Astral Pet Store (WN)

Su Ping simply smiled.

His Golden Crow bloodline was no longer a secret; it was pointless to deny it. He was quite eager to find out how strong he had become.

"You're going to issue a challenge again?" asked Elder Yan, as if having read Su Ping's mind.

Noticing Su Ping's surprise, Elder Yan smiled and said, "All kids are the same. You always want to have a try after a breakthrough. It's nothing bad; in fact, I really envy you. People like us haven't made much progress in a long time."

Su Ping was momentarily lost for words.

Is this some kind of high-level showing off?

Choosing not to comment on that, Su Ping went on to say, "I'd really like to challenge the rankers again."

"Okay. You're free to go anywhere you want. I'll cover the cost of the challenges for you." Elder Yan accepted his request and then thought of something else. "Do you want to record your constitution before the challenge?"

"Okay."

Su Ping nodded.

Even though his constitution could be exposed after being recorded in the database, he was already the disciple of a Celestial expert who would definitely prevent any leaking of information.

Also…

As long as he grew fast enough, exposure wouldn't be an issue.

Elder Yan summoned a couple of scientists to collect Su Ping's blood and scan his body from every perspective with their equipment.

The registration process was soon concluded.

"Let's go. The data has already been uploaded. It's time to try it out," said Elder Yan with a smile.

Su Ping nodded.

The two of them went to the city where the simulation equipment was located; it was quite crowded at the moment. Elder Yan casually explained, "A virtual contest is taking place. Those with high ranking will be awarded. You can have some fun there if you're interested."

"A virtual contest?"

Su Ping asked curiously, "Are there any restrictions?"

"As long as you're not above the Ascendant State," replied Elder Yan with a smile.

Su Ping got it. Not bothering to ask about the awards, he said, "I'll participate if I have time."

The two of them flew above the city and reached the building they had previously gone to.

The virtual equipment was only available to Su Ping at the moment.

Su Ping was already familiar with the process. He simply activated the device and entered the virtual battlefield.

It was another randomly simulated map.

Clowe showed up before Su Ping. He first glanced at the latter with his beautiful silver eyes and then summoned his pets.

Everything was the same as the last time.

Su Ping didn't waste his time. He summoned his pets and merged with them. Then, he fully unleashed his small world, sending out sword auras through it.

Bang!

His small world collided with Clowe's and caused an opening. The sword auras dashed out, about to cut off Clowe's head.

However, Clowe was quick to act. The holy light in his small world turned into a round shield that blocked the sword auras; it then darted towards Su Ping like a sharp dagger.

"Void Flames!"

Su Ping's body shivered, and the temperature around him soared. Golden flames erupted from his pores and covered his skin. A mass of the flames flew out with the snap of his fingers, burning space apart and crashed into his opponent's small world.

A shocking scene happened. Clowe's small world was softened and soon burnt through by the Void Flames!

A lot of holy light was gathered as an attempt to stop the flames. However, the flames collided with the power of faith creating dull noises, just like a heavy hammer smashing mud.

The flames moved several dozen meters more, until they were stopped by a greater power of faith.

While amazed by the overwhelming power of the flames, Su Ping didn't dawdle. He stepped up and punched his opponent's small world with brutal force.

Bang!!

Space trembled, and the deeper spaces began to crack. There were ripples on the secondary and tertiary spaces.

Clowe's small world was instantly broken. It was knocked through by Su Ping's fist!

Su Ping roared and broke into the small world. He simultaneously gathered the power of faith he had refined from his Force Field, turning it into a light sword!

Slay!

Su Ping brandished his sword, unleashing an unstoppable sword aura that cut apart Clowe's small world and struck him at dozens of times the speed of sound.

Clowe trembled, then his head and body fell apart.

The world before Su Ping's eyes slowed down; even the dust seemed to be frozen. Then, he saw a couple of words: Challenge Successful!

Su Ping found himself standing in front of the equipment right after, seemingly taken out of the battlefield.

Did I win??Su Ping was surprised and delighted.

He knew he had gotten a lot stronger after cultivating the fourth level of the Golden Crow constitution, but he didn't expect the victory to be that easy to attain.

My fist penetrated through his small world, which means that my body is definitely at the peak of the Star Lord State,?Su Ping thought.

He reviewed all actions during the previous battle.

He was aware that, besides his physical strength, the power of faith he had refined played a critical role in his victory.

His power of faith had crushed his opponent's. As a result, his opponent didn't have enough power of faith to resist his sword aura.

Those twenty streams of faith power that Su Ping gathered in his body had surpassed what some of the top Star Lords had!

I didn't use the Sorcerer's Constitution… It seems that my limits are even higher.?Su Ping's eyes glittered. He was already able to crush average Star Lords!

He could even beat them up with nothing but his physical strength.

"You're out already?" The nearby Elder Yan was surprised to see him open his eyes, as it had only been two minutes since his session began.

Why did Su Ping endure less than last time when he's already made a breakthrough?

"Did you have an epiphany?" asked Elder Yan.

It would be understandable to stop the fight whenever a moment of enlightenment arrived.

Although challenges were costly, they represented an insignificant proportion when considering all the resources that would be invested on Su Ping.

"No," Su Ping shook his head and said, "I was kicked out because I defeated him."

"You… defeated him?"

Elder Yan blinked, disconcerted.

What did I just hear?

Soon, his eyes widened. He stared at Su Ping as if he were a ghost. "You defeated him?"

"Yes."

"You defeated the 100th person on the Divine Lord Rank?"

"Yes."

Elder Yan was silent. He realized that the last question was meaningless the moment he asked it, because he had been the one who had arranged the appointment for Su Ping.

There was no way the equipment could fail!

But…

How long has it been since the end of the contest?

No more than three months!

Su Ping had just risen to the Star State, too!

And yet, he defeated a Star Lord genius, one who was 100th place on the Divine Lord Rank?

Doesn't this mean that Su Ping could practically crush any regular Star Lord?

Elder Yan gave Su Ping a weird look; he had not been as surprised in years. The elder had seen all sorts of extraordinary human beings over the nears, but none were as monstrous as Su Ping.

Is he an example of humanity's infinite potential?

Elder Yan glanced at Su Ping and said, "I'll report your progress to Master. The training resources for you will be further upgraded in the future. Judging from the circumstances, you will also be a leading figure in the Star State!"

Su Ping said politely, "I couldn't have achieved it without your training materials."

"You're too kind. You didn't ask for anything else anyway. Besides, you didn't waste any of the materials. They were all too effective!" said Elder Yan.

He ascribed Su Ping's change to the rare training materials he had procured. Had he known how much the boy would improve, he wouldn't have spared a moment to get them.

Looks like I need to work harder to get the new batch of materials he needs; I need to appoint more men to widen the search. It won't be long before this kid becomes an invincible Star Lord that only Ascendants can subdue. Still, no Ascendant would even try without good reason.

Elder Yan was laden with mixed feelings. He stared at Su Ping as if looking at a rising star that would illuminate the entire universe!

"I'd like to continue challenging others," said Su Ping to Elder Yan.

The elder snapped out of his pondering and smiled. "Okay, no problem! Who do you want to challenge? I'll make an appointment for you."

"How about the 90th?" asked Su Ping.

He didn't want to challenge each and every one of them; it would be better to skip a few. Even if he failed, the only thing lost would be the appointment cost.

"Okay." Elder Yan was not planning on stopping him.

None of the geniuses of that level could be stupid. He didn't need to offer any suggestion unless it was about cultivation.

Soon after, the appointment was made.

Su Ping continued challenging.

…

Somewhere, far away in space—

On a gigantic planet in the middle of a prosperous galaxy.

"Huh?"

Inside a luxurious palace—located in a forbidden land of the planet—a white-haired young man was cultivating. He suddenly opened his eyes and a notification was displayed.

"Sir, the projection you left on the virtual Divine Lord Rank has just been defeated. Please get ready for a challenger," said a beautiful female voice.

"Humph. Boring."

Clowe snorted. For his projection to be challenged meant that someone was interested in entering the Divine Lord Rankings. However, the guy wasn't very strong, since he chose the last on the ranking as his opponent.

On the other hand, the projection he had left was from decades earlier. The new contender was in for a lesson he would never forget if he thought he could win in reality after having defeated the projection.

…

Inside the Celestial Court—

In a building from the city of virtual arenas.

Su Ping suddenly opened his eyes. He breathed heavily, while looking pale and exhausted.

"You endured for five minutes. Not bad." Elder Yan could not help but smile after seeing Su Ping's appearance. "You almost skipped ten rankers. It would be normal to see stronger fighters in adjacent rankings, but a skip of ten rankings is too much. You've endured long enough; you can probably crush average Star Lords."

It took Su Ping quite a while to catch his breath. He nodded and said, "Indeed. He was much stronger. I almost lost."

"That's understandable… Wait, what?"

The bewildered senior looked at Su Ping. "You almost lost? You mean that you won?"

Su Ping nodded. "Narrowly."

Elder Yan was astonished.?Seriously? The man defeated the 90th place on the Divine Lord Rank after having just broken through to the Star State??Su Ping was actually capable of defeating those below the 90th place!

Projections were generally weaker than their real-life counterparts, but the difference wasn't too big.

This meant that Su Ping could already change the Divine Lord Rank if he were to challenge them in real life!

He could already appear on the Divine Lord Rank!

It was the ranking for Star Lords, while Su Ping was still at the Star State. It was incredible!

"I'm still too weak." Su Ping heaved a sigh with undisguised regret. The last battle was much more difficult than the one against Clowe. His opponent had less power of faith, but he had still been unable to crush the guy. Aside from that, his opponent had other secret techniques, and an invulnerable small world.

He didn't use the Sorcerer's Constitution in the battle against Clowe, but he did in the last battle, and almost lost.

"I need to accumulate more astral power and power of faith…" Su Ping took a deep breath, then thought about going back to cultivate.

Elder Yan's eyes twitched after hearing what Su Ping said. He replied with, "It's already remarkable how far you've gone in your current level. You've only been in the Star State for two months. Just consolidate your power. Besides, your pets are still in the Fate State. There's still a lot of room for improvement!"

"Yes."

Su Ping nodded and smiled bitterly. It was hard for his pets to rise to the Star State when he wasn't in his store.

Suddenly, he slapped his head. Why would he be forced to train them in his store?

All sorts of resources were available there. He was a trainer too. Wasn't he like a chef that had all ingredients with him?

I need to promote my pets to the Star State first. My combat ability will then be multiplied if I merge with them; their boost will be even greater if they become Star Lords…

Su Ping's eyes glittered. He became solemn and earnest for a moment.

"Elder Yan, do you have a place where I can train pets?" asked Su Ping right away.

Seeing the young man's enthusiasm, the elder smiled and said, "Of course. There are always extraordinary two-star trainers here; all of them would be capable of training Star Lord pets."