Astral Pet Store (WN)

Su Ping proposed virtual pet fighting to them because he didn’t want them to get bored.

This world’s virtual pet combat was no different from playing mobile games together with friends in Su Ping’s previous life; it was a popular entertainment option among the battle pet warriors and could also hone their battle skills.

Asking his employees to play games with the customer was being as welcoming to his customers as he could be.

It just so happened that his shop had just been upgraded. The virtual pet arena—as a newly-added module—allowed players to fight using their battle pets in the virtual world.

Players could scan and import their battle pets to detect their shortcomings during battle. They could also practice with others who had battle pets with the similar stats, in order to increase the battle pet warriors’ commanding and fighting skills. Nobody would be hurt in the process.

Mia was stunned for a moment after hearing what Su Ping had said. She was intrigued by the offer since she was reminded of her upcoming battle. “Okay. Do you have a port?”

“Yes.”

Su Ping instantly extended his hand and ushered them to the virtual pet arena.

The arena was connected to the main hall of the shop and the exhibition room was in the room. However, there were no battle pets in the exhibition room; all the pets that Su Ping had captured had been sold out in the previous war. All that was left available was some pet food.

Su Ping led them to the virtual pet arena, where there were a lot of interactive helmet-like devices.

“Tang, play with them in the virtual arena. This is also a chance for you to improve,” Su Ping said to Tang Ruyan behind him.

Tang Ruyan was stunned for a moment. “But I don’t understand their language.”

“Do you actually fight with your mouth?” said Su Ping angrily, “I’ll sign you up for a language class when we’re free later.”

Tang Ruyan said prudently after giving a quick glance at Mia and Layne, “Those two people… are legendary warriors, aren’t they?”

Su Ping nodded. Both Mia and Layne Ocean State warriors; he had noticed that the moment they entered the shop. However, he had seen so many of their rank that he didn’t consider them any different from titled warriors.

Besides, legendary warriors weren’t the actual bigshots in the Federation.

“Don’t worry. It’s possible to lower her level to match yours in the virtual arena,” Su Ping comforted her.

Tang Ruyan was no longer scared after hearing that; she would not cower from anyone with the same level.

Of course, Su Ping was an exception.

“This is rather fancy.”

Layne squinted as he saw the equipment. He was quite knowledgeable and could easily tell that all the interactive devices were quite advanced.

Mia noticed that too. She blinked in surprise; it was obvious that Su Ping had devoted a lot of money to improve this shop.

He had built this shop at a huge cost, and yet he was gambling with it… She became even more curious.

“Just play here,” said Su Ping. Then, he suddenly felt as if he were talking to kindergartners.

Mia also thought this. She frowned, then glimpsed at Su Ping, but she didn’t say anything, opting to simply look at Tang Ruyan. “You mean her? She’s rather weak. But that’s fine; I can lower my level.”

“Okay.” Su Ping then instructed Tang Ruyan, “You can go there.”

Tang Ruyan didn’t quite understand Mia, but she keenly noticed her indifferent eyes; her womanly instincts led her to discover that she had been despised.

How dare you!

She was rather angry, but she didn’t show it; she intended to vent her fury when they entered the “practice” layer.

Su Ping then configured the related devices for them; he was later relieved after they both entered the virtual arena. He then asked Zhong Lingtong to take care of them while ignoring Layne. After that he left and entered the pet room.

The pet room was several times larger than before. The Little Skeleton and the Inferno Dragon were resting in a pair of advanced nursing pens.

“You’re going out to train?” Joanna walked out of an advanced nursing pen with glittering eyes the moment he saw him enter the room, eager to go back and check up on her subordinates.

Su Ping shook his head and said, “I’m going somewhere else. Stay in the shop for now.”

Joanna pouted her lips, disappointed. She then sat back again.

Su Ping opened the pet storage and found one pet inside. It was the Ocean Sovereign.

She was currently displaying her original look while being held captive. She turned out to be a Freezing Moon Scale Dragon with a Star State bloodline!

However, the empress had obviously failed to activate the power of her bloodline, unlike the Curse-Winged Beast which activated the demonic blood in its body while enduring a cruel environment, to later become the Lord of the Deep Caves.

Not everybody who had a Star State bloodline could reach the Star State.

Environment and resources were indispensable to improve one’s cultivation. A fierce tiger would hardly reach adulthood if it starved every day. Even if it did, it would be a sick, weak tiger that probably wouldn’t even have the courage nor the strength to beat a dog.

The Blue Planet’s barren environment had stunted the Ocean Sovereign’s growth, despite her attractive body figure…

Su Ping decided not to kill her after he subdued her with the shop’s defenses; he simply kept her in the shop’s pet storage. He still didn’t know what to do with her, though.

Su Ping would earn a lot if he sold her, but she had killed too many humans; he didn’t want her to get away that easily.

He shook his head and stopped thinking about the subject; he then decided to complete the current quest first.

After summoning the Little Skeleton, the Dark Dragon Hound, and asking both the Inferno Dragon and the Purple Python to keep nurturing themselves, Su Ping communicated with the system, “To the Frigid Dragon Prison.”

It was an intermediate cultivation site with a low ticket fee; he could totally afford dying a hundred thousand times while in it.

The energy was soon deducted, then a space vortex appeared in front of Su Ping.

Whoosh!

Su Ping stepped in.

The familiar disorienting feeling came again. Su Ping then found himself in a vast snowy world when he opened his eyes; cold wind blew at his face, making all his pores shrink. He felt as if his bones were being frozen.

It must be at least minus two hundred degrees here…

Su Ping took a soft breath and felt how the cold air was stabbing his lungs like ice blades.

Fortunately, he was soon adapted to the new environment thanks to his physical attributes and his resistance to low temperature.

He looked around and saw snow and frost everywhere; that world was pure white. The pointed, snow-covered mountains that rose from the ground looked like intimidating sharp swords.

The astral power density is similar to that of the planet my shop is at the moment…

Su Ping sensed that the astral power was ten times denser than that on the Blue Planet, but not as good as that in the Demigod Burial. After all, it was an advanced cultivation site and a world of gods.

Su Ping didn’t have much time, so he quickly looked around.

He soon detected a certain group of dragons that were hiding in the thick snow.

His senses were so keen at the moment that few wild beasts below the Star State would be able to hide from him unless he acted carelessly.

He was almost overflowing with energy, unleashing an intimidating aura once he merged with the Little Skeleton and the Dark Dragon Hound. He stepped forward and appeared dozens of kilometers further away. It wasn’t a flash move, but space teleportation!

That trick was more complicated than a flash, but Su Ping was performing it with ease at the moment.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Su Ping stepped forward and quickly reappeared hundreds of kilometers away. He reached the edge of his perception range every time while his senses explored the areas like giant scanners.

“Huh? What a powerful dragon…”

Su Ping suddenly detected the vibe of a brutal dragon underneath a mountain. It was several times stronger than the Lord of the Deep Caves.

He gathered astral power in his eyes and looked ahead; he found a massive red-scaled dragon bound at the bottom of the snowy peak by black chains that penetrated its body.

The other end of the chains were connected to the snowy peak, which looked like a sword that descended from the sky, stabbing the dragon in the chest and impaling it to the ground.

There was a slight change in Su Ping’s expression, as it was definitely a horrifying Star State dragon!

The strangest thing was that the dragon was releasing a scorching energy, in that frigid world, of all places. It was a dragon of the fire class!

Who suppressed this dragon? Why was it imprisoned here? Su Ping couldn’t help but ask in his heart.

It was quite shocking to see such a horrifying Star State dragon impaled to the ground!

“This cultivation site was crafted by a certain expert as a cage,” replied the system in Su Ping’s head. “The Lava Scale Dragons pissed off the experts above the Star State; they will be suppressed here for all eternity. Even their offspring will be locked here too. Maybe they’ll go extinct in a thousand years.”

Su Ping was shocked again.

They would be suppressed for all eternity because they pissed off a strong character?

Was this the power of the top experts?

Su Ping looked at them and then resumed his search for the Heaven Frost Crystal Fruit.

Su Ping saw many more Star State dragons buried under snowy mountains and bound by chains. One of them even had multiple mountains on its back; Su Ping felt pressure just by looking at it. It was far stronger than the regular Star State dragons.

Su Ping didn’t expect that the cultivation site would really be a dragon prison as its name suggested.

Time zipped by.

Su Ping teleported again and again. He also saw a few unchained dragons wandering around. He chose to hide instead of fighting them, as he didn’t have much time.

Fifteen minutes outside were 150 minutes in the cultivation site, which was only two and a half hours.

An hour passed in the blink of an eye.

Su Ping then finally found the Heaven Frost Crystal Fruit.

Su Ping recognized it easily, even though he had never seen it before. It was all thanks to the system’s indications.

Apart from the Heaven Frost Crystal Fruit, Su Ping also found five varieties of pet food on the way. He didn’t recognize them, but he felt that they were as good as the Heaven Frost Crystal Fruit.

Job done! Time to go back!

Su Ping returned to his shop, unwilling to spend any more time at the site.

Only five minutes had elapsed in the outside world.

Su Ping placed the Little Skeleton and the Dark Dragon Hound in the nursing pens and walked out of the pet room.

Once he went to check things in the virtual combat arena, Su Ping saw that Tang Ruyan and Mia were still fighting, with helmets on and eyes closed. However, Tang Ruyan’s eyebrows were furrowed, while Mia seemed calm.

Layne was also close by, also wearing a helmet; there was no telling what he was doing.

Su Ping coughed and approached Tang Ruyan’s interactive device. He pressed the notification button; she would receive an alert inside the virtual world, telling her that someone was calling her.

Tang Ruyan opened her eyes soon after; she took off the helmet and angrily placed it back on the shelf. Then she rolled her eyes at Su Ping.

Su Ping: “??”

Mia also took off her helmet, and so did Layne.

Su Ping realized that Layne had probably been observing the battle.

“Did Ms. Mia win?” Su Ping had easily guessed the result from Tang Ruyan’s expression and was slightly surprised. Tang Ruyan had been tortured… well, trained, in his cultivation sites. She should have ample fighting experience. How did she lose?

“Your employee is not bad. She was only defeated eight times in five minutes. It’s a waste of her talent to be a shopping assistant.” Mia rose calmly.

Su Ping: “…”

So, she’s from the Patronizing Planet!

That being said…

Defeated eight times in five minutes?

Su Ping couldn’t help but look at Tang Ruyan, wondering if she had been fighting with her toes.

Tang Ruyan became even angrier when she saw his eyes. She was furious enough after being defeated in front of Su Ping, not to mention that the winner was another woman!

A woman could lose to anyone, but not to another woman!

“Why are you looking at me? You were the one who asked me to go there!” snapped Tang Ruyan, venting her fury on Su Ping. What frustrated her the most was that she couldn’t find an excuse for her failure!

Her opponent had fought while lowering to her level, and both had picked the same pet.

Yet, she had been beaten with ease!

She couldn’t change anything even though she tried her best, which only resulted in slightly astonishing her opponent.

She felt that she had been crushed!

Nobody had humiliated her like that except for Su Ping!

Su Ping forgave her attitude; he could see the frustration on Tang Ruyan’s face. It seemed that certain battle pet warriors in the Federation were truly extraordinary. Like Nie Huofeng had said, the Federation’s Ocean State warriors could possibly kill the Void State ones from the Blue Planet.

While Tang Ruyan had been trained, it was quite hard for her to fight an enemy above her rank.

All in all, it was a good thing that she wasn’t trained enough!

He shook his head and asked Mia, “If you haven’t enjoyed yourself, Ms. Mia, should I ask another employee to practice with you?”

Mia raised her eyebrows and said casually, “No need, your employee wasn’t bad. Like I said, it’s quite rare that she managed to only lose eight times in five minutes!”

It wasn’t bragging; she meant what she said.

After all, her identity was too special.

It wouldn’t be bad either if other battle pet warriors could hold on for thirty seconds in a battle against her. However, Tang Ruyan had resisted for one whole minute in the first round.

This was also partly because she wasn’t familiar with Tang Ruyan and was trying to observe her, but that was still surprising enough.

After all, Tang Ruyan was just a random employee in a random shop!

It was truly a waste of her talent to work in that shop!

“Now that you’re back, you must’ve found the Heaven Frost Crystal Fruit that I want, right?” Mia raised her wrist and looked at the exquisite dark red watch. Only those who belonged to the upper class could tell how expensive the watch was, and the special background required to purchase it.

Mia raised her eyebrows in surprise once she saw that only seven minutes had passed since Su Ping left.

After all, the gamble was not a big deal to her, but Su Ping had returned too quickly, even though his shop was at risk because of the bet. Wasn’t he being too reckless?

…