Pretending to be a genius starts with the civilization advancement assessment.

Chapter 348 The flesh and blood are weak and bitter

The information flooding my mind wasn't complicated; it was more like a concise yet impactful "instruction manual."

【Fearless War God (Number: T-714)】

[Type: Mechanical God Body (Eternal God Level)]

[Status: The divine body and divine kingdom have been modified, the intelligent core has been formatted, and the soul is awaiting binding.]

[Core Feature: After being adapted and bound, it can bear the controller's understanding of the laws and output basic combat power at the level of an eternal god]

[Minimum requirement for binding: Complete mastery of at least one rule]

Current energy reserves: 97.3% (core energy supply from the Divine Kingdom)

[Note: The highest-ranking combat unit in the Mech Race's "Fearless" series]

A divine body of eternal godhood?!
Lin Yi's hand, holding the metal figurine, trembled slightly.

To directly possess a mechanical divine body capable of unleashing god-level combat power?
What a joke!
If this thing exists, how come he's never heard of it before?

In the human race's treasury of clan merits, the highest-level puppet he had ever seen was only at the peak of the Star Domain level.

While there are treasures that can enable the weak to unleash god-level or even higher power, they are clearly not the same concept as this continuously usable god-level combat power carrier!
"Xuanji!" Lin Yi shouted in his mind, "Immediately search for all relevant information on the 'Fearless Series' and 'Fearless War God'!"

"Yes, Master!"

Two seconds later, Xuanji reported:

"Query complete. The 'Fearless Series' is an auxiliary combat technology that the Machine Race officially announced and made available for exchange to its Pan-Spirit Alliance allies in the 171st standard year after the outbreak of the All-Out War in the Universe."

"This series is mainly divided into three levels:"

I. Fearless Warrior (Starfield Class). Created from the remains of mechanical warriors whose natural lifespan has ended and whose intelligent core (i.e., their soul essence) has dissipated. Primarily used for temporarily restoring combat capabilities to severely wounded Starfield-level personnel.

II. Fearless Warrior (Realm-level). Modified from the remains of a Realm-level mechanical unit whose lifespan has ended, suitable for Realm-level powerhouses to recover their combat capabilities after being severely injured or having their inner world damaged.

III. Fearless War God (Eternal God Level). Extremely rare. Public information indicates that it originated from an Eternal God of the Machine Race who was sentenced to death for a grave crime. Its intelligent core was erased, but its divine kingdom and physical body were preserved and it was then modified. Only those with a divine-level understanding of laws can fully control it.

After hearing this, Lin Yi's mind raced.

This level of new technology was announced 171 years after the outbreak of the war?
What a fool!

Without long-term technological accumulation and material reserves, how could a mature Tier 3 product be launched as soon as it is announced?

The remains of those mechanical race members who have reached the end of their natural lifespan were probably consciously sealed away during peacetime.

As for the eternal deity who "commits a grave crime" that the fearless war god needs, the situation is probably even more complicated.

This is clearly a technology that the Machine Race had already mastered, but only brought out because of the outbreak of a full-scale war.

The reason it was delayed until 171 years after the outbreak of war was probably due to a series of exchanges and negotiations with the Eldar.

"The Overlord actually gave me this!" Lin Yi looked at the seemingly inconspicuous metal figure in his hand, his heart pounding faster.

The value of this thing cannot be measured by ordinary treasures.

This is genuine god-level combat power!
Although the product was good, Lin Yi felt he might not be able to handle it well.

Therefore, he immediately initiated a communication request to Lord Xuan Yan through the battlefield system he had just connected to.

The request was answered almost instantly.

A virtual projection of the Venerable Xuan Yan appeared in the cultivation room.

Upon seeing Lin Yi, he asked directly, "What is it?"

"Lord Xuan Yan." Lin Yi showed the metal figurine in his hand to Lord Xuan Yan. "This is the reward bestowed by Lord Qing Yan."

Xuan Yan Venerable Lord's gaze swept over the metal figure, and his eyes suddenly narrowed.

"The Fearless War God?" Venerable Xuan Yan asked in surprise, "The Azure Blade Master actually gave you this?"

"Yes." Lin Yi nodded. "I just checked the information, and this thing seems to be quite rare?"

“Rare?” Xuan Yan Venerable shook his head, a smile appearing on his face. “Rare is more than just rare. The total number of Fearless War Gods that the Mechanical Race offered to the Alliance was only so many. Each Venerable was only given an initial exchange quota of three.”

He looked at Lin Yi with a deep gaze: "Over the years, the three bodies I have have long been given to several old comrades under my command who have temporarily lost their fighting power due to the collapse of the divine kingdom caused by repeated resurrections."

"Now, let alone an eternal god, even an ordinary lord has to wait in line to apply for one."

"It seems," Xuan Yan Venerable Lord paused, "that the Overlord is quite satisfied with you. This thing is probably only in the Overlord's possession right now."

Lin Yi was somewhat puzzled: "But I only said a few words to the Overlord."

He really didn't think there was anything about that abridged version of the experience that made him "very satisfied".

Xuan Yan Venerable Master laughed: "Perhaps it's because this year's Genius Battle was overseen by Qing Yan Sovereign. Originally, the Sovereign thought he had already suffered a loss, but unexpectedly you were able to bring people out and even turn the tide, so the Sovereign is satisfied. Of course, it could also be for some other reason."

“At the level of the Sovereign, their actions are beyond our comprehension. Since it is a gift from the Sovereign, use it with peace of mind.”

The Venerable Xuan Yan suppressed his smile and said seriously, "You can bind and control this thing with the soul of an avatar. As long as your understanding of the laws reaches the threshold, this is obviously not a problem for you. You can use it to directly unleash the combat power of an Eternal God."

"Of course, because this thing has been modified for universal compatibility, it can only be a divine power provider in principle. So, for now, the only thing that the Fearless War God can do in your hands is the law of time. Compared to those veteran gods who have honed their skills in the Eternal Realm for countless epochs, there is still a huge gap in terms of the use of secret techniques, combat experience, and divine kingdom blessing. So, it can only be considered the weakest among the Eternal Gods, only slightly stronger than those newly promoted gods."

At this point, Venerable Xuan Yan pondered for a moment and continued, "Well, after all, you are considered to have god-level combat power. In that case, the previous assessment and reporting of your combat power will have to be adjusted."

"Here's what you're going to do. Do you plan to join a god's team, or choose to go solo for now? The Abyss Clan and the Eclipse Clan have just been repelled and suffered considerable losses. They shouldn't launch a large-scale attack anytime soon, so this is a good time for you to adapt and make your choice."

"Think it over first. Once you've made up your mind, tell me your decision." After Xuan Yan Venerable finished speaking, the virtual projection began to dissipate.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Lin Yi nodded in agreement.

Communication is disconnected.

The meditation room fell silent again.

Lin Yi looked at the dark gold metal figure lying quietly in his palm, and a strong sense of curiosity welled up in his heart.

What does it feel like to directly command a god-level combat power?
He was eager to perform a soul binding right now, activate this "Fearless War God," and see just how powerful it was.

I even wanted to find a place to try it out.

But Lin Yi took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the impulse.

“Master,” Xuanji’s voice rang out at the right moment, “as you instructed, the initial integration of priority information has been completed. A summary of important events and a list of the current status of key figures have been generated.”

Lin Yi put the metal figurine back into the jade box and carefully placed it into the storage space.

"Pull it out."

Xuanji raised her hand and made a gesture, and a semi-transparent light blue screen unfolded in front of Lin Yi, with information categorized and clearly organized.

First, here is a briefing on the latest battle situation.

Lin Yi's gaze swept quickly across the contents, which were basically consistent with what Elizabeth had said before, only the data was more accurate: the loss rate of human territory remained stable between 15.2% and 15.3%, the Two Realms Abyss War Zone was in a strategic stalemate, and both sides were mobilizing troops and repairing defenses, preparing for the next round of clashes.

In the star field where he was located, the battle for the exit of the secret realm had just ended. The Pan-Spirit Alliance had gained a temporary advantage thanks to Lin Yi's sudden appearance, but the enemy's main force was intact, and the pressure remained.

Lin Yi remained calm.

He had expected this information, so it wasn't surprising.

Next, the content on the light screen changed.

[Comprehensive Loss Report of the Silver-Blue Civilization's Participating Forces]

[Key List of Fallen Personnel (Sorted by Time of Death and Rank)]

Lin Yi's gaze fell on the light screen, where lines of cold data and names began to scroll.

Nie Chang, commander of the Silver Blue First Battle Regiment of the Astral Army, led his troops in the defense of Fortress 83227 during the New Era 1912, ultimately detonating the fortress's core and perishing with the enemy. Confirmed dead.

Chen Yu, deputy commander of the Silver Blue First Battle Regiment and commander of the assault brigade, died in the same battle at the same location.

Below is a series of names, some familiar and some unfamiliar: Zhang Zhen, Wang Lie, Liu Feng, Zhao Kun. Many of them were old brothers from the Dongfeng Mercenary Group, who later transferred to the Star Guardian Army and became the backbone of the grassroots and middle levels.

They fell one after another in different years, different star systems, and different battles.

Further down are the casualty lists of the Silver Blue Second, Third, and all the way up to the Sixteenth Battle Group.

Some battle groups have markings such as "reorganized 30 times" or "the original members account for less than 5% of the current personnel."

Five thousand years.

To the outside world, to the vast universe, it is but a fleeting moment.

But for the Silver Blue Civilization, for every specific family and individual, this was a long period of blood and fire, a tragic epic of countless lives sacrificed one after another.

Lin Yi watched silently, his face expressionless, but deep within his dark eyes, it seemed as if a cold, shimmering river of stars flowed, and beneath the calm lay an indescribable heaviness.

After a moment, he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

"In a couple of days, I'll need to put together a more detailed list," Lin Yi muttered to himself, his voice clearly audible in the quiet training room. "First, revive Nie Chang, Chen Yu, and the first batch of key members who sacrificed their lives."

But this requires planning.

Who to revive and in what order requires careful planning. We have just returned to the front lines and there are many things that need to be dealt with urgently, so this is not the best time.

Lin Yi closed the list of casualties and looked at the next item.

[Results of the search for the current status of sect members]

The content on the light screen is refreshed.

Master Xuchen: Currently in deep seclusion, status unknown.

Senior Brother Zhenyu: Confirmed to be located in this fortress, with recent continuous combat records.

The second senior sister and several other senior brothers and sisters are active in various war zones of the Pan-Spirit Alliance. Their recent combat status is recorded as "alive," but their specific locations and missions are partially hidden due to access restrictions.

Ninth Senior Brother, Cangming.

Lin Yi's gaze lingered on this line of information.

Status: Dead.

"Death in action." Ninth Senior Brother Cangming took good care of him.

Unexpectedly, upon returning five thousand years later, he received news of his ninth senior brother's death in battle.

Lin Yi's eyes instantly darkened, but he suppressed his anger for the time being and sent a brief message to his parents, younger brother and sister who were far away in the rear via the virtual network.

"I have returned safely from the secret realm, all is well, do not worry. The war is busy, we will talk in detail later. Take care."

I received a reply almost instantly after sending the message.

The mother's voice was choked with sobs, the father's words were calm yet barely concealing his excitement, and the younger siblings' words and expressions were incoherent.
A mix of warmth and bittersweetness welled up in Lin Yi's heart, but he quickly suppressed it.

He gave a few words of comfort and reassurance before ending the call.

Now is not the time to indulge in sentimentality.

Next, Lin Yi held a brief virtual meeting with Li Zhenguo, Zhou Donglai, and other senior executives of Yinlan via Xuanji.

The atmosphere at the meeting was both exciting and complex.

Everyone was overjoyed to see that Lin Yi had not only returned safely but also greatly increased in strength.

But then came a somber report about the sacrifices of the past years, the pressures on civilization, and the uncertainty about the future.

Lin Yi didn't offer many empty words of comfort, but listened quietly. Finally, he said in a deep voice, "I understand. The compensation for the fallen soldiers must be implemented properly. The development of Silverblue will not stop here."

His words were brief, yet carried an undeniable power.

Li Zhenguo, Zhou Donglai, and the others readily agreed, knowing that Lin Yi would always keep his word once he made a promise.

The meeting ended quickly.

Lin Yi instructed Xuanji to process the messages that had been stuck for five thousand years in batches.

The replies were uniform and concise: "I have returned safely. Thank you for your concern. We will contact you later regarding the specific matters."

After doing all this, Lin Yi remained silent for a moment.

His gaze fell on another name in the contact list: Irelia.

But in the end, Lin Yi looked away.

He looked at another name.

Senior Brother, guard the prison.

"Xuanji, help me contact my senior brother Zhenyu."

"Yes, Master. Initiating a communication request."

The communication was quickly connected.

A virtual projection of the prison appeared in the training room.

"Senior Brother," Lin Yi nodded in greeting, "There are some things I'd like to ask you in person. Is this a convenient time for you, Senior Brother?"

"In person?" Zhenyu raised an eyebrow slightly, then smiled and said, "Convenient, of course convenient! Just come over. I'm in the Eternal Zone, Special Forces-S-7. I've already granted you access, so just come over."

"Okay, I'll be right there." Lin Yi stood up and said to Xuanji, "Mark the location and path to Senior Brother's cultivation room."

“Yes, Master,” Xuanji’s voice rang out, and at the same time, a pale blue guiding light appeared in Lin Yi’s field of vision.

Following the path provided by Xuanji, Lin Yi left his cultivation room and quickly traversed the vast, maze-like interior of the fortress.

Warriors in various colored armor passed by frequently along the way, and when they saw Lin Yi, many people would subconsciously slow down and cast a look of awe.

The scene of Lin Yi driving the Star Origin Divine General to sweep away the enemy army in the battle at the exit of the secret realm has already spread throughout the fortress through the battlefield recording system, and he is now a veritable celebrity.

But Lin Yi ignored this and kept walking.

Soon, he arrived at a more heavily guarded area.

The passageway here is wider, and the wall material has been changed to some kind of dark alloy.

After verifying his identity and permissions, Lin Yi entered a private passage, at the end of which was a heavy silver metal door.

The door has a simple sign: [Special Operations Zone - Prison].

Lin Yi stepped forward, and the sensors on the side of the door automatically scanned and confirmed his permissions. Then, the metal door slid open silently to both sides.

Behind the door was a space that was much more spacious and cluttered than Lin Yi's room.

It's not messy or dirty, but rather full of signs of use.

One side of the room is a standard training platform, but in the air around the platform, there are seven or eight light screens of different sizes floating, displaying real-time battlefield data from different star regions, maps of enemy and friendly troop distribution, and mission briefing summaries.

On the other side was what looked like a temporary repair area, with several pieces of armor and weapon fragments that appeared to be badly damaged, and a faint smell of molten metal in the air.

Zhenyu stood next to the maintenance area, holding an irregularly shaped dark gold metal plate in his hand. He was frowning and using the sharp golden light gathered at his fingertips to carve something on it.

He turned his head when he heard the door open.

Upon seeing that it was Lin Yi, Zhen Yu smiled, casually tossed the metal plate onto a pile of materials, and patted off imaginary dust from his hands.

"You're here? Pretty fast." Zhenyu walked over, his slightly worn dark gold armor making a slight metallic scraping sound with each movement.

"Senior Brother." Lin Yi walked in, and the metal door closed behind him.

Zhenyu scrutinized Lin Yi, as if trying to see through him inside and out.

A few seconds later, he nodded, his tone tinged with emotion, "It's good that you came back alive."

He walked to a metal table in the center of the room that looked fairly intact, pulled out two chairs, gestured for Lin Yi to sit down, and then plopped down opposite him.

“I actually saw you during the great battle.” Zhenyu pointed to a floating battlefield replay screen next to him, which was frozen on the scene of the Star Origin God General annihilating hundreds of battle groups with a single sword. “The Time Law is perfected, tsk tsk, if the old man knew, he would probably jump out of his seclusion with joy.”

Lin Yi sat down opposite him and simply nodded upon hearing this.

He knew that his senior brother was straightforward and didn't like beating around the bush.

"Senior Brother, Ninth Senior Brother," Lin Yi cut straight to the point, his gaze fixed on Zhen Yu, "How exactly did he get into trouble?"

The relaxed expression on Zhenyu's face vanished instantly.

He was silent for a few seconds, seemingly organizing his thoughts or calming his emotions.

"Old Nine" Zhenyu spoke slowly, his voice lowering slightly, "He got into trouble right when the war broke out, during the first wave of the Kunmo tribe's long-planned surprise attack."

"At that time, the Ninth Brother was ordered to guard the graded battlefield in the Tian Shu-7 border star field. He was besieged and killed by six people from the Derivative Realm. Because they had been planning this for a long time, all the attacks happened at the same time. I received the distress signal from my Second Sister first. By the time I dealt with it and rushed over, it was too late."

They were ambushed and surrounded; even the second senior sister was ambushed and killed.
Lin Yi's face remained expressionless, but deep within his eyes gleamed a chilling coldness.

"I applied for some clan honors and applied for the resurrection of Old Nine," Zhenyu continued, his tone tinged with helplessness. "But... Junior Brother, as you know, too many powerful figures fell in the early stages of the war. Especially in the first wave of sneak attacks, we suffered heavy losses. Not to mention those at the Transcendent Realm level, even Venerable Lords perished."

Hmm? Apply?

Lin Yi was slightly taken aback. Clan honors could be applied for? Weren't they usually obtained after completing tasks, or issued by higher-ups?

Zhenyu noticed the fleeting surprise in Lin Yi's eyes, but he didn't explain further, instead continuing:
"The resurrection sequence is ranked based on a combination of factors, including the time of death, strength in life, contributions, and importance to the current battle situation. Old Ninth..."

He gave a wry smile. "His fall wasn't the earliest, and his strength wasn't top-tier among those at the Transcendent Realm level. Although his achievements in life were solid, his resurrection application, while approved, was ranked very low."

"Those ahead of him are either those who perished earlier or those with greater power, and even a few eternal gods who sacrificed themselves in key battles. Given the current resurrection speed and priority, it will probably be a long time before Old Nine gets his turn, unless…"

“Unless there is higher authority to intervene, or a large amount of additional clan merit is invested to allow for a revival in a queue,” Lin Yi replied calmly.

Those gods who lived and died, and died and came back to life, were all resurrected in this way.

Zhenyu glanced at Lin Yi and nodded: "That's the rule. But the clan merits I've earned on the battlefield over the years, apart from necessary expenses, have all been used to pay off debts. In short, the surplus is very low, and what I've saved is far from enough for Lao Jiu to get into the queue."

Lin Yi remained silent.

He could understand his senior brother's situation and helplessness.

War is cruel; resources are always limited, and choices and priorities must be made.

However, upon learning that his Ninth Senior Brother had not died from an internal conspiracy, but rather from being outnumbered on the battlefield and still had hope of resurrection, Lin Yi's heavy killing intent subsided somewhat.

But that coldness did not dissipate.

Lin Yi, a member of the "Kunmo tribe," murmured the name repeatedly, engraving it in his heart.

"This score will be settled sooner or later." Zhenyu patted Lin Yi on the shoulder, a fierce glint in his eyes. "But for now, let's not talk about that. You just got back and caused such a commotion. What are your plans now? Lord Xuanyan should have made arrangements for you, right?"

"Hmm." Lin Yi nodded. "The Lord told me to consider whether to join the God Squad in battle or to go it alone for now."

"The God Squad? Oh, so the Lord has sent you to assess future targets during this war?" Zhenyu was taken aback, then chuckled. "Although you have perfected the laws of time and have unlimited potential, guaranteeing you'll be a future god, potential is potential, and strength is strength."

"Your current life level is only at the Star Swirl level. Even if you can rely on the laws of time and battle formations to unleash combat power far exceeding your current level, you are still far from the true combat power of an eternal god."

"If you ask me, it's a bit too early to start thinking about which squad to join in the future. With the current intensity of the war, it's hard to say which squads will still exist after you become a god."

Zhen Yu spoke bluntly, but it was the truth.

However, as Lin Yi looked at Zhenyu, a smile suddenly appeared on his lips.

"Senior Brother, what if I told you that I currently possess an avatar capable of unleashing the combat power of an Eternal God?"

"What?" Zhenyu didn't react for a moment. "A clone? God-level combat power? You mean, that kind of treasure that can unleash a god-level attack?"

It's not surprising that Lin Yi possesses the powerful Zhenyu trump card, which has god-like strength; in fact, it would be strange if he didn't.

"No, it's regular combat power," Lin Yi corrected, then lowered his voice a bit, "The Azure Blade Sovereign just summoned me and bestowed upon me a reward of a fearless war god."

The expression on Zhenyu's face froze instantly.

He blinked, as if he hadn't heard him clearly: "...What did you say? What did I give you?"

"The Fearless War God. A mechanical god body of eternal god-level created by the Machine Race."

Lin Yi smiled. "The divine kingdom is complete, and the intelligent core has been formatted. As long as I bind my soul to it, I can directly control it and unleash the basic combat power of an eternal god."

"Therefore, I plan to have my clone abandon its physical body and instead use its soul essence to control this fearless war god. In this way, it can be considered half an eternal god of the mechanical race."

(End of this chapter)