Astral Pet Store (WN)

"Who's the guy that defeats all his opponents with one punch? I've never seen him before!"

"It seems that the Amir Royal Academy recommended him to participate."

"As expected of one of the best academies. It does have a lot of geniuses."

"My husband is the best!"

"Hey, wake up. You really think you can marry him?"

Su Ping received a terrifying amount of attention for being ninth place in the popularity ranking. Not just the ninth, even the hundredth place had caught a lot of attention too.

As for the top ten, billions of viewers were watching them.

One had to consider that the stream was being transmitted throughout Silvy, which was extremely vast; there were hundreds of planetary systems and ten thousand prosperous planets.

As for the underdeveloped desolate planets, they did have inhabitants, but they didn't even have the technology to watch the live stream; such planets were considered primitive.

…

Everybody on the Blue Planet was excited.

"Boss Su is getting popular!"

"Oh my god, he's the ninth on the popularity ranking! The ninth!"

"Boss Su is unstoppable, even in a competition against geniuses from all the galaxy. What kind of genius was born on our planet?"

"I feel honored to have been born on the same planet as Boss Su was!"

"Do the Blue Planet's people actually carry superior bloodlines we don't know of?"

"Boss Su is so freaking strong. Have you noticed that he's not even trying his best? He crushed all his opponents with one punch. It's been seven victories already!"

"Seven battles, and seven victories. He has the highest success rate!"

Not just in the Longjiang Base City; residents from other cities on the Blue Planet were also thrilled; it was an honor for the entire planet!

Many natives of the Blue Planet felt a lot of pressure when they saw the advanced technology, techniques and Star State experts of the Federation when their planet was further connected to it.

They gradually lost confidence in themselves and felt that the Blue Planet was inferior to any of the other planets!

It was inferior in every aspect, including technology, secret techniques, combat ability, infrastructure, and many more.

Even so, Su Ping—who had been born from that poor planet—had risen to the sky and reached the frontier of the galaxy!

Such an achievement filled them with pride!

"The people of the Blue Planet don't have bad bloodlines!"

"Since Boss Su can make it, we should also feel proud of ourselves if we manage to be one-ten-thousandth as strong as him!"

Everybody on the Blue Planet felt thrilled and encouraged after witnessing Su Ping's feats.

…

Everybody had the opportunity to fight fifteen rounds during the screening phase on the void continent.

Ten victories would allow them to advance.

Therefore, their winning rate only needed to be at around 67%.

However, it was easier said than done; all the contestants were geniuses. It was very hard to keep a 50% winning rate, let alone 67%.

Su Ping had stayed for a long time in the fifth region.

He believed that close to seven days had passed.

However, there was a permanent sun outside of the continent, and it was always bright.

Once the fights ended, everybody was matched up with new opponents for the next round. The battles were quite brutal.

Many people were energetic at first, but the longer they fought, the more exhausted they became. They had recovery treasures to help them, but they couldn't be fully recovered if they were too badly hurt in battle.

Su Ping's opponent was already heavily wounded in the sixth round; he had even lost three of his pets and could hardly fight.

Su Ping defeated him with ease, not sparing any courtesy.

Most competitors have an early Star State combat ability, instead of the expected peak Fate State. Plus, they all have strange secret techniques. I'm sure that the competitors in the top hundred phase will be as strong as the mid Star State warriors.

Su Ping had been observing the battles and recording the data during those days.

He felt some pressure; not about winning in that stage, but about the finals and the championship.

To be noticed in all of Silvy, he would have to boast a combat ability between mid and advanced Star State. Going by that estimation, he would need a peak Star State combat ability to stand out in the Golden Star Zone.

In the finals… there might be geniuses as strong as the best Star State cultivators!

After all, the contestants originated from places in the entire known universe.

There were too many civilizations and an impossibly large population. It was a given that all kinds of geniuses could be born.

He did have a unique system, but the other geniuses also had their own special resources; some of them might have even been raised by Celestial State cultivators.

In any case, I have to rise to the Ascendant State sooner or later. Even if I can't become the champion, I have to make it to the top ten, so that I can go to the SSS mysterious realm, Su Ping thought.

The game went on.

It was time for the tenth round in the blink of an eye.

The battles were even more intense. The geniuses who had been keeping a low profile tried their best and used methods they hadn't used before.

As the battles escalated to a more heated level, the first person to advance had appeared in the virtual world!

His appearance received the attention of all the viewers in the galaxy.

He had won all the ten rounds, already advancing to the next phase of the competition!

His odds of making it to the top hundred were undoubtedly high, considering his strength.

"He's Holy King from the Hugh Mia Academy, the one who ranked eighth on the popularity ranking earlier!"

"Holy King? That's an awesome name!"

"It's him? I've been observing him since the beginning. He came here with a recommendation and he definitely deserves it. I believe he'll be the next champion!"

"Ten battles and ten victories. That's so horrifying. The others had to fight five more rounds, but he's already managed to advance today."

"I wonder if he'll try to win all fifteen rounds."

"I don't think so. He won't get anything from that; that would only make him expose his abilities and give his future opponents a chance."

Everybody on the Internet was discussing the genius named Holy King.

Meantime, the Hugh Mia Academy was pushed to loftier heights too, being seen and respected as the best academy.

Everybody was cheering excitedly back in the Hugh Mia Academy's headquarters.

The students and teachers were trembling due to the attention they were receiving!

The first person to secure ten victories was Holy King, a student of their academy!

The Star Lord who was Holy King's instructor was smiling so widely that his face was on the verge of falling apart. After all, even Star Lords could have hardly attained such a feat!

"That guy is the first?"

"Damn it, why is it still not my turn?"

"Why am I so unlucky? He only got to fight first. I would've won ten victories too if I had fought in the first group today!"

At the same time—in other regions of the void continent—the contestants with nine victories felt awful. They weren't any weaker than Holy King, but he had been able to fight earlier than all of them.

They had missed their chance because of this; the second person to secure ten victories would be less notorious.

They were furious!

"Humph!" a brawny man snorted in one of those regions; he was third on the popularity ranking and above Holy King. He had watched the battles of the top fifty from the list and remembered Holy King's performance. In his eyes, he would've ended the guy's winning streak if they had run into each other.

"They beat us to it."

The people from the other four academies were angry.

All of them had students who had nine victories under their belts; it simply was not their turn to fight yet.

Dragon Emperor, the young man carrying a wooden sword, the Thousand Leaves Holy Lady and Goddess of Light also secured nine consecutive victories!

Even Claesabe, who was slightly weaker, had nine victories too!

Dragon Devil, whom Su Ping had defeated before, only had eight victories. Unfortunately, one of his battles was against the mysterious woman who was first place on the popularity ranking, and was easily crushed.

In the fifth region—Su Ping saw the excitement online too, but didn't consider it a big deal. While fame could be transformed into fortune, it couldn't be spent in his store, so it wasn't attractive to him.

After Holy King won ten victories and advanced, the second and third contestants with ten victories showed up.

Very soon, more and more contestants were qualified; a special list was displayed to keep a record of the advancing contestants.

They would surely advance even if they forfeited all the following rounds.

It was Su Ping's turn, soon after.

His opponent was somewhat mediocre; the man was among the top five from a small planetary system with a mid Star State combat ability.

However, Su Ping could unleash advanced Star State power with the Fist of Exorcist alone.

There was an ocean of astral power in his body. Adding the magnificent power of laws, he could destroy the enemy's laws and overwhelm him with astral power.

Victory was a cinch.

Su Ping returned to the waiting area once the battle was over.

Just like before, he only punched once but his punch was even fiercer, which garnered a lot of attention.

It didn't take long for Su Ping to make it to the ten-victory list, too.

However, he ranked in the thirties on the list because his turn came later.

In another waiting area, a young man noticed the name on the ten-victory list and remarked, "He has indeed advanced."

The young man carrying a wooden sword glanced at him and said casually, "For him to advance is not surprising; he has a good chance of winning the championship of this galaxy."

The first young man was a student of the Sword Deity Academy, and had been alloted to the same region as the young man who carried a wooden sword. He heaved a sigh and said, "You would have been the champion if he wasn't here. The rewards for the champion are quite lavish…"

The young man carrying a wooden sword said indifferently, "He's stronger than me. He deserves it."

His companion was shocked. That was the first time he had seen that proud young man admit defeat before the battle even started.

However, he fell silent upon remembering Su Ping's performance in the mysterious realm.

…

In the sky above the void continent—

Hai Tuo and You Ying were seated in the garden to enjoy the flowers while they watched the battles.

"It seems that the ten-victory title is attractive after all. Some of the little guys are doing their best."

"There are indeed a few talented students."

Both Hai Tuo and You Ying were relaxed as they watched. While the battles of those little guys were simple and childish, they had to admit that they were definitely outstanding in their level.

"Why? Do you want to recruit any of them as a disciple?" said Hai Tuo to tease the latter.

You Ying replied casually, "Let's watch for a while longer. I hope to see something new."

"I think the subgod who used a forbidden secret technique isn't bad. Has his family decided to rise again?" said Hai Tuo with a smile; there was a weird light in his eyes.

You Ying glanced at him and said, "I can't teach him. His family won't let an outsider teach him, either."

"That's true. It's a family with an ancient heritage anyway. They're proud as descendants of gods." Hai Tuo smiled.

"The Sword God's young disciple is not bad. He's not too big of an embarrassment," observed You Ying.

"Don't you know how picky the Sword God is when it comes to disciples? That little guy is obviously not trying his best. He hasn't even drawn his sword yet," said Hai Tuo with great interest, "What about the guy from the Gray family? He's not bad either."

"His astral power storage is too unremarkable." You Ying shook his head.

"What about the guy from the Dragon Tomb Academy?"

"He has abundant astral power, but his way of fighting is too simple and brainless."

"…That can be improved. What about the little guy who won ten victories first?"

"He has good tricks, but his strength isn't good enough."

"…What about the guy who punches all his opponents?"

"His punching technique isn't bad. It seems to be some sort of lost technique. However, he's obviously from the Heavenly Fist Mountain. The Old Boxer won't give him away."

"I don't think so. It won't hurt to ask. I heard that Amir recommended him to come here. The Heavenly Fist Mountain has its own recommendations, don't they?"

"Never mind. I don't like to deal with simpletons that only know how to punch. Fighting is an art; you need to be strong and to have full control over yourself, just like a sculptor."

"…You're too picky."

Hai Tuo was lost for words. You're even pickier than the Sword God. Will you ever find a disciple?

You Ying replied coldly, "I'm fond of engraving good jade, not rotten wood."

"…"

Hai Tuo found it impossible to continue talking about that subject. Suddenly, he turned his head and looked up at the sky in surprise. "A friend is here."

"Huh?" You Ying, however, narrowed his eyes and looked at a place in space.