Astral Pet Store (WN)

Chapter 709: The Empress

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The ground was suddenly covered in cold ice; dozens of sharp thorns rose from the ice between Su Ping and the sea dragon.

Su Ping slightly narrowed his eyes and raised his head.

A spatial gap had appeared in the air in front of him… and then a beautiful leg slowly stepped out of it!

The leg was long and straight, covered by a thin dress. The dress moved smoothly, following the leg movement as if made of silk, making that luscious limb partly invisible and even more alluring.

The owner of the leg was a beautiful woman who had the most attractive face, albeit one devoid of expressions; only nonchalance could be seen on it, as if she didn't have a care in the world.

A transparent jellyfish was floating like a cloud right above her head, blocking the wind and dust for her as a parasol.

The jellyfish was a wild beast too; it was clearly another Fate State creature, even though it was concealing its aura!

"The Ocean Emperor!"

"She-She's here…"

Ji Yuanfeng, Gu Siping and the others were paralized, as if they had suffered an electric shock.

They knew that they would meet the Ocean Emperor eventually, but they didn't expect to see her so soon. She also seemed to have grown even stronger than the last time they had met!

The Ocean Emperor?

Su Ping became solemn upon hearing Ji Yuanfeng's exclamation. He didn't expect that the emperor who reigned over the seas on the Blue Planet would be a female.

"What kind of wild beast was she before?" asked Su Ping.

He fixed his eyes on the empress while he asked, considering her to be extremely dangerous. Even if she wasn't as good as the Star State experts, she was very close. She wasn't any weaker than the top Fate State celestials he had met in the Demigod Burial!

An opportunity was all she needed to evolve into a Star State wild beast!

After hearing what Su Ping said, Ji Yuanfeng and the others slightly changed their expressions; they were relieved to see that the Ocean Emperor didn't burst into fury. Ji Yuanfeng simply replied telepathically, "Her original body seems to be a sea unicorn. That was what the first-generation Tower Master told me. I don't know if it's true, though."

While sending a telepathic message, Ji Yuanfeng said to the Ocean Emperor, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten the pact you made with the first-generation Tower Master?"

The empress of the seas looked at Ji Yuanfeng indifferently and then replied without the slightest emotion, "The pact is no longer effective now that he's dead."

Ji Yuanfeng's expression changed.

Standing next to him, Gu Siping gritted his teeth and said, "Who says my master is dead? He's still alive!"

Both Ji Yuanfeng and the Deputy Chief were stunned. They looked at him in surprise.

The man was still alive?

No way!

If he were alive, why on earth hadn't he shown up yet?

The first-generation Tower Master had been heavily wounded in the Deep Caves and eventually retired. He should have recuperated after so many years, but no one ever saw him again.

So, nobody knew if he was still alive; he could be, but he was never seen. He could be dead, but his body was never found and Gu Siping never prepared a funeral for his master.

"If he's alive, why is he still hiding? And even if he is, so what? Do you think I'm eternally bound by a pact?" said the empress indifferently without any respect for Gu Siping and the others.

Shocked and infuriated, Gu Siping said, "Your Majesty, you're going back on your word! Honoring promises is what matters most to human beings! You rule over billions of wild beasts. If you went back on your word so easily, wouldn't your subordinates mock you? Besides, my master is still alive. The pact still stands!"

"Honoring your promise?"

The empress wasn't going to speak to Gu Siping any longer, but after hearing what he said, she put on a smile of derision and said, "It's only you, hypocritical humans, who are always bound by promises. We honor nothing but strength! If you're strong, you're kings; if you're weak, you're food!

"Promises are just bulls*it! Tell your master to keep on hiding if he's still alive, because I'll kill him if I see him again!"

Gu Siping and Ji Yuanfeng looked quite awful.

It was evident that the Ocean Emperor was determined to ignore the pact and start an invasion.

Ji Yuanfeng gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, we've coexisted for years, us on land while you rule over the seas. I can see that you're not truly coveting our territories, but if you do need them, we can give away the other continents if you spare one for us."

Shocked, Gu Siping snapped, "That's our territory. How can we give it away so easily?"

Slightly stunned, Ji Yuanfeng glared at him and roared at him telepathically, "We're about to go extinct. What's the point of clinging to the territory?"

Gu Siping was gloomy after such criticism, but he also realized the situation and knew that they had to appease her.

"Your Majesty, there must be a reason for your long march. Whatever you need, just tell us. We'll give it to you if we can! I'm sure you don't want to break the pact either. The Beastmaster in the Deep Caves must've promised you something great, but we can also give you things!" cried Gu Siping to the Ocean Emperor.

Ji Yuanfeng and the Deputy Chief were nervously looking at her, waiting for her reply.

Far in the distance, Ye Wuxiu and the others were also anxious. It would be for the best if a truce could be reached, but they somehow felt that the chances were slim.

After all, the invaders had gone to great lengths to get there. Why would they retreat that easily? Besides, they could still get whatever they wanted after killing all humans.

Su Ping frowned at the empress. Although he felt that Gu Siping and Ji Yuanfeng's pleas were pointless, it was still worth a shot; theirs was a desperate situation where they didn't know what else they could do.

"You're willing to give me anything? Why don't you give me your heads for a start?"

Coldness and boredom flashed in the empress' eyes. Ice rose instantly on the ground, stabbing at Gu Siping and Ji Yuanfeng. At the same time, ice was also stabbing them from unpredictable perspectives around them.

Both of them were appalled. Ice from the void? How advanced was her understanding of space?

Su Ping knew that things weren't going well when he saw the boredom in the empress' eyes. He gasped when Gu Siping and Ji Yuanfeng managed to block the attacks.

It seemed that he had to give his last strike to the empress.

However, he wasn't confident of executing her this time.

He saw the empress as brutal and terrifying. She wasn't like the other people at the Fate State.

"Are you going to use your sword technique again?"

When Su Ping was going to attack, the empress turned to him. In fact, her attention had been focused on him all the time while she talked to other people.

Su Ping narrowed his eyes and asked, "When did you arrive?"

"Your sword technique contains the power of laws. I can't tell your level, but you can't be in the Star State… I can spare your life if you teach me the laws you've comprehended," said the empress indifferently, not deigning to answer Su Ping's question.

Su Ping's pupils contracted. She can see the laws of annihilation in my sword technique?

With a pounding heart, he said gloomily, "You need me to teach you laws? Haven't you perceived laws on your own?"

"I have, but you can't have too many laws," said the empress in a casual tone, "If your laws serve as any inspiration, I may be able to establish a complete set of laws and transcend, so that I may step into the Star State. Your life will mean nothing to me by then, and I can spare you."

Su Ping instantly realized her plan. It seemed that just like him, she had only perceived some basic laws and hadn't fully grasped them yet!

Once she had a fuller grasp of them all, she would have a system of laws, and she could transcend with the laws and break through to the Star State!

"First, you have to set everyone free if you want me to teach them to you," said Su Ping coldly.

Although the empress didn't seem trustworthy, he had to see if he could make a deal with her. After all, she was in control of some laws, and she was at the peak of the Fate State. His odds of winning against her weren't high!

Besides, he only had enough energy to launch one attack, which was unlikely to kill her!

To Su Ping's surprise, the empress quickly declined. "That's impossible.

"To be honest, you're dead for sure; that lord loathes human beings. The best I can do is to ensure your safety, if you're obedient," said the empress with a cold tone.

Su Ping was surprised.

That lord?

He had goosebumps all over his body. The lord which an overly powerful empress was referring to could only be a Star State expert, right?

Also, he loathed human beings… Had a Star State demon king emerged in the Corridor during the past thousand years?

Su Ping lost his determination upon considering such a scenario.

The Star State…

That was a level completely beyond his abilities!

He had defeated Star State wild beasts in the cultivation sites, but only by fighting a war of attrition with countless resurrections!

Once those beasts chose to leave, he was completely unable to stop them. Their level gap was too wide!

If the beast tides from the Deep Caves were backed by a Star State creature…

Then, there was nothing Su Ping could do except to say…

GG!

"Now that you've realized it, my advice is that you act obediently." The empress noticed the wavering faith in Su Ping's eyes, which caused a flaw in his posture, but she didn't use that chance to attack him.

She could have wounded him heavily if she had ambushed him.

But she was too proud to do that.

Indeed, she had broken the pact, but only she knew why she did that.

Su Ping came back to his senses when the empress talked again; he realized the weakness he had just exposed. He slightly changed his expression, relieved to see that she didn't do anything. In the meantime, he treated the empress more solemnly.

He didn't believe that the empress was bluffing. Besides, so many Fate State wild beasts from the Deep Caves had been domesticated. It couldn't have been done by the empress alone. The real Star State demon king surely had a hand in this!

Do I have to retreat to my store?

Su Ping's lips twitched. He was truly reluctant to do that. He had been fighting that hard because he wanted everybody behind the defense lines to survive!

His store was indeed a safe place, but it was too small; it wasn't enough to accommodate everybody behind the defense lines!

The empress furrowed her brows and said impatiently, "Do you even need to consider this? Aren't you afraid of death?"

Su Ping took a deep breath and looked at her. "I think I'll pass, since you're not in charge. I don't need you to ensure my safety."

The empress was stunned for a moment and then turned cold. "Do you really want to be killed?"

"You can try!" Su Ping raised his sword and sneered.

"Do you really think I'm interested in your superficial laws? I'll complete my own laws in another hundred… No, ten years!"

A horrifying surge of coldness was spread out of the empress. Since she had reigned the seas for a thousand years she was too proud to ask Su Ping for the information again.

Now that you've refused my first request, don't ever consider having a chance again!

Kill him!

Coldness was spread out, and then a pointy ice spear suddenly appeared in the empress' hand. It looked like a long dragon and was quite intimidating. She charged at Su Ping with the spear; dozens of her clones were manifested at the same time.

Su Ping was dazed for a moment, as he couldn't tell which of them was real.

The enemy was also moving too fast for him to identify them.

Boom!

Su Ping roared and punched. If he couldn't recognize her, might as well smash all of them!

After a boom, the brilliant Fist of Exorcist was on its way, but then it was frozen after moving a few meters in front of Su Ping!

It was quite similar to the scene where Ji Yuanfeng's tornadoes were frozen. However, Su Ping's Fist of Exorcist contained divine energy, which had a penetrative nature which could hardly be bound. Nevertheless, it was frozen at the moment!

Su Ping was stunned for a moment, before he came to an appalling understanding.

It wasn't a space blockage; it was real freezing. His fist aura had solidified!

It was the empress' ability; or rather, a law she managed to control!

After a booming noise, the giant fist aura exploded, and its constituent energy was torn apart. An ice spear descended from the sky and pierced Su Ping.

Su Ping's expression changed greatly; he raised his sword, ready to perform the Void Sword.

That technique was the only one that could help him escape.

However, a flame rose in the air the moment he raised his hand. It was so scorching that even Su Ping—who had special-grade resistance to fire—felt hot!

The empress changed her expression and quickly retreated. The cold air around her formed a piece of exquisite armor, which made her body look even more graceful.

She looked at the fire in front of Su Ping with an awful expression.

The fire was gone.

The next moment, someone walked out of the area where the fire had vanished.

He was a young man with long, red hair. His body's upper half, naked and athletic, was made of lean and strong muscles that weren't too bulging.

He was about 1.9 meters tall, and he chuckled while Su Ping stood behind his back. "I've just exited my seclusion, and I've already seen such a wonderful battle. Not bad, not bad."

On his opposite side, the empress wore an expression of disbelief and cried, "You're still alive?"

Down below, Gu Siping exclaimed in delight, "Sir!"

He didn't look like a shrewd, sophisticated old man at the moment; he was acting more like a happy child.

Of course, it remained unknown whether or not he was pretending.

Next to him, both Ji Yuanfeng and the Deputy Chief widened their eyes with disbelief.

It's the first-generation Tower Master!

He's still alive! He really is alive!

Also, his vibe… Ji Yuanfeng's body was trembling. He was no less excited than Gu Siping, as he could tell that the first-generation Tower Master had crossed the barrier and transcended!

The man had become a Star State expert!

Ji Yuanfeng was almost unable to stop himself from roaring!

Ahhhhhhhh… What a frustrating battle!

There was almost no hope for them when the empress took action, but all the problems were gone now!

Would there really be a need to be scared of the beast tides with a Stare State first-generation Tower Master fighting on their side? They would have been easily suppressed.

Far away in the distance, Yuan Tianchen, Ye Wuxiu and the other legendary warriors were also shocked to see the man with fiery long hair. They were almost unable to recognize him.

Although his body figure and his voice were just like before, his hair had turned red, and he became unbelievably strong!

Back in the base city, someone asked in shock and suspicion, "Who's that guy? Why is his hair red? Is he a demon? Is he a wild beast, like the empress who turned into a human?"

"Nonsense. Didn't you see how he saved Mr. Su? He must be on our side!"

"The man looks strong. Can we win?"

Everybody was at a loss. The battle was too exciting, there were quite a few twists and turns. Also, they couldn't understand the fights of such high levels at all. As a result, they didn't know whether they should cheer, or wait a while longer.