Astral Pet Store (WN)

“Go to hell!”

The Lord of the Deep Caves broke free from the special beast-catching ring and released an overwhelming terror. That trap was even more infuriating than its previous battle against Nie Huofeng.

It almost felt as if it would be sealed again!

Even worse—unlike the suppression a thousand years earlier—it was going to be confined in a smaller and darker place, which made it even more horrifying!

Boom!!

It quickly flung its claw. The world instantly became dark; several cracks were left in the surrounding space. The claw fell on top of Su Ping’s head in the blink of an eye.

Su Ping had also woken up from that failure. He was greatly shocked by the claw above his head and tried to dodge.

However, the previous attack had almost drained his energy.

Whoosh!

The bones that covered his body were suddenly erected; they hauled him back, trying to protect him from the sharp claw.

However, the claw was too large, and there was no time.

The bones quickly weaved an oval shield in front of Su Ping, hoping to endure the attack for him!

“Mr. Su!”

“Brother Su!”

Far in the distance, Ye Wuxiu, Li Yuanfeng and the others were greatly shocked. They hurriedly moved closer in an attempt to stop this.

Ji Yuanfeng was pale and his silver hair was unkempt. He struggled to raise his arm, trying to teleport Su Ping away from the Lord of the Deep Caves.

Next to him, a wounded Deputy Chief gritted his teeth and said, “I’ll help you.”

Even so, they found it impossible to shake the space even after joining their forces.

The Lord of the Deep Caves was determined to kill Su Ping and had completely locked down all the surrounding space, not giving him any chance to escape!

Both of them looked frustrated and desperate.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!!

Explosions burst out all of a sudden, as defense skills emerged on the path of the sharp claw.

Those defense skills were from assorted classes and elements. Some were red, some were blue, and some were green. Their complexity was shocking.

However, the king-level defense skills of those classes were shattered like mirrors the moment they appeared!

Those defensive measures were as worthless as paper in front of a Star State power!

The shattered energy passed by Su Ping’s eyes. He was stunned, as if having been hit by lightning.

An opening was opened in the confined space ten meters ahead of him, and the Dark Dragon Hound squeezed out.

But he didn’t summon it at all!

Su Ping came back to himself and roared, “What are you doing? Go back!”

He never planned to defend himself with the Dark Dragon Hound, because it was impossible to resist Star State attacks!

It was better for him to die on his own than to ask his pets to die a pointless death. That way, even if he really died, at least his pets could be randomly teleported to a different place and survive.

However, the Dark Dragon Hound had torn apart the pet space and gone out without his permission!

“Go back! Go back now!”

Su Ping was so anxious that his bloodshot eyes were shedding tears.

The Dark Dragon Hound didn’t look his way; it simply showed its back to Su Ping. It then began to burn its vitality the next moment, unleashing the most brilliant power.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!!

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang…

Explosions echoed nonstop. One defense after another was structured by the astral power, before it exploded. Tens and hundreds of them were built, but they were all shattered by the Lord of the Deep Caves’ absolutely dominating strength!

Su Ping could hardly breathe as he watched. He roared, “Stupid dog, go back! It’s useless! You can’t stop it!

“Go back now!”

He tried his best to recall the Dark Dragon Hound. However, he was already out of power and could only make use of the contract!

In fact, the flames of the contract were burning furiously on the Dark Dragon Hound!

Su Ping’s expression changed greatly.

It was resisting the power of the contract even after violating the terms!

Why would it rather endure the penalizing flames of the contract? Why was it so stupid?

The Lord of the Deep Caves’ claw finally arrived with destructive might, hitting both the Dark Dragon Hound and Su Ping.

Bang, bang!

They were smashed to the ground and left two giant pits.

Su Ping felt as if all his bones had been broken and his head was ringing. He looked around with a pale face when he thought of the Dark Dragon Hound.

He saw his pet in another pit; it was lying there, bleeding and unmoving. The contract flames were still burning on its body!

No, no, stop!

Stop!

Su Ping roared and tried to stop the contract’s power in his head.

The contract flames soon died out.

Su Ping found that the bones outside his body were full of cracks and his head was humming. The Little Skeleton must’ve taken most of the damage to protect him!

If the Little Skeleton had been wounded that badly, the Dark Dragon Hound must have suffered even worse!

Su Ping ran crazily to check on the Dark Dragon Hound. Then, he discovered to his delight that the Dark Dragon Hound was still alive. It was about to exhale its last breath, but was fortunately still alive.

“Stupid dog, why are you so stupid? Why are you so stupid?”

Hot tears rolled in Su Ping’s eyes. He didn’t cry often, but she couldn’t hold himself back this time.

“Huh? Die now!”

The Lord of the Deep Caves was surprised to see that Su Ping wasn’t killed; it was quite angry. Since it wasn’t in its best shape, it intended to kill Su Ping as quickly as possible and then take time to recover, just in case anything else happened.

Boom!

It brutally stomped over Su Ping.

Its foot had locked down the space around Su Ping, with the clear intent to kill him!

“Mr. Su!”

Ye Wuxiu and the others were sprinting close and shouting loudly from a distance.

Su Ping saw the shadow that had swallowed him. He was still dragging the Dark Dragon Hound as far away as possible even though he knew the hope of survival was slim.

He had never given up during the life-and-death exercises in the cultivation sites, right until the last moment, even though he could have been considered dead by then!

Explosions suddenly echoed above his head. Bang, bang, bang, bang!!

Multicolored energy was split up into chaotic particles.

Su Ping lost balance and fell on the ground. He raised his head, only to see defense skills underneath the giant foot that was pressing down.

Those were all the Dark Dragon Hound’s skills.

It was already dying. Su Ping didn’t even know where it found the strength to release all those skills.

“Stupid dog…”

Su Ping looked at it. “Why were you so stupid, so dead set in learning so many defense skills? Didn’t I tell you that offense is the best defense?”

The Dark Dragon Hound’s head had been deformed by the previous strike. Its eyeballs had almost been squeezed out, and its fur was matted with blood.

It struggled to turn its head around and look at Su Ping.

“Because… I wanted to protect you…”

Boom!

Su Ping was stunned.

The Dark Dragon Hound talked in their darkest hour. What it said stumped Su Ping, who felt as if all his blood were frozen.

Stupid dog, why are all the skills you’ve grasped about defense…?

Stupid dog, are you really so afraid of death…?

Stupid dog, can’t you grasp more offensive skills, like the Little Skeleton and the others pets…?

…

Because… I wanted to protect you!

While Su Ping sat on the ground in a daze, the Dark Dragon Hound that had tagged along suddenly stood and growled with blood all over its body.

The growl echoed throughout the city, as if it were the only sound in the world!

The wind was sweeping out.

Su Ping raised his head and saw the Dark Dragon Hound that was growling and running…

Lum-dum, lum-dum!

His frozen blood was instantly warmed up; his eyes became bloodshot as he watched his pet move away.

Because… I wanted to protect you…

“Ahhhhhhhhh…!”

Su Ping rose all of a sudden, with billions of explosions bursting out of his body. Each explosion was feeble, but they sounded like a supernova outbreak when billions of them were combined!

Yes, all the dim star vortices in Su Ping’s cells exploded, which filled him with an appalling surge of energy. He extended his hands forward with reddened eyes and a maddened behavior.

Stupid dog, I want to protect you, too!!

“Come back noooooooow!”

Su Ping let out a roar that echoed throughout the defense lines. His only thought was to catch the Dark Dragon Hound and prevent it from running away!

Never!

All of a sudden, Su Ping felt that something in his body had been torn apart.

In the next moment, the Dark Dragon Hound suddenly glowed and turned into a glittering ball of light before it moved toward Su Ping.

He shivered and then sensed that something had entered his body.

The most ferocious energy soon arose in his limbs and internal organs.

The power was beyond Su Ping’s imagination; it was the greatest power he had ever sensed in his life!

“Fusion?”

Ye Wuxiu and the others who were supporting in battle widened their eyes in shock.

Su Ping was already in the merged state with the white bones over his body. However, his other pet had also turned into energy and merged with him!

It was… a double fusion!

Everybody was too shocked to say anything; this had debunked all their preconceptions and imagination!

Whoosh!

A sword aura that looked like a black lightning tore space apart. The next moment, the Lord of the Deep Caves stomped on the ground and left a massive pit.

The ground was shaking as if an earthquake had just taken place.

“Huh?”

The Lord of the Deep Caves was stunned, then becoming awfully gloomy. It turned around and looked at an empty space.

Ye Wuxiu, Ji Yuanfeng and all the others who tasked themselves as Su Ping’s reinforcements were all shocked into stillness by the unimaginable double fusion. All of them looked at the same place the Lord of the Deep Caves was looking.

A thunderstorm suddenly began in the sky.

Boom~!

A man was standing alone with a black sword in the empty sky. His silver hair was flying in the wild wind!

Su Ping’s appearance had greatly changed.

He had previously been covered in bones. There were still bones on the surface of his body, but he had become three meters tall with the same body figure. His black hair also became long and silver colored.

Sharp talons protruded from his fists, and a thick silver tail emerged on his back!

His legs had turned into those of a wolf’s and were full of explosive power!

Su Ping slowly raised his head in the middle of the thunderstorm. His eyes were still bloodshot, but he managed to hold back the thirst for blood.

He had sensed the power and… the Heaven’s Test!

Like judgment being served, he could feel that something was watching him from an invisible space that was too distant to arrive, somewhere beyond that universe.

It seemed to be… Heaven itself!

“Are you finally willing to test me?” Su Ping mumbled.

He lowered his head and looked at his hands and legs. His physical changes were obvious; he had already realized what had happened.

He could also feel that the Dark Dragon Hound was still alive and deeply bound to himself like never before!

Was this what a fusion felt like?

Su Ping found it slightly different from when he merged with the Little Skeleton. To be more precise, the ability to merge with the Little Skeleton was just one of its skills, and the fusion he was feeling was the real deal!

He raised his head and looked at the gathering dark clouds.

The sky had been torn apart by the battle’s chaotic energy and no clouds could be seen. However, dark clouds began to gather from all directions.

Those clouds were almost endless!

Su Ping raised his head, but was unable to see the end of the clouds ten thousand kilometers away!

“I didn’t expect to become a legendary warrior in such a moment…” Su Ping took a deep breath. He had detonated all the star vortices in his cells with a suicide attack, which had accidentally resulted in a breakthrough. This enabled him to merge with the Dark Dragon Hound at the critical moment.

He had hit the bottleneck in the Chaos Star Chart training when he reached the limits of the ninth rank. He didn’t know that the way to break the bottleneck was to expose himself to a great crisis!

The exploding star vortices in his body were thriving. Every cell had been swept by the vortices’ power, which then made them look like round planets!

It was exactly the Astral Body State, the second state in the Chaos Star Chart!

Su Ping could tell that his cells could accommodate ten times more astral power than they did before! He could unleash his attacks faster and more powerfully!

“I’m an Ocean State warrior now…”

Su Ping took a soft breath. His wounds had partly healed after the breakthrough, and his drained body had been replenished with energy when the star vortices exploded. He was in his best condition yet.

However, he was about to face his Heaven’s Test.

As far as he could see, this tribulation seemed to be much bigger than he had anticipated…