Virtual Universe

In the blink of an eye, half a year slipped by. For cultivators, time always seemed to pass so quickly and peacefully.

As long as they were content with their lot in the Human Territory and didn't seek higher realms, even Universe Level powerhouses could live for 100,000 years—long enough to enjoy a peaceful life.

Human civilization had a history of only three thousand years. A hundred thousand years could hold countless lives worth singing about, yet to cultivators, it was merely a "short" lifetime.

Over the past six months, Tang Ping and Luo Xiaoyu had encouraged and competed with each other, and both had made significant progress. Tang Ping's Attribute Panel had updated once again:

Realm: Planetary Rank, Fifth Level (200/1000)

Will: Planetary Rank, Sixth Level (600/1000)

Lifespan: 22/5000

Laws: Wind Domain (7777/10000), Thunder Domain (7777/10000)

Secret Art: Wind-Thunder Secret Canon (1788/10000000)

Not only had his realm advanced to Planetary Rank, Fifth Level, but his Wind and Thunder Domains were also on the verge of reaching Level Two. He was one step closer to "mastering the domains."

What he remembered most fondly was his twenty-second birthday a few days ago. That day, Luo Xiaoyu had set aside her usual competitiveness and coolness, and she'd been unusually cooperative.

There had been no intense "sparring," just the warmth of the two of them alone together. She had let Tang Ping take the lead, giving him a taste of what it was like to be "the man of the house." She'd let him have his way, and her tenderness had made his heart tremble.

But after his birthday, Luo Xiaoyu seemed to have hit a "fast-track seclusion" button and locked herself in the Cultivation Room once again. No matter how much Tang Ping knocked or teased her, she refused to come out and see him.

Once, she even had her maid pass on a message telling Tang Ping to "go find something fun to do and stop bothering her while she tries to break through to the middle stage of Star Rank." Those words completely deflated him.

He'd thought his birthday might ease their "cultivation rivalry," but instead it had made her push herself even harder. He'd become the one who was "in the way."

After another half month of cultivating alone, Tang Ping finally couldn't take it anymore.

That day, he sat listlessly on a meditation cushion in the Virtual Universe, staring at the empty Training Room. For the first time, he understood how those "slackers" in the Luo Family felt.

The family could provide abundant cultivation resources, yet they refused to endure hardship and only wanted to enjoy life.

It turned out that most living beings were lazy by nature. Lounging on a soft sofa and drinking spirit-plant tea was far more comfortable than being battered by mechs in a Training Room until your body fell apart.

Tang Ping gave a self-deprecating laugh. Perhaps his greatest advantage was that he had decent talent and could clearly feel the improvement from each training session. That was what had kept him going until now.

But then he thought about how those who didn't work hard could relax without a care. Couldn't he take a proper break after giving cultivation his all?

Once he'd made up his mind, Tang Ping didn't hesitate.

Since connecting to the Virtual Universe, he'd only ever been in Training Rooms or places related to cultivation. A year and a half had passed, and he'd never really set foot in the "outside world" of the Virtual Universe.

Today, he was going to explore this legendary "second reality."

At a thought, the scene changed in an instant.

The next moment, Tang Ping found himself standing on an old-fashioned street. Large, neatly cut slabs of blue-gray stone paved the ground, and tiny patches of moss grew between them, giving off a faint, damp scent.

Low stone houses lined both sides of the street. Their roofs were covered with dark gray tiles, and their window lattices were carved with intricate interstellar patterns, combining a primitive solidity with technological elegance.

The street bustled with pedestrians, all of them with strange and varied appearances. There were three-meter-tall members of the Stone Race with purplish-blue skin, slender members of the Winged Race with transparent wings growing from their backs, and members of the Snake Race covered in fine scales, with vertical pupils...

Strangely, though, most people of every race wore simple gray clothes, and each person had a palm-sized "little elf" sitting on their shoulder. Some looked like cats, some like birds, and others were floating specks of light.

Tang Ping lowered his head to look at his own shoulder. A fist-sized yellow cat sat there, its fur soft and its eyes a pale blue.

It was his Smart Assistant, whom he'd named "Xiao Ai." Since he hadn't been willing to spend money on an upgrade, Xiao Ai only had basic voice-interaction functions. Even its appearance was stuck in the default cat form, making it look especially plain next to the "little elves" belonging to others, which could glow and talk.

Only then did he remember that all members of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire who connected to the Virtual Universe Network appeared by default on "Black Dragon Mountain Island."

Though it was called an "island," the Black Dragon Mountain Starfield governed more than eight thousand star systems. Countless humans and aliens from its planets connected through terminals, making the virtual island larger than any planet in the real universe.

As Tang Ping walked down the street, his eyes widened more and more. This place was practically a "paradise of desire." The shops included "virtual game pods" that let people experience different lives. Advertisements outside played scenes like "Tribulations in the Cultivation World" and "Interstellar Conquest" on a loop.

There was also a "food street" wafting with tempting aromas, offering everything from spirit-plant grilled meat to interstellar seafood and gene-enhancing dishes. Just looking at the pictures made his mouth water.

Even more impressive were the "boutiques," packed with gorgeous clothes, pet eggs, and mounts. The golden wings and unicorn-beast models displayed in the windows drew passersby to stop and stare.

He also saw a "dueling platform" at a street corner, where two cultivators were locked in a fierce fight as the crowd cheered. At the nearby "trading market," people were selling cultivation techniques and rare ores, while others were auctioning "virtual identity cards" that supposedly granted special permissions in certain scenes.

There were even rumors that some people treated virtual games as real life, marrying and raising children in them, building factions, and playing for hundreds or even thousands of years.

But Tang Ping soon discovered a "cruel" truth: almost everything here cost money.

The "data fee" for maintaining his virtual appearance was covered by the Luo Family's custom helmet and its power settlement system, so he was all right there. But the prices of everything else left him speechless.

A pair of "sacred garments" with wings and a glowing halo cost several hundred million Black Dragon Coins. They were valid for only a hundred years and could only be used on Black Dragon Mountain Island.

An "intelligent pet" that could speak several languages and assist with cultivation required a ten-million-Black-Dragon-Coin down payment, followed by monthly fees. Even the "virtual candied hawthorn skewers" sold by street vendors cost 10 Silver Blue Coins apiece.

Even more absurdly, in one "special-effects shop," he saw that people could actually buy effects like "spiritual pressure" and "Law of Heaven and Earth."

As long as they paid, even someone at Planetary Rank could unleash the pressure effect of someone at Star Rank, or transform into a hundred-meter-tall giant. But these effects had realm restrictions, cost a fortune, and were charged "per use." A single Universe Level "Law of Heaven and Earth" effect cost 50 million Black Dragon Coins.

"Good grief, the Virtual Universe Company is really good at making money!" Tang Ping couldn't help exclaiming. Just thinking about the number of users in the Black Dragon Mountain Starfield, then multiplying it by everyone's spending, gave him an idea of how terrifyingly wealthy the Virtual Universe Company must be.

No wonder the bonuses handed out to the geniuses during the Genius Tournament had often been worth as much as an Ordinary Immortal's entire fortune. They clearly didn't need the money.

To them, ordinary money was probably just a number.

He could envy them all he wanted, but when Tang Ping checked his account balance, he still felt a little helpless. He had a modest fortune by now, but in the Virtual Universe, he could barely afford the "basics."

Still, as he watched the lively street, his mood gradually improved. Even if he couldn't afford the expensive effects and clothes, exploring this fascinating world was much more interesting than training alone in the Training Room.

That settled it. From now on, he'd come out for four hours every three days to relax.