Theoretically speaking, the technology tree should not be something that actually existed.
If it had to be described, it was more like a combination of various technological theories.
Of course, these technological theories had all been tested in actual combat (through blueprint generation) and matched the universe's various fundamental laws.
But that was precisely where the strength of a civilization lay.
It could turn an abstract concept into something concrete, a tool, or even a weapon.
For example, the "Miniature Galaxy" Gao Yuanyuan had seen in "Language of the Stars" was itself a technology tree.
If an enemy used weapons and equipment created from that technology tree to attack those energy lifeforms, they would be the first to know.
Likewise, if an energy civilization with the same technology tree achieved some kind of breakthrough—ascension, for example—they would sense it as well.
And once this "technology tree" technology was developed to its limit, it could even predict a civilization's fate.
This was not fortune-telling mysticism, but genuine technological evolution. As long as the underlying laws of the main universe did not change, the accuracy of this kind of prediction was extremely high.
During the universe's dark forest era, this technology had once been developed to an extraordinarily complete state. It covered not only the dark forest at the level of civilization coordinates, but also the dark forest at the level of technology trees.
Once a civilization encountered another civilization of the same type on a certain "civilization technology tree," the first reaction of its higher-ups was not to find a way to evolve and ascend.
Instead, they would hide first, waiting for an opportunity to ambush the other side.
Thus, for a very long time, even when a civilization's technology had developed to the limit and it was already capable of