Astral Pet Store (WN)

Chapter 710: Battle Between Thousand-Year Nemeses

"I never said goodbye to you. How could I die?"

The young man with red long hair chuckled as he stood on the battlefield.

He sounded casual and even flirtatious.

Su Ping, who was right behind him, had already identified the young man from Gu Siping's earlier exclamation.

He was the first-generation Tower Master!

The unquestionable strongest man on the Blue Planet!

He founded the Tower and organized the legendary warriors.

He subdued the wild beasts in the Deep Caves and defeated the Ocean Emperor a thousand years earlier, forcing her to sign a peace pact!

The pact had protected the five continents for a thousand years!

The young man was definitely a true legend. Furthermore, the Legendary level was in fact named after him.

He truly deserved to be called a living legend because of his feats!

Su Ping also felt awe as he recalled the first Tower Master's achievements. However… Why didn't you come sooner if you were still alive?

Is it true that the hero who arrives last will be doubly handsome?

That's useless. You're not as handsome as me, even if you were doubly handsome.

Besides… This woman in front of you was originally a wild beast. Why are you flirting with her?

Su Ping became absentminded and thought of a lot of indescribable things.

But he quickly focused his attention on the battle at hand. In any case, he could finally catch his breath with the first Tower Master saving the day.

He was truly reassured!

After all, that ancient hero was undoubtedly releasing a Star State aura!

He was one level higher than the empress, and could easily crush her no matter how proud she was!

Therefore, Su Ping thought that his battle was already over and he could take a break.

But…

He remembered "that lord" the empress mentioned. Obviously, the empress was only carrying out a task, and she seemed to have been forced to help with the battle. The real challenge was the Star State demon king born in the Deep Caves!

The demon king loathed humans to an extreme, even going as far as asking the empress to mobilize the beasts in the oceans to surround and destroy humankind. It wasn't hard to imagine how much he hated them!

A battle against him was inevitable.

However, the question about who was stronger between that mysterious lord and the first-generation Tower Master remained to be seen.

Su Ping blinked once. He couldn't make an assessment, as those two had never fought before. However, it would be too late once they got to fight and a result was revealed.

It was certainly impossible to increase the odds of success by resorting to silly prayers, otherwise misfortune would have never existed.

It's a shame that I can't adopt Star State battle pets yet, or I could have posed some resistance, Su Ping thought. Even though his store had just been upgraded, he was desperate to upgrade it again.

It was true that the source of anxiety was always desire.

Nothing would happen as long as you kept an open mind.

Su Ping was truly relaxed at the moment, to the point that he was even having random thoughts.

He had been just as pressured as Ji Yuanfeng and the others in the earlier battle. He had already shown enough self-control by not crying out excitedly at the moment.

While Su Ping was having all kinds of random thoughts, the empress looked at the first-generation Tower Master with a complicated expression. She also realized that her old opponent had reached the Star State faster than she had!

She bit her lips, knowing she was no longer a match for him.

"You seem to have broken your pact," said the first Tower Master with a casual smile.

However, the empress wore a grave expression while a cold temperature surged around her, as if she was preparing her defense.

"Yes, I have." She coldly stared at the first Tower Master. "I had abided by the pact for a thousand years without breaking it once. You should be satisfied!"

The first-generation Tower Master raised his eyebrows and said, "You seem to be right."

Before the empress could heave a sigh of relief, the Tower Master then changed his attitude. "However, I remember that the pact was supposed to be effective for all eternity, which means 'until the demise of humanity.' You promised eternity to me, yet you only honored it for a thousand years. I'm not happy about that."

The nearby Gu Siping, Ji Yuanfeng and the others looked weird.

Why is he sounding more and more flirtatious?

Was there truly a relationship between the Tower Master and the empress?

But she's a beast!

Su Ping narrowed his eyes upon sensing the Tower Master's killing intent and focused on the battle. His strength was also recovered in a short period.

"What do you want? To kill me?" The empress looked at the Tower Master coldly.

"So be it."

The Tower Master chuckled and vanished; then, he reappeared in front of the empress the very next moment.

That was done… in a flash!

However, unlike the Void State flash, he didn't do so by tearing space apart. Rather, it seemed that he had been standing in front of the empress the whole time. Was it some sort of… law?

His instantaneous reappearance made the empress' pupils contract, but she had prepared her defense. The Tower Master was frozen in ice the moment he showed up.

However, hardly had the ice covered his body when it was burnt and thawed by flames.

Then, the Tower Master reached for her throat.

Bang!

The empress's neck was crushed. But then, her broken neck splashed apart as ice blades, while her body followed suit and exploded.

The Tower Master unleashed flames that melted all the ice blades. Then, he narrowed his eyes and looked several kilometers away. "Your old trick."

"It still works, doesn't it?"

There, the empress stepped out of the void and breathed heavily. She had only escaped by a narrow margin. There was still a fist-shaped burn mark on her throat, which was quite eye-catching.

"Huh, interesting."

The Tower Master chuckled and dashed out, covered in flames. He looked like a God of Fire in the middle of furious flames.

The empress' pupils contracted. She raised hundreds of concentric ice walls. Meantime, her hair grew and moved like algae, emitting a horrifying vibe.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The ice walls were broken through, and the Tower Master reached the empress in the blink of an eye. However, his expression changed when he was about to launch an attack; he dodged to the side—and in the next moment: a sharp claw swept past him.

He might have been hit by the sharp claw had he not dodged in time.

The Tower Master dashed to another side and narrowed his eyes with a solemn expression.

The empress was relieved to see the claw, knowing that her part in the battle was over.

She couldn't help when it came to a battle between Star State beings. However, she could observe them and see how they made use of laws; maybe she would find inspiration.

Thinking about that, she said to the horrifying shadow that just walked out. "I'll take my leave now that you're here."

"Okay," replied a bloodthirsty and brutal voice.

The voice conveyed the ferocity of the beast that had just stepped out of the void. It was a monster about five meters tall, with two rows of bloody wings flapping on its back. There were pointy brown stings on elbows and shoulders. It had a human-like face, albeit much more horrifying than that of most human counterparts.

"A Curse-Winged Beast!"

While watching from a distance, Su Ping was slightly startled by the wild beast that had just stepped out.

He recognized it. He had seen it in the Chaotic Realm of the Undead. It was a demon class beast which had a Star State bloodline; it was one of the talented wild beasts.

He had once seen a Fiend of Horror in an enormous bone temple. At that time, that ghastly beast had a bunch of Curse-Winged Beasts as helpers!"

He had also run into separate Curse-Winged Beasts during his training outings; they killed him simply by looking at him.

Such wild beasts had left a deep impression on him.

After all, not many wild beasts were as "handsome" as them, whose faces almost looked akin to humans.

"The Star State…"

The first-generation Tower Master looked at the Curse-Winged Beast, his smile gone. He remarked thoughtfully, "I didn't expect you to develop in the Deep Caves. Are you their current Lord? Where's the old one? Is it dead?"

"Nie Huofeng!"

The Curse-Winged Beast suddenly spoke in human language, wearing an angry expression. "Why… Don't you recognize me anymore? Hahaha, that's understandable. Thanks to you, I was able to activate the hidden ancient demon blood in my body after enduring extreme agony and seething with anger. I didn't expect for you to also reach this level after so many years. How interesting…"

Nie Huofeng was quite shocked. "You were the Hideous Demon Swallower?"

"Stop calling me by the crappy name that you damned lowly creatures gave me! I have inherited extraordinary willpower from my ancient demon blood. I am much nobler than that worthless name! Now, my name is the Lord of Demons. Remember that!"

The Curse-Winged Beast roared angrily, apparently dissatisfied with Nie Huofeng calling him by his old name.

Su Ping was rather stunned by the Curse-Winged Beast's roar, but he could sympathize with it. After all, everybody wanted to look pretty.

However, you're truly ugly!

Also, you're truly bold, daring to bear the Lord of Demons name. Your parents would have probably never allowed you to walk out of your home if you ever lived in the Chaotic Realm of the Undead. All due to fearing that someone or something would beat you to death!

Nie Huofeng was stunned for a moment, then nodded after hearing what the Curse-Winged Beast had to say. "It truly was you. I didn't expect you to still be alive…"

"That's all thanks to you!" the Curse-Winged Beast declared angrily, "Do you know how I survived the past thousand years? The Deep Caves are quite cramped, and you let us brutalize each other while we're inside. You thought we would have fought each other until none remained standing. But you didn't see it coming, that I would make a breakthrough or awaken the ancient blood in my body, did you?"

As it talked, it couldn't help but laugh aloud, except that its laughter was twisted and filled with fury and hatred.

It had almost gone insane because of a thousand years of confinement and killing.

If it hadn't successfully evolved and dominated the Deep Caves with absolute strength, the beasts might have really mauled each other until they all died off as Nie Huofeng hoped.

Even though it was the strongest at first, other wild beasts still kept challenging its authority and competing for resources.

It had to fight and conquer every single day!

Every lord was exhausted and killed even if they were made of iron. Then, their successors were challenged incessantly, until they were exhausted to death. And so on…

However, that Curse-Winged Beast didn't collapse after all it went through!

Nie Huofeng stared at it calmly and said after it was done laughing, "Do you really think I didn't know anything that happened in the Deep Caves?"

"Huh?"

The Curse-Winged Beast, stunned, became grave and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Are you interested in working as my battle pet?" asked Nie Huofeng.

"Have you lost your mind?"

The curse-winged beast burst into a fit of fury, feeling quite insulted.

"I already knew the trouble you caused in the Deep Caves, but I didn't know it was you. I thought it was just a new beast that arose from the competitions. It's even better since you're an old pal; we're more familiar with each other."

Nie Huofeng said calmly, "Although I'm in the Star State, I have yet to find a Star State battle pet to match. You are a perfect choice. I can probably advance to a higher level with your help, after I absorb the astral power that has been gathered for a thousand years!"

The Curse-Winged Beast snapped, "You must be crazy to even think of taming me! Your long-accumulated astral power is mine! Once I eat you, refine your soul and absorb your laws, I'll claim the position of Star Lord with a thousand-year astral power. Then, all the other beasts will deify me, becoming my believers!"

"You're overthinking." Nie Huofeng smiled casually.

"Cut the crap and die!"

The Curse-Winged Beast burst into a momentary spike of fury and extended its sharp claws, which were almost as long as its body. Space in the first layer had been torn apart, and they entered the second layer of space. That was a deeper territory; it was said that one could break the wall between universes and travel to another world in a deeper space!

However, they could only reach the second layer of space, given their current combat ability.

The chaotic energy in the third layer of space could also significantly damage them if the second layer of space was ever torn apart, so they only dared to tear apart the first layer and fight in the second layer.

Nie Huofeng took action, too. His body was covered in flames, which contained laws, thus setting the second layer of space ablaze.

The Curse-Winged Beast released an intimidating demonic aura, truly looking like a king of fiends. It was horrifying to see.

The space where they were fighting was completely dirty. The blue sky and the beast tides could be seen outside of the torn space. However, anything out of range in their battlefield seemed to have a background made of cloth. They had torn apart the cloth at the edge and were fighting in the central area.

Su Ping intended to warn the Tower Master of the Curse-Winged Beast's wings. He had seen them fighting other wild creatures in the Chaotic Realm of the Undead. Their wings could unleash powerful spell attacks, which was why they were named Curse-Winged Beasts.

After all, no names could be wrong; it was just like how it had been called Hideous Demon Swallower earlier.

However, according to the pet encyclopedia he got from the system, Su Ping knew that its real name before evolving should be Paradise Glutton.

It was a unique species on the Blue Planet. Therefore, the first-generation Tower Master didn't know that it was actually a Star State wild beast.

At that moment, the Tower Master was fighting in the second layer of space that Su Ping's voice couldn't reach, so he had to give up.

From his recent actions, Su Ping was able to tell that the guy wasn't as great and selfless as he thought.

It didn't make sense that he would let the beasts break the seal and swarm out when he already knew what was going on in the Deep Caves.

He could have gone to the Deep Caves and tamed a pet… If all he wanted was to pick a good battle pet for himself through competitions. Wait, if he's been to the Deep Caves, there wouldn't have been a great battle, which would have destroyed the seal all the same…

Su Ping was instantly staggered.

Could it be that the first-generation Tower Master suppressed the wild beasts in the Deep Caves exactly for that purpose? To raise a tough battle pet for himself?

Su Ping knew how alluring a powerful battle pet could be to a battle pet warrior.

The battle pet development technology was rather underdeveloped on the Blue Planet; very few people could raise ninth-rank beasts. It was already commendable that they were able to raise Ocean State beast kings, which required a Holy Spirit Trainer such as the president of the Trainers Association.

However, there weren't many Holy Spirit Trainers worldwide!

It was practically impossible to raise pets of the Void State; they could only be found and captured in the wild.

The Fate State battle pets could hardly be seen even in the wild!

Su Ping blinked. If the first Tower Master had planned to groom a brutal Fate State beast—if not at the Star State—a thousand years earlier, then the guy was truly thoughtful!

At this moment, Gu Siping's voice was heard. "Let's take care of the beast tides while my master executes that thing!"

Gu Siping couldn't have looked more confident and delighted; he seemed to be in control of everything again.

He then looked at Su Ping and said, "Do you still have strength? Those Fate State beasts are yours. Don't let them run away!"

He simply commanded Su Ping.

Su Ping narrowed his eyes. Was the guy confident because his master was there?

However, Su Ping wasn't scared.

First of all, he was protected by the system store; not even the first-generation Tower Master could hurt him. Secondly, it remained to be seen if Nie Huofeng could defeat the demon king from the Deep Caves.

After all, the Curse-Winged Beast was an extremely ferocious beast even while having a Star State cultivation. Nie Huofeng would have a hard time defeating the enemy with his own abilities, if he didn't have pets of the Star State; that is, unless he had as much battle experience as Su Ping did. But Su Ping didn't think he did.

Su Ping wasn't being arrogant.

The guy might have lived a thousand years, but so what?

How many Fate State wild beasts were out there on the Blue Planet working as his sparring partners?

In any case, Su Ping hoped that the Tower Master was able to win. After all, the Lord of the Deep Caves would be unstoppable if he lost; the defense lines would collapse!

That was the last thing that Su Ping wanted to see.

As for Gu Siping who was trying to boss him around, Su Ping decided not to give in, at all. The guy wasn't qualified to give him orders!

"Aren't you also a Fate State warrior? You are the third-generation Tower Master anyway. I already said that I would take care of the three peak Fate State beasts. You can take care of the rest. You think you can just stand there like a mascot?" snapped Su Ping.

Gu Siping was quite stunned by Su Ping's response, becoming furious when he realized what he was implying.

He almost wanted to tear his mouth into pieces!

"You, you…

"What? Are you stuttering?"

"!!!"

Gu Siping blushed, and his eyes almost shot flames. Having been a solemn leader for years, he found it impossible to beat Su Ping when it came to mockery!

The nearby Ji Yuanfeng and the Deputy Chief were also stunned. They were rendered speechless when they saw that Gu Siping was trembling with fury; it was completely unexpected for them to see the commander of all the legendary warriors on the planet to be that angry.

However, they had to admit that Su Ping was quite resourceful.

"Brother Gu, Brother Su must be tired from all the consecutive battles. Let's take care of the other Fate State wild beasts together," said Ji Yuanfeng in a placating tone.

Asking Su Ping to take care of the other Fate State wild beasts was really an embarrassment for him.