Astral Pet Store (WN)

"A place very far away…"

Su Jin'er's eyes glittered. Although she found it hard to believe, that place was real and Su Ping had been there.

The skeleton seated on the throne of bones she saw earlier had terrified her. She felt that she was watching a Celestial!

It was even more horrifying than a Celestial State expert!

Su Jin'er no longer dared to think about it. Are there really creatures more horrifying than Celestials in this universe? If so, the Federation is in grave danger.

She looked at Su Ping with vigilance.

She thought she had hidden herself well, and that she had a lot of trump cards. However, this guy who had emerged out of nowhere turned out to be even more terrifying than her. That was why she was speculating that a Celestial was Su Ping's backer.

How could Su Ping survive after such a ghastly encounter in the bronze temple, if he didn't have the protection of someone in the Celestial State?

At that moment—

Hai Tuo appeared high in the sky, then slowly landed in front of everyone. He partially concealed his aura, but it was still as ominous and immeasurable as a high mountain. His warm eyes—staring at everyone present like scorching suns—made everybody's blood boil.

The indifferent and graceful Star Lords lowered their heads and bowed in awe.

Contestants such as Dragon Emperor were passionate and respectful.

Their lifelong goal was to reach the Ascendant State, which required luck; they only had the potential to reach the peak of the Star Lord State.

"Congratulations, Mr. Su Ping. You are the champion of Silvy's galactic match in the Universe Geniuses' Contest this year."

Hai Tuo looked at Su Ping and Su Jin'er with a smile and then said, "I will soon give you the promised award. Apart from that, some of my old friends are interested in you and intend to recruit you as disciples. You may come with me to meet them."

Wow!

Dragon Emperor, Linghu Jian and the other genius contestants changed their expressions upon hearing that.

Linghu Jian was soon back to normal; he had an Ascendant State master, so he didn't consider it a big deal.

Dragon Emperor and the others, however, had passionate looks.

The Ascendant State experts who had arrived one after the other had obviously shown interest in Su Ping and Su Jin'er. They truly envied them.

Having an Ascendant master meant having Star Lords as senior brothers and sisters; they would no longer need to worry about resources, and they might even gain access to the rarest treasures.

Once they went on adventures they would do so with lifesaving treasures gifted by their masters. More importantly, their masters could help them avoid unnecessary dangers; many people would be too scared to assassinate or even investigate them.

Too many of the stream viewers were shocked.

Ascendants were like gods to them, only appearing in myths.

Most of those experts truly lived as long as gods did; they could strongly influence any planet and even change it completely.

Even so, Su Ping and Su Jin'er would have a chance to learn from such mythical figures?

"Us as disciples?"

Su Ping was stunned for a moment, but then he was back to normal. Huan Lieshen had already expressed his interest in recruiting him as a disciple, but he had turned the man down.

A genius needed a good master, and a good master also liked geniuses.

However, Su Ping didn't intend to learn after anyone. After all, her worker Joanna was an Ascendant, and she was a top warrior even among Ascendants.

Aside from her, Green Lady was an ancient Ascendant State cultivator too.

One of them was a god, and the other was a deity.

They could teach him anything he didn't understand.

Furthermore, Su Ping had an omnipotent system, which could be exposed if he had a master. There was also the Chaos Star Chart, which was the system's first reward, upon which he had built his foundation.

Foundations were very important. The system had never allowed him any detours, simply giving him the most powerful techniques; he never had the need to practice others, which meant that the system's rewards were well planned. In a way, the system was his master, except that its way of teaching was unorthodox.

At this moment, Su Jin'er spoke telepathically, "You're quite lucky; an Ascendant is interested in you. Seize the chance."

She was still looking at Lord Hai Tuo; nobody would think she was talking to Su Ping.

The latter was stunned; he was surprised to see how calm she was. He had the system, Joanna, and other help. What did the girl rely on to be that calm?

"Although the battle was only for the championship, it's obvious that even the one who failed is still stronger than all the rest. He'll be the champion and she'll be second place. Does anyone disagree?" said Lord Hai Tuo with a smile as he looked at everyone.

Dragon Emperor and the other contestants could not help but lower their heads. Nobody disagreed, but they felt disappointed and frustrated. If only they were stronger, it would have been them receiving the attention of the Ascendant State experts.

"Since nobody disagrees, you may fight for third place now." Hai Tuo smiled and waved his hand, taking Su Ping and Su Jin'er to the temple in the sky.

Su Jin'er failed, but she had shown that she was much stronger than any of the other constants.

She would have surely been the champion if he hadn't participated; the others would have been left in the dust.

Unfortunately, Su Ping was there, who was even more of a monstrous genius…

…

Whoosh!

Up in the temple, Su Ping and Su Jin'er found themselves in front of a big stone table that had a wonderful selection of wine and food. All the people seated at the table felt distant; they were right before their eyes, but they seemed to be in another time and space.

After a quick glance, Su Ping had already realized that all of them were in the Ascendant State. He quickly paid his respects, "It's an honor to meet you, seniors."

Su Jin'er followed suit.

You Ying and the others observed the pair. Huan Lieshen was the first to talk. "Su Ping, I already thought highly of you when you trained in my mysterious realm. Have you reached a decision? I hope you choose to be my disciple. I only have three disciples, and all of them are already famous top experts below the Ascendant State level. I can spend all my time on you."

Su Ping was about to open his mouth, but then the Old Boxer sneered and said, "Stop bragging. Your disciples are just three Star Lords. Top experts? If a contest for their level were to be held, it still remains unknown whether your disciples can even distinguish themselves."

He turned to Su Ping and instantly put on a friendly expression. "Young man, you're clearly good at fist techniques, which is also what I'm best at. Nobody is better at fist techniques than I am in Silvy. Your fist techniques will definitely improve if you learn under me; you may even reach the Ascendant State one day with them!"

"…"

Su Ping was genuinely surprised; he didn't expect that two experts would fight over him.

You Ying felt the urge to step in."Old Boxer, you haven't even seen what his real focus is, yet you think you can teach him? Didn't you see that he used a saber technique to slash that punch? He only used the fist technique for fun. It's clear that he's really talented in weapons; he's more suitable to be my student." He looked at Su Ping with a friendly smile on his usually cold face. Although he misjudged Su Ping earlier, he currently had a great opinion of him.

"My name is You Ying. I'm the best at assassination and weapon techniques!"

You Ying chuckled and added, "You will rise to the peak in terms of weapon techniques, as I will teach you all that I know. The assassination skills I practice are also very precious. You'll have the best survival abilities until you grow up. Nobody here is faster than me!

"You can always run if you can't win. You won't get killed before you reach the Ascendant State, unless your opponent is too strong!

"You can only reach the Ascendant State if you stay alive!"

Before Su Ping replied, the mistress of the Black Phoenix Palace said, "Does running away really count as an ability?

"Young man, all of the disciples in the Black Phoenix Palace are beautiful and alluring women. I can make an exception with you and have you become my disciple. You will live and train with them in the future. Of course, you'll have better resources than they do. I'll do my best to teach you too.

"If you fully grasp what I impart, I'll even consider letting you succeed as master of the Black Phoenix Palace."

"…"

"…"

Nearby—You Ying and the Old Boxer were both lost for words, lips twitching.

That old woman is trying to attract him with beautiful girls. How shameless!

However, her plan would probably not work out.

A genius such as Su Ping had demonstrated great resolve; how could he simply fall for any girl…

"The Black Phoenix Palace?" Su Ping opened his mouth.

Both You Ying and the Old Boxer changed their expressions in shock.

"Young man, better reconsider!"

You Ying instantly said with a cold voice, "Women will only hold you back on your path to the Ascendant State. Besides, the techniques of the Black Phoenix Palace are more suitable for females. Why else would they only recruit women? Although she might modify the techniques for you, do you think her modifications will be anything good?"

Su Ping said regretfully, "That's true. In fact, I'm not really interested in those girls. I simply like the sound of the Black Phoenix Palace."

You don't say!

All the Ascendants rolled their eyes, lost for words.

They didn't think that the young man would be so undetermined that he would ignore the girls!

The mistress of the Black Phoenix Palace changed her expression and looked at You Ying angrily. She turned her head and saw that Su Jin'er stood neither arrogantly nor humbly and was to her liking. She said, "Girl, come to the Black Phoenix Palace. You heard them; all of my disciples are women. Join us, and you won't ever have to see annoying men."

You Ying and the others instantly realized that she only considered Su Ping as a stepping stone since the very beginning; her real target was the one in second place.

Even though she hadn't won, Su Jin'er was only slightly weaker than Su Ping, and she had Ascendant potential!

As for what the future held for her, who could tell?

One failure didn't really mean anything.

"Huh?"

Su Jin'er was quite surprised, not expecting her to get involved that quickly. She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Thank you, but I like seeing annoying men; I find them silly and adorable. I enjoy making fun of them."

The mistress of the Black Phoenix Palace: "…"

What kind of freaks are they?

You Ying and the others almost couldn't avoid bursting out laughing, either.

These two juniors are truly a pair of rare treasures!

One of them loved hanging with girls, and the other liked flirting with guys.

All of them felt happy since the mistress of the Black Phoenix Palace suffered consecutive setbacks. You Ying said to Su Ping, "Young man, consider well. I don't have many disciples. Nobody will be able to stop you if you learn my assassination skills. They can't beat you either if you stay. How great is that?"

The Old Boxer snorted and said, "Bulls*it. Does running really count like a family does? He's obviously young. He can run away, but can his family? Besides, You Ying, you're just a wanderer; stop causing trouble for him. Why don't you join the Heavenly Fist Mountain? We're a lovable family!"

"Su Ping."

It was then when Huan Lieshen suddenly said, "I've found three of the materials you're looking for. I'll find the rest If you learn after me."

After being stunned for a moment, Su Ping asked with glittering eyes, "For real?"

"I'm an Ascendant State expert. I don't lie." Seeing Su Ping's expression, Huan Lieshen put on a smile, knowing he had done the right thing.

Both You Ying and the Old Boxer angrily glared at Huan Lieshen. This guy is so shameless. He prepared bait!

Once he saw the smile on Huan Lieshen's face, Su Ping wavered for a moment. He then made up his mind and said, "Seniors, truth be told, I already have a master. I feel honored to be appreciated by you, but I can't learn under any of you. Please forgive me."

Su Jin'er was still around; she looked surprised, but then she felt relieved.

She didn't expect Su Ping to decline all the invitations from those Ascendants. However, considering Su Ping's overall performance, he probably had a master who was no weaker than any of them.

All of them looked at each other and realized what was going on.

Su Ping had spoken in a really vague way, but they came to realize that Su Ping's master was definitely in the Ascendant State just like them.

Switching from one Ascendant expert to another would be an insult to his previous master.

It would have been fine to accept if his teacher were only a Star Lord.