Star-Destroying Combat Power

Once the excitement faded, Tang Ping scoured his contact list but couldn't find anyone else to "show off" to.

Luo Xiaoyu was in seclusion and ignoring him, and Liu Hui would only curse him as a "beast." In the end, he had to suppress his bubbling joy and head straight to the Luo Family ancestral hall for a strength certification.

In two and a half years, going from Apprentice Rank all the way to Star Rank—this speed was at a genius level unique even within the entire Luo Family.

Not to mention that he had simultaneously broken through his Wind-Thunder Domain to the second stage. Babata, who was in charge of the certification, stared in disbelief and issued the reward on the spot.

"Not bad, you haven't disgraced Falling Ink Star. I'm rewarding you with 30 million Black Dragon Coins; focus on improving your strength."

Tang Ping looked at the massive new number in his account and felt fantastic.

Including his remaining funds and stocks, the total investment assets for him and Luo Xiaoyu had soared to 562 million Black Dragon Coins. The annual stock dividends alone amounted to 56.2 million, enough for both of them to "pay-to-win" their way through the Star Rank stage without ever worrying about resources.

He calculated happily: at this rate, they could reach the peak of Star Rank in less than ten years.

With that kind of strength, he could easily find a major cosmic power and land a position as a captain of the guard, collecting a stable salary every year and occasionally following his employer on interstellar cargo runs.

The routes used by those major powers had been verified for thousands or even tens of thousands of years. As long as his luck wasn't abysmal, there would basically be no accidents; it was very secure.

As for joining the Universe Mercenary Alliance to explore secret realms like other adventurous Star Rankers? Tang Ping shook his head without even considering it.

Secret realms were fraught with danger, and it was common for entire teams to be wiped out. Even with examples like Luo Feng, who had earned an immortal-level fortune from secret realms, he didn't want to take that risk.

Lying flat in the Luo Family until he reached immortality was his ultimate dream.

However, for now, having just broken through to Star Rank, the most important thing was to familiarize himself with his combat power to avoid being flustered if he actually encountered a fight.

Tang Ping immediately set off for the third planet of the Black Dragon Mountain X4396 system.

This planet had the least wind and thunderstorms in the entire system, but even so, ordinary Planetary Rankers couldn't withstand the harsh environment; only Star Rankers could barely hold on.

Of course, those high-and-mighty Star Rank powerhouses wouldn't come to do low-end work like mining unless they were digging for top-tier resources like Universe Crystals.

He chose a desolate, uninhabited area on the outskirts of the planet. A black light flashed around his body, and he changed into the Tier 3 Origin Force Battle Suit sent by Babata. He had just finished refining this suit; it could withstand 90% of the attack power of a Universe Level powerhouse and could change its form at will.

Tang Ping specifically adjusted it to the "Dark Forbearance" style from the game. His entire body was tightly wrapped in black, and even his aura and appearance were hidden, which was perfect for testing his moves in the wild.

"That's about right. Let's begin."

With a thought from Tang Ping, dozens of colorless longswords appeared out of thin air, hovering around him. He took a deep breath, and the Wind-Thunder Wings on his back suddenly unfurled. Pale cyan wind patterns intertwined with purple lightning, carrying him instantly into the high sky.

"Swish!"

A blurred streak of lightning flashed across the heavens and earth, and Tang Ping's figure vanished from where he stood.

He circulated the Wind-Thunder Secret Canon, his black figure shuttling rapidly across the vast planet. At times he dodged nimbly through the gale, and at others, he dove into thunderclouds to absorb the power of lightning, his speed so fast that only a residual image remained.

Miners working below occasionally looked up and caught a glimpse, thinking their eyes were playing tricks on them. They rubbed their eyes and muttered, "Did a bolt of black lightning just fly past?"

After a long while, Tang Ping steadied himself and landed on a massive boulder, panting slightly, though his eyes shone with excitement: "This speed is just too thrilling!"

He immediately summoned the artificial intelligence Xiao Ai: "Calculate the top speed just now."

[Beep, detection complete. Top speed: 28 km/s.]

Tang Ping nodded; it was about what he had estimated. The base flight speed of a Star Ranker was 10 km/s. With the two-fold speed bonus from the Wind-Thunder Wings and the 40% boost from the Level 2 Fusion Domain, it hit this value exactly.

He calculated silently in his heart: 28 km/s was equivalent to 82 times the speed of sound on Earth, and it would take just over 20 minutes to circle the globe.

And this was just his standard speed. If he used the Star Rank flight technique from the Wind-Thunder Secret Canon, he could go even faster, but he hadn't had time to practice it yet.

No wonder people said Star Rankers had "planet-destroying combat power." This speed was ridiculously fast; perhaps by the time an opponent saw your shadow, they would have already been slapped in the next second without even a chance to react.

"Once my spiritual telekinesis amplitude breaks through to the second layer and I can use the 'Sword Escape' technique from the Wind-Thunder Secret Canon, loading the Wind-Thunder Wings onto the sword wings... the speed will probably be even more terrifying." The more Tang Ping thought about it, the more he looked forward to it.

After testing his speed, it was time for strength.

Tang Ping walked to the massive boulder where he had landed earlier, took a deep breath, and his energy erupted. He didn't use his fists directly; instead, he channeled his spiritual telekinesis, controlling the hovering colorless longswords to slash down fiercely at the rock!

"Boom!"

With a deafening roar, the boulder, which was dozens of meters in diameter, was instantly pulverized. The ground was smashed into a bottomless pit by the sword energy, and the surrounding sand and soil were kicked up by the shockwave, forming a circular air blast.

Xiao Ai's voice sounded again:

[Beep, strength detection complete: Final strength is approximately 6.804 billion jin, or 3.4 million tons.]

Hearing this number, even Tang Ping was stunned. He knew it would be strong, but he hadn't expected it to be this terrifying.

But it made sense. The base strength of a Star Ranker was 90 million jin, multiplied by an 18-fold telekinetic amplitude, a 3-fold boost from the Tier 3 telekinetic weapon, and a 40% bonus from the Level 2 Fusion Domain.

Yet, at this moment, comparisons he had learned earlier couldn't help but surface in his mind: an ordinary adult's punch was only 50-100 kilograms, and a top boxer's heavy punch was only 200 kilograms. 3.4 million tons was equivalent to 17 million top boxers punching at the same time. The maximum lifting capacity of an industrial giant crane was only 40,000 tons; it would take 85 of them working simultaneously to compare.

It was even equivalent to the total impact of 34 tactical nuclear bombs with a 1,000-ton yield exploding at once. That was enough to instantly blast a crater 1 kilometer in diameter and 100 meters deep, leveling all buildings within 10 kilometers.

"This is true planet-destroying combat power..." Tang Ping looked at the massive pit before him, filled with emotion.

After the strength test, Tang Ping's mood was soaring; he couldn't help but whistle on his way home.

3.4 million tons of force, a speed of 28 km/s, and 562 million in assets lying in his account—life was simply wonderful.

When he passed the guard post at Storm Port, the guards had just started to say "Greetings, Governor," when Tang Ping waved his hand and transferred 10,000 Silver Blue Coins to each of them via his personal terminal: "I'm happy today, so here's a red envelope for everyone! Buy some good wine and meat!"

The guards were stunned. Looking at the money that had suddenly appeared in their accounts, they hurriedly thanked him in unison: "Thank you, Governor!"

Even the servants sweeping the floors and the gardeners tending the plants received a red envelope of ten thousand Silver Blue Coins whenever they greeted him.

For a time, the sound of "The Governor is generous" could be heard everywhere in Storm Port.

Tang Ping felt even more comfortable hearing this.

This was the life of a wealthy person; simple and unadorned.

However, no matter how good the mood, it felt like something was missing without anyone to share it with.

Tang Ping pondered that he simply had to let Luo Xiaoyu know about his "glorious achievements," so he tucked the freshly printed Combat Power Test Report under his arm and squatted right outside the door of her Cultivation Room.

He ended up squatting there for three whole days.

He finally waited for her to come out so he could show off properly and, incidentally, have the two of them spar.

This time, the Star Rank Level 2 martial artist Luo Xiaoyu was finally defeated completely, and she was convinced of his strength.

The temperature has suddenly dropped, so everyone should take extra care of the ones they love.