used the unique environment of the secret realm to their advantage, effectively killing the leader."

He paused and didn't say anything else.

But everyone understood the second half of the sentence. So they chose to prevent anyone from taking the source material out.

Lin Yi chimed in, "That's right, they can even use the special environment of the Myriad Secret Realms to try and kill me."

He looked at everyone and said slowly, "Now it seems that the other two races have clearly reached a tacit understanding on the matter of the secret realm, aside from other things."

"Once a genius from the sixth or seventh level breaks through to the Star Vortex level and temporarily boosts their source energy level using a secret technique, they can pose a threat to me. And if they are combined with a large number of Star Vortex level geniuses attacking them..."

There's no need to say anything more.

Everyone present knew that if a hundred Star-level geniuses were to attack him, even someone as strong as Lin Yi would be caught in a fierce battle and might even perish.

"What a vicious plan," Qingye said through gritted teeth.

Lin Yi shook his head and sneered, "What we consider malicious is a win-win situation for them."

Mu Xi opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found her throat dry and unable to utter a single word.

If Lin Yi's guess is true, then they are now facing an unprecedented predicament.

“Strictly speaking,” Lin Yi suddenly said, his gaze sweeping over everyone, “you may have been dragged down by me.”

Aoba was taken aback, then realized what was happening and quickly said, "Team leader, this is malicious on their part, it has nothing to do with you."

“Yes, team leader,” Xinghen hurriedly added, “If it weren’t for you, we would probably have died at the hands of the Eclipse Clan long ago.”

Muxi and Liuyun nodded repeatedly.

They're not stupid.

Even if the thought "If Lin Yi weren't so strong, the other party wouldn't have resorted to such extreme measures" really crossed their minds, they absolutely couldn't say it out loud at this moment.

Because everyone knew that if the situation was as bad as Lin Yi had predicted, their only way to survive was to follow the leader who had mastered the laws of time.

Only Lin Yi has the potential to lead them through the encirclement and suppression efforts.

Lin Yi naturally understood what the others were thinking, but he didn't care.

At such a critical juncture of life and death, any selfish thoughts are secondary.

Because now we're all in the same boat.

"Forget it, now is not the time to complain," Lin Yi said calmly. "These days, with the expansion of the relay network, the frequency of our meetings has increased significantly. The other two races have similar means of communication, so it's likely the same. It won't be long before large-scale gatherings occur."

His gaze swept over everyone: "At that time, if the entire opposing team breaks through to the Star Vortex level, our disadvantages will be magnified infinitely."

Aoba and the others felt their hearts sink.

They could imagine that scene.

Hundreds or even thousands of Star-level Erosion Clan and Abyss Clan prodigies formed a battle formation and launched a massive, overwhelming attack.

That would be a massacre.

"What we need to do now is to hurry up and gather as many people as possible together," Lin Yi's voice interrupted everyone's thoughts.

He looked at Aoba and said, "You all immediately synchronize your information links with my tactical network. Then split up and search in four directions from here, setting up relay nodes along the way to expand communication coverage."

"If you encounter the enemy, do not linger in battle. Send a message for reinforcements immediately, and I will teleport there to meet you."

Aoba and the others exchanged glances and replied in unison, "Understood."

"Be careful," Lin Yi reminded him as a final reminder. "If you encounter any abnormalities, seek help immediately. Don't be reckless."

"Don't worry, team leader," Qingye said solemnly.

The four bowed to Lin Yi and then disappeared into the gray mist.

Lin Yi watched them leave, then he and his clone, one in front and one behind, began their exploration again.
-
Meanwhile, in another area of the secret realm.

The gray fog churned, and the light from the collision of rules flickered continuously within it.

Edith moved with lightning speed, darting swiftly among the jagged black rocks.

Her silver-white armor was covered with runes that intertwined light and darkness. The armor on her left shoulder was broken, revealing the skin underneath that had been burned by the power of the rules, and blood was slowly seeping from the wound.

Behind her, ten Star Core-level prodigies from various races of the Pan-Spirit Alliance were desperately following her.

These prodigies were in terrible condition, their armor was damaged, their aura was weak, and they had injuries of varying degrees.

As they sped along, they also had to fend off attacks coming from the flanks and rear.

Behind them, thirteen figures were hot on their heels.

Thirteen prodigies of the Yuan Clan.

These Yuan Clan prodigies, without exception, all emanated energy fluctuations at the Star Vortex level.

The highest-ranking one was a dragon-shaped Abyss Clan member covered in dark gold scales. Its domain was at the fifth level, and its source energy fluctuations had reached the eighth level of the Star Vortex level.

The remaining twelve Abyss Clan members are all between the first and sixth ranks of the Star Swirl level.

"The Three-Headed Abyss Clan has surrounded us from the left!" a Crystal Spirit Clan prodigy exclaimed urgently. The crystal on her forehead had already dimmed, indicating that she had consumed a great deal of energy.

Edith didn't turn her head, but waved her left hand behind her.

"Time-space folds!"

The power of rules surged forth, and the space on the left began to twist and fold, forming invisible folds and barriers.

The three Abyss Clan members who attempted to encircle the area suddenly slowed down after entering, as if they had sunk into a viscous swamp.

But this distraction suddenly increased the pressure on the front lines.

Seizing the opportunity, the dark gold dragon-shaped abyss creature suddenly opened its mouth and spewed out a dark gold dragon breath.

Wherever the dragon's breath passed, the gray mist evaporated, and a scorched furrow was plowed into the ground.

Edith's pupils contracted slightly, she spun around rapidly, and clasped her hands together at the same time.

"Light and darkness alternate!"

A black and white halo appeared behind her, spinning rapidly to form a vortex of light and darkness that devoured everything.

The dragon's breath slammed into the vortex, unleashing a deafening roar.

Edith groaned, and a trickle of blood escaped from the corner of her mouth.

The vortex of light and darkness trembled violently, barely managing to absorb the dragon's breath, but the backlash also disrupted her power of rules.

"Your Highness!" several Spirit Clan prodigies exclaimed.

"Continue the retreat." Edith wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. "Don't stop."

She knew she couldn't stop.

Once they stop, they will be completely surrounded by these thirteen Star-level Abyss Clan members.

The team continued to move through the gray fog.

They fought and retreated, and every encounter was fraught with danger.

A prodigy of the Li Clan was grazed by the claws of a wolf-like Abyss Clan member, his armor torn apart, and a deep, bone-revealing wound appeared under his ribs.

He staggered and almost fell, but was pulled back by his companion.

"Hold on!"

Edith gritted her teeth and distracted herself by manipulating the rules of light and darkness, conjuring a black and white shield behind the Li Clan prodigy, which barely managed to block the Wolf-shaped Abyss Clan's subsequent pursuit.

But this made her even more exhausted.

The clone has dissipated due to excessive consumption of the power of the rules and needs time to reassemble.

The body's spacetime and light-darkness rules have also been consumed by nearly 40%. If this continues, it will soon be completely exhausted.

"My source energy is almost depleted," a Spirit Race prodigy roared. His right arm was twisted unnaturally, clearly broken. "Running away like this is not a solution. If all else fails, the only option is for the few of us to force our way to Star Vortex. It's better than being hunted to death together."

Edith knew this all too well.

However, in this way, the person who forcibly breaks through the realm is essentially dead.

She didn't want things to turn out this way if there was even a glimmer of hope.

"hold onto."

Edith took a deep breath, her turquoise eyes rekindling with fighting spirit. "I've been continuously sending warning signals through the tactical core. As long as we enter the coverage area of any relay node, the signal will be forwarded. As long as there's one of our squads nearby, there's hope."

This is their only hope.

As long as the signal can be received by teammates, there is a chance to get backup.

The team continued to move through the gray fog.

Time passes minute by minute.

Every second seemed to be extraordinarily long.
-
At the same time, about 120 kilometers away from Edith's team.

Liu Yun had just finished setting up a new relay node and was about to report the progress to Lin Yi when his tactical core communication module suddenly started flashing violently.

"Warning! High-intensity continuous warning signal received! Signal content: Enemy attacked by thirteen Star-level Abyss Clan members, currently fighting and retreating, coordinates continuously updated."

Liu Yun's expression changed drastically.

Thirteen Star-level Abyss Clan members?

Without any hesitation, he immediately contacted Lin Yi.

"Team leader! Emergency! I just received a continuous warning signal. One of our teammates is being attacked by thirteen Star-level Abyss Clan members. They are currently fighting and retreating. I have already synchronized the coordinates to the tactical network."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the communication.

Then, Lin Yi's calm voice came through: "Coordinates locked. I'll be right there."

At this moment, two more prodigies were injured on the battlefield, and the situation became extremely critical.

The Dark Gold Dragon-shaped Abyss Clan seems to have lost patience.

It raised its head and let out a deafening roar, its dark golden scales standing on end as terrifying energy gathered wildly in its mouth.

This dragon's breath was more powerful than any before.

Edith could clearly sense that she couldn't withstand this attack.

At least, they can't take it on in their current state.

"Everyone, scatter!" she shouted sharply, while forming a hand seal in front of her chest.

The rules of light and darkness began to surge wildly, and the power of spacetime began to vibrate violently.

As the number one prodigy of the Spirit Clan, she naturally had her trump cards up her sleeve.

Rather than sacrificing others to save her own life, she was willing to pay a price to use forbidden techniques.

If we can severely damage that dark gold dragon-shaped Abyss Clan member, we can buy a chance for the others to survive.

But just as the rules of light and darkness were about to completely go berserk...

Time has stopped.

The dragon breath gathered in the mouth of the dark gold dragon-shaped Abyss Clan froze in mid-air halfway through its exhalation.

All thirteen Yuan Clan prodigies, whether they were attacking or flanking from behind, froze at the same moment.

Even the power of rules surging around them, their ferocious expressions, and their fierce eyes were all frozen in the long river of time.

Edith's forbidden technique, which she was about to unleash, came to an abrupt halt.

She stared blankly at the scene before her, her emerald eyes widening in surprise at first, then flashing with delight.

Then she saw it.

On that frozen space and time, two figures slowly emerged.

Lin Yi's main body and clone hovered in mid-air, calmly looking down at the battlefield below, where time had been frozen.

Edith opened her mouth, but found herself at a loss for words.

Lin Yi, however, had already made his move.

Both the main body and the clone simultaneously raised their right hands and then pressed them down.

The area where the thirteen Yuan Clan prodigies were located began to silently disintegrate.

Like a pencil drawing erased by an eraser, those ferocious figures, sharp claws, and heavy shells were all crushed by the absolute rules of space, turning into the finest energy particles and dissipating into the gray mist.

Not even a trace of remains was left.

The whole process was eerily quiet.

When time began to flow again, only Edith and ten wounded Pan-Spirit Alliance prodigies remained on the battlefield.

Lin Yi slowly landed and stood in front of Edith.

His gaze swept over the injuries on everyone's bodies, finally settling on Edith's tattered armor and pale face.

"Are you okay?"

The three words, "calm," suddenly relaxed Edith's tense nerves.

A complex light flashed in her turquoise eyes.

"Fortunately."

She said softly, "You came just in time."

Lin Yi nodded slightly, said nothing more, and turned to look at the ten prodigies who had survived the ordeal.

"Hurry up and treat our injuries; we need to get out of here."