Pursuing the Dao Among the Stars, Stealing Leisure in the Mortal World
One month later.
A notice spread throughout the Galaxy Star Domain: [Earth's Great Elder — Tang Ping, Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God —have all embarked on their journeys into space, with no return date set. Friends returning home and interstellar visitors need not wait any longer.]
The news spread.
In the starry sky, the ships that had been hovering for over a month, whether they were transport ships engraved with ancient Earth totems or patrol boats painted with the war emblems of various powers, all turned around.
Exclamations echoed across countless communication channels.
"The Galaxy Lord has only been back for a month—your heart in seeking the Dao is truly as firm as a rock."
"Since his rise, he has never stopped. From Earth to the stars of the universe, he has always been pursuing a path of greater strength."
"Such beings are the backbone of our Human Race."
"Who exactly is this Tang Ping? I've never seen him before! He's so sleazy!"
In the courtyard of a life-bearing planet in the Milky Way Galaxy, an elderly man with white hair and beard sat in a rocking chair, gazing at the starry sky outside the window in a daze.
He was a veteran from the Great Cataclysm who survived thanks to his bravery and a bit of luck, and is now a Universe Level powerhouse. Receiving the message from the Communicator, the old man patted a little boy with pigtails beside him and grinned, "Kid, let me tell you a story from back then."
The little boy, his tenth-generation descendant, was playing with a mini laser gun when he heard this. He tilted his head and asked, "Great-Grandpa, is it another story about you fighting monsters?"
"Absolutely!" The old man slapped his thigh, his voice booming. "Back then, I fought alongside Earth's First Elder and Second Elder against the Eight-Clawed Serpent Emperor! That beast's claws, swirling with a foul stench, were about to slap my face. I thought I was going to die right there!"
"And then? The Galaxy Lord descended from the sky! A golden light flashed, and the Eight-Clawed Serpent Emperor was blasted into dust! I cried my eyes out then, thinking he was just throwing his life away by charging in alone—but unexpectedly, he single-handedly turned the tide and saved us all!"
The little boy giggled after hearing this, and reached out his chubby little hand to tug at the old man's beard. "Grandpa, you're so shameful! I've stopped crying, but you're still crying! You're so old!"
The old man wasn't annoyed; he let the man pull him along, looked up at the starry sky, and laughed heartily, lost in thought.
Earth, at the top of the headquarters building of the Extreme Martial Arts Dojo.
A Yao Rao in a red dress stood gracefully in the cold wind, her red skirt fluttering in the wind.
As the current head of the Extreme Martial Arts Dojo, she is known for her ruthless methods and ironclad rules, and all her disciples hold her in awe. But at this moment, this strict headmaster, gazing at the boundless starry sea, also showed a sense of loneliness.
Ten thousand years.
It has been a full ten thousand years since the curator left Earth to embark on the path of pursuing a higher realm.
Over the years, she has cultivated desperately, climbing step by step from the Planetary Rank to the Universe Level, and then to the Domain Lord level. But even so, the distance between her and the curator seems to be getting farther and farther, like being separated by a galaxy of billions of light-years.
"Curator," the Yao Rao voice whispered, "I've been chasing you, but I can never catch up."
"But it doesn't matter. Even if we are separated by billions of light-years, when night falls and we look up, we still see the same starry sky."
Perhaps this is another form of Yongheng.
"May we meet again in the martial world."
Stars and rivers flow, time passes silently.
This planet, this Human Race, and even this Primal Universe will never stop turning because of someone's departure. Life goes on, and everyone has their own trajectory, their own life, and their own little world.
The Solar System.
Tang Ping nestled comfortably against Sun Ruowei's soft chest, his head resting on her warm, fragrant body, the faint scent of orchids wafting around his nose. Sun Ruowei sat on the cushion, one hand gently encircling his waist, the other hand's slender fingers slowly combing his hair with Gentle.
While comforting him, she picked up a glass of chilled juice and held it to Tang Ping's lips, "Master, have some water."
Tang Ping opened his mouth, put the straw in, took a big gulp, and sighed contentedly.
On the virtual screen beside him was the interface of a base survival and building game. Several pretty maids were surrounding him, their fingers flying across the screen as they busily collected building materials such as ores and Origin Crystal.
"Hurry, hurry, the mine in the east has respawned! Send people to mine it right away!" Tang Ping lazily gave the order, and with a flick of his finger, a defensive turret rose from the ground.
During a break in his command, he didn't forget to steal a kiss on Sun Ruowei's cheek, making her blush.
This survival game can feel boring when played alone, but with a group of beautiful girls around you, and a beauty like Sun Ruowei by your side, even mining and chopping trees become fun.
The maids worked swiftly, delivering materials to the warehouse in a steady stream. Tang Ping, on the other hand, was in charge of planning and layout. With a wave of his hand, buildings with different functions were erected in a well-organized manner on the site.
"Our family's base is number one in the entire server!"
"Those slowpokes can't even see our taillights!"
Perhaps their progress was too fast, or perhaps the maids' praise on the public channel was too arrogant, and finally, they stirred up a hornet's nest.
The thousands of base leaders from all directions were thoroughly enraged and immediately formed a coalition. A massive fleet rushed towards Tang Ping's base, determined to crush this "arrogant and domineering" fellow.
Tang Ping remained calm. Even in the game, he possessed superpowers, and he lightly tapped the recharge button with his finger.
[Deduct 10 million Ganwu Coin to activate Super Construction Acceleration!]
In an instant, the base's construction speed increased a hundredfold, and defensive fortifications sprang up like mushrooms after rain. Laser turrets, Energy Shield, ion cannon arrays—a dense network of defensive firepower woven into an inescapable net.
The allied forces' attack came like a tide, and then receded just as quickly. More than half of their thousands of warships were lost, yet they still couldn't break through Tang Ping's base defenses, and in the end, they could only retreat in disgrace.
The maids immediately felt triumphant and started taunting in the public chat. "That's it? That's it? A thousand of them couldn't even beat one?"
"You guys even got killed hundreds of times! Do you even know how to play?"
"Useless! A bunch of toothpicks!"
Those base leaders couldn't stand this insult. Unable to win, they resorted to cursing, and the public chat was instantly flooded with all sorts of vulgarities.
The variety of insults in interstellar space is endless, with various racial dialects mixed with the common language, leaving Tang Ping dazzled and exclaiming that he had learned a great deal.
He didn't stop her, and just nestled in Sun Ruowei's arms, drinking the juice she handed him while watching the spectacle with great interest. This kind of enjoyment of watching the drama unfold, coupled with the warm and soft beauty beside him, was a rare spice in his endless life.
Just as the online argument was raging, two pleasant notification sounds rang out in succession.
[Ding! Your esteemed seven-star customer, your 9255 Cosmic Galaxy Milky Way account has received one million Hunyuan. Note: Million-year salary for guarding the Solar System.]
[Ding! Your esteemed seven-star customer, your 9255 Cosmic Galaxy Milky Way account has received one million Hunyuan. Note: Luo Family employment fee.]
Seeing the two million Hunyuan that suddenly appeared in his account, Tang Ping was in a great mood. He turned around and pecked Sun Ruowei's lips, feeling very happy.
Since he entrusted all his industrial shares to the Luo Family for management, the Luo Family has become the de facto ruler of the Solar System. As a result, the security agreement originally entrusted to King Anle naturally became invalid, and the Luo Family continued to employ King Anle to oversee the Solar System.
By this calculation, he's essentially doing one job and getting two salaries—he's absolutely thrilled!
Oh, no, that's not right.
Tang Ping stroked his chin and suddenly realized that Marquis Justice was actually doing all the work. He, the absentee manager, hadn't done anything but received two salaries for free.
At this moment, inside the defensive fortress at the edge of the Solar System, Marquis Justice, clad in heavy armor, stood before the command console, his brow furrowed as he stared intently at the data stream on the screen.
The screen in front of her displayed a dense array of data, including travel records for various routes in the Solar System, the movement trajectories of meteorite belts, and energy fluctuation monitoring data around rivers within the star system.
"Reporting to Lord Marquis Justice, an unidentified energy signal has been detected in channel 73, suspected to be an asteroid impact warning!"
"The voice of a subordinate came through the Communicator."
"Amplify the signal source and calculate the impact trajectory! Notify nearby patrol vessels to provide emergency assistance, and simultaneously activate the course deflection device!"
"Yes!"
Just as I finished dealing with the asteroid warning, another communication rang. "Sir, the Energy Shield in Sector C is fluctuating and needs to be inspected!"
"Build!"
The next moment.
[Ding! Your esteemed one-star customer, your 9288 Cosmic Galaxy Milky Way account has received 100 Hunyuan. Note: Millennium salary for guarding the Solar System + S-level performance bonus.]
Seeing this, the usually cold oval face of the Marquis Justice softened for a moment.
Payday!
Tang Ping, inside the Divine Temple, was smug for only a few seconds before he suddenly frowned, thinking of a serious problem.
Would you call this... exploiting a group?
Although this amount of money is a drop in the ocean for the community, the key question is: am I the only one doing this, or is everyone doing it?
If everyone acted like me, wouldn't the tribe be completely depleted over time?
The thought lingered in his mind for a full instant. Then, he yawned and turned away, banishing the matter from his mind.
It's not a big problem.
If the sky falls, the Chaos City Lord and the Grandmaster are there to hold it up. Why should a nobody like him worry about so much?
Then the music started, then the dancing began!