Astral Pet Store (WN)

"To the Blue Castle Planetary System," Su Ping said to the pilot.

The young man nodded respectfully and returned to the cockpit.

Su Ping took Loulan Lin to a rest area. Soon, the spaceship shook and soared to the sky. The buildings down below quickly shrank in size, while quickly approaching the blue sky above. Soon, they flew out of the atmosphere and reached the vast space of the universe.

The spaceship shook once more, and the scenes outside of the window immediately turned blurry. They were about to start a space jump.

Su Ping was firmly seated inside the spaceship while he considered something.

Loulan Lin had a slight frown. She looked around, worried about her brother's safety.

Just then, the golden divine power protecting them thus far became shallow and finally dispersed.

Su Ping opened his eyes and frowned.

Loulan Lin changed her expression and looked at Su Ping. "Did something happen to my brother?"

"Not necessarily." Su Ping was quite calm. "That was the protection from senior bloody phoenix; something must have happened to her, since the beast that ambushed us is stronger. She probably can't endure for much longer."

"So to speak, is the beast chasing us right now?"

"In a sense, yes."

Loulan Lin said with a pale face, "If it catches up with us... We won't be able to escape, even if we reach the Blue Castle Planetary System. An Ascendant State expert can destroy a planetary system easily."

"We need another half an hour to reach Blue Castle."

Su Ping frowned. Ascendants were very fast; he wasn't certain about how long it would take for the beast to track them down.

"Why are you still so calm? Have you made other preparations?" Loulan Lin became hopeful again, since she saw how calm Su Ping was.

Su Ping shook his head and looked at her. "You are a core descendant of the Loulan family. Heavenly Lord Jian Lan seems close to you too. Didn't they give you any lifesaving treasures?"

Loulan Lin smiled bitterly. "Heavenly Lord Jian Lan is my grandmother. Although I'm never short of treasures, very few of them can keep me safe from an Ascendant. I'm not qualified to have any of them."

"It seems that your position isn't high enough," Su Ping couldn't help but complain.

Loulan Lin was rather lost for words. After a moment, she said, "Is this really the best time to talk about such matters? Your master is a Celestial. He didn't give you any treasures?"

Su Ping shook his head.

"That's impossible." Unconvinced, Loulan Lin was about to say something else, when she lowered her head and saw that green light was surging from the emerald necklace she was wearing.

"Huh?" Loulan Lin's expression changed a bit.

At that moment, the short, old maintenance engineer arrived with food. He said gratefully, "My lord, these are some local specialties. Thank you for keeping me on your spaceship."

"You're welcome," said Su Ping, accepting the food offered.

But then, Loulan Lin exclaimed exactly at that moment, "Stop!"

She unleashed a powerful force and revealed her small world, smashing the old man.

The old fellow, clad in filthy clothes full of oil stains, was still wearing a grateful smile; however, his eyes had become scary and cruel. He waved his arms, launching black bursts of energy as sharp as blades towards Loulan Lin and Su Ping.

Loulan Lin's expression changed again as she blocked the old man's arm and then tried to knock Su Ping away.

"What are you doing?"

Su Ping's voice was exceptionally calm in such a dangerous moment. He pulled Loulan Lin away, thwarting her attempt to take the attack for him, and then kicked the old man's arm. The old man was flung back and hit one of the spaceship's walls heavily, as if smashed by a hammer.

Loulan Lin was pulled away, dodging the old man's attack. Hardly had she regained her balance when she saw the old man being flung away; she looked at Su Ping in a daze.

"You're really something." Su Ping coldly looked at the old man.

Loulan Lin was stunned. "You knew something was wrong with him?"

"It's hard not to suspect a Star Lord maintenance engineer." Su Ping looked at her. "How did you notice?"

"My necklace is a secret treasure made of gallbladders from powerful poisonous beasts. It will automatically neutralize any nearby poison," said Loulan Lin quickly. Her necklace was still shining like a green lake.

The old man had decisively taken action when he noticed Loulan Lin's necklace. It was also the moment when the divine power protecting Su Ping and Loulan Lin had been dispelled.

"You can sense my cultivation? That's impossible!"

The old man quickly stood up after hearing what Su Ping said, eyes becoming cold and sharp. He was furious, but his head became crystal clear. He was a top assassin, so he was considering what to do next.

"Is there poison here?"

Su Ping sniffed, but he didn't perceive a thing. He filtered his senses with laws, and finally noticed something was wrong. It wasn't a normal poison, it was one of the tremendously lethal kinds that could even deteriorate laws.

"How can you be fine?" Loulan Lin looked at Su Ping in surprise. She had thought that Su Ping had already noticed the poison and taken measures to resist it.

"Maybe because the poison is too normal." Su Ping shook his head and stopped investigating the poison. Although colorless and odorless, it didn't seem to be very effective. He went and examined himself, finding that the poison had already been assimilated.

Su Ping had been to many dangerous places in cultivation sites and encountered all types of beasts; most of those beasts carried lethal poisons. Su Ping had already been tested by them, some among them being Ascendants even. He had already developed a strong resistance to poison.

"Normal?"

The old man became so infuriated by Su Ping's dismissive remark that he almost stopped thinking. They had spent a fortune for the poison, enough to bankrupt a Star Lord!

The substance could have killed a bunch of Star Lords caught unaware!

It was awfully scary, even in the forbidden black market, and was still difficult to procure while using their organization's channels... And yet, Su Ping despised it!

"You're in league with that Ascendant assassin?" Su Ping looked at the old man, biding his time before attacking.

The old man had already been exposed, but he didn't admit a thing. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Good people, you're obviously not poor; hand over your valuables if you're smart!"

"You're pretending to be space bandits?"

Su Ping looked at the cockpit. "Are you buying time for the pilot, so he can take us to the trap you prepared?"

The old man's eyes twitched, but his expression remained the same. "What are you talking about?"

"I think there's only one Ascendant assassin. If there were two, they could have already ambushed and killed us, not giving us a single chance to escape..." Su Ping mumbled and looked at the old man. "So, you're that Ascendant's underlings, and you're responsible for killing me while he keeps our Ascendant protector distracted?"

"Cut the crap. You..." the old man roared.

Su Ping had attacked before he finished. "You still won't admit it? Let me just take a look, then!"

He quickly flew out like an eagle lunging at its prey. He was so intimidating that the spaceship was shaking with the momentum. On the other hand, Loulan Lin realized what was going on and charged at the cockpit.

"You're asking to be killed!" roared the old man and narrowed his eyes upon seeing Su Ping making a move toward him; he unleashed his strength, and a dark small world surfaced behind his back. He also performed strange skills he had acquired in ancient relics; they formed a black and hideous mouth that aimed to chomp Su Ping along with his small world.

The elder would have made a run for it if he ever encountered a genius from the Divine Lord Rank two thousand years prior.

However, they had been through endless suffering over the years in the Home of Havoc, and were no longer what they used to be; all of them were confident of fighting high rankers. Even though Su Ping was said to be incredible, he was well aware of his own strength and would never underestimate himself.

Roar!

The black mouth produced with strange skills carried a strange, intimidating aura that twisted space and affected the mind; countless people were crying deep inside that mouth, as if it led to hell.

However, right when the mouth was about to reach Su Ping, the latter punched so violently that his fist seemed about to penetrate space itself, as it contained infinite strength.

After a boom, the illusory mouth was shattered, and the spaceship's side was smashed through, knocking the vessel out of the space jump.

"You're too weak," said Su Ping indifferently.

He looked down at the old man. When his small world was perfected, Su Ping had already become one of the strongest Star Lords in the Federation!

Adding the deity aura being transformed in his body, he was as strong as the best Star Lord in every aspect!

The old man wasn't at all weak, since he could rank just below the 20th on the Divine Lord Rank, but he was no different from a normal Star Lord in front of Su Ping. The power of laws condensed by the latter was already too much for the assassin!

Su Ping then threw a punch that would cripple the guy.

The old man's expression changed considerably. His mind was also injured when his strange skills were shattered by Su Ping; he spurted a mouthful of blood and ended up with heavy wounds. He looked at the young man, horrified; he was kicked away after the failed assassination earlier on, and a singly punch from Su Ping had destroyed his strongest attack. It was terrifying!

He recalled what Yin Xing had said, finally believing. Even though the young man was in the Star State, he was as strong as the best on the Divine Lord Rank, however unbelievable it might sound!

Furthermore, the man seemed even more horrifying than the second place holder of the Divine Lord Rank they had assassinated two thousand years in the past!

"Night Tiger!" the old man roared. He could only try his luck now that his plan had failed. All his blood was ablaze at the moment; a shadow quickly surfaced behind him and merged with his body.. He was about to burn his lifeforce, sacrificing himself to fight with Su Ping.