Astral Pet Store (WN)

"The Divine Sea is at the core area of the mysterious realm.

"As you may already know, the Divine Sea Mysterious Realm lies in the depths of the ninth space, which is the deepest space in the universe!"

The Ascendant State expert who was guiding the group to the Divine Sea briefed them about the place as they traveled.

He didn't elaborate on the details; most of the geniuses in the group knew what kind of place the Divine Sea was.

"You are technically too weak to enter the ninth space, but the Divine Sea Mysterious Realm is very special, and its laws have been changed by Celestial masters. That is why you can be here.

"As for the Divine Sea, it is a strange area.

"It is a place where the laws of the ninth space have been altered, but some of them remain. You'll see people and images from the past.

"But leave that for another time; all you need to do is to understand the Divine Mark inside, which is the core of an Ascendant expert. You will need to condense your own Divine Marks in order to become Ascendants!

"Every Divine Mark is unique and indestructible. You practically become immortal when you break through to the Ascendant State, since you'll get to live as long as the universe does!

"The Divine Marks collected have already been processed, so it would be easier to detect their auras. The longer you stay there, the more you'll understand."

The Ascendant expert glanced at Su Ping casually while he spoke. He wasn't as formal since the competition was over, especially in front of Su Ping who was truly amazing.

He would probably reach the Ascendant State soon, given that he had already condensed a small world.

One of the awards allowed him to stay in the mysterious realm for seven days. If he couldn't reach the Ascendant State, no one else could.

"So, we're here to understand the Divine Marks."

Su Ping then understood.

He asked, "If so, wouldn't it be better if we stay there for one month? Why aren't we allowed to stay longer? Wouldn't more Ascendants emerge if they did so?"

The other nine geniuses were stunned by his remark. Some sneered, thinking that Su Ping was being too greedy, to actually ask for one month instead of settling for the week he had won.

All of them were impressed by Su Ping's small world, but many were still jealous of him because of the prizes he received.

The Ascendant expert looked at Su Ping, only to find that the latter was calm; his question didn't seem to have been made due to selfish reasons. He glanced at Su Ping and said, "We certainly want to raise more Ascendants. However, this isn't a place where you should stay for too long. Seven days is already the maximum according to our tests.

"If you stay longer, you'll be too deeply influenced by those Divine Marks!

"Just like I mentioned, every Divine Mark is unique, and so is every Ascendant State cultivator. Think of it as having different fingerprints.

"Divine Marks inevitably carry the will of their predecessors. Being too deeply influenced by them would inevitably lead you to walk someone else's path!

"If that were to happen, you would never be able to reach the Ascendant State!

"Be sure to remember that everybody's road is unique!

"You were given the chance to see the Divine Marks so you would merely have an idea about what they look like, because you're expected to walk on a path of your own. You cannot imitate or copy other people's paths; this would forever bar you from reaching the Ascendant State!"

The others were surprised by his words.

Some had immediately realized why the Ascendant experts from their families were unable to raise more cultivators on par with them.

The knowledge couldn't be passed on!

They could only offer opportunities to juniors, directly teaching about the Ascendant rank was not possible!

Su Ping realized that he was too ignorant. He already had a key to reach the Star Lord State; now he needed to know more about the Ascendant tier.

He decided to talk to Joanna when he returned.

Very soon, the group arrived at the Divine Sea.

"The Divine Sea has not been as peaceful recently. Focus on meditating and try not to wander about or you may get lost." The Ascendant expert led them to a golden gate, which was actually just a splendidly made frame. However, there seemed to be some sort of power blocking whatever it was beyond the gate.

"Your star zones chose to speed up the competition because the Divine Sea's restless condition will soon rise even more. Such turmoil has taken place at fixed periods, with records dating since the recent thousands of years. That is why the contest was hastened; you'll be able to experience the phenomenon!

"Now, take this and enter the protected area one by one."

The Ascendant expert presented them with a couple of badges.

The badge with the number seven etched on it was handed to Su Ping.

The others also received their respective badges.

Some badges simply displayed a number one.

This meant that whoever carried them would only be able to stay for one day.

The Ascendant State expert announced indifferently, "The badges have been personally made by the Celestials. They will automatically take you out when the time is up. Don't try to act smart and drop the badges in order to stay longer; such an act is punishable by maiming, even if you make it out safely. Nobody breaks the Celestial State masters' rule!"

Someone asked curiously, "Has anyone tried it before?"

"Some idiots have," said the Ascendant with a casual tone, "But none have ended well. They either got lost and became maniacs, or their cultivation was abolished once they came out."

Everyone was alarmed.

The people with the briefest "one" badges immediately dropped their shrewd planning.

"I owe you one," Su Jin'er whispered to Su Ping.

She was also among the top ten, but she had forfeited a fight. She wouldn't have advanced to the top ten without Su Ping.

"That's all right. Just don't forget to gather the materials for me," said Su Ping telepathically.

Su Jin'er smiled.

The nearby Diaz said to Su Ping in frustration, "I'm going in."

His feelings in regards to his martial brother were all jumbled up. He had never truly been impressed by Su Ping until he saw the small world the latter had revealed in the last battle.

Su Ping was already ahead of them in that aspect.

He had never felt jealous of people stronger than him, because he thought that such an inferior emotion was beneath him.

"Sure."

Su Ping was kind of amused by the young man's expression. It seemed that the guy had stopped going after him for trouble.

The others gave slight nods to Su Ping. All of them were friendly; nobody wanted to make an enemy out of such a genius for no reason. The whole group was composed of geniuses; it would be much better to have more friends.

Su Ping didn't stay long. He offered a nod to Luo Ying and Six Lives Buddha, then he also entered the Divine Sea.

Su Ping felt that his senses had been blocked the moment he leaped across the golden gate. He was unable to see whatever it was past the gate; there was nothing but a dark void mixed with floating specks of bright gold light in his eyes.

All of a sudden—Su Ping saw a man in a dark robe dozens of kilometers ahead of him.

The man had his back turned in his direction as he coldly said, "What are you waiting for?"

Su Ping: "?"

"This is a rare opportunity, and yet you hesitate. Are you waiting for her to come back? Just give up. She has her own family. Why would she embark on such a dead-end journey with you?" The black-robed man's tone was even colder in the end.

"…"

"If you're really considering the situation for her sake, just join me as I destroy the heavens and stop their laws from acting in this world. We should be the masters of our own world!" declared the man furiously.

Then, the man gradually disappeared. At the same time—a splendid battlefield appeared in front of Su Ping's eyes. Countless people were holding marvelous weapons above the clouds.

On top of those people's heads was something dim, yet splendid and indescribable.

"Die!!"

Su Ping heard deafening roars and screams.

Everybody was charging at that thing. Then, massive amounts of people died, blood gushing profusely from them.

As the talented warriors soared above the clouds, the dark and indescribable thing was no longer able to endure, and was torn apart.

Very soon, cheers echoed throughout the sky.

It seemed that they had won.

The scene changed. Countless people were standing on a high platform, where a blurred-looking man who was as brilliant as the sun addressed the masses, "I hereby announce that I will master everything in this world!"

That scene disappeared.

Su Ping was back in the dark void. The man in the dark robe was already gone; he had obviously been a figment of the past.

How strong must a warrior be that not even time itself can erase??Su Ping wondered. At least, the Ascendant experts he knew were still unable to achieve such a feat.

Only Divine Marks would remain when Ascendants died.

Maybe Celestials were able to do this.

Su Ping could not imagine what kind of power was able to imprint a man's presence in the universe. Even after death, their live's deeds would still be manifested in the deepest parts of the cosmos. They were eternally etched in the fabric of reality, as a testimony for the future generals!

Did they kill 'heavens' just now?

Back on the Blue Planet, the owner of that broken finger in the Valiant Academy seemed to have also been fighting heavens.

Are they from the same age, or different ages?

Are there plenty of heavens?

Su Ping felt as if he were tapping into the deepest secrets from ancient times.

Those of Celestial cultivation were already privy to such information, but Su Ping knew that his master wouldn't tell him anything, even if he asked him.

After all, he was still too weak to learn those secrets.

Furthermore, Su Ping didn't think that Shen Huang was capable of fighting the heavens.

While Su Ping pondered, he suddenly felt that he was enshrouded by a majestic power. A vague streak of golden light traveling in the void had inadvertently struck him.

The light stopped in front of Su Ping's chest, which turned out to be a golden, glittering item whose core was invisible.

Su Ping could only speculate that it was one of the Divine Marks.

A magnificent surge of power was being spread by the Divine Mark, giving off a feeling as heavy as mountains.

Su Ping hovered in a trance while he saw countless particles glittering in front of his eyes.

He then saw all kinds of particles separating in front of his eyes. He also saw the expanding manifestations of laws and paths.

Very soon, another golden streak of light flew towards him. It was another Divine Mark.

The aura of the new Divine Mark made Su Ping see things more clearly.

He then saw countless particles constructing a small world, while the small world collapsed and reassembled into something new.

It could be that the new thing was a Divine Mark!

Time flew.

Outside the golden gate—the people with lower rankings had already returned, as they were only given one day. Many of them seemed to be either dazed or in pain after being teleported out; they felt that they would have grasped something of utmost importance had they stayed a few more days.

"I think I saw how a small world should be constructed.

"Unfortunately, I don't have enough energy to do that. That guy is a true monster!"

"So, the laws are just some sort of particles in the universe. Then, what is the universe made of?"

Some were reflecting their findings with furrowed brows while standing before the golden gate.

All of them snapped back to normal a few days later, sealing their experiences in their hearts. Maybe they would recall that experience at the time they would face the bottleneck right before the Ascendant State. Whether or not they could tear down the obstacle would depend on their talent.

"We will head to the Heavenly Star Pavilion after Su Ping comes out, so that you may claim your respective treasures.

"After that, I believe you will soon become Star Lords. Travel the universe freely after that."

The Ascendant State expert was all smiles while chatting with the kids.

Those who were eager to leave had finally realized that they were only waiting for Su Ping to exit.

Jealousy was rekindled in many hearts once they were reminded that Su Ping was still inside. Many of them were too proud to be jealous, but they had personally experienced the place; knowing that Su Ping had stayed for a much longer time didn't sit well with them.

They would have trained a lot harder, had they known more about the effects of that place.

"I will not lose again." Someone gnashed his teeth.

Luo Ying glanced at Dragon Shepard, who had just spoken, but chose to remain silent. He simply gazed at an indeterminate point in space, looking forward to future battles against Su Ping. Once he left the Heavenly Star Pavilion, he would return to his family's estate and cultivate to become a Star Lord.

His family had prepared a great road for him; abundant faith was already awaiting him.