Chapter 1 The Start

Xu Jingming looked at the surrounding scenery. He was standing inside a spaceship, and through the huge glass window, he could see the strange starry sky outside. Relatively close by, an extremely large star was burning, flames rising again and again. Further away was a black hole, with a dazzling crescent-shaped halo surrounding it, but the center was a black shadow.

There were also neutron stars, white dwarfs, and other celestial bodies scattered in the surrounding starry sky.

"Hello, Xu Jingming." A gentle voice sounded, and a woman in a black uniform appeared in the spaceship cabin. She had light green hair, fair skin, and light green patterns on her face and forehead. Her pupils were like jewels.

"I am your virtual world network guide." The woman smiled. "Since this is your first time logging into the virtual world network, I will briefly introduce it to you."

"Thank you," Xu Jingming said.

"The space you are currently in is your personal space." The woman said, "Each time you log in, you directly enter here. This personal space is a sphere with a diameter of ten kilometers! You can freely arrange any scene you like, be it a spaceship, an ocean, a desert, the depths of a black hole… any scene you can imagine, you can set it up as you wish."

"As for the celestial bodies beyond the ten-kilometer diameter, such as stars, black holes, and neutron stars, they are merely scenery, for viewing from afar; you cannot approach or touch them," the woman said. "Of course, you can pay to greatly expand the range of your personal space."

Xu Jingming nodded.

The Blue Star civilization also had virtual world personal spaces, which he was already familiar with.

"Click here, and you can open your personal panel," the woman said. "You can see your personal information."

The operation method was exactly the same. Xu Jingming clicked lightly, and his cosmic citizen information appeared—

Name: Xu Jingming

Gender: Male

Affiliation: Hunter Cosmos Domain, Wu Gou Star Alliance, Blue Star Civilization

Life Level: Star Realm Initial Stage

Education: None

Account Balance: 1,000,000 Cosmos Coins

Xu Jingming looked at this information, and secretly sighed, "One million Cosmos Coins, that’s the reward for first place in the Global Tournament! For the still-weak Blue Star civilization, it’s already a generous sum.”

“Education: None?” Xu Jingming asked.

“Because you haven’t taken an education exam,” the woman explained. “Only by passing the exam can your education points be confirmed and your education level determined. Education… is very important for every cosmic citizen!”

"Where do I take the education exam? What is tested?” Xu Jingming asked curiously.

“You can apply for an education exam at any time in the virtual world network,” the woman said. “There are many categories of education exams. The humanities category is supplementary; even if you get full marks in theory, practice, and everything else, you can only reach level 60 in education. But for the science and technology category, there is no limit to the points! The more profound your mastery of science and technology, the higher your points, 100, 120… there’s no upper limit!”

“The Cosmic Human Alliance has a rule: If your education level reaches 50, the Cosmic Human Alliance will unconditionally elevate a planetary lifeform to a 'Star Realm lifeform.' If your education level reaches 100, the Cosmic Human Alliance will unconditionally elevate them to a 'Source lifeform,'" the woman said with a smile.

"Directly elevated through external force?" Xu Jingming clicked his tongue.

He knew that Ninth Order was Source lifeform, a life level above Star Realm.

Enough to individually surpass a primary cosmic civilization.

The path to Ninth Order was difficult!

But ‘talents’ with an education level of 100, no matter how weak, would be elevated to Source lifeform through external force.

“Elevating a planetary lifeform to a Star Realm lifeform through external force doesn’t cost too much," the woman said. “In the entire Cosmic Human Alliance, 91.5% of cosmic citizens become Star Realm lifeforms through external force.”

“But becoming a Source lifeform through external force is extremely expensive!” the woman said.

"How expensive?" Xu Jingming asked curiously.

“I’m not too clear,” the woman said. “But it’s certain that even if your home galaxy were sold, it wouldn’t be enough! It's very difficult to become a 'Ninth Order Source lifeform' through evolutionary cultivation, but it's even more difficult to forcibly become a Source lifeform through external force.”

Xu Jingming understood.

“Although the cost is extremely high, talents with an education level exceeding 100 are even more valuable," the woman said. “The Cosmic Human Alliance values every such talent, and naturally wants to greatly extend their lifespan.”

“Ordinary Star Realm lifeforms have a lifespan of three thousand years, but Source lifeforms have a lifespan of thirty thousand years. With their lifespans greatly extended, these talents can go further on the path of science and make greater contributions to all of humanity. Even though the cost of elevating them to Source lifeform through external force is great, it’s still worth it,” the woman said with a smile as she looked at Xu Jingming. “In fact, even for martial arts practitioners on the path of evolution, education will be very important after they reach Ninth Order. Exceptional intelligence is what allows one to go further on the path of evolution.”

Xu Jingming nodded.

The fact that ‘Life Level’ and ‘Education’ were highlighted separately in the citizen information showed their importance.

“There are many other functions in the personal space,” the woman guided. “You can cultivate, fight, transfer money, spend, invest, and so on. The universe is full of countless investment opportunities.”

"Invest?" Xu Jingming looked at his one million Cosmos Coins. He decided not to think too much about it and focus on investing in himself first!

"Please look here."

The woman tapped lightly.

Whoosh—

Instantly, countless miniature virtual worlds appeared.

“The virtual world network contains countless virtual worlds,” the woman said. “For example, the largest category is the life evolution category, which includes these life worlds at the very top.”

Xu Jingming looked over and saw the names of these miniature life worlds.

For example, the 'Life Evolution' game world, the 'Dark Abyss' game world… Swordsman World, Saber World… Ultimate Assassin World…

“The Cosmic Human Alliance has always used virtual worlds to guide cosmic citizens in their evolution,” the woman introduced. “There is a wide variety of worlds that assist in evolution. Some are free to enter, while others require payment. You can study them slowly.”

“The virtual worlds on the second row are all education-related,” the woman pointed.

Xu Jingming looked at the names of the virtual worlds.

Infinite Scholar Road, Barehanded Destruction of the Universe, Science Sanctuary, Apprentice World, Thousand-Year Interstellar War…

“The third row consists of virtual worlds built by various groups, such as a civilization, a corporation, a special group, a sect, a school… various groups may construct their own virtual worlds,” the woman said. “For example, if you want to learn martial arts and have a teacher personally guide you, you can enter a sect or martial arts school. However, different groups have different thresholds. Most require payment, but a very few also have requirements for strength.”

“There are also various virtual worlds for consumption and entertainment…”

The woman pointed to the remaining ones. “There are countless virtual worlds. You can explore them slowly according to their categories.”

“My introduction ends here. If you have any questions, you can call me,” the woman said with a smile, and her figure blurred and dissipated.

Xu Jingming sighed inwardly, and then began to check out the numerous virtual worlds.

He gently touched each virtual world, and introductions and notices appeared.

“Entering this world requires a payment of 1 million Cosmos Coins?” Xu Jingming clicked his tongue when he touched a sect world. “That’s too expensive.”

He only had one million in total.

Just as he was muttering and exploring, he suddenly received a notification.

Xu Jingming tapped lightly.

“Director Zhou?” Xu Jingming was surprised and tapped lightly. Director Zhou then arrived here.

“Jingming, how do you feel about logging into the virtual world network for the first time?” Director Zhou said with a smile.

“My eyes are dazzled,” Xu Jingming said.

Director Zhou nodded. “The Cosmic Human Alliance truly has great ambition. This virtual world contains countless knowledge and countless guides for evolution. As long as you have enough talent, you can continue to grow!”

Xu Jingming nodded.

He also saw infinite possibilities!

“I’m here today to tell you something,” Director Zhou said. “After discussions within the Blue Star Alliance and internal deliberations within our Xia country, we have ultimately invited Mr. Pang Ze to be your agent! I don’t know if you accept.”

“Pang Ze?” Xu Jingming was a little confused. “Is that Pang Yun’s father?”

Among the people he knew, that was the only Pang Ze.

"Yes."

Director Zhou nodded. “Pang Ze is the wealthiest cosmic citizen of our Blue Star civilization! His wealth was all obtained from the virtual world network, and he is also the most educated of Blue Star civilization. His talent in education is no less than your talent on the path of evolution!”