Astral Pet Store (WN)

Su Ping lowered his head and said politely, "Thank you for your protection, master."

"It's your senior brother Bei Yan that you should thank," Shen Huang looked in a certain direction and said, "He's safe now. You can go about your business now."

Su Ping was surprised.

Ripples appeared in the void.

A tall, black clad young man appeared out of nowhere. He had quite the cold demeanor, with eyebrows that resembled swords. He bowed and said, "Yes, sir."

Then, he added, "About that Ascendant assassin's body…"

"It's all yours," said Shen Huang with a casual smile.

The young man left the matter to rest. He glanced at Su Ping and said casually, "Junior brother, reach the Ascendant State as soon as possible. We're all waiting for you."

He simply fled into the void and left after saying that.

Shen Huang noticed Su Ping's confusion. He smiled and said, "Your senior brother was protecting you on your way over. The Dark Tower didn't give up; they sent an Ascendant State expert to follow you and look for weaknesses. Unfortunately for them, Bei Yan excels at stalking…"

He showed regret as he added, "That Ascendant State assassin from the Dark Tower killed himself; we didn't have a chance to interrogate him. However, I think I know who sent an assassin against you this time."

Su Ping realized what happened and had mixed feelings about it.

The Dark Tower had truly kept on trying to kill him. However, the Ascendant assassin who followed him had chosen to kill himself under Bei Yan's pursuit. It was indeed shocking.

Is Senior Brother Bei Yan a Heavenly Lord? Su Ping thought.

He didn't ask though, as he would find out sooner or later.

"If I may ask, master, who was it that tried to kill me?"

"You don't need to know that just yet," said Shen Huang with a smile, "I'll get back at them on your behalf. The assassination is actually related to the upcomping trials. That is also why I summoned you."

Is my master not telling me who he is because he will notice if I figure it out?

Su Ping was intrigued. He found that his master's choice of words was rather strange. His master would just get back at them, not kill them. So, his enemy was likely another Lord Supreme!

"Master, what is that trial about?"

"The turbulence of the universe is escalating, which may lead to crises in the future. We have decided to concentrate our resources in order to accelerate the growth of the highest performing geniuses."

Shen Huang said, "This trial will be held in an ancient treasure trove. It has limited openings, and high admission requirements. You can't possibly survive there unless you're as strong as the ones listed in the top fifty of the Divine Lord Rank!"

"Is it that difficult?"

Su Ping was surprised.

The top fifty of every Divine Lord Rank in the universe amounted to only six hundred people in total!

"You've experienced an assassination attempt from the Dark Tower. The last assassin didn't manage to attack, the six Star Lords who surrounded you were the Dark Tower's best assassins in the old days!"

"They hid in the Home of Havoc for years, and they certainly became stronger. You were able to kill them all and escape. So, you must be among the top three of the Divine Lord Rank by now, right?"

Shen Huang looked at Su Ping with a smile. He was indeed satisfied with his new disciple.

He was already surprising enough when Su Ping left the Celestial Court, and could easily meet the trial's requirements. He rose to the top ten of the Divine Lord Rank so quickly that it was almost a miracle.

He was currently in the Star State, yet he was able to beat six top assassins, which attested to his shocking potential.

Shen Huang simply wished he could be delighted once again when Su Ping reached the Ascendant State.

He didn't think that Su Ping would stop at the Heavenly Lord realm. He hoped that Su Ping would reach the Celestial State before the catastrophe of the universe happened!

If he was able to raise a Celestial State disciple, the balance of the entire universe might be tilted to their favor!

Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of time left, and he didn't know if he could accomplish that.

"More or less." Su Ping nodded.

Shen Huang was surprised to see how casual and confident Su Ping was. He chuckled and said, "Tell me the truth. How strong are you right now? This concerns the arrangements I'll be making for you in the Gods' Dominion. My reason to call you back in advance is because I wanted to measure your combat ability."

Since his master phrased it that way, Su Ping found it inappropriate to keep his strength a secret any longer. He didn't think his master would kill him because of jealousy. Besides, his real trump card was the system's store.

Su Ping considered for a moment and said, "I haven't tried my hand against all kinds of opponents yet, but I think I can beat anyone under the Ascendant State."

Even the prince of a high-ranked gods' clan had been killed by him after cultivating a second small world. He didn't really think that the Star Lords in the Federation were remarkable in his eyes.

He had also been absorbing a tremendous amount of power of faith from the cultivation sites, which filled up his two small worlds and further increased his combat ability.

Although it was still impossible for him to fight anyone in the Ascendant State, he had yet to meet any Star Lord on par with him.

"You can beat anyone underneath the Ascendant State?"

It was obvious that Shen Huang wasn't expecting Su Ping to be that bold. However, all his disciples were unparalleled geniuses, who always considered themselves superior to the rest. Su Ping wasn't an exception.

He smiled and said, "Is that so? I'll run a test for you then. Get ready to practice with your senior brothers."

"My senior brothers?" Su Ping was stunned by his master's decision; he quickly waved his hand and said, "Master, my senior brothers are too strong for me. I can't possibly fight against Ascendants yet."

Shen Huang felt amused by the response. "You think I'm letting you fight against Ascendants? You have several senior brothers slightly older than you. They were recruited three thousand years earlier than you. All of them are Star Lords right now."

"Three thousand years…" Su Ping was lost for words, and then mumbled to himself, "That doesn't count as 'slightly'."

Soon after—

Shen Huang summoned his senior brothers. Diaz—who was recruited alongside him—was also there.

"All seven of you are my disciples who have yet to reach the Ascendant State." Shen Huang looked at the seven people in the temple. Apart from Su Ping and Diaz, the other five disciples were four males and one female. All of them kept their heads lowered at the moment.

They had only been under Shen Huang's tutorship for no more than three thousand years, and were still wary of him.

As for the senior brothers who had been recruited earlier on and had spent more time with him… They acted less awkwardly in his presence.

They kept their heads down, but they were also quietly observing Su Ping.

All of them had all heard a thing or two about the newly recruited disciple. After all, the elimination rounds of the Golden Star Zone were held in the Celestial Court. Su Ping became even more famous after winning the championship of the Universe Geniuses' Contest.

They had paid attention to him not because he was the champion, but because he had miraculously condensed a small world while still in the Fate State!

It had rarely happened in the past 100,000 years!

As for the championship, four of the five disciples were champions when they participated in the contest.

After all, the competition was held every three hundred years, and would produce a new champion with every edition. Some Ascendant State experts would spend thousands of years training in seclusion. There would be a dozen new champions of the Universe Geniuses' Contest when they came out.

Celestials were short of anything but champion disciples!

On the other hand, Diaz grimaced at Su Ping and kept dropping hints at him, as if reminding him that they should fight again someday!

Once Su Ping left the Celestial Court, Diaz learned of the requirement the former had to fulfill, and knew that Su Ping's combat ability could already rank among the top ten on the Divine Lord Rank. Fortunately, his family had given him a precious material for his cultivation. Two Ascendant State experts of the family had been killed in the process!

Luckily, the item had been quite effective for him, and further activated his Reincarnation Divine Constitution. It also boosted his level to the Star Lord State, making him a lot stronger.

His current combat ability ranked among the top ten of the Divine Lord Rank too!

"I've summoned you because you may take part in an upcoming trial." Shen Huang told them about the matters of the Gods' Dominion. Then, he said, "I'll offer you help according to your combat ability. You may spar today."

All of them rubbed their fists eagerly upon hearing that they were to compete in the palace.

Their families had already informed them in secret about the trial, so they weren't too surprised.

"Su Ping, you may pick any of them."

Shen Huang smiled; of the seven disciples, he thought most highly of Su Ping. Considering the latter's bold claim, and his achievement of having annihilated six Dark Tower assassins, he believed that Su Ping was already among the top three of the Divine Lord Rank.

None of the other six disciples were able to beat Su Ping, so he gave the latter a chance to pick.

Diaz and the other disciples looked at Su Ping in surprise after hearing what their master said.

Their master's tone was particularly gentle when he spoke to Su Ping. Also, he gave the young man a chance to pick. Isn't he biased towards Su Ping??

However, they found it understandable given the miracles he worked while being in the Star State.

"Junior brother, I currently rank seventh on the Divine Lord Rank. I heard you were allowed to leave the Celestial Court when you became as good as the top ten people of the Divine Lord Rank while still being a Star State cultivator. I should be the perfect match to practice with you," said a smiling young man to Su Ping. He seemed friendly and good-willed.

Su Ping knew that his master wanted to gauge his real strength, which concerned the following trial. He didn't intend to hide it any longer.

"Why don't all of you come together?" Su Ping ventured.

The temple fell silent after he said that.

Diaz was dumbfounded, and so was the young man who had just spoken. The other disciples seemed to be doubting their own ears.

What the heck?

Has our junior brother lost his mind?

Or is he just too eager to show off in front of Master?

Shen Huang, however, laughed and said, "All right then. Like he said, all six of you will fight him together. Let's see how good your junior brother is."

All six disciples looked at each other in bewilderment. All of them had a similar standing given their disciple status. Why is he that exceptional?

"Junior brother, are you serious?" The only woman among the six disciples frowned and asked. She was slightly angered due to Su Ping's arrogance.

Diaz gnashed his teeth and asked, "What's the meaning of this?"

He had intended to compete with Su Ping and see which of the two was stronger.. However, it seemed that Su Ping didn't even care about him.