Astral Pet Store (WN)

There was a grand display of Ascendant secret techniques, seemingly able to cut the universe apart. Su Ping was like a boat drifting in a surging ocean.

Boom~!

A torrent of power rolled forth as a dozen giants attacked at the same time, all intent on destroying him completely.

"He must not live another day!"

Even though they hadn't received orders to slay Su Ping, their own level and experience wouldn't let them leave and sleep well, knowing that such a powerful enemy was out there.

"Damn it!"

Su Ping's expression changed a bit and his anger grew, watching as the dozen giants unleashed their power. He roared and charged with his sword, his six small worlds being activated at the same time; the combined power was appalling.

Bang!

A dazzling sword aura slashed out. Su Ping could almost see the being who had created the Sky Execution Technique to fight the supreme heavens.

He would kill everyone in his own way, even if they were gods!

The essence of the Sky Execution Technique was completely assimilated by Su Ping; all his power and laws were infused into the sword. He also added the chaotic power of his young Chaos Beast.

Infinite light was glowing, almost like the explosion of a thousand suns. He stood at the center, his sword rising to the sky and destroying the incoming attacks. There was a shriek, and Su Ping flew out like a bird covered in blood.

The faces of all the onlookers changed upon witnessing such a sight.

"Stop!"

"Junior brother, hang in there!"

"Faster! Be faster!"

All the reinforcements were arriving; they were all shocked to see Su Ping breaking out of the circle. However, their reactions were quick as they engaged his pursuers.

Song Yuan was extremely shocked. He controlled the formation and approached Su Ping, then threw over a golden chain to pull him close.

"Junior brother, are you all right?" asked Song Yuan in a hurry.

Su Ping's face was pale. The Golden Crow shape gradually faded away and he eventually recovered his original appearance. He was extremely spent at the moment, and was having a hard time recovering!

Song Yuan gazed at him and changed his expression. Countless wounds caused by Ascendant laws lingered on his junior's body; the lingering powers prevented Su Ping's own laws from functioning properly. The latter couldn't have been any weaker.

"Those bloody scumbags!"

"I'm going to kill them all!"

The nearby Chunyu, Zhu Feng and Ji Xueqing were shocked to see Su Ping's wounds, which would have killed anyone else. They could not imagine what kind of fierce attacks Su Ping had endured.

All those attacks had been comparable to full-strength strikes of a dozen Heavenly Lords. And yet, Su Ping survived through it all. It was unbelievable!

"Let me!"

Ji Xueqing quickly grabbed Su Ping's body and purged the foreign energies on Su Ping's body with a law that she created.

Chunyu stood on the other side as he took action without saying a word. He solemnly grabbed Su Ping's wrist and helped him heal the terrifying wounds inflicted on his chest, where the lingering laws were still damaging Su Ping's body. He would have been obliterated if his flesh hadn't attained the Ascendant State.

Song Yuan allowed his juniors to treat Su Ping, feeling relieved that the latter's condition was stabilized. He then ordered the others to continue fighting.

"Stop them!"

"Die!"

The Goddess Galan array powered by the Loulans threw a punch that shattered the void. One of the giants failed to dodge in time, and was struck in the chest. The Ascendant warrior inside the chest was pulled out, and the formation giant instantly began to fall apart.

Goddess Galan slapped the giant, which immediately exploded. All the remaining experts in the formation perished!

"Is Mr. Su all right?" the Loulan ancestor asked in a hurry.

Song Yuan answered mid fight, "He's fine for now; my junior brothers and sisters are healing him."

"That's great," said the relieved elder. He was rather shocked by what he had seen that day; it was unprecedented, a true eye-opener for him.

A Star Lord was able to fight against several Heavenly Lords. It was unbelievable!

There were tales told in the universe, about some Star Lords in the primordial times who could challenge Ascendant cultivators!

But those were just tales; no one in the entire universe was capable of such a feat. Some of the exceptional geniuses born once every 100,000 years could probably resist one or two Ascendant level strikes, if the opponent wasn't serious. Otherwise, they would end up beaten up.

"Take good care of Mr. Su then!" said the Loulan ancestor.

Song Yuan said, "He's my junior brother; you don't need to tell me that."

The Loulan ancestor controlled Goddess Galan to resume the attacks coming from all directions.

"Damn it!"

Dark Fire King—the one who had been fighting against Fang Shiliu—put on an awful expression, knowing that the assassination plan had failed. He had thought that Su Ping and Fang Shiliu would be easily dealt with.

The always careful Monster Ye had sent two giants controlled by Heavenly Lords as an added measure. They could have surely killed a Heavenly Lord such as Fang Shiliu!

To their misfortune, Su Ping turned out to be a truly ferocious fellow, much stronger than a normal Heavenly Lord; his strength could even be comparable to that of top Heavenly Lords.

Who could have foreseen such a turn of events?

A delighted Fang Shiliu laughed once he saw that Su Ping was safe. "Haha, as expected of my junior brother. Master, your eyes were really keen!"

He had previously felt jealous of Su Ping's privileges, but all of it changed into admiration for his master's discerning eye, having discovered Su Ping's potential.

"You think you're safe now? You must die today!" said Dark Fire King with a gloomy tone.

Fang Shiliu glared at him and said coldly, "Now, it's time to avenge my partners!"

"Hilarious!"

Dark Fire King sneered and charged at Fang Shiliu without saying another word.

The former had the power of a top-tier Heavenly Lord thanks to the formation; slaying Fang Shiliu was only a matter of when.

Boom! Boom!

There were shattered battlefields everywhere in the void. The deep spaces were like overturned buckets, making all the paint spill out; the sight was both glamorous and strange.

While under the cover of a formation, Su Ping sensed the hostile Ascendant laws disperse and his healing speed went back to normal; his strength recovered soon after.

He glanced at Chunyu and Ji Xueqing who were still treating, then said, "Thank you, seniors."

"No need to thank us; you were truly lucky to have survived!" Ji Xueqing glanced at him and complained, "Junior brother, you truly hid yourself well; surprises keep on coming. You're probably strong enough to compete for the commandery."

Su Ping said helplessly, "Senior sister, please don't make fun of me; I can't compare to our eldest brother."

Ji Xueqing chuckled and said, "Who knows?"

Chunyu gazed at Su Ping and said, "Junior brother, Master said that there's a bigshot backing you and keeping you safe; even Old Monster Ye is afraid of him. I suggest you go right back and stay with him. You may well be as strong as a top Heavenly Lord and be able to go anywhere you want in the universe, but the potential you've displayed is even more astounding. Maybe a couple of Celestials will come after you next time, not just Heavenly Lords."

Su Ping couldn't help but look at him, feeling somewhat touched by how talkative his ever taciturn second senior brother was at the moment.

"Thank you for your reminder, second senior brother. I'll go straight to training in seclusion once I return home."

Chunyu felt relieved. He said, "That would be great."

Ji Xueqing looked at Su Ping up and down. "I truly don't know how you've been cultivating all this time. Maybe you'll already be an Ascendant by the time you come out of seclusion next time, right? You'll be the strongest below the Celestial State by then."

"Senior sister, please stop flattering me. I'm not nearly strong enough yet," said Su Ping helplessly.

Ji Xueqing rolled her eyes. "Being too modest is just as bad."

"…"

Bang!!

Exactly at that moment—a rumbling noise burst out in the sky as several magnificent figures flew out. They revealed themselves to be Shen Huang, Xue Mei, Old Monster Ye, Xue Mei and the other Celestials.

Both parties engaged in battle noticed their arrival. Su Ping looked up, only to see Shen Huang outside of Song Yuan's military formation. He waved his hand, and the entire world grew dim; he took everyone into his small universe.

"Master?" Song Yuan asked in shock and suspicion.

"Let's retreat to the Celestial Court!" Shen Huang's voice came from outside of the universe. He sounded quite serious.

All the people still inside the formation looked at each other with concern.?In a way, our master was escaping, right?

Is the Heavenly Devil Alliance really that terrifying?

No one asked; everybody was deeply worried.

The universe covering them faded, and they found themselves in a brilliant palace. It was none other than the ancient and extravagant Celestial Court.

There was a blue layer of energy outside of the Celestial Court. The clone Shen Huang left in the Celestial Court had already been activated, and was on high alert.

"Everybody, it is time to be fully prepared for war. You must stay in the Celestial Court and be ready to fight the Heavenly Devil Alliance," said Shen Huang solemnly.

Everyone exchanged bewildered looks, including Shen Huang's disciples, the Loulans powering Goddess Galan, and other Ascendant allies.

The Loulans dispelled the formation and Goddess Galan dispersed in mid air.

"Shen Huang, I wonder…" The Loulan ancestor hesitated, hoping to learn more details.

Shen Huang looked at him and the others. Then, he said solemnly, "Old Monster Ye's Heavenly Devil Array is indeed extraordinary. Adding the power of three Celestial experts, our team was unable to beat them; we could only dodge their attacks for now.

"We'll start working on new military formations to counter the Heavenly Devil Alliance when the time comes!"

Everybody looked at each other in bewilderment.

Shen Huang had said it in quite a subtle way. They probably weren't just incapable of beating the enemy; they had been forced to run away!

"Lord Shen Huang, will the Heavenly Devil Alliance chase us?" asked one of the Heavenly Lords in a prudent manner.

Shen Huang replied, still solemn, "I don't know, but they will pay the price if they dare. Xu Kong and Chi Huo will be joining us. Besides, this is the Celestial Court; I'll be able to hold them off until reinforcements arrive even if they come."

"That is correct."

Song Yuan nodded with brutality in his eyes. "If they do dare to come, we'll gladly show them what the real Titan Divine Array is!"

"The Titan Divine Array?"

"The legendary array of the ancient gods?"

Many knowledgeable Ascendants were surprised by the announcement.

The Loulans were equally astonished. As expected of a Celestial expert; the man had access to legendary stuff.

Shen Huang ignored their reactions as he stared at Su Ping with a troubled expression. He set Su Ping and himself aside in another time and space where time flowed a hundred times slower.

"I noticed your battle. I didn't expect you to become this strong; I truly underestimated you." Shen Huang's expression showed conflicting emotions. He would have felt proud if he were the one training Su Ping; however, he knew that Su Ping's performance had little to do with him.

"About that…" Su Ping scratched his head and looked around at the glowing environment, knowing that his master was talking to him in private.

"Unfortunately…" Shen Huang heaved a sigh. "There isn't enough time. Given ten thousand years, no, a thousand years, you would have a shot at the Ascendant State. You would then be so strong that even a Celestial like Old Monster Ye would have to resort to sneak attacks if he wanted to kill you."

Su Ping nodded. "Master, don't worry. I'll be training in seclusion; I won't go anywhere."

Shen Huang gave a slight nod. "Cultivation is boring, but you must see it through. I'll buy you enough time; there isn't much I can do as your master, but I'll surely give you enough time, so that you're able to shine in the entire universe!"

"Master, please don't say that; you've already helped me a lot," said Su Ping in a hurry.

Shen Huang shook his head, flashing a bitter smile. "It wasn't just me. Both Xu Kong and Chi Huo saw your performance and have high hopes for you. Our choice to retreat was partly because we couldn't win and partly because we saw you!"

Su Ping felt dazed.

"We saw hope in you. Given enough time, you might become a comrade fighting by our side. That's when our alliance will be the most powerful; it is then when we'll fight the Heavenly Devil Alliance for the last time," said Shen Huang.

"But I'm only a Star Lord right now…" Su Ping instantly felt how little time there was. He had to reach the Celestial State to confront experts such as Old Monster Ye. It was too far a goal at the moment, even if he were to cultivate day and night.

"That's all right. As I said, even if I can't give you anything else, I can still buy you enough time so you can cultivate and grow; no need to care about anything else. I'll make sure that everything is okay," said Shen Huang.