Civilization Advancement Assessment, Begin!

At the same time.

Outside the atmosphere of Blue Star, in synchronous orbit.

Absolute vacuum and deathly silence are the eternal backdrop of this star region.

A moon-white starship suddenly emerged from the void, like a gentle pearl embedded in black velvet.

The ship's lines were elegant and fluid, as if woven from naturally growing vines and solidified starlight. Countless fine, emerald-green runes pulsed slowly across its hull, exuding an ancient and mysterious aura that formed a strange contrast with the dead void surrounding it.

Before the observation window at the ship's bow, Aurelia Xina stood silently.

She wore a long dress that seemed woven from pure starlight and hazy mist. Her skin was as white and lustrous as jade, her features exquisite and ethereal, and a diamond-shaped crystal on her forehead shimmered with restrained light, reflecting the azure planet below.

Her expression was calm and serene, yet deep within her eyes, which were as vast as a sea of stars, waves were surging.

Her five-thousand-year term as guardian was nearing its end. Although she only had to wait for the Civilization Advancement Assessment to conclude to lay down her heavy burden, Aurelia felt an unprecedented sense of tension.

This was because, according to the rules of the Human Race, the Civilization Advancement Assessment would be presided over by an Eternal Divine level entity!

However, as a powerful race, the Human Race did not provide many guardian slots to the Spirit Race.

Setting aside the fact that serving as a civilization guardian allows one to observe the rise and fall of intelligent civilizations—which is of great benefit to Star Vortex level beings in comprehending Space Rules—more importantly, for a Star Vortex level being, receiving even a hint of guidance or favor from an Eternal Divine level entity could change one's destiny!

Therefore, competition for the Human Race's civilization guardian slots was extremely fierce within the Spirit Race.

Aurelia's slender fingers unconsciously stroked the observation window.

Ten thousand years ago, her family had suffered a massive decline after her grandfather, a ninth-rank Star Domain level expert, died unexpectedly, and three other Star Domain level elders were either killed or wounded. The family was subsequently suppressed on all fronts by rival families and fell into rapid decay.

In their desperation, her grandmother defied all opposition and exhausted the vast majority of the family's resources to secure this "Human Race Civilization Guardian" slot for her, a position that offered contact with an Eternal Divine level entity.

After hitting wall after wall, this was the only solution the family could conceive in their helplessness.

Because the connections of an Eternal Divine level entity transcend racial boundaries; even if it were only a Human Race Eternal Divine level entity, it would still be enough to exert influence within the Spirit Race.

Even for the slimmest of possibilities, the family had practically emptied its foundation for this.

As a direct descendant of the family and its most gifted Star Vortex level talent, Aurelia knew the weight of her responsibility. She had worked diligently for five thousand years, never daring to slacken, and had finally reached this moment.

The assessment begins, the deity descends!

She prayed silently in her heart, hoping only that the incoming deity would at least be pro-Spirit Race or neutral.

Time passed in agonizing suspense.

Aurelia took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

"According to the time notified in advance by the Virtual Network, it should be arriving..."

A flicker of tense determination flashed in her eyes.

Immediately, Aurelia's figure transformed into a cold stream of light, passing through the ship's hatch and multiple shields to appear in the freezing void outside the Jade Whisper Starship.

She suppressed the glow of the crystal on her forehead, adjusted her posture to the most perfect and respectful state, and then hovered there, waiting quietly.

A moment later, as if to confirm her premonition.

Boom!

Without any warning, a terrifying pressure originating from the source of the universe suddenly descended!

This pressure directly shook the fundamental rules of space, and the space in the synchronous orbit region seemed to be torn and twisted by an invisible giant hand.

Aurelia's heart was gripped instantly.

Sss...

In the void not far away, a deep rift was silently sliced open, and a streamlined, shuttle-shaped starship slid out slowly, as if emerging from the shadows of a higher dimension.

It was matte black, barely over a hundred meters long, with a surface as smooth as a mirror. It lacked any superfluous decoration and looked ordinary, yet it felt like the purest, coldest rock condensed from the universe, exuding a suffocating, absolute sense of oppression that formed a sharp contrast with the ornate Jade Whisper Starship.

The hatch slid open silently like mercury.

A figure stepped out slowly.

He was not a being of flesh and blood, but was composed of pure light and shadow, along with countless infinitesimal, constantly shifting and flowing mysterious runes.

His very existence seemed to be a twisted node of Space Rules, radiating a law-like rhythm that made the soul tremble instinctively.

Almost simultaneously, a silver-white Intelligent Light Sphere floated beside the light-and-shadow avatar, with pale golden data streams flowing across it.

"Master, target planet ID: TC-YHLHXB-ZJ-G-7392113, arrival confirmed."

The synthesized voice of the light sphere was calm and emotionless.

Aurelia only glanced at it, and she felt her Soul Origin tremble violently.

She knew in her heart that this was an absolute suppression at the level of life itself.

She dared not look directly at the face composed of runes, so she quickly lowered her head slightly, took a few steps in the void, and performed the oldest and most noble greeting of the Spirit Race:

"Aurelia Xina, 37th guardian of the Blue Star Civilization, welcomes your arrival, Lord Xuchen. May your will guide the trajectory of the galaxy."

The light-and-shadow face of the Divine Spirit Avatar remained motionless. When his gaze swept over the Spirit Race mark on Aurelia's forehead, the flowing torrent of runes seemed to freeze for an imperceptible instant.

"Spirit Race..."

An indifferent voice echoed in the void.

Aurelia's heart constricted violently, yet she dared not make a single move, remaining frozen in her respectful bowing posture.

Then followed a period of agonizing and despair-inducing silence.

It was not until cold sweat had begun to bead on her forehead that Aurelia heard a flat voice ring out.

"Very well... trivial matters can be handled by her."

"As you command, Master."

The Intelligent Light Sphere's glow flickered with steady rhythm.

Aurelia was slightly stunned at first, then she jerked her head up, only to realize her mistake and hurriedly lower it again.

She forcibly suppressed the excitement in her heart, her voice becoming even more gentle and humble, carrying just the right amount of gratitude:

"Thank you for your trust, Your Excellency! You must be weary from your journey; would you care to move to the Jade Whisper Starship to rest? We have prepared Clear Radiance Dew, a specialty of the Spirit Race, aboard the vessel."

The gaze of the Divine Spirit Avatar did not shift in the slightest, nor did he offer any response to Aurelia's words, as if she were merely an insignificant speck of dust in this starry sky.

He simply issued a flat command.

"Begin the assessment."

"As you command! Master."

The Intelligent Light Sphere flickered for a moment.

Blue Star Civilization development index comprehensive assessment: 0.73, energy environment assessment: extremely barren, intelligent species potential model projection: low, projected potential rating: Level 2.

Recommendation: Execute standard low-energy consumption assessment procedure, resource input level: Level 2.

There was no emotional fluctuation on the face of the Divine Spirit Avatar, which was composed of light-shadow runes.

His gaze did not even drift toward the beautiful planet below, wrapped in azure oceans and green continents, as if it were nothing more than a trivial grain of cosmic dust.

He gave an extremely slight "nod" with a head formed of pure laws and source energy.

"Execute."

A flat voice resonated directly through the void.

The light of the Intelligent Light Sphere flickered rhythmically.

"Command confirmed: Execute standard Level 2 promotion assessment procedure."

In the next instant!

An invisible, vast, and unimaginably majestic force of law erupted from the center of the Divine Spirit Avatar!

This power was not a physical shockwave, but one that acted directly upon the underlying architecture of space.

In the region where Blue Star was located, space rippled like a superfluid into which a boulder had been thrown, creating distortions in the laws that were invisible to the naked eye and impossible to capture with precision instruments.

A massive, translucent "light membrane," seemingly composed of countless flowing Illusory Law runes, expanded instantly, silently and soundlessly enveloping the entire Blue Star and its near-Earth space.

On the surface of Blue Star, every high-precision timer in operation, whether atomic or quartz, experienced a minute, almost imperceptible synchronization error at that very moment.

Deep-space detection signals across the globe were instantly blocked, and the images transmitted to the ground by satellites in near-Earth orbit flickered with a momentary burst of static.

Illusory Law Divine Kingdom Projection—Abyssal Realm, descending!