Astral Pet Store (WN)

"Humph!"

Nolan from the Phil family snorted. She was obviously aware of what the Loulan family had been doing. Su Ping had accepted a gift from the Loulans; even if he didn't receive its invitation, he would still owe them a favor. She had lost the initiative in the competition over Su Ping, so she had to step back and try to leave a good impression first.

"A gala?" Su Ping was puzzled. To be honest, he wasn't really interested. But he still asked, just to be polite.

"That is correct."

Loulan Feng smiled and said, "The Sea of Illusions will be open soon; our family manages it. Geniuses from all over will be invited. Before the opening, we have invited the top geniuses of many star zones, ranging from the Star State to the Star Lord State, to communicate and learn in the Loulan estate.

"This gathering of geniuses will be honored to have the presence of the best genius in the entire universe, Mr. Su. The juniors of the Loulan family will also be ready to learn from you."

Su Ping realized what was going on and asked curiously, "What is the Sea of Illusions?"

Loulan Feng was slightly stunned, not expecting a top genius and disciple of a Celestial to be ignorant of such a place. However, he quickly put on a natural smile again and said, "The Sea of Illusions is a mysterious space in the universe. As far as the Federation has been able to explore, there are altogether nine layers of deeper spaces!

"The Sea of Illusions, on the other hand, belongs to the deep spaces, but doesn't belong to any of the nine layers. It's a pure consciousness domain.

"Only those with great resolve and determination may traverse the Sea of Illusions."

He looked at Su Ping and resorted to flattery again. "A genius such as Mr. Su could easily move about across the Sea of Illusions. The Loulan family is also offering you an invitation to enter, Mr. Su. It's a great place to improve one's willpower and determination. However, it's a disastrous place for those without resolve."

Su Ping was slightly surprised. According to that guy, his family was inviting geniuses of different star zones to meet in their estate, so that juniors of their family might improve. The Sea of Illusions was an obvious temptation to attract talent, which indicated the high value of the place.

"Thank you; I'll give it a thought." Su Ping didn't accept the invitation right away. He was going to investigate further, as he felt curious about the place.

Loulan Feng said with a smile, "Okay. If you're interested, you can contact me anytime, Mr. Su; I'll come to pick you up. This is my virtual number. You can reach out to me no matter where you are, as long as you're in this star zone."

Su Ping had acquired tier-7 permissions thanks to the Universe Geniuses' Contest, a privilege usually reserved for Ascendants, among many other advantages they had. Heavenly Lords, who were granted tier 8 status, could communicate with recipients in other star zones without any complications.

"Sure."

Su Ping nodded.

Noland became angry after seeing that Su Ping had made a deal with the Loulans, but she managed to not let it show. She said with a smile, "Mr. Su, the Phil family's space tower will be open soon. Feel free to come by if you have time."

Su Ping nodded. "I will if I'm free."

"Why don't we exchange our numbers too?" said Noland, seizing the opportunity.

Su Ping thought for a moment, but she didn't turn her down.

By then the rest of the forces planning on inviting Su Ping were gathered there. All of them proposed tempting arrangements, hoping to befriend him. Some were even willing to marry off their young geniuses. They passed a dozen profiles to Su Ping on the spot. All of them were beautiful girls…

Su Ping was lost for words. Even though arranged marriages weren't unusual among big families, having a dozen wives was still rather extraordinary.

Su Ping bid them farewell after some exchange of words; it came down to all the visitors being Ascendants, so he had to be very friendly.

The street outside the store was still utterly silent after Loulan Feng and the others left. The crowd waiting in line looked at Su Ping with envy and admiration showing in their glittering eyes. The genius from their planet had attracted too many experts!

Su Ping wasn't born on planet Rhea, but he had been running his store there for years. Since his rise to become the best of Silvy, the natives of Rhea had already considered him the pride of the planet.

Su Ping returned to the store and immediately started searching for information about the Sea of Illusions.

His permissions had already been upgraded to a level where he could easily access confidential information. He soon learned all the details about the Sea of Illusions.

To Su Ping's surprise, it was an unknown space between illusion and reality. Nobody knew which deep space it was in. The place had characteristics unlike those typical of independent spaces.

The Federation had yet to fully explore the whole region; the reason for its origin was also unknown. However, according to what Su Ping found, the place had already been categorized as a treasure trove and was being controlled by a few major families. Celestials also had access to the area.

Visitors were able to witness all kinds of unbelievable things in the Sea of Illusions. The less determined a person was, the more situations they would experience. Conversely, the ones with stronger resolve would see nothing but darkness while exploring the mysterious region.

An item found in the Sea of Illusions was known as Seed of Consciousness, which could significantly improve a person's willpower and soul firmness.

The greater the willpower, the stronger they would be against intimidating skills. The Seed of Consciousness was so precious that it couldn't be taken out of the Sea of Illusions just yet, not even with all the technological resources of the Federation. One had to absorb it on the spot whenever it was found, or it would be wasted; not even Celestials knew how to store it.

To sum it up, it can be considered as a treasure trove where my willpower and soul can be tempered.

My willpower is probably very strong after all the practicing in cultivation sites, at least stronger than those at my level. I'm even immune to the fearsome roars of Star Lord dragons. I wonder what willpower level I have.

He found that willpower also had levels while searching for the Sea of Illusions.

The nine ranks under the Ocean State had LV1 willpower.

Ocean State was LV2; Void State was LV3 and Fate State was LV4!

The Star State was LV5, and the Star Lord State was LV6!

My willpower must be LV6. I'll be immune even to the intimidation of an Ascendant once it reaches LV7. Su Ping's eyes glittered. He was reminded of the time he was fighting against the undead lion in Luofu and endured the terrifying roars; even though he knew he wouldn't die, and he was an absolutely fearless person, his body still trembled beyond control.

He wouldn't have been affected if he had enough willpower.

Furthermore, he would also be invulnerable to the illusion skills of many pets if his willpower was strong. He would be able to see through space and time illusions too. It was very important to develop such control.

Su Ping made a decision in his heart. My store doesn't need me very badly right now. Joanna and the others are already familiar with the daily routines. I should go there and take a look sometime.