Persevere. I’ll win as long as I reach the finish line. Xu Jingming comforted himself.

But at 700 kilometers, Xu Jingming lost most of his body’s senses, and his mind and consciousness’s ability to mobilize his body weakened.

Am I going to freeze to death too? Xu Jingming vaguely understood that he wasn’t far from being frozen into a Popsicle.

This is only Planet Number Three! I have to persevere. Xu Jingming’s burning faith persisted.

I can’t fail! I have to at least reach Planet Number Five. Xu Jingming roared in his heart. He thought of his wife and family, his daughter who was only a few months old, and the entire Earth that was about to face a storm…

Hang in there. Control every cell for me. Control them! In this desperate situation, Xu Jingming’s burning faith worked hard to mobilize his body.

His mind and will were fighting the cold for control over his body.

Control the body and continue walking! 800 kilometers!

Xu Jingming only had one thought left in his mind: Walk forward and reach the Land of Extreme Cold!

Even though he was numb and had lost his senses, this body continued inching forward. Xu Jingming didn’t even click open the interface to check his location.

He only had one thought left!

Finally… A lake appeared in front of Xu Jingming!

The dark-blue lake water ebbed despite the terrifying temperatures.

I’m almost there. I’ll reach… the Land of Extreme Cold in the middle of the lake after a swim. Xu Jingming took a step into the lake. The dark-blue lake water was very dense, and he floated.

Swim, swim over…

Xu Jingming swam forward, but the lake water seeped through his armor and robe, and an even more terrifying coldness invaded his body. Xu Jingming only swam for about ten meters before slowing down.

He extended his right hand extremely slowly, and gradually, a layer of ice froze over his body.

Swim! Swim! Xu Jingming’s mind and consciousness were still giving out orders, but his body stopped moving. Xu Jingming could sense the ice on his body becoming thicker and thicker, and his consciousness was being suppressed even more intensely as if he had fallen into an endless abyss.

Finally, they entered complete darkness.

The frozen figure in the lake also disappeared into thin air.

…

When he appeared again, he had already returned to the starting point of Planet Number Three.

I froze to death? At this moment, Xu Jingming felt that the starting point was really warm. The natural heat produced by his body could resist the cold.

His mind and consciousness were completely awake.

Previously, under the terrifying cold, his consciousness became more numb and weaker the further he went.

It feels good to have my consciousness awaken and become stronger. Xu Jingming frowned slightly.

He had cleared Planet Number One and Planet Number Two in one go since stepping into the mysterious land. However, he failed his first attempt and froze to death in the extremely cold lake.

If I want to clear Planet Number Three’s test, I need to have sufficient perseverance and extremely great mental strength. Xu Jingming knew that these were the two keys to clearing Planet Number Three.

Perseverance and tenacity were characteristics that many experts possessed. For example, the person who froze to death 19 times and continued trying naturally had great perseverance and tenacity.

Xu Jingming was also very determined. No matter how desperate he was, no matter how painful it was, he never gave up even when he froze to death.

But… Just perseverance and tenacity weren’t enough. He also needed extremely powerful mental strength.

If my mental strength is strong enough, I can still control my body despite the terrifying cold, he thought to himself. Clearly, my mental strength is still weak.

He knew that his mental strength wasn’t strong.

He became a Lv. 7 cosmic lifeform after his actual combat bonus exceeded 20×. He was only 31 years old, and he had cultivated the evolutionary method for less than two years. Thus, his mental strength was still rather weak.

Only by arriving on Planet Number Five can I be selected by the forces in the Hunter Cosmic Sector, Xu Jingming thought to himself. As for me, I can’t even pass Planet Number Three’s test for the time being. There’s an even harder test on Planet Number Four.

Whoosh.

Xu Jingming temporarily went offline.

******

When encountering a problem, he had to find the best solution first.

On the one hand, I have to learn how to wear clothes to ward off the cold. Xu Jingming searched for information on the virtual world. I can directly get experts in this industry to help formulate a plan for clothing. I can use clothes and equipment to reduce the might of the cold.

On the other hand, I have to strengthen my mind and consciousness.

Other than the usual training and honing methods, I have to break through to become an Advanced cosmic lifeform in reality as soon as possible, he thought. My Intermediate cosmic lifeform body will be much stronger after breaking through to Advanced realm.

A powerful body and brain… will also strengthen the mind and consciousness.

The body, mind, and consciousness complemented each other.

Why were Lv. 8 cosmic lifeforms so ridiculously strong? Their ridiculously strong bodies were also a key factor.

…

After Xu Jingming went offline, he headed to the underwater base and used the gravity chamber and artificial star to cultivate.

He had always maintained a cultivation frequency of about once every three days, allowing his body to evolve at a sufficiently high efficiency.

My body will probably become an Advanced cosmic lifeform in about half a month. Xu Jingming finished his training and returned home in his small spaceship.

Director Zhou was already waiting in the courtyard.

“Director Zhou.” Xu Jingming walked out of the spaceship and looked at Director Zhou in surprise. “If there’s anything, just give me a call.”

“It’s very important.” Director Zhou walked over and whispered, “We received news that a relatively powerful civilization in the Oohook Star Alliance, the Black Moon civilization, has sent a diplomatic mission. It’s estimated to arrive on Earth on June 2.”

A diplomatic mission from the Black Moon civilization? Xu Jingming’s heart tightened. “Isn’t June 2 the day the civilization protection period expires?”

“Yeah.” Director Zhou nodded. “The other party caused a huge commotion. They even took the initiative to release the news of their visit to Earth.”

Xu Jingming frowned. “They took the initiative to release the news?”

“It’s a declaration to the surroundings that Earth is their prey,” Director Zhou said in a low voice.

Xu Jingming’s heart tightened. “How can they act so callously?”

“Earth has deduced that the greatest threat we will face at the end of the protection period… will most likely be the Black Moon civilization,” Director Zhou said. “We once hoped that the Black Moon civilization would think us beneath them, but the truth is that the Black Moon civilization has already sent a diplomatic mission.”

“Fear is useless. We can only face it with all our might.” Director Zhou looked at Xu Jingming. “Therefore, we need your help.”

“I’m duty-bound at this moment.” Xu Jingming nodded. “What do you need me to do?”