If You Can't Win, Run
While the others were treating their injuries, Lin Yi first put away the animal skin space bags left behind by the Abyss Race.
He didn't check it immediately, but instead handed the bag to his clone beside him.
The clone took over the storage equipment and began processing them one by one.
Then, Lin Yi looked at Edith and the ten wounded geniuses of the Pan-Spirit Alliance.
His gaze swept over the crowd, quickly assessing the condition of each person's injuries.
The situation is not optimistic.
Of the ten, three were seriously injured. One of the Li Race prodigies had a deep wound under his ribs that exposed the bone, one of the Crystal Spirit Race had a noticeable crack in the crystal on his forehead, and another of the Spirit Race prodigies had his left arm completely severed, barely held together by the power of the rules.
The other seven were also mostly injured, the least serious of whom had shattered armor and depleted power of rules.
Edith was in slightly better condition, but the wound on her left shoulder was still bleeding, and the operation of the light and dark rules was noticeably sluggish, clearly indicating excessive exertion.
"Let's leave here first." Lin Yi's voice was calm and decisive. "The fighting is too loud; it will soon attract other enemies."
No one raised any objections.
The group worked together to form a simple defensive formation.
Lin Yi walked ahead, while his clone covered the rear. The group quickly disappeared into the gray fog, moving away from the area where a fierce battle had just taken place.
The group walked briskly for about half a standard hour before stopping behind a natural shelter made up of several huge black rocks.
The location here is relatively secluded, surrounded on three sides by towering black rocks, with only a narrow passage for entry and exit, making it a good place for a temporary rest.
"Let's rest here."
Lin Yi stopped and instructed his clone to keep watch.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and leaned wearily against the black stone.
Edith walked over to Lin Yi and slowly sat down against the stone wall.
She took out a tender, bright green leaf and pressed it onto the wound on her left shoulder. The leaf emitted a soft glow, and the wound began to heal slowly.
"Tell me what happened," Lin Yi said, looking at her. "How did you get targeted by those thirteen Abyss Race?"
Edith was silent for a moment, gathering her thoughts, before slowly speaking.
"On the third day after entering the secret realm, I encountered the first batch of Devouring Race. Those three Devouring Race broke through to the Star Vortex level immediately upon meeting me."
A cold glint flashed in her emerald eyes. "I acted alone, using the advantages of the spacetime rules to kill them."
"But this incident made me wary. I realized that the other person's behavior was too abnormal."
Edith paused, then continued, "Later, I joined several smaller teams, expanding the group to ten people. We explored and set up relay nodes while carefully avoiding potential enemies."
"Until yesterday, we encountered those thirteen Abyss Race."
Her voice lowered, "They have four Star Vortex level; the others, upon seeing us, immediately triggered their breakthroughs as well."
"We fought and retreated, trying to shake off their pursuit, but their tracking ability was very strong, and we could never shake them off," Edith said with a wry smile. "If you hadn't arrived in time..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear.
Lin Yi's gaze darkened slightly.
It's always like this; a breakthrough happens the moment we meet.
"So, what do you think of this breakthrough?" he asked.
Edith was silent for a moment, a complex light flashing in her turquoise eyes.
"I think I have a guess," she said softly. "This kind of tactic isn't unprecedented."
Lin Yi was startled and looked sharply at Edith.
"You're saying this has happened before? But none of the previously distributed materials, or any records I can find about the Myriad Secret Realm, mention anything like this!"
Edith fell silent upon hearing this.
She hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, "Because this is a history that has been deliberately sealed away and downplayed, belonging to the highest level of tacit understanding and taboo among the three major races."
"I only stumbled upon a few fragments of records in the most core inherited memory bank within my family. That was a long time ago, long before the last all-out cosmic war between the three major races."
She gathered her thoughts and continued, "According to the incomplete records, after the three races first discovered the Myriad Secret Realm and confirmed that they could stably produce Source Essence, their method of entry was not the current Genius Battle selection. Initially, they would send organized elite Star Core level legions to enter."
"Legion?"
Lin Yi frowned slightly.
"Yes, legions. Their size could be in the thousands, or even tens of thousands." Edith's tone was somewhat heavy. "After these legions enter the secret realm, the entire legion, except for the Commander, will collectively break through to the Star Vortex level."
The entire legion broke through?
Lin Yi's eyes narrowed slightly.
"And then?" he pressed.
"Then comes the most brutal slaughter. The clashes between Star Vortex level Legions, suppressed by the special rules of the secret realm, are far more brutal than wars of the same level outside. In the end, often only the strongest, or rather, the luckiest, legion Commander is able to leave the secret realm alive, carrying the Source Essence obtained at the cost of countless lives."
"And the rest of the legion, regardless of victory or defeat, remained here permanently."
Lin Yi remained silent.
"This pattern continued for some time, and the struggle for Source Essence turned into a contest of the quantity and quality of legions. The three races competed with each other, and the number of legions they sent in increased indefinitely, with more and more resources being invested, leading to escalating conflicts."
Edith sighed.
Ultimately, this became one of the triggers for the last all-out cosmic war between the three races. After the war, all three sides suffered heavy losses, which led to the subsequent negotiations that halted this legion model and replaced it with the current system of one thousand slots per race to ensure that the competition remains within a controllable range.
Lin Yi suddenly understood. "So that's how it is. It's similar to Tiered Battlefield system, setting an upper limit and establishing a relatively controllable competitive framework to prevent unlimited escalation and unrestricted expansion of the situation, ultimately leading to a total war."
"That's one way to understand it," Edith nodded. "So, since the quota system was changed, although the fighting within the secret realm is still brutal, at least there's a bottom line. The unspoken rule is that everyone competes based on their own abilities, and life and death are left to fate."
Lin Yi pondered for a moment, then thought of a crucial question and quickly asked:
"Since the establishment of the Genius Battle system, has any side in history ever used such extreme methods, such as everyone breaking through to the next level? For example, when a character like me, a master of the higher laws, appeared on one side?"
Edith thought about it carefully for a moment, then shook her head.
She was also somewhat puzzled.
"No. As far as I know, there has never been. In the past, if one side produced a prodigy who was significantly stronger than the previous one, the other two sides, after confirming this in the secret realm, would usually only do two things."
"First, let's take a gamble and see if the dungeon mechanics are independent of each other, and whether we can avoid direct conflict and explore them separately."
"If it's confirmed to be a team competition, we'll try our best to avoid it, stay away from it, spread our advantages and maneuver around it until the end of the secret realm, and try to preserve our strength as much as possible, taking as much Source Essence as we can."
"Never before have we seen a team so aggressively from the outset, displaying an attitude of 'even if it means everyone breaks through their limits, we'll wipe them out completely.'"
Upon hearing this, Lin Yi frowned deeply, his brows almost forming a deep frown.
That doesn't make sense.
According to Edith, those prodigies who mastered the laws of superiority in history must have also put enormous pressure on the other two sides.
But why didn't the other party resort to such extreme measures before, but this time they're so willing to pay any price and disregard the consequences when it comes to Lin Yi?
"There have been other geniuses at the Law level before, so why are they targeting me?"
Lin Yi muttered to himself, as if asking Edith, or perhaps asking himself, "There must be some special reason."
Doing such a thing is tantamount to breaking the tacit understanding that has lasted for countless Epoch.
If the Abyss Race and the Devouring Race can do this now, do you think they can stop the Spirit Race from following suit the next time a similar Abyss Race emerges from the Abyss Race Devouring Race?
This will only start a vicious cycle, dragging the Rift back to the eve of that bloody Legion era.
unless
Lin Yi's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Unless, of course, they don't care at all about starting this vicious cycle!
Unless, of course, they believe the benefits of doing so far outweigh the long-term consequences that might result from breaking the rules!
Or, they judge that there might be no consequences to bear in the long run!
Lin Yi suddenly remembered his past life.
In the previous life, the border frictions between the Human Race and the Kunmo Race and Rift Mantis Race escalated at an unusually rapid pace, quickly leaping from frictions at the Star Core and Star Vortex level to those involving Star Domain level expert.
This is completely contrary to the usual practice of border frictions escalating slowly over tens or even hundreds of thousands of years.
He recalled all the clues he had collected in this lifetime.
Now, the Abyss Race and the Devouring Race are joining forces in the secret realm in such a tacit way, using a near-self-destructive method to fight two against one against the Pan-Spirit Alliance.
These seemingly isolated events are like scattered beads.
When the clues of "breaking the rules," "at any cost," and "time anomalies" are connected, a chilling conjecture quietly creeps into Lin Yi's mind.
Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously murmured, "It seems like a long time has passed since the last all-out cosmic war between the three top races."
Edith was deep in thought about the question Lin Yi had raised when she heard it. She paused for a moment, then turned to look at him. "What? What did you just say about war?"
Lin Yi was suddenly jolted out of his reverie, realizing that he had spoken out of turn.
He looked at Edith's questioning blue eyes, shook his head, and temporarily suppressed that overly alarming guess.
"It's nothing," he said, his tone regaining its composure. "I just suddenly felt a bit sentimental. After all, whatever happens outside is temporarily none of our business."
This statement is partly true and partly self-comfort.
Even if there are undercurrents in the outside world, or even a bigger storm brewing, they are powerless to change it as they are trapped in the Gray Mist Secret Realm and facing a desperate situation.
The most urgent task is to survive and to lead the remaining people to find a way to live.
He abruptly changed the subject, raising his voice slightly to ensure everyone around could hear him, "Now is not the time to delve into the reasons. Edith, Green Leaf, and everyone else, immediately share your information links and integrate into my relay network."
"Yes, team leader."
Everyone perked up and began operating the silver bracelets on their wrists.
Soon, the previously isolated information nodes were connected, and with the coordination of Lin Yi and Xuanji Sub-Unit, a communication network with a wider coverage was established.
"Hurry up and focus on recovery and treatment."
Lin Yi's gaze swept over the wounded group. "We'll split into two groups, one led by my Main Body and one by my clone. We'll search in a fan shape in different directions from our current gathering point, and provide support to all the teams we can contact."
"When encountering a large enemy force, prioritize delay and withdrawal; avoid direct confrontation. Our primary objective is to regroup our forces."
"Clear!"
Edith gave Lin Yi a deep look, then stopped asking about the war. Instead, she silently took out a jade-green crystal that emitted a gentle life force. After crushing it, a green halo enveloped her and several of her more seriously injured teammates, accelerating their recovery.
--
The next six days were filled with constant movement through the gray fog, rescues, escapes, and brief firefights.
Time seemed to stretch out due to the gray fog and the sense of urgency.
Lin Yi's Main Body and clones are like tireless ghosts, using their exquisite use of Space Rule and keen perception of time fluctuations to repeatedly enter the most urgent battlefields.
Sometimes, three or four prodigies from the Pan-Spirit Alliance would be surrounded by several enemies in a narrow stone forest.
Lin Yi would not hesitate to activate time stop, kill the enemy, and then lead his team to escape.
Sometimes things are even worse.
Because some Abyss Race or Devouring Race teams have reached a size of over a hundred people.
They clearly also adopted a strategy of massing forces, and as their ranks grew, their methods of reconnaissance and encirclement became more sophisticated and organized.
Faced with a battle formation composed of hundreds of geniuses, many of whom had broken through to the Star Vortex level, even Lin Yi could no longer easily kill them as before.
Therefore, he chose to use extensive time delay and spatial disruption to disrupt the enemy's siege rhythm, creating a chance for his team, which was in dire straits, to break out, and then to help them evacuate.
The battle began to become difficult.
Every time a large-scale Time Stop is used or a large number of people are transported through space, it means a massive loss of energy.
In this secret realm where energy inertia is extremely strong, even though they were all equipped with ample recovery-type treasures, the rate of energy recovery was far lower than in the outside world.
Therefore, Lin Yi had to be more meticulous in his calculations, using every bit of his strength wisely.
The good news is that as the rescue operation continues, his team is growing like a snowball.
On the third day, he met up with a seventeen-man disabled team led by Xing Yu.
On the fifth day, the relay network detected a brief and urgent distress signal.
Lin Yi and Edith rushed over together, only to find a rubble-strewn beach littered with the aftermath of a battle, and a few fragments of the Spirit Shadow Armor stained with dark purple or dark red blood.
On the evening of the sixth day, Lin Yi met Hui Yao and the last five members of his team in a relatively secluded giant black stone cave.
By the time Lin Yi's Main Body arrived through space, the battle was already over.
The cave entrance was littered with fragments of the Devouring Race's carapace and foul-smelling bodily fluids. Inside the cave, Hui Yao sat leaning against the rock wall, a shocking penetrating wound on his chest, its edges tinged with a corroded purplish-black, yet his face wore a calm smile of relief.
Beside him, five prodigies from different races, all wounded but alive, silently watched Hui Yao.
Lin Yi's gaze fell on Hui Yao, and he instantly sensed the energy fluctuations of the other party, which were far stronger than those of Star Core, yet somewhat unstable.
Star Vortex level.
Hui Yao also broke through.
Lin Yi fell silent.
He recalled the banquet at the Star Sea Pavilion in the training camp, where Hui Yao sincerely presented him with "Star Vortex Twin Lotus," saying, "This is a small token of my appreciation for the future pillars of our Human Race."
I recalled that in the waiting area for the finals of the Genius Battle, Hui Yao excitedly said, "Congratulations, Brother Lin Yi, for securing first place with such force, bringing glory to our Human Race!"
He recalled his past life's memories of Hui Yao, the strongest Human Race in this year's Genius Battle.
Hui Yao, one of the leaders of the Human Race in this generation, was born into a family with the bloodline of a lord. He should have had a bright future and the opportunity to reach a higher realm.
But now, he will remain in this secret realm forever.
Seemingly sensing the heaviness in Lin Yi's gaze, Hui Yao burst into laughter.
The laughter aggravated his wound, causing him to cough a few times, and a little blood foam spilled from the corner of his mouth.
"Ahem. Brother Lin Yi, don't look like that." Hui Yao waved his hand, his tone as relaxed as if he had only lost a sparring match at the training camp.
"I've taken so many resources from the family and cultivated for so long, yet I only have this much strength. I only managed to get into the top 128 in the Genius Battle. Thinking about it, I've really brought shame to the family."
He paused, looking at the gray mist billowing outside the cave, his eyes becoming serious. "However, Brother Lin Yi, after you leave, remember to send a message home for me. I haven't brought shame to my family or our Human Race here."
Lin Yi looked at Hui Yao and slowly nodded.
"Must."
He didn't offer any further words of comfort or regret.
Some sacrifices need no words; they are best kept in our hearts.
Hui Yao grinned, seemingly relieved of a worry, and his spirits lifted somewhat.
He looked at Lin Yi and asked about the current situation.
When Huiyao learned that Lin Yi had gathered more than 700 people, but the two opposing races had each assembled a massive force of more than 900 people, Hui Yao expression turned serious.
"More than nine hundred people," Hui Yao asked in a hoarse voice, "And what about our side?"
"More than 730 people. More than 200 have been confirmed dead or missing. The rest are probably in grave danger." Lin Yi's voice was somewhat low.
"Of the more than 730 people gathered so far, 43 have been confirmed to have broken through to the Star Vortex level, including you. All of them chose to break through voluntarily in order to save people."
Lin Yi spoke calmly, but everyone could hear the heavy weight beneath that calmness.
Of the one thousand carefully selected prodigies from various races who entered the secret realm, more than a quarter have already been lost in just over ten days, and this is only the result of Lin Yi's all-out rescue efforts.
"Forty-three Star Vortex level, plus you."
Hui Yao frowned deeply. "How do we fight this battle?"
The other prodigies surrounding Hui Yao also looked grave.
They had just experienced the despair of being hunted down by the Star Vortex level Devouring Race, and knew all too well the overwhelming sense of being overwhelmed by the difference in cultivation level.
Hui Yao coughed a few times, then forced himself to sit up a little straighter. "Brother Lin Yi, what are your plans next? Continue to hide with everyone? Or..."
All eyes in the cave were on Lin Yi.
Lin Yi did not answer immediately.
In fact, there are solutions to this situation.
As long as we can get the top geniuses among our seven hundred-plus people who haven't been forced to break through yet, such as Edith and Green Leaf, to voluntarily break through to the Star Vortex level.
Not all of them are needed; as long as the top 100 geniuses break through to the Star Vortex level, they will be able to put up a fight.
but
Lin Yi was merely the "leader" of this temporary team.
This identity stemmed from his championship in the Genius Battle and his appointment by the Spirit Race's high command, which granted him the power to coordinate and command various races within the secret realm.
But this power has its limits, especially when it comes to fundamental decisions like "whether to sacrifice oneself."
This is not merely a calculation problem involving a comparison of strengths, but a cruel choice of morality and responsibility.
Without prior explicit authorization or orders from the highest levels of the Pan-Spirit Alliance, it was impossible for Xuan Yan and his group to have foreseen such an extreme situation before entering the secret realm, let alone issue such an order that was almost a collective "sacrifice" of geniuses.
Besides, who should we choose?
By what right does Lin Yi expect Edith and Green Leaf to make such a sacrifice?
Why didn't you, Lin Yi, sacrifice yourself?
In terms of the effectiveness of breakthroughs, it's clear that as the team leader, his breakthroughs have the strongest impact.
Moreover, even if everyone was convinced by him, gritted their teeth and broke through, and then miraculously defeated the combined forces of the two races under his leadership, he would eventually leave the secret realm with the Source Essence.
So, what happens after you get out?
What will he face?
How do the families and races behind these geniuses view this?
Even if the Spirit Race high command does not pursue the matter, the public anger and resentment are enough to make his future path fraught with difficulties, and may even affect the Human Race's diplomatic relations.
It should be understood that many of these prodigies are the future hope that small and medium-sized races value immensely.
"I can't withstand the backlash afterward," Lin Yi muttered to himself.
Some decisions require the corresponding authority and strength to bear the consequences.
He's not good enough yet.
Moreover, there is a deeper reason.
He is not used to the so-called "sacrifice" at the request of others, nor does he want to be "sacrificed" one day. Therefore, he cannot ask his teammates to sacrifice themselves for their own survival.
Therefore, this path is not feasible.
Hui Yao seemed to understand something from Lin Yi's long silence and complicated gaze. He tugged at the corner of his mouth, trying to smile, but the movement aggravated his wound, resulting in a somewhat distorted expression.
"Brother Lin Yi, is there really no other way? Is the only option to hide, or to fight to the death?"
Lin Yi didn't answer. Instead, he took a deep breath and said, "Let's go back to the meeting point first."
At the same time, he summoned all members and asked all those searching outside to return to the assembly point.
The remaining few missing persons are most likely dead, so there's no need to delay any longer.
After leading Hui Yao and the others back to the meeting point, Lin Yi called everyone over.
Then, in front of them, he took out a pure black crystal from his storage bracelet.
This was the product of fusing the crystal cores of the Mist Beast he had casually killed these past few days. The fist-sized black crystal core floated in his palm, with thick black mist inside slowly rotating, emitting a strange fluctuation of rules.
"This is?"
Edith looked at Lin Yi with a puzzled expression.
"A key to a passage."
Lin Yi calmly said, "I discovered this when I killed the Mist Beast. When the number and quality of collected crystal cores reach a certain critical point, this thing will form, opening a passage to an unknown area."
He briefly recounted the discovery of the black passage and the fact that all the investigation units had lost contact.
Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions turned serious.
Unknown passages, missing investigative units, and completely unknown circumstances.
This sounds like jumping from one desperate situation into an even bigger one.
"Team leader, do you mean...?" Liu Yun asked hesitantly.
We have no other choice.
Lin Yi looked at everyone, "Staying here means certain death. Entering the passage offers at least a glimmer of hope."
He paused, then added, "Moreover, based on my observations, opening that passage requires a large number of Mist Beast cores as a key."
"This suggests that it likely didn't appear randomly, but rather is part of the secret realm's rules. Perhaps, that's the true Core Zone the secret realm."
"You mean, the Source Essence might be there?" Edith asked thoughtfully.
"Possibly."
Lin Yi nodded. "Even if it isn't, it's at least a relatively safe haven. We can temporarily avoid the encirclement and suppression by the other two races and buy time to recover and regroup."
The group looked at each other in bewilderment.
This decision was extremely risky, but as Lin Yi said, they really had no better choice.
Staying there would almost certainly mean certain death.
Go inside; at least there's still hope.
"I agree," Edith was the first to speak up. "Staying here will only lead to our slow demise."
"I agree," Liu Yun said through gritted teeth. "Rather than sit and wait to die, we might as well take a gamble."
Green Leaf, Xing Hen, Mu Xi —one after another, these prodigies expressed their opinions.
Ultimately, everyone agreed with Lin Yi's decision.
At this moment, dense black mist surged out from the crystal core, rapidly swirling and condensing in front of Lin Yi, forming a huge black vortex with a diameter of over five meters.
The vortex was incredibly deep, with no visible sights, only pure darkness.
A suction force, originating from the same source as the surrounding gray fog but deeper, emanated from it, and one could vaguely hear a sobbing sound that seemed to come from a distant time and space.
The passage is open.