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

Chapter 400 Yuan Baocheng, Lin Yigui

Qianhuan then returned to the temporary resting point where her team was located.

A simple energy barrier and a soundproof enclosure were set up here, serving as their team's temporary "home" in this area.

Besides her, the other two team members are also receiving treatment here.

One is a female deity of the Spirit Clan named "Adelein," with a gentle temperament and a soft, moonlit halo surrounding her; the other is a female deity of the Holy Radiance Clan named "Sexi," with a holy face, and although her golden holy radiance is slightly dimmed due to her injuries, it still exudes a sense of resilience.

When Qianhuan returned, both of them looked at her with concern.

Adele asked softly, "Captain, has the mission been assigned? How many points do we need to pay?"

Qianhuan looked somewhat strange, and under the questioning gazes of the two, she explained in detail the task assigned by Tekasha.

"Stay on the main platform, monitor spatial fluctuations, and prevent enemy teleportation?"

Sai Xi blinked her golden eyes, causing even Saint Radiance to tremble. "What kind of mission is this? It sounds like we're being sent to guard the gates of a Starsea Bank."

Adele frowned, looking at Qianhuan with concern: "Captain, did you secretly give that Lady Tekasha some treasure in exchange for such an excessively easy mission?"

As she spoke, her tone became serious, "Captain, we're a team, comrades who've been through thick and thin together. If that's the case, we must split the value of this treasure equally! Otherwise, you're not treating us like family!"

Sai Xi nodded vigorously in agreement.

Looking at the two team members' concerned and persistent gazes, Qianhuan felt a surge of warmth in her heart, but more than that, she felt helpless.

She shook her head with a wry smile: "Although I have indeed had this thought, and even prepared what resources to use, this time, it's really not."

"Really not?" the two goddesses asked in unison.

“No, it really isn’t!” Qianhuan affirmed.

"Then why were we assigned this kind of task?" Adele asked, puzzled. "It doesn't conform to the rules and allocation principles here at all."

Qianhuan took a deep breath, her eyes filled with a complex emotion that she herself had not yet fully processed, and slowly said, "Lady Tekasa just told me personally that it was because of Lin Yi."

"Lin Yi?" Sai Xi was taken aback. "That genius junior brother you always brag about? Does he have that much influence? That he can get someone like Lady Tekasa to give him face and give us special treatment?"

Adele also looked surprised.

Having known Qianhuan for many years and fought alongside her, they had naturally heard Qianhuan mention her exceptionally talented junior brother from her human sect quite often, her words filled with praise and expectations.

However, they also knew that Qianhuan's junior brother had not been cultivating for long. Although he had entered the 45th floor, according to Qianhuan, his strength was only comparable to theirs. How could he suddenly influence the evacuation point affairs led by several high-level peak gods?
Faced with the questions from her two teammates, Qianhuan was also completely baffled: "To be honest, I'm curious too."

She looked at Adele, "Adele, you know a lot of people and have a wide network of connections. Could you help me find out if any of the core teams that have been stationed here for a while know anything about what happened to Lin Yi here? I need to find out what's going on, otherwise I won't feel at ease taking this care of him. Also, what do you mean by 'I often brag about it'?"

“No problem, I’ll ask right away.” Adele readily agreed, then remembered something, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and she looked at Qianhuan, “By the way, Captain, what Cecilia said is actually right, you do often brag about it, you just may not have realized it yourself.”

Sai Xi immediately chimed in, shaking her head seriously: "No, no, I misspoke. It's not often. It's that every time we chat about our respective clans or geniuses we know, Captain, you would naturally mention your junior brother and then tell us how gifted he is and how fast he has improved."

A barely perceptible blush appeared on Qianhuan's exquisite face, but she immediately straightened her expression and emphasized, "I wasn't talking about the frequency! I was saying, I wasn't bragging! I was just stating the facts!"

Adele and Cecilia exchanged a glance, both seeing a knowing smile in each other's eyes. They then tacitly refrained from provoking their captain on this topic, instead giving her a knowing, knowing look.

"Alright, alright, stop fooling around. I'll go find out right now." Adele's smile faded, and her emerald green eyes closed slightly, clearly indicating that she was about to send a message to inquire.

Sai Xi also calmed down, continuing to regulate her breathing while waiting for news.

The meteorite rest area returned to silence, with only occasional faint noises from the camp outside the energy barrier.

After a long while, Adele suddenly opened her eyes and looked at Qianhuan in shock.

"I found out! Captain, your junior brother... he... he did something big here!"

"What is it?" Qianhuan and Saixi immediately came over.

Adele calmed herself down and recounted the information she had gathered: "It is said that about five thousand years ago, shortly after Lin Yi led a five-person team away from here, they encountered an eight-person ambush team composed of a mix of Abyss Clan and Eclipse Clan in the outer star field! The enemy team was led by two high-level peak gods!"

"And guess what happened?"

She paused, took a deep breath, and slowly said, "Lin Yi led his team and wiped out this ambush force! Eight gods, including two at their peak, were all wiped out! Moreover, it is said that Lin Yi briefly returned to the evacuation point after the battle and personally admitted that his strength had reached the threshold of the upper god level!"

"A high-level god? Wiped out an eight-person ambush team?" Sexi was immediately shocked. "How long have we been in the secret realm? How...how did he do that?"

Adele continued, "That's not all. It's said that he exchanged for a huge amount of resources and then temporarily left the evacuation point area. Lord Yanlong guessed that Lin Yi planned to find a relatively quiet place to use these resources to cultivate in seclusion and seek further improvement in his strength."

"Because he promised when he left that he would return to this place in about ten thousand standard years!"

Upon hearing this, Sai Xi murmured, "Is this the confidence of the number one genius of the Pan-Spirit Alliance in this era? At the level of us high gods, which important breakthrough or comprehension of laws doesn't take time measured in epochs? And he's so sure that he can make another step forward based on his current foundation in about ten thousand standard years?"

Shocked, Sehi suddenly realized, "Wait, Adele, you said that happened more than five thousand years ago? Doesn't that mean more than half of the promised return time has passed? He might be back soon?"

Upon hearing this, Qianhuan slowly recovered from her initial shock, her heart also filled with turbulent waves.

The information about wiping out an eight-person team, the threshold to becoming a high-ranking god, and returning after ten thousand years all challenged her understanding.

Her junior brother, who needed her protection and guidance, had actually reached this point in such a short time?

“No wonder Tekasa gave me preferential treatment.” Qianhuan said softly, then nodded and sighed, “Yes. Judging from this timeline, we should be able to see her soon.”

Adele's emerald eyes darted around, and a smile suddenly appeared on her face.

“Captain, as you know, I’m still a senior executive at Star Ring Media.” Adele leaned forward slightly, her tone eager. “When Mr. Lin Yi returns, you must introduce him to me! I hope to have the opportunity to conduct an exclusive interview with him.”

Upon hearing this, Qianhuan's beautiful face revealed a helpless smile. She knew all too well that her Spirit Clan teammate and friend had once again fallen victim to his occupational hazard.

She waved her hand: "Adele, I can't agree to that for him. Interviews are something he has to decide and arrange himself. My junior brother is actually quite low-key; he might not like being in the spotlight. However…"

Qianhuan changed the subject, "Introducing you is no problem."

“Then it’s settled!” Adele’s eyes gleamed with anticipation. “It’s good to get to know each other first. We can take our time with the interview.”
-
The "Qingling" spacecraft.

Lin Yi then received a reply from Yan Long via the communication device.

It details the battle that occurred when the team was rescuing Qianhuan, and how Qianhuan herself was seriously injured, resulting in the loss of three members to the team, with the rest needing to recuperate.

"My senior sister is injured."

Lin Yi's fingers tightened slightly around the communication device, his eyes suddenly turned icy, and a chilling killing intent almost emanated from his body.

He could almost see Senior Sister Qianhuan struggling against the enemy's siege, her flowing robes stained with blood.

Those Abyss Clan, Eclipse Clan, and other alien races that chased and besieged Senior Sister!

An urge surged within me to immediately return to the evacuation point, drag out those enemies who harmed my senior sister, and crush them.

However, Yanlong's message also clearly stated that the Thousand Illusions Squad had been successfully rescued and taken to the evacuation point, and were currently healing their wounds in a relatively safe camp.

"It's good that we're safe for now." Lin Yi forced himself to calm down, took a few deep breaths, and slowly suppressed his surging anger and killing intent.

Since my senior sister is alright for the time being, returning rashly would not be of much benefit other than disrupting my cultivation plan. Those enemies are not going to escape.

A cold glint flashed in Lin Yi's eyes as he silently made a mental note of this debt.

In the following period, Lin Yi led his team to continue their spiral exploration with the evacuation point as the center and the 90-year standard voyage as the radius.

His cultivation never stopped.

The main body and the clone continued to nurture the embryonic form of the Source Treasure. The starlight inside the strange droplet flowed faster and faster, and the primal fluctuations it emitted became more and more solid. It seemed to be getting closer and closer to being fully formed.

The fearless war god's avatar continuously practiced various secret techniques, and many combat skills in the "Illusory Annihilation Record" were derived into more variations.

During this period, their encounters with the God Squad increased significantly.

First, the number of times we encounter friendly Pan-Spirit Alliance squads starts to increase.

Most of them were in a hurry, heading towards the evacuation point with a clear direction.

Lin Yi would always kindly share the latest intelligence about the area around the evacuation point, reminding them to pay attention to the increasingly tense regional situation.

At the same time, the probability of encountering enemies also increases significantly.

Not only are there scattered Abyss Clan and Eclipse Clan squads, but you can even encounter small groups of other races.

As a result, the number of skirmishes also increased.

However, thanks to Lin Yi's formidable strength at the god-level and the steadily improving teamwork of his members, they won repeatedly and accumulated a considerable amount of spoils, roughly estimated to be worth 39 billion points. Through the communication device, Lin Yi also continued to monitor the situation in the direction of the evacuation point.

The messages that Yanlong brought were increasingly grave.

According to him, the intensity of the conflict visibly increased, from small-scale skirmishes between dozens of gods to fierce confrontations between hundreds of gods, and the seven-colored protective light of the secret realm flickered more and more frequently in that star field.

Around 500 standard years ago, Iwataka sent a very important battle report:

"The Abyss Clan and the Eclipse Clan seem to have completed the initial integration and deployment of their forces. Three days ago, they launched a large-scale probing attack on the outer defenses of our evacuation point! The total number of participating gods is estimated to exceed one thousand!"

"The battle broke out simultaneously in three pre-designated defense zones and was extremely fierce. Relying on the law traps we had built in the early stages, we dealt a heavy blow to the enemy, but we also suffered considerable losses ourselves."

"However, this attack did not turn into a decisive battle. Because there were still a considerable number of alien squads loitering and spying on the periphery of the battlefield, clearly intending to take advantage of the situation. The commanders of the Abyss Clan and the Eclipse Clan seemed to have also realized this. With their offensive faltering, they were probably worried about being taken advantage of by the aliens, so after fighting us for about half a day, they took the initiative to disengage."

In closing, Yanlong made a grim prediction:

"Although this attack was repelled, it was only a probe. According to reconnaissance, the Abyss Clan and the Eclipse Clan still have troops gathering. It is expected that once they have gathered enough strength to launch an attack while also dividing their forces to guard against the alien races taking advantage of the situation, the real all-out offensive to decide the ownership of the evacuation point will take place, and it may not be long."

Lin Yi read the message and remained silent for a long time.

A battle involving a thousand gods. Even during the Three Races War, this was a major military operation that could significantly impact the regional landscape.

And next time, it might be on an even larger scale.

A storm is brewing, and the Origin Treasure that is about to take shape in his hands, as well as his ever-increasing strength, will become the key assets for him to stand firm in this storm and even influence its direction.

Time continued to flow amidst cultivation, exploration, and an increasingly tense atmosphere.

Finally, that day arrived.

The dark blue crystal box, which had been quietly suspended in the center of Lin Yi's divine kingdom cultivation area and nurtured by both his clone and main body, suddenly trembled slightly without warning.

Immediately afterwards, the ever-changing azure water droplets inside the box suddenly burst forth with a soft yet vast azure radiance.

A unique wave rippled outwards, like waves on water.

The fearless war god's clone, who was practicing the secret technique, paused.

After more than 10,000 standard years of continuous nurturing and catalysis, the prototype of Yuanbao has finally crossed the final boundary and completed its nurturing process.

Lin Yi's main body, who had been sitting opposite his clone and maintaining his cultivation, suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes bursting with an unprecedentedly brilliant light.

He saw that the crystal box had opened on its own, and inside, the strange water droplet had completely stopped changing its form, transforming into a crystal that was entirely blue and seemed to contain a miniature stellar stream, which floated quietly.

A purest and most primal rhythm of water pulsates steadily within it, emanating an aura of absolute dominion over all water-related forces.

Without further investigation, the moment consciousness came into contact with it, a thought about its fundamental characteristics and activation method naturally flowed into Lin Yi's soul.

Lin Yi immediately understood.

This is a purely offensive water-based treasure, which Lin Yi named "Heart of the Abyss" based on its characteristics.

"It's finally done."

Even with Lin Yi's composure, he could hardly contain his excitement at this moment.

This treasure, which had been the subject of countless years of effort, finally took shape in his hands, becoming a powerful trump card capable of changing many situations.

Inside the spaceship cabin, Luna, Huilie, Shifeng, and Serena had all exited their respective states. Although Lin Yi had suppressed the fleeting unique fluctuation within his divine realm in time, the strange rhythm that dissipated in an instant still attracted everyone's attention. At this moment, they all looked at Lin Yi with inquiring and expectant eyes.

"Everyone."

Lin Yi's face broke into an undisguised smile. "I have good news. That prototype of the Source Treasure has just been fully nurtured and transformed into a true Source Treasure. It's an offensive Source Treasure, and I've named it the Heart of the Abyss."

"What? It's formed?"

"That's great!"

After a brief silence, the cabin was instantly filled with surprise.

"Captain, the Source Treasure is complete, and it's an offensive one!" Hui Lie exclaimed excitedly. "With its help, given your strength, in this 45th level of the secret realm, unless you encounter someone else wielding a Source Treasure, you'll practically be invincible!"

Lin Yi smiled and nodded. After everyone calmed down a bit, he said, "The Origin Treasure is newly formed, and its specific power still needs to be verified. Let's find a secluded place, do a short test, and then return."

Everyone naturally had no objections.

Soon, the "Qingling" entered a desolate star field composed of cold rocks and interstellar dust.

Lin Yi gestured for everyone to move away, then hovered alone in the empty void.

The next moment, a beautiful crystal, entirely azure blue, appeared in his palm, floating silently; it was none other than the "Heart of the Abyss".

When the Source Treasure appeared, without any activation, the thin interstellar dust around it was involuntarily drawn towards the crystal, and a gentle yet omnipresent sense of moisture seemed to permeate the void.

Lin Yi's expression hardened, and he began to channel divine power into the Origin Treasure in his palm.

As divine power surged in, the azure crystal suddenly lit up, and a vast and heavy aura, capable of encompassing and crushing everything, spread out from its center, instantly forming a pale blue spherical domain.

Since it was just an experiment, Lin Yi did not expand the area too much, keeping it within a radius of ten thousand miles.

Immediately afterward, with a slight thought, he saw that the void in that pale blue domain suddenly became incredibly heavy and viscous, as if it had been instantly dragged into an endless abyss.

At the same time, a deep blue shockwave containing a faint trace of Origin Law aura silently spread outwards from the center of Lin Yi's palm towards the edge of the domain.

Even from a great distance, Luna and the others could still feel the intense threat contained in the aftershock of the shockwave.

Lin Yi slowly withdrew his divine power, the azure crystal light receded, and the domain dissipated.

He carefully sensed the energy expenditure and effects of the attack just now.

"The power is truly astonishing."

Lin Yi assessed in his mind, "That area-of-effect impact just now would probably have instantly penetrated and disintegrated ordinary high-level gods, whether they were in the early or middle stages or at their peak."

"Even the strongest among the high gods, without source treasures or special means to resist, can only barely hold on for a few more breaths with their stronger divine power and foundation of laws, but in the end, their fate will probably be no different."

However, he also clearly sensed the enormous burden of activating the Source Treasure.

That seemingly casual strike just now consumed a tremendous amount of divine power.

This means that although the "Heart of the Abyss" is powerful, because his divine power is far inferior to that of a normal high-ranking deity, it is more of a trump card that consumes a lot of resources, rather than a regular means to be used indiscriminately.

"For me, it's more suitable for securing victory or exerting strategic pressure at crucial moments."

Lin Yi retrieved the Heart of the Abyss into his divine kingdom to nurture it, and said to the team members who flew over, "The experiment is complete. The power is as expected, and the drawbacks are clear. So, what's next?"

He looked toward the evacuation point. "It's time to keep our promise and return to the evacuation point."

"Yes! Let's go back!" Shi Feng clenched his fist, his fighting spirit high.

“The situation is becoming increasingly tense, and the captain’s return with the Source Treasure is timely!” Hui Lie’s eyes gleamed.

Everyone agreed, eager to return home.

Lin Yi took out the dark silver mechanical communication device, activated it, and sent a message to Yan Long:
"Lord Yanlong, after this period of training, I have made some progress and will soon set off to return. I expect to arrive within 90 days."

The evacuation point, the core council hall of the temporary camp beside the white vortex.

Yanlong, who was discussing defense with Qingling, Taikasha and other top gods, suddenly paused slightly.

Immediately, a tremendous surprise appeared on its rock-formed face.

"His Excellency Lin Yi has sent a message! He says that he has made some progress in his cultivation during this period and will soon set off to return, expecting to arrive within the year at the 90th Standard!"

The council chamber fell silent for a moment, then several peak deities showed excited expressions on their faces.

"A little progress?" Tekasa's seven-colored eyes flashed. "When he left, he was already at the Upper God level, and now he has advanced another step. With this strength, he should be among the strongest in the 45th floor. Even if a high-level peak god of the enemy breaks through to the Upper God level during this period, he will definitely not be a match for Lord Lin Yi!"

Mo Yao said in a deep voice, "Lin Yi's situation is no secret in the camp. Now that his strength has improved further and he is about to return, it will be a huge boost to our morale and high-end combat power."

Qingling flapped her wings lightly: "Since he said that the 90 standard will arrive within the year, we should strengthen our support at that time to ensure its smooth return journey, and at the same time adjust our deployment and wait for strong reinforcements."

Yan Long nodded solemnly: "That's right. I plan to inform the captains of each squad of this news to boost morale, and at the same time select the teams to provide support."

(End of this chapter)