Chapter 6 The Sixth Planet

The sixth planet boasts beautiful scenery. As far as the eye can see, there is an endless forest, filled with flower fields and lakes, a truly picturesque sight. Within the forest stands a colossal and majestic structure: a black pyramid! The black pyramid is over a thousand meters tall, and with Xu Jingming’s eyesight, he could see tiny figures on it.

"What kind of test is this sixth planet?" Xu Jingming opened his personal panel to check the test content. The test on the sixth planet: Ascend the black pyramid steps and successfully reach the top!

Reaching the top is considered passing the test. Each step of the black pyramid is a layer of illusion, and one must break the illusion to step onto a higher step. Reminder: Each layer of illusion is a life predicament! You must solve a hundred kinds of life predicaments to reach the top!

"A hundred kinds of life predicaments?" Xu Jingming frowned slightly. He moved his feet and turned into a blur, quickly running over.

Passing through the mountains, forests, and lakes, he arrived at the foot of the majestic black pyramid five minutes later.

The pyramid is shaped like a regular square pyramid, with stairs on all four sides! Each step is twelve meters high!

"Climb to the top of this black pyramid?" Xu Jingming circled the black pyramid and could clearly see 32 explorers on the four sides.

"At the same time, there are three batches of explorers in the exploration grounds. If each batch is about the same size, then there are roughly 180,000 people." Xu Jingming looked up at the figures on the black pyramid. "About 180,000 explorers, and only 32 people are on the black pyramid?"

From the dilapidated first planet to the subsequent Zerg planet, the frigid planet, the fallen planet, the neutron star…large numbers of explorers were eliminated.

"The first batch of explorers has been exploring for 330 days and is expected to finish on August 8th! Today is already August 5th, so the first batch of explorers should have already given up on the test and gone to look for opportunities."

Xu Jingming thought, "From this, it can be deduced that the 32 people on the black pyramid now are mainly from the second and third batches of explorers."

Xu Jingming instantly deduced the approximate proportion of those who arrived on the sixth planet. A few ten-thousandths of a percent meant that he was still pretty good.

"Mental illusions?" Xu Jingming looked up at the black pyramid in front of him. *Whoosh!* With a leap, Xu Jingming jumped onto the first huge black step.

The moment he landed on the black step, the scene before him changed. *Buzz!* The scene before him was a blue planet.

"Planet Earth?" Xu Jingming recognized the planet before him at a glance. It was his hometown. At the same time, Xu Jingming’s consciousness rapidly descended, falling into Planet Earth, falling into Xia Country, and falling to a desk in an office building.

"Hmm?" Xu Jingming looked at the computer in front of him, a little dazed. "A computer? This old antique is from decades ago, isn't it?" At the same time, a memory flooded into his mind. "My name is Zhang Lei. I’m a 35-year-old programmer with five elderly people above me—my father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, and grandfather—a wife, and two children?" Xu Jingming blinked. "This sixth planet’s test is really powerful. It actually constructs a background based on Planet Earth's civilization history."

"According to the description, the illusions are all life predicaments?" Xu Jingming was a little puzzled. He could only proceed step by step, observing everything within the illusion.

"Ding-ling-ling." The cell phone rang. Xu Jingming picked up the smartphone in his pocket. The simple memories that had been instilled allowed Xu Jingming to understand Zhang Lei's life over the past 30 years.

As a cosmic lifeform, his consciousness was so powerful that he could naturally receive all the memory information easily. Xu Jingming gently tapped the phone. "Hello."

"Husband, remember our son's tuition fee! The tutor is already urging us, and we don't have many lesson hours left," his wife urged on the phone.

"Okay, okay, I'll pay today," Xu Jingming said immediately.

"Dudu-dudu—" The phone hung up on the other end. As soon as he hung up, another call came.

"Hmm?" Xu Jingming answered in confusion. It was a call from the bank. "Mr. Zhang Lei, this is to inform you that the wealth management investment you made with our bank has failed as the third-party company cannot fulfill the maturity payment..." The information in the phone call stunned Xu Jingming.

…Night fell. Xu Jingming, who had been busy all day, drove a gasoline car back home, arriving at ten o'clock in the evening. His children were already asleep.

"You're back?" His mother had heated up the food and placed it on the table. "Don't always work so late in the future."

"Yeah, I know," Xu Jingming nodded.

His mother returned to her room, taking her grandchildren with her to sleep. His wife then walked out of the bedroom and sat across from Xu Jingming.

"Did you pay the tuition fee?" his wife stared at Xu Jingming.

"I paid, I paid," Xu Jingming said immediately. "I paid online, bought 180 lessons, and got 20 lessons as a bonus."

"Remember the community management fee," his wife said. "If you don't pay… the car won't be able to enter the community."

Xu Jingming nodded. He had to pay the management fee to refresh the car's access card.

"By the way, do you know what day it is tomorrow?" his wife suddenly smiled, looking at Xu Jingming.

Xu Jingming was stunned.

"Playing dumb?" his wife glared.

"Oh, our wedding anniversary!" Xu Jingming said immediately. "I know."

"We'll see how you perform."

Only then did his wife smile and return to the room. Xu Jingming sat at the table, all alone looking at the food in front of him. Suddenly, the phone rang. Xu Jingming answered the phone.

"Old Zhang, you should know that the company's game has been unable to launch, and we're supporting two to three hundred people… The company has been spending money, but with no income! The company really can't hold on! Although I'm very sorry, the boss has decided to close down the company…" The superior's call brought another bad news. Xu Jingming was stunned. The bank wealth management investment had exploded, and now his job was gone too? This was Zhang Lei's life predicament?

*Bang.* Suddenly, his wife hurriedly opened the door and rushed out.

"What's wrong?" Xu Jingming looked at his wife.

"Quick! My dad has been urgently hospitalized and needs immediate surgery. The surgery fee is 80,000!" his wife said anxiously, her eyes red. "Quickly bring the money! Let’s go to the hospital now."

Xu Jingming was stunned.

"Don't you have money?" his wife said immediately. "Let's try to raise money first and pay it back when the bank wealth management investment matures."

The bank wealth management investment was gone. How could he pay it back? The monthly mortgage was still more than ten thousand! And he had lost his job! Xu Jingming didn't dare to say anything and rushed out with his wife.

*Hua—* A series of illusory words finally appeared in the air in front of Xu Jingming: The first layer of life predicament, requirements for solving: Resolve the difficulties encountered by Zhang Lei. Within one year, make Zhang Lei's family harmonious and possess ten million in assets. (The use of martial arts is prohibited)…

With the use of martial arts prohibited, Xu Jingming didn't have any good ideas. First, he and his wife worked together to raise the money for the surgery. But his father-in-law's hospitalization meant the hospital fees were a bottomless pit, costing several thousand dollars a day! This made the Zhang Lei couple unable to breathe.

His wife also learned the news of him losing his job. Xu Jingming tried to find a job, but it was difficult to find a new job in a short period of time. His wife had to go to work alone.

With the pressure of medical expenses and the mortgage, his wife's stress grew and her temper worsened. When the news that the bank wealth management investment had failed could no longer be concealed, his wife couldn't bear it anymore! She broke down and filed for divorce.

When she filed for divorce, the illusion dissipated!

"Failed?" Xu Jingming returned to the foot of the black pyramid and opened his personal panel to check the time. "Half a month passed in the mental illusion, but only an hour has passed in reality?"

With a cosmic lifeform's mental consciousness, doing some simple things and accelerating time hundreds of times was easy to bear. Moreover, in life predicaments, the time spent sleeping passed in the blink of an eye.

"With the use of martial arts prohibited, how can I solve this life predicament?" Xu Jingming also had a headache. He had practiced martial arts since he was a child and entered the national team in college. His mind had been mainly on martial arts his entire life! Now, with the use of martial arts prohibited, trying to solve Zhang Lei's life predicament made Xu Jingming feel troubled. Although he had some ideas, within a short year, making Zhang Lei's family harmonious and possessing ten million in assets… he had no confidence at all.

…Observation Space.

After Xu Jingming entered the sixth planet, Chief Observer naturally paid more attention to him. After all, the further he went, the greater Xu Jingming's potential! And the probability of Xu Jingming joining the Seventeen Supreme Powers was very low. There was a high probability that he would accept the Chief Observer's invitation because they were both from the Wu Hook Star Alliance.

"The sixth planet's hundred kinds of life predicaments place high demands on the mind," the Chief Observer watched. "If he can overcome a hundred kinds of life predicaments, then in his life… no matter what kind of predicament, it's unlikely to defeat him!"

"Only by being unhindered by life predicaments can there be a glimmer of hope of becoming a ninth-order source lifeform," the Chief Observer thought to himself. Of course, it was only a glimmer of hope. Becoming a ninth-order was too difficult!

"Hmm?" the Chief Observer was suddenly stunned because Xu Jingming was rejected from the first step and fell to the foot of the tower.

"What, he can't even stand on the first step?" the Chief Observer was surprised. He glanced at the chubby man next to him. The chubby man wasn't paying attention to Xu Jingming at the moment and was focusing on some explorers from his home. The Chief Observer frowned slightly, looking at Xu Jingming at the foot of the tower.

"Could it be that my fellow villager has little life experience?"

"Otherwise, it shouldn't be like this. The hundred kinds of life predicaments, the first layer is just a start! It only gets desperate and terrifying later," the Chief Observer wondered.

…Yes, Xu Jingming was only 31 years old! Compared to those cosmic lifeforms who had lived for hundreds or even thousands of years, he had much less life experience. Moreover, he had not received training similar to "life predicaments."

Xu Jingming temporarily withdrew from the mysterious land and returned to his personal space on the virtual world network.

Sitting on the sofa, Xu Jingming drank plain water, silently thinking. "How to solve life predicaments?" Xu Jingming gently tapped and began to collect information on the virtual world network. Even cosmic citizens encounter various predicaments in their lives, so Xu Jingming found a lot of similar information!

"Solving life predicaments? Does this belong to the humanities category?" Xu Jingming was stunned.

"Humanities?" Xu Jingming's heart stirred.

In the universe, academic examinations are divided into two categories! One is science and technology, which is the main category and has no upper limit. Let alone an academic level of 100, even 120 or 130 exists. For example, Zhou Wu, the cosmic legend Xu Jingming once knew, had an academic level exceeding 150, the highest academic level among humans in the entire universe at that time.

The other is humanities. Even if the humanities academic score is full marks in both theory and practice, it is only at level 60! But humanities are still very important. As a separate category in the two major academic categories, humanities have a very large impact on the continuation of civilization and individual lives.

"Humanities? The top talents in humanities are those who strategize and are able to predict the future," Xu Jingming thought. "And Planet Earth happens to have such a person.

He's also my agent!"

Soon—in Xu Jingming's personal space, Pang Ze was invited to come.

"Mr. Pang, I have something to ask."

Xu Jingming said.

"What is it?" Pang Ze asked. He was naturally willing to assist the most promising peerless genius on Planet Earth with all his heart.

"If I encounter a life predicament, how should I solve it?" Xu Jingming asked.

"Can you explain the details?" Pang Ze asked.

Xu Jingming was stunned.

How could he explain?

He couldn't explain! For example, the first layer of predicament, within a year, he would encounter all kinds of problems.

"I may encounter many life predicaments, all kinds," Xu Jingming said. "If I have to solve all these life predicaments?"

"Solve many life predicaments?" Pang Ze thought for a moment and said, "I can help you think of ways to solve one or two things, but to solve many predicaments? You need to master the knowledge yourself."

"Master the knowledge?" Xu Jingming asked.

"Humanities knowledge is all-encompassing," Pang Ze said. "Solving life predicaments is just one branch."

"Please teach me, Mr. Pang," Xu Jingming said. "I hope to be able to master this skill as soon as possible."

Pang Ze nodded slightly. As a nearly max-level existence on the path of humanities, he naturally knew how to teach. "These are the three books that I think are most worth reading to solve life predicaments."

Pang Ze quickly bought three books. "You read these three books first! After reading them, I'll send you to the virtual world to study for half a month."

"That's about it. You'll have enough theoretical knowledge," Pang Ze said. "After half a month of theoretical study, it's practice! Practice is the most important thing.

Many people are just armchair strategists. When they really encounter life predicaments, they still fall into despair."

"How much you can learn and comprehend still depends on your personal potential," Pang Ze said.

Pang Ze's learning environment was extremely harsh. At the time, he was using the virtual room of Planet Earth civilization, and he could only log in for a few hours each day. No one was guiding him, and he was learning through exploration. In just a few years, Pang Ze's humanities level broke through 50, and the Universe Human Alliance took the initiative to help him advance to become a cosmic lifeform. Now, with his outstanding achievements in humanities, Pang Ze can easily earn a high income in the virtual world, and he has become the richest man on Planet Earth. He had taken many detours back then. Now, helping Xu Jingming, he was pointing out the fastest path.

"Okay," Xu Jingming trusted the other party very much. As the two people with the highest achievements on Planet Earth today, they also had a sense of mission. Planet Earth civilization had to rise… they naturally had to unite and help each other. Xu Jingming sat down and immediately began to read the three books, beginning his studies in the humanities.

"After half a month of theoretical study, I'll directly practice on the sixth planet," Xu Jingming thought to himself. He was still very eager to enter the seventh planet.