Enemy Advances, We Retreat; Find Another Way

Lin Yi calculated in his mind that, including the military merits he had accumulated over the past forty years of running around and attacking in all directions, the total amount of military merits he could currently use had reached 183 million.

Luger sighed inwardly at this moment.

This kid, in just a hundred years, went from an ordinary prodigy to the number one Human Race in his generation.

"The relevant procedures are already underway, and the military merits will be allocated to you within three standard days at the latest," Luger added.

Lin Yi nodded slightly to Luger: "Thank you for your trouble, General."

"It's my duty." Luger waved his hand. "This is what you deserve. Now that things are settled, I won't linger."

Lin Yi didn't try to stop him, and immediately got up to see him off. It was wartime, and Luger, as the commander, must be a very busy man.

After seeing General Luger off, Lin Yi and Aurelia returned together.

Lin Yi briefly recounted the battle, omitting the details of withstanding Balote's attacks, and only said, "The three pseudo-triple-level cultivators who forcibly enhanced themselves using secret techniques had decent skills and their teamwork was fairly good, but unfortunately their foundations were unstable, and I found a weakness in them."

Aurelia listened quietly, and she could imagine that the battle was definitely not as understated as Lin Yi described it.

She pursed her lips, and finally said, "In the end, we still have to be careful."

Lin Yi glanced at her and smiled slightly, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing and won't do anything I'm not sure I can handle."

Then he said, "I need to go into seclusion for a few days to digest what I've learned in the battle and plan for the future."

Aurelia nodded. "I'll take care of the guild affairs. You just focus on your cultivation."

Lin Yi said no more and turned to walk towards his private training room.

The heavy alloy door slid shut silently behind us, shutting out all the noise from the outside world.

Having acquired such a large windfall, Lin Yi's goal was very clear: to obtain treasures that could accelerate cultivation based on Time Rule.

Currently, the only item you can directly acquire is Time Fragment.

[Time Fragment]: Contains fragments of broken time laws. Refining these fragments can directly increase one's comprehension of Time Rule (the increase depends on the size of the fragment and individual comprehension). Exchange requires 80 million military merits.

Lin Yi's original goal was to acquire "time fragments," but some time ago, Xuanji reminded him that a new item, a comprehension of the Time Rule, had been added to the military merit system.

This item, named Fleeting Splendor, is a one-time consumable. After use, it allows the user to enter a state of "fleeting enlightenment," greatly enhancing their understanding of the Time Rule. It requires 200 million military merits to exchange for.

"80 million. 200 million," Lin Yi murmured to himself.

He currently has 183 million, more than enough to exchange for time fragments, and he can even exchange for a large fragment.

However, the effect of [Time Fragment] is to "directly increase comprehension," which depends not only on comprehension level but also on the size of the fragment.

He is certainly not lacking in comprehension, but the problem is that the upper limit of his comprehension is limited by the size of the fragment.

The description of "a Fleeting Splendor and significant increase in comprehension in a short period of time" in the fleeting beauty of youth is more in line with the Spiritual Enlightenment Qi.

A moment later, a resolute glint flashed in Lin Yi's eyes.

"Hold on! Just 17 million more!" He decided to take a risk and pursue higher returns. "Exchanging for Time Fragments can provide a steady boost, but the potential of Fleeting Splendor is clearly much higher."

Having made his decision, Lin Yi no longer hesitated and began to wholeheartedly accept suitable battlefield missions from the outside world.

However, what happened in the following period of time made Lin Yi gradually frown.

He soon discovered a strange phenomenon.

As soon as he accepts a mission from a certain secondary War Zone, the Kunmo Race forces in that area will quickly begin a large-scale retreat, abandoning a large number of outposts and resource points that are difficult to move quickly.

After completing the first task, all the Kunmo Race in the nearby level-two battlefield had already left.

At first, he thought it was a coincidence or a strategic adjustment by the Kunmo Race.

But after he traveled to several different secondary battlefields in different star systems, the same scenario played out again and again.

If that's the case, then so be it. The key issue is that once it's confirmed that he's appeared in another region, the Kunmo Race in the original region will once again concentrate their forces to launch a counterattack.

He had just struck fear into the hearts of his enemies at "K-77" and moved on to "K-79" when he received news that the Kunmo Race at "K-77" had returned and recaptured some of their lost territory.

When he returned to "K-77", the enemy fled again, while "K-79" launched a major counterattack.

After several attempts, Lin Yi looked at the enemy markers on the star map, which rose and fell like Tide following his movements, and finally confirmed that the Kunmo Race's high command had changed their strategy.

"Oh"

Inside the quiet room, Lin Yi looked at the battlefield situation map compiled by Xuanji and couldn't help but laugh in exasperation. "Good heavens, are you trying to play the 'enemy advances, I retreat; enemy retreats, I advance' game with me now?"

This was undoubtedly the Kunmo Race's greatest recognition of his personal combat strength and their most helpless response. They directly admitted that no one could restrain him in the second-level battlefield, so they simply stopped playing with him, leaving him with a lot of martial power, but it was like punching cotton, with nowhere to exert force.

Although it was a good thing on the surface, proving his absolute dominance in the secondary battlefield and even sparking a small wave of discussion on the Virtual Network, the reality was that his efficiency in accumulating military merits began to plummet.

Previously, he was constantly on the move, fighting fires and carrying out targeted cleanup operations, but his military achievements were numerous.

Now things are really messed up; when he runs to the east, the enemy emerges in the west; when he rushes to the west, the enemy becomes active in the east again.

Not only were they exhausted from running around, but they also gained very little, wasting most of their time on traveling and going to empty-handed places.

Lin Yi roughly estimated that at the current "hide-and-seek" pace, let alone quickly accumulating 17 million, it would probably take nearly a hundred years to earn even a few million more.

"No, this can't go on." Lin Yi frowned.

A century may not seem like a long time to him, but to waste it on a chase would be a terrible waste.

There are ways to break this deadlock.

Alternatively, he himself is strong enough to reach a higher level of cultivation, enabling him to freely traverse vast distances and interstellar domains, ignoring the limitations of battlefield distance and leaving his opponent with no way to avoid him.

Alternatively, one could possess an extremely powerful spacecraft, at least at the god-like level, capable of rapid Star Domain level jumps, which would also greatly shorten support time, leaving the enemy no time to react.

Unfortunately, Lin Yi currently cannot achieve either of these two things.

Although his Space Rule are strong, he is far from being able to travel at will regardless of the scale of the universe. The "Shadow Shuttle" is good, but it is only the top of the Star Domain level. Compared with the true divine vehicle, it is like a sampan compared to a starship.

"It seems that relying on grinding in level 2 battlefields to quickly accumulate the final 17 million military merits is not going to work."

Lin Yi sighed and turned his gaze away from the star map.

The Kunmo Race's guerrilla tactics of "avoiding battle" indeed hit his weak spot. Despite having overwhelming strength, he had nowhere to exert his power, which was quite frustrating.

"Xuanji," he called softly.

A phantom figure in palace attire quietly appeared, bowing slightly. "Master."

"Besides clearing out enemy troops in Tiered Battlefield, what other ways are there to quickly obtain a large amount of military merit?" Lin Yi asked directly.

He needs to broaden his thinking; he can't put all his eggs in one basket.

Xuanji pondered for a moment, then lightly tapped her slender finger, and a light screen unfolded before them, listing clear entries. "As far as I know, there are roughly four ways to quickly obtain large amounts of military merit."

"Firstly, there are still combat missions. In addition to the Tiered Battlefield that the master is currently engaged in, the military will also issue missions to eliminate certain roving Star Pirate groups or remove specific hostile strongholds, and the rewards are equally substantial."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi shook his head without hesitation. "Star Pirate? Those guys are cunning and manipulative; they're probably just pawns for some powerful organization."

"Going to wipe them out is not only a long and time-consuming journey, but more importantly, it's not protected by the Tiered Battlefield rules. If they're just small fry, the military merits will be pitifully few. If they're easy prey, well, you might unexpectedly run into a tough nut and get bitten back, which would be a losing proposition."

He wasn't some naive genius who knew nothing; he naturally understood the implications.

"Anything else?" Lin Yi continued to ask.

"Secondly, there are exploration missions targeting secret realms," Xuanji continued, "The military or major powers frequently issue independent or assisted exploration missions for newly discovered secret realms and ancient ruins. Because the exploration targets are usually highly unknown and dangerous, the military merit rewards are generally very high."

"A secret realm?" Lin Yi shook his head slightly. "Too many unknowns, too many variables. Perhaps I'll be interested in sending an avatar to try it out once I've cultivated an avatar. For now? Forget it."

It would be inconsistent with his cautious and prudent approach to Main Body venture into a completely unknown environment.

There are many examples of geniuses perishing in mysterious secret realms; his eighth senior brother perished in this way.

Xuanji seemed to have anticipated her master's reaction and continued, "Thirdly, there are research contribution-related tasks. These involve undertaking research missions issued by the military or designated institutions, such as upgrading technological blueprints, iterating equipment technologies, and expanding and optimizing Cultivation Technique Combat Skill. Military merits are awarded based on the results of these missions, and once adopted, the rewards are usually extremely generous."

"Optimize the cultivation technique." Lin Yi hesitated for a moment. "Although relying on my own deduction is inefficient, if I were to use Spiritual Enlightenment Qi..."

Clearly, with his Spiritual Enlightenment Qi, he could complete the expansion and optimization tasks assigned by the military regarding some of the cultivation techniques and fighter jets in a short period of time.

"But this is tantamount to exchanging precious opportunities to improve one's comprehension for military merits." Lin Yi finally shook his head secretly. "If the consumption is minimal, it's fine to do it casually. But if it requires a large amount of Spiritual Enlightenment Qi to achieve the mission targets, then it's putting the cart before the horse and is too uneconomical."

His Spiritual Enlightenment Qi was his trump card for breaking through the Time Rule and even reaching higher realms; its value far exceeded a fixed amount of military merit.

Unless one happens to encounter a special mission that is extremely suitable, consumes very little resources, and yields a huge amount of military merit, it is not advisable to rely on the third type of mission as the main source of military merit.

This should only be considered as an alternative, to be checked occasionally, and not relied upon.

Lin Yi concluded that the third approach was the correct one.

"The last item."

Xuanji suggested the last possibility, "Knowledge-sharing platform."

"Through the military's ' Veteran Platform ' platform, individuals can publish their cultivation experiences, videos explaining the application of rules, or provide targeted answers to others' cultivation problems. Questioners typically offer military merit rewards; those whose answers are accepted receive military merit. This is a common way for many cultivators to accumulate military merit."

"Explaining the Rule Comprehension, answering questions and resolving doubts."

Lin Yi pondered for a moment, a hint of confidence gradually appearing in his eyes.

Although he is currently only at the Star Core level in terms of absolute realm, he possesses Triple Domain, and his Rule Comprehension can be regarded as that of a Star Domain Level 3 expert.

Moreover, among the rules he comprehended were not only the higher Life Rule, but also the superior Space Rule.

This profound knowledge and experience is enough to qualify him to guide many cultivators who are stuck at a bottleneck.

"I think," Lin Yi smiled, "That in this arena of Space Rule, there will likely be far fewer competitors."

The Space Rule are inherently difficult, and those who achieve success are extremely rare. Many of them focus solely on their own cultivation, unwilling and disdainful of sharing their insights with the public, let alone spending time answering questions for others.

People like him, who need to quickly acquire a large amount of resources and are willing, or rather, forced by circumstances, to share some of their insights into the Space Rule, are probably very few.

"Rule Comprehension, especially the Space Rule, even if it's just explaining some basic application techniques or sharing some introductory insights, is of immeasurable value to those cultivators who are struggling to break through the threshold or stuck at a certain point for many years." Lin Yi was well aware of this.

Although he found cultivation easy, once he mastered it, he naturally understood how desperate the obstacles on the path of cultivating Space Rule could be.

High market demand and scarce supply—isn't this the perfect business opportunity?

"It boasts high security, leverages its own strengths, faces few competitors, and the process of organizing and explaining the rules can also benefit itself, deepening its understanding of the rules."

The more Lin Yi analyzed it, the more feasible this path seemed.

"While a single bounty might not be as profitable as killing a powerful enemy, its advantage lies in its ability to generate a steady stream of income and its independence from the Kunmo Race's tactics."

Having thought this through, he had already made up his mind.

"Xuanji," Lin Yi immediately instructed, "Focus on collecting information from the platform regarding Rule Comprehension, especially those related to Space Rule. This includes current popular explainers, common types of bounty questions, the approximate range of bounty amounts, as well as the platform's operating rules and precautions."

"Yes, Master." Xuanji bowed slightly, seemingly unsurprised by her master's choice.

She quickly responded, "The information is being processed and filtered, and will be available to you soon. Also, would you like me to register and create an account for you on the platform?"

"No need to rush this."

Lin Yi waved his hand, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. Let's first understand the situation before deciding how to enter the fray and what valuable strategies we should offer to quickly gain an advantage."

He needs to find a way to maximize his strengths while attracting enough attention and a reward.

This is not just about earning military merits; to some extent, it is also a systematic review and sublimation of one's past cultivation.

"Owner."

Less than ten minutes later, Xuanji's figure reappeared.

"Is there a conclusion regarding the Veteran Platform' platform?" Lin Yi asked directly.

"The platform's ecosystem has been initially analyzed."

Xuanji's fingertips shimmered, and a virtual light screen appeared, displaying, "The competition in the common Rule Domain is fierce, but the competition in higher rules domains such as space and life is relatively less intense, and the bounty questions are of high quality and offer generous rewards."

Lin Yi immediately grasped the key point. "In other words, knowledge of high-level rules is itself a scarce resource."

"Exactly. Especially the Space Rule, because they are unpredictable and difficult to defend against, the bounty area is filled with numerous questions about identification, early warning, and countermeasures."

"Very good."

Lin Yi nodded, then asked, "So what strategy should we use?"

Without hesitation, Xuanji replied immediately, "Master, I suggest the following strategy: Use the universally applicable practical optimization insights of the Metal Rule as a starting point, offering it as a free course to attract attention and build trust. Then, offer the profound and rare courses on the Life Rule as paid courses to convert military merits into rewards."

She added, "The content of the Metal Rule' could be positioned as 'personalized optimization suggestions for the standard system,' targeting Veteran Platform and elites who have already mastered the basics and are seeking breakthroughs in details."

"The Space Rule are not designed to train spatial cultivators; their primary focus is on providing 'Guidelines for Recognizing Spatial Phenomena and Responding to Basic Responses,' meeting defensive needs. The Life Rule focus on 'Survival Skills for Dealing with Specific Current Threats, Such as the Death Rules of the Kunmo Race,' serving as a supplement to standard battlefield first aid and protection training."

"Free content needs to demonstrate sincerity, while paid content needs to highlight its scarcity." Lin Yi understood Xuanji's meaning after a moment's thought.

He nodded and instructed, "Then let's begin preparations. Register a ' Eastern Edge - Lin Yi ' account for me."

"Yes, Master." Xuanji accepted the order, and her figure faded away.