Lin Yi had been a hardliner, active on the front lines against the Abyss Beasts.
"Hardliner."
At the thought, a cold, mocking smile tugged at Lin Yi's lips.
Even as those on the front lines used their flesh and blood to build a defensive wall, infighting and obstruction in the rear had never ceased. They had ruthlessly turned the possibility of wiping out the Abyss Beasts into a pipe dream.
Only when the Purple Gold Star Alliance's envoy arrived with a chilly assessment did the leaders finally understand.
This wasn't what they had guessed—a "collision between alternate dimensions" or an "experiment conducted by higher-dimensional life-forms." It was an assessment that would determine the fate of their civilization.
The price was that all of Blue Star had been nailed to the pillar of shame as a "resource planet."
After entering the universe and gaining access to the Pan-Spirit Alliance Virtual Universe Network, the leaders of Blue Star Civilization, unwilling to accept their lot, immediately looked up information about the Civilization Promotion Assessment.
Lin Yi still remembered the assessment's cold, unforgiving rules vividly.
If a civilization was destroyed or the Abyss Beasts were exterminated, the assessment would end early. If the two sides remained deadlocked, it would end after a thousand years.
When the assessment ended, the fledgling civilization would receive a civilization rating, while every individual who had survived would receive a personal rating.
Personal ratings were based mainly on the number and level of Abyss Beasts an individual killed during the assessment, as well as their performance during specific events. There were nine grades.
From the lowest, Grade 1, to the highest, Grade 9, the rating directly determined an individual's resource allotment and the level of access to various privileges after the assessment ended.
Civilization ratings were based on factors such as the assessment's duration, overall performance, the proportion of the population that survived, how much technological potential had been unlocked, and the civilization's will to resist. These, too, were divided into nine grades.
The rating would determine a civilization's initial standing, resource allocation, and prospects for future development after it was incorporated into Human Race territory.
In his previous life, Blue Star Civilization had earned a civilization score of just over six million, receiving an overall rating of only Grade 2.
As a result, when Blue Star was placed under the Purple Gold Star Alliance's jurisdiction in its assigned Star Domain, it was immediately designated a "resource planet"—the lowest classification.
But Blue Star was in a Source Energy Barren Zone, and most equipment needed Source Energy Crystals to operate.
So human labor, which contained trace amounts of Source Energy, became the preferred alternative.
After all, the Purple Gold Star Alliance wasn't going to build Source Energy infrastructure for a civilization with a Grade 2 rating.
And so, countless compatriots were forced to work in basic material Condensation Factories, repeating the same tasks day after day for meager wages.
Though he knew these things had never happened in this life, the memories came flooding back, and Lin Yi still couldn't help pressing his lips together.
And what about him?
The long, grueling journey of his previous life weighed heavily on his mind.
In the ruins during the early stages of the assessment, he had fought strangers to the death for a lowest-grade Spirit Radiance Crystal and nearly been buried beneath a collapsing floor slab.
In a corner of a dark shelter, he had studied the basic cultivation technique contained in the crystal with desperate hunger, following its guidance onto the path of cultivation. Every step had brought enormous risks and crushing loneliness.
To obtain a handful of scarce resources, he had crossed the ruins of old cities filled with unknown dangers, brushing past death countless times.
By then, his family and friends had long since escaped the apocalypse. He had been left alone, trudging through the darkness.
Relying on the grit and courage forged at the edge of life and death, he had endured for more than seven hundred years and reached the Star Core Level. He had remained active on the front lines against the Abyss Beasts, eventually earning a Grade 4 personal rating. That had been enough to make him a peripheral member of the Universal Mercenary Alliance and leave Blue Star for the wider universe.
But all he had earned was the most basic ticket to the vast Star Sea. His starting point was low, and resources were scarce.
Even when he had somehow reached the Star Vortex Realm, that power had come too late and been too little.
He hadn't even lived long enough to get a chance to return and change Blue Star's fate. All it took was one insignificant "chance encounter" for an elder of the lofty Zilies Family to wipe him out as casually as brushing away a speck of dust.
"Heh. Zilies."
Lin Yi closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, then slowly let it out. When he opened them again, all that remained was the calm façade expected of someone his age.
He looked out the window. The sunlight was still bright, the cicadas still shrill, and the children playing downstairs were still full of life.
Yet to him, this warm and peaceful scene seemed shrouded in an invisible shadow.
One week from now, the avatar of an Eternal Deity would descend into the space above Blue Star and begin the Civilization Promotion Assessment.
Lin Yi knew that for the natives of a fledgling civilization, obtaining a high rating was the only way to change their own fate and the fate of their homeworld.
And if he wanted to earn a high personal rating, he would inevitably have to display astonishing talent.
Terrifying combat instincts, an exceptional cultivation speed, and a remarkable understanding of the rules.
"With the foundation I've built at the Star Vortex Realm, pretending to be a Blue Star prodigy will be effortless."
Lin Yi thought to himself.
"Even if I enter the universe someday and people realize that this 'genius' has 'run out of steam' after reaching the Star Vortex Realm, I'll already have the rewards and resources. There are plenty of geniuses among the Human Race who fade into the crowd. One more won't make a difference."
"However..."
"There is one thing I need to be especially careful about."
Frowning, Lin Yi carefully considered an assessment rule he had just recalled while sorting through his memories.
[Uncovering individuals with the potential to receive a personal rating of Grade 7 or higher earns the deity in charge of the assessment an additional reward.]
In his previous life, when he had seen that rule, he had only lamented the rewards given to those with high ratings.
Now, he couldn't help feeling secretly relieved that he had once looked into the details of the higher ratings.
This cold rule would become a sword hanging over his head.
What did it mean?
It was obvious: the deities had every reason to keep an eye on individuals who performed exceptionally well and showed astonishing potential.
A Rule Domain at the Star Domain Rank, an inner world at the World-Deriving Rank, and a miniature universe at the Eternal Deity level—commonly known as a Divine Kingdom—were the most famous hallmarks of their respective Realms.
They were also the three Realms most widely discussed on the Pan-Spirit Alliance Virtual Network, with more information about them available than about any others.
After all, the Star Core and Star Vortex levels were too low, and people at those levels were everywhere; there was nothing remarkable about them. As for those above the Eternal Deity level, their affairs were too sensitive to discuss openly, so little information about them appeared on the Virtual Network.
Throughout the Civilization Assessment, all of Blue Star would be enveloped by the deity's Divine Kingdom Projection.
Lin Yi suspected that if he earned a Grade 7 rating or higher, he would attract the deity's attention.
And once its Divine Kingdom Projection covered Blue Star, the deity could review anything that happened during the assessment at any time, if it wished.
If an ordinary Blue Star youth who had just graduated from high school and never encountered any supernatural powers suddenly displayed a stunning kill rate and seemed to know the Abyss Beasts' species, habits, weaknesses, and even movements in advance—
Would any of that seem reasonable for an ordinary teenager?
His long years of struggling for survival had carved the word "caution" into Lin Yi's soul.
He didn't know how the Human Race's leaders—or the deity in charge of the assessment—would respond to a genius whose performance was so abnormal.
Would they be overjoyed and spare no effort to cultivate him?
Or would they investigate and control him more closely, out of concern for security or a desire to study him?
Lin Yi had no idea where the Human Race's leaders drew the line when it came to tolerating unusual behavior.
He didn't dare to gamble.
Entrusting his fate to the goodwill or rules of an unknown power was incredibly foolish.
Lin Yi couldn't help feeling secretly relieved.
Fortunately, the deity's avatar could only begin reviewing events from the moment its Divine Kingdom Projection covered Blue Star. Otherwise, the fact that the Ancient Jade had turned to ash alone would have exposed him completely.
After thinking it over briefly, Lin Yi quickly made up his mind.
"No matter whether the deity's avatar reviews what happened or not, from this moment on, I need to blend perfectly into the role of Lin Yi, a high school graduate."
"I'm going to shape myself into a local Blue Star genius who unleashes astonishing potential amid an apocalyptic disaster, with extraordinary comprehension and an iron will."
Before you continue