In cosmic civilizations, leveling up by fighting monsters is a very niche path, only suitable for some Carbon-Based Civilizations... and the 4th Celestial Calamity.
Most take the technology route.
As long as you have enough tech points, one's personal strength can elevate from Tier 1 to Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 4, and even to higher levels with no problem at all.
Just like when Gao Gong was at Tier 1, he could transform Director Du into an 'industrial AI', which is a typical tech upgrade method.
And now, what Gao Gong is doing is to have Du Zhaodi absorb the starship AI, break through the restrictions of Tier 2, and transform into a Tier 3 Super Industrial Intelligence.
Usually... this is impossible.
After all, although the technology route can boost across tiers, it requires enough branches and splits in the technology tree, needing the essence of an entire technology system.
