Astral Pet Store (WN)

"…"

Su Ping was silent.

He sensed the cruelness of the creator from Elder Yan's words.

Lives were created just for their faith. Then, they were randomly abandoned.

Maybe Celestials regarded the lives they created as pure energy entities.

If human beings had also been created, would their destiny be the same?

If that were the case, was it significant, or meaningful, for human beings to exist?

Su Ping gave a slight head shake. He already had an answer: he knew that it wasn't about correctness, but about stance.

The strong had always preyed on the weak.

There were many childish and pathetic individuals, too obsessed with morals to remember their own stance. It was as if they didn't know what was in their best interest.

"Do you find it cruel?" Elder Yan suddenly asked, noticing Su Ping's expression.

Su Ping glanced back and then shook his head. "It's just how things run in nature. No big deal."

Elder Yan nodded and said, "People's opinions change as their level and experiences change. Maybe it'll be the same for you when you reach the Celestial State; you can't really understand them until you reach their level. Many misunderstandings in this world are because you can't really empathize with a different group."

Su Ping nodded, choosing not to dwell on the matter. In any case, it was a generous gift from his master.

The tremendous amount of power of faith—after being refined and absorbed—was condensed into eighteen streams of faith power inside the Force Field. Counting his already condensed twenty-three streams, he now had forty-one streams of faith power, making him several times stronger than before!

"You've completed the six rings training for the Star State, and you're now approaching the limits of the realm; further improvement will depend on your potential and luck. Right now you're definitely among the top three Star State cultivators in the entire Federation. There's a good chance you may rise to the top fifty of the Divine Lord Rank," said Elder Yan.

"Let's have a try," said Su Ping.

He wanted to confirm the guess.

He too wanted to find out how strong he had become.

Elder Yan nodded. The two of them soon returned to the city with virtual arenas. The air suddenly crackled when they were heading to the plaza, and a tall and unusually cold woman with long purple hair appeared.

However, the coldness on her face was thawed when she saw Elder Yan; she then put on a warm and friendly smile. "Senior Yan."

Being slightly surprised, Elder Yan chuckled and said, "Xueqing, it's you. Have you recovered?"

"Almost," said the woman gently. She then glanced and noticed Su Ping. "Is he one of my new junior brothers? I heard that one of them has the Reincarnation Constitution, and the other is a descendant of the ancient Golden Crows. Which of the two is he?"

"He is Su Ping, who carries the bloodline of the Golden Crows."

Elder Yan smiled and turned to Su Ping. "She is Ji Xueqing, your fourth senior sister. Master admitted her as a disciple when he was only a Heavenly Lord. Master is already a Celestial now, while she's a Heavenly Lord."

Su Ping observed her with great interest. He didn't expect that he would run into an honorable Heavenly Lord that easily.

"It's an honor to meet you, senior sister." Su Ping paid his respects.

"I didn't prepare any gifts for you, except this set of armor. It can resist all the attacks of normal Star Lords." Ji Xueqing casually took out a piece of colorful armor and threw it to Su Ping.

Su Ping was somewhat stunned. He thanked her and accepted it.

Elder Yan chuckled at the sight. "Xueqing, you're too petty; that armor is useless for him. His body is already as sturdy as your armor."

"Huh?"

Ji Xueqing felt dazed by the elder's revelation. She asked, "Isn't he a Star State warrior?"

"Yes, he is. However, he condensed a small world when he was still in the Fate State, and he's already on the Divine Lord Rank right now," said Elder Yan with a smile.

Su Ping's senior sister looked at him solemnly and said, "So to speak, Master has admitted an incredible junior brother this time. He's almost as talented as Qin Wenxian."

"More or less," said Elder Yan, all smiles.

Ji Xueqing looked at Su Ping, and suddenly took out another piece of red armor. "This Blood Sucking Armor is yours. It'll be useful when you reach the Ascendant State."

Su Ping quickly said, "Senior sister, no need to do that. Senior Yan was just kidding. This gift is too precious."

"Humph, just take it!" Ji Xueqing was not to be refused.

Su Ping had no choice but to accept it and thank her.

"Cultivate harder and try to reach the Ascendant State in a thousand years, so that you can confront the catastrophe of the universe." Ji Xueqing resumed her coldness and bowed at Elder Yan before she vanished.

"Catastrophe of the universe?"

Su Ping watched Ji Xueqing leave, then looked at Elder Yan in confusion.

Elder Yan shook his head. "That's still too far away for you; you'll understand everything when you reach the Ascendant State. For now, just focus on cultivating. Master is out there dealing with it, as well as your senior sisters and brothers."

Seeing that he refused to answer, Su Ping could only ask curiously, "Senior Sister Xueqing seems to be very close to you, doesn't she?"

Elder Yan chuckled and said, "Of course. I was the one who personally taught her after Master took her in as a disciple. Technically speaking, I am half a master to her."

Su Ping was greatly enlightened; no wonder his senior sister was that cold toward him, but overly friendly to Elder Yan.

"Let's go and take the test," said Elder Yan, even more earnestly than Su Ping.

Su Ping also smiled with hope.

…

At the plaza of virtual arenas—

"Make an appointment with the ranker at the 50th spot," said Su Ping directly.

Elder Yan asked, "The 50th? Are you planning on skipping the 60th? You have indeed become stronger, and you have a chance of winning; it's better to do things one step at a time."

"I'll just consider it as practice if I fail," said Su Ping.

Elder Yan realized it made sense, so he helped Su Ping make an appointment.

Soon, the appointment was made. Su Ping put on the helmet and entered the virtual battlefield.

To Su Ping's surprise, his opponent was a plump woman who wore white armor and a cape. She looked quite pretty, and her breasts were as heavy as two mountains.

The countdown clicked as it was reducing, while Su Ping observed her.

Su Ping withdrew his gaze and summoned the Dark Dragon Hound and the Little Skeleton. He was still when the battle began.

Boom!

Su Ping directly unleashed his small world. The air around him immediately collapsed and fell into darkness. It was the world that Su Ping had established, which was purely black given his constitution.

The pure black world, like a black hole, crashed into the woman's small world as Su Ping pressed on.

Her small world was sunny and warm, with hills and rivers. However, they shook violently after the collision. The laws in the small world were manifested and spread with every exhalation. They were almost falling apart.

"Thousand Rain!"

Su Ping slashed with his sword, launching a storm of sword auras that could penetrate anything.

There was a boom, and then his opponent's small world cracked. The holy sword made of forty-one streams of faith power—carrying an enormous force—was able to cut down with the surging astral power from Su Ping's body.

Bang!

Many laws were launched, but then they were shattered by the sword aura. The woman suddenly split up into three and formed a triangle. They laid their swords upon each other's, as if she were using some sort of array. A streak of holy light rose to the sky at the center of the array. they trembled violently

A giant arm suddenly flew out of the holy light. It held a sword and slashed towards Su Ping.

"A summoning technique?" Su Ping was alarmed. There were some evil techniques that could summon unknown creatures. Such creatures aren't pets. They might have already died. However, they were still very strong."

"Path of the Divine Sword, Heavenly Punishment!"

Su Ping suddenly waved his sword, which was bursting with the power of faith and cutting apart the flow of time. The world around him seemed to be frozen; then, his sword aura was able to cut the weird giant arm apart.

Bang!

The arm exploded. Su Ping quickly flashed and paused time and space.

Time was truly frozen for a moment, given how that astral power had surged out, and his sword had been able to cut apart the plump woman at that moment.

The virtual world faded away, and Su Ping found himself back where the equipment was. He took a breath, then felt delighted.

Although he used the same methods he did earlier, they are much more destructive at the moment.

"Did you win? Or did you lose?" asked Elder Yan right away.