Chapter 1 The Beginning

Xu Jingming looked at the surrounding scenery. He was standing inside a spaceship, and through the huge glass window, he could see the peculiar starry sky outside. Nearby, an enormous star was burning, flames rising again and again. Farther away was a black hole, surrounded by a dazzling crescent-shaped halo, with a black shadow at its center.

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

"Hello, Xu Jingming." A gentle voice sounded, and a woman in a black uniform appeared in the spaceship cabin. She had long, 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 said with a smile. "As this is your first time logging into the virtual world network, I will give you a brief introduction."

"Thank you," Xu Jingming said.

"The space you are currently in is your personal space," the woman said. "Each time you log in, you will enter here directly. Personal space is a sphere with a diameter of ten kilometers! You can freely arrange any scene, whether it be a spaceship, the 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 stars, black holes, neutron stars, white dwarfs, and other celestial bodies beyond the ten-kilometer diameter, they are merely scenery. You can only view them from afar; you cannot approach or touch them," the woman said. "Of course, you can pay to greatly expand your personal space."

Xu Jingming nodded.

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

"Click here to open your personal panel," the woman said. "You can view 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 Hook 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 sighed inwardly, "One million Cosmos Coins is the reward for first place in the global competition! For the still weak Blue Star civilization, it is already a generous sum."

"Education: None?" Xu Jingming asked.

"Because you have not taken an education exam," the woman explained. "Only by passing the exam can your education points be confirmed and your education level be determined. Education… is very important to every cosmic citizen!"

"Where can I take the education exam? What is the content of the exam?" Xu Jingming asked curiously.

"You can apply for the education exam at any time on the virtual world network," the woman said. "There are many categories of education exams. The humanities category is supplementary. Even if you score full marks in theory, practice, and all other aspects, you can only reach education level 60. However, 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 score. 100, 120… there is no limit!"

"The Cosmic Human Alliance has set a rule that if your education level reaches 50 and you are a planetary lifeform, the Cosmic Human Alliance will upgrade you to a 'Star Realm lifeform' free of charge. If your education level reaches 100, the Cosmic Human Alliance will upgrade you to a 'Source lifeform' free of charge," the woman said with a smile.

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

He knew that the ninth order was the Source lifeform, a life level above the Star Realm lifeform.

It was enough for an individual to surpass a cosmic elementary civilization.

The path to the ninth order was difficult!

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

"Using external force to upgrade from a planetary lifeform to a Star Realm lifeform is not that costly," the woman said. "In the entire Cosmic Human Alliance, 91.5% of cosmic citizens become Star Realm lifeforms through external force."

"But using external force to become a Source lifeform is extremely costly!" the woman said.

"How high is the cost?" Xu Jingming asked curiously.

"I'm not too sure," the woman said. "But I can be sure that even if your home galaxy were sold, it would not be enough! It is very difficult to rely on evolution and cultivation to become a 'ninth-order Source lifeform,' but it is 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 each and every one of these talents, so naturally, they want 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. The greatly increased lifespan of these talents allows them to go further on the path of science and make greater contributions to all of humanity. Even though the cost of upgrading to a Source lifeform through external force is high, it is worth it." The woman looked at Xu Jingming with a smile. "In fact, even for martial artists on the path of evolution, education becomes very important after reaching the ninth order. Exceptional wisdom allows the path of evolution to go further."

Xu Jingming nodded.

The importance of 'Life Level' and 'Education Level' was evident from the fact that they were marked separately in the citizen information.

"Personal space also has many other functions," the woman guided. "You can cultivate, fight, transfer money, spend, invest, and so on. The universe is also full of countless investment opportunities."

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

"Please look here."

The woman pointed 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, and these life worlds are at the top."

Xu Jingming glanced at them and saw the names of these miniature life worlds.

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

"The Cosmic Human Alliance has always used virtual worlds to guide the evolution of cosmic citizens," the woman introduced. "There are various worlds that assist in evolution. Some are free to enter, while others require a fee. 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.

The Infinite Scholar's Path, Destroying the Universe with Bare Hands, Scientific Holy Land, Apprentice World, Thousand-Year Interstellar War…

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

"There are also various virtual worlds for consumption, virtual worlds for entertainment…"

The woman pointed to the rest. "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 for me." The woman smiled slightly, and her figure blurred and dissipated.

Xu Jingming sighed inwardly and began to browse the numerous virtual worlds.

He gently touched each virtual world, and there were introductions and some notes.

"Entering this world requires a fee of 1 million Cosmos Coins?" Xu Jingming clicked his tongue as he touched a sect world. "That's too expensive."

He only had a million in total.

As he was muttering and exploring, he suddenly received a notification.

Xu Jingming clicked lightly.

"Director Zhou?" Xu Jingming was surprised. He clicked lightly, and Director Zhou arrived.

"Jingming, how does it feel to log into the virtual world network for the first time?" Director Zhou said with a smile.

"I'm dazzled," Xu Jingming said.

Director Zhou nodded. "The Cosmic Human Alliance truly has great ambition. This virtual world contains countless knowledge and 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 discussion by the Blue Star Alliance and internal consultations within our Xia country, we have ultimately invited Mr. Pang Ze to be your agent! I wonder if you accept."

"Pang Ze?" Xu Jingming was somewhat puzzled. "Is that Pang Yun's father?"

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

"Yes."

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