Astral Pet Store (WN)

The old man stared at Su Ping and nodded. He turned around and said to Emperor Ye, "A lot of people have been to the Rain Clan. Do you have definitive proof that he stole the ultimate treasure? Besides, what is the ultimate treasure anyway? Why wasn't it defended? How could a mere Celestial God have stolen it?"

Emperor Ye said casually, "The evidence is conclusive; why are you still defending him? The lost treasure is the Glass Moonlight Cup. I cannot tell you the details because of certain reasons, and I've already punished the guards who were responsible.

Still, he's the one who stole it according to our investigation. Why else would he enter our clan uninvited?

"Do you think a high-ranked clan would invite a bottom-rung human as a guest?"

The old man's expression changed a bit. He then snorted and said, "Despite all your talk, you don't have any evidence; you think he's the suspect because he was there. Doesn't that count as slander?"

"Slander?"

Emperor Ye narrowed his eyes. "Were you part of it too? Why else would you defend him so vehemently? Indeed. A mere Celestial God like him is incapable of stealing the ultimate treasure without someone else's help. Your reaction is truly curious. Haha..."

The old man turned cold. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Nothing; you asked me to produce evidence. Then, I ask you the same: do you have any evidence that he's not the thief?" replied Emperor Ye with a sneer.

Both elder's faces showed different expressions. Naturally, they didn't have any evidence; they were merely defending Su Ping because he was a student of the Heaven Path Institute. Besides, they didn't think that the boy would steal anything, not after his divine quality had met the standard. Furthermore, the whole thing was just an excuse to retaliate against Su Ping.

However, they were currently at a loss, since they didn't know how to follow-up on Su Ping's defense.

"You're from a notable high-ranked clan. Are you really giving a junior such a hard time?" said the old man coldly.

Emperor Ye smiled and said, "Just hand him over if you can't present any evidence. Don't worry; we'll restore his reputation if he's not guilty, but please let us come with us to continue the investigation. The Rain Clan is not to be insulted this easily!"

"If you must take him away, I'll go with you!" said the one-armed old man coldly.

"Be my guest."

Emperor Ye snorted and looked down at Su Ping. "Kid, how about I personally lead the way for you?"

Su Ping clenched his fists and took a deep breath. "Enough with the crap!"

Emperor Ye narrowed his eyes, which quickly flashed with intense killing intent. His face didn't show anything else afterwards, as the young man was already a dead person to him anyway; he didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble there. He said coldly, "Let's go!"

Then, a channel was formed in the void; his face dove right in and disappeared.

The one-armed old man was about to step up, but then the purple-haired old man stopped him and shook his head. "Let me. It's a dangerous trip. Ask the old ancestor to come out if anything happens."

"The Rain Clan wouldn't dare!" The one-armed old man widened his eyes in fury.

The purple-haired elder gave a slight head shake in silence, then turned to look at Su Ping with a gentle expression. "Kid, come on. This institute will always be on your side as long as you're innocent."

Su Ping felt that a gentle force moved him closer to the elder; he didn't resist. He pursed his lips as he stared at the one-armed senior. "Senior, I'll avenge you. For the arm you sacrificed for me!"

Dazed for a moment, the one-armed old man shook his head and chuckled. "That's unnecessary. Everybody was young and reckless once, but try to be more careful in the future. It's a rule that the Ancestral Gods' names must not be mentioned."

Su Ping was silent. He had wanted to say, 'can't I bring up their names even if they're enemies?'

But he had already figured out the answer before he asked.

He couldn't.

That's right; not even if they were enemies, because he didn't have enough strength to do that just yet.

One day, I won't have to revere the Ancestral Gods, even if they're standing right in front of me! Su Ping swore to himself.

"Cultivators should be determined and relentless. However, sometimes you need to hide your edge. Your sword stabs will be more powerful when you hide its sharpness. You're quite talented. If you make it back alive..."

The purple-haired old man looked at Su Ping and added thoughtfully, "You must cultivate hard. You don't have a say until you're strong enough!"

Su Ping nodded solemnly.

Although it was the first time meeting the two elders, he already respected them as masters.

The next moment—the purple-haired elder dragged Su Ping into the void channel and disappeared.

All the people remaining at the training grounds looked at each other in bewilderment. Some of them even had the urge of going to the Rain Clan, hoping to find out what would happen to Su Ping.

He would probably die since he had offended the Rain Clan, even if he was in the company of elders from the institute!

"I didn't expect that the people of the Heaven Path Institute would make such sacrifices for their disciples!"

"No wonder my family told me that I must join the institute no matter what. It's the only place where I can peacefully cultivate and grow, not worrying about an untimely death!"

"A great battle is bound to happen in the Rain Clan. Alas, we won't be there to watch it."

...

Inside the void channel—

Su Ping and the purple-haired senior moved forward, surrounded by the hazy and chaotic void; that space controlling method had already exceeded Void Walker.

"Once we arrive at their clan, don't admit to anything you haven't done, no matter how forceful!" the purple-haired old man reminded Su Ping.

"Don't admit to anything, even if they threaten you with the lives of other human beings at stake!

"Don't ever think that you'll be forgiven if you plead guilty; you'll be killed if you do. Even I won't be able to rescue you. The institute won't have the justification to act and rescue you, either, and all the captured humans will be executed too!"

The purple-haired elder could picture the situation quite clearly; he was worried that Su Ping would cave in under the Rain Clan's pressure.

Su Ping nodded; he knew reconciliation was impossible for the Rain Clan and him.

"Killing you would be unjustified as long as you stand firm on your innocence. If they do act, they will soon find out that the Heaven Path Institute is not meek, at all!" declared the purple-haired old man aggressively.

"Got it."

They soon reached the end of the void channel, where they saw a magnificent mountain up ahead.

It was none other than the Rain Clan's headquarters.

Countless splendid palaces had been built on the wall. They noticed how they had emerged right in the clan's heartland.

They were then surrounded by young members of the Rain Clan, who were standing on the surrounding hills.

"Emperor Ye is back."

"Is he the little bastard who killed Prince Mo Feng?"

"A mere human actually killed our prince in public. He deserves to die!"

"These foreign races should be banished from our world. We shouldn't have taken them in!"

All the gods were cold and aggressive. Mo Feng only belonged to one of the factions; it would have been fine had he died during an internal conflict. However, he had been killed in public by a human, which was total humiliation to the entire Rain Clan.

The situation had currently united them against a common foe.

Big clans indeed were filled with flaws, but they would always unite in certain situations.

"Die!"

"Die!!"

"Kill the thief!"

Overwhelming roars burst and swept out from all directions, as if ready to drown Su Ping.

The purple-haired senior's expression had a slight change. He then released a protective layer to prevent Su Ping from embarrassing himself under the pressure.

However, Su Ping seemed to be absolutely calm, his face impassive. Although the roars had been weakened by the institute's elder, they still carried a great deal of pressure. Even so, it seemed that Su Ping had heard none of it; he simply looked around.

It wasn't until he looked in a certain direction that he suddenly narrowed his eyes!

A channel was opened in the void, showing dozens of brawny members of the Rain Clan. They were half naked, with nothing but a golden belt strapped on their waist, making golden ripples with their dragon-engraved boots as they walked.

Behind them were long chains binding lots of human beings.

All the humans showed frustration and heavy injuries; it seemed that they had gone through torture.

There were seniors, women, children and adults among them; their shoulders had been pierced through by chains, which were pulling them onward in the void. Some could even barely walk, the chains dragging them forward; blood was constantly dripping as they walked.

There were hundreds of thousands of them; maybe even more!

Almost a million human beings had been dragged out of the void with the chains. The accumulated blood spill was like a rain of blood as it continued to the ground!

Su Ping stared at them, then clenched his fists so hard they were cracking.

The purple-haired senior was too slightly angered by that; still, he wasn't intimidated, as he had seen his own share of cruelties. However, he knew those people were undeserving of such harsh treatment and was rather angry.

"Kill them! Kill them!"

Furious roars rose to the sky. Su Ping and the purple-haired old man were like two unremarkable ants on the empty field before the magnificent mountain.

"Thief! Confess! How did you steal our clan's ultimate treasure?"

Emperor Ye slowly turned around and put on a smile while looking down at the human brat. Such a scene would have intimidated any Celestial God; not even the princes of the Rain Clan would be able to bear it!

He was condescendent and mocking as he looked down at such an ant.

However, his smile gradually froze, as he didn't see the slightest bit of panic or anxiety on Su Ping's face!

The man was calm and poised!

The young man was like a piece of ice, frozen for eternity. His eyes were sharp and terrifying, like silver stars!

This human brat!

Anger flashed across Emperor Ye's eyes. His aura gradually enshrouded Su Ping, and was about to tear apart the elder's shield—

"You want to take advantage of the weak?"

The purple-haired senior coldly stepped up and stood in front of Su Ping.

Emperor Ye snorted and replied, "He's about to be tried, and he will plead guilty. Of course, I won't kill him; he's too insignificant to do anything. However, protecting him is tantamount to making yourself an enemy of my clan!"

The man lashed out with considerable strength all of a sudden, ready to tear the shield apart.

The purple-haired elder also used his own power. The gods present were too intimidating. Without the elder's protection, even a Major God would have been crushed, let alone a Celestial God!

The two ultimate forces clashed in the void, neither of them willing to give in!

Emperor Ye showed slight surprise, then narrowed his eyes. This old guy from the Heaven Path Institute is surprisingly strong!

Exactly at that moment—another force emerged from the void and tipped the balance.

The purple-haired elder grunted and the shield protecting Su Ping was torn. A guy had slowly stepped out of the void; he wore a golden robe, looking like a high and mighty god looking down at all creation.

"Rain Emperor!"

The purple-haired old man changed his expression, not expecting the master of the Rain Clan to show up in person!

"It's been a long time," said the powerhouse with a casual and solemn tone, "Since you're here as guests, I hope you'll behave accordingly. This young human stole an ultimate treasure of our clan; it is paramount that we investigate the matter and judge accordingly."

The old man was gloomy. "You know exactly what happened!"

The Rain Clan was slightly cold. "We certainly know what happened; do you think we would lower ourselves to wrongly accuse a human?"

The old man's expression changed a bit. He was out of options; after all, it was the clan master himself who had spoken. He was angry, but he didn't have enough evidence to prove Su Ping's innocence.

"Remember, don't admit to anything!"

He could only speak to Su Ping telepathically.

Su Ping didn't reply. He simply stared at the majestic man who had just walked out; his eyes stung because of it, but he didn't look away.

He's beyond the Celestial State...

But he's not an Ancestral God!

Su Ping's eyes were cold. Not even the Ancestral God's illusion had made him bend; he certainly wouldn't fold at the moment.

Now deprived of the elder's protection, the furious and deafening roars were immediately smashing against Su Ping, like countless fists!

That was both the pressure and the killing intent emitted by the gods!

Su Ping stood alone, looking rather slim and helpless; his clothes fluttered in the cold wind.

His body didn't shiver, though. He stood like a straight spear!

Su Ping slowly raised his head, under the eyes of his concerned elder companion, plus the fierce Emperor Ye and the Rain Emperor. His eyes were as brilliant as the sun, and as cold as ice. He slowly turned around—

He stood majestically and proudly.

Slowly, he clenched his fists...

He then took a deep breath—

A force burst out of his chest as he suddenly raised his head and roared, "Shut the f*ck up!"