Hack?

When the taxi stopped at the entrance of Happiness Residential Complex, it was already dusk.

Tang Ping paid the fare and looked up at the residential building piercing the sea of clouds—Happiness Residential Complex, 88th floor, his home. Without a moment's hesitation, he turned and walked into the stairwell, beginning his climb floor by floor.

This was an era that no longer relied on elevators.

After all, elevators were things that would develop all sorts of faults within a dozen years, and the cost of a single repair could equal the expenses of an average family for over half a year.

More importantly, the physical fitness of Earthlings today was no longer what it used to be. For most people, stretching their legs to climb the stairs was actually faster than waiting for and squeezing into an elevator.

It was precisely because of this that the lower floors in the complex had become "unpopular items." They rarely received sufficient sunlight, and their housing prices were nearly thirty percent cheaper than the higher floors.

His apartment on the 88th floor, however, was a genuine "top-tier" unit: a private layout with one elevator per household, the academic advantage of being a ten-minute walk from a key middle school, the medical convenience of being right next to a top-tier hospital, and a core location in the city center. Ten years ago, it would have been an "apartment king" that was priceless and unavailable.

Unfortunately, with the wave of the Milky Way Galaxy development, Earth was no longer the only settlement for humanity, and housing prices had plummeted like a roller coaster.

Tang Ping sometimes felt fortunate that after his parents passed away unexpectedly, the Luo Family had paid off the remaining mortgage without a second thought. Otherwise, he would likely be facing the same predicament as those poor souls whose "mortgage was higher than the total value of the house."

He had heard that some people, crushed by their mortgages, had gone to the Luo Family to demand an explanation, eventually taking the matter to court. The lawsuit had dragged on for years, and there was still no result to this day.

Every time Tang Ping thought about this, he couldn't help but click his tongue. These people were truly daring. They had likely forgotten who the real masters of Earth were!

Especially since the strength of Luo Feng was still soaring. In a few years, once the "second-generation ancestors" of the younger Luo Family generation grew up, it was unlikely anyone would dare to challenge the Luo Family so blatantly again.

Entering his home, Tang Ping pushed open the window.

The evening breeze, carrying the damp scent of the sea of clouds, rushed toward him. Beneath his feet were rolling white waves of clouds, and in the distance, the city's neon lights flickered through the gaps in the clouds. He stood by the window for a while, letting his thoughts drift away with the cloud waves, until the evening breeze brought a hint of chill, prompting him to turn and head to the bathroom for a shower.

After coming out of the shower, his phone screen lit up a few times. It was a message from his childhood friend Liu Hui, the screen filled with photos of his interstellar summer vacation: camping in the canyons of Mars, checking in under the rings of Jupiter—the tone between the lines was nothing but showing off.

Tang Ping smiled and replied with a few "envy, jealousy, and hate" comments before tossing his phone onto the nightstand.

For the past few days, he had been in a state of constant excitement, his nerves like a drawn bowstring. Only now, as he completely relaxed, did an unprecedented exhaustion wash over him like a tide.

He collapsed onto the bed, and the soft bedding instantly enveloped him. The second before he closed his eyes, only one thought remained in his mind: he had to sleep until he woke up naturally this time.

Goodnight.

At ten o'clock the next morning, sunlight cast long, thin patches of light onto the floor through the gaps in the curtains, and only then did Tang Ping slowly wake from his deep slumber.

The moment his consciousness returned, he subconsciously reached for the Smart Bracelet by his pillow. There were no missed calls, no message notifications; from dawn until noon, no one had disturbed him.

This was the benefit of living alone. There was no complicated work urging him to clock in, no social obligations to deal with, and certainly no meddlesome relatives or friends to cause trouble. He could sleep however he wanted, for as long as he wanted, and even his dreams were exceptionally peaceful.

Tang Ping blinked, dazed on the bed for a while, and rubbed his eyes unconsciously, but the scene before him made him sit up abruptly.

Why was everything a bit blurry?

He blinked hard again, but a faint phantom image still lingered in his vision, as if he were looking at things through frosted glass. Could he have become nearsighted?

The thought had barely surfaced before he dismissed it. Just kidding, he had only recently completed a cultivation breakthrough. His physical body had been reborn under the scouring of evolutionary energy; let alone a minor ailment like nearsightedness, even kidney deficiency could be completely repaired during the process of evolutionary transcendence!

Tang Ping frowned, beginning to doubt reality.

Was this a sequela left over from the breakthrough? Or had his senses become disordered? He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm his mind and focus his consciousness on the phantom image before him.

After all, he had just broken through to the Planetary Rank; perhaps this was a newly awakened talent? The universe was vast and full of wonders; powerhouses with double or triple talents were not rare, and perhaps he had just stumbled upon that luck.

As his focus intensified, the phantom image gradually became clear. It was a translucent panel, and the characters on it were the Chinese characters he was all too familiar with from his previous life, each one floating clearly in his field of vision:

Boundary: Planetary Rank Level 3 (1/1000)

Will: Planetary Rank Level 3 (1/1000)

Lifespan: 20/5000

Law: 0

Secret Technique: Wind-Thunder Secret Canon (1/10000000)

After reading the information on the panel, Tang Ping's heart began to pound wildly, and his face was instantly filled with ecstasy.

As a die-hard, veteran reader of Qidian Chinese Network, he was all too familiar with this kind of panel. Could this be the legendary "Deep Blue" system?

Sure enough, the old saying was right: Mother Earth never mistreated the children who wandered far from home; she would always send a blessing at the critical moment!

However, at this moment, Tang Ping quickly calmed down. As far as he knew, the Founder of the Giant Axe would eventually rewind time on Earth, so he couldn't afford to show anything too abnormal.

He tried calling out in his heart: "System Daddy? Deep Blue? Bro? System Ancestor?"

He shouted for a long time, but the panel remained silently suspended in his vision without any response, nor did any options like "Do you want to open the novice gift pack?" or "Do you want to add points?" appear.

The smile on Tang Ping's face gradually faded.

This panel didn't have any intelligence, and it couldn't provide instant mastery?

The disappointment was only fleeting, and Tang Ping quickly adjusted: "It's fine if I can't add points; maybe it's a proficiency panel?"

He immediately perked up, rolled out of bed, and stood in the center of the bedroom. With a thought, dozens of small swords condensed from vital energy appeared out of thin air, slowly rotating around him.

He began to practice the first level of the Planetary Rank offensive chapter of the Wind-Thunder Secret Canon, "Gale Thrust." The small swords thrust out and retracted according to his will.

His movements were somewhat stiff; the bedroom space was too small to perform properly, and the moves didn't even unleash ten percent of their power, let alone whether they were standard or not.

After practicing for a full hour, Tang Ping was panting slightly. Looking at the panel again, the number after "Wind-Thunder Secret Canon" remained (1/10000000), completely unmoved.

"Looks like I need to find a proper place to practice." Tang Ping pondered for a moment before digging the Virtual Helmet out of his closet.

The Luo Family opened their Virtual Training Ground to clan members and their associates, providing various simulated environments that were perfect for practicing secret techniques. He put on the helmet, connected his consciousness to the training ground, and selected an open grassland scene.

This time, Tang Ping did not dare to be the slightest bit lax.

He focused his mind and calmed his breathing, mobilizing his vital energy according to the incantations of the Wind-Thunder Secret Canon. Dozens of small swords instantly became solid, and following the trajectory of the Gale Thrust technique, they shot out like lightning, accurately striking the bullseye in the distance. The entire sequence of movements was smooth and fluid, without a single error.

When the final small sword was retracted, Tang Ping immediately looked at the panel in his field of vision. Sure enough, the number after Wind-Thunder Secret Canon had jumped, changing to (2/10000000)!

He let out a sigh of relief, and a smile returned to the corners of his mouth.

Although he couldn't use points to achieve instant success, this panel was at least useful—and incredibly useful at that!

It not only pointed him in the right direction for his cultivation but also turned abstract "progress" into concrete numbers, so he would never again have to cultivate in the dark like before, not even knowing if he was making any headway.

One had to realize that cultivation was just like conducting research; a correct direction and a clear goal could save one from so many detours!

Especially for him, a former programmer, a "progress bar" was an absolute necessity; visible progress was the greatest motivation to keep going.

Tang Ping understood all too well why so many people gave up on cultivation and indulged in hedonism instead.

Many people would toil away for days, months, or even years without feeling the slightest bit of progress. Unable to find the threshold and unable to see any hope, the boredom and monotony would slowly grind away all their passion, eventually forcing them to give up halfway.

This was also why "willpower" was one of the most important attributes in any universe.

Only by persisting could one have the chance to see the fruits of success!

Now, although he lacked the guidance of a famous master, he had this panel that could display his progress.

Tang Ping clenched his fists, his gaze becoming resolute.

What should he do next? What else could he do?

Grind!