Astral Pet Store (WN)

"Won't that expose our identity?" Tang Ruyan asked.

Although she didn't get what Joanna had said, she guessed something and was rather worried because of it.

Joanna was a bit surprised. She shook her head and said, "It wouldn't be a big deal even if we do get exposed. There must be records about the war in the past; I believe that the people of the Archean Divinity are also looking for the lost pieces. I belong to the Archean Divinity, and I just came back. What's wrong with that?"

There was excitement in her voice.

Tang Ruyan didn't know how to respond, so she looked at Su Ping.

The latter nodded and said, "That's right. Even if we're exposed, we can still return in one piece and think of other methods. We always have a last resort; go ahead and try whatever you wish."

Tang Ruyan stopped persuading them after seeing that Su Ping was supportive of Joanna's plan.

"They said you're from the Original Ladies Clan. Do you want me to help you find your clan?" Su Ping asked Joanna.

Joanna's expression changed a bit. She said, "It's already gone. My clan leader led my entire clan to fight in that war. Only a small part of the clan was sent elsewhere, to work as seeds for the future. I don't think they can be found."

She knew of the cruel competition among the gods. The seeds were probably unable to grow up into anything even with her bloodline.

"That's not necessarily the case. Let's just be patient. Maybe we'll find something," said Su Ping. His words were full of hope and power.

Joanna chose not to continue with the conversation. There was hope deep down in her heart, but rationality told her that reality was cruel.

…

Once they picked their academy, Tang Ruyan and Joanna were led away by the mentors of the Fighting Heavens Academy, and Su Ping was taken to the Unifying Heavens Academy's cultivation place.

The Unifying Heavens Academy was in the middle of floating mountains. According to Su Ping's guide, the place had been created by a mythical figure in ancient times. That being had gone to a deep slumber after having lived for eons; its mind had stopped functioning, and its body turned into the mountain. Its consciousness had fled to an unimaginable space.

The sky was vast and mountains floated in the sky like clouds in glowing light. At ground level, the brown soil and the golden leaves of the trees were just as remarkable. There was a concentrated divine power flowing in the air, five times as intense as in the outside world!

The divine power was even denser on the floating mountains, which were cultivating holy lands.

"The Unifying Heavens Academy advocates the pursuit of the origin. To achieve this you have to observe and gain a deep understanding of all things in the world. That is the only way you can trace back to the source and become an Ancestral God!

"Unlike the Fighting Heavens Academy and the Mending Heavens Academy, the Unifying Heavens Academy aims toward lifelong research. Medicine, weapons, arrays; you may study anything and become an expert!" said the mentor of the Unifying Heavens Academy as he addressed the new students, including Su Ping.

Everybody was excited. To study everything in the world, trace back to the origin, and become an Ancestral God… That was the path of the Unifying Heavens Academy!

"This is where you'll be staying. Every five students will share one mountain; all the mountains have the same density of divine power. The distribution of those mountains, as well as all future resources, will be done in a fair and equal manner. You won't receive more resources depending on performance.

"But of course, there will be benefits if you work hard and stand out. For example, some mentors will recommend you to the grandmasters if they like you. No matter what you learn from the grandmasters, it will benefit you for the rest of your life," said the mentor with a smile.

Everybody was surprised. None of them expected that cultivating in the Heaven Path Institute would be as peaceful. Would there be no competition, at all?

Su Ping was similarly surprised, but found the situation understandable upon remembering what Joanna had said. An academy which upheld such fairness would certainly have a great atmosphere. Still, would the students laze around due to the lack of competitiveness? The atmosphere was key; all students would actively communicate and encourage each other to grow together if the atmosphere was ideal.

None of the geniuses in the Heaven Path Institute were willing to settle and be mediocre; the atmosphere would definitely be positive.

"You must not fight nor commit acts of brutality against each other while in the institute. You must not plot against each other. If there is truly an irresolvable grudge between you, you may go ahead and duel, fully accepting whatever the outcome may be!"

The mentor added in closing, "Okay, you may choose your mountain now. Each mountain can only accommodate five people; find another if the one you choose is already full."

Everybody looked at the mountains and flew towards them.

Su Ping picked a random mountain. After all, all the mountains had the same density of divine power; there was no need to compete.

His mountain was soon filled to capacity. There were two males and two females aside from Su Ping. A man and a woman from the others were of noble rank in their clans.

The mountain was massive. There were five groups of buildings; aside from the main palace, there were rooms for servants, cultivation, and guests. All those places had been cleaned up.

Su Ping claimed one of the compounds and planned to start cultivating, but two of the others went to see him with the intention of going together to meet both the prince and the princess. The five of them would be classmates in the future, that was why they wanted to meet everyone and get to know each other better.

Su Ping usually preferred not to waste time on such formalities, but he conceded and left with them.

They went to the prince's palace first. The latter declined their invitation, and was quite cold to them; he drove them away under the excuse that he would start cultivating very soon.

After such a setback, the trio went to the princess' palace. She was just as unfriendly upon seeing that the prince was not with them. She also used her need to cultivate as an excuse, not intent on entertaining the visitors for long.

Such an incident had also left a mutual bad impression between the two nobles.

Su Ping and the other two students didn't think highly of them, either.

"The scions of the major clans are truly arrogant." One of the young gods was angry due to the failed endeavor. He wasn't a prince, but he was a genius of his clan; he was infuriated because of their attitude.

The female, however, didn't think much of it, as if already used to such coldness. She bade goodbye to Su Ping and the young god and then left.

Su Ping saw this experience as a waste of his time. He said goodbye to the young god and returned to his palace to start his cultivation.

The next day.

An Ascendant god went to the mountain and introduced himself as their mentor.

They then learned that a mentor was assigned to supervise groups of five students.

Most mentors used to be students of the Heaven Path Institute in the past. They chose to stay and continue cultivating there after graduating. They had been entrusted with the additional task of teaching the freshmen.

"You're currently God Warriors. Well, this young human is a Celestial God. You passed the second test with such a level? You must have a lot of battle experience." The mentor was a young and handsome god with a mature air. He wore a friendly smile.

Su Ping remembered when Joanna told him about godly ranks in the Demigod Burial, where Star State experts were called God Warriors. It seemed that Star Lords were the God Warriors in the Archean Divinity.

Has the cultivation system in the Demigod Burial deviated since it broke away from the Archean Divinity, and its general combat ability has lowered? If so, the Major Gods here equal the Ascendant State, and the Gods of Rules equal to the Celestial State. As for the Superior Gods, they must be even above the Celestial State.

But in the Demigod Burial, the four Superior Gods are already the top of it all, Su Ping thought.

"Today, we'll focus on the cultivation of the Celestial State. Young human, you may listen to it too. I will tell you about matters related to Celestial Gods later," said the mentor with a smile.

Su Ping immediately nodded.

The other four students glanced at Su Ping. The two students who had gone to visit with Su Ping remained calm, but the prince and the princess had disdainful expressions.. They seemed to find it demeaning to stand alongside someone as weak as Su Ping.