Following along with the story, Zhu Qianqian continued to inform Lin Yuan about the details and precautions of using the virtual world chamber before respectfully exiting the room.
"Virtual world chamber," Lin Yuan observed it carefully for a moment before lying down inside.
Buzz—
A faint wave passed over him.
Lin Yuan felt a gentle tingling on his skin and heard the voice say, "Replication complete, please link the Evolver to the virtual world."
"Welcome to the testing world."
Lin Yuan opened his eyes to see a stern-looking man watching him.
"Testing world?" Lin Yuan quickly assessed himself.
The strength of his physical body, the flow of internal energy, and the presence of spiritual power—all were identical to the real world.
"The Universal Human Alliance is truly terrifying," Lin Yuan thought, amazed at such perfect replication, realizing that he had no secrets left.
"Wait, something's not right. The Gate of Myriad Realms hasn't been replicated," he suddenly remembered, focusing his mind deep inside.
Where the Gate of Myriad Realms should have been standing was just an empty void.
"Even the Universal Human Alliance can't replicate the Gate of Myriad Realms? Or perhaps, they can't sense its existence at all?" Lin Yuan breathed a sigh of relief while pondering.
"Evolver, please select your test scenario," the stern man suddenly spoke up.
As soon as he finished speaking, a series of scenes unfolded in front of Lin Yuan.
There were endless deserts of yellow sand, dense ancient forests, and towering cityscapes.
"The desert it is," Lin Yuan randomly picked one.
"Scenario confirmed," the stern man waved his hand.
The surroundings shifted instantly, placing Lin Yuan directly in a vast desert of endless sands and scorching heat.
"Based on the energy fluctuations within the Evolver, the test will begin at Tier One," the stern man continued, "First you'll face an opponent at Tier One Stage One. Only by defeating him can you proceed to the next stage. Understood?"
"Understood," Lin Yuan nodded.
The stern man vanished swiftly.
Not far away, the desert sand rapidly gathered, forming a humanoid figure.
It was a tall man with dark skin and a menacing black horn on his forehead.
"Die!" The black-horned man charged at Lin Yuan without a word.
"His speed is slightly faster than an ordinary Grandmaster, but he poses no threat," Lin Yuan remained unmoved.
According to the stern man's advice, the test opponents would grow stronger gradually.
Only by defeating the Tier One Stage One opponent could he advance to Tier One Stage Two.
Crack.
The black-horned man abruptly halted, his gaze dimmed, and his body turned back into sand and scattered away.
Lin Yuan still remained motionless.
In the face of opponents far weaker than himself, the easiest way to defeat them was through spirit-based martial arts.
With Lin Yuan's mastery at the Carefree Realm, he could easily crush the opponent's spirit and soul in an instant.
Whoosh.
The sand reformed once more into the black-horned opponent.
Notably, this time his aura elevated to nearly the peak of a Grandmaster's level.
Nevertheless.
Grandmaster or Supreme Grandmaster, to Lin Yuan, they were merely blink-of-an-eye matters.
Just like that, within a few breaths, Lin Yuan faced his ninth adversary.
This opponent was still the black-horned man.
However, unlike the previous eight, this one gazed deeply at Lin Yuan without immediately attacking.
"A spirit master type of evolution path?" Lin Yuan thought to himself.
"This time, I've specially enhanced my soul defense. Your spirit attacks can be nullified by sixty percent," the black-horned man revealed a cruel smile.
Despite being a simulated intelligent being from vast data, the black-horned man had basic emotions.
Being crushed eight times was bound to leave a scar.
"Die!" he charged again.
But in the next moment, crack, a long right hand grasped his neck and twisted forcefully.
"Who told you I only had spirit attack methods?" Lin Yuan shook his head slightly.
For Evolvers on the martial path, the body was always fundamental.
Spirit power was merely a force born from a strong physical body.
"You... you're not a spirit master type of Evolver?" the black-horned man cried out incredulously before turning into sand once more.
Spirit master Evolvers possessed peculiar mental attacks but were often weak in physical strength.
Even some powerful spirit masters who also pursued dual evolution paths with Genetic Serums still found it hard to overcome this weakness.
Back at the Evolvers Association, after leaving the testing room, Zhu Qianqian returned to her desk.
"I wonder where Mr. Lin will be ranked among Evolvers," she mused, watching her screen intently.
The specifics of Evolver tests remained confidential to protect their privacy, so even employees like Zhu Qianqian couldn't watch the test scenes.
They could only determine how many stages an Evolver completed by the column lit on the screen.
"Xiao Zhu, has Mr. Lin entered yet?" the President of the Evolvers Association walked over shortly after Zhu sat down.
With his position, it wasn't necessary for the President to pay attention to a single Evolver's assessment.
Yet Lin Yuan was not just an Evolver but also a second-class citizen.
Even without holding an official post, his status wasn't much lower than the President's.
Besides, the President hadn't heard of this particular second-class citizen before.
He decided to make an acquaintance post-test as building good relations with a second-class citizen was never wrong.
"Ah? President," Zhu Qianqian stood up nervously, stammering, "Mr. Lin has already entered."
"No need to be nervous," the President smiled.
"Alright," Zhu calmed herself again before sitting back down.
"Xiao Zhu, what do you think Mr. Lin's rank will be?" the President asked with interest.
"Considering Mr. Lin is a second-class citizen, if he's here to register, he must be at least Tier One, right?" Zhu answered carefully.
Becoming an Evolver was incredibly tough for ordinary people.
However, for high-ranking citizens, there were far more opportunities and methods; the simplest might be purchasing a Genetic Serum and taking the 'Genetic Warrior' evolution path.
While Genetic Warriors had obvious weaknesses and limited potential, with reliance on external aids, they were still Evolvers.
"Indeed," the President nodded.
He, too, believed Lin Yuan certainly possessed Tier One strength, not some yet-to-progress Evolver.
Generally, high-ranking citizens were likely Evolvers.
Yet, many weaker Evolvers remained first-class citizens.
"From my perspective, Mr. Lin may rank between Tier One Stage Two and Three," the President's secretary opined.
The President nodded in agreement.
While becoming an Evolver might not be difficult for high-ranking citizens, becoming a strong one was a challenge.
The leap from Tier One Stage Three to Four required not only effort but innate talent.
Whereas high-ranking citizens might excel in certain areas contributing to human civilization and gaining the Goddess of Wisdom's recognition, evolution talent wasn't something money could buy.
Although Genetic Serums boosted power, they came with mortality risks, which high-ranking citizens wouldn't gamble with.
"Good observation, Xiao Zhang," the President praised his secretary.
Zhu Qianqian listened silently, accepting their opinions even though she had a favorable impression of Lin Yuan.
Strength was strength, regardless.
"Let me know when Mr. Lin's test concludes," the President said as he was about to leave.
Just then, the first column lit up on Zhu's screen.
"Looks like Mr. Lin has begun his test," the President remarked, opting to stay and wait for Lin Yuan's test to finish.
In his view, Lin Yuan's ability to reach Tier One Stage Three at most, requiring merely three passes, seemed plausible.
Yet what unfolded next stunned him.
After the first column lit up, the second followed instantly.
Then the third, fourth, and fifth.
All the way to the twelfth, within mere breaths.
The President had yet to settle in his seat when all twelve columns lit up.
"Twelve stages?" Zhu Qianqian's eyes widened, while the President looked bewildered.
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(End of the chapter)