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

Chapter 413 You are different, I'll give you five thousand years

The atmosphere in the conference hall froze instantly.

All eyes instantly focused on the black-haired human at the end of the oval table.

At this moment, Lin Yi, who was the focus of everyone's attention, smiled inwardly.

He originally planned to be a passive observer at this first core meeting, listening quietly and quickly getting familiar with the process and the attitudes of all parties.

It seems that I won't be able to become one now.

Although his senior brother Zhenyu had warned Lord Ellis beforehand that he was strong-willed and spoke directly, and that some of his words might be "unpleasant to hear," Lin Yi had no intention of showing weakness because of this.

He met those eyes that seemed to contain a vortex of time and space, raised an eyebrow slightly, and calmly said:
"The meeting notification and seating arrangements were issued by the base system. After receiving the notification, I took my seat as instructed. So, Mr. Ellis, do you find anything wrong with this arrangement?"

Upon hearing this, the hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Zhenyu frowned but remained silent, while Sijia's gaze sharpened as if deep in thought.

As for the other gods, most of them looked surprised. They did not expect that this newcomer would be directly questioned by the strongest person in the base on his first meeting, and there was even a hint of confrontation.

Seeing Lin Yi's attitude, a strange light flashed in Ellis's cold eyes. He stared at Lin Yi for two seconds, then twitched his lips and let out a short chuckle.

"Ha ha."

The laughter wasn't warm, but it dispelled the previous chilling confrontation that had almost frozen the air.

"This is what the new generation's number one prodigy of the Pan-Spirit Alliance should be like."

Ellis spoke slowly, the scrutiny in his eyes fading somewhat, replaced by an expression as if he had seen something that met his expectations.

Then, he glanced around the oval table, his voice regaining its calm yet imposing quality: "Previously, I didn't care that Tabo arranged the seating for the Source Treasure Gods who arrived after the base was built according to their order of arrival. Because in my opinion..."

His gaze swept over the gods present, his tone carrying an undisguised indifference, "You are all pretty much the same. Although your strengths may differ, your essence is no different. Where you sit is irrelevant."

This was a rather blunt statement, but most of the gods present, including several members of the spirit race, only showed a hint of helplessness on their faces, and no one uttered a word of rebuttal.

The vast gap in power and status gives Ellis the right to say such things.

After making a few sarcastic remarks, Ellis's gaze returned to Lin Yi. "But Lin Yi, you are different."

As soon as he finished speaking, without waiting for Lin Yi to respond or for anyone else to say anything, he simply raised his hand and waved it in a daze.

A faint yet exquisitely subtle force of spacetime instantly permeated the entire hall, like an invisible stream of water, gently but irresistibly enveloping every deity present, including Lin Yi.

Lin Yi immediately sensed the nature of this power.

It's not an attack; it's more like a precise teleportation.

Almost at the same time, Lin Yi noticed that the other Origin Treasure Gods present, facing this spacetime power that enveloped the entire area, had different expressions, but most of them just showed a wry smile and naturally relaxed their own law defenses without putting up any resistance.

Clearly, they were already used to Ellis's "do-it-yourself" style and tacitly approved of his dominance in certain "non-essential" matters.

In a flash, Lin Yi understood Ellis's intentions.

"While I don't care about such formalities as seating arrangements," Lin Yi thought to himself, "since Lord Ellis has taken the initiative to show goodwill and expressed a certain degree of importance, there's really no need to offend him over such a trivial matter. Besides, judging from the reactions of the others, they seem to be used to his style."

Having figured this out, Lin Yi also suppressed his own natural resistance to the laws of spacetime, allowing that exquisite power to act on him.

The next instant, spacetime rippled slightly.

Lin Yi's figure blurred for a moment, and when it became clear again, he was already in the center of the oval table, to the left of Ellis's seat.

Meanwhile, the figures of the deities who were originally sitting in that area also flickered with a faint light, each shifting their positions one position backward.

Once the seating arrangement was complete, the faint spatial and temporal energy that had permeated the hall quietly dissipated.

Ellis looked at Lin Yi, who was now sitting to her left, and a satisfied smile appeared on her usually icy face.

"That looks much better. By the way, Lin Yi, there's something you should know."

The hall fell silent. Everyone knew that Ellis was indifferent to many things, so the matter he brought up must be significant.

“It shouldn’t be long before I’m able to get a basic grasp of the Time Source Law.” Ellis’s voice was calm, as if he were talking about something trivial. “At that time, I will leave the 47th floor and head to the 48th floor. You will be in charge of this Frostforetold Base from now on.”

Upon hearing this, the faces of all the Yuanbao deities revealed undisguised shock, followed by complex emotions in their eyes.

There was envy, awe, and a deep sense of helplessness.

"Such an important matter, and you've never mentioned it before? You only told Lin Yi now that you've met him?" Many veteran gods had similar thoughts.

They had been at the Frostforetold base for so long, yet they had never heard him explicitly mention the specific progress of his own understanding of the Source Law.

Now, to announce so directly to a newcomer they've just met that they're about to break through and leave, this kind of differential treatment is truly disheartening.

Lin Yi was also taken aback.

Introductory to the Source Laws!

This isn't something you can achieve by just knowing a little bit about the Source Laws or having a vague understanding. You must master at least 1% of a particular Source Law and be able to initially mobilize and invoke its power before you can be considered to have formally entered the field.

Otherwise, it's like looking at a landscape through glass—you can see it, but you can't touch it, and you can't truly utilize its power.

Once one masters a certain source law, it means that one possesses the most crucial foundation for breaking through to the Supreme Lord level. Even if one does not choose to break through immediately, one's combat power will far exceed that of ordinary high-level gods at their peak, and one can be called a "quasi-Supreme Lord".

I never imagined Ellis would go this far!
"I just don't know how many standard years this 'not long' means." As these thoughts raced through his mind, Lin Yi's face showed a solemn expression as he congratulated him, "I didn't expect that Lord Ellis would be about to enter the realm of Time Source Law. Congratulations in advance."

Upon hearing this, Ellis waved his hand, his smile widening slightly, and laughed, "Haha, no need for flattery. The future is yours. I've only gotten this far by living a few more epochs. Remember, the 47th floor is not a place we should linger. The real stage is higher up."

He raised his finger and pointed upwards, as if it could penetrate the base's many barriers and reach into the depths of the starry sky.

"The 48th floor, or even the 49th floor. That's where the most powerful deities reside. I look forward to meeting you there soon."

48th floor, 49th floor?
Lin Yi met Ellis's gaze and could feel the certainty and expectation in her words. He took a deep breath and nodded solemnly: "I will, Your Excellency Ellis."

At the same time, he thought to himself, "I didn't expect that with Ellis's talent and background, and the fact that he is about to enter the Time Source Law, his highest goal seems to be only the 49th level. He didn't mention the 50th level in his words."

However, on second thought, this seems perfectly normal.

Based on the cryptic information he received from the Xuan Yan Venerable and his own speculation about the rules of the Shiyu Tower, the 50th floor likely corresponds to the combat power threshold of the "Venerable Lord level".

Once one breaks through to the Venerable Lord level, they will be rejected by the rules of the secret realm and will be unable to enter again. Therefore, in order to enter the 50th floor, in addition to accumulating a massive amount of points, one must also possess terrifying combat power comparable to an ordinary Venerable Lord level with a "god-level" body!
The difficulty of this is self-evident.

The profound words of the Venerable Xuan Yan back then, "When you reach the 50th floor, you will naturally know," suggest that the secrets hidden behind those 50 floors are probably heavier than one can imagine.

Just as Lin Yi's mind was racing, Ellis had already withdrawn his gaze, as if the expectant conversation he had just had was merely a casual remark.

He leaned back slightly, his gaze sweeping across the room. "Alright, enough of the small talk. This core meeting will now begin."

As Ellis announced, "The meeting is now in session," the atmosphere in the decision-making hall immediately became serious, quickly shifting from the subtle fluctuations caused by Ellis's words and actions to a pragmatic and efficient deliberation.

The meeting was not lengthy or tedious.

The holders of the Source Treasures discussed the matter with great efficiency, mainly focusing on the core issues that had been previously determined: the key mission directions for the next stage, the priority ranking of resource star fields, the monitoring and early warning of known enemy squad activity areas, the fine-tuning of the base defense rotation arrangements, and the solicitation of preliminary exploration missions for several newly discovered but risk-unknown "suspicious" areas.

Although Ellis is assertive, he is not autocratic in specific discussions. Most of the time, he simply leads the process, listens to the opinions of all parties, and only gives a brief indication or makes a final decision at key points or when there are significant differences of opinion.

As a newcomer, Lin Yi listened quietly throughout, combining the information he had heard from Zhenyu with the information he had gathered earlier, and quickly pieced together a jigsaw puzzle about the current situation of the 47th floor, the distribution of various forces, the mission mode, and the operating rules of the Frost Yong Base.

In the latter half of the meeting, a Source God from the Mechanical Race rose and reported the latest reconnaissance intelligence in his usual precise and steady tone: "According to information relayed back by the reconnaissance team three days ago, a medium-sized conflict occurred between the Abyssal Erosion Clan allied forces and the alien races at the edge of the Dark Dust Sea, approximately 800 standard position years northwest of the base. The total number of participating gods is estimated to be between 300 and 400, with both sides suffering some losses. The specific casualties and gains are unknown."

Upon hearing this news, a look of solemnity flashed in the eyes of the gods in the hall.

Such medium-sized conflicts are not common on the 47th floor. They are usually a rehearsal for a large-scale conflict, where various forces test each other.

Upon hearing this, Ellis, who was sitting in the main seat, scoffed, "It's just another big fight. What a waste of time."

As he spoke, he leaned back slightly, tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest, and his gaze swept across the room, finally lingering on Lin Yi for a moment before he sneered, "Before I leave here and head to the 48th floor, I will definitely find an opportunity to give them a good beating and teach them a lesson they won't forget."

At this point, Ellis changed the subject and looked at Lin Yi, "Lin Yi, your approach on the 45th floor was clean and efficient, very good."

Then, as if he had just thought of something, he said, "By the way, you've just arrived at the base. As is customary, you have a buffer period of 500 standard years. But 500 standard years might be enough for ordinary gods. However, it's probably far from enough for you. How about this, your buffer period will be extended to 5,000 standard years."

These words caused a slight ripple in the hall once again.

Regardless of what others thought, Ellis continued speaking to Lin Yi, "With these five thousand standard years, given your talent, and with sufficient resources and proper guidance, whether you choose to focus on the laws of time or space, you should be able to grasp some basics."

"The Law of Origin, if you can comprehend even a trace of it, even 0.001%, your perspective on the world will undergo a qualitative change. At that time, although you still cannot directly mobilize the power of the Law of Origin for attack or defense, your control and use of the Origin Treasure in your hand will definitely be greatly improved."

Lin Yi met Ellis's gaze, his mind racing.

Five thousand standard years? This far exceeded his expectations. He had originally planned to use this "safe period" after arriving to thoroughly understand the three Time Source Law Secret Manuals he had exchanged and try to break through to the Time Source Law, to see just how high the threshold of this realm, which was hailed as being above the level of gods, really was.

While I don't have a particularly large number of points right now, it's enough for the time being, and there's no pressure to urgently go out and risk my life to earn more points.

He naturally understood that the stronger one's capabilities, the more efficient one's future explorations would be, and the greater the rewards would be.

"Thank you, Your Excellency Ellis." Lin Yi did not refuse and expressed his gratitude solemnly.

Ellis simply waved his hand, indicating that there was no need to say more, and then announced the next part of the meeting.

The second half of the meeting proceeded smoothly and soon came to an end.

After all the established topics had been discussed, Ellis looked around and, seeing that no one had anything to add, decisively announced: "This meeting is now adjourned. Meeting adjourned."

As soon as he finished speaking, the deities around the oval table stood up.

Most of the gods simply nodded slightly in the direction of Ellis, then walked out of the hall in twos and threes, talking quietly.

Lin Yi also prepared to leave with the others.

Just then, a voice sounded beside him: "Lord Lin Yi, please wait a moment."

Lin Yi turned his head and found that the speaker was the mechanical race's source treasure holder who had reported the latest peripheral intelligence earlier, and also the base's director and the owner of Cardinal 7, Bota.

He is one of the representatives of the mechanical race within the base, and a key figure responsible for intelligence gathering and tactical analysis. He is highly experienced and his strength is among the best in the upper echelons.

Botta walked up to Lin Yi and smiled, "Regarding the seating arrangement for your first time attending the conference, Mr. Lin Yi, it was arranged according to convention. It was not because of any special opinion or arrangement on your behalf. Please do not misunderstand this."

Lin Yi understood instantly.

This is the effect of Ellis's previous remarks, such as "You are different," "That is not where you should sit," and his direct statement that Lin Yi would "take charge of the base" in the future.

As the representative of the Machine Race at the base and a member of the core decision-making body, Botta came to explain in person, clearly not wanting Lin Yi to harbor any resentment because of this seating arrangement that followed the old practice.

After all, it wouldn't have been a big deal if Ellis hadn't intervened. But once Ellis got involved, the nature of the matter changed. It's better to make amends and explain now than to be targeted later.

Having grasped the crux of the matter, Lin Yi smiled gently and waved his hand, "Your Excellency Botta is overthinking it. Rules are rules, and as a newcomer, it is only right that I follow them. Your Excellency Ellis's extra consideration is another matter. I understand, and there is no need to worry about it."

Seeing that Lin Yi was so understanding, Bota's smile widened, and he nodded: "It's good that you understand."

The misunderstanding was cleared up, and the atmosphere became relaxed.

Just as Lin Yi was about to take his leave, a thought suddenly struck him.

The one before them was a Source Treasure God of the Mechanical Race, whose race was absolutely second to none in the Pan-Spirit Alliance when it came to the research of intelligent life. Xuanji was worried about not having the most authoritative and efficient solution for her upgrade plan.

Thinking of this, Lin Yi paused. "Lord Bota, I have a question I'd like to ask. My intelligent life assistant is currently at the Transcendent Realm level. I plan to upgrade it to the High God level. From the perspective of the Machine Race, what upgrade path is most suitable? What materials would I need to exchange for?"

"You're too kind, Mr. Lin Yi."

Bota was clearly pleased that Lin Yi was asking him about this, and he immediately raised his hand and made a virtual gesture in the air, condensing an information cluster.

"This is a list of suggested 'Higher God-level Enhancement Plans' and an exchange guide for our Mechanical Race. It details the core logic unit models, soul framework compatible materials, law adaptability expansion protocols, and security permission upgrade keys required for breaking through from the Evolutionary Realm to the God-level, and then steadily advancing to the Higher God-level. All the listed items can be found in the exchange space of the Primordial Tower."

"Your Excellency simply needs to follow the steps in the checklist to exchange the materials and complete the integration and upgrade. This plan has undergone thorough data verification in terms of stability, potential activation, and future scalability."

Upon receiving the information, Lin Yi quickly realized that the list was extremely detailed and professional, far exceeding his previous rough estimate. He solemnly said, "Thank you, Your Excellency Bota! This list has been of great help to me."

"I'm glad I could help you." Bota nodded slightly. "If you encounter any technical problems during the upgrade process, please feel free to contact me. We machine race have some experience in the field of intelligent life."

The two chatted for a while, and after leaving the decision-making hall, Lin Yi noticed that Zhenyu and Sijia, the two human source treasure holders, were standing not far away, seemingly waiting for him. He greeted Bota and then walked over.

"Senior Brother, Lord Sijia."

Si Jia smiled and nodded to Lin Yi: "How was your first time attending the conference, His Excellency Ellis? Well, his style is quite unique, but you heard what he said; he has high expectations for you."

Lin Yi smiled wryly, "The pressure is considerable. However, Lord Ellis's extension of my grace period to five thousand standard years is a pleasant surprise. But..."

He looked at the two of them and said with a hint of apology, "In that case, some base affairs or tasks that I might have been able to start taking on after 500 standard years will probably have to be handled by you for a while longer."

Zhenyu laughed and patted Lin Yi on the shoulder: "What's there to apologize for? Ellis is right, five thousand standard years is more suitable for you. Strength is fundamental. The stronger you are, the greater the role you can play in the future. As for the affairs here at the base, Sijia and I can handle them for now. Just focus on your cultivation."

Sijia also said gently, "Zhenyu is right. You should hurry up and improve, and touch the Source Law as soon as possible. That is the greatest guarantee for the interests of our human race in the 47th floor. Don't worry about other trivial matters."

Feeling the support and understanding from his senior brother and fellow clansmen, Lin Yi felt a surge of warmth in his heart and once again expressed his sincere gratitude.

After parting ways with his two senior brothers, Lin Yi summoned the flying shuttle again, returned to the trading hall, and entered the quiet room once more.

While continuing to list the remaining treasures for sale, he devoted all his attention to deeply comprehending the three secret manuals of the Time Source Law.

Time flies when you're focused.

During this period, the Shuangyong Base held two more routine core meetings, which Lin Yi attended on time each time, but still adhered to the principle of "listening more and talking less," mainly to understand the latest developments.

Meanwhile, some of the goods he had listed in the trading hall were sold, bringing back a total of about two billion points worth of various treasures.

The reason for selling only this number is that after the wave of purchases introduced by Bellinlo, the gods in the base who needed high-level divine-grade equipment have basically already consumed it, and the market is temporarily saturated.

And so, he continued his arduous practice while setting up a stall in the quiet room, and more than three hundred standard years passed.

On this day, Lin Yi, who was sitting cross-legged in the quiet room, slowly opened his eyes.

"I have finally finished comprehending all three classic texts."

He muttered to himself, his tone carrying a hint of relief and a touch of eagerness.

He had fully understood and digested the contents of these three secret texts, and they had become part of his own knowledge system.

"It's time to give it a try." A strong urge welled up in Lin Yi's heart.

He ended the listing of the quiet room for sale and got up to leave.

After returning to his residence at the base, Lin Yi activated all protective and isolation measures, but he did not immediately take out the "Time-Source Law Pulse Diagram" worth 210 billion points, nor did he activate his spiritual energy.

He planned to rely on his improved comprehension and the knowledge he gained from the secret text to attempt a comprehension exercise without any external assistance.

He closed his eyes, his mind completely calmed down, and his soul consciousness contracted inward. Following the guidance in "Traces of Time," he began to try to use the perfect laws of time as an anchor and bridge to extend and explore his soul perception to a deeper, more essential level that seemed to transcend the simple scope of laws.
Time passed little by little.

One standard day, one hundred standard days, one standard year
Ten standard years passed quickly.

Lin Yi's brows, which had initially been calm, gradually furrowed, eventually forming a deep "川" (river) shape.

No.

Absolutely not!

He had clearly understood the contents of the three secret manuals perfectly, theoretically knew what to do, knew roughly what the Time Source Law was, and knew the path to impact it and the obstacles he might encounter.
But when he actually tried to touch, perceive, and connect with the legendary Time Source Law, he found himself facing an endless, eternally frozen dark void.

The perfect laws of time, in the face of this void, are like a delicate but powerless little boat, utterly unable to break through that invisible barrier.

His soul consciousness tried countless times to extend and explore, but each time it was as if it had hit an endless wall, and it was ruthlessly bounced back, unable to even stir up a ripple.

Lin Yi was aware of his own state. His eyes indicated he understood, while his hands (his soul) suggested he was being difficult.

"God-level comprehension... is it still too much to face the Source Law?" He sighed softly and shook his head.

He finally understood firsthand why countless high-ranking gods, even after countless epochs of arduous cultivation, could never cross that threshold.

This is not just a matter of accumulation and resources, but a fundamental chasm at the level of life itself.

Without genuine talent, or some external force sufficient to break through this barrier, it is almost impossible to succeed through conventional intuition alone.

Fortunately, he didn't only have conventional methods.

Lin Yi took a deep breath, quickly suppressing the sense of defeat in his heart, and his eyes became firm again.

"Fortunately, I still have real talent."

His thoughts sank into the deepest part of his soul, to that vast ocean of purple mist.

"The spirit of enlightenment"

"combustion!"

boom!
Purple flames suddenly rose up!

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(End of this chapter)