Astral Pet Store (WN)

Su Ping and Diaz left the training room with You Long and headed to the spaceship's hall where the other geniuses were gathered by the Star Lords.

Everybody was currently looking up at the dome.

The metal dome had become transparent, making it possible for them to see the outer space. There was a golden and glittering nebula laying in front of the sea of stars.

That nebula looked as brilliant as a galaxy; it also looked like a hazy golden eye from a distance.

The golden nebula grew in size as they approached. They saw countless golden stones that flowed like a river when they arrived.

There was a deep crack in the middle of those golden stones, which looked like a vertical pupil inside an eye.

The crack was multiple light years long; it was no longer a crack but a collapsed black hole when the spaceship moved closer; it seemed as if it would swallow everybody.

There were hidden beings defending the edges of the crack.

The golden stones were no longer visible when the spaceship got closer. The only thing visible was the boundless darkness; it made them feel as if they were falling into an abyss.

The spaceship suddenly stopped, and You Long flew out of the spaceship. A majestic shadow thousands of meters long appeared before him and looked down at the spaceship. There was a slight change of expression when it saw You Long, then said, "I didn't know it was you, Heavenly Lord You."

"By my master's order, I'm here to escort the contestants of the Golden Star Zone to the battlefield." You Long chuckled.

The shadow glanced at the spaceship and nodded. Then it disappeared.

You Long flashed back into the spaceship, which continued moving forward.

Many contestants looked at You Long with awe and admiration, as he was obviously much more renowned as a Heavenly Lord than the other Ascendants present.

Seeing that, Diaz clenched his fists passionately. I'll become a Heavenly Lord too and even surpass him someday!

However, his passion was chilled for a moment when he saw Su Ping. He was angry, wondering why he had lost to Su Ping, even though he had one of the best constitutions in the universe!

Even if the latter also had one of the nine divine constitutions, they would only be equal in strength.

I will surpass you soon, kid! Diaz secretly gritted his teeth.

He dreams of me acknowledging him as a senior brother?

No way.

Not ever!

"Heavenly Lord…"

In the crowd—many geniuses looked at You Long in a strange way.

Su Jin'er was one of them.

If I get that thing from this trip, I'll have a chance to rise to the Celestial State. Even Heavenly Lords will be nothing to me, Su Jin'er thought and then looked at Su Ping.

He's much stronger than before. I wonder what face he'll make when he sees my original self, she put on a smile and looked forward to that scene.

…

The spaceship moved at a high speed for a long time as it traversed the darkness, then light radiated from its depths as if it were in the origin of darkness itself.

The light then became increasingly brighter, and an object was later revealed.

It turned out to be a planet that looked like a lucky clover.

It had five leaves. The planet grew as the spaceship drew near; every leaf was as big as multiple suns.

Very soon, the plant was too big to be seen in full. The spaceship pressed forward, and was later docked on one of those leaves, according to a specific trajectory.

It was more of a green land than a leaf.

Other spaceships had also been docked in the same place.

Many temples had been established on the continent-sized leaf. It had a lot of residents, who were actually battle pet warriors that had been given permission to stay.

"Is that the Divine Sea Mysterious Realm? Oh my god. It looks like grass from a distance!"

"It's just a coincidence, like the way clouds may look like animals. How could there be such a huge patch of grass in the world?"

"Are those guys contestants from other star zones?"

Everybody was whispering on the spaceship. Some were shocked by the look of the Divine Sea Mysterious Realm, while others were looking at the contestants from the other star zones in earnest, since they wanted to make it to the top hundred or even top ten in the finals!

Both groups would receive unimaginable prizes.

It would also be a great achievement to make it to the top hundred in the finals. Countless organizations would extend invitations to join; they could also choose to learn under any Ascendant State expert.

After all, no Ascendant would mind having more genius disciples or increasing their influence.

The system's voice suddenly echoed. "It's the Chaos Grass."

Su Ping was surprised by this; he had his mind elsewhere, as he was observing other contestants.

Just like the others, he thought that it was just a coincidence. Many planets in the universe had special shapes and patterns when seen from a distance, but it was merely coincidental.

"What did you say?" Su Ping could not help but ask.

"It's the Chaos Grass." The system's voice was rather strange and emotionless, yet it gave Su Ping a weird feeling.

"Born in chaos with the essence of the universe, it bred the original gods; unfortunately, it has lost too much of its divinity. Countless souls of the gods are still attached to it… They must be hoping that the grass will revive them," said the system.

Su Ping narrowed his eyes, as the system had given him too much information.

Is the Divine Sea Mysterious Realm truly grass?

Moreover, was it really the place where the original gods were born?

"It's a marvelous planet born in chaos. How could it lose its divinity? Also, why didn't the souls of the gods go back to the Archean Divinity?" Su Ping had to ask.

After a moment of silence, the system said, "They wanted to, but they couldn't."

"Did they not know the way home?"

"Their home was no more."

"…Why?"

"No reason."

The system fell silent again.

Su Ping, however, was confused. Isn't the Archean Divinity home to the gods?

Did the Archean Divinity cease to be? But, it's one of the cultivation sites in the system.

Since top planes such as the Chaotic Realm of the Undead were available, the Archean Divinity couldn't simply be just a name. He had yet to go there, but he knew that all the cultivation sites he had explored were real.

He felt puzzled, but he let the matter rest since the system didn't offer an explanation. After all, the system would tell him everything when the time was right. He had a feeling that the system had a lot of secrets; it would give him real missions sooner or later. He wanted to be strong enough before that came to pass!

"Let's go and greet the opponents you're about to confront." You Long chuckled.

Everybody rubbed their fists excitedly upon hearing that.

Very soon, they exited the spaceship. You Long led them to a relatively close place where a crowd was gathered. He smiled and said, "You must be from the Autumn Deer Star Zone. I heard that an extraordinary genius has emerged in your place. Who is he? Let me have a look."

Su Ping looked at You Long in surprise. The always friendly and approachable man was acting quite arrogantly at the moment.

"Huh?"

Prompted by the provocation, the contestants of the Autumn Deer Star Zone looked ahead in askance at their leaders. None of them dared to express anger towards an Ascendant State expert.

Their leaders, who were also Ascendants, changed their expressions. One of the middle-aged men said solemnly, "I didn't know that Heavenly Lord You would personally escort you over. You must be real treasures!"

"Of course. The geniuses of our star zone will win the finals!" You Long chuckled, revealing his true personality.

Both Su Ping and Diaz showed stunned faces as they looked at each other. Was their senior brother deliberately making enemies for them? He seemed to be more arrogant than they had originally thought.

It was true that the top Ascendant State experts were wild and unrestrained.

"Hehe." The two Ascendant State experts from the Autumn Deer Star Zone sneered but didn't take the bait, as it wouldn't be a smart decision to argue with a Heavenly Lord.

They didn't say a thing, but the contestants behind them looked at Su Ping and the others in surprise. It seemed that extraordinary geniuses had been born in the Golden Star Zone; he wouldn't have acted as arrogantly if otherwise.

Su Ping was lost for words. He didn't want to be the center of attention, which would bring unnecessary trouble to him.

Diaz was also surprised, but in no way was he infuriated. Instead, he put on a smile and raised his head, with "I'm the most awesome one" written all over his face.

Right then the voice of an old man was heard coming from a distance. "Old You, how have you been?"

You Long narrowed his eyes and looked back, only to see a red-haired old man and a group of geniuses in front of a blood-colored spaceship. The old man had a red mole on his forehead and a wine gourd on his back. His eyes were half closed, but they emitted sharpness whenever they opened.

"It's you, Heavenly Lord Jiu Shen. Why have you been sent here? Have any precious geniuses emerged in your area?" asked You Long with a smile.

The old man said indifferently, "You've been sent here too, right? I heard that someone with the Reincarnation Divine Constitution had emerged, but was eventually suppressed. I'd like to find out who did that!"

Diaz lowered his head in shame as he heard that. He looked at Su Ping while feeling regretful and angry, obviously blaming the latter for preventing him from showing off.

The others could not help but look at Su Ping too. Obviously, the old man was referring to him.

They felt troubled. They were truly jealous, not expecting that Su Ping and Diaz's names would have already been known in other star zones, and were listed as among their primary enemies.

As for them, it seemed that they were only mediocre.

"Is it him? Well, there's indeed an ancient and strange aura in his body." The old man narrowed his eyes and instantly noticed Su Ping.

Su Ping felt goosebumps beyond his control as he was being observed by a Heavenly Lord, just like a predator that had locked onto him.

Prey that didn't react when a predator locked onto them deserved to be killed.

Su Ping was lost for words. It seemed that he had already grown famous, and the other contestants were already regarding him as one of the primary opponents.

"Was he the one who suppressed the Reincarnation Divine Constitution?"

Several contestants were observing Su Ping with solemn and hopeful eyes in the Autumn Deer Star Zone group.

Many geniuses from the old man's star zone were observing Su Ping too, trying to figure out how he had defeated a person with a divine constitution.

"Indeed. Those two have just been admitted by my master as disciples; they're my junior brothers. They will definitely be among the top three. I would go home right now if I were you," said You Long with a smile.

Su Ping began to sweat hard; he felt the urge to pull his senior brother's clothes, wondering if the man was actually working for someone else.

Diaz, however, didn't consider it a big deal; he was even excited by the prospect. He had considered himself the de facto champion before he met Su Ping. But he would have to settle for second place at the moment.

However, he hadn't fought directly against Su Ping yet; he still had a chance to defeat the guy.

Diaz glanced at Su Ping when the thought crossed his mind.

Su Ping had just happened to be looking at him too, so he noticed the latter's weird expression, and couldn't help but roll his eyes. Damn it. Our competition is already over; why are you still looking at me? Are both of you working for someone else?

More spaceships arrived at that moment.

All the contestants of the twelve star zones—altogether 1,200 people—were finally gathered.

It was then when a Celestial expert arrived, exuding a suffocating pressure. Even those in the Ascendant State became solemn.

The teasing You Long also wore a grave expression.

The Celestial was a silver haired man with a golden robe. He was as handsome as a god; there seemed to be a sun burning eternally right behind him.

"All the star zones are here. Let's begin the first trial."

The lofty expert didn't even give an opening speech. He simply announced the beginning of the contest.

Su Ping then recalled the announcement of the Universe Geniuses' Contest that had echoed throughout the universe earlier on, as he heard the man's voice.

It was exactly the same man who had made the announcement, Mu Shen.

A golden vortex suddenly appeared underneath his feet after he said that, and his voice echoed again. "A hundred people will qualify in the first contest. You will try to survive for five days in this forsaken area and collect enough Divine Cores. You will then be ranked according to the number of Divine Cores you manage to gather at the end of the five-day period."

Everybody's faces changed due to the surprise. The trial seemed to be really dangerous. Do we have to fight to stay alive until the end?

Also, ninety percent of the contestants would be eliminated; only the top hundred would be selected. It would be like a screening process.