At the Peak of Star Rank

Time slipped by like sand between the fingers. Ten years passed in the blink of an eye.

Over those ten years, Rare Treasure Pavilion's courier ship had become an old familiar sight in the BX10081 Star System. Every quarter, the silver-white ship appeared on schedule at Storm Port's docking area. It brought all kinds of supplies to keep the port running, then stayed for several days.

The people aboard knew that Storm Port was home to a million people from various races. Most of them were only Planetary Rank, but the port was remote and short on supplies, so even ordinary goods could fetch a premium there—a nice way to earn some pocket money.

Even members of Rare Treasure Pavilion's guard team quietly brought along a few things of their own to sell.

By the rules, that was obviously forbidden. But the saying "too pure a stream has no fish" held true among the stars, too. As long as they didn't go too far, the higher-ups turned a blind eye and tacitly accepted these unwritten rules.

Ten years of hardship and change could transform a great deal.

Storm Port's Planetary Rank residents had mixed fortunes. Some seized an opportunity, struck a rich ore deposit, and grew wealthy overnight, rising in status. Others met with disaster in a cosmic storm and vanished without a trace.

Some children lost both parents in disasters and became orphans. The Governor's Mansion's intelligent system took them in according to regulations. It provided them with food and lodging, as well as nineteen years of compulsory education. Once they came of age, they could work to repay the cost of their upbringing.

It wasn't exactly generous, but it did give them a stable place to rely on.

Only the two governors of the Governor's Mansion remained reclusive throughout those ten years, spending most of their time in seclusion and rarely appearing in public.

Every now and then, someone would bring it up, their words full of approval. "The new governor is really decent. He leaves everything to the artificial intelligence. That system's fairness is famous throughout the star system."

Because of this, as long as they were somewhere covered by public surveillance, the residents dared to stand tall even in front of the guard team's Star Rank powerhouses. The intelligent system recorded every detail, so no one dared openly abuse their authority for personal gain.

Of course, "not afraid" didn't mean "daring to offend them." If they left the surveillance zone, or truly angered those powerhouses, no one could afford the risk of being targeted or retaliated against later.

Life there was peaceful enough to put people at ease.

Storm Port was just a tiny spaceport in the vast sea of stars. Though it housed several million people, it was as fragile as a glass ornament. Even a minor disturbance could set off a chain reaction and lead to an irreversible disaster.

If things could remain this peaceful forever, that might well be the best possible ending.

The Governor's Mansion, Cultivation Room.

Tang Ping abruptly opened his eyes.

In an instant, a vast and mighty aura surged from within him, flowing slowly along the patterns etched into the Cultivation Room.

If the room hadn't been built with the highest-grade soundproofing materials, his aura would have alerted the guards outside, leaving them stunned.

He raised a hand and brought up his personal interface. Pale blue light spread before him, and the figures displayed there were especially striking:

[Rank: Star Rank Ninth Order Spirit Reader/Star Rank Ninth Order Warrior] (9999/10000)

[Willpower: Universe Level Sixth Order (588/100000)]

[Laws: Wind Domain Ninth Layer (9999/10000), Thunder Domain Ninth Layer (9999/10000)]

[Secret Art: Wind-Thunder Secret Canon (9999/10000000)]

Over the past ten years, he had never once let up. With a constant supply of enormous quantities of pills, relentless day-and-night cultivation, and tempering through actual combat, he had finally reached the very peak of Star Rank.

If he entered the Ganwu Universe Kingdom's Genius Tournament from several hundred years ago, breaking into the top thousand of a World Zone would have been entirely within reach.

Of course, he knew his limitations. Compared with those "monsters" who were born with an innate ability to comprehend the laws, he was still a step behind. But among ordinary humans, his strength theoretically surpassed that of 99% of Star Rank warriors.

With the Wind-Thunder Wings, the Wind-Thunder Escape Technique, the Sword Escape Art, and his mastery of both the Wind and Thunder Domains, even an early-stage Universe Level powerhouse would find it nearly impossible to catch him.

As for his attack power, boosted by all kinds of secret arts and domains, his attacks had long since surpassed those of ordinary Universe Level fighters.

But Tang Ping still wasn't confident. He had never truly fought anyone in the real world. Whether he could bring out all this theoretical strength on an actual battlefield remained unknown.

His willpower had now reached the advanced stages of Universe Level, strong enough, in theory, to control all his power steadily. But without having tested it in real combat, no one could guarantee anything.

Still, what Tang Ping looked forward to most was fighting above his rank. Only by defeating an opponent stronger than himself could he truly prove his talent and ability.

Just like when he used Universe Level willpower in the Virtual Universe to suppress Planetary Rank opponents—the feeling of having everything under control fascinated him.

Heh heh heh~

Now, the greatest challenge lay before him: breaking through to Universe Level.

In his current state, his domains had reached the peak of the ninth layer, his body and mental strength were both at their limits, and he had no hidden injuries. In theory, his chances of breaking through were quite high.

But he knew better than anyone that Universe Level powerhouses were already major figures of middling status within the Human Race. They stood high above the rest, could fight on the surface of stars, and wielded the power to destroy heaven and earth with a casual gesture.

Every breakthrough to such a level was a life-or-death ordeal. The slightest mistake could mean death and the destruction of one's cultivation.

Even Luo Yanchang, the Luo Family's so-called "heaven's favored son," was stuck at the peak of Star Rank, unable to advance. That alone showed how terrifyingly difficult it was to break through to Universe Level.

To be safe, Tang Ping had already made up his mind: he had to buy Rare Treasure Pavilion's Breakthrough Package and raise his chances of success as much as possible. At the very least, he needed to make sure that even if the breakthrough failed, he would survive and wouldn't end up crippled, with his cultivation completely ruined.

What troubled him even more was that Luo Xiaoyu had also reached Star Rank Ninth Order. With the added boost of her Second-Order Domain, she too had reached the point where she needed to break through.

If they both broke through at the same time, they would have to shoulder twice the expense. For him, that would be adding insult to injury.

Anything involving the words "Universe Level" came at a price far beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

Tang Ping had taken a quick glance at the virtual mall in Rare Treasure Pavilion before. Breakthrough Packages alone ranged from Grade A to Grade S. The lowest-grade A Package could only increase the chance of success by 10%, yet cost 1 billion Black Dragon Coins. The highest-grade S Package could raise the odds to 95%, but cost a staggering 20 billion Black Dragon Coins. There were no discounts, and not a single coin could be knocked off the price.

Looking at that astronomical figure, Tang Ping couldn't help frowning.

He recalculated his assets: the 5.52 billion Black Dragon Coins he had invested in the stock market back then had nearly doubled over the years, thanks to Luo Feng's dazzling performance in the Virtual Universe. On top of that, there were the rewards he and Luo Xiaoyu had received each time they advanced in rank and certified their domains. Their total assets now came to exactly 12 billion Black Dragon Coins.

As for the dividends from their stocks over the past ten years, they had long since spent all of them on cultivation resources.

Without those resources, an ordinary human's rate of Origin Force absorption would never have been enough to reach the peak of Star Rank in a mere ten years.

Tang Ping rubbed his chin and fell into thought.

He had a few options. He could keep certifying higher levels of domain fusion in the Journey game and try to earn more rewards.

Or he could go ask Babata for some cash. After all, he was now a genius disciple of Falling Ink Star. Another option was to apply for support using his status as a member of the Luo Family.

Under Luo Family rules, a child like him who had earned a first-class rating could apply for up to 1 billion Black Dragon Coins in assistance, as well as a low-interest loan ranging from 100 million to 1 billion.

The Luo Family's support was quite generous on its own, but if he wanted to buy Breakthrough Packages for both of them, it still wouldn't be nearly enough.

What should he do?