Chapter 60: An Answer

The old man didn’t expect to be able to hear a new perspective from Lin Yuan. Therefore, he was interested and asked nicely, “Young kid, speak then! This old one loves to hear analysis and opinions. Speak boldly.”

Ning Xuejun was jumping as she listened. Before her grandfather flipped out, it seemed like he would always say the same words.

Lin Yuan pondered for a moment and said, “This answer is actually derived because both the species had been eliminated during evolution, so they are both weak. Otherwise, we would still be able to see Megalodons and Livyatans in the ocean now. Even if the sharks in the ocean evolved back to the ancestry line and evolved more like the Megalodon, ultimately, they will never be Megalodons or Livyatans.”

This perspective made the old man silent. All along, he would hear that either the Megalodon or the Livyatan was stronger or that both were equally great. Without any exceptions, people would be saying they were strong. This was actually the first time someone was saying they were weak.

However, the mention of weak was from the angle of natural selection, and it wasn’t wrong. Perhaps Lin Yuan’s perspective was too fresh and unique, so the old man didn’t burst out immediately even though someone said that the Megalodon was weak. Instead, he asked, “Why so?”

“The Megalodon and the Livyatan had conquered the ocean of the Tertiary period for tens of millions of years. However, be it the Livyatans or the Megalodons, they were too high at the top of the food chain, and it caused the other Tertiary period ocean creatures to have a slower evolution speed. As such, 65 million years ago, nature decided to use a meteorite to stop the contest between the two species without any room for negotiation. The impact welcomed the Quaternary period and a new period for the ocean. At the same time, they wiped out the Megalodons and Livyatans. Therefore, from the Creation Master’s point of view, in terms of survival and evolution, the Megalodons and Livyatans are considered weak.”

Lin Yuan spoke of his opinion, and this wasn’t just based on the knowledge he learned from Genius. It was also Lin Yuan’s knowledge from his previous lifetime and the comprehension of the fey’s evolution in this lifetime.

In the river of time, everything would turn into dust sooner or later.

A successful evolution wasn’t to allow one to reach the pinnacle and look down on every other living thing. A truly successful evolution was to understand how to overcome each calamity and disaster in order to survive for tens of millions or hundreds of millions of years. By allowing the species to continue was the true path of survival in evolution to achieve eternal victory.

After hearing Lin Yuan’s explanation, the old man stayed silent for a long time as though he was thinking through Lin Yuan’s words.

Ning Xuejun was no longer looking at Lin Yuan as though she was looking at a troublemaker. These were words that wouldn’t come out from the mouth of a person who didn’t have knowledge.

Lin Yuan stood there quietly without showing any proud or impatient expression.

At that moment, the old man suddenly laughed heartily and clapped. “Great!”

The old man’s voice was very loud and instantly attracted the attention of many. However, the old man didn’t mind and said to Lin Yuan, “Young kid, your words are truly marvelous! However, why do you think the meteorite 65 million years ago would eliminate the Megalodons and Livyatans, but there are still shark and whale species existing today?”

When asking this question, the old man’s eyes weren’t contemplating anymore, and it was obvious that he knew the answer clearly. He was asking this question to test Lin Yuan. He wanted to see whether Lin Yuan’s answer earlier came from his feelings, or it was a true understanding.

Lin Yuan didn’t contemplate this time and immediately said, “Actually, the higher a lifeform reaches in the food chain, the weaker it is. 65 million years ago, when the meteorite landed, it first impacted the algae. The death of the algae quickly devastated the krills. The krills are the main source of food for baleen whales and large filter-feeding fish species. The baleen whales and the large filter-feeding fish species are the same food source for the Megalodon and Livyatan. Standing at the apex of the food pyramid, they were the weakest cycle among the lifeforms, and that is the reason they were wiped out.”

When the old man heard how Lin Yuan clearly spoke of the answer in his heart, he looked at Lin Yuan and felt that he was very pleasant looking. A well-learned person would always cherish talented individuals, especially when the said individual was so young. It gave him a feeling of succession and made the old man very pleased.

The old man turned to look at Ning Xuejun at the side and said, “Lass, the people attempting the exam will be coming out soon. You will be busy, I shall bring this kid and conduct the three knowledge occupation exams and see the standard of young people nowadays.”

Ning Xuejun placed the form that Lin Yuan filled up in her grandfather’s hand and secretly gave Lin Yuan a thumbs up.

Lin Yuan responded politely by giving his thanks and entered a classroom together with the old man.

The old man turned to look at Lin Yuan. “I will be invigilating the exams later. In fact, it is very interesting to be an invigilator. A person’s answers can determine three values.”

The old man didn’t care if Lin Yuan replied as he continued speaking. Perhaps, he was in a great mood, so he had been talking nonstop.

“A person’s attitude when answering questions can show their mental state. The answers from a person’s answer sheets can show their attitude toward knowledge. A person’s procedure in answering questions can show their inner qualities. It has been ten years since this old one invigilated an exam!”

While speaking, the old man’s eyes looked like he was reminiscing.

Lin Yuan listened quietly.

He felt that the Vice President of the Redbud City’s Creation Master Association was someone that even the City Lord would need to be respectful, but he was actually a stubborn old man at times when talking about something in regards to knowledge.

During the exam, the old man didn’t hold back and handed all three exam papers to Lin Yuan at once.

Lin Yuan became highly concentrated during the exam, and it felt as though everything in the outside world was unrelated to him.

When Lin Yuan started answering the questions, the old man didn’t feel anything, but after a short period of time, the old man actually had a delightful feeling as he watched Lin Yuan answering the questions.

The pen tip was rustling on the paper with a consistent frequency that was neither hurried nor slow—it was calm and collected.

As for Lin Yuan, he had an unchanged expression as he answered each question on the paper in sequence. This was a calm attitude that the old man admired. At the same time, he was suddenly looking forward to seeing Lin Yuan’s answers.

When answering the questions, Lin Yuan understood why Ning Xuejun would say that the Creation Master Association’s questions would be crafty.

% of the questions on the paper actually came from the remarks page of the books. There were even some questions that contained answers from the preface of the books.

These questions were simply trying to make things difficult for the participants. However, it was still the same for Lin Yuan—’Aren’t all questions difficult if you don’t know them, but once you know them, they aren’t difficult?’

Thus, Lin Yuan answered smoothly without hesitation and used just two hours to complete the exam papers for all three exams.