Astral Pet Store (WN)

From top to bottom—

After a long time, Su Ping finally found his name. He was the 488th!

I should have started from the bottom up… Su Ping was at a loss for words. He had been a bit too confident. He was barely among the top five hundred human geniuses.

Just as I thought, too many geniuses have been born in history. According to my mentor in the Heavenly Path Institute, an Ancestral God condenses a small world back when they are Star Lord. Someone of that level could probably kill me with one quick glance…

Such a fact was mind boggling for Su Ping.

Even if the two were Star Lords, the gap between them was truly massive.

He could kill normal Star Lords without any trouble, but he was absolutely vulnerable to a monster who had condensed seven small worlds.

No wonder I couldn't make it to the top thousand of the all-species rank. There are too many geniuses… Su Ping shook his head with a bitter smile. Although he had the system's help, those geniuses also had their own privileges, such as their familial backgrounds, which provided tremendous support.

My access to the cultivation sites is my greatest support, since I can go and witness secret techniques of other species, Su Ping thought.

Su Ping gradually calmed down after reading the rankings. He had grown confident after killing Star Lord beasts easily, back in the Luofu Realm of Deities. He was quite proud of himself when he thought he had dominated the Divine Lord Rank while he was only in the Star State.

However, his pride was completely shattered when he read the Chaos Talents Rank.

There was still a long journey ahead of him!

"Open the system store," Su Ping said to himself.

The window appeared, displaying five items.

Su Ping found that most of the items were unnecessary. However, one of them, named Fruit of Epiphany, was quite marvelous, although its price was three million energy points. It could deepen one's understanding of laws!

Su Ping bought the item without a word.

The fruit can be eaten repeatedly. The more, the better. Su Ping was delighted by such a find. He didn't expect to get something as good after the upgrade.

If normal Star State warriors consumed the fruit… They could directly turn into Star Lords!

Of course, it wasn't meant for normal cultivators to use. If sold in the outside world, renowned families would buy them, no matter the price, to nurture their descendants.

Of the four supreme laws, I've only mastered the law of time, with the sixth Astral Painting's help. My understanding of the law of chaos is the shallowest. The laws of destruction and vitality haven't been fully mastered, either.

Su Ping's eyes glittered as he looked at the Fruit of Epiphany in his storage. "The seventh Astral Painting is named the Great World Astral Painting, which focuses on vitality. My grasp on the law of vitality will be fully perfected if I condense this Astral Painting! By then, only the laws of destruction and chaos will need improving.

I'll figure out which of them is more difficult by then. Afterwards, I'll swallow the Fruit of Epiphany and focus on the other law. My small world will be perfected when all the four supreme laws are mastered. After that I can consider establishing a second small world…

Su Ping couldn't help but wonder what to use as the basis for his second small world, when his first one was made of the four supreme laws.

His mentor in the Heaven Path Institute had shown him something earlier, but he hadn't fully understood. He thought he needed to ask more about it later, in the Archean Divinity.

To understand the law of destruction, the aggressive power of the first Astral Painting may inspire me. Then, I can only try my luck in the Chaotic Realm of the Undead. I didn't feel destruction from the battles and carnage from earlier. Destruction is not that simple. The death of a life is the beginning of another cycle. That wasn't true destruction…

Su Ping was deep in thought. He stood in a daze.

Joanna, Green Lady and the others saw this and left to mind other things, not wanting to disturb him.

A long while later.

Su Ping snapped out of his pondering, frowning and shaking his head. He didn't think it was possible to master laws overnight, so he decided to open the store and see its changes first.

Once the upgrade was completed, he now had the ability to train Star State and Star Lord pets; the cost for training had been significantly increased, which meant that Su Ping would earn energy much faster. He would be able to experience more adventures in the cultivation sites without worrying about the cost of resurrection.

There are so many cultivation sites in the system. I should visit new cultivation sites later, Su Ping thought.

Su Ping asked Joanna and Tang Ruyan to open the store, then informed them that Star Lord pets could now be received. Unfortunately, the professional training option was not available for Star Lord pets yet. Su Ping's guess was that it wouldn't be available until his pets became Star Lords, on the premise that their aptitudes didn't fall.

If it was just about level, Su Ping could improve to the peak of the Star Lord State at any moment.

Both Joanna and Tang Ruyan became focused after opening for business. Once the store was opened, the familiar sunlight, air, dust, and crowd on the street made them feel warm.

They discovered that they had somehow gotten used to working there.

Su Ping was slightly surprised by the gathered crowd. He didn't expect that there would be as many customers outside after leaving it closed for three days.

Seems that I've earned some reputation over the past years, Su Ping thought. He attributed this to the work of his employees.

All the customers were excited to see the store open again. Two of them, who were obviously friends, shouted at each other, thrilled.

"It's open! It's open!"

"Finally, back to business. It had never closed before. I almost thought that something had happened."

"The thought crossed my mind too. I thought the experts of the mysterious major families would take Boss Su away back then."

"My sweetie cannot wait any longer."

"Ew. You call an iron-armored dragon your sweetie?"

"Son of a bi*ch, you call your gluttonous centipede peachy. Isn't it even more disgusting?"

Tang Ruyan showed up by the door and put on a smile when she heard the familiar roars. Receiving customers every day wasn't a boring task for her. Even though the customers were different, all of them treated their pets with utmost care.

She had seen a lot of people; some of them even treated their pets as family. They were so prudent that they asked her every detail about the training services offered.

While everybody cheered, a few people flashed over and stepped out of the void. They were from the major organizations that had waited for a long time.

None of them had dared to break in or leave when Su Ping's store was closed. They had waited for Su Ping to reopen the store.

None of them were idle while the store was closed. They collected information on Su Ping's store throughout the planet. Their findings had shocked them.

There seemed to be a rather terrifying and extraordinary trainer in the pet store.

Judging from the time, cost and the effect of the training, all of them were certain that the trainer supporting Su Ping wasn't simple.

"Just as expected, no genius able to stand out in the universe is simple. A poor kid without any kind of background may become famous, but it would be impossible to dominate the entire universe without backing…"

None of the organizations had dared to underestimate Su Ping. They had investigated him, but they had yet to discover who his backer was.

It only meant that such a person was beyond their imagination. Only a horrifying figure could hide that well!

"Boss Su!"

A middle-aged man flew forward and landed on the stairs outside the store. He was none other than Loulan Feng.

He looked at Su Ping, who was standing in front of the store. His chest was basked in sunlight while his face was in the shadow, making him look rather mysterious.

Loulan Feng was stunned for a moment after offering a greeting. He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Su Ping had changed significantly after only three days had passed.

Did he make a breakthrough? Or is it just an illusion? Loulan Feng felt quite suspicious. He knew that geniuses were able to advance very fast. Since Su Ping had been training in seclusion, it was only natural to have made some progress.

Once he saw Green Lady next to Su Ping, Loulan Feng narrowed his eyes and nodded at her with a friendly expression.

Green Lady seemed to be lost in thought, so she didn't respond.

Loulan Feng wasn't angered by this. He said to Su Ping, "Mr. Su Ping, I've come to deliver the materials you need."

He opened his hand and presented a long box, which was so cold that it lowered the temperature around it.

Su Ping was slightly surprised by it. He stepped up and said, "Let me take a look."

He opened the box, and saw a red item sealed in transparent energy; it was emitting a strange brilliance. That was indeed one of the materials needed for the Solar Bulwark.

"Since you need it, Mr. Su, I'll just give it to you. The Loulan family will continue looking for the rest of the materials." Loulan Feng guessed from Su Ping's reaction that it was the right material. He handed the box over to Su Ping with a smile, not posing any requests.

Su Ping realized what he was up to, and secretly heaved a sigh. He knew it was difficult to decline the Loulan family's gesture. After all, he didn't like owing favors.

Favors were always hard to return.

"Mr. Su, I've also heard about the materials you need. The Phil family is also searching for them. We'll contact you the moment we find anything." said a graceful woman with an alluring body as she dashed over. She was none other than the Ascendant expert from the Phil family.

Su Ping nodded at her and said gently, "Thank you very much."

The woman gave him a stunning smile and said, "Mr. Su, the Space Tower of the Phil Family is always open to you. Feel free to drop by when you have time. Even if you don't work for the Phil family, you will still be treated as an honorable guest."

Obviously, the woman was adopting the Loulan family's approach, and had realized that he yielded to the weak but not the strong. He nodded and replied, "It's very kind of you. I appreciate it."

Loulan Feng peeped at her, not wanting them to talk too much. He found the woman's eyes rather alluring, and was worried that Su Ping might be unable to refuse her charm. He quickly said, "Mr. Su, are you free right now? There's a gala in the Loulan estate. We'll be honored by your presence."