Astral Pet Store (WN)

"It's finally his turn."

In the crowd—dozens of men looked at Su Ping.

Not just students like Linghu Jian of the Sword Deity Academy; the other contestants were also paying a lot of attention to him. Su Ping had only presented ten identity badges at the end of the survival test, but had seen his performance during the test as well as the hill of badges he amassed at one point.

The regular hill where he sat on was turned into a forbidden land that nobody dared to approach.

The battle between Su Ping and Holy King drew a lot of attention; the contestants in the other nine regions were also attracted to it. After all, both men had the potential to become the champion!

It felt as if the finals would have been pushed forward!

While everybody looked at them eagerly, Holy King sat in midair; unmoving, with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Why is he still not going there?"

"Does he intend to wait until the last moment? He always keeps a high profile. He probably wants to show off."

"Huh? Only ten seconds to go. Is he still waiting?"

Some of Su Ping's fans laughed on the Internet; they were angry because of Holy King's attitude.

Does he want to be fashionably late as if he were the boss?

Ten seconds passed. Still, Holy King remained absolutely still until the last second; he even closed his eyes, as if he weren't involved.

Wow!

The viewers seethed with shock.

He wasn't being pretentious; he… forfeited?

Holy King remained unmoving, even after the countdown ended. The two Star Lord referees in the seventh region looked at each other in surprise and announced, "Holy King failed to enter the arena in time, thus forfeiting the match. Su Ping is the winner!"

Countless people were dumbfounded by the result.

Most were thinking that Holy King had planned this to enter with a bang in the last second, but he obviously had decided to forfeit the match from the very beginning!

He actually decided to skip that fight!

"Damn it! Holy King forfeited! Is he scared of Sword King?"

"Holy King is clearly a top genius; he's too proud to admit defeat. Is Sword King really so horrifying?"

"This is unbelievable. He forfeited the game. I thought he could become the champion!"

"I expected a fierce battle, but there won't be one…"

"Holy King says: 'did you all think I would go there? Better be safe than sorry!'"

"Damn, I was betting on Holy King's victory. I lost!"

"I'm suspecting that he manipulated the result of the match!"

Everybody was shouting on the Internet; they found it unacceptable that the splendid battle they were expecting turned out that way. Those who had placed pets in favor of Holy King were furious and cursing aloud.

Betting was not uncommon. There was a lot of betting activity in many planetary systems. Some laughed and some cried; participants who lost were booed and cursed.

"That guy…"

Linghu Jian narrowed his eyes, not expecting Holy King to forfeit. He looked at the man, only to see he had closed his eyes as if refusing to acknowledge the outside world.

All the people of the Hugh Mia Academy sounded arrogant, but they turned out to be a bunch of chickens.

Su Ping had been preparing for the battle in his appointed region and was also surprised by such a development. He looked at Holy King who kept his eyes closed; he had no choice except to return.

Su Ping instantly became even more famous and intimidating in the outside world after the Holy King abandoned the match.

Some speculated that Holy King did so to affect the betting and the authorities would look into it. However, more believed that the former was actually scared of Su Ping and was not confident of defeating him without exposing his trump cards.

The second speculation won more supporters.

After all, there had been as many people who had placed bets on Holy King as those who had bet on Su Ping. He could have defeated the latter and make a fortune too; it was unnecessary to risk his reputation.

All geniuses were proud; everybody in the universe knew that.

The stereotype of the arrogant genius was unfortunately cemented because of the undeserving geniuses.

On the Blue Planet—

The globe became quiet for a moment after Holy King forfeited. Then, there was a tide of excited cheers.

Holy King was definitely a tough figure; many were concerned, worried that Su Ping might fail. However, their lord turned out to be stronger than they had imagined; that tough figure surrendered even before the battle started.

"Holy King seemed to be as strong as Boss Su in earlier battles; I don't know why he admitted defeat."

"He probably has other plans."

Ji Yuanfeng and the others were excited and puzzled.

On the void continent—

After Holy King forfeited the match, the game in the seventh region went on as planned.

The other contestants fought in turns.

Su Ping observed the battles. The geniuses who had managed to rise thus far would mostly have the combat ability of an early Star State warrior.

The best ones among them even had mid Star State strength.

As the battles went on, the first day of the challenges reached its end.

Su Ping had secured one victory.

The matches continued the next day.

Those able to secure three victories would advance; the competition would continue for five days.

Everybody had two chances of failure. Their opponents were randomly matched. It was possible some would be matched up with top contestants; that was when luck mattered.

It seemed unfair, but Ascendants also considered that geniuses would also need luck to stand out in such a competition; it was quite possible they would die young.

On the second day, Su Ping met another acquaintance.

Dragon Devil.

Su Ping was actually surprised.

Dragon Devil, on the other hand, was almost weeping.

Why am I so unlucky?

He had been defeated by Su Ping's dragon when they fought in the mysterious realm. He had fuelled his desire to seek revenge, until he saw Su Ping cross a hundred floors of the all-class training monument.

Su Ping was even more horrible than Dragon Emperor in his eyes!

Dragon Emperor was like a mountain in his academy, always suppressing him; he couldn't even beat Dragon Emperor, let alone Su Ping.

"I'm losing this point because of bad luck. Damn!" Dragon Devil regretted his misfortune.

Su Ping and Dragon Devil had been allocated to the ninth region. Their turn arrived after the previous groups were done fighting.

Su Ping had become a lot more famous since Holy King forfeited; countless people had been attracted by that battle.

Many viewers who were more intent on watching other regions quickly switched to the ninth region after hearing that Su Ping's battle had begun.

"Dragon Devil!"

"He's a top genius from the Dragon Tomb Academy. All the pets he summoned are dragons with A if not A+ aptitudes!"

"He's another bada**!"

"A bada**? Dragon Devil is not even as strong as Holy King, who gave up without even putting up a fight. He's going to be a piece of cake!"

"Bulls*it! Don't compare Dragon Devil to that coward; even if he fails, he will fail with his head up high!"

"The possible winner is still unclear. Maybe Sword King is able to defeat Holy King but is vulnerable when confronting Dragon Devil."

Many fans cheered loudly for Dragon Devil.

Very soon, it was Su Ping and Dragon Devil's turn.

Seeing that it was his turn, Su Ping flew to the region without saying a word.

On the other side—Dragon Devil stood steadily in the void, not showing any intent to move.

"Huh? Why is Dragon Devil so still?"

Many people frowned to see that; they had a strange bad feeling.

Soon—as the countdown reached the last ten seconds—Dragon Devil was still sitting steadily. He even closed his eyes.

"Damn!"

The familiar scene made a lot of people cry out.

Is he going to forfeit too?

Just as they speculated: ten seconds passed, and Dragon Devil didn't budge. The two Star Lords responsible for the ninth region had to look at each other and announce his failure.

The audience was going crazy on the Internet again!

Another forfeiture?

"Huh? Who said that Dragon Devil couldn't be compared to a coward such as Holy King?"

"Holy King: 'Please don't mention me when you're talking about the Dragon Devil!'"

"Dragon Devil: 'I will never admit defeat, unless my opponent is too strong!'"

"Is this what failing with your head up high looks like? He truly is a real man!"

"Where are Dragon Devil's fans? Why are you so quiet?"

On the Internet—Su Ping's fans seized the chance to fight back with the help of Holy King's fans; the latter group was incensed after the comparisons between Dragon Devil and their Holy King.

Holy King was much more handsome than the Dragon Devil!

Dragon Devil's fans were all lost for words; they didn't expect that seemingly bold and fearless Dragon Devil would give in to Su Ping. Is Sword King really that fearsome?

Su Ping could only go back after hearing the announcement.

He even wondered if those guys were messing with him; the two trips had been a waste of time.

Queen of the Seas and the Thousand Leaves Holy Lady were also in the ninth region. They were attracting 90% of the attention in the waiting area; the other contestants looked at them every now and then because they were truly beautiful.

They weren't too surprised to see Dragon Devil forfeit; they had seen it coming. He couldn't even defeat Su Ping's pet back in the mysterious realm. They had trained hard for months, but it wasn't nearly enough for him to catch up.

I wonder who will be the first to make him show his real abilities. Queen of the Seas' eyes flashed; she hoped that it wouldn't be her.

The Thousand Leaves Holy Lady didn't expect that Su Ping, who had once sat beside her, would turn out to be a monster that everybody feared. She realized she had never been closer to Su Ping than the time they were on the hilltop in the mysterious realm.

She would probably be living in a different world, considering the might of that monster.

The strength gap between them was too wide.

Apart from the accident in Su Ping's battle, a few shocking duels between top contestants in other regions attracted a lot of attention.

Linghu Jian ran into a young man who wore purple armor; he drew his sword for the first time, which illuminated the region and felt like cold water from the deep sea.

A shocking battle took place once he drew his sword and attacked. Countless people witnessed the horror of the Sword God's heir.

Linghu Jian's ranking quickly surpassed Su Ping after that fight and rose to the top three.

Su Ping ranked seventh.

His positioning was all due to Holy King and Dragon Devil admitting defeat consecutively, which brought him fame. After all, Su Ping had yet to really attack. His performances in the survival test had been amazing, but many were thinking he would only be able to make the top ten count at best.

Very soon, the third day arrived.

As usual, everybody gathered to draw lots.

Su Ping searched for his name and soon found his opponent for the day.

He raised his eyebrows, as it was another acquaintance: Ibetaluna, the descendant of the Knight King family that had followed him earlier on.

"!!"

On the other side—Ibetaluna was also stunned after finding out who her opponent was.

She had secured two victories; she didn't expect to meet Su Ping in the third battle.

Her good luck seemed to have come to an end.

"Brother Su!"

In the third region—Ibetaluna went to meet Su Ping with a bitter smile. She said, "I'm truly lucky to have run into you today, Brother Su. I'll have to forfeit."

"!!"

Su Ping didn't know what to say; those with three victories would make it to the top hundred. So, I'm in the top hundred without any fighting?

"I believe you'll surely become the champion, Brother Su. You'll have a promising future with Lord Hai Tuo's rewards." Ibetaluna smiled at Su Ping. She was slightly disappointed, but she felt better since she was better off than Holy King, who met Su Ping on the first day.

"Okay."

Su Ping nodded.

The other contestants widened their eyes after witnessing that.

She cheered for her opponent after admitting defeat? Is she a masochist?

Soon, Su Ping's much anticipated match ended again with his opponent backing out. The audience was rendered speechless by the result.

Someone had soon connected the dots, realizing that Su Ping was the only one who had made it to the top hundred without fighting.

Is it really that easy to make it to the top hundred?

All the other contestants thought with mixed feelings.

By the time the third day was over, more than forty people had won three victories and made it to the top hundred.

Su Ping was free for the next two days; he continued his secluded cultivation while studying the second Astral Painting in the waiting area.