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

Chapter 44 I’ll come as soon as I go

Standing on the edge of the rooftop, overlooking the silent city, Lin Yi took a deep breath.

He didn't start practicing immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes and pretended to be immersed in digesting the information of the new techniques, showing expressions of contemplation, confusion, and occasional sudden realization on his face.

"There's no need to make a big show of it during your first training session. It's not too late to improve after a battle."

Having determined the limits of his performance, Lin Yi suddenly opened his eyes.

"The 'Star Walk' is a movement technique primarily focused on dodging, emphasizing maneuvering within a small space. It lacks explosive speed but prioritizes sustainability, consuming very little energy. It was clearly specially chosen by the General Staff. Just show the agility of a beginner."

Thinking of this, Lin Yi first moved his body, and his steps were no longer simple running and jumping, but carried a strange rhythm.

At first, his movements were a bit clumsy, and he even occasionally stumbled, but he quickly became smoother at a speed visible to the naked eye, and even occasionally managed to complete several incredible changes of direction.

This is exactly the beginner level of "Wandering Star Steps".

After practicing his movement techniques, Lin Yi drew out the "Abyss Rift" spear and infused it with source energy to restore it to its true form.

"As for the Star-Splitting Spear Technique, it is a spear technique that pursues the ultimate penetration and destruction. The moves are sharp and it is good at breaking through the surface with a point. Tsk. Interesting. From the weapon to the ordinary moves to the ultimate technique, everything follows the path of breaking through the surface with a point. So let's just be able to use the first few moves smoothly. If it has a bit of source energy radiance, that will be considered a success."

Having set the tone, Lin Yi, holding his spear, suddenly sharpened his gaze and slowly thrust out the first spear.

At first, his movements were slow and deliberate, as if he were carefully experiencing every detail of exertion and the path of energy flow. The sound of the spear cutting through the air was also rather dull, with only the tip of the spear occasionally flashing a faint glimmer of energy.

But as time went on, his movements became faster and smoother.

The basic spear techniques of stabbing, thrusting, parrying, chopping, and sweeping gradually became connected in his hands, and began to carry a hint of fierce killing intent.

The gun whistled through the air, and the light of the source energy began to flow steadily along the blade, though faint, it was already taking shape.

Occasionally, a sudden burst of power can even produce a clear, sharp whistle!

Lin Yi practiced the first few moves of the "Star-Splitting Spear Technique" repeatedly for almost an hour until he was proficient in the movements and his source energy flowed smoothly. Only then did he slowly put away his spear and stand up.

Afterward, he rested for a while, and after ten minutes, he sat down cross-legged and began to practice the "Microcosm Technique".

This secret manual does not increase the total amount of source energy, but focuses on honing the control over source energy, emphasizing the precise manipulation of every strand of source energy within the body, making it as easy as an extension of one's own arm to complete various complex microscopic operations.

This is more difficult than a large-scale, sweeping battle.

Lin Yi raised his right hand, extended one index finger, and a wisp of pure source energy slowly emanated from the fingertip, forming a faint but stable azure halo.

Initially, the ball of light trembled slightly and its shape was unstable, like a candle flame in the wind.

Time passed slowly, and as beads of sweat began to appear on Lin Yi's forehead, the ball of light at his fingertips also began to change.

The tremors gradually subsided, and the light became less intense.

Next, the bottom of the light cluster began to elongate and thin, while the top gradually differentiated, outlining a dynamic shape.
A moment later, a lifelike, stationary flame shape floated steadily above his fingertip!
This is precisely the sign that one has just entered the "Microcosm Technique".

The ability to shape and maintain an intangible source of energy into a stable, simple object requires strong control over its energy output and form maintenance.

Lin Yi looked at the stable source energy flame at his fingertips, a slight smile of satisfaction curving his lips.

After admiring his "masterpiece" for a while, he finally dissipated the energy from his fingertips.

Then, Lin Yi stood up. What he was going to do next was to "attempt" to cultivate the "Meteor Strike"!
After a series of successes, as a "genius" and a young man, it would be natural to want to try to cultivate more advanced skills. It would be rather strange if he didn't even try.

Therefore, Lin Yi took out his spear again and began to clumsily practice the moves according to the information in his mind.

He deliberately slowed his movements down to an extremely slow pace, making the flow of his energy appear sluggish and blocked. Several times, due to improper control, his energy even dissipated, making the process seem very difficult.

"Hmm, this special move does have a high barrier to entry, but could we try to simplify it like this?"

After several failed attempts, Lin Yi gestured laboriously while muttering a few words to himself.

He pretended to be deep in thought, pausing occasionally and trying to change a certain energy source node.

To outsiders, this is just a genius's unwilling exploration and attempt at the threshold of a unique skill.

Finally, Lin Yi sighed, shook his head, and muttered, "Forget it, it seems I need to spend more time figuring it out. It's more important to cultivate and strengthen my abilities first."

But in fact, during that clumsy practice and deduction just now, he had successfully simplified this "Meteor Strike" into a "weakened version" that he could barely perform now.

Although its power is far less than the original, its instantaneous burst of power has already reached the Stardust level, enough to be used as a trump card. "Let's call this simplified version 'Star Shattering'. If I encounter a critical moment before reaching the Stardust level, I can disguise it as a breakthrough in battle or an explosive burst of power gained in a desperate situation. If not, it doesn't matter. After reaching the Stardust level, I can directly learn the complete version. This simplified version can be given to the General Staff." Lin Yi thought to himself.

After finishing the practice, Lin Yi took out three gray source energy crystals from his waist.

Without hesitation, he crushed and absorbed them one by one.

The reason I didn't practice the "Ninefold Origin Method" is mainly because it is a stardust-level cultivation technique, and you can't practice it at all before you condense source energy stardust in your body.

Therefore, at this stage, we still need to honestly practice the Source Energy Guidance Technique.

This time, Lin Yi didn't use the source energy crystals one by one. Instead, he held all three in his hands and used the source energy manipulation techniques he had just learned to guide the energy.

A portion is used to further refine the body's constitution, broaden the meridians, and increase the upper limit of one's total source energy.

The other part is transformed into pure source energy, filling the dantian source sea, which has become empty due to the increase in the upper limit.

When he completely absorbed the energy of the three crystals and they turned to ashes, the source energy within his body was significantly stronger, and his physical strength also reached a new level.

Lin Yi slowly opened his eyes, feeling the surging power within his body. His gaze swept over the pulsating nest in the distance, filled with anticipation for the upcoming battle.

At this moment, the eastern sky was beginning to lighten, and dawn was approaching.

However, at this moment when dawn was about to break...
"Ouch!!!"

A deep, muffled roar suddenly exploded from the direction of the purplish-black nest in the distance, instantly reaching Lin Yi's ears on the rooftop.

This roar was far more powerful and violent than the howl of the abyss wolf, filled with a chilling sense of power and oppression.

Hearing the deep, thunderous roar, Lin Yi strode to the edge of the rooftop, his gaze piercing through the dimly lit street, precisely locking onto the direction of the nest.

"Tsk tsk. What a grand display. For some reason, I'm actually feeling a little excited." He silently complained to himself, "People say that if you play dumb for too long, you'll actually turn into a dumb person. Why am I actually getting a little excited about pretending to be a teenager?"

Of course, despite saying that, Lin Yi knew in his heart that the main reason was that he had long been accustomed to that kind of life of fighting and adventure.

The forced suppression and pretense he was forced to maintain after his rebirth had always made him feel somewhat stifled.

Now that we've finally managed to get through a few battles and have some of the restrictions lifted, we're naturally itching to get back to work.

"Everyone should be here by now."

While activating the Flowing Cloud Light Armor, Lin Yi took out the Rift Abyss and restored it to combat status, all the while estimating the time.

Soon, with hurried footsteps, Zhou Jianjun, Chen Yu, and others rushed up to the rooftop, panting. They clutched simple short spears and shields tightly in their hands, their faces pale.

"Xiao Yi!" Zhou Jianjun said with unprecedented seriousness, "Chen Yu saw it through the crack in the window. A huge creature crawled out of the den! It's at least four meters tall, and its body looks like it was made of piled-up rocks. The wolf pack is surrounding it, and it's coming this way. How are we going to defend this building?"

All eyes were on Lin Yi. Although they saw that he was fully armed, they couldn't help but feel panicked.

After all, such a huge bear would be an absolute threat to ordinary people; a mere glancing blow would result in injury, and a direct hit would be fatal.

However, Lin Yi slowly turned around, his face showing no sign of tension.

He even chuckled softly.

"defense?"

Lin Yi shook his head, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather.

"No need for defense."

Everyone was stunned.

Lin Yi casually remarked, "I was just feeling a bit hungry and was about to go downstairs for breakfast when I heard a commotion over there."

Without giving anyone a chance to react, he suddenly leaped forward from the edge of the rooftop.

He left everyone with only one last sentence.

"I'll come as soon as I go."

　Some readers may have noticed that I frequently adjust earlier chapters. This is because I have a habit of reading chapter reviews, and some suggestions or minor flaws pointed out by readers are indeed quite valid, so I make changes. This may cause some inconvenience for readers. Additionally, some suggestions were also good, but because they involved setting up plot points or requiring major outline changes, I didn't adopt them. Please understand. Also, thank you to readers "20250824134251868" and "小凡最爱小诗宝宝" for their generous donations.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)