The Heavenly Emperor!
The Solar System.
"Pfft~"
Seeing his good brother Liu Hui finally succumb to sleep in the trial scene, Tang Ping burst out laughing.
These illusion masters truly understand human nature; they have a firm grasp on everyone's emotions and vulnerabilities.
From the sense of urgency created by designing the "parents being imprisoned" to the bond of "brothers sharing hardships," each plot development precisely hits the mark on the fighting spirit of the children and their best friends, making them not only strive with all their might to cultivate, but also experience the happiness and joy of protection and growth.
"He's really impressive, but he's a bit of a jerk, brother." Tang Ping clicked his tongue, but when he thought of Liu Hui's smug look earlier, as if to say "you're finally no match for me," and how he even dared to pat him on the shoulder and call him "Brother Ping," he was very unhappy.
This rebellious son, how dare he be so treacherous!
Hmph! Tang Ping angrily pulled out a palm-sized metal Little Notebook from his World Ring.
This is a custom notebook made of F-Grade Alloy, ten meters thick, with fine spacetime patterns engraved on its surface. It won't be damaged even if dropped into the Star Core.
He turned to a blank page, a wisp of Immortal Divine Power surging from his fingertips, and swiftly carved a line of words: [During the Blood Fiend Secret Realm Trial, Liu Hui, due to his superior performance, became arrogant and domineering, calling me "Brother Ping." I will hold this grudge and settle accounts with him after he advances to immortality!]
There's no way around it; he's a carefree person by nature, used to eating, drinking, and having fun, and easily forgets important "grudges." That's why he spent a lot of money to create this notebook.
The words carved with Immortal Divine Power will never decay. Looking at them now and then can not only recall important but also trivial matters, but also serve as a constant reminder that "a gentleman's revenge is never too late."
After finishing carving the characters, Tang Ping, feeling bored, casually flipped through his notebook.
Many pages have already been crossed out, such as "Luo Feng promised to give Xueluo Crystal upon becoming Black Warrior (already fulfilled)", "Master promised to bestow secret techniques upon passing the World Lord Rank Heaven-Reaching Mountain (already fulfilled)", "Rewards with Divine Body Tempering Resources upon acknowledging the Origin Law of Time and Space (already fulfilled)" --- He would cross out any fulfilled promises or grudges to maintain the "timeliness" of the notebook.
As he flipped through the pages, Tang Ping's eyes suddenly narrowed, and his breathing became heavier.
On one of the pages, Divine Power had clearly inscribed the following record:
[On March 9th, 2374 AD (Human Calendar), during my first visit to the Black Dragon Mountain Island Virtual Universe, I was scammed out of 600 Black Dragon Coin by a food scammer; I was also scammed out of 1000 Black Dragon Coins by a woman posing as a "Life Tree Drink"; subsequently, I fell victim to low-price discount traps, free medical check-up scams, and cultivation scams, resulting in a total loss of 10,000 Black Dragon Coin! ]
"Damn it!" Tang Ping was furious, and the heartache he felt when he was deceived back then instantly surged into his heart.
Back then, he was a naive young man just stepping into the universe, hoping to broaden his horizons with his hard-earned savings. However, he was scammed several times in one day. Those scammers had no idea how much psychological trauma their tricks inflicted on a simple and kind-hearted boy!
Growing angrier by the thought, Tang Ping simply connected directly to the Black Dragon Mountain Empire's Virtual Universe Network and instructed his Smart Assistant: "Little Love, help me filter all publicly known fraud cases within the Black Dragon Mountain Empire over the past three thousand years, highlighting two categories: those who boasted about their successful scams online, and those that caused serious consequences, such as bankrupting people and breaking up families."
"Received, dear master, filtering matching information for you----"
The next moment, a dense stream of information appeared on the virtual screen, refreshing so fast that it almost formed a continuous screen of light.
This is not surprising. The Black Dragon Mountain Empire rules over the vast Black Dragon Mountain Starfield, directly controlling over 6,000 star systems and overseeing more than 500 primary Universe Country. The Silver Blue Empire alone governs eight major star systems, including the Milky Way Galaxy.
In such a vast territory, with its numerous races and countless people, countless parasites who make a living through fraud naturally arise.
After all, there's an unwritten rule in the universe. "When you lose your conscience, the road to making money widens."
Fraud is inherently a highly profitable business, especially targeting those who lack the financial means to support themselves or simply ordinary people. A simple scheme can easily swindle a fortune. Even many people with respectable jobs occasionally take on the role of fraudsters to earn some extra money.
Tang Ping swiped his finger, quickly browsing through the filtered cases, and soon his eyes were drawn to several "show-off scam posts on social media".
[User: Li Gang (Silver Blue Empire · Sky Eagle Planet)]
[Images posted on WeChat Moments: a metal box piled high with Silver Blue Coin, a floating sports car key, and a selfie with a man embracing a beautiful woman]
[Caption: "Hello babies, I heard everyone's been looking for me online? I'm here! Just finished receiving the last investment payment," and off on a world tour with the little ones~]
"Thank you all, uncles, aunts, grandpas, and grandmas, for your generosity!" 1.3% monthly interest? Sorry, that's a lie! Your hard-earned money is my means of extravagance~ See the attached picture as proof, aren't you envious?
Tang Ping frowned as he scrolled down, and another, even more arrogant, post popped up on his WeChat Moments.
[User: Mei'er (Black Dragon Mountain Empire · Qiu Long Planet)]
[Image accompanying WeChat Moments: E-Grade metal jewelry, interstellar luxury cruise ticket]
[Synopsis: "Today's achievement: Scammed a country bumpkin realm lord! Pretending to be a lost noble descendant, I said I'd pass on an ancient cultivation secret technique to him," and swindled 5 million Black Dragon City coins! That idiot didn't even realize the technique rubbing was just a random copied fragment! Sure enough, the richer the person, the easier they are to fool. Tomorrow, I'll change my identity and head to Canglan Planet to rake in another fortune! Any sisters want to team up? I'll carry you!"]
"This is outrageous!" Tang Ping snorted coldly and continued scrolling down, soon coming across even more shocking cases of serious fraud.
[Case Name: "Stellar Body Refining Chamber" Fraud Case]
[Entity involved: Black Dragon Mountain Starfield Starfire Technology Company (a shell company)]
[Scam Method: Forging "Cosmic Venerable Certification" qualifications, claiming that their "Stellar Body Refining Chamber" can rapidly increase gene strength, breaking through from Planetary Rank to Star Rank within 3 months, priced at 1 million Black Dragon Coin per unit. Selling through Virtual Universe live streaming...]
They promoted their services through offline lectures and brainwashing tactics, and also hired a large number of shills to pose as success stories and give testimonials.
[Consequences: A total of 12,000 counterfeit body-refining pods were sold, defrauding victims of 12 billion Black Dragon Coin. These pods were actually modified ordinary energy pods, with some equipment exhibiting energy leakage problems, leading to genetic collapse and disability in 231 users, and direct death from body explosions in 89 others. Victims spanned more than 20 rudimentary Universe Country, sparking large-scale protests.]
#!
Tang Ping grew angrier the more he looked.
He originally thought that being scammed out of 10,000 Black Dragon Coin back then was bad enough, but he never expected that so many people were even worse off than him. The key point is that these guys dared to be so arrogant after scamming people.
Of course, Tang Ping wasn't surprised that these fraudsters were still at large. The universe was too vast, large enough to contain countless evils. As long as one piloted a starship into those boundless void regions, ordinary people simply couldn't catch them.
Unless a massive, all-out search is conducted, the resources consumed would far exceed the losses that the pursuit itself could recover.
Moreover, the Black Dragon Mountain Empire encompasses countless Universe Country, each with vastly different laws and administrative methods. For these habitual criminals, changing names and forging identities is incredibly easy. At most, the authorities can only issue a perfunctory arrest warrant, which is better than nothing.
Of course, there are always exceptions.
If your status is noble enough, your power immense enough, or the bounty is high enough to tempt everyone, then the situation is completely different. At that time, the security forces of all the surrounding countries, and even those notorious Star Pirates groups, will become the most loyal hounds, serving you faithfully.
Then you will know what it means to have a long and inescapable net of justice.
The problem is, which of those truly powerful figures who have the ability to stir up trouble would make a big fuss over such a small amount of "pocket money"? They are more afraid of things escalating and losing face.
And so, most scams simply end without any resolution.
But, since he's free right now, these scumbags will have a good taste of the wrath of King Rank!
"Hmph!" Tang Ping's consciousness directly accessed the internal system of the Cosmic Galaxy Milky Way... (The sentence is incomplete and lacks context).
Screenshots of boastful posts on social media, along with clues found through the victim's information, were all entered into the system.
Finally, the command was given: Locate.
The Virtual Universe is omnipresent and all-pervasive. With his dignified Venerable Level authority, tracking down a group of clowns who are at most Domain Lord level is as easy as turning his hand.
The command was given, and within three breaths, his Smart Assistant provided precise feedback. "Location complete!"
A total of 213 fugitives suspected of fraud have been identified.
Among them, the ringleader Li Gang, is hiding in an underground stronghold on Black Rock Planet, on the border of the Silver Blue Empire; the accomplice, Mei'er, is indulging in extravagant pleasures at a top-tier luxury hotel on Canglan Planet under the false identity of a "noble lady"; the rest are scattered and hidden in secret corners of 17 star systems.
"Very good." Tang Ping's lips curled into a smirk.
Three days later.
"Dear Master, the live broadcast channel has been set up, and the signal covers more than 500 primary Universe Country throughout the Black Dragon Mountain Empire. To ensure a wide range of influence, one Hunyuan Unit has been spent to purchase 30 trillion units of live broadcast traffic."
The next moment.
Within the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, countless Human Race who were browsing information, cultivating diligently, and working hard in the Virtual Universe suddenly had a push notification pop up on their private screens without warning.
The window displayed only a simple live streaming platform address. Out of curiosity, countless billions of consciousnesses connected to it.
The screen appears, showing a completely dark background.
Immediately afterwards, the image, like a shattered mirror, split into dozens of separate small windows. Each window corresponded to a scene of an arrest.
Black Rock Planet, underground stronghold.
Li Gang was surrounded by women, drinking merrily and celebrating yet another "perfect" scam. He was even fantasizing about his next target. Suddenly, a figure in black robes appeared behind him like a ghost, and a cold hand instantly gripped his neck.
The arrogance and smugness on his face froze instantly, then twisted into terror.
Canglan Planet, a luxury hotel.
Mei'er had just changed into a priceless, gorgeous dress and was standing in front of the dressing mirror, admiring the string of ornaments adorning her fair neck. However, amidst her terrified screams, another man in black robes lifted her up like a chick.
Other con artists hiding in every corner of the universe, whether they are posing as wealthy businessmen, living incognito as farmers, or fleeing for their lives in private spaceships, are all subdued without any power to resist under the overwhelming force of their superior strength.
The entire arrest process was swift and efficient.
The next moment, the live stream switched to a Judgment Platform, where all the people were tied up.
A divine being, clad in Golden Armor and bathed in holy light, slowly descended, his aura as imposing as a mountain and as vast as the sea. All living beings watching the live stream felt a tremor that ran through their very souls.
The Golden Armored Deity didn't waste any words; he simply raised his hand and pointed.
In an instant, all the scammers' personal information, fraud records, transfer receipts, and those screenshots of their social media posts that they used to show off scrolled across the main screen like a tidal wave.
Following closely behind were videos of the victims' tearful accusations, as well as images of their families being torn apart and their tragic deaths after being scammed.
Without further ado, the Golden Armored Deity shot out beams of black light from his hand, which pierced the foreheads of each fraudster.
The next second, all the fraudsters' bodies instantly stiffened, and then their entire bodies were enveloped in a constantly writhing black cocoon of light.
The live stream feed switched instantly, with all the small windows focusing on the light cocoons floating in the void, allowing everyone to clearly see everything happening inside the cocoons.
Li Gang's cocoon of light.
He now appeared as a gaunt, white-haired old man, one of the victims he had swindled out of his life-saving money. He lay in the most rudimentary medical pod, the cold, mechanical notification from the AI machine echoing in his ears. "Insufficient funds; unable to continue maintaining vital signs."
He endured the torment of illness day and night, his life force slowly slipping away. Finally, filled with endless regret and resentment, he breathed his last.
However, death is not liberation.
The next second, he switched again, becoming another victim, a middle-aged man whose family was destroyed after being scammed out of his demolition compensation. He watched helplessly as his wife left him, his children were forced to drop out of school, and he himself went from a respectable small business owner to a beggar on the streets.
He endured hunger and cold, and suffered the scorn and contempt of the world. Finally, on a cold winter night, he froze to death in a corner of an abandoned mine.
Switching again and again, dying again and again. Li Gang struggled and roared frantically within the cocoon of light, emitting silent, agonizing screams. His simulated soul, enduring pain far exceeding its limits, twisted and contorted continuously.
Peeling away, as if on the verge of complete collapse, yet unable to break free from the cocoon of light.
Within Mei'er's luminous cocoon.
She transformed into the realm lord whose body collapsed and became a cripple after being swindled out of all her cultivation resources. She clearly felt that the Origin Force she had painstakingly cultivated for thousands of years instantly dissipated like a flood breaking through a dam.
The excruciating pain of her body collapsing felt like thousands of steel needles churning inside her, causing her unbearable agony. Her former glory and dreams shattered completely in that moment. She went from being a revered adult to a despised cripple, with even her closest disciples abandoning her.
Next, she transforms into a mother who risks her life to gather resources on an undeveloped planet in order to raise enough money for her child's "identity upgrade fee," ultimately perishing in the process. In a perilous jungle, she is relentlessly pursued by a ferocious beast. She feels the excruciating pain of her skin being torn apart by sharp claws, and the warm blood spurting out.
Finally, overwhelmed with endless longing and regret for her child, she breathed her last.
Each cycle of reincarnation is an extreme torment, filled with fear and despair. She wants to die, but even the ability to self-destruct is taken away from her.
The same tragic situation was found in the cocoons of other fraudsters.
Some people are transformed into teenagers with genetic defects and lifelong disabilities, spending a long and painful life in a wheelchair, only able to watch helplessly as their peers soar through the universe and pursue their dreams, while they can only shed tears in secret.
Some are transformed into as ascetics burdened by exorbitant loan sharks, relentlessly fleeing in constant fear, ultimately suffering broken limbs and a humiliating death. Others are transformed into orphans, wandering the cold streets, enduring hunger, cold, and Solitude.
These "achievements" that they once disregarded and even took pride in have now become shackles binding their souls. Every life they destroyed with their own hands has become a hell from which they cannot escape.
In the live stream, every scene inside the cocoon of light was crystal clear. The extreme pain and despair of the Fraudster Soul Shadow, were transmitted to every viewer through the Virtual Universe.
There was no bloody killing, no cruel dismemberment. But the despair of watching one's own life be destroyed before one's eyes, and now having to relive it again and again, is more chilling and terrifying than any form of torture.
Those who had ever harbored even a trace of greed or a thought of fraud felt a chill run through them, as if the pain within the cocoon of light had been transmitted to them.
This live stream lasted for a full three months.
Three months later, as the Soul Annihilation, the Golden Armored Deity slowly raised his hand. A dazzling sword aura instantly sliced through the void. Those soulless bodies were instantly annihilated under the sword aura, reduced to ashes.
Only then did a brave soul dare to type out a line of text in the live stream chat. "Who... who are you?"
The Golden Armored Deity did not turn around, but simply turned his back to all living beings, leaving behind a single sentence before transforming into a beam of golden light and disappearing into the vast universe.
"I am the Heavenly Emperor, and I shall suppress all enemies in the world!"
As for what constitutes an "enemy," nobody knows.
The live stream abruptly ended.
The perpetrators were terrified and unable to sleep at night.