Astral Pet Store (WN)

“For this round, you will go into the Dark Star Dragon and catch the Dark Blood Worms!”

The Chief Elder’s voice echoed.

The Chief Elder didn’t have to go into the details, since that was the same for every year’s trial; the young Golden Crows knew what to do. They were nonetheless frightened the moment they saw the Dark Star Dragon.

It was just like an ordinary person being fine with seeing a snake, but it was an entirely different thing to find an item in a pit full of snakes.

“Dark Blood Worms?”

Su Ping didn’t understand.

Diqiong helped him. “The Dark Blood Worms live inside the Dark Star Dragon and can make very disturbing sounds. Those with a weak spirit can lose their bearing because of fear. Try to be careful.”

Su Ping asked a critical question. “How many Dark Blood Worms am I supposed to catch to pass this round?”

“How many?”

Diqiong glared at him from the corner of its eye. “Catching one will be good enough.”

Su Ping finally set his mind at ease.

If he hadn’t found out, he would have tried catching as many as possible till the end of the round, or else he would always be worried.

“Come on in, kids!” the Dark Star Dragon said. It opened its bloody mouth to reveal its fangs. The dark swirl inside the mouth carried a sense of destruction.

The first step for that second round was to get inside the Dark Star Dragon.

Many young Golden Crows felt their blood freeze as they stared into the dragon’s mouth.

Su Ping, too, felt stressed. The Dark Star Dragon’s rank was lower than that of the three Golden Crow elders, but the three had restrained their energy while the Dark Star Dragon was unleashing all the violence it had. It made the young Golden Crows feel that they were drenched in an ocean of blood.

But… I’ve seen things like this before.

Su Ping managed to calm himself down quickly.

He had seen other creatures like that and they, too, didn’t hide any strength.

Su Ping had been convinced by the system’s ability of revivals in the previous round. Since he had proven he wouldn’t die for real, he took the lead and dashed toward the Dark Star Dragon.

“Look.”

“That human!”

“How bold. He went first!”

“Hmm. Let’s see if he manages to at least remain standing in a bit.”

The Golden Crows were surprised and some were even angry.

It made them feel ashamed that Su Ping had dared to go into the Dark Star Dragon first, when the other young Golden Crows were still there, making up their minds. He stole their thunder!

“That human…”

Diqiong was also taken aback; the Dark Star Dragon was intimidating, even for her. The fact that Su Ping could resort to action so fast was proof of his strong will.

Back at the nest, Diqiong had already been surprised that Su Ping could focus on cultivation in that harsh environment. Diqiong had partly gauged Su Ping’s spirit, but it turned out that his will was stronger than expected.

“Hmm!”

A young Golden Crow that was large as an aircraft carrier snorted. With an outburst of golden light, it flapped its wings and flew toward the Dark Star Dragon, catching up to Su Ping soon after.

“From the He family!”

“Well done!”

Many Golden Crows cheered. Many had been astounded when they saw that Su Ping had snatched No. 2 in the first round, the Golden Crows were astounded. Most of them were angered and startled when Su Ping jumped toward the Dark Star Dragon first. He had stolen the young Golden Crow’s thunder at their trial!

That foreign creature should have behaved instead of being a show-off!

The Golden Crows had been born in chaos since the ancient times and their first ancestor was also a Heaven Master. Of all the ancient creatures, the Golden Crows were considered to be among the best!

Whoosh!

More young Golden Crows flew toward the Dark Star Dragon.

The onlookers were overjoyed.

Su Ping heard their cries of delight, which he found strange. He noticed they were a bit too hostile to him. He was just a visitor, not an enemy who went to challenge them.

Never mind.

Su Ping shook his head; he wasn’t in the mood to bother about that. He only went there to find the materials… It would be the best for him if he could pass the trial and the Golden Crows kept their promises. Still, if the trial itself could inspire his potential, the trip would be more than rewarding!

“Huh? I see a vermin here!”

The Dark Star Dragon noticed Su Ping.

Its big eyes deemed Su Ping a creature as small as a grain of sand.

“He’s a participant,” the Chief Elder said to the Dark Star Dragon, “Treat him like one!”

The Dark Star Dragon found it interesting. Since when could a foreign creature get involved in the Golden Crows’ trial? The dragon sneered but didn’t ask other questions. “Are you not afraid of death?” the dragon questioned the tiny human that had arrived first.

Su Ping stopped and looked up.

Since he was very close, it was impossible to see the dragon’s complete body. He couldn’t even see the dragon’s head in its entirety.

“Shall we begin?” Su Ping asked.

The Dark Star Dragon was enraged. Su Ping had ignored its question!

So, killing intent alone doesn’t scare this vermin.

“Huh… yes, we shall begin!”

Cruel killing intent emerged in the dragon’s eyes; wisps of dark energy roamed in the surroundings.

While the Dark Star Dragon was unleashing the wisps of dark energy, Su Ping heard a cold voice coming from behind him, “Hmm, I heard that you’re a human, right? I do not care what your race is, but this is the trial for Golden Crows. Get out of the way!” He felt an intrusion in his mind; it was a presence as tough as a glistening sword.

“Well, baby bird, you don’t have the right to ask me that!”

Su Ping sneered. It was a Golden Crow, but it was just a young bird after all. He would argue when Diqiong treated him impolitely, not to mention that the fledgling didn’t enjoy Diqiong’s high status.

“You!”

The Golden Crow flew into a rage and its eyes were breathing the fires of anger.

Right then, space trembled. Before they knew it, darkness prevailed in the world. They felt a strong killing intent in the dark.

The Golden Crow that was about to teach Su Ping a lesson was startled by the sudden change; it saw that the sky had become pitch dark. In the meantime, the Dark Star Dragon had revealed its true nature. Its mouth was smelly and its throat was as loud as thundering. Some dragon images sprang up in the air.

Those images were as large as the Golden Crows, but the dragon images looked corroded and decayed. The Golden Crows were the target of the dragon images.

“Damn it!”

The Golden Crow from the He family was not in the mood to discipline Su Ping; it unleashed a golden light with a grave look, attempting to keep the dark images at bay.

While the Golden Crow was trying its best to withstand the strike, some dragon images were also heading toward Su Ping. Those dragon images were making gestures that were indeed threatening.

Su Ping took a step forward.

Boom!

A dragon image roared and smashed its way toward Su Ping, but the dragon image was dispersed upon making contact, as if Su Ping were a piece of rock!

Su Ping was an unsheathed sword. He cut away all the dragon images that were striking him!

“His spirit and soul are so strong!”

“The Dark Star Dragon’s evil energy cannot affect him at all!”

“I cannot believe a human can do this!”

The Golden Crows were dumbfounded.

The onlookers were unable to see what the participants were seeing, such as the dragon images. All of them had felt that the Dark Star Dragon seemed to be more intimidating than before, but that was it. They saw that the Golden Crows were fighting something invisible in the air and only Su Ping was moving toward that bloody mouth with a steady pace.

Even an adult Golden Crow would shudder in fear when looking into that bloody mouth, but Su Ping didn’t seem to be affected at all!

That vermin!

The Dark Star Dragon noticed that as well. It, too, was both angered and surprised. This beast was an immemorial savior born in chaos. The Golden Crows had captured it and used it to test the young Golden Crows, but the dragon thought it wasn’t too bad. What it could not accept was for such a puny foreign creature to belittle it!

Roar!!

The Dark Star Dragon snarled and bared its teeth at Su Ping.

Su Ping’s eyes were turning redder. The Force Field began to appear behind him, bit by bit.

The Force Field grew larger and larger.

There were demons dancing around. The Force Field was like a portal to an unspeakable world. They were able to catch glimpses of massive creatures inside.

“That is the… Soul Mirror!”

The Golden Crows were taken aback.

What surprised them was not the fact that Su Ping had been able to manifest the Soul Mirror, but the fact that the things inside the Soul Mirror!

The three elders wore solemn expressions. A gigantic creature was running around in the Force Field. The three elders became frightened; they perceived something with a power on par with them!

No one could fabricate the creatures in the Soul Mirror. Only the things witnessed with one’s eyes could be reflected in the Soul Mirror!

That was to say, Su Ping had seen those horrifying things himself!

That human is… strange!

Once again, the three elders were shocked by Su Ping’s mysterious traits. His rank was low but the Soul Mirror was threatening; the creatures inside were bloodthirsty and cruel. If Su Ping had seen them, they must have seen him as well!

Su Ping would have most certainly died if he ever met those creatures, unless those creatures hadn’t bothered about that puny human!

“Wait, is that…?”

All of a sudden, the Chief Elder narrowed its eyes. In the spinning Force Field, a skeleton sitting on a throne flashed past its sight.

Around the skeleton’s feet were piles of white bones. The majestic skeleton was resting its eyes on the throne but no one could ignore it.

Inside Su Ping’s Force Field, the skeleton was slowly looking up!

It seemed that the skeleton was able to look through time and space, straight into the Chief Elder’s eyes. The elder crow’s heart skipped a beat; it immediately prepared itself for defense.

But the skeleton disappeared.

“That was… a Heaven Master…” the elder on the right said with a trembling voice.

Heaven Master!

That was a name that had a bewitching magic that silenced the three elders.

“Is that the human’s Heaven Master?” the elder on the left asked after the silence.

The Chief Elder replied, “No. That Heaven Master carried a strong undead energy, not like the human Heaven Master I met…”

Both elders fell into silence again.

That was another Heaven Master!

The descendant of the human Heaven Master had met other Heaven Masters!

The elders were even more confused about Su Ping’s intentions.

…

Roar… what?

The Dark Star Dragon was about to snarl at Su Ping when it saw the Force Field; the snarl never left the dragons’ throat.

The dragon’s scales were trembling. What was that?

It was a passing glimpse of something, but the dragon was convinced of what it had seen.

This vermin’s Soul Mirror had a Heaven Master!

No way!

The Dark Star Dragon looked at Su Ping in confusion. All of a sudden, the dragon asked itself a question… How come a foreign creature was participating in the Golden Crow’s trial?

The dragon found an answer of its own. It turned around and glared at the three elders, for the dragon believed that three old birds had almost gotten it in a fatal danger!

A Heaven Master must have sent Su Ping over there to practice!

And by trying to teach Su Ping a lesson, it had offended that Heaven Master!

Damn the old birds!

You three old birds!

The Dark Star Dragon was furious. Although seething in anger, it lessened the pressure on Su Ping. Since he was related to a Heaven Master, the dragon decided that it had to make it easy for him!

Of course, even without that favor, the dragon knew that the human could pass the trial.

“It is a good thing that I’m a smart dragon. I almost fell for their plot!” The Dark Star Dragon said to itself.

The more powerful the creature was, the more perceptive they would be. The young Golden Crows were able to see that skeleton king in Su Ping’s Force Field, but they would not recognize it as a Heaven Master.

Powerful was a relative term. The Dark Star Dragon was powerful enough in the young crow’s eyes.

“What?”

Su Ping felt the burden had been lifted from him. He noticed that the Dark Star Dragon stopped releasing that violent energy at him; the beast only had a threatening look but no more cruel energy was emitted.

It was as if the dragon was a living, vicious thing a moment before, and then, while its size was still the same, the dragon had turned into a statue unable to scare him in the slightest.