It All Adds Up-It All Adds Up!

Li couldn't understand it at all.

Having cultivated for so many years, his understanding of the Chaos Rules is undeniably profound.

The more one comprehends the Chaos Rules, the more difficult it becomes. This is not only an ironclad rule recognized by all cultivators, but also a fundamental common sense written into the first chapter, first section of the Imperial Army's textbook.

From the initial stage to the intermediate stage of the True Source Realm, that's the entry-level stage. Although it's difficult, it only blocks the dull-witted. Anyone with a little talent can get past it with a little effort.

However, the difficulty increases dramatically from the intermediate to the advanced level, and every bit of progress requires a significant investment of time and energy.

As for each step from the higher levels onwards, the progress is as slow as wading through a swamp.

However, Lin Yi's speed increased nearly eight times from the fifth to the sixth rank, instead of slowing down.

This is completely beyond the scope of explanation for a normal cultivation curve.

Even those exceptionally talented geniuses who advance at a rapid pace cannot escape the rule of "slowing down as time goes on," the only difference being whether the slowdown is much greater or less.

Could it be that I've had a series of epiphanies?

The thought crossed Li's mind for a moment, then he decisively extinguished it.

What is enlightenment?

That's a rare and precious opportunity; how many times in a lifetime can one have such an epiphany?

To bump into someone once is already incredibly lucky; how could one possibly bump into them several times in a short period of time?

Impossible!

Li thought it over and rejected every possibility one by one.

Unable to figure it out, Li simply stopped thinking about it.

He looked up and ordered, "Zero Three, help me apply to see the Commander. Say it's related to Lin Yi."

Without asking any further questions, Zero Three sent out the application after a flash of Light Sphere.

Lainiadun was always quick to approve his subordinates' daily reports, especially since Li had specifically highlighted the keyword "related to Lin Yi".

Before long, Zero Three's voice rang out again.

"Your application has been approved. Commander Lainiadun is waiting for you in his command center."

Li stood up and strode out of the captain's training room.

The core command center of the Black Rock Mothership is located at the deepest part of the ship and is the most heavily defended space on the entire mothership.

Lainiadun sat in the main seat, with a huge light screen floating in front of him, displaying the latest deployment information of each squad.

Seeing Li enter, he pointed to the seat opposite him. "Sit."

Li sat down as instructed.

Lainiadun glanced at him, smiled, and said, "You came to see me in such a hurry, what's up? Has Lin Yi broken through?"

"Yes." Li nodded.

Lainiadun leaned back in his chair, nodding approvingly, "He broke through from the fourth to the fifth rank in just about 350 Epoch, which means he wasn't really hindered by any difficulties. That's quite impressive." He paused, then continued, "With his talent, although the fifth Cosmic Universe Seal will be much more difficult, he should still be able to successfully condense it within a hundred Epoch."

Li remained silent.

Seeing that he didn't respond, Lainiadun didn't pay much attention and continued, "Once he condenses the fifth seal, his combat ability will take another leap. At that time, I'll consider assigning your squad to a more stressful defensive section."

He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence.

He noticed that Li's expression was somewhat strange.

It was a silence that was hesitant, subtle, and tinged with awkwardness.

Li Ping was not like this at all; he always reported military intelligence concisely and efficiently, never beating around the bush.

Lainiadun's heart skipped a beat, and a few guesses began to form in his mind.

"Judging from your expression," Lainiadun said with a smile, "Lin Yi must have already mastered the fifth Cosmic Universe Seal?"

Li's lips twitched slightly.

Seeing Lainiadun thought he had guessed correctly, so he smiled and shook his head, "Last time, you only came to tell me after he had mastered the fourth Cosmic Universe Seal. To be able to condense the fifth Cosmic Universe Seal so quickly, the Military Lord was right after all... Hmm?"

As he spoke, Lainiadun noticed that Li's expression had not relaxed but had become even stranger.

He raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of doubt in his voice. "Isn't that it? Or has something gone wrong with his cultivation?"

Li took a deep breath and finally broke his silence.

"My lord, you are not mistaken. Lin Yi has indeed condensed the fifth Cosmic Universe Seal. However, this is not the main reason for my visit. Lin Yi... condensed the fifth Cosmic Universe Seal more than forty Epoch ago."

Lainiadun was slightly taken aback, "More than forty Epoch ago?"

"More than forty Epoch ago," Li repeated.

A flicker of surprise crossed Lainiadun's eyes, but he wasn't overly shocked.

He quickly calculated the timeline in his mind: from breaking through to the fifth level of the True Source Realm and then condensing the fifth seal, it would take about three hundred Epoch to complete.

This time span is much shorter than the hundred Epoch he just mentioned, but given Lin Yi's demonstrated talent, it is not incomprehensible.

"So, to think he achieved a breakthrough and condensed the Cosmic Universe Seal in just three hundred Epoch, I really underestimated him." Lainiadun nodded slightly, then changed the subject, his gaze returning to Li's face, a renewed sense of doubt rising within him. "But you didn't say anything before, and now you're suddenly contacting me, is it because..."

Li finally blurted out the sentence he had been holding back all the way.

"Lin Yi has just broken through to the sixth level of the True Source Realm."

The command room fell silent for a moment.

Are you sure?

"Sure."

When was the last time he broke through to the fifth rank?

"Less than fifty Epoch ago."

Lainiadun fell silent.

He leaned back slowly in his chair, his gaze fixed on the huge tactical map in the command room, and remained silent for a long while.

On the star map, the boundary line of the Black Mist Sea slowly undulated against the dark blue background, and the marker dots representing the positions of each squad flickered and moved at times.

"How come the sixth rank is progressing so much faster than the fifth rank? Did he exchange all his military merits for treasures that aid in enlightenment? But that's still not enough..."

Despite saying it wasn't enough, Lainiadun still commanded the void, "Retrieve Lin Yi's military merit redemption list."

A pale blue virtual screen unfolded in response.

Lainiadun's gaze swept quickly over the entries.

He discovered that Lin Yi controlled every amount he exchanged with extreme restraint. Not only did he not exchange for a large number of auxiliary treasures, but he also used them more sparingly than other people of the same level.

His military merits were accumulating at a rate far exceeding his expenses, as if he were deliberately saving them up.

After glancing at it for a moment, Lainiadun waved his hand to wipe away the list, his brows furrowing slightly, his tone tinged with confusion. "Lin Yi still has a lot of military merits left. Not only did he not exchange a large amount for auxiliary treasures, but he actually used relatively few... I guess he wanted to save his military merits to exchange for Eternal Cosmos Crystal. Well, after all, he's considered the strongest among those Cosmic Clam."

He paused, then sighed, "Many powerful individuals raised in the public sphere have this habit: they can't let go of their original clan and the Cosmic Clam. They always think about sending any surplus resources back home. They hoard their military merits, never using them, and eventually exchange them for Eternal Cosmos Crystal to take back. Such examples are not uncommon in the fleet."

Li hesitated for a moment and said, "Could it be that some family invested in Lin Yi and secretly gave him a large sum of Eternal Cosmos Crystal to buy auxiliary treasures?"

As soon as he said this, he wanted to ask Zero Three through the badge whether he had noticed any traces of Lin Yi continuously using auxiliary treasures during his cultivation.

But as soon as the thought arose, he suppressed it.

Many high-level treasures don't need to be taken out; they can be directly absorbed and used within the Divine Kingdom within the body. Asking about them is pointless and a waste of time.

Lainiadun shook his head. "Impossible. If we just relied on resources, do you know how many Eternal Cosmos Crystal would be needed to achieve that kind of efficiency? At least a million Eternal Cosmos Crystal."

"Spending over a million Eternal Cosmos Crystal on a mid-stage True Source Realm cultivator, just to help him quickly advance from the fifth to the sixth stage. Do you think any family would do something like that?"

Li nodded silently upon hearing this.

Indeed, millions of Eternal Cosmos Crystal already represent more than half of the liquid assets of some small families.

Even if Lin Yi has shown enough potential, there will certainly be families willing to bet on him, but to say which family would be willing to place a heavy bet of millions of Eternal Cosmos Crystal at this stage...

The price-performance ratio is indeed too low.

After all, there are so many things that can be done with a million Eternal Cosmos Crystal.

Investing in an entire elite True Source Realm team or cultivating your own Eternal Source Realm seed players—wouldn't that be more worthwhile than accelerating the cultivation progress of a mid-stage True Source Realm genius?

Moreover, investing in geniuses is gambling. The path from the middle stage of the True Source Realm to the top is very long, and any obstacle in between could trap a person for countless Epoch. Some people might even perish from a single misstep. It's not impossible that all the Eternal Judgment Crystal invested in the early stages could be wasted.

Therefore, Li nodded, agreeing with this assessment, "Indeed, the cost-effectiveness is too low."

Lainiadun moment, as if he was considering something.

After a moment, he slowly spoke.

"I actually have some suspicions."

Li's spirits lifted upon hearing this.

"However, it's not certain yet." Lainiadun waved his hand, not continuing directly, but changing the subject, "Let's leave it at that for now and observe further. If Lin Yi's cultivation speed maintains its current level, then it should be as I guessed."

Li's curiosity was completely piqued.

He couldn't help but press, "Commander, have you found a lead?"

Lainiadun leaned back in his chair, the light shifting slightly upwards, as if he were recalling something.

It took him a while to explain.

"You may not know this, but I've heard that a few special cultivators have occasionally appeared on Constant Island. They share a common talent trait, so they're called slow-burning geniuses."

"A slow-burning genius?" Li frowned; he had never heard of this term before.

"Good."

Lainiadun explained, "These kinds of geniuses are extremely rare in the Chaos Cosmic Sea; you might not even find one in an entire cosmic domain. Their cultivation trajectory is completely opposite to that of ordinary geniuses... Ordinary geniuses start with the easy and gradually move to the difficult, their progress slowing down as they progress, and the higher their realm, the more bottlenecks they encounter. But slow-starting geniuses are exactly the opposite."

"They faced the difficult part first, but the easy part came later."

"Difficult first, then easy? Is that even possible?"

Li felt that his understanding of cultivation had been overturned.

Lainiadun nodded and said, "That's right. These kinds of geniuses usually don't cultivate very fast at the beginning, and you could even say they're quite mediocre. But that doesn't mean they lack talent. On the contrary, their talent is extremely high, even among the very best. The reason they cultivate slowly at the beginning isn't because they lack comprehension, but because their way of thinking is unique."

"Mindset?"

"Yes." Lainiadun tapped his temple with a finger. "Ordinary geniuses cultivate by simply learning what the classic texts teach and following their teachers' instructions. When they encounter a bottleneck, they then try to find alternative methods, taking it one step at a time. While this path is reliable, it's easy to get stuck when there are no road signs to refer to as one's realm increases. But the cultivation mode of slow-burning geniuses is different. From the very beginning of their cultivation, they do something that most geniuses would never do."

"What's up?"

"Observe, reflect, and summarize; from the very beginning, I've been trying to find the path that best suits me."

Lainiadun remarked, "These kinds of geniuses have an almost obsessive thirst for truth in cultivation itself. They are not satisfied with the habitual thinking of simply following the path of their predecessors. They will repeatedly examine and refine their understanding from the very beginning, thoroughly mastering the fundamentals, and then finding the path that best suits them."

"This process is slow, of course, but once they find the path and establish their own cultivation logic, their speed will begin to explode."

Upon hearing this, Li fell into deep thought.

He had cultivated for most of his life and seen all sorts of geniuses, but he had never known that such a type existed.

In his mind, geniuses are those prodigies who, from the very beginning, make rapid progress and leave their peers far behind.

"So..." Li slowly began, "They put the most difficult part at the beginning?"

"That's exactly what I mean." Lainiadun nodded. "Ordinary geniuses rely on their talent to surge ahead in the early stages, but as they progress, the accumulated problems gradually surface, requiring them to spend more and more energy patching up the gaps in their earlier work. As a result, their progress slows down, and many eventually fade into obscurity. On the other hand, slow-starting geniuses are the opposite. They identify and address all their weaknesses early on, solidifying their foundation to the extreme. Although they may be slower in the early stages, the more they accumulate knowledge and experience, the more effective their earlier work becomes, and their speed increases rather than decreases."

"It turns out that there is such a genius." Li shook his head, with a bit of self-deprecation and a bit of emotion in his tone, "Sure enough, the world of genius is not something that a mortal like me can understand."

Upon hearing this, Lainiadun's lips twitched slightly, as if he wanted to say something to comfort Li, but after thinking about it, he felt there was nothing to say.

Talent is something that is predetermined at birth; complaining and blaming others will not help.

He had only heard of this type of being by chance on Constant Island, and had never seen one in person. He never imagined that one of them might be hidden among his own men.

After saying that, Li suddenly remembered something, and his eyes lit up. "Commander! Now that you've reminded me, I remember!"

"You remember now?" Lainiadun raised an eyebrow. "Remember what?"

"Several times, during our squad's internal gatherings, they would drink and boast, and I would listen in. Once, Lin Yi, along with two Blood Armor Warriors who had emerged from the Cosmic Clam, were chatting with others and recounted many of Lin Yi's past stories."

Li spoke quickly as she recalled, "They said that at the beginning of Lin Yi's cultivation, in the Cosmic Clam where he was born, the talent he displayed was actually only at the level of an ordinary genius. At that time, the highest expectations the big shots in the Cosmic Clam had for him were only to stop at the Star Source Realm."

"However, not long after, Lin Yi's cultivation speed suddenly increased. He quickly left everyone else behind. In the end, he not only broke through to the Star Source Realm, but also became the first cultivator in the history of their Cosmic Clam to obtain a two-star mark, which clearly matches your guess!"

Upon hearing this, Lainiadun's face lit up with understanding, and he clapped his hands, saying, "Just as I thought, that's right."

"However, let's not rush into anything. Let's observe him further. If he really is this type, then things will get complicated."

He paused, looked at Li, and smiled, "There's a good chance he'll reach the Eternal Source Realm before you."

Li:".

His lips moved, and the corner of his mouth twitched visibly.

Lainiadun's blow was precise and ruthless, hitting the very spot he cared about most.

He remained silent for a long time, wanting to say something to save face, but after thinking it over, he realized that whatever he said would just be stubbornness.

If Lin Yi is truly a slow-burning genius, then he will most likely maintain this level of cultivation speed. In that case, his plan to attempt to break through to the Eternal Source Realm within ten thousand Epoch is probably not very safe.

But despite his silence, Li was, after all, a Veteran Platform, and his skin had long been thickened to an impenetrable thickness.

He quickly regained his composure, raised his head expressionlessly, and uttered the words that instantly froze the smile on Lainiadun's face.

"My lord, if Lin Yi is truly such a genius, you might not even live to see him succeed you; he might even surpass you."

Lainiadun:".

The atmosphere in the command room froze instantly.

The two of them just stared at each other in silence.

A moment later, Lainiadun waved him away without hesitation, "Go away! Do I need you to remind me?"

Li stood up abruptly, gave a military salute, and turned to walk out.

He walked with a much lighter pace than when he came, clearly feeling much better after that counterattack.

He had just reached the door when Lainiadun's voice came from behind him again, his tone now as calm as ever, even a little more serious than before.

"Wait."

Li stopped and turned around.

"It's not certain yet," Lainiadun said seriously, his smile fading. "We need to wait until he can maintain this pace and advance to the advanced stage of the True Source Realm before we can make a preliminary assessment."

He paused, then changed the subject, his expression becoming serious.

"There's one more thing," Lainiadun said, raising his hand to conjure a screen in front of him. The screen displayed a dense stream of data representing the latest situation in various defense zones along the Black Mist Sea Frontline. "The rate at which the pressure on the defense line has been increasing lately is a bit unusual."

Li walked back to the table, and the light fell on the screen.

The curves representing the frequency and intensity of Black Silence Beast appearances have risen significantly over the past few Epoch, and the rate of increase has accelerated recently.

The intensity of firefights along the main defensive lines increased by nearly 30% year-on-year, and the frequency of appearances of early-stage Tier 2 Black Silence Beast also doubled.

"This does seem abnormal," Li said in a deep voice. "Normally, after we weathered the peak of the second wave, the rest should have been a period of stability, but now, instead of decreasing, it's increasing..."

"It's not a good sign," Lainiadun finished his sentence for him. "There's likely more trouble to come, and either way, we need to prepare in advance."

"Now that Lin Yi's strength has improved once again, your 16th squad will have to take on more responsibility."

Li's expression also turned serious, and he quickly forgot about the lighthearted topics about talent and cultivation speed.

He straightened up and solemnly replied, "Understood."

Lainiadun looked at him for a moment longer before waving his hand. "Alright, go back."

He gave a sharp military salute, turned around, and strode out of the command room.

At the other end of the mothership, inside the training room of the Bloodrage-class Assault Ship.

Lin Yi sat cross-legged in the center of the cultivation room, his eyes closed, his body enveloped in a layer of energy aura.

He was unaware that his name had been repeatedly mentioned in the mothership's core command room, and even less aware that Li and Lainiadun had already labeled him as a potential slow-burning genius.

At this moment, he is doing the most important and tedious finishing work after all the breakthroughs: steadily expanding the Chaos Source Sea.

Eleven thousand years is not a short time for the outside world.

But for Lin Yi, who was in a deep cultivation state expanding his Source Sea, time was hardly a thing.

His consciousness was completely immersed in every corner of the Source Sea space until the last wisp of newly opened void completely merged into the barrier, and the deep resonance emanating from the entire Chaos Source Sea pulled his mind back to reality.

Source Sea, stable.

Lin Yi opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath.

He felt the Chaos Power was several times stronger than before his breakthrough, surging and flowing within his body, and nodded slightly in satisfaction.

Then, he barely gave himself any time to rest before immediately beginning to cultivate the sixth Cosmic Universe Seal.

For his sixth seal, he chose the Earth Cosmic Universe Seal.

Earth seal, signifying weight and solidity.

It is the Cosmic Universe Seal has the strongest defensive capabilities and is best at withstanding direct pressure among the nine seals.

The seal structure is centered on layers of thick barriers. Once fully formed, it can greatly enhance the practitioner's defense. At the same time, it can also give the Cosmic Universe Seal a kind of inclusiveness similar to "the earth bearing all things", making the coordinated operation between multiple Cosmic Universe Seal more stable.

Actually, his defense wasn't bad, but that was only relative to a first-tier Black Silence Beast.

It's far from enough to deal with a second-tier, early-stage Black Silence Beast.

After the earth seal condensed, Lin Yi figured that although he couldn't directly confront Black Silence Beast at the early stage of the second tier, he could barely manage to take the hit and escape unscathed.

That's enough.

After all, he has clones.

In this way, if he encounters a level-two Black Silence Beast and has to take a direct hit, he can use his clone to block first, then his Main Body to withstand the attack, and finally, he has the life-saving talisman as a trump card.

To hurt him, you have to make him stand still and take three hits from Black Silence Beast at the early stage of the second tier.

But how is that possible?

His Time Seal and Space Seal are not just for show.

With that in mind, Lin Yi acted immediately.

Within the Purple Mist Space, Spiritual Enlightenment Qi suddenly ignited.

The threads of the Earth Origin Law rapidly unfolded in his consciousness.

Time flew by as I immersed myself in deep meditation and contemplation.

As time passed, a thick, earthy-yellow halo slowly appeared on his fingertips.

The halo wasn't dazzling, but it had a reassuring, calming quality.

The halo slowly rotated and compressed at the fingertips, gradually outlining the prototype of the Cosmic Universe Seal.

This signifies that the condensation of the Earth Cosmic Universe Seal has completed the crucial first step, and the illusory seal has been successfully formed.

However, Lin Yi did not press on and directly completed the condensation of the earth seal.

Because this rest period is almost over.

He needs to relax and adjust his mindset a bit to prepare for the upcoming battle.

Thirty years later.

The Fierce Blood Assault Ship, where the 16th Squad was located, shuddered slightly, then shot out of the mothership like an arrow, cutting through the dark fog of the Black Mist Sea and flying at full speed toward the latest coordinates of the defense line.